Kendrees reserves 59-23 and shot 56 perc | Forum

Walk through East Fourth Street on a Saturday night and you could very well be in any popular city in America. Charles Barkley Rockets Jersey . It features some of the countrys best food, hip bars and trendy stores.For those who havent been in downtown Cleveland in a while, the question will invariably come up: How did this happen?Its a complicated answer, as is every related to how urban renewal manages to succeed. But in Cleveland, the answer includes LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and ... the chefs.Without LeBron, Cleveland -- which like many blue-collar cities gets its pulse from its sports teams -- might still be the Cleveland of old: the one known for its river being so polluted it caught on fire, for Earnest Byners fumble and for Michael Jordan over Craig Ehlo.Without the spectacle of LeBron, downtown Cleveland doesnt ever draw the crowds.Without the crowds, Gilbert doesnt gain the power -- he likely doesnt get a casino and perhaps never has the faith to move his company, Quicken Loans, to the city.But without the chefs, the speed of coolness that came to downtown Cleveland soon after LeBron left following the 2009-10 season would not have happened.LeBrons story youre more familiar with: High school phenom gets drafted by hometown team and turns it into a contender.In the process, the masses come to downtown and theres even a new type of visitor Cleveland never had -- a celebrity who flies into town just to see LeBron play.Economists have long argued that when sports teams get an economic boost, it comes at the expense of the community because every dollar is given to the team. But economists havent encountered sports owners like Gilbert, who not only is working on flipping the perception of Cleveland but has the countrys biggest renewal project on his hands in Detroit.LeBrons first seven years in the league built the foundation of the idea that downtown Cleveland could change. Thats when public money was first committed to revitalization.But in 2010, LeBron famously left. And the plans for what was to be built were in no-mans land. The Cavs returned to futility and the crowds dwindled.And then came the chefs.Michael Symon and Jonathon Sawyer are two native Ohioans who never forgot where they came from.A year before LeBron left, Symon won The Next Iron Chef. As Symons career exploded and he became a celebrity chef, he branched out to other cities but always made Ohio his home.On Fourth Street, he had high-end Lola and Lolita, and this year he debuted a BBQ place named Mabels.Sawyer, who worked for Symon, also made his splash in Cleveland. Among his four restaurants is The Greenhouse Tavern.While LeBron was gone, the chefs did their work. They continued the good name of the city -- winning national awards and impressing out-of-towners with their fare -- and when LeBron came back, they were ready to capitalize even further.The chefs, huge sports fans who also have a presence at Cavs and Browns games, and LeBron work in tandem. On game nights, Sawyer and Symons restaurants are packed. Sawyer says 80 percent of his customers -- judging from area codes left for reservations -- since May have been from outside greater Cleveland.Thats insane, Sawyer said. You dont get that without LeBron.There are the usual stats put forth by Cleveland authorities, which are just projections: that the Cavaliers playoff run last season was worth $35 million in new spending. But those numbers are compromised by past economic studies put forth by cities that dont come close to Clevelands reality.Numbers more specific to Cleveland speak to its real rise. In 2000, three years before LeBron was drafted, a person could get a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Cleveland for $550. That same place might cost triple today as millennials living downtown have grown 77 percent in the last 16 years.Prior to this year, the Cleveland Indians and Cavaliers played in 156 combined seasons that ended in a title. Only two of those were won by those teams (the Indians in 1920 and 1948).With the Cavs winning the title last season and the Indians on the cusp of one, it could mean two titles in five months for the city.A city that has seen a remarkable psychological transformation through sport, but also a remarkable financial impact that reaches outside the coffers of the local owners. Steve Francis Jersey . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. Charles Barkley Jersey .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. http:///...Paul-Rockets-Jersey/ . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Jalen Coleman-Lands and Maverick Morgan scored 18 points apiece to lead six players in double figures and Illinois beat Division II McKendree 112-65 on Tuesday night.Michael Finke had 17 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, and eight rebounds and Tracy Abrams was 5-of-5 from the field with four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points and six assists. Aaron Jordan scored 11, including three 3s, and Mike Thorne Jr. had 10 points and 10 rebounds.Illinois (3-0) opened the game with a 7-0 run, including five points by Finke, and never trailed.Coleman-Lands hit 3-pointers on three-consecutive possessions to make it 21-10 with 12:28 left in the first half and the Illini led by double figures the resst of the way. Clyde Drexler Rockets Jersey. The Illinois bench outscored McKendrees reserves 59-23 and shot 56 percent from the field, including 16 of 28 (57 percent) from 3-point range.Nate Michael, son of former Illinois basketball player Tom Michael, led the McKendree (1-0) with 25 points. The game served as an exhibition for Bearcats.UP NEXTIllinois hosts Detroit on Friday night as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament.McKendree returns to regular-season games Saturday when the Bearcats host Crowleys Ridge on Saturday night.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '