Shames = Championships

With the Miami Heat putting the finishing touches on their first championship in team history last night it's now official. Having a member of the Shames family in your town guarantees a championship. Think about it.

I grew up in New York and during my tenure there the New York Rangers ended a 54 year Stanley Cup drought when they won in 1994. It was around that same time that the New York Knicks had a successful run and made it to the NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. And then of course the New York Yankees pulled off the upset in 1996 against the Atlanta Braves on their way to the first of four World Series wins.

However, I then left to go to school in Boston and ever since then the Yankees have failed to win the World Series. Where as Boston teams have won and won and won some more. First off, the New England Patriots won not one not two but three Super Bowls creating a modern day dynasty that would not have been possible had I not moved there. And if three Super Bowls weren't enough what about the Boston Red Sox ending the infamous curse and finally winning the World Series in 2004? Come on now, I think I'm on to something.

If you don't believe me yet then check out what has happened since I've moved to Florida. In only three months the Florida Gators won the NCAA Ttournament and most recently the Miami Heat won the NBA Title. If you consider the fact that the Shames family has been living down in Florida since the late 1980's then you could also credit the Florida Marlins World Series wins in 1997 and 2003, the Tampa Bay Lightning's Stanley Cup in 2004, the Tampa Bay Bucaneers recent Super Bowl win and countless college championships for the Miami Hurricanes, Florida State Seminoles, and Florida Gators to my dad and grandparents.

I can even go so far as to say that my sister has the magic touch as well since the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl and the Maryland Terrapins won the NCAA Tournament while she was living down there. And the Philadelphia 76ers even made it to the NBA Finals while she was at UPENN.

And if I really wanted to I could branch out to distant relatives and credit my cousin Kenny in Arizona with helping the Arizona Diamondbacks win the World Series in 2001. You could even say that he helped the Phoenix Suns get to the NBA Finals under Charles Barkley during the first year that he had moved out there.

But it's not just taking up residence in a state that leads to championships. In some cases just passing through works just as effectively. Case in point, my flight to New York two weeks ago was delayed for five hours in Charlestown, South Carolina. 10 days later and the Carolina Hurricanes are the Stanley Cup champions.

So as you can see having a Shames live in your state pretty much guarantees you a chance to win or at least make it to the finals of your respective sport. And the magic has so far worked in all four major sports as well as collegiate athletics. I'm not sure why my family has the magic touch. All I know is that Shames equals championships.