I cannot believe that I was actually wondering what to write about this week. As a Devil's Hole "b'y", I can't imagine discussing anything this week other than the final round of the Eastern Counties Cup Competition. Hopefully, this is the year that Cleveland County dethrones St. David's.

More on this after the Top 20.

Holding at number one is Heaven Sent by Keyshia Cole.

Improving to number two it's A Milli by L'il Wayne and up to number three is Trey Songz' new hit entitled Last Time.

Falling to number four is Chris Brown's new single, Take You Down.

Dropping into the number five spot is I Luv Your Girl by The-Dream.

Improving to number six is Love Is Wicked (Soca Remix) by Brick and Lace featuring Kess.

Advancing to number seven is another soca anthem, Defence (the anthem) by Machel Montano featuring Lil Jon and Pitbull.

Slipping to number eight is a former essential new tune, Alicia Keys' Teenage Love Affair.

Falling to number nine is Bust It Baby Part 2 by Plies featuring Ne-Yo.

I received an email earlier this week wherein it is alleged that Ne-Yo has come out of the closet and admitted to being gay. I have a controversial comment on this. Nobody should be denied salvation from God and nobody should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. Just as we have fought against prejudice, racism, religious persecution, discrimination in any form or for any reason, human rights for all must prevail. Hopefully his musical career will not suffer from this public relations nightmare.

Up to number ten is Take A Bow, a sad love story by one of the hottest pop divas around, Rihanna.

Climbing to number 11 is Put On by Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West.

Up a touch to number 12 is Fall by Kimberley Locke.

Soaring to number 13 is When I Grow Up by the Pussycat Dolls, one of the hottest groups around.

Falling to number 14 is a former essential new banger, No Air, the new hit by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown. I'm not exactly in love with any of the versions of this track, but for some reasons others like it.

Now some new hits. Up to number 15 is Give It To Me by Madonna. This track is hot and a monster dance track. There are some cool house remixes of this one. If you can't get to a club, like Level or Café Cairo, the two hottest night spots on the rock, check out Cable TV's Channel 716 for the hottest dance tracks. I play it in the gym and it keeps you going.

Last week's essential new dance track Spotlight by American Idol diva Jennifer Hudson advances to number 16.

Up to number 17 is Road Jam, a soca kicker by recent visitor Shurwayne Winchester.

Now this week's essential new jam. New at number 18 is Jazmine Sullivan with her new hit entitled Need You Bad.

In at number 19 is Disturbia by hot girl Rihanna. This dance track currently sits atop international dance charts and has a smooth beat and catchy lyrics.

New at number 20 is The Business by Yung Berg featuring Casha, a current hip hop fave.

Now back to this week's words - Cleveland winning the Eastern County Cup Competition for the first time in nearly 30 years.

I played for Cleveland for 20 years and never won this competition. St. David's and Bailey's Bay have ruled this tournament for years with St. David's being the strongest team in recent times. Good for them.

You see, people from Harris' Bay are gracious in victory and in defeat, which is our character. For those who don't know, Harris' Bay is the area from approximately Spittal Pond east to Paynter's Road, on the South Side of the Harrington Sound. Its also the name I gave my Fantasy NFL Football Team, the Harris' Bay Heat! I think that sounds rather cool but I digress.

You know you are without question an old fogey when they invite you to play in the Old Boys Cricket Match. I will be playing for Harris' Bay in the annual classic against Somerset next week. I'll let you know how that goes.

Some of my brethren from the Hole (Devil's Hole) are tired of going to county games with expectations of victory and leaving disappointed because we couldn't pull it off and bring home the Cup. Surely the cricket Gods must be ready to smile on Cleveland, but the players must work hard as well. Some wise St. David's fans are not taking us for granted, which is always an intelligent way to approach an opponent. Others, one of my in-laws for instance, think that St. David's will thrash us. We will see. I do, however, hope for a good game but obviously I'm hoping and praying that Cleveland will win.

Interestingly, earlier this week I bumped into Lionel Cann, Skipper of St. David's and St. Georges. He feared that this might be a bad omen for St. David's. I'm hoping that it is. I told Lionel that I was very proud of him for how he had grown and matured, his match saving innings at Cup Match and the article he writes in the Bermuda Sun, amoung other things. It is great to watch people mature, but I still want my team to beat his team on Saturday.

But, back to our team, Cleveland County.

This year I am expecting big things from Cleveland. Curtis Jackson is due for a big score. Jason Simons is easily one of the best batsmen on the island when he is on. He, too, is expected to produce runs along with Carlton Smith who has been consistent but must have a big day with the bat if we are to prevail. Aaron Adams has for two decades been one of our best players and if he plays, I would love to see him make a big score in addition to other useful contributions.

My good buddy Grant Smith always used to say that for a team to be successful, somebody has to make a century or a very big score, especially if you bat first, but also if you bat second. We have to guard against the kind of collapse that Flatts endured two weeks ago in the first instance for the team's own confidence and in the second instance for the fans, who need to see a good, competitive match.

In the bowling department, we have to bowl St. David's out and to do this we must bowl and field exceptionally well. St. David's have one of the strongest and most confident batting lineups in the island, but like they say in the NFL, on any given Sunday, any team can beat any other team.

The Eastern Counties organisers deserve a tremendous amount of credit for taking the game to another level. It's good to see Digicel's sponsorship, adverts and logos as this is good for the game and the competition.

Good luck to the umpires. May they be fair and make all the right calls. I've been an umpire and the players and fans have no clue how difficult it can be. Give them a break, they are human too and sometimes make mistakes just like the rest of us.

Hopefully the weather is cooperative as it should be a good day and a good game.

So, to Cleveland, my team, play hard, do your best, leave everything on the field and let's have a party at the Club on Saturday night, with an Eastern Counties Cup from which we can all drink!

Peace ¿