CLEVELAND -- Len Komoroski's first job in sports was a little more than three decades ago, as a writer for a small, weekly tabloid newspaper that covered high school sports in the North Hills and was available free at super markets. Komoroski had his own column titled "But Seriously, Folks."

These days he is president of a highly successful professional team that regularly sells out games, gets high ratings on television and has one of the biggest sports stars in the world. Seriously folks, the guy who grew up in Pittsburgh has come a long way.

Now, the question is can Komoroski and his team go the distance -- to an NBA championship.

Komoroski is the president of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a job he has held since the spring of 2003. There is one thing this franchise is pointing toward -- an NBA title.

The Cavaliers lost in the 2007 NBA Finals to San Antonio and were defeated in the Eastern Conference Finals last year by Orlando. Megastar LeBron James' contract with the Cavaliers is up at the end of this season.

"I think to the core, everyone within this franchise is driven by one thing, and that's to bring a championship to Cleveland. That's the focus of everyone here," Komoroski said. "Everyone recognizes that everything we do on a day-to-day basis supports that. We've been without a championship of any kind in Cleveland since 1964, and we get reminded of that all the time. And it's time."

The Cavaliers will play a preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks tomorrow night at Pitt's Petersen Events Center. This is the second year in a row LeBron James and the Cavaliers will play there. But this team is much different than last year -- because of one person. Shaquille O'Neal. The Cavaliers traded for O'Neal in the offseason.

"It's a bit surreal to hear it said 'Shaquille O'Neal of the Cleveland Cavaliers,' " Komoroski said with a laugh.

Kind of like hearing "Len Komoroski, president of the Cleveland Cavaliers." It's not that Komoroski hasn't done a fine job with the Cavaliers. The team is among the NBA's best in attendance and merchandise sales.

It's just that Komoroski grew up in a city without an NBA team, and he didn't have much of a basketball background. He didn't play at North Catholic High School and never had been to an NBA game when he took a sales job with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves in the late 1980s.

"But I just had a passion for sports in general," Komoroski said.

Komoroski graduated from North Catholic in 1978 and from Duquesne University in 1982.

In 1982, he started working in the front office of the Pittsburgh Spirit of the Major Indoor Soccer League. The team played its games at the Civic Arena.

"That was probably the first league to have recognition for entertainment value," Komoroski said. "We turned the lights out at introductions, used pyrotechnics, spotlights."

He went on to work for the Penguins, the MISL's Minnesota Strikers and the Timberwolves. He was the chief operating officer of the International Hockey League's Cleveland Lumberjacks before moving on to become senior vice president and chief of business operations of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.

He came to the Cavaliers three months before the team won the rights to draft LeBron James in 2003. As James resurrected a foundering franchise, Komoroski had his hand in off-the-court success. The Cavaliers have been in the top five in NBA attendance four years in a row and regularly sell out games. They are fourth in merchandise sales behind only the Lakers, Celtics and Knicks.

"All of the leagues have their nuances, but I think there are more similarities with the leagues than differences," Komoroski said.

Through his job experiences, Komoroski has paid close attention to sports and happenings in Pittsburgh. His wife, Denise, is from Mt. Lebanon. The Komoroskis, who have three daughters and a son, have a number of family members in the Pittsburgh area.

In fact, the Cavaliers try to market the team in the Pittsburgh area. That is why they're playing here tomorrow. Komoroski said 10,000 group tickets sales come annually from the Pittsburgh area. Nine percent of individual ticket sales annually come from the Western Pennsylvania.

"There are a lot of NBA fans in Pittsburgh, even though people may not realize it," Komoroski said. "Interest in Pittsburgh is alive and well. Our two strategic out markets are Pittsburgh and Columbus [Ohio]."

While an NBA title would certainly help keep interest high in the Cavaliers, so would the signing of James after the season. Will LeBron stay or go after the season? It is one of the most-talked about subjects in Cleveland these days.

What will the president's role be in the situation?

"[General Manager] Danny Ferry leads the basketball organization and does a phenomenal job," Komoroski said. "He's my partner in that regard. I would say this, relative to LeBron. Our objectives are the same that he has and that's win championships. All we can do is focus on everything that points us in that direction."

Seriously, folks.

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