Traveling, basketball and home

It's usually not a good idea to make a weekend trip back home to Cleveland in early March, but that's what my family and I (minus the cats) did the weekend before last. It was for a wedding shower being thrown by our family members still in Cleveland for my kid brother Jim and his fiancée, Tyler.

When driving up Interstate 77 (Interstate 73 can't be built soon enough to suit me), we encountered a wintry mix that made driving a bit treacherous. When we arrived back in our hometown, there was about about 8 inches of snow on the ground and the lake effect was in full effect. Ahh, yes, it was good to be home!

Had we gone this past weekend, well, we'd probably still be stuck in Cleveland this very moment. The city of light, city of magic -- like most of Ohio -- got another big blast of winter that left lots of travelers stranded. In fact, hometown hero and NBA star LeBron James had plans to be at the Carolina-Duke game in Durham, N.C., on Saturday night but was thwarted by the blizzard.

By the way, how 'bout them Heels? Oh, how sweet it is when my Tar Heels beat the Dookies -- first, the men's basketball team on Saturday, then the women's basketball team on Sunday. Very sweet indeed! I was in school at UNC when the men won the national title in 1993 and the women did it the following year. Getting my bachelor's degree from a college like UNC was one of the best choices a sports nut like me could have ever made.

And speaking of LeBron, Jim treated me to a ticket to the Cleveland Cavaliers game in our hometown immediately after our arrival for my birthday. It was the first time he and I had ever seen them play in Cleveland. We've both been to many Browns and Indians games in our lives, but we'd only seen the Cavs play when we were growing up in North Carolina, back when Mark Price, Brad Daugherty (a Tar Heel -- bonus!) and Larry Nance played.

I can honestly say I was entertained nonstop throughout the Cavs game, which they went on to win. At halftime, there was even a trio of Russian acrobats who performed and were truly amazing. We had great seats -- first row in the upper deck -- and the people who sat near us were really nice. I'm amazed at how fast King James plays and see why he's a superstar. It was a great time, a great gift. I had a total blast!

The only problem with the trip for me came one I got back here to the Pee Dee, where spring is under way. Going from 23-degree weather to 65-degree weather so quickly triggered a migraine that brought me down early last week.

But, I recovered in time to go to a second shower for Jim and Tyler this weekend in Raleigh, N.C. The trip, which normally takes 2 1/2 hours up Interstate 95 to Interstate 40, took twice as long because the wind gusts took out a mess of pine trees in the median outside Lumberton, N.C., and jostled my hatchback along the interstates.

By the time I got there, the gifts had been opened already, but at least I got to see my family again (but again, minus the cats) and some of Jim's buddies, including his best man, Daniel Crawford. There's your shout-out, Daniel -- and by the way, did I not totally call the outcome of the Carolina game at Duke? See, during my drive up to Raleigh, I heard James Taylor's "Carolina in My Mind" on the radio and I told Daniel it was an omen that my guys were going to win. Ha! Told you, Daniel! Next time you're in Florence for Flyball, you'd better stop by.

Anyway, home for me will always be where my cats are. But it felt so good to be in my hometown and back in North Carolina for these visits with my family and enjoy victories by some of my favorite teams. I can always use reasons to cheer.

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