I just read where Albert Pujols just signed a mega-lucrative contract that shocked the baseball world: 10 years, $250 million.

All that cash to play a game. And the Occupy movement is torqued off about the salaries of business executives?!?

The Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels apparently got into a bidding war for the services of Pujols, a free-agent first baseman. The contract is the second-largest in major-league baseball history, just behind behind Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million deal.

That contract raised eyebrows, too, and led to nearly a decade of somewhat-more-normal economic considerations in professional sports. Until now.

I’m a big sports fan, but no one player deserves that much cash. In fact, it reduces the competitiveness of smaller-market teams such as my beloved Cleveland Indians. There’s no way the Tribe could even consider a contract that size.

In fact, one year’s salary for Pujols is equal to the paychecks of half the Indians entire roster last season. The team’s entire 2010 payroll was about $49 million.

The Indians as a team shocked baseball last year with the best record in the major leagues, that is, until injuries and misfortune wrecked one of those magical seasons that fans live to see.

For that kind of cash, Pujols better be projected to hit 100 home runs, 500 runs batted in, and steal 150 bases. Of course, those are ridiculous figures. But so is his contract.

Maybe the Occupy folks should be camping out at home plate at a big-city baseball stadium.

Our family Christmas tree is put up and all the Christmas decorations now adorn the living room, dining room, kitchen, etc.

Yes, I said it: Christmas.

I don’t know about you, but I intend to keep Christ in Christmas.

All this nonsense about wishing others Happy Holidays so as not to be insensitive and offend the sensibilities of anyone else completely takes the true meaning out of Christmas.

Yes, I understand there are other religions, cultures, races, ethnic groups who celebrate Hannukah, Kwanzaa, and all the rest. That’s the great melting pot of America where we live. Diversity IS  a good thing. So I believe if I don’t wish them whatever they do celebrate I would be offending them.

The same holds true in reverse.

I’m Christian. I believe in Christ and celebrate Christmas.

For all of you who worship the malls, Black Friday, and the hustle-and-bustle of the holiday season—fine. But don’t wish me Happy Holidays. You won’t get a response. If you’re not sure what people celebrate, just ask. I’m sure they’d be happy to set you straight. Use it as a conversation-starter. Get to know a neighbor or friend this year.

Merry Christmas. Oh yeah, and a Happy New Year, too.

Ohio State football fans became accustomed to winning ways again under former Buckeye football coach Jim Tressel. When I attended OSU in the mid-to-late 1980’s, 9-3 was the usual fare under the likes of Earle Bruce and John Cooper. But 9-3 wasn’t good enough to Buckeye Nation, which thirsted for something more than unrealized potential.

Along came Tressel from Youngstown State. A squeaky-clean image, solid recruiter, and a master motivator. The Buckeye faithful loved the guy most because he was a Wolverine beater—and anyone who can beat Michigan reaches god-like status in Columbus.

That’s why the fall from grace was so heavy and hard on scarlet-and-gray backers. All of a sudden, we were just like Michigan, not better than them. All of the jokes about scandal and snide comments about a dirty program had to be taken back—or worse yet, words eaten. Just like Wolverine fans had suffered from lean years and an uncertain future, so were OSU faithful facing the same prospect.

Buckeye Nation is searching for good news, any scrap of positive vibes from this season.

The unofficial dance between OSU athletic officials and Urban Meyer notwithstanding, football fans who bleed scarlet-and-gray are looking for the next Tressel—a proven winner who can run a squeaky-clean program and still contend for a national championship. Most of all, someone with a riverboat gambler’s mentality who can beat Michigan into submission, year-in, year-out.

Here’s hoping Urban Meyer is that guy. I’ve liked him since he cut his coaching teeth at Bowling Green. It’s been painful to be a Buckeye alumnus this year, and even tougher to be a football fan.

This is the time of year when the interest in fantasy football either wanes or intensifies, depending on how one’s team is doing.

If your team is fading fast, your attitude may be ‘Well, there’s always next season.’ But if you’re still in the hunt for the FFB playoffs, every yard gained, every TD scored, and every interception is cause for concern.

Thankfully, I now have the best record in my league at 8-2. I have played in this FFB league for nearly 15 years now, so the other people who are franchise owners are no slouches. But I tried a new draft strategy this year that seems to be working.

First, I loaded up on all the Green Bay Packers players I could. There are a number of reasons for this. They’re an offensive juggernaut. Those players also will all have the same bye week.

Doesn’t make sense? Think about it this way: I play in a “keeper” league, where we’re allowed to retain the services of two NFL players each season. Hanging onto Aaron Rodgers was a no-brainer. The guy throws for big yards and mucho touchdowns. So I drafted some of the guys he’d be throwing to: Jordy Nelson and Jermichael Finley. That way I score double on some of Rodgers’ TD passes. I also grabbed the Packers kicker.

The other strategy involved is to write off one week as a loss by loading the roster full of guys with the same bye week. That way, you’re not biting nails week-by-week through the byes, where you might be missing two or three guys on a weekly basis.

With that same philosophy in mind, I also loaded up on three members of the Philadelphia Eagles. The team isn’t having the greatest season, but the offense is piling up the yards and TD’s.

Here’s the bonus: I never expected to win the two weeks the Eagles and Packers had bye weeks. But the rest of my lineup had career games, and I won both games unexpectedly.

Some leagues put the most stock in drafting running backs. I don’t, since in our league, we start two quarterbacks each week. Drafting the right QB’s, then, is king in my league.

But I have a different philosophy in drafting RB’s. Production matters—but not just rushing yards and TD’s. I try to focus on players who also are good receivers, to hedge my bets against a bad week or a good rushing defense. So I grabbed Ray Rice and LeSean McCoy and it’s paying big dividends this season.

So, the Orlando Breakers are having a breakout season—with the MFFL’s best record and #1 seed—at least for now.

That drafting strategy came through a lot of trial and error. Forget all the stuff the so-called FFB “experts” write each year on draft strategy. You have to find what works within the rules of your league.

By the way, the team name is a bit of TV trivia. Not only were the Breakers a USFL franchise way back when, but it was the fictional professional football team coached by “Coach”—actor Craig T. Nelson. You know, the old TV series where the Minnesota State coach earned a pro coaching gig.

Samuel Wurzelbacher already has announced he’s running for the 9^th District Congressional seat currently occupied by Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur.

But someone who attended Springfield High School alongside “Joe the Plumber” now is a declared Democratic candidate for the 5^th District Congressional race, ready to oppose incumbent Republican Bob Latta.

Angela (Wallington) Zimmann threw her hat into the ring Thursday during a campaign announcement held at her Springfield Twp. home. The Lutheran pastor and Bowling Green State University professor lives just a few streets away from “Joe the Plumber” in the Angola-McCord Rd. area.

But there’s an even bigger coincidence between the two, besides being high school classmates and current neighbors. It centers around their involvement in a campaign visit to their neighborhood by then-presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008.

While Wurzelbacher gained national fame and notoriety for questioning the future president on the issues, Obama posed for pictures and even kissed Mrs. Zimmann on the cheek. Now the pair have become upstart congressional candidates, hoping to upset the status quo.

Redrawn Congressional districts are giving the candidates such a unique opportunity.

If they both win, wouldn’t it be even more ironic if they sat across the aisle from each other in the U.S. House of Representatives?

5 % voter turnout for the Sept. primary– really, seriously?!?

For all the complaining I hear on the street about our politicians and the economy, that is an unbelievable number.

For all the ease in registering to vote, relaxed rules for absentee and early voting, etc., we have no one to blame but ourselves for not exercising one of our most basic freedoms, duties, and responsibilities.

Yes, I realize there is a battle royale between Democrats and Republicans over everything from collective bargaining to health care to a new congressional map– but c’mon, you want to see it change? Do something about it. Vote.

Don’t trust the board of elections because of a long line of shenanigans, including a current investigation into an email breach? Again, it’s an excuse.

The worst one I hear is “my vote won’t matter anyway.” Wanna bet? If everybody else stays home and YOU vote, then it’s even more likely to make a difference.  Low voter turnout simply means each and every one of us who DOES go to the polls CAN have an impact on the outcome.

Go. Vote. Now.

Gov. John Kasich came to town for the big announcement that local startup company BX Solutions would take over the former BAX Global cargo handling facility at Toledo Express airport.

While here, he publicly noted the negative attitude of Toledoans and stressed there are better times ahead. When questioned later, he simply stated “he got the sense” that residents here feel beat up and downtrodden– and it reflects in their community-wide attitude.

The governor couldn’t quite put his finger on why– he surmised the poor economy had taken its toll.

But this is not the first time I have heard that theme in my travels. Toledo Mayor Mike Bell has mentioned it at press conferences numerous times: the need for Toledoans to change their attitude about living here and to promote a more positive spirit to outsiders and visitors.

I believe both men are correct. After all, if we don’t root for ourselves, who’s going to root for us? If we don’t search for some good in all the bad, then what’s the point?

Yes, two out of every three days in Toledo are cloudy, as the local legend goes. But that doesn’t mean we have to walk under the black cloud of negativity all the time, too.

Buck up, Toledo! Better times are ahead…

Whatever the motivation a Zanesville man had for releasing dozens of exotic animals before he committed suicide, the situation in east-central Ohio has sparked a debate over whether lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, and other non-native animals should be kept by private citizens.

We’ll never know what caused Mr. Thompson’s duress– despite reports his wife had packed up and left, he had just been released from federal prison, and he had financial problems. Only he could answer that question and he is now deceased.

Now Governor John Kasich is being criticized for not continuing an emergency order from his predecessor regarding exotic animals. Ohio, in general, has come under fire for not having stricter regulations on exotic animals. In fact, some animal-rights groups (the Humane Society of the U.S., in particular) are calling for an immediate ban.

However, exotic animal owners are required to have a license from the USDA to harbor lions, tigers, and others.

Kenny Hetrick of Tiger Ridge Exotics in Stony Ridge has, by his count, six tigers, three lions, two grizzly bears, timberwolves, a black leopard, a bobcat, and others. He fears the 38-year reputation he has built as a law-abiding exotic animal owner now is in jeopardy.

Usually tighter government regulations follow a precipitating incident, which the Zanesville animal release may be just such an episode.  It will bear watching what will happen in the coming weeks and months.

Will interest groups and the public continue to press for action? Or will our attention to this issue quickly fade, as the headlines move on to the next topic of concern?

This is going to be an interesting Halloween holiday this year, as I will see the holiday from the perspective of a ten-year old and a 13-year old.

The boys have chosen elaborate costumes that have become a pop culture sensation on YouTube. My teenage son hopes to make a box-shaped head he has seen in the Party Rock video. That one shouldn’t be so difficult, and he probably won’t need dad’s help.

The ten-year old has chosen a mouse-like head that has to be made from a 13″ hamster ball, a lot of stick-on felt, and other assorted pieces/parts that have required trips to a craft store, a hardware store, and a fabric shop. I can only hope that those pieces can be crafted together into something that resembles the Internet photo.

The other challenge is determining what is the appropriate age to end the trick-or-treating tradition. Count me among those who really gets annoyed when the doorbell rings on Halloween night, only to find teenage kids who half-heartedly threw together a costume in search of a pillowcase full of free candy. Such freeloaders should have given up a tradition a long time ago that belongs to little kids.

This will be the last year I allow the 13-year old to trick-or-treat. At least he is taking the task of making a costume seriously. But I believe 7th grade is plenty old enough to end the tradition. He’s not much of a candy kid anyway. What are your thoughts?

On two successive Sundays after church, we ventured out to attend an apple-related festival.

The first one was at MacQueen’s Orchard in Springfield Twp., but drew such a large crowd we drove on by and headed elsewhere. The second one was the popular annual Applebutter Festival in Grand Rapids, but the crowds at that one made the trip a bit uncomfortable, so we left after just an hour.

Folks must sure like their apples! I know I do. On the way home, I insisted we stop back by MacQueen’s Orchard to get the requisite half-peck of apples, apple butter, and fresh apple cider. I managed to sneak in and out of the general store in five minutes, although the lines snaking throughout the place were monstrous– people in search of the fresh pies and pastries also sold there.

The nice fall weather brought people out in droves. Both events are well-run, well-publicized, and well-attended. Unfortunately, my family’s aversion to large crowds put a damper on the autumn apple-oriented festivities.

Two lessons learned. Next time we attend an event of such a magnitude, we’ll go right when they open. On the other hand, organizers should consider extending the events to multiple days, so the crowds are a bit more manageable.

But I hope the nice weather continues for some time yet, so we can get out and enjoy what is proving to be everyone’s favorite season!