Indian Fever is sweeping northeast Ohio ... and it hasn't been fun to watch Indians baseball in quite some time. Jarad Regano agrees with that stance, and in his latest piece, makes the claim that baseball is inherently superior to all other sports.  And lays out several reasons why he feels that is the case.

As I sat in front of my television for the second straight week watching a bizarre ending to an Oakland Raider game, a recurring thought entered my head. “You’d never see that in baseball.” Coach Lane Kiffin stood eager next to a referee. A week’s worth of preparation had been dummied down to trying to call timeout milliseconds before the Browns were to snap the ball for a game winning field goal.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Every Sunday from September through January, I will be stapled to my couch watching football all day. And I will always be in more fantasy leagues than is healthy for me. But, when it comes down to it, baseball is just a better game than football, or anything else for that matter. The reasons are a plenty, and here is what made my cut as the seven best:

#7- THE ATMOSPHERE

As compared to walking into an NBA of NFL venue, every ballpark is one of a kind. At a baseball game, there is a good chance you will be enjoying the action on a nice day with a cold beer and hotdog, as opposed to a stuffy arena or freezing stadium. The crack of the bat is unmistakable. And you may even catch a souvenir.

#6-IT IS WHAT IT IS

The human element of baseball certainly has its drawbacks. I find it refreshing though, that umpires in baseball are not peeping into review booths to challenge balls and strikes. The game has a more natural flow, and the call on the field standing is an advantage for baseball in my opinion. I do not think the Derek Jeter play against the A’s in the playoffs would have had the same drama had the umpires checked to see if Jeremy Giambi got a foot down on home plate before the tag was applied.

#5-ONE OPPONENT

A baseball game is not going to end until a team fails for the 27^th time (excluding extra innings of course, but you get my drift). Unlike just about every other sport, there is not a clock ticking down in which the losing team has to compete with. You get your chances. And you can try to comeback all night long. Just don’t make that 27^th out.

#4-THAT BALL IS GONE!!! BUT IT’S COMING BACK

I cannot remember the last time I saw a game changing homerun, and held back my emotion to see if there was a holding call on the play. On the contrary, I don’t think I have ever truly went all out after a kickoff return after a touchdown. After all, there is about a 50/50 chance it isn’t going to count anyways.

#3-FROM TOP TO BOTTOM

A baseball organization is an incredibly exciting thing to follow. Unlike any other sport, the Indians currently own the rights to dozens of players who may be everyday starters and even all-stars at the big league level. And most of us couldn’t pick them out of a police lineup today. Where the NFL offers up the “practice squad” and the NBA the “developmental league,” baseball has a system that impacts the franchise the most.

The 2007 Indians are a prime example. Aaron Laffey. Rafael Perez. Astrubal Cabrera. Franklin Gutierrez. Jensen Lewis. Many people would not have thought any of the five would have played in the majors this year if asked just this spring. The reality now, though, is that all five have had a huge part in winning the division. That is a far cry from the Browns bringing back Ken Dorsey.

#2-THE DAILY DOSE

The game of baseball is the best microcosm of life in general that the sports world has to offer. Ups and downs and highs and lows change each and every day. After a big win, you can be humbled less than 24-hour later. After a heartbreaking loss, all can be well with a victory the next night. Like all of us in our jobs, baseball players are accountable each and every day. Unlike football, where for a week people talk about whether to open with a run or a pass on the first play of the game, baseball is a daily grind.

#1-NO KICKING

Imagine sitting back, watching C.C. Sabathia and Johan Santana pitch masterpieces for nine innings at the Jake. Then, to settle the score, the Indians bring out Tiger Woods to try to land a golf ball on the mound with his pitching wedge. That is about the equivalent to place kicking in the NFL. The value of kicking in football carries so much weight on a game and a season it is almost comical. For 60 minutes, guys beat the living daylights out of each other. And to decide the winner, a 130-pound soccer player tries to kick a ball between two poles. Am I missing something?