Over the last couple of months, I’ve seen commercials on ESPN for what they’re calling &uot;Titletown, USA.&uot;

Apparently, the Worldwide Leader in Sports is taking essays making suggestions for the championship capital of the nation.

One of the candidates is Parkersburg, West Virginia, which has accumulated 20 state wrestling titles, 21 state tennis titles, 11 state football titles, 11 state volleyball titles, 11 state golf titles, and 14 state basketball titles.

Now, I’ve never heard of Parkersburg, W.V., but that’s pretty impressive no matter who you are.

I wouldn’t put it past ESPN to pick Nowheresville, USA as title town because the local badminton team has won the last 47 consecutive state titles, but I’m going to keep this on the professional and college level.

Sure, high school athletics are tough, but we’re talking about the top of the game.

One of the first cities that came to mind is Green Bay, but after a little thought, that doesn’t quite hold up.

Sure, the Packers have won quite a few Super Bowls, but only one in the last 20 years.

Other than professional football, what other titles does Green Bay have?

So Green Bay is out.

As much as it pains me to say it, we can consider Tuscaloosa.

Twelve national championships will get you noticed.

However, once again, what else do we have besides football?

Not much, so we’ll keep looking, especially once we start thinking about other candidates.

How about Chicago?

Chicago is home to the Cubs, the Bulls, the White Sox, the Bears, the Blackhawks and a number of colleges.

Hmmm…

the Cubs haven’t won a championship in 100 years, the Bulls had six in eight years under Jordan, the White Sox had one a few years back, the Bears were a dynasty in the early years of the NFL, and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure if the Blackhawks have ever won an NHL championship.

We’ve got a more solid contender, but I think we can do better.

New York?

Ahhh… getting warmer.

The Yankees are one of the preeminent organizations in all of sports.

The Giants won the Super Bowl, as have the Jets.

The Knicks also have a long and storied past.

But if you want to talk about the hottest city in sports right now, it’s got to be Boston, hands down.

No other city has been as dominant in all three major sports over the last decade.

The Red Sox have won two world championships in the last five years.

The Patriots have been nearly unbeatable on the football field.

And now we have the Celtics claiming their 17th title.

Looking beyond the last decade is where things get interesting.

Sure, you’ve got the Celtics, but not so much of the Patriots and the Sox were in a slump until 2004.

Here’s where my dark horse enters the picture.

At first I left Los Angeles out of the running because of the lack of a football team, but that was unfair.

Think about UCLA – the University of California Los Angeles – and the sheer number of championships that school has.

I believe they have at least 100 once you add all the sports together.

Then there’s USC, who has been pretty dominant on the football field over the last few years.

You’ve got the Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Mighty Ducks, not to mention the team with the second most championships in the NBA, the Lakers.

If I had to pick, it’d be down to Boston or Los Angeles for Titletown.

Boston is definitely hotter right now, but LA has a long tradition of winning.

I’m glad I don’t have to pick.