Don't mean to be the snooty neighbor to the north, but what in the Dickens is going on down south, south of the Michigan-Ohio border that is?

Ohio's news has been weird, disturbing and exceptionally negative lately.

First, there's the exotic animal escape, which is wrong in so many levels. 1. Having so many exotic and dangerous animals. 2. Committing suicide. 3. After having RELEASED the animals. 4. Shooting and killing so many wonders of nature.

Now, I'm not critical of the shooting and killing. It had to be done. But what was that nut thinking? Did he intend to free the animals to live free? Did he intend to have them nearly all killed? Did he intend to kill or terrify his neighbors? So destructive and wasteful. And now the wife wants the couple that survived???? What are they drinking in that state?

Second, there's the nearly naked lady drunk and running from the police. Real classy, Ohio. Our strippers can walk a straight line (generally) and know to wear a coat when driving.

Third, there's the sexed up teacher, convicted of having sex with multiple male students. We in Oakland County have seen this story plenty of times, about a half dozen just in the past year or so. Men, women. Drama teachers, coaches, regular teachers. We know that this happens. But our teachers don't plead insanity; they just cry before they're sent to prison. And this lady in Ohio got just four years for something like five boys, victims really, while some our's get the same for contact with one victim.

Fourth, the deer getting rowdy at a bar. Enough said. We shoot our deer; we don't over-serve them.

Fifth, Joe the Plumber. Psst. His name's not Joe; how you gonna know how to vote for him?

Sixth, Jim Tressel and the fact that people in Ohio don't see what was wrong. Hey, we've got Kwame Kilpatrick and now Wayne County government, but the residents love watching the corruption busts and prison sentences. We are never stunned to learn of corruption and we enjoy the perp walks. We don't cry about losing a corrupt leader and lament his departure.

You can't blame all of this on LeBron James leaving.