Shakes The Snow Globe

Proportional Response

2010-07-08T23:52:00.000-04:00

This morning on Facebook I wrote that, "if Lebron seriously uses an hour long TV special to announce a departure from Cleveland - and names it The Decision thus actually orchestrating and naming the worst moment in Cavs history since The Shot - then he makes a strong case for deserving every 'boo' he is going to get next year."

Well, the boos have started as have the shouts, the disparaging comments and the burning of #23 jerseys. And like I said, every bit of it is deserved.

Some national media types (and non-basketball fans) have said that Cleveland fans are over-reacting and that, "it's just basketball" but those people don't get it. It's not about basketball. It stopped being about basketball when Lebron James signed his contract extension with every intention of opting out, openly courted every other country in the city, and refused to state for the record that he planned to stay in Cleveland. It became less about basketball with every press conference where he said he, "wanted to keep his options open". It ceased being about basketball entirely on July 1 when he entertained 5 other teams, spoke to no one and scheduled the ridiculous hour long TV special to announce his free agent destination.

You see, for the entire length of James' extension nobody in the national media and no other basketball fans truly believed he would return to Cleveland. They couldn't wrap their mind around the idea that he would voluntarily subject himself to such a nowhere city with nothing to offer. He was predestined to go because such a town wasn't worth so bright a star. So went the narrative. For 36 months. After that length of time James' decision was less about the game he played and more about the perception that sprang from his choice.

Cavaliers fans looked forward to this day because we had the inside knowledge that Cleveland is a great sports city with more to offer than anyone gave it credit for and Lebron James, the home-town hero who had risen to become one of the best two players in the game, was going to be our validation. The day he looked at the other teams' offers and chose home would be a signal that the nation was wrong and needed to look closer, past the shallow national media stories of a dying city and 40 year-old reports about a burning river. After losing Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome and C.C. Sabathia and Victor Martinez and Cliff Lee, James was the one who was going to stay.

For James to simply leave is not offensive. It's slightly annoying considering his own actions somewhat tied the hands of management, but there was legitimately more talent on other rosters - like Chicago.

For James to have made a decision, strung along a city and an organization the way he has repeating they are the favorites and to end it with a masturbatory, self-aggrandizing TV announcement is unforgivable. It's a slap in the face to the city to call himself humble and yet extol his own virtues. To say that the Cavs gave him less of a chance at winning while holding the team hostage for three years without committing, sabotaging any attempts at signing significant free agents. To basically confirm to everyone on the outside looking in on the biggest stage in the history of sport free agency that Cleveland really isn't worth playing in, even for $30 million.

This backlash is not about basketball. It's about respect. The city of Cleveland gave it to Lebron James in droves. And while he will list off the myriad ways he repaid that respect, his actions today - and over the last two weeks - have reduced all of his work to naught. They not only cost the city of Cleveland the triumphant vindication he constantly promised was coming but they also bought the city lower than it was before he was drafted.

On one cathartic note, Dan Gilbert is awesome.

In Defense of Good Defense

2010-04-25T09:36:00.000-04:00

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a position with today's game to set the tone for their entire 2010 playoff run. The Cavs made a habit this year of coasting through three quarters, only ratcheting up the skill level and intensity in the fourth to take the win. This team ended the season on a four game losing streak after sitting most of the starters and not using any sort of game plan with the bench players. This team, much of the time, has not had its head in the game to say the least. It has trusted that its superior talent would carry it far enough that anything resembling maxiumum effort was unnecessary. This was largely true in the regular season.

But not in the playoffs.

Joel Bringham at HoopsWorld calls this a "character game" for the Cavs. It's a game that will show the league and the fans how serious this championship run is. It's a chance for this Cavs team to flex its muscles and prove how outclassed the Bulls really are in the series. Four of five Cavs starters have been All-Stars and a fifth comes off the bench. Two are going to be in the Hall of Fame. Last year's Coach of the Year is manning the bench.

The Bulls are riding a second- and third-year player and a second year coach that recently got into a physical altercation with the GM.

The Cavs are one of the deepest teams in the league, unable to find playoff minutes for someone that started 70 games in the regular season, and one of the league's best 3-point shooters.

The Bulls rely on a rookie and two journeymen past the starting five.

So what's the problem?

Henry Abbott at ESPN.com recently wrote, The playoffs are different. The fouls are harder, the preparation is more intense, the defensive schemes are more focused, and the easy shots are memories.

Apparently nobody sent this to the Cavs.

Following a Game 1 that showed crisp defense and punishing offense the Cavs let their foot off the gas pedal and let the Bulls back into the series. Game 2, a Cavs victory, was closer than it should have been because the Cavaliers lacked a sense of urgency. Defensive rotations were slow, Mo Williams was for some reason guarding Derrick Rose and the Cavs players were shying away from contact. Cleveland was able to simply outscore Chicago down the stretch to secure the victory.

After absorbing a tough shot from the Bulls and still claiming the win the Cavs came out flat in Game 3, quickly going down by double digits. The team got back into the bad habits built during the season of only turning it on in the fourth and expecting a win. Williams was still mystifyingly guarding Rose, who wrote his name all over the paint. Cavalier interior defenders did their best matador impressions by letting him to the cup if they weren't in place to draw the charge, consistently allowing easy baskets. Worse still, they let Kirk Heinrich get hot, pouring in 27 points.

The Cavs miraculously only lost this game by 2 because they picked up their scoring, but make no mistake: Cleveland lost this game on its horrendous defense.

This team needs to remember that this is the NBA and this is the playoffs. Anything less than 100% is unacceptable because the competition here includes the greatest players in the world and the stakes are an NBA Championship. These players need to body up on defense and give hard fouls in the paint. They need to play like every team is the Orlando Magic because if they don't, by the time they do face the Magic they might find that it's too late to turn that switch.

Worse still they might find themselves, once again, watching the Finals from home.

An Idea for the NFL's Schedulers to Adopt Immediately

2010-04-20T19:07:00.000-04:00

The NFL recently announced that season schedules will be back-loaded with division games and that every single game in the final week will be against a division opponent. The Browns, for instance, will be facing off against the hated Steelers in Pittsburgh. This decision is an attempt to make late-season games more meaningful and to try and dissuade teams from resting players and giving games away in preparation for the playoffs.

While this is a solid move, I'll do commissioner Goodell one better.

The example of this year's Browns/Steelers matchup in Pittsburgh is probably the best outcome Goodell could have hoped for with this new system. The rivalry between these two teams is so intense that even if there were zero playoff implications for either, both teams would probably play with their usual intensity. Fan bases of either city would demand it, and would likely boo their own team if they didn't receive it.

Take this one step further, though. What if, at the end of the season, the Browns visited Pittsburgh in week 16 and then in week 17 the Steelers came to Cleveland. A home-and-home of epic proportions featuring one of the most intense rivalries in football.

I will now let you collect your thoughts since your mind has naturally been blown.

Think of the intensity after week 15 as two teams and two cities gear up for football Armageddon against their most hated foe. Then think of what kind of playoff implications would be involved in two straight division games between division rivals. And then think, because of those two factors, how much these teams and these fanbases would want those victories.

I'm not saying Cleveland should end the season this way every year (though I wouldn't be opposed to it) but I do think it would be incredibly compelling if the NFL went out of its way every year to feature one rivalry like this with its final two weeks.

Good sportswriters make the big bucks spinning compelling storylines for every game. The drama in these match-ups would be built in and the suspense will have built up for an entire season. Ratings would go through the roof, lines would be drawn, allegiances would be tested, and some serious, hard-nosed, grind-it-out football would be played.

Make this happen, commissioner Goodell. The sport, the league, and every fan that hates another team more than the guy that ran over their dog will all love you for it.

NBA Round 1 Predictions: Eastern Conference

2010-04-17T13:28:00.000-04:00

With the NBA regular season finally over, sixteen teams are in the playoffs but only a handful of them are expected to truly make some noise and challenge for the NBA title. The West provides a few surprises, but the East looks fairly predictable. Here are my predictions for the East's Round One which kicks off today:

Cleveland vs. Chicago: The Cavs spent the end of the regular season rehabbing injuries, resting key players, and crawling to the finish line without any sense of urgency having won home court advantage throughout the playoffs weeks earlier. The Bulls, on the other hand, have clawed, scraped, and hustled their way from the outside to nab the final playoff spot over a stumbling Toronto Raptors team. With Shaq returning from his thumb injury and Lebron coming back well rested for the playoff grind, can the Cavaliers shake off their end-of-season rust to outplay a young, upstart Bulls team riding a wave of good basketball over the last month? In a word: yes. Gilbert and Ferry have set up this Cavaliers team to be a malleable collection of players, able to stand tall against muscle teams like Orlando and Los Angeles or to run with high energy teams like the Suns or this Bulls team. While Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah will showcase the talent that will give Chicago a glimpse into their bright future, even possibly stealing a game from the scoreboard-watching Cavaliers, the deeper, experienced, and ultimately more talented Cleveland team will put them away while waiting for the bigger fish to fry.

Prediction: Cleveland in 4

Orlando vs. Charlotte: The defending Eastern Conference champions ensured that a possible rematch with the Lakers would begin on their home court, winning the last six games on their schedule by an average of 16.2 points- not surprising for a team that led the league with a +7.5 point differential. The team boasts a formidable perimeter attack with the offensive firepower of Nelson, Carter, and Lewis, but the team lives and dies with the league's premiere center, self-proclaimed "Superman" Dwight Howard. However, the Magic find themselves matched up in Round One with the a tough seventh seed opponent in the Charlotte Bobcats. The league's toughest defense has allowed just 93.8 points per game, coming together under Larry Brown's guidance and rallying around an early season pickup of volatile swingman Stephen Jackson. With match-up monster Gerald Wallace throwing his body around the court and role players Diaw, Bell, and Thomas providing solid depth, can the surprising Bobcats pull an upset for new owner Michael Jordan and escape the Magic Kingdom into the second round? Not quite. Charlotte doesn't have an answer for Howard, so Orlando will look to exploit their advantage inside by feeding the big man in the middle. And with the Bobcats' strength of paint penetration neutralized by the soon-to-be repeating Defensive Player of the Year, Charlotte will need to rely on their spotty mid- and long-range game, which will be difficult in and of itself with Orlando's plethora of lengthy perimeter defenders. The result should be a surprisingly easy series win for Stan Van Gundy's squad.

Prediction: Orlando in 5

Atlanta vs. Milwaukee: It's amazing what a sixth man can do. After the Hawks fell apart in last year's playoff series against the Cavs, GM Rick Sund resigned his key free agents (Bibby, Pachulia, Williams) and traded for sharpshooter Jamal Crawford to make Atlanta one of the most feared teams in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks rode a post-All-Star game surge after trading for John Salmons to rise up to the fifth seed before dropping down to #6 after the season-ending injury to Andrew Bogut slowed down their momentum. Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings has provided stability at the point, but aside from a few role players playing above their heads, it's hard to imagine Milwaukee posing a big threat to the talented Hawks lineup that features Bibby, Johnson, Smith, and Horford without their big Aussie in the middle. Look for a quick end to what could have been a tougher series for Atlanta had they played a healthier Bucks team.

Prediction: Atlanta in 4

Boston vs. Miami. With the championship window getting smaller each year, the Celtics Big Three of Garnett, Pierce, and Allen welcomed rising star Rajon Rondo to take charge. When all of their pieces are in play, Boston becomes a very dangerous team, but that has been a rare feat for them throughout the regular season. Miami makes for an interesting match-up: Wade can take over a game at any moment, while Beasley and O'Neal provide some size and scoring ability inside. While this may prove to be the East's longest series with Wade's talent alone stealing a couple of games, Boston's depth, size, and experience will be too much for the Heat.

Prediction: Boston in 6

To Sit or Not To Sit?

2010-04-14T16:20:00.001-04:00

Thanks to a Lakers loss in early April the Cleveland Cavaliers have been assured of the number one seed throughout the playoffs for the last two weeks. Since this left the Cavs with essentially "nothing to play for" the team has been steadily ratcheting down the effort level including holding out Lebron James from the last three games and not playing Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams in the fourth quarter of very winnable game against the Orlando Magic last Sunday.

With Shaq cleared to play earlier this week - after sitting out six weeks rehabbing a surgically repaired thumb - the Associated Press is now that neither he nor James will play in tonight's regular season finale vs the Atlanta Hawks. With Chris Bosh missing the last two weeks with a nasal fracture and Brandon Roy likely needing surgery to repair his knee it's reasonable that Mike Brown is gun shy of playing his stars this close to the post-season. At some point, though, it there such a thing as being too careful?

In a word: yes.

Resting stars before the playoffs is important. Resting players with nagging injuries before the playoffs is important. But basketball is a game of chemistry, timing and rhythm and playing time is essential to maintain these elements at a high level.

George Gervin recently said that he always wanted to play at the end of the season to get his timing down and to make sure he stayed sharp. Players coming back from injury frequently note how it's impossible to stay in game shape when not playing and that no amount of practice can simulate a live game.

Knowing all this, how can we justify not playing Lebron for four games? Or for not getting Shaq at least ten minutes tonight so he's not getting his wind back playing against a team 15 years younger than him? At some point - I'd say that point is right about now - overcautious fear of a freak accident will result in the team not being as prepared as it should be heading into the first round.

Do I think the Bulls will take this series from the Cavs? No. They don't have the talent yet. But I think they can push the Cavs further than they want to be pushed so early, especially in the first game with the Bulls having essentially played playoff basketball for the last two weeks just to secure the 8 seed.

The decision whether or not to rest the starters would not have had disastrous or dramatic consequences to the Cavs' playoff run either way, but I would have liked to see the Cavs enter the post-season being fully prepared and ready to hit the ground running. The tide of a basketball game can turn on one possession one score or one stop. Browns decision here shows that when the pressure increases he may not have the courage to make the daring calls to make that one possession swing in Cleveland's favor.

That makes me more nervous than any risk of injury or rust ever could.

Playoffs? Don't Talk About Playoffs! Are You Kidding Me? Playoffs?!??

2010-04-01T20:40:00.000-04:00

As there are still two weeks left in the regular season (and seeding for all but the top two spots in the East are very much still in flux) it might be premature to start talking playoffs. However it's a fact that the Cavs have locked up a playoff berth, have clinched the Central Division and have reduced the magic numbers for clinching the top spot the East and in the whole league to the low single digits.

The Cavs are playoff-bound and are likely to head into the post-season with the top seed in the East so it's useful (and fun!) to think about some issues and decisions the team will face beyond April 17th, regardless of what teams they play.

You're riding the pine pony, pal

Benches are always shorter in the playoffs, even for the deepest team in the league. Mike Brown will have a lot of decisions to make when dividing minutes in the post-season.

I'm guessing Brown sticks with a starting line-up of Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Lebron James, Antawn Jamison and J.J. Hickson in the first round (with Shaq still out for injury). Though both Andy and Z have playoff (even Finals) experience Brown rightfully prefers Andy's energy off the bench and the Cavs benefit when Z and Andy play together. Their styles mesh well and the pair have spent Andy's entire career building on-court chemistry. Once Shaq fully comes back - easing in limited minutes in the first round, hopefully returning to start in the second round - I expect J.J.'s minutes to disappear.

Conventional wisdom says that a playoff rotation consists of eight players playing heavy, consistent minutes. That's three players in addition to starters. Looking at the line-up this way the spare minutes would go to Delonte West, Anderson Varejao and Big Z. West provides absolutely necessary ball-handling, a good outside shot and excellent on-ball defense. Not to mention he was the only person not named Lebron James who fearlessly challenged the Magic on offense every game in last year's playoff exit. Wild Thing is a no-brainer with the team's second highest +/- providing energy, "intagibles," and the best pick and roll defense of any Cavalier big man. Z provides veteran experience, much-needed size and an outside shot that lets the Cavs provide a very different look on offense and bring opposing defenders out of the paint.

I see your Schwartz is as big as mine

I don't expect Brown to give in to conventional wisdom, though. One of the Cavs' biggest advantages is the ability to shift from small to medium to big line-ups at will to counter strengths of opposing teams and exploit weaknesses. While there's no way we're going to see a 12-man team I think it's reasonable to expect a 9-man rotation with different players filling the role of that 9th man. Jamario Moon's ability to challenge the Magic with length on defense is a major reason why he was picked up in the first place. If Mo Williams wilts again in the post-season Daniel Gibson can be counted on to step up to the 3-point line with ice-water in his veins.

Danny Green, Jawad Williams, Leon Powe, Sebastian Telfair (obviously), and J.J. Hickson (once Shaq returns) will likely not see action except in the case of foul trouble with Green, Williams (or Powe) and Telfair watching most games from behind the bench in suits.

I find the one guy who's not getting off, and I make him get off

The biggest advantage the Cavs will have, obviously, is Lebron James. In addition to his amazing ability to just take over games is his penchant for going out of his way to get his teammates going early on in games. It's not unheard of for Lebron to score in the single digits through the first quarter - or the first half - and yet rack up assists in order to get teammates into rhythm. This allows the Cavs to break apart opposing defenses, and it allows the Cavs' shooter to build confidence for the moments when the Cavs need big shots late in games and Lebron is facing double or triple teams.

In the end we won't know for sure how the Cavs react to playoff pressures until the playoffs are upon us. What we do know is that the Cavs are better positioned to win a title this year than they have been ever before. The only team really positioned to challenge the team in the East is the Magic and the Orlando squad, in an effort to match up better with the Lakers, have given up most of the match up advantages against the Cavs, and the Lakers' bench has been inconsistent at best all season.

Lebron James has the best supporting cast he's ever had in his career so, in the words of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, "Let's just win this damn thing."

Honeymoon Period Begins for Jamison and the Cavaliers

2010-02-27T11:07:00.005-05:00

When Shaq rolled into town, the Cavs played a rough 3-3 stretch at the start of the year getting used to the Big Witness in the middle. Six games after the trade deadline swap that brought Antawn Jamison into town, Cleveland has gone 3-3 again, culminating in a hard-fought 126-118 overtime victory in Toronto on Friday night.

It's beginning to look like "6" is the magic number, and the Cavaliers are about to enter the honeymoon period.

After that initial .500 start, Cleveland settled into having the Big Shaquisition inside and began to look more comfortable around their inside enforcer. Now, it looks like the awkward stage is over, and though the team has seen some bumps along the road, the marriage of Cleveland and Shaq seems to be a good fit.

The Cavs/Jamison relationship began in the same manner: a tough loss to Denver following the extended break and the new trade piece missing from the lineup; the disastrous "first date" loss to Charlotte (featuring two airballs and four blocks against on Jamison); and the fourth quarter letdown in Orlando despite his first solid performance. But despite their first three-game losing streak of the season, the Cavaliers and Jamison bounced back against three quality teams to even up their record since AJ joined the team. Even after the Bobcats debacle, Jamison is averaging 15.0 points and 7.0 boards, shooting 44.4% from the field with a +18 total +/- differential. With Shaq's finger injury looking as if it may linger, the Cavs may be looking to Jamison to pick up some of the scoring and leadership roles on the team.

With Cleveland's next three games against some of the Eastern Conference bottom-feeders in New York, New Jersey, and Detroit, it looks as if the Cavs/Jamison honeymoon period can begin to flourish. Mike Brown has the opportunity (and necessity, with Shaq injured and Z entertaining offers in his 30-day sabbatical from the team) to experiment with his lineups and to let Antawn Jamison establish himself on this team. While his numbers in Golden State and Washington may actually be his ceiling due to his advanced age and the "offense first, offense second" tendencies of those teams, a more appropriate expectation may be that of an uptick to his one year with Dallas, a season in which his 14.8PPG, 6.3RPG, and 53.5% FG% was acknowledged with the Sixth Man of the Year Award. While the Charlotte game looks to be an outlier in his data set, and with Jamison scoring at least eighteen points in three of the last four games, a stat line of 16-17 points and 7-8 boards can be expected, with the occasional 22/11 like he contributed on Friday. Cleveland and Antawn Jamison look like the perfect match, and the Cavs have the opportunity to watch the relationship grow over the next few games.

As Shaq Injures Thumb, Cavs Front Court Must be All Hands on Deck

2010-02-26T13:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the Cavs went to Boston, played one half of the worst defense they've played all year and came back in the second to blow the Celtics off of their own court to the tune of a 20-point victory. Lodged in between the Cavs' disparate halves was an injury to one of the Cavs' key players. Towards the end of the second quarter Cavs starting center Shaquille O'Neal was fouled by Boston's "Big Baby" Davis in injured his hand. The Cavs don't yet know the full severity of the injury (Shaq is getting an MRI today, but has already been called out of the Raptors game later tonight) but have said that he has severely sprained his thumb on his dominant (shooting, passing, catching) hand.

While this may have been a boon for the Celtics game, forcing the Cavs into the type of smaller, more athletic line-up that Atlanta has been using to abuse Boston all season, this raises a few concerns. Chief among them is that, due to the Antawn Jamison trade, the Cavs have lost the services of their backup center until at least March 22. If Shaq's injury keeps him out of multiple games the team will be rolling with zero true centers and one PF/C in Andy Varejao. What does this do to the rotations?

Clearly Andy moves to the starting C position with a starting backcourt of Mo Williams and Anthony Parker. Starting PF shouldn't be that much of a question since Antawn Jamison is just a far better player than Hickson, but curiously it is.

With Jamison the Cavs will be able to maintain some semblance of an inside-out game with Andy picking up garbage in the paint, Jamison setting up from 15-20 feet and the guards hanging out in the corners or on the wing (with Lebron filling in pretty much wherever he wants.) In last night's game much was (rightfully) made of Mo's 14-point fourth quarter as he made it rain on the Cs and opened the floodgates to the Cavs' eventual victory. Less was made of Jamison in the late 3rd stringing together 6 points in a row to slice the Celtics' lead and set the stage for the Cavs' comeback. He his an 18-foot jumper, a slashing lay-up and a post-up jump shot showing his ability to create his own shot and score in a variety of ways.

Hickson, meanwhile, showed tremendous energy on both offense and defense putting up some very good numbers in limited action as the Andy/JJ/Lebron/Delonte/Mo line-up proved to be the most devastating of the game.

However -and this is where things get complicated - who backs up Andy? We're probably looking at Leon Powe being our center coming of the bench since he has length, plays very good defense and showed off some nice post moves in the Celtics game last night. Do you then pair his game with Hickson? I can't see many scenarios in which that works out well. While I could see a Jamison/Powe front court performing well I can't imagine that Hickson's barely directed energy and inability to create his own shot mixing well with Powe's limited range. Hell, a Powe/Lebron/Jawad front court probably looks better.

I still lean towards starting (and finishing) with Jamison next to Andy because of his versatility and experience, perhaps playing JJ and Andy together later in the game. Even with my reservations about rotations Jamison is just too good to not start. I suspect Mike Brown will go with this as well, and will just play Lebron a little longer to deal with any issues a Powe/Hickson pairing will create.

After the Rapters tonight (without Chris Bosh) we play the Knicks and the Nets so there will be opportunities to test out pairings against not-great competition but the sooner Z gets here the better. While a lot of teams in the NBA play without true centers these days, the elite teams (specifically Orlando and Los Angeles) will destroy a Cavs team lacking size in the middle.

Lining Up the New-Look Cavaliers

2010-02-19T12:27:00.000-05:00

As you may have read by now, the Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired PF Antawn (pronounced Antwan) Jamison from the Washington Wizards in exchange for a draft pick and the expiring contract of long-tenured C Zydrunas Ilkauskas. This opens the door to a few questions regarding the Cavs rotations in the short term, as well as if/when Z returns to the Cavs 30 days post-buyout.

My immediate issues were on display last night against the Denver Nuggets. While I'm not terribly worried about the loss - aside from Lebron's continuing tendency to force bad 3s late in the game like he's a kid counting down the buzzer in his driveway - I am a bit concerned about Shaq's minutes in the wake of shipping out his primary back-up. This season Shaq is averaging around 20 minutes a game with he and Z (at 15-18 mins/game) basically splitting the minutes one sub-35 year-old center would log. Andy took up the remainder when the Cavs would switch to a small-ball line-up generally featuring James at the 4.

Yesterday Shaq logged 30 minutes on the first night of a back to back as Mike Brown played Andy heavy minutes at the 4 next to Shaq and didn't have anyone else on the roster to give the Big Freeze some rest. This is not acceptable. Regular season wins are nice, but not if they mean wearing down Shaq before the playoffs. Boston and San Antonio are falling apart because they need to rely on their older players for heavy minutes and most of their scoring. We do not want to fall into that same trap.

The addition of Jamison (hopefully for tonight's game against Charlotte) should alleviate the need to play Andy next to Shaq and allow him to primarily back up Witness Protection at the 5. Jamison's numbers have dipped in recent months, however, since he's had to take over much of the scoring load for the Wizards. It'd be nice to ease him into the line-up, and the system, to make sure he's fully fueled and ready for the playoffs. As such I'd be in favor of bringing the former 6th Man of the Year off the bench for the first few games and allowing J.J. to retain his starting position and continue his development.

In these coming Z-less weeks my ideal starting line-up would be:

1- Mo Williams
2- Anthony Parker
3- Lebron James
4- J.J. Hickson
5- Shaquille O'Neal

Mo looked a bit shaky last night, but that's to be expected with his time off. Later in the game as he shook off some rust he still showed the ability to hit the 3. As he works back into game shape the Cavs will once again benefit from his ability to both spot-up and drive; to create his own shot and to work off of Lebron James. He's a player opponents certainly have to game-plan for and he's also a player that can make teams pay dearly for doubling James and/or Shaq.

If we had last year's version of Delonte West he'd be my no-brainer choice as starter but he's still showing quite a bit of tentativeness on the court and his legal troubles are still looming. There's no point in getting used to a player as a starter when he's guaranteed to face suspension some time this season. Anthony Parker has come on as quite a defender with excellent size and drive. He puts in a lot of effort on defense and is able to bother/hold back opposing teams scoring guards with much effectiveness. He's also the 4th leading 3-point shooter in the league, though his +15 +/- rating in last night's game was likely more because of his defense than his scoring.

In first quarters Hickson has proved to be an excellent foil for Lebron and Shaq. While he still exhibits stone hands now and again and again he has a knack for cutting to open space on offense and quite frankly is one of the team's best players when moving without the ball. Andy consistently scoring off of back cuts has clearly rubbed off on J.J. He still has a lot to learn regarding defense and rebounding, and he needs to build confidence in his 10-15 foot jumper but he's very dangerous on offense when the Cavs have so many other consistent weapons that teams have to focus on.

In this scenario I have Andy coming in solely as a center backing up the Shaquisition. Until we have another center on our roster I would be perfectly fine with Andy never playing another minute at power forward. The Cavs now have unbelievable depth at the PF position (Hickson, Jamison, DJax, Jawario) but only one and a half centers.

Jamison would be coming off the bench and I think his game would work really well with Andy. He generally gets the ball between 15 feet and the three point line (much like Z did) and shoots or creates from there while Wild Thing sets up around the rim or cuts to the paint. Jawario at the 3, Gibson at the 2 and West at the 1 makes for a solid, if a bit undersized, second unit.

In the event Z returns I'd have the same starting line-up on the court, but obviously the relief rotations change. Superman and Z could resume splitting 35-40 minutes with Andy picking up the rest. Things get interesting at the PF position in this situation since Jamison and Andy provide very different looks alongside Z, although Brown hinted once the Cavs completed the trade that he'd be open to experimenting with a gigantic line-up featuring Jamison at small forward. Boobie and Brother Red would still be the first two guards off the bench as West really pushes the ball up the court and is a very good passer while Gibson is the second best 3-point shooter in the league.

In the playoffs I wouldn't be surprised to see J.J. completely disappear from the rotation, replaced in the starting line-up with Jamison. A.J. has a lot of playoff experience (mostly centered around losing to the Cavs...) and his ability to create his own shot and score from outside the paint will be critical once teams tighten up their defense in the post-season. Assuming Z is back, Andy will likely take the balance of minutes at the 4 with Jawad maybe getting some minutes in cases of foul trouble since his defense is better than Hickson's.

We'll see soon enough what Powe can give after half a season of rehabbing from microfracture surgery. He has playoff experience as well, plays good D and rebounds well so if he comes back he gives the Cavs even more options. Until we see him on the court, however, there's no telling how he can contribute. Good money has him returning in time to play the Celtics this week.

Let the salivating begin.

Nuggets and Cavs End Cleveland Win Streak at 13

2010-02-19T11:42:00.006-05:00

There's a difference between losing and getting beat, and last night both of these things happened. But the outcome of 118-116 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets wasn't as surprising as the reason it happened. It took a great player making an unbelievable shot over our own superstar to end the Cavaliers winning streak at 13. The Nuggets are a combined 6-1 against the NBA's division leaders, and last night they proved why they are a force in this league. However, the Cavs played their own part in their first loss since January 14.

In an up-and-down game in which Cleveland had climbed from 15 down to lead by 7 near the end of regulation, the loss is particularly painful when considering the decisions of coach Mike Brown throughout the contest. With Cleveland's depth at center taking a hit with Z gone from the team (presumably for only a month), Shaquille O'Neal's primary back-up is Anderson Varejao. However, several times last night Shaq and Andy found themselves on the court together for extended stretches, leaving fans to wonder who would eventually be subbing for two centers. The answer would be... themselves. Andy slid down to the five to give Shaq a breather and vice versa, but this continuous exchange was perplexing, especially when coupled with their periods on the court together.

Even this lineup has its advantages, and it did not bother me as much as the decision to use it against the Denver Nuggets. Jamario Moon was nowhere to be found, which is shocking as his game seems tailored specifically for this match-up. Even more interesting is the absence of Delonte West in favor of Boobie Gibson during crunch time when defensive stops were at a premium. As a result, Nuggets coach George Karl took advantage of the mismatches by employing a more athletic lineup. With the Cavs playing catch-up for most of the contest, physically and on the scoreboard, Denver was met with little resistance in the transition game. And the misuse of the lineup led to a 16-9 Nuggets advantage on the offensive boards and easy second chance points for Kenyon Martin and Chris Anderson, leaving Cavs fans wondering if Z took the team's rebounding fundamentals with him to Washington.

Losing happen. It's always disappointing, especially when a winning streak is on the line, when Lebron James plays historically well (his line of 43 points, 13 boards, 15 assists is in short company), when the team is more than capable of taking care of business in front of the NBA's best fans. The Cavs faced a more athletic team that outraced them to the finish line. The real disappointment is the realization that Mike Brown didn't put the team in the best position to come out on top. It's the difference between losing the game and getting beat.

Spiking the Kool-Aid with Jamison

2010-02-17T23:16:00.004-05:00

Jamison it is- and the price is just right.

The Washington Post broke the news first, and the blogosphere has since been on tilt with the announcement of the three-team trade bringing Antawn Jamison to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the reported deal, Cleveland receives Jamison and Clippers guard Sebastian Telfair; L.A. gets Drew Gooden (for those counting at home, his sixth team in two seasons- with a possible seventh if he is bought out or waived); and Washington receives Clippers forward Al Thornton, Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cavs' 2010 first-round pick, and the draft rights to Slovenian forward Emir Preldzic (Cleveland's second-round pick in 2009).

It's a bittersweet night for Cavs fans as those who were holding out hope for the Lebron-to-Amar'e pick-and-roll will have to settle for the consolation prize. And for Big Z followers everywhere, it's a sad day to see the longest-tenured Cavalier shipped away to his first address not in Northeast Ohio, if only for 30 days (wink, wink). The Nike Lebron/Z puppet handshake ad may need to be benched for a month. And the chemistry that forged the NBA's best record (43-11) and longest current winning streak (13) will be tested without Z and while integrating the talented Jamison (and to a lesser extent, the rehabbed Leon Powe) into the rotation.

That being said... wow.

This marks the fourth major trade in two years for Cavs general manager Danny Ferry, bringing in the likes of Delonte West, Mo Williams, Shaquille O'Neal, and now Jamison to put together a championship team around Lebron James. Arguably more impressive than the haul he's received is the ability to move the "assets" at his disposal, players like Larry Hughes, Damon Jones, Ben Wallace, and now Ilgauskas. Given the likelihood of Washington buying out Z and hopefully his imminent return (unless Dallas makes a push for his services), Cleveland looks like a winner in this trade all-around. While L.A. receives the extra cap room it craves for this summer's free agency boom, Washington gets an unproven lottery-pick talent in Thornton and the chance (with Z's buyout) for tax relief and revenue-sharing incentives in the post-Gilbert Arenas debacle. In turn, Cleveland gets the multi-dimensional "stretch 4" with the range to spread the court and the ability to create his own shot, especially in the 8-10 minutes of the game Lebron is on the bench. A starting five of Williams, Parker, James, Jamison, and Shaq is even more impressive when you realize how much more fortified the NBA's deepest bench becomes. Most importantly, Danny Ferry used the Amar'e Stoudemire trade talks to create leverage in his discussions with Washington in order to keep J.J. Hickson. While the energetic forward had begun developing under the wings of Shaq and Lebron, he now has the potential for growth and education behind the veteran Jamison. As Terry Pluto puts it, "It’s not just a deal, it’s a basketball Brinks truck of a steal."

With this move, Cleveland tightens its grip on the top spot in the East. While Amar'e represented the superstar Lebron may have envisioned in his dreams for a dynasty, Antawn Jamison may be the right piece the city of Cleveland needs to bring home a championship.

The Maggette Option- Really?

2010-02-17T00:00:00.003-05:00

As the Cavaliers wait patiently on the Suns in the Amar'e Stoudemire sweepstakes, reports of Cleveland's alternative plans began popping up in case STAT doesn't find his way to Northeast Ohio. While the next best scenario has Antawn Jamison donning the wine and gold, one of the more offbeat rumors has Golden State sending SG/SF Corey Maggette to Cleveland for the cap relief provided by Z's expiring contract. With the trade deadline only hours away, is this a serious option the Cavs may consider?

On paper, it's hard to argue against a twenty-point scorer coming to the Cavs. Even more impressive is Maggette's statistical efficiency- starting only 27 of 47 games played, the 6'6" guard/forward fills the box score at 52% from the field in only 31 minutes per game. While his jumper leaves a lot to be desired, Maggette's true value lies in a relentless ability to create his own shot and get to the free throw line, converting 84% of his almost nine free throws per game. On the other side of the ball, it's difficult to assess his value on one of the league's revolving door defenses, but his versatility to play the two, three, and four positions on the Warriors allows for Cleveland the opportunity to experiment with a variety of lineups. A talent like his in a starter/sixth man hybrid role similar to a Jason Terry or Jamal Crawford could be a valuable piece to a title run.

With three years and over $31 million left on his current contract, Maggette to the Cavs represents quite a financial risk, even for Dan Gilbert's bottomless pockets. It's hardly a given that the team even needs a player like him, one whose natural small forward position is obviously taken, regardless of his versatility. Not to mention, giving up frontcourt depth in Z for a backcourt scorer goes against the strength of the team with both the league's best record and a chemistry that may be disrupted by a new face that brings with him 13FGA per game. But if the trade is simply for cap relief, and assuming all other options had been exhausted, the Cavs may seriously consider a deal like this.

The STAT Line Divide

2010-02-16T14:03:00.005-05:00

Dividing the Cavalier blogosphere is the possible trade for Suns PF Amar'e Stoudemire. An addition like STAT surely solidifies Cleveland as the team to beat in the East and arguably for the championship title this year. However, Eric and I have our own differences of opinion as to whether or not this is the right move for the Cavs. Here is a look into that war of words:

(Having both read Terry Pluto's piece cautioning against the proposed trade)

Eric: No way Murphy delivers more than Stoudemire. He also talks about needing defense from the PF position as a detraction for STAT, but it's not like JJ defends better and Murphy certainly doesn't defend better. Hickson's strengths are STAT's strengths but more so, and Hickson's weaknesses are basically STAT's weaknesses but not magnified at all. I dunno, I don't really want any part of Troy Murphy.

Me: I do if it meant keeping Hickson... my worry is that Amare's lowered touches/stats on our squad (which WILL happen, especially with Mo back) would compel him to play for another team less dominated by one player… except if that player is a backcourt guy like Wade.

Eric: Depends. If his wide open looks he gets because he never gets doubled lets him score with a higher efficiency on fewer touches, might that satisfy?

Me: I honestly don't see Amare sticking around for more than 3 months. And I also don't see the Cavs giving him a max deal if he considers it. I think the Cavs are worried that an “Amare leaving after 3 months” issue would doom Lebron to leave too. I mean, WE obviously see the benefits of staying together/the dynasty, but with Amare, 27 years old and looking for a max deal (or extension in the Pau Gasol range), who's to say he's not going for the dollar before the title? I haven't heard anything from him regarding "wanting to be a champ."

Eric: Well that's a different issue. I mean, "I think the Cavs think ___" is a different argument than "I think we should trade or not trade for him"

Me: To me, it all points to an understandable trepidation not to trade for him. I'm pretty sure the biggest fear is him leaving after 3 months anyway. With Murphy, we still hold a year and a trading chip if necessary, not to mention his decent skill set.

Eric: I'm just saying if you're weighing pros and cons in your opinion, it shouldn't take into account what you think the Cavs' opinion is... because then you might as well just use whatever you think that opinion is, if that makes sense. Like, it's not a drawback for me if someone says "I think the cavs won't want to keep him" because if that's the case the Cavs wouldn't trade for him in the first place, making the whole point moot.

Me: That just adds to the "high-risk" argument though, injury concerns for a long term tenure... who's to say the Cavs don't trade for Amare JUST to win this year… I mean, that still makes for a justifiable trade. However, it's been the front office's m.o. to NOT trade just to win now, so it's hard to argue that (with the argument that Shaq is NOT a 1-and-done year excluded, though that trade shed Ben Wallace from the roster as well). I think everything Ferry does is like a 3-part deal. I feel like we HAVE to use Z's contract for something, considering the high likelihood he'd be bought out and returned in a month. Whether that's Murphy, Jamison, Maggette (ha), that's up to him. I don't think he has fully done his job if that contract stays through the deadline.

Eric: I think making a deal just to make a deal is kind of pointless. We shouldn't just add players. And frankly I'd rather have Hickson starting than Murphy. And I'd rather have Andy as our bench 4 than Murphy. Hickson moves better without the ball and Murphy's defense is just as porous.

Me: I think the opportunity to make improvements is always a good idea, and most of the aformentioned trades are definite upgrades over what we have now. I think Andy and Murphy together would be great- Andy works primarily inside, Murphy is more of a younger Z. It's not like Z bangs bodies all that much these days.

Eric: I'm not convinced that Murphy is an improvement. He doesn't have much of an inside game at all. He's not that good of a player.

Me: Murphy vs. Z, with Z coming back in a month? I say that's definitely an improvement. I’d rather have Murphy than our #1 pick next year.

Eric: Murphy isn't an improvement over any player currently on our roster other than Darnell Jackson, I guess.

Me: Wow, I completely disagree. I mean, I don't think he's the best option, but he makes sense.

Eric: I dunno, the fact that a stretch 4 would look good in our offense doesn't mean a mediocre stretch 4 would help us out.

Me: Once again, it all depends on one thing: does Danny Ferry think he can keep Amare (and in a sense, Lebron) after trading for him? If it's between standing pat or picking up Murphy for basically our #1 pick, I choose Murphy, easily. If anything, it is insurance for next year if Shaq and Z are both gone. Plus it's another expiring to work with, bought for pennies on the dollar. It's the last of the years we can do this- once the CBA changes or the lockout happens, the rules might be less exploitable.

Eric: That's a good point about the expiring for next year and if we pull a pick + Z (with Z returning) deal for Murphy I'd probably be happy if we just looked at it as trading a pick for roster flexibility next year. As far as the rest of the regular season, if we keep JJ in that trade (and I think we're agreed that JJ is too steep a price for Murphy) I'd still rather keep JJ in the starting line up to continue his development. In the playoffs I believe Murphy has about as much starting playoff experience as JJ (i.e. none) and I also believe that even a 70% Leon Powe would be a better option than either since Powe has playoff experience and played with Kendrick Perkins who basically plays Shaq's game with much less size.

Me: Powe, now there's a dark horse everyone seems to forget about. Maybe the PF addition we're really waiting for is the healthy defender/rebounder we've been rehabbing for the past six months. We don't have much more time to find out who Danny Ferry values most come the deadline on Thursday- it's good to see that the Cavs are exhausting every resource and exploring every option to put the best team on the court. I think we can both agree on that.

About Keeping J.J. Hickson...

2010-02-14T10:58:00.001-05:00

A couple of days ago I wrote a post cautioning against trading young power forward J.J. Hickson. I warned that a trade of youth-for-age or big-for-small would jeopardize the future of the Cavs' front court since next year the Cavs will have no cap space and no big tradeable assets. I should have included in this article one caveat, however.

Don't trade J.J. Hickson... unless it's for Amar'e Stoudemire.

Since the first evening of All-Star weekend Plain Dealer beat writer Brian Windhorst has been tweeting that the Cavs are in serious trade talks with the Phoenix Suns for Stoudemire. Since then he's reported that talks are "pretty far down the tracks" and ESPN's Chris Broussard reported that a deal for Zydrunas Ilgauskas' expiring contract and Hickson in exchange for Stoudemire was close.

If these stories are true, Ferry must pull the trigger on this trade.

Yes, as I said yesterday, J.J. Hickson is making great strides but the fact of the matter is he's not a starting-quality PF for a contending team yet. His place in the starting line-up is based more on the fact that Andy Varajao is better off the bench and that Hickson works well when defenses are paying attention to Lebron and Shaq - not on his own skill set. Further, in a best-case scenario in five or six years this skill set is going to peak at the point STAT is at right now. If this was 2006 we'd have time to home-grow Hickson's talent but at this point this Cavs team is in the running to make the Final's every year. We need the finished product now. Especially since that talent is only 27 years old with several more years of good basketball in him.

Some detractors of this trade bemoan that fact that Stoudemire doesn't play defense. Quite frankly, he is no worse than Hickson so the Cavs wouldn't be taking on a greater defensive liability than the team already has. Further, he's played his entire career in Phoenix in a system that viewed (and still views) defense as more of a distraction from offense than a real point of emphasis. Sure he's not a great on-ball defender but inserted into an actual defensive system he should be able to mask a large part of his defensive shortcomings.

Others are wary that the Stoudemire/Shaq experiment failed in Phoenix, and so is doomed to fail in Cleveland. John Krolik at Cavs: The Blog outlined at the end of his Amar'e analysis why this notion is false. He statistically demonstrates that Shaq was more effective with Amar'e in Phoenix than he is now with either J.J. Hickson or Anderson Varajao. Phoenix and it's offensive system was never suited to Shaq's game. Cleveland relies much more on half-court sets that will allow both Shaq and STAT to bring the most out of their games. Furthermore, Shaq averages about 21 minutes per game. Stoudemire will have plenty of non-Shaq playing time with which to boost his numbers.

The real key to this trade, though, is the exact reason I used yesterday to hold onto J.J. Next year Shaq and Z will both be expiring contracts on the TV-analyst side of 35 and even without their contracts the team will only be roughly $5 million under the cap. In addition to adding talent to the roster for this season's title run, bringing in a 27 year old Amar'e Stoudemire solidifies our front court for the next several years. He'd be a power forward for the balance of the '09-'10 season but next year it's entirely possible to slide him over to start at center if no true 5's present themselves for the mid-level exception.

A line-up featuring Shaq, STAT and the King is a guaranteed mismatch somewhere on the floor as each of these players is used to playing against a double-team. This creates even more wide-open looks for a backcourt that's second in the league in three pointers featuring three of the top ten deep shooters in the league.

A move for Stoudemire, even if it includes Hickson, is the right move for this season and the right move for the future.

NBA Trade Winds- Hot Air or Perfect Storm?

2010-02-11T12:39:00.007-05:00

Eric's article yesterday pointed out all the good things about staying pat through the February 18 NBA trade deadline. The Cavs have the best overall record despite one of the tougher first half schedules, including a league-leading 19 wins on the road, and currently enjoy a 12-game winning streak heading into tonight's heavyweight bout with the Orlando Magic. The team has managed to temper injuries to Mo Williams, Delonte West, and Jamario Moon by showcasing the talent depth of the team but also by elevating its game all-around. At the top of the league, the Cavaliers don't need to be blowing around in the NBA's trade winds, but with the deadline coming up, many teams will find themselves out of the playoff race, in need of financial relief, and willing to part with pieces that might fit Cleveland's championship team puzzle. This may provide the perfect storm for Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry to make a deal, and he has proven in the past to be a willing buyer in the trade market. Plenty of the names are rumored to be on the Cavs radar- are any of them worth the price?

Andre Iguodala: Maybe the most intriguing trade rumor, the 76ers seem willing to give up on their almost-star to trim off over $65 million in payroll through 2014. Detractors point out his inconsistent mid-range game, but no one can criticize his athleticism and perimeter defensive abilities. On the Cavs, Iguodala might be out of position guarding the quicker shooting guards of this league, but imagine a fastbreak of AI2, LBJ, and Jamario collapsing on a helpless defense. Andre might even prove to be a better "Pippen" for Cleveland than a "Jordan" for Philadelphia without the responsibility of carrying a franchise on his own. However, the intrigue ends with the reality of Andre's price tag. The Cavs would have to deal J.J. Hickson and Z's expiring contract, leaving the front court with Shaq, Andy, Darnell Jackson, and the rehabbing Leon Powe. The strength of the team is its depth, especially at the 3-5, and adding Iguodala steals from what has put the Cavs at the top of the NBA this season.

Antawn Jamison: The Wizards are supposedly willing to unload Caron Butler for cap relief, but the same can't be said for their statesman power forward. Washington is on the hook for the aging but athletic Jamison through 2012 and allegedly holds no ill will towards dealing with Cleveland. However, it's unlikely that Ernie Grunfeld accepts a straight salary dump trade (and ensuing buyout) from Danny Ferry. Hickson has enormous potential and has shown the ability to learn on the fly between Shaq and LBJ- will the Cavs give him up for Jamison's inside-outside game and veteran presence? Ultimately, the Wizards will likely move Butler and hold onto Jamison in an attempt to salvage their damaged franchise image.

Amar'e Stoudemire: The steal of Danny Ferry's GM career if it ever happened, seeing Amar'e in a Cavs uniform is about as likely as John Wall ending up in wine and gold. After a surprising 14-3 start, the Suns have missed their heat check and have slowly begun setting. Phoenix doesn't seem like a team bent on cost-cutting, but the likelihood of Amar'e opting out next season has raised a few front office brows to the point where the athletic forward finds his name on the perennial trading block. Receiving Stoudemire would be the fast-track alternative to watching J.J. Hickson develop over the next three years, but he comes with a fat (possibly expiring) contract, eye issues, and surgically-repaired knees. Do the Cavs want to give up the potential they have with their 20-year old high-flyer for possibly a half-season of Stoudemire's defensive shortcomings? His talent when healthy is unquestioned, but when coupled with losing Ilgauskas for a month (or even the rest of the way), the price might be too much.

Troy Murphy: Many believe Murphy is exactly the player the Cavs need, a player with a nose for grabbing boards and the ability to hit from long range. And Murphy definitely fits the ideal "stretch forward" description, someone who can spot up around the perimeter while Lebron and Shaq do the dirty work inside the paint. His contract is friendly after this season, becoming an expiring deal for next year so as to provide flexibility for the future. The problem is team president Larry Bird has the leverage of a relatively low team salary and has put Murphy on the block at a borderline maniacal price. Troy's offensive talents are well-publicized, but there isn't a GM who wants to keep his job willing to give up picks, young upside talent, and expiring contracts for the defensive black hole they would be receiving in return. If the asking price drops, however, Ferry may find a way to put Murphy in a Cavs uniform.

Ferry Shouldn't Let the Ship Sail on Hickson

2010-02-10T00:06:00.000-05:00

Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst reported earlier today that as the trade deadline nears and G.M. phones around the league begin to ring teams are looking to add promising forward J.J. Hickson to any deal involving cap relief in the form of Zydrunas Ilgauskas' expiring contract. Cavs G.M. Danny Ferry has so far been loathe to include the second year player and I have to say: Thank God.

Anybody who's watched the Cavs recently can see why teams would be intrigued by Hickson. He's incredibly athletic, has good - if raw - post moves and is the age of the average college junior. He has tremendous potential and upside, and under the joint tutelage of Lebron and Shaq has started to realize his promise.

And it's for that exact reason that Ferry should be (and by all accounts is) wary of including Hickson in any trade.

The Cavaliers at this point in the season have the best record in the NBA at 42-11, two games ahead of the Lakers plus a tie-breaker due to sweeping L.A. in the season series. Further, unlike last season they have a winning record against the league's top 8 teams - including home-and-home victories against the Hawks, a handling of the Magic and the two aforementioned victories against the Lakers.

As constructed this group can compete with any team in the league. Confronted with the size of the Magic and Lakers they can roll out a line-up of Shaq, Z, Lebron, JaWario and Mo - or even the ridiculously large Shaq, Z, JaWario, Parker and Lebron. Against smaller lines they can dominate with Andy, Lebron, JaWario/Parker, Delonte and Mo. Their combination of size, speed, athleticism, strength and shooting is singular in the league, as is their ability to morph to cancel out the strength of any team in the NBA.

That's the long way of saying these Cavs, by many qualitative measures and by John Hollinger's playoff odds calculations, currently look like the team to beat in the league. When met with offers for any player Ferry has to balance the value of Hickson and his seemingly bright future with what the Cavs would be getting in return. While many long-suffering Cleveland fans might be OK to damn the future and go all-out for the title this year, Ferry must weigh his options considering what's best this season AND going forward. A trade that gives the Cavs an extra 5% chance of winning this year and yet hamstrings us next year is unacceptable. Shaq and Z - both on the wrong side of 35 - are both expiring contracts this year and even without their huge deals the Cavs won't have more than $5 million to spend on a free agent.

Andy, for all his value to the Cavs, is energy, glue, intangibles and defense, Powe - who is an unknown at this point since he has yet to play a game since microfracture surgery - has never been more than rebounding and defense and Jawad Williams plays as more of a tall wing 3 than a 4. Hickson is the only scoring 4 this team currently has short of Lebron sliding away from his natural position and playing power forward, and he is not close to realizing his full potential.

This Cavs team is a championship caliber group with amazing versatility, some of the best depth in the league and the league's best player. Next year our front court depth is paper thin and we will not have a legit center under contract unless we pull Sasha Kaun from his tour in the Russian league. While we have a very real opportunity to use Z's contract to improve for this season he's our only real hope of solidifying our front court moving forward and a trade of J.J. Hickson only makes that worse.

I know everyone worries about this New York-created idea that Lebron James is going to bolt from Cleveland at the first chance he gets but realistically there is no situation in the league better than the one he has here. A team built around him with an owner willing to spend and a G.M. able to turn Damon Jones into Mo Williams and Larry Hughes into Shaq. A group of quality role players that have gelled perfectly together playing some of the league's best defense allowing a 2nd best 94 points leading to a league-leading +7.4 point differential.

The goal is not just to win this year. A winning team that's dismantled next year and bounced in the first round is not going to interest Lebron. A winning team that's set up to win or at least compete for a title every year for the foreseeable will. And for that, we need J.J. Hickson.

Is Cribbs' Worth to Special Teams Decreasing His Market Value?

2010-01-13T15:45:00.000-05:00

Throughout these increasingly public and increasingly distracting contract negotiations an interesting chain of conversation has come up. Many people - likely including Browns management - are loathe to get roped into a "Hester deal" overpaying for lessening production. It's true that the Browns can't really afford to sink a lot of money into a kick returner seeing that even elite players in that position can rarely sustain their gaudy numbers. The funny thing about this conversation, though, is that Cribbs is only a kick returner because he's too good at it to do anything else.

Cribbs himself said of the Browns' offer of $1.4 million, "I'm not just insulted by the number, but by the fact they consider me just a kick returner. I'm so much more than that."

A quick look at the numbers confirms his statement. Over the past three years Cribbs has accrued more all-purpose yards than any other player in the NFL. As Mangini tried to get him more involved on offense as a receiver Cribbs managed a rather pedestrian 135 yards on 20 receptions with a 6.6 yard average. Rushing, however (including Wildcat runs and end-arounds) he accumulated 381 yards in 55 attempts for 6.9 yards per carry, better than any Browns back in recent memory. In the Pittsburgh game he accumulated 87 rushing yards - almost half of the team's total rush yards - against one of the stingiest run defenses in the league. Further, in the few times he was called on to pass he showed that while he could use some coaching to gain a pro QB's vision he certainly has a pro-QB arm.

With Cribbs on the field, possibilities are limitless and the ability to confuse a defense is maximized. Imagine Cribbs lined up wide, then motioned into the backfield with Jerome Harrison. The defense must now adjust to a possible run from either dynamic runner, a pass from the QB, or a handoff to Cribbs for a playaction pass. Even if Cribbs doesn't touch the ball in this scenario his mere presence on the field generates opportunities for the Browns offense as defenses adjust to key onto him.

Now think back to what Mangini has said regarding Cribbs' touches on offense: It's a delicate balance between WR, Wildcat and KR. You can't move him too much because it could affect his return production which is vital to the Browns.

This essentially means that the team can't give Cribbs too much time on the offense because the team needs his special teams contributions. When the argument to low-ball his contract negotiations revolves around the idea that he's just a special teams player this all seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy to not give Cribbs a raise.

In my mind Cribbs is too versatile to just leave on special teams, no matter how good he is. With the dearth of offensive weapons this team has, not exploring lining up Cribbs in the backfield as a running back, or not diversifying the team's Flash package is criminal. He could step in as this team's #2 QB, #2 RB and #3 WR today.

Perhaps Cribbs doesn't deserve Devin Hester money. Most would say Devin Hester doesn't deserve Devin Hester money. It's clear, though, that for everything he could bring to this team he deserves far more than Josh Cribbs money.

The King and His Court

2009-11-18T15:29:00.003-05:00

Perhaps one of the most entertaining moments from the Cavs' 114-108 victory over the Warriors was announcer Fred McLeod dubbing second-year power forward JJ Hickson the "Prince of Fresh Air". The call was icing on a cake the size of a 35-foot out ally-oop pass from Lebron James to Hickson in the fourth quarter. The nickname is pretty apt as Lebron has taken JJ under his wing this past off-season and has taken personal responsibility for some of the young big's development. So if Lebron is the King on the team and JJ is the Prince where do the rest of the Cavs sit on 23's court?

Taking sadistic glee in punishing opposing defenders and guards that stray too far into the paint:
Shaquille O'Neal, the Marquis de Shaq.

Described by his teammates as a mafia hitman:
Mo Williams, Godfather Gotti

Current starting shooting guard shooting a blistering 57% from 3:
Anthony Parker, Lord of the Deep

With hair already resembling the requisite hat:
Andy Varejao, Court Jester

A former globetrotter who Windhorst has described as having pogo stick legs:
Jamario Moon, the Earl of Ups

First center off the bench with a domain that ranges from the three point line to the under-the-basket tip-in:
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Big cZar

From a Superman 'S' to a star to the state of Texas the undersized 2 that drops hairstyles like he drops 3s:
Daniel Gibson, the Shaved-Headed Shah

With fearless drive against the Celtics and Magic in past playoff performances and a recent flaring of temper against refs and (deservedly) the Knicks bench:
Delonte West, the Red Baron

Garnering minutes now that Shaq and Andy are down, the solid rock of the left block:
Darnell Jackson, the D-Block Duke

Since showing the ability to tear up the D-League he's been unleashed on the end of opposing teams' benches:
Jawad Williams, the Garbage Minute Grand Master

Now that there are severe consequences for not bringing out the Baron's donuts this rookie better be on guard:
Danny Green, Kaiser of the Krispy Kreme

The first jettisoned overboard if the Cavs need extra help, camp invitee:
Coby Karl, Caliph of the Non-Guaranteed Contract

Set to push the team over the top after the All-Star break when he returns from rehabbing his torn ACL:
Leon Powe, the Fuerst of February

There you have it. Barring further injuries or trades this is the list of royalty that will hopefully be competing for the NBA's crown come June.

How Many Buses Will We Throw Mangini Under?

2009-10-23T12:55:00.003-04:00

I get it. I really do. One playoff appearance since returning to the league in 1999. Two winning seasons. Four (non-interim) head coaches. Mismanagement, mismanagement, mismangement. The sentiment "Browns fans deserve far better than what they've gotten" has echoed from fans and local media for nigh 11 years, and has even spread to the national level. I understand how my fellow Browns fans might feel so downtrodden in the shadow of another losing season.

What I don't get, however, is how so much of this pent up vitriol is being placed, like a flaming bag of dog crap, at the doorstep of new head coach Eric Mangini.

Christ, even the Miz is piling on. Yes, the Browns' current record (1-5, ugh) is partly the responsibility of the current management, but looking at our team it's hardly the fault of solely Mangini and GM George Kokinis.

It's not their fault that the Browns have 1 decent cornerback and 1 decent safety (and the latter is combining the strengths of their two starting safeties). Corey Williams' ridiculous contract is not of their doing nor is Kam Wimbley's heretofore stunted development.

It's not their fault that Jamal Lewis stutter-steps his way into tackles when he runs, and it's certainly not their fault that the right side of the line leaks like a sieve. Let's remember that John "turnstyle" St. Clair was not only replacing Kevin Schaffer, but was also meant to be a backup to Ryan Tucker. Floyd Womack was only supposed to be a rotation player at right guard before Rex Hadnot injured his knee at training camp. Kellan Winslow and Braylon Edwards wrote their own walking papers with underperformance and contract demands - and let's not forget they are both winless since being traded.

And I do not want to hear any talk about the Falcons' turnaround... Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn are hardly Matt Ryan, and before the Vick fiasco the Falcons were a playoff-competitive team.

I'm by no means saying that I'm certain Mangini is going to turn this team around and take us to the playoffs. I'm just saying it's too early to be sure either way, and if we're going to take him to task we should be doing it only based on his failings - not the failings of every Browns regime before him. Had this team been going through these growing pains in 1999 I can't imagine the outcry would be as vehement. Mangini didn't move the team to Baltimore. He didn't ruin the expansion team. He isn't Carmen Policy or Chris Palmer or Butch Davis or Phil Savage or Romeo Crennel, and yet Browns fans and local media are placing eleven seasons of angst and frustration squarely on his shoulders.

We're rebuilding again, and it sucks, but if we are going to crucify every new regime for the failings of the past because they can't instantly turn compost into caviar we're resigning ourselves to more-of-the-same. At some point we have to realize that there are no quick fixes to a problem that has been a full decade in the making.

Keeping Some Perspective on the Browns

2009-09-28T12:04:00.004-04:00

I'm going to start by suggesting we all follow the Guide's instructions when it comes to the Browns.

We are 0-3. New coach. New entire front office. 20+ new players. New starting QB. Same result.

Before the pre-season my rose-colored glasses had me seeing an 8-8 record from Mangini's Browns based mostly on an easy schedule and the idea that nobody could coach a game worse than Crennel. Clearly my glasses have shattered, however I am not among the legions of Browns fans calling for Magnini's job. Here's why:

It's too early to pull the plug on the Mangini era. Fans have lamented for years that Romeo and Savage failed to consistently bring in talent and overpaid for the talent they have. Is it really reasonable to assume that through one draft and free agency period all of the ills of the past regime would be solved? People want to burn Mangini for the Mack/Sanchez trade down, but seriously if we had Sanchez right now he'd be getting burned by the horrible browns O-line just like Quinn and Anderson. Yes, Womack and St. Clair were Mangini hires but remember they were mostly brought in for depth. The loss of Hadnot at RG and Tucker at RT have turned the the right side of the line into a revolving door through which defenders have been consistently bringing the hurt. Elam was basically a cheaper (yet just as effective) version of Sean Jones - that is, a safety who could hit hard but had problems in coverage. Bowens and Poteat probably have no business really being on the team past "teaching the youngsters" but through three games I don't really blame an NFL head coach in Cleveland for not relying on rookie Coye Francies. Rookies need to earn playing time in practice, and if he - or for that matter Massequoi, Robiskie, Veikune and Maiava - hadn't earned it yet through preseason and these early games that's the coach's prerogative to sit them.

I do think, however, the time is about here to see what we have in the young players. I think David Bowens needs to give way to Alex Hall, and Francies should relegate Macdonald to the Nickel position. I think Veikune needs to spell Wimbley and/or Hall and that Maiava should be seeing some of Barton's snaps. Finally, I think both of our rookie receivers should be getting time opposite Edwards because once he's gone (and he will be gone) one of them will have to step into the number 1 spot - it sure as hell isn't going to be Cribbs. Every remaining game gives us the opportunity to see who is worth keeping next year and who can be jettisoned. Talent evaluation is our biggest priority right now, and you don't get that from conservative playcalling and burying rookies behind veterans that aren't keeping us in games anyway. Daboll and Mangini both need to loosen the strings on Quinn, and if necessary get him to loosen the strings on himself.

How must it feel to be Brady Quinn (or Tim Couch) stepping onto the field knowing that if you mess up half the fan base will immediately want you out of a job? That's not how to develop a quarterback. What's it like for Mangini to constantly be second guessed by the fans and the media the instant his team goes up against a late-playoff bound Vikings team and stands up better than they should have given the talent on the roster?

Let's face it, this was never going to be a great season. Not even I of the .500 record prediction thought that the Browns were going to beat the Vikings or the Ravens. I did think we'd at least be able to be competitive against the Broncos and that meltdown was very instructive at featuring the holes in our team. Looking back that's the best I should have expected because, kids, that's basically what we're going to need to do with this season. This is 1999 again. Though the Browns are in season 11 the team is desperately in need a complete rebuild. We've been through too many head coaches and GMs to expect anyone to waltz in and shape all these disparate pieces of the half-cocked plans of three different regimes into one functional whole in less than a year.

I refuse to give Mangini, Kokinis and Quinn a final grade this early in the season. They've stepped into pretty much the most difficult job in the league: rebuild a franchise with a rabid fan-base in a championship-starved city that's been led to believe for the last ten (or forty) years that nothing good will ever come from the sports here. I'm tired of fans not giving any margin for error during these rebuilds. We need to realize that are team is broken and it may take a while to fix it. I'm not saying we should think it's OK that our team sucks right now. I think that we just need to accept it as fact for this season and give our front office time to make it better - something I don't believe we've ever done in ten years.

We are going to lose this season. We are going to lose a lot. The important thing, as 18 year-old Dave Chappelle tells us, is that when we lose, we don't lose the lesson.

What to Expect When You're Expecting the Worst: Game 1

2009-09-13T12:14:00.007-04:00

The Cleveland Browns face the Minnesota Vikings today at 1pm EST. Here we go again...

Three things in purple:

Brett Favre: If you're a Browns defender, you can't help but be wary of this guy's arm. Minnesota finally has a legitimate aerial threat. Fortunately, several sources have confirmed that during a scheduled halftime interview, Favre plans to announce his retirement.

AP: Brett Favre may really be a glorified decoy for the real star of the Vikings, last year's total rushing yard leader, Adrian Peterson. The Browns will be stacking the line, probably to no avail. Week One fantasy owners of AP love Cleveland.

Big fat linemen: Not only do these nordic warriors have a potent offensive attack, Minnesota showcases what qualifies as a "not fair" defensive front featuring Kevin Williams and Jared Allen. Good luck trying to find a "Metcalf up the middle" seam through that layer of skin and more skin.

Three things in orange and brown:

Here's a story about a man named Brady: The prep time is over for the prep star from the Dame. Quinn starting today's game takes Minnesota by surprise: Viking coaches need to change their gameplan of waiting for DA to shoot himself in the foot. Am I alone in my visions of "Brady! Brady! Brady!" resonating throughout Cleveland Browns Stadium? Maybe the best we can hope for is a day without any major injury. Hope he took his muscle milk today.

Braylon: Over/under on number of drops? I'm going to say he drops only one very important ball versus numerous other less important ones.

Big man in the middle: Shaun Rogers makes his triumphant (possibly reluctant?) return to the middle of the Browns defensive line. How early before he pulls out the oxygen mask?

One big mess of many colors:

The Browns can (probably not, but maybe if all goes right) win if they establish any kind of running game so the Vikings can't cheat for the pass. Josh Cribbs needs to prove he deserves a new contract. The Browns need to win their third-down battles. And above all else, Cleveland needs to prove to other teams, their fans, and themselves that they can score touchdowns. Fan prediction: Browns 27, Vikings 23. Reality prediction: Minnesota 30, Cleveland 13.

No More Words

2009-09-13T10:44:00.007-04:00

Today begins the 2009 version of the Cleveland Browns. In a lot of ways, this season mirrors the return of the franchise ten years ago; the city stands witness to a new coaching regime, a new hope at quarterback, and a new set of goals and expectations that will likely define the next iteration of its beloved franchise for the decade to come. Browns fans hear the same words again and again, about starting over, patience, renewed focus- propaganda they fall for year after year. Unfortunately for this regime, words fall short. The time has come to shut up and play.

Taking a step back from the optimistic heights a new season tends to bring, one needs to understand what has brought this storied franchise to such a dismal state. Back in 1999, the NFL gave back to the city of Cleveland its name and colors but little else, and consequently, wins were hard to come by. In their place came few and far-between moral victories: a "Hail Mary" toss against New Orleans here, a surprise win over Pittsburgh or New England there. These small successes gave its fans reasons to believe in something more as the years progressed- the city had its usual fits of unrealistic expectations, but deep down they had to understand how bereft of talent the revamped team truly was. Fans were told to be patient, to "wait until next year," but the next year always seemed to bring a new coach and a new set of goals or ideals.

What was consistent throughout these "dark ages" (aside from a small blip on the radar in the form of a playoff appearance in 2002) was a losing culture, one that an inept front office and management staff could not subside. From the "happy to be here- sure I'll bend over" Chris Palmer, to the fiery totalitarian reign of Butch Davis, to the wildly affable, wholly laughable Romeo Crennel-era, there have been ten years of disservice done to the memory of a once great franchise. But let's not place all the rotten eggs in one basket, friends, as a decade of chaos is too large for even a select few maladroit, appointed leaders to achieve. Lottery-bound for much of its tenured redux, the Browns have not done itself any favors by selecting a collection of largely underperforming misfits. Rather than get into the "who's" and "why's" of individual drafts, the one constant throughout the decade was a team trying to make the big splash rather than build a solid core. Obviously hindsight makes things much clearer, but selecting high-impact players and expecting them to succeed in makeshift, inconsistent environments has not been proven to create a winning culture.

Going forward, Mangini and Kokinis have promised a new beginning for the franchise, a new and optimistic world in their eyes but a broken record to the less wide-eyed fans of Cleveland Browns football who have heard these words over and over through three previous regimes since "The Return." Maybe their words have struck a chord with their players, who towards the end of the preseason have played with more maturity and focus than the city has seen in a long time- or maybe it's just the preseason. What if these words have touched our former first-rounders like Wimbley and Edwards who may see this new era as an opportunity to start over- or more likely, this is a contract year for some who are trying to look good for teams elsewhere. What motivates players and coaches may be interesting to dissect and discern over the course of a football season, but for the most part, words will fail to impress a fanbase that wants results on the field. For the Browns, the time has come to put up.

The Eye of the Storm

2009-08-26T09:39:00.007-04:00

Is it Cavs season yet?

Cleveland sports seem to be lacking in the exciting category ever since a certain Eastern Conference Champion team from Florida used three 6'10"+ players to create matchup problems on their way to an embarassing loss to the Lakers. The most compelling news stories these days involve front office transactions, trades, and acquisitions, usually in the form of losing hometown stars for future talent. And in a way, Cleveland sports in general seem to be suffering from a lack of focus that tend to define winning franchises.

Bitter as I am, the new-look, rebuilt/reloaded Indians have played some inspired baseball, and sure, there is some value to be taken in watching the future Tribe grinding away during their annual out-of-contention, winning-when-no-one's-watching ways (Though is it any wonder this is happening immediately after we've acquired some future bullpen stalwarts and have jettisoned the usual veteran fodder which tend to be scattered throughout the pen in April and May? And while you're here, raise an eyebrow, if you will, to the Indians tendency to rally around Jhonny Peralta, as his statistical progress seems to correlate directly to the Tribe win-loss records dating back to 2005, seemingly the last year he did anything worth mentioning before the All-Star break). But what is there to look forward to on the competitive landscape? The homer in me believes that ten games back with a month to go isn't that bad. But the reality is that in this market, with this fanbase, and with the players and coaches in place, the Cleveland Indians can only find success in a perfect storm of events. Odds are the next few seasons will be a calm before that storm, but only calm in the grinding, day-to-day sort of sense to which we've grown accustomed.

Summer pastime aside, Cleveland is first and foremost a football town, and this past weekend showed that its team truly can beat another team that refuses to win, even going so far as to score a few offensive touchdowns against the Detroit "Lyin' Downs" to do so. But it isn't Cleveland Browns football unless there's a quarterback controversy peppering the headlines, and Mangini seems to revel in keeping his cards close to the vest in this matter. Let's not forget Josh Cribbs contract status which, while a steal for the Lerner's pockets, grossly underpays arguably the most exciting player on the team and undercuts any of the "loyalty" talk which usually spawns out of any negotiations. All of this "news" lacks the focus that should be directed towards winning. Early this year, fans expected a Mangini-Kokinis regime that would create a new kind of football team, one created in the image of winning programs, one more accountable for it's mistakes, one that shores up its errors and acts as a unit. Visions of King Leonidas's phalanx danced across the minds of tailgaters around the Great Lakes. Not surprisingly, they've been treated with more of the same. If it isn't Donte Stallworth's effect on our cap situation, it's Shaun Smith bad-mouthing the Browns from the Motor City. It's Braylon's hands or Jamal's "jimmylegs" or DA's touch. It's an overall lack of identity, and the city feels it and suffers from it.

With all the fog and clouds hiding the present and future of both the Indians and Browns, it is refreshing to look at how settled and calm the Cleveland Cavaliers camp seems to be, and it isn't shocking to see that some have already begun looking forward to training camp in two months. After a heartbreaking ECF loss to Orlando, Danny Ferry addressed the needs of the team with an assertiveness unfamiliar around these parts, but also with the urgency of 2010's NBA free agency (and salary cap) looming ahead. Small in the backcourt? Parker and Moon were brought in for their length and athleticism. Dwight Howard bringing you down? Shaq Vs. Dwight is the real matchup every wants to see on the Big Diesel's reality show. And finally, what everybody seems to want is that "stretch 4," the scoring power forward that is consistent around the perimeter and the magical link between 45 years wandering the trophy-less desert and hoisting up a Cleveland championship? Rob Kurz! Okay, two out of three isn't bad, but at the very least, Ferry has put in a temporary bandage on that hole (while strengthening its depth by extending Varejao and obtaining Leon Powe). And with Big Z's expiring contract on the block at the trade deadline, the Cavs have all the machinations in place for possibly that final piece of the puzzle.

This is not to say that the Cavs are completely devoid of offcourt drama. Shaquille O'Neal defines drama, and now he defines reality television. "Dunkgate"? 'Nuff said. And then there's the outcry of Cleveland's inferiority complex as free agents left and right have seemingly shunned signing with the Cavaliers. Because it's never about the money or, for younger players, starter's minutes or playing time. And of course, Lebron James can opt out after next season, the focal point of the league (if not the entire sports world). Yes, a paradigm shift in the NBA is a possibility, and this realization has been creeping its way into our collective minds ever since Lebron signed his first extension. But can it not be argued that this is a storm that can be weathered another day, preferrably some time after Lebron hoists the Larry O'Brien trophy over his Cavaliers jersey?

The Cavs have it figured out, and they can't afford NOT to take the risks they have taken in surrounding Lebron with the perfect supporting cast. Dan Gilbert's pockets are open; Lebron's comments, innuendos, and interviews are playing with everybody's heads; and the 2010 cap isn't stopping the Clippers, Heat, and Nets from waiting in line for the 2010 LBJ's to come out, nevermind New York's fanbase using C.C. Sabathia signing with the Yankees as a sure-fire sign of Lebron's impending Knicks jersey. In all of this chaos and uncertainty, the only thing constant is that the 2009-10 Cavaliers have some pretty high expectations, and anything short of achieving them should be considered a failure. But high expectations breed focus and identity, traits that are sometimes lacking in Cleveland's other teams. The goal of the upcoming Cavs season is not to "keep Lebron," though for many people this seems to be the case. The eye is on the trophy, and with it, only a fool would want to leave. In the center of the storm that is Cleveland sports, all eyes should be focused on that goal.

Pac-Man Drops Hitman, Sees Money in His Future

2009-05-03T13:22:00.002-04:00

Professional boxing has the glitz and glamour of a sports soap opera not unlike World Wrestling Entertainment. Last night's Pacquiao/Hatton "Battle of East and West" was billed as a larger-than-life confrontation of two cultures, but boxing enthusiasts should have been able to cut through the smoke and mirrors to see that it was just a stepping stone to a bigger, grander fight on the horizon.

It's no coincidence that the WWE's Batista (half-Filipino) accompanied Manny Pacquiao to the ring, and as if someone had planned it this way, Floyd Mayweather Jr. (who defeated The Big Show at last year's WWE Wrestlemania event) announced he was coming out of retirement to face Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18th. The day Pacquiao was set to face his first challenge after his (cough) "upset" victory over "Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya, Pretty Boy Floyd tried to steal the Pac-Man's thunder. Unfortunately for Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao "was just doing [his] job."

The Pride of Hyde didn't see it coming. It was a left hook under the jaw from the Matrix-like fist of Manny Pacquiao that dropped him at the end of the second round, a culmination of the Pac-Man's powerful barrage of jabs and flurries ending with Hatton floored for several minutes after the inevitable KO. The Filipino national hero spent the first round counterpunching Hatton's admittedly dangerous array of wild, powerful swings, and Pacquiao's speed and combinations were too much for the Briton. The Hitman hit the floor midway through the opening round after swinging wildly after Pacquiao landed a flush right hook; and after trading unsuccessful combinations with the Pac-Man, Hatton found himself on his back again when Pacquiao's combinations overwhelmed him at the end of the round.

Manny Pacquiao's second round showcased a change in style, a more methodical approach simulating a predator awaiting his prey. Hatton's punches landed somewhat more frequently but no less wildly. This imbalanced attack left him open for Pacquiao's bread and butter. With eight seconds left in the round, the Philippines' Pambansang Kamao ("National Fist") ended the charade with the devastating final shot in which referee Kenny Bayless took one look into Hatton's glazed eyes and later recounted he "didn't have to count." Afterward, the People's Champion fell to his knees in his corner in prayer and later gave the ecstatic crowd a heartfelt thank you.

You've got to feel for Hatton a bit after last night. In 2007's "Undefeated" promotion against Money Mayweather, The Hitman suffered his first loss after ten grueling rounds with Pretty Boy Floyd. This latest defeat seemed like a cakewalk by comparison, one set up to gauge and exploit him against the two pound-for-pound kings of the ring. Hatton is a prized champion whose only blemishes to his 47-2 record have come against arguably boxing's best, but this fight seemed to be used simply as a vehicle for the inevitable collision between Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. Perhaps his eight million dollar payday will alleviate the bruises to his ego.

"The Battle of East and West" was expected to be a long, drawn out affair between two of boxing's best, but Pacquiao proved to be stronger, faster, and more prepared than Hatton. The Pac-Man sits on top of the boxing world, with a former champion who has out of retirement waiting in the wings. Like a soap opera in the vein of WWE-fame, you couldn't write a more entertaining sports story better than this.

NFL Draft 2009: Day Two Thoughts

2009-04-27T00:18:00.001-04:00

Day Two of the NFL Draft, also known as "leftovers." Round Three selections are made up of quality players that slipped out of Day One for a variety of reasons, but the later rounds are made up of project players, low-ceiling selections, or athletes with glaring question marks or unfavorable draft grades. The Browns picks on Day Two are no exception.

No 3rd round selection: Let's just pretend we drafted Martin Rucker in the 3rd round this year...
Kaluka Maiava: USC? Check. Linebacker? Check. Pacific Island descent? Check. What more do you want? The OLB with the least media coverage around him becomes a Cleveland Brown. When he bulks up, it will be interesting to see how his coverage and tackling abilities are affected, though his football IQ is not in question.
Don Juan DeCleveland: Don Carey has decent size for a corner (shade under six feet), but there are some injury concerns which may relegate him to nickel duties. I wonder if the Chiefs hadn't picked him up two picks prior to our Maiava selection, then the Browns might have used that pick on OSU corner Donald Washington.
Lesson in "best available" versus "team need": I was keeping up with the ESPN draft tracker and I'd noticed that for ten or so picks, the "best available player" Coye Francies had not been selected. Now selecting the San Jose State cornerback here made me wonder if the Cleveland draft room consisted of Mangini, Kokinis, and a guy on his laptop following the live updates of best players still on the draft board. However, the biggest beef with him Francies seems to be his run support, but I think that with the right scheme, this can be easily corrected. Not to mention this seems to be one of those "depth" selections. Although I'm sure many fans were itching for more linebacker depth, I would venture to say that Francies was rated much higher than any of the later linebackers available- plus the Browns would be selecting again in a few short picks.
A sixth round running back and I don't mind one bit: At pick #195, it's time to get creative. Running back James Davis averaged over five yards per carry over four years at Clemson. He's a big back without blazing speed, but he's a chains-mover. Could this mean the end of the inside handoff to Charles Ali on 3rd and short? Considering the talent of the offensive line, I do hope so. If Jamal continues to till the soil in the backfield with his dancing feet, it will be interesting to see who Mangini will go to instead among Harrison, Herron, and Davis.
No seventh round pick?: I'm shocked that we didn't trade down a few spots from our final sixth round picks to sneak a couple 7th rounders onto the team. An unusual number of safeties, both strong side and free, went undrafted. It will be interesting to see which undrafted free agents receive invites to the Browns training camp in the coming weeks.

An unspectacular but solid Day Two for the Cleveland Browns. This team needed more than a quick fix stud; the front office sent a message that seems to indicate a draft approach indicative of depth and a willingness to improve the team as a whole. And now to spin this draft in a way that shows those Jets didn't swindle Mark Sanchez away for so little. Dirty.

NFL Draft 2009: Day One Thoughts

2009-04-26T07:46:00.007-04:00

Day One of the 2009 NFL Draft came and went with the Cleveland Browns providing much of the fireworks for the rest of the league. Mixed reviews populate the blogosphere, but grading the Mangini/Kokinis regime decisions and selections in the first two rounds depends on numerous factors besides knee-jerk reactions to unpopular picks.

Trading out of the #5 spot: This is a move that ultimately had to be done. The guaranteed money entitled to this selection can only be justified by a player's impact on the field. That being said, the players available when the Browns were on the clock were not deemed to be worthy of that monetary commitment. Mangini and Kokinis struck the deal with the Jets in order to make those numbers work; to top that off, the Browns received another Day One pick and three more Jets to add to our increasing roster depth, including Abram Elam, a strong safety who had signed an offer sheet with the Browns earlier this offseason before the Jets matched it. The mutual interest was obviously present. With this trade, the front office set forth a plan to compose a roster of "their guys," a trend that will likely continue into Day Two.
Trading out of the #17 spot: This was a good move in theory, as the Browns believed that they could get the player they wanted later in the round, but it remains to be seen whether or not the Browns received the best offer possible. In hindsight, New England receiving a fifth rounder from Baltimore for dropping from #23 to #26 seems like a much better deal. It is assumed that Tampa Bay may have given up a little more in order to jump Denver to select a possible franchise QB. But being able to stockpile more depth picks later on in the draft while keeping their sight set on a player they believe to be available later is nothing to sneeze at.
Trading out of the #19 spot: Really? Another trade? Cleveland fans everywhere got a taste of what it's like to be Patriots fans, as their team is notorious for trading down (as per this draft, dropping out of the first round entirely). Philadelphia had been eyeing a WR and the best available one would very likely be headed to the Lions at #20 if not to the Browns at #19. I have to believe that the Eagles could've been swindled for at least a fifth-rounder. What's up with these highly valued fifth round picks?
With the 21st pick in the 2009 NFL Draft...: ManKok's first selection for Cleveland Browns Version OS X (can you believe it's been ten years since we've re-begun this masochistic journey?) is the secret world of Alex Mack, C from California. In New York, Mangini spent his first few picks solidifying the offensive line, and it looks as if the formula will be holding true in Northeast Ohio. Mack was the top-rated center in the draft, and at #21, it matches the value we were looking to achieve separate from selecting at #5. I can't argue with this pick. In essence, the Browns traded away Mark Sanchez or Michael Crabtree (and their salaries at #5) for three depth defenders, a 2nd-rounder, two 6th-rounders, and a manageable salary.
Critics that say the Browns should have went defense first should realize that one guy wasn't going to fix everything. The holes on the team are more than a few; Mangini and Kokinis had to have seen how unacceptable it is to go six games without an offensive touchdown. To fortify the O-line and to bring in some of "his guys" for the depth chart, Mangini was able to do so while managing payroll quite admirably.
The Daily News reports that the Browns almost traded out of the first round completely by sending their pick to the Jets (again) for their first pick in 2010. While this would completely transform the Browns into the new Patriots, I would imagine that it would also have involved more ex-Jets migrating to Cleveland. There really is something about new regimes wanting "their guys" in place, isn't there? This holds true for both sides...
Brian Robiskie at #36: Apparently the Bears hoped he'd be there at #49. I say he probably would have slipped a bit, had we gone defense and selected Rey Maualuga like everyone wanted. (Side note: is it just me, or ever since Troy Palamalu came flying helmet-first through anyone wearing orange and brown, Cleveland fans everywhere have longed for their own wild-haired defender from the Pac-10? People, Rey may be a solid player, but he is not Palamalu. He is not Ray Lewis. Granted, he won't be the second coming of Andre Davis, but he won't be gracing the cover of Madden (for more than obvious reasons). And let's not forget that Cincy drafted him! There must have been some deep dark secret this guy was hiding that scared 37 other teams away, not including his sometimes poor tackling, inconsistency, average speed, and limited range.) On the other hand, Robiskie has "new-JJ" written all over him. Excellent route-runner, tall and sure-handed, the former Buckeye was a bit of a welcome surprise on my end. He may not have the potential of a Maclin or a Britts, but he won't be the "Stone Hands" Travis Wilson of years past. Lining him up opposite a disgruntled, contract-year Braylon can only help boost the statistics of both players. That is to say if Braylon is still here come this fall...
Massaquoi and Veikune, you had no idea: The Georgia wideout was definitely a shocker, until you remembered David Patten playing meaningful downs about six years ago. A third offensive player though? Six. Games. Zero. Touchdowns. David Veikune was a surprise in that no one does any serious research on Hawaii players, let alone defenders. Consequently, I can only be slightly thrilled at some very vague reports praising his strength and pressure off the edge both in passing downs and against the run. Part of me became a bit caught up in our "drafting offense" plan and thought that LeSean McCoy might have been the better value pick (as the Eagles thought as well, selecting him with the very next pick). At any rate, the first defender we selected was our 4th choice within the top 52 picks, so you cannot complain too much about the quality of players drafted.

The Browns area of need encompasses multiple facets of the team, and the Mangini/Kokinis draft team understood that what the organization lacks the most is depth. They shored that up on the defensive side of the ball with the Jets acquisitions for the time being. And by solidifying the O-line and getting some weapons on the offensive end on Day One, the Browns look to never again entertain an offensive drought like at the end of last season. Look for more of the same kind of depth/project selections with the multiple 4th and 6th round picks on Day Two.

The Good, The Bland, and the Unknown

2009-04-20T09:35:00.016-04:00

As Cleveland sports go, the past few days represented a microcosm of how the fans view their favorite Cleveland teams: behind an efficient, effective Lebron James and excellent supporting cast, the Cavaliers clearly dominated their opponent to begin its playoff series; the Indians split the first ever series at the new Yankee Stadium, a feat of mediocrity highlighted by some explosive bats and spotty pitching; and the Browns left a lot for the imagination with an unspectacular GM press conference and constant draft and trade speculation. As a result, Cleveland sports fans are imbued with three very different mindsets when faced with their major franchises.

On Saturday afternoon, the Cleveland Cavaliers' methodical march to the finals and their "One Goal" of an NBA Championship title began with the dismantling of former powerhouse and current #8 seed Detroit Pistons by the score of 102-84. The final tally is indicative of the expectations implanted in the minds of the average Cavs fan. The most dominant home team and overall #1 seed, Mike Brown's team has a swagger that the city hasn't seen since the '95 Indians kept its fans glued to their seats until the final outs. Cavaliers fans are as sure of their team at this point in the season as Lebron was of his 40-foot halftime buzzer beater banking in and twisting the knife into the hearts of the "Deeee-troit Basketball" faithful- a miracle shot in a season that feels miraculous.

With Lebron James, it's easy for Cavaliers fans to hold their heads up high or to talk trash about the league's other elites while singing the praises of their hero, the single greatest advantage in the NBA fighting for this city's first ever NBA title. #23 is expected to win the MVP, and today Coach Brown was named Coach of the Year. The atmosphere breathes excitement, the high level of talent matched only by its lofty expectations, and above all, the team stands together, almost like a family. The fact that this team has stayed together through past and recent injuries, especially at the trade deadline, speaks highly of the sense of comraderie on display at the Q during the season. GM Danny Ferry and owner Dan Gilbert were not blind to this brotherhood; the architects of this memorable team realized the value that a cohesive unit brings to a team and its fans. Sprinkle on the feel-good homecoming of Joe Smith, and the Cavs season represents everything good in the hearts of Cleveland sports fans.

Look down the street a little and you may find a different story on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Voted by fans as the best ballpark in baseball last year, Progressive Field houses a team widely believed to contend for and win the Central Division title, but the 2009 version of the Cleveland Indians has sputtered out of the gates to reveal an inconsistent, and consequently mediocre ballclub whose talent rarely matches its production on the field. While Mike Brown's team is the focused, determined, and well-oiled train on track for title contention, Eric Wedge's Tribe is more like a track star running in a marathon- impressive on certain legs, but ultimately unprepared for the competition at hand. To put it harshly, they are a team of almost-stars (Hafner, Peralta) and leftovers (Pavano, Chulk, Delucci-really-still-on-the-team?) mixed with superstar potential (Sizemore, Martinez, Carmona) whose inconsistency overshadows the talent. Granted, these traits are not foreign to most teams in the league, and the small sample size of games in April is obviously an unreliable barometer on which to gauge the rest of the season. But there are definite signs that this season's expectations can only be met after dealing with and correcting certain identifiable issues.

Take for instance the past weekend series in New York. Coming away 2-2 in mostly a national spotlight can be taken as a victory in itself. The series showcased the dynamic offense we were told to look out for all winter, opening the new Yankee Stadium with a 10-2 pounding of the Bronx Bombers on Thursday and a monster Saturday afternoon 22-4 contest highlighted by a 14-run, 35-minute second inning. Tempering these wins were two NY victories that featured come-from-behind Yankees heroics, but more to the point, unreliable Tribe pitching. This team has only three quality starts and has the league's worst ERA. When Tribe pitchers hold their opponents under four runs, the Indians are undefeated; unfortunately, this statistical feat has only happened once. While the offense has been explosive at times, inconsistent pitching has been the most reliable bump in the road for a team without a real identity.

This lack of focus has truly defined the beginning of Cleveland's baseball season. As a result, Indians fans don't really know how to react to the variable play of the home team. On the one hand, a 22-run outburst against the Pre-Madonnas of the American League should strike any fan as a blessing in schadenfreude; however, the Tribe just as easily follows that up with a 3-run, 4-hit skeleton of a game. Which is the really 2009 Cleveland Indians? It would be hard-pressed for any fan to live and die with a team whose "one game at a time" attitude comes with the corollary of "every other game." It is the duty (and in effect, the curse) of the Cleveland fan to accept the ups and downs of the teams bearing the city's name; however, it becomes far too easy to grow complacent in and accepting of the mediocrity of the so-so team taking the field all summer. The product of these unironic forces is a team whose potential is flushed away little by little and a dwindling fanbase that just doesn't seem to care either way.

Speaking of caring, one team whose every minute detail is observed, reported, and dissected by the city's sports aficionados is the Cleveland Browns. In "Browns Town," even before the final whistle blew on this past season, speculation and interest on the upcoming season appeared and remained in full force, beginning with the new regime in new coach Eric Mangini and new GM George Kokinis, the Kellen Winslow trade, the Shaun Rogers debacle, and constant draft and trade speculation. Kokinis surprised fans last week with a seemingly impromptu press conference in which he revealed absolutely nothing any sports savvy fan couldn't deduce on his or her own. Browns fans were left with the same questions on which they've been debating for weeks: trade rumors involving Brady Quinn and Braylon Edwards; the dreaded "quarterback controversy" (or "competition," rather); depth holes throughout the roster; and of course, the upcoming draft.

Understandably (and to their credit), the front office is holding their cards close to the vest. A team in this position holds little to no leverage going into what looks like a rebuilding year, even while dangling the attractive trump cards of Edwards and (what is becoming increasingly obvious as the weeks go on) Quinn. Speculation that USC junior QB Mark Sanchez is on their Big Board reveals a little bit of what the new regime thinks of the quarterbacks already on the team, not to mention the tendency of new leadership to start anew at the quarterback position. Add to this the multitude of needs facing the team as the draft approaches, and Browns fans are left in the dark as to which direction this team will be heading for the upcoming season.

To be honest, I don't see any major changes happening at QB- the Brady Quinn Era hasn't yet begun, and the entire team will be making its seemingly annual fresh start in the fall. And though I'm ready to see the Browns turn the page on the Braylon trade saga and just find a suitor with a fair offer, it's worrisome to know that the starting WR corps post-Braylon includes Syndric Steptoe and a misused Josh Cribbs. With the plethora of top-rated receivers coming out this year, the likelihood that one of them takes Mr. Michigan's spot on the roster makes this week leading up to the draft one of the more interesting weeks of the entire Browns offseason.

Which, if you think about it, is kind of ridiculous.

Here we are at the next apex of Cleveland sports history and competing with the Cavs for headlines are scraps of Browns rumors amidst the constant reminder of Indians mediocrity. Of course it's relatively important to report and observe every piece of news; it's another thing entirely to miss out on the amazing Cavalier journey while one eye is constantly watching for the other "shoes" as they drop. The Cleveland mentality used to involve the belief that acts of God prevented the city from its championship aspirations, miraculous events that have been given names like "The Shot" or "The Drive" for posterity and historical irreverence. It's become the natural inclination to water down our accomplishments in the shadows of underachievement- this ends now. The Cleveland Cavaliers have shown its city a new identity is in order, one worthy of the respect that history-in-the-making events deserve. Whether that "One Goal" is achieved or not is besides the point; the past isn't to be forgotten but learned from. Cleveland fans everywhere should enjoy the ride while it lasts.

How Sweet It Is

2009-04-12T22:28:00.003-04:00

Today the Cleveland Cavaliers trounced the defending champion Boston Celtics (albeit sans Kevin Garnett) at the Q to the tune of 107-76 including holding the Green to a mere 9 points in the opening period (while scoring 31 themselves).

This game was a beatdown from start to finish. One game after securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference the Cavs hosted a clinic on their home floor playing the Celtics starters off the court from the opening whistle. I won't recap the whole game as other more capable writers will no doubt expound on Boston's 35.8% FG% or their frigid 27.8% shooting from 3 compared to the Cavs' monstrous 55.1% from the field and scorching 62.5% from behind the arc.

I'm more than happy gloating at the fact that most of Joe Smith's points came in the form of dunks in Mikke Moore's face and most of his rebounds came grabbing them down from Moore or Big Baby Davis. In the last two months the Celtics went on a couple of skids and in a panic signed Stephon Marbury at backup guard and as playoff rosters had to be finalized hurriedly picked up Mikke Moore. Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry, patient as ever, waiting out the Oklahoma City Thunder and pounced on their buy-out of Smith adding him in the waning days of the deadline. Looking at today's game (with Moore's +/- of -19 and Smith's of +25) who made out better?

In other front court news I loved what I saw from rookie Darnell Jackson. Jackson saw the lion's share of garbage time (read: the fourth quarter) PF minutes and though his 0 rebounds might not impress he showed good movement on D and was efficient scoring from the floor (including a slick little drive from the top of the key).

Daniel Gibson seems to have emerged from his shooting slump (*knock on wood*) playing quite well recently and burying 3 for 4 from deep this afternoon.

Other highlights included Wally Szczerbiak's monster swat near the end of the game, Delonte West's game-leading +36 +/-, and, oh yeah, Lebron scored 29 points with 7 assists shooting 5/8 from 3 and 6/6 from the free throw line.

In less pleasant news, forward Ben Wallace left the game and did not return. Brian Windhorst's Twitter claims knee contusion. Hopefully this will not be a serious problem as front court depth will remain a concern for the Cavs as the playoffs begin.

Tomorrow the Cavs travel to Indiana on the second night of a back to back to face a Pacers team that has already defeated them at the fieldhouse this season. The starters got plenty of rest today though, so should be fresh enough to take care of business tomorrow evening. After that it's back to Cleveland to host the 76ers for the final game of the regular season.

It's been a magical year. We'll see you in the play-offs.

As Milestones Pass, a Look at the Path Ahead

2009-03-26T19:29:00.004-04:00

On March 12, 2009 the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Phoenix Suns to set the franchise record for single-season road wins at 23. The next day, March 13, on the second day of a West Coast back-to-back the Cavs won a hard-fought victory against the Sacramento Kings and in doing so locked up the second Central Division championship in Cavs history, 33 days before the end of the regular season.

On March 25th these same Cavaliers defeated the New Jersey Nets to break the franchise single-season win record, previously set (twice) by the Mark Price-led team at 57.

A season of milestones saw center Zydrunas Ilkauskas pass Brad Daugherty to become the Cavs' all-time leading rebounder and Hot Rod Williams to become the leading shot-blocker. Small forward (and franchise player) Lebron James also broke the single-season steals record a year after becoming the franchise's all-time leading scorer.

The season past has already established itself as one of the best in Cleveland basketball history. These Cavaliers (The Lebrons, the James Gang, other LBJ-related nicknames), with 11 games remaining, have already reached or exceeded most benchmarks left from those late '80s/early '90s teams that remain enshrined in fans' memories. They can no longer look backward for obstacles to overcome. Only one goal remains, and it is the only goal this team has had in mind for the entire season: an NBA championship. This is the closest our Cavaliers have ever been to winning it all so it's about time to take a look at what remains of the road to the playoffs and beyond.

The Celtics showed last year that home court advantage in the playoffs is immeasurably helpful. Last year's champions failed to win a single game in Atlanta, and were handily beaten every time they stepped foot on Cleveland hardwood. Four games in Boston, however, fueled their early playoff run and vaulted them into the later rounds in which their play was markedly improved. The Cavs currently stand handily atop the Eastern Conference 5 games above Boston and Orlando, who are battling for the East's second seed. They also stand a precarious game and a half ahead of the Western Conference-dominating L.A. Lakers who have beaten them twice this season, once for the Cavs' only home loss thus far.

Seven home games are left on the Cavs' schedule (Minnesota, Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia) and none of those teams have beaten the Cavs at home this season. Detroit, Washington and Boston have beaten the Cavs on the road, but Washington's victory was a fluke and Detroit is a pale shadow of it's Chauncey Billups-led self. The Cavs' biggest risks at home (other than falling asleep at the wheel) are Boston and San Antonio. Boston has not played terribly well at Quicken Loans Arena - the Cavs defeated them on Jan. 9 without the services of big Z. Add in Kevin Garnett's advancing age and Anderson Varajao's increasing offensive potency and this game begins to lean further in favor of the home team. San Antonio is aging all over the place, shown by coach Greg Popovich's decision to bench his best players against the Nuggets. Manu Ginobli has only recently returned from injury, but Tim Duncan has gone down. Tony Parker has a bit of a history of posing a problem for the Cavs (2007 finals, anyone?) but the last time these teams met (in San Antonio) he netted a mere 11 points on 3 for 16 shooting.

The Cavs' road games (Washington, Orlando, Philadelphia and Indiana) look a bit more worrisome. Three of the Cavs' 12 road losses came against teams they will play again before the season ends. As before, the Wizards' victory isn't likely to be repeated. The Indiana game looks shakier as the team has had a habit of playing above their record against the league's better teams recording wins against the Celtics, Hawks, Rockets (twice), Lakers, Heat (twice), Magic, and Nuggets in addition to the Cavaliers. Orlando, for its part, recently defeated the Celtics, are lights out from outside, and have the games most dominant young big in Dwight Howard. The Cavs let them shoot in the teams' March 17 match-up in Cleveland and an off-night from Rashard Lewis and an inexplicable failure to feed the ball to Howard down low in the fourth quarter led to a win for the Wine and Gold. These Magical failures cannot be counted on again when the Cavs visit Orlando. The loss of Jameer Nelson means that the Magic are not as dangerous as they were, but the addition of Rafer Alston (and Howard patrolling the paint) means they still pose a threat. Further, both the Indiana and Orlando games are on the second day of a back to back (Cleveland's two remaining back to back sets of the season.)

It would not be surprising to finish the season with no more home losses and maybe one more road loss. A pessimistic estimate would put the Cavs finishing with two home losses (Boston, San Antonio) and two road losses (Indiana, Orlando), going 7-4 the rest of the way and finishing 65-17.

The Lakers' remaining schedule includes games against Portland, Utah, Denver, and the A.I.-Pistons - all who have beaten the Lake Show already this season. Throw in a game at upstart Atlanta, and even considering a conservative Cavalier win total, odds look decent for a Cavalier finish atop the NBA with home court throughout the playoffs.

Of course, those who can do math can see that I'm calling the Cavs to finish on top with 68... and then sweep Chicago in the first round, defeat Miami in the second, claim a second Eastern Conference Championship over Boston or Orlando, and defeat the Lakers in 7 games. Booyah.

Lasting Impressions from a Classic Game

2009-03-03T12:38:00.002-05:00

It shouldn't be news at this point in the day that last night the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat competed in what has to have been one of the greatest games of the season. Lebron's line of 42 points, 8 boards and 4 assists combined with DWade's line of 41 points, 9 assists, 7 boards, and 7 steals(!) to equals a legen - wait for it - dary contest. It takes a special night to make Mo Williams' 30 points, 7 assists, and 7 boards seem pedestrian.

I'm not going to recap the game here since by now that's already been done elsewhere with more skill than I could probably muster. I'm more interested in what lessons we can take away from this game.

The Cavs played extremely well against a resurgent Dwayne Wade - who, at this point, is one of the scariest players in the league - getting contributions from most of the team. Z, while having an off shooting night, pulled down 14 boards while Andy played some ridiculous fourth quarter defense and Delonte West played his own harassing D (netting 5 steals) despite a relatively low point total. All of our starters played heavy minutes and gutted out a fantastic win despite playing the 2nd game of a back-to-back during a 4 game in five night road trip after horrific plane delays caused them to arrive in Miami 12 hours before tip-off.

Our bench, however, was a different story. J.J. Hickson's -17 PER and turnstile rookie defense certainly didn't help. Wally Szczerbiak was sluggish, scoring 1 point in 13 minutes while Daniel Gibson proved that he has not at all recovered from the injured toe he's been nursing for weeks, playing only 9 relatively lackluster minutes. Matters were so dire in the backcourt that Brown inserted Sasha Pavlovic who is still recovering from a high-ankle sprain - to the tune of 0 points, a turnover and a foul in 7 minutes of play.

Examining his hard-nosed play of late, odds are good that Szczerbiak was simply fatigued last night and will recover in time for the Bucks game tomorrow in Cleveland. Hickson and Gibson, however, are bigger issues.

As much as I love the potential Hickson brings, offensively, to this team, and as much as I drool over his upside his defense is not up to par to play significant minutes in the playoffs. We can't depend on him to box out or defend Boston or Los Angeles bigs and as such he will likely do more harm than good on the court come the post-season. For that reason, I'm particularly excited at the prospect of signing Joe Smith when he clears waivers on Wednesday. Smith's veteran defense will be huge in the coming weeks while Ben Wallace nurses his broken leg. He will also come in handy spelling Z and Wallace in the playoffs, since he will be able to both add offense (a decent post game and a nice face-up 10-15 footer), rebounding and defense off the bench.

The Gibson problem is a bit trickier. Plain Dealer Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst has alluded to the fact that Gibson is still being bothered by his injured toe and has not been able to either properly heal or adjust his game. If this is the case, I just need to state that a healthy Daniel Gibson come playoff time is worth more to the season than a hurt Gibson playing right now. Boobie is barely producing in the minutes given due to this injury, and if it's rest he needs to heal then he needs to get it. Right now I'm a fan of shutting Gibson down for a few weeks and letting Tarence Kinsey into the rotation. It's useless to hope Gibson shoots his way out of his slump if the reason for the slump is an injury that only rest can heal. Yes the first seed is important, but in his current state Gibson is not helping the team secure that seed. Kinsey has shown quickness and energy on defense and would serve as a decent stop-gap as second guard off the bench while Gibson heals.

The Cavs haven't been fully healthy in months, but last night showed that, despite adversity, they can still find ways to win. Now the key is planning ahead to give themselves the best possible chance to bring home a championship.

Welcome Back Joe Smith?

2009-03-02T12:44:00.003-05:00

Yahoo Sports, via the Oklahoman, reports that Joe Smith has been bought out by the OKC Thunder. The 6'10" power forward was acquired by the Cavaliers in last season's deadline trade (along with Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West) and was subsequently shipped to Oklahoma City in the deal which brought Mo Williams to the Cavs.

Smith is now widely expected to sign with Cleveland, and indeed the Plain Dealer notes Smith could be a Cav as early as Wednesday bolstering the team's front court depth as it now must adapt to the injury of Ben Wallace (broken leg, out 4-6 weeks).

Smith is an extremely savvy veteran who will give the Cavs quality minutes off the bench over the next couple of months, and probably into the Cavs' playoff run. He will give Z and Wallace (once he returns) much needed rest without sacrificing defense, which is the risk when using rookie J.J. Hickson. In the second half of last season Smith gelled quickly with the Cavs, learning Mike Brown's defensive schemes, pulling down boards, and knocking down 10-15 footers. One would hope his learning curve this time around will be even less and he'll be able to contribute significant minutes immediately.

Speaking of former Cavs from last season, Drew Gooden was also released yesterday from the Sacramento Kings. While he played longer in Brown's system than Smith did, Gooden was far more inconsistent. He made continual mental lapses and frequently failed to rotate on defense. He certainly has more left in the tank than Smith, being younger, but at this point the Cavs need basketball I.Q. in a free agent big more than they need long term durability. There isn't much chance of the Cavs biting on Gooden, fortunately, so expect to see Smith once again don the Wine and Gold before the week is out.

The First Big Move of the Mangenius (ManKok?) Era

2009-02-28T09:24:00.003-05:00

The Cleveland sports blogosphere has been buzzing with news that Pro-Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for multiple draft picks. The picks have since been revealed to be this year's 2nd rounder and next year's fifth rounder.

Was this move good for the Browns? I do not give credence to those saying his attitude was a problem for the team; he was one of maybe three or four players last year that didn't quit no matter how bad the season got and most of his complaints were issues that we fans had as well. Winslow is an elite pass-catching talent at his position who creates horrendous mismatches for opposing teams, and gives 100% every game. He consistently plays through pain and has an insatiable desire to win. He could be counted on to bring his A-game every Sunday in which he suited up.

Unfortunately, after picking up a new agent in Drew "contract hold-out" Rosenhaus, he can also be counted on to demand a huge renegotiation of his contract in this offseason - likely more than the Browns would be able to pay. As well, after multiple surgeries his knees are far older than his 26 years. He will not likely have many more productive years, and has already admitted that he is only at 90% and probably will not recover further. He misses practices often and while he has a tremendous pain tolerance, there is no way his body can continue to handle the kind of stress an NFL career will put on it. Further, his run blocking was horrendous, which is something that the team can't really afford in the run-heavy winter months.

This was a move the Browns needed to make because they likely wouldn't have been able to retain Winslow's services anyway, and he is likely approaching the physical peak of his career. The team also has huge holes to fill on both defense (linebacker, cornerback, nose tackle if Shaun Rogers continues to be a petulant child, and safety if Sean Jones demands more in free agency than the Browns can afford) and offense (running back, wide receiver). An extra draft pick in the second round will go a long way towards picking up another player that can contribute immediately, especially since Phil Savage traded this year's third round pick last offseason.

K2 was one of my favorite Browns last season, but I completely support this trade. With Heiden and Rucker (both apparently better blockers) at tight end we have the depth to absorb Winslow's loss and if the Browns play free agency and the draft well we could be in a position to post a winning record as soon as this-coming season.

Oh Well, Shark Got Her. Jaws Got Her.

2009-02-23T13:47:00.002-05:00

On Sunday the Cavaliers, celebrating the return of starting shooting guard Delonte West, destroyed the former Central Division powerhouse Detroit Pistons 99-78. And much like the early games of the season after the team started to gel, Lebron James didn't play in the fourth quarter.

How important is West to this Cleveland team? Let's let the blogosphere fill us in:

Waiting For Next Year:

Can it really be that simple? Does Delonte West really make the Cavaliers that much better? If Sunday night was any indication, the answer to that is an emphatic yes.

...

Delonte West told LeBron James no! Delonte was bringing the ball up the floor and James called for it at half court, seemingly to start his pound the ball until the shot clock was expiring and jack up a contested shot, and Delonte West waved him off!!! (In case you are unclear, this is a very good thing…)

The Cleveland Fan:

Without Delonte, the Cavs were 12-5. Good, but not quite as good as the 30-6 they were with him. So it was a relief to see West back in the starting lineup last night. He waited about all of two and a half minutes before showing that he was back from his injury. A three-pointer. An aggressive layup attempt that drew a foul, resulting in two free throws. Another three-pointer. And then yet another three-pointer. By the end of the first half, West had scored 20 points.

Ball Don't Lie:

Bad news for the rest of the league. A few days after the trade deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded absolutely nobody for Delonte West, a combo guard from St. Joe's.

Plain Dealer writer Terry Pluto:

It's no accident the Cavs have their best court spacing and most consistent ball movement when West plays. He is a shooting guard with point guard skills and a point guard mindset. Just because James or anyone else calls for the ball, West doesn't automatically throw it. He wants the offense to set up. He also throws long passes up the court to start a fast break -- rather than dribble the ball every time, as too many guards are prone to do.

Plain Dealer Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst:

With West, James and Williams, who had 11 points and four assists, handling the ball, the entire offense seemed to move effortlessly. The team finished with a season-low six turnovers and had just one in a nearly flawless first half.

Delonte West has been one of my favorite Cavs since last year's playoff series against the Celtics. While many of the other non-Lebron Cavs (pre- and post-trade) seemed overwhelmed and on their heels offensively, West consistently showed a fearlessness to drive the lane and take his turn creating shots for himself and his teammates. This season he has proved to be a perfect offensive piece next to Mo Williams and Lebron allowing for incredible ball movement and wreaking havoc on opposing defensive schemes. He has also been the teams single best perimeter defender - even though he is a bit undersized at his position - and has established himself as a legit three-point threat.

And let's not forget the fact that he gives the best interview on the entire team.

The Cavs were missing a key cog while West was out, not only in terms of stats but in terms of sheer energy, determination and will. He gives 100% every time he steps onto the court and, perhaps most importantly, doesn't always defer to Lebron when 23 begins to think that only he can save the game. West knows this game and can play this game. Without him the Cavs are very good, but with him they are close to unstoppable.

Wally World's Price Tag Too Good to Resist?

2009-02-18T22:05:00.004-05:00

At 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon the N.B.A.'s trade deadline will pass. The Cavs have been one of the teams most speculated to make a big move all season thanks to the expiring contract of Wally Szczerbiak, however as of this point no move has been made.

I just want to state for the record here that months ago I was a fan of giving Wally a 30-day vacation in L.A. in exchange for the services of one Marcus Camby. Camby solidifies our front court, plays excellent defense (while scoring more reliably and being taller than Ben Wallace) and has a contract that expires at the same time as Wallace and Big Z (after next season). Camby would lock in a championship this season, in my opinion, because he would finally give us the size to match up with L.A.'s huge front court. Sadly, Brian Windhorst (Cavs beat writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and one of the best basketball writers around) has reported a trade for Camby is all but dead.

Once this news leaked, Camby rumors abated a bit (though hardly died out) and the Cavs were reportedly in talks for Wizards forward Antawn Jamison. I personally think it's unlikely the Wizards want to part with Jamison since they, for some reason, believe that the trio of Jamison/Butler/Arenas will take them out of the first round of the playoffs. They're even rumored to be yearning for the services of Larry Hughes again. The Hughes to Wizards trade wouldn't work for the former Bullets for the same reason I'm wary of this Jamison trade. It'd give the team four starters that basically do the same thing. If Jamison were to come to the Cavs we'd be getting a former 2-time All-Star currently averaging 20 and 9. The problem is his 20 and 9 come from the wing, slashing and taking mid-range jumpers. There's no question that Jamison is a great player but I don't think the Cavs should alter their roster (which I do not think will have a problem winning the East) for a guy whose game will pretty much mimic what Mo, Delonte, and Lebron already do, except from the 4 position.

Championships are won with balance. The Spurs had Parker and Ginobli on the wing with Duncan on the block. The Heat had Wade and Shaq. Detroit fielded four jack-of-all trades starters and a young DPoY Ben Wallce enforcing down low. When's the last time a team won with four starters playing on the wing and a center whose best game is from 15-22 feet from the hoop?

The New Orleans/Oklahoma City trade killed me because it involved three players I would have loved to see in Wine and Gold: Tyson Chandler, Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. Though Wilcox is a little raw (and Chandler is kind of raw too, but with tremendous upside) all three players make their living in the paint. That's what the Cavs need. When Sasha Pavlovic and Daniel Gibson are on (here's hoping they are on at the same time some time this season) our depth at guard is 4-5 deep, with Wally and Pavs able to step into the 3 as well. Behind aging Z and extremely aging Wallace, we have an energy guy in Varajao and prospects in Hickson and Jackson (and Jackson is pretty much a prospect to be an energy guy.)

Rock over at WaitingforNextYear has laid out quite well the status of the Cavs with relation to the salary cap going into the next few seasons.

As things stand right now, I'd have the Cavs stand pat. With a healthy team I like our chances this year and next, and Danny Ferry has masterfully engineered tremendous salary flexibility in 2010. With the tremendous free agent class of that off-season the Cavs have a chance to scoop up some great young talent while some teams are off making futile runs at other teams' max contract players. Even taking Lebron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Amar'e Stoudemire out of the picture, several bigs will be available for the right Cleveland offer. The aforementioned Chandler will be unrestricted (and likely not a max-deal player for an OKC that will have Kevin Durant to re-sign) as will Nenad Kristic, Andre Kirilenko, Samuel Dalembert and, just for fun, Pau Gasol (the Lakers should have fun renegotiating with both Bryant and Gasol). And let's not forget J.J. Hickson will have had two years under Big Z and Wallace.

It's hard to remember now with half of our guards hurt and our front-court showing their age, but the Cavs are a great team when healthy, as currently constructed. Making no move does not hurt us, and being in a position to pick up the players that slip through the cracks in 2010 will only help.

James Gang Now Kings of the Hill

2009-01-08T11:25:00.000-05:00

It's January 8, 2009 and the Cleveland Cavaliers sit atop the Eastern Conference and are tied with the Lakers for the best record in the NBA. I can't even remember the last time I was able to say such a thing about any major sports team from Cleveland.

The Cavs' 30 point drubbing of the Charlotte Bobcats last night, along with the Celtics ignominious slide from the top of the hill (including losses to the Knicks and those same Bobcats, capped by a home loss to Houston yesterday) made official what any good Cavs fan knew from the start: the Cavs are the best team in the East.

In many ways, however, the pummeling the Cavs rained down upon the Bobcats Wednesday night was a relief more than anything. Since Z injured his ankle against the 76ers in late December the Wine and Gold have never quite been the same. They eked out wins against the Heat and, gasp, the Wizards and in what was hopefully a wake-up call actually lost to the faux-Bullets earlier this week.

From the first few weeks of seeing how this team has reacted to the addition of catalyst Mo Williams I've thought that, barring injury, there is no team this Cavs club has to fear over seven games as long as they bring it every night. We're seeing now, with Z's injury, that he is just as important to assistant coach John Kuester's offensive schemes as Mo. His ability to hit the outside shot (now including territory behind the arc) spaces the floor allowing our guards (not to mention certain "small" forwards) to wreak havoc on opposing interior defenses, and his Dhalsim-like arms allow him to rack up tip-ins and tip-backs like no one else on the team.

The Cavs' return to these blowout ways hopefully signals a return of their killer instinct from the fall. Their ability - unique in the league and the source of their league leading +12.4 average point differential - to step on the gas and never let up. It hopefully means that Kuester has managed to finally adapt to Z's absence - due to last up to a month - which is a feat especially necessary since the Cavs host Eastern Conference rivals - and defending NBA Champions - the Celtics tomorrow.

Up until Z's injury, the Cavs were playing championship caliber basketball. Hopefully they can take advantage of a stumbling Celtics club to adjust to Z's absence going into the toughest part of their schedule that they've yet faced. If the Cavs can't cope they still have Wally's expiring contract and the conspicuous vacancy of Jawad Williams' roster spot. Wally's been working hard for us this season. I for one wouldn't mind giving him 30 days off.

Buckeyes Lose Game, Win Respect

2009-01-06T00:07:00.006-05:00

It's been a few minutes now since the #10 Ohio State Buckeyes lost in heartbreaking fashion to the #3 Texas Longhorns 24-21 at the Tostitos, yum, Fiesta Bowl. The game went as most Ohio sports games have gone for most of the last few years: namely, the home team scrapes and grinds its way to position itself for victory, only to see it snatched away in spectacular fashion (re: ALCS '07, Eastern Conference Semi's '08, ad nauseum). But before I revert to my "woe is Ohio" form, I would like to take a moment to applaud these Buckeyes for a great game, for a great year, and for showing the nation the real Big Ten.

Normally, my Cleveland and generally Ohio ties lead me to accept this loss as inevitable, the way of the cosmos, the natural order of things. And in all honesty, our Bucks, chosen for this bowl game (allegedly) because of its massive alumni following and the subsequent revenue, were never supposed to beat these Longhorns, who were motivated by the failings of the BCS system and expected to run wild with its vaunted offense led by Heisman finalist Colt McCoy and its #2 run defense bent on flexing its weight on the Pryor/Beanie 2-headed monster. (Although, admittedly, they play in a conference known more for its gunslingers and spread offenses than down and dirty running games.) Yes, everyone was expected to show up and humor themselves to an official contest.

What nobody outside of the Buckeye state expected was an actual game.

Rather than rant uncontrollably, let's just hit on a few points and enjoy a game well-played:

Quite possibly the last collegiate game for Chris "Beanie" Wells, tonight was basically a microcosm of his career with the Buckeyes. In the first half, Wells was the Ohio State offense. Unstoppable on most of his carries, he ran for almost 100 yards before halftime against a team that gave up less than 75 YPG on the year. In the second half, somebody must have swapped his jersey with the other RB Wells. Either that or (most likely) he aggravated some injury that will scare away some of the higher drafting NFL teams (I'm looking at you, Cleveland). Beanie had alluded that he wanted to leave OSU as the best RB to ever come through Columbus. I'll remember him as the uber-talented tank that needed a tune-up every now and then. Or I'll see him next year in scarlet and gray. Meh.

Great run by Dan Herron for the go-ahead TD. So great it was almost unbelievable. How many of you thought that Texas just wanted the ball back? Or better yet, how many of you thought that, with just under two minutes left, already in field goal range, and Texas having only two timeouts left, Boom should have just dropped a knee at the 3-yard line? Yes, touchdowns are daggers and look pretty on national TV, and I know that you always take the points, no matter what, but isn't this one of those moments where you want to control the game (and the ball)? It was obvious that Texas had the firepower to fly down the field, and although it was, is, and always will be defense that will define Tressel's Buckeyes, I think that the situation could have been avoided altogether. (And yes, a chip-shot field goal is never a guarantee, but blah.)

Kudos to Todd Boeckman, Senior Team Captain and class act all around. Great hook-up with Robiskie (who's no slouch himself) on the bomb early in the fourth quarter which led to (I think) three points, and for that fade route to Pryor for the first TD. Tressel used him as a change of pace, to give Texas a different look, and to provide a spark to the offense whose passing game was (ahem) sub-par throughout most of the first three quarters. His play tonight was all business and how I'd like to remember him...

...except that I will most likely remember him as that quarterback that took a 10-yard sack with 11 seconds left in the game, when Ohio State had two timeouts to burn, great field position after the kickoff (due to the obligatory unsportsmanlike conduct penalty assessed during the winning TD play), and a kicker who had crushed a 51-yarder already in this game. (Aside: Isn't it funny that after each FGM, the announcers found it necessary to add 6-10 yards to the kick as to how much farther back OSU kicker Aaron Pettrey ["Treeeeeey?" Nope- just not the same...] could have kicked the ball? "He could have boomed that one from 56, 57 yards out..." Yes. Maybe. Or maybe not. It was a 51-yard FG.) The sack basically ended the game, when a couple of quick 10-yard out passes could have given Pettrey a chance to earn a nickname. Alas, the non-mobile Boeckman fell like DA's career with the Browns, thus forcing a timeout and the subsequent Hail Mary, which I believe should have been Pryor's toss, since he actually does have a cannon for an arm, just not quite the accuracy yet. Ah well.

Did anyone else notice the greatest flop in the world? It was during the first OSU two-point conversion attempt (of the year, oddly enough). Terrell Pryor was jocking for position to catch the fade pass again from Boeckman- and then he established that position and caught the pass. But somehow, some freakish force of nature pulled the (1/2 ft. shorter) DB back, causing him to flail two yards out of bounds. The rare "double interference" call forced a re-play of the attempt, which was a pass later dropped by Rory Nichols (who is still on the team, somehow, even though he blocked for Bobby Hoying and caught a few passes from Craig Krenzel during his 3rd redshirt season. Not really. By the way, I will never understand entrusting these key plays of the game to players and plays that, though surprising to the defense, do not play to the strengths of the team. Sometimes these plays can work, but why are we looking for Jake Ballard to make shoestring catches for 21 yards to bail us out? These plays should be run during the course of the game to keep the defense off-balance- not when it's a do-or-die situation. Those are the times that you trust the players who carried you there in the first place. And what the heck happened to Brian Hartline, anyway?).

That first half was won by the OSU defense and Chris Wells. By controlling the line, the Buckeyes controlled the clock and kept Texas off the field. The final minute of the half saw Texas get the ball into Ohio State's red zone, only to get shut down again with McCoy's lame duck intercepted at the one by Anderson Russell. It was obvious in the 3rd quarter that the Longhorns weren't going to play that game. Two possessions later, Texas had scored twice, Ohio State was sitting on 3-and-outs, and the Buckeye D, once kept fresh by their teammates' running game, looked confused, inept, and at times dead-tired.

Which brings me back to that final Longhorns scoring drive. This didn't have to happen- it could have been a full field, 30 seconds, and no timeouts left had the Buckeyes settled for the field goal (as previously wished). But the drive did happen. The Longhorns didn't have to convert that 4th and 3 at the Buckeye 40, along with a generous (and fair) spot to give them the 1st down. But they did convert. And Tressel didn't have to blitz like a madman on the defense's last 3 or 4 downs, thus leaving the safety alone as, well, the safety. But blitz they did. Texas took their opportunities on that last drive and made them count. Nothing you can do but tip your cap to that.

Who says the Big Ten is weak? Aside from everyone. I don't know... I'm positive people tuned in to see another Ohio State massacre. And save for a couple strokes of good or bad luck here and there, I could be congratulating the team for a great underdog victory. But I will say that this team did not play the way they (and their conference) is perceived. These Buckeyes did the Big Ten proud, and I think the respect they earned tonight will pay dividends for the Buckeyes and for their conference in the future.

That being said... blah. Texas wins. Funny, it's weird seeing a team in orange come out victorious. Weird and yet horribly familiar...

4, 8, 15, 16, 23... 40?

2008-12-09T11:44:00.010-05:00

It's easy to get Lost in the numbers game of Major League Baseball, especially now that the "hot stove" season is well under way as the annual winter meetings of GMs, agents, and curious free agents that happen to be in Vegas at the time get thrown into the fire together to cook up the deals every pundit and baseball fan have been hungry for since the last out of the 2008 season. At the culmination of this conference comes the Rule 5 Draft, and with it goes (usually) a number of Cleveland Indians whose careers with the parent club are (usually) snuffed before they even get a chance to blossom. This year is no different, as there are a number of candidates ready and waiting for the taking.

I'm a numbers guy. This would explain my love for baseball and my reluctance to watch, say, the National Spelling Bee (but less my disdain for people who confuse "then" and "than" or "your" and "you're"- ugh). But some numbers irk me, though justified, to no measure, especially as a fan of those lovable small-to-mid market teams. Numbers like "5" and "40"- as in Rule 5 and 40-man roster. There's a complicated explanation to this, and Tony Lastoria goes the extra mile to give you a FAQ heads up on this. It's interesting stuff. Like watching paint dry, yes, but probably the most exciting paint ever.

What you should get out of this is that teams protect who they deem, basically, the top-40 (ish) eligible players in their organization at that time. All other eligible players are up for grabs. Every team goes through this, and every team gets the opportunity to draft (or "steal") unprotected players from other teams, which generally makes it fair, except that some teams have exceptional farm systems (Rangers, Rays), some tread water with the occasional splash (Orioles, Braves, ahem, Cleveland) and some teams have jack (Astros, White Sox, Tigers). So for teams on the low-end of the spectrum, it makes sense to use this opportunity to fill a positional need from the rich talent pool of high-end teams.

Why would a team want, technically, a team's 41st-ranked player, you ask? Well, maybe one team's #41 player is another team's #35. Sometimes a player with all the talent in the world is put into this ranking because of injury history, depth at that position on the big league club, or the idea that they might just sneak by undrafted because of an off year in the farm.

But, but but.. why would a team not want to steal said talented player? Well, it costs $50,000 to make this selection, not exactly chump change. A team needs to have an open spot on its 40-man roster to participate as well, and these spots might already be taken. Plus, the potential player isn't protected for some reason, and the selected player would need to stay on the active 25-man roster for an entire season, a spot that is basically treated like gold on Major League teams. It's generally difficult on a team to keep dead weight on its active roster, but it can be done (see: 2008 Cleveland Indians Andy Marte).

Teams tend to look for three things in the Rule 5 draft: bullpen help, versatile hitting prospects (utility, multi-dimensional), and catchers. Guess what the Tribe has in droves? The names most often dropped are 1B/OF Jordan Brown, SP lefty Chuck Lofgren, and RP right-handed Randy Newsom- and why not? Brown is a 2-time minor league MVP. Lofgren was once the #2 pitching prospect in our system before injury and ineffectiveness turned his 2008 season into a tough pill to swallow. And Newsom has done nothing but pitch well, albeit with a 1:1 K/BB ratio and a silly sidearm delivery that might scare some clubs away. The Indians lose what seems like the most Rule 5 picks of all teams, and though they don't all turn into winners (Taveras, Barton), the ones returned to us seem to be a shell of their former potential (Whitney, Goleski). This year won't be any different if the decision is final not to protect these guys.

As has been the case for years, the Cleveland Indians have a select number of players available for the picking, choosing to protect only 39 players in case a free agent signing is made or to participate in the draft itself. Most of them merit this protection, the Sizemores and the Cabreras and the Choos our world; others are untradeable roster fodder whose contracts keep them in an Indians uniform (David Delucci, I hate you.). And as of yesterday, the number has dropped to 38 with the announcement of Tom Mastny's trade to the Yokohama BayStars in Japan. I'm not going to get into that. But the trimming down to 38 seems to me a likely sign that the front office is about to make a splash at these winter meetings.

Looking at the 40-man roster, the Indians have protected five backstops, and though a valuable commodity in the baseball market, the team will most likely not use all five catchers in this upcoming season. This is as sure a sign as any that the club plans on using this surplus of talent as trade bait. Victor, as the face of the franchise and an irreplaceable source of offense at a premium position? He's a keeper. Torregas and Gimenez? Best defenders in the system, with some pop, versatility, and potential looking like backups in waiting (although I would love to package one of these guys in a trade for a proven starter sometime). Carlos Santana was the prize of the Blake trade last season and looks to be Victor's heir-in-waiting. That leaves backup-turned-starting catcher Kelly Shoppach, who proved his worth last year to the tune of 21 HRs in 352 ABs. Eye-popping? Yes. Starting caliber? Of course. Tradeable asset? Hell yeah! The shortage of infield talent, injuries at starting pitching, and implosion of the bullpen last year are all well-publicized. Getting a Major League-ready talent for as proven a commodity as Shoppach might wash off the stink of this past season. That and Shoppach's 2.65 AB:K ratio can be forgotten that much faster. (That's a strikeout 38% of the time, people. We have plenty of windmills like this scattered throughout our team.)

"Shopping" Shoppach for prospects would open up roster space for our trio stuck in non-rostered limbo, but moving him for bullpen or rotation help seems the most likely outcome. In my opinion, best-case scenario would be finding a suitor for Delucci's contract (ha!) packaged with Shoppach and maybe Ben Francisco for an established reliever, a project SP, and a low level prospect. Or if we devalue our prospects that much, then packaging some of these Rule-5ers with Shoppach for something that can help us this coming season (I can't help but think that this is how we obtained Santana so handily for the Bearded One).

Despite the stats which prove me quite wrong, I don't think Lofgren is finished. I think that one more year of grooming in the minors will put him back on the radar and that being stashed into big league middle relief will only hurt his once bottomless potential. On the other hand, Jordan Brown's numbers don't translate to a typical corner position or outfielder. It looks like his ceiling is Sean Casey- not bad, but with the logjam at 1B already, it's not likely that we would have seen the Jordan Brown years in a Cleveland uniform (though I'm not exactly pining for Michael Aubrey at-bats either). And Randy Newsom seems like one of those bargains that the A's usually take. Like Shoppach, Newsom was another "throw-in" in the Marte trade that had become a staple in the Akron bullpen before getting called up to AAA last year. And even with the volatile bullpen of this past season, Newsom's gimmicky approach didn't seem to wow management enough to protect him from the Rule 5.

All in all, it wouldn't surprise me if the Tribe lost two, if not all three, of these once-prized prospects. It's just another case of baseball's numbers at work- and a testament to the excellent job the front office does in identifying talent. Finding a deal for Shoppach, shoring up our bullpen and rotation, settling the infield questions- the Indians are caught in the numbers game, and sooner or later this offseason, the front office will have to decide how it all adds up for 2009.

The Most New York Will Ever Get of Lebron

2008-11-25T16:42:00.003-05:00

The story of the last few years in the national basketball media (basically since the day Lebron signed his current contract with the Cavs) has been Lebron James' imminent, inevitable departure from Cleveland to the greater New York area.

Several blogs around the Internet have tried to quell these rumors with things like facts, logic, and knowledge of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.

As a born and bred Cleveland fan living in New York City, however, it seems like most of the people here (and several members of the aforementioned national basketball media) have not quite gotten it. During last week's drubbing of the New Jersey Nets, Lebron's press conference focused mostly on when he was going to dump that dingy, small market midwestern team and assume his throne atop the mecca of basketball.

I'm paraphrasing, of course (or am I...?)

The media circus looks to be even bigger for the Cavs' first visit of the season to Madison Square Garden taking on the New York Knicks. Knicks GM Donnie Walsh has been in the news lately for making a few trades designed to dump salary before the so-called "Summer of Lebron" free agent season in 2010. And, like others around the Internet I couldn't be happier.

You see, unlike the plethora of Cavs fans who (rightly and justifiably) are getting sick of and offended at all of this "Lebron to NY" blabber I have decided to embrace it. I rejoice every time I hear another Knicks fan salivate at the thought of the summer of 2010. My heart leaps with joy with every article I read raving on and on about how good Lebron will look in a Knicks jersey. I cheer on Mr. Walsh every time he guts this team's present for some pipe-dream future.

I don't do these things because I think Lebron is actually leaving. I haven't lost my mind amid all of the noxious Manhattan exhaust (and other) fumes and become a Knick fan.

No, I do these things because I cannot wait for Lebron to re-up with Cleveland and see this huge tower of pomp and false hope come crashing down, and to see the looks on the faces all of the Knick fans hoping to steal the heart of the Cavaliers when they realize they just turned their team into shit for nothing.

Can I guarantee that No. 23 stays in Cleveland? Of course not. I am supremely confident in saying, however, that his only concern - the sole deciding factor - will be the opportunity to win as many championships as he can. Money is not a factor, as the Cavs can offer him $30 million and one year more than any other team in the league. Cap space is not a factor since the Cavs have his Bird rights and can exceed the cap to sign him.

The simple fact is that Lebron dragged a sorry cast featuring Sasha Pavlovic and Larry Hughes into the NBA Finals two seasons ago. The team that got swept by the Spurs was by far inferior to the team currently enjoying the view from the top of the Central Division. This is the best shot the Cavs have ever had to win a championship in the history of the franchise, and if they make it even in one of the two years between now and 2010 (I'm personally betting on this year AND next year, barring injury, knock on wood) I think Lebron stays.

So I'm going to be in a Knicks bar tonight as Lebron exhibits to this city what they will never have playing for them, and I will cheer loudly as the Cavs destroy them.

To those who think he'd leave a championship caliber team to rebuild with a lottery team, I have a brand new arena to sell you in Brooklyn. I swear it will be there in two years...

"Puff-Puff-Give! You're (Messing) Up the Rotation!"

2008-10-31T22:19:00.003-04:00

This isn't to say that Mike Brown is messing up his rotations (with one glaring exception in the Boston game.) This is to say, rather, that these are the line-ups I'd most like to see from start to second unit and beyond.

Starting Line-Up

Mo Williams

Delonte West

Lebron James

Ben Wallce

Zydrunus Ilgauskus

Other than Wallace, this line-up gives us scoring at every position and I think this teams needs to start fast and knock opponents hard in the mouth before the second unit comes on. Shooting guard is really the only debatable position on the starting unit, but it's quite a debate. Wally Szczerbiak, Sasha Pavlovic, and Daniel Gibson could all probably start at this position and have started for the Cavs in the past.

Wally World has been off since he got to the Cavs, never really got into his pre-Cavs form, and hasn't shown through pre-season and two regular season games that he has gotten there yet. Further, his huge expiring contract will be huge trade-bait come February and I'd rather not have the Cavs grow to depend on a player that will (hopefully) be moved for a tough big to place behind our aging front line.

Pavs has been off since the Finals run in '07. Last season contract holdouts and injury limited his development and whenever he touches the ball now he seems afraid to miss. He passes on open looks and his athleticism goes to waste because when he drives he either gets blocked or fouled with no call. On defense he has shown flashes of playing the kind of big-guard/mismatch D that Mike Brown loves, but he has also shown flashes of falling asleep on his feet and waking up again sitting on the bench. To work into the starting line-up he'll have to show that he can focus and bring it consistently not just every day, but every minute he's on the court.

Boobie Gibson displayed a ridiculous shooting touch in a coming out party against the Pistons in game 6 of the '07 Eastern Conference Finals. Legends of his shooting prowess only grew last year but with whispers that he desperately needed to work on his mid-range game. The way he played with Mo Williams in the Bobcats game, he made a huge case for himself. Not only was he 66% from 3, but he showed ball movement and penetration on the way to leading the Cavs in scoring with 25 points. It's because of this energy, though, I like bringing him in as the first player off the bench, sort of like JET when the Mavs were still relevant.

Which bring us to West. His decent handle, decent passing, and decent penetration make him a pretty obvious backup point guard to Williams. So why do I have him starting at 2 guard? Because I think West's mobility on offense and defense gives the Cavs the opportunity to open up big, which we apparently need because of the way this team comes out every third quarter. I'd actually prefer to have a round-robin rotation in which West comes out for Gibson for a rest in the mid to late first quarter. After Williams and Gibson wreak havoc on opposing defenses, West comes in at point to spell Williams. Until he proves himself I'd rather use Sasha in garbage time, and to give Lebron his ten minutes of rest per game.

Since Lebron played the 4 on the U.S. Olympic team, and after Ferry Acquired Williams from Milwaukee, much has been speculated on the Cavs occasionally going small. This would be a great change of pace move, used no more than a few minutes at a time to keep opponents off balance and hopefully rattle off some quick points before coming back with some size after exploiting some mismatches. For the Cavs to run small I'd love to see:

Mo Williams

Daniel Gibson

Sasha Pavlovic/Tarence Kinsey

Lebron James

Anderson Varajao

We can definitely run with this line up, Boobie and (hopefully) Pavs should both be able to sharpshoot, Williams and Boobie can both move on and off the ball, and James can pretty much do everything. If he develops a post game this line-up gets even more interesting. Starting out the season I wasn't a Varajao fan, but so far this season he's really shown me up. He's no longer trying to force his offense, he's playing all-over-the-place D, and he's everywhere on the boards. Playing small this group could run circles around most teams in the league.

Make no mistake, though. While this could be a dynamic look off and on, this team will win or lose this season in the half court. They'll get their fast breaks and they'll push the ball, but don't expect dramatic changes from last season, except less watch-Lebron-Dribble offense.

As long as we don't see any more of that horrible Lorenzen Wright/Anderson Varajao/Sasha Pavlovic/Wally World/Daniel Gibson line up that we saw in Boston (that just looks like the abyss where wins go to die) we should do pretty well.

In limited minutes against the Bobcats J.J. Hickson looked very solid and if he develops like we're all hoping he does he'll be the Cavs' solid 4 going forward, playing next to (I can't believe I'm saying this) the Anderson Varajao defending/rebounding machine after Ben and Z retire.

Here's to another season of Cavs basketball. See you in the Finals.*

*furiously knocking on wood

Cavs Preview

2008-10-28T15:20:00.003-04:00

I'm going to say... 53-29. 2nd place in the Central, 3rd best record in the East, Eastern Conference Finals loss to, say... I dunno... Detroit? Philadelphia? Yeah, that seems about right.

The 2008-09 version of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not exactly the same team that took Boston to Game 7 in the semis last season. Don't get me wrong: I'm pretty excited about Mo Williams running the point to let the best player in the NBA roam free in his new Zooms. I also think the pseudo-contract year Varejao will bring back the "Wild Thing" to new heights. This team should be more exciting, should score more points, and, with relative health and cohesion, should win more games than last year's concoction of players. But what to expect when you're expecting? Let's see:

Lebron will be asked to do less PG-play, at least in the first three-and-a-half quarters of games. I honestly don't see Mo running the point in the 4th, though, it still being Lebron's team.
Big Ben! Or rather, Big Ben's Back! Or... the Back of Big Ben. Ben Wallace's back is a concern. He's still got the ups but his downs worry me. I look forward to 6 points, 9 boards, and (shudder) 40% at the line.
Define shooting guard. I always thought that it was "short sharpshooter that can't ball-handle as well nor set up other players." Well, this year's Cavs have a plethora of choices to stick in that spot- none of which can be counted on to "take the ball and run with it" so to speak. With Mo on board, it's not a necessity to have this position be a dead-on marksman, but I would like to see this player be able to defend his position and to help out around the perimeter (and a nice touch from outside is quite welcome). That being said, who on this team can do all that? Delonte? Maybe, but he might be a liability against taller, more physical SGs. Wally World is lights-out from downtown, but he's Chinese take-out on D (gobbled up, swallowed dumped, and flushed in no time... and still leaving you feeling unsatisfied). My choice? Sasha. I'll get into this another day...
I'm worried that this new, faster offense will have the adverse effect of turning us sluggish in the second half. Mind you, the Cavs weren't exactly the "Beez Neez" in 3rd quarters last year. But we usually made up for it with pretty spectacular 4th quarters. Here's hoping all that "running" we'll be doing now doesn't gas us in the second halves of games.
Lebron for MVP? That's always the popular vote. This year? I don't think so. I think this summer of fun (read: Beijing Olympics) will take its toll on our hero and we'll probably see a decline in production come February and so on. Luckily, I think we can weather a few off-nights with the (exponentially) better '08-09 team.
Free throws. Make them. Make the free throws. They are there to be taken for they are free. Make them. (Aside: Mo Williams picks up the overall team FT%, but probably not by much. LBJ still takes more free throws than Shaq in his prime and the results are trending to be eerily similar. Hack-A-Bron? I surely hope not.
J.J. Hickson. What did you do. Doghouse already? The Mike Brown Doghouse of _amon _ones infamy? Where the light is as mythical as a Boobie Gibson dunk? Yes, you may see it once in all its glory, but when you are in that deep, you may as well be wearing your best funeral suit because you are buried in the depth chart. I'm still in the dark about this guy. I'm also quite hopeful that he can develop into Larry Nance Jr., or at least a Hot Rod. But it's hard to grow when you're at the bottom.
The East. A lot of teams got pretty good. I'm half-worried about the Torontos and Phillys in our league. Luckily, there's Milwaukee (and no Mo to kill us!), Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Miami, Charlotte, and Washington on which to pad that record. The Cavs problem for the past few years has been the tendency to play to the opponent's level, losing a number of games to the cellar-dwellers of the league. I think the Cavs come out much more focused this year against the lottery lot.

Alright. So there are your Cleveland Cavaliers. High expectations. The Indians came into 2008 with those same expectations and had an Ace up their sleeve. They would eventual muck before the turn. The Browns gambled with DA and are finding out that having a pair of QBs doesn't guarantee a win. But unlike those teams, the Cavs have the King with their ace and can do the dance with anybody this year.

Browns Suspend Winslow, Continue on With Ridiculously Stupid Season

2008-10-21T23:36:00.003-04:00

After heated comments after the horrendous (and preventable) loss to the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Browns have suspended Pro-Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow for one game without pay. I just need to say: What The Fuck.

To recap, Winslow was hospitalized for an "undisclosed illness" for most of the week, and it wasn't until the disgraceful loss in the Redskins game that he revealed that he had actually contracted ~~Brownsitis~~ staph (becoming the 39,492,305th Brown to contract the illness in the last few years.) He also stated that the team decided to conceal his condition, and that Phil Savage neglected to call him when he was sick, or tuck him into bed.

Now, his little outburst concerned Savage contacting him in the hospital is kind of ridiculous, granted, but suspending one of the only players to come out day after day and bring the same level of talent and intensity? Please. In a statement Savage stated

His comments and behavior on Sunday evening, however, were unwarranted, inappropriate, and unnecessarily disparaging to our organization. His statements brought unjustified negative attention to our organization, and violated the team-first concept of our football squad.

Are you kidding me? I'll tell you what's unwarranted, inappropriate, and unnecessarily disparaging to the Browns, Mr. Savage. A quarterback that barely has the mental discipline to bring his A-game every day and has basically single-handedly tanked the Browns' playoff hopes this season. A head coach that can't get his team to line up correctly at the fucking line of scrimmage and that doesn't possess the sense of sight required to notice that his starting quarterback is playing like a pee-wee league bench warmer. That's what brings "unjustified negative attention" to the organization. Losing when you have every opportunity to win. Not being able to make a decision to the benefit of your team. Taking a huge shit on the most loyal fans in football by suspending the most passionate, most talented player on the team for displaying the same displeasure that the entire city you supposedly represent feels.

Savage went on to say:

the players have been educated on the risks of staph, and that during training camp the entire team took part in an extensive presentation by infectious disease experts.

"Kellen was in attendance at that meeting," Savage said. "Since that meeting, not one player has approached me, Romeo Crennel, or our medical staff with concerns as to how we have dealt with this issue."

People really have to come to you concerned? Are the six players (including your star tight end, and one of the league's most productive possession receivers in Joe Jurevicius) that have contracted staph so far not enough? Do players need to wave huge signs saying "Please don't let me contract a debilitating illness"?

The fans are watching you, Savage, and we are starting to come out against your organization. Suspending one of the only players that seems to care on your team is not a way to win us over.

I was on your side until this, Savage. I thought the only real problem areas were the head coach and quarterback (because, really, those are enough problems.) But if you're going to be so shortsighted as to suspend the most consistent player on your team because he hurt your feelings, and yet allow Romeo Crennel and Derek Anderson to wipe their asses with the faith Browns fans give them every week, then I think you can get on the same rail I've reserved for the two of them and ride it on out of town.

Holy Overused Analogy!

2008-10-21T13:19:00.006-04:00

Lebron James is the biggest player in Cleveland sports. This is the truth. Grady Sizemore, Brady Quinn, Pronk (from days past), even the globular Shaun Rogers- these titans are all great players and have had or will have their days in the golden sun at various points in their Cleveland sports careers. But Lebron is The Man in Cleveland. Has this been established? This is as close to Fact as I can utter. The man is bigger than Big. When you Google Map the U.S., you see some lakes, some mountains and highways, and then smack-dab in the heart of it all is a giant head wearing a wine and gold headband. That being said...

Am I the only one tired of hearing the Batman/Robin reference? This can't be.

Now, the answer to that question is "mostly no." Here's one guy who's resolved to stop saying it. And granted, the NBA in general has their share of superhero comparisons, from Superman in Orlando, to Flash in Miami, to Chris "Birdman" Andersen in New Orleans. (I'm stretching this. I care not.)

I submit, to the members of the jury, that our star player is NOT Batman, nor does he need, what has been referred to as "a Robin." This is Opinion.

In the realm of comics, Batman is the world's greatest detective. He's sneaky. Stealthy. He's got no powers: he's just at the apex of human achievement. Batman is driven by a psychotic urge to bring justice to evil-doers in a way that might assuage his guilt over his parents death. Never, to my witless knowledge, will he cross that line, but he does everything in his power to bend that line into whatever shape is necessary to get the job done.

Then there's Robin. I'm not going to go into this too much, but Robin is a foil. He's "secondary superhero." I'm even opposed to using the term "Super"-hero when it comes to Robin. He's there to basically show Batman that there are some shits and giggles in the world. (And when Joker murdered the second Robin, well, you can pass your judgment on whether or not having around a pre-teen adolescent kid in bright green tights is a good idea... especially when you're a sneaky, stealthy, oh.. WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE.

Okay. So we've discussed why Batman doesn't need a Robin. Now why is Lebron not a Batman?

BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING SNEAKY NOR STEALTHY ABOUT LEBRON JAMES.

Okay, this might be incorrect. There are two things we don't know about Lebron (among, I'm sure, about a million other things, basketball or non-basketball related, i.e. exactly how many dozen eggs he eats every morning, where he hides his third eye for those no-look passes, how many Yankees not currently playing at the moment that he can name). One, where's he going to be come 2010? This question will be answered soon enough. And two, how much better can he possibly become? Each year LBJ finds a facet of his game to improve, and each year he does so with flying colors. He's almost machine-like. Lebron is the latest iPod. This year he comes with lock-down defense, improved mid/long range shooting, an assortment of classic and new dunk options, and a touch screen. (Of course, we're all still waiting for the version that can make 80-85% of his free throws. I'm sure this is in the works.)

Lebron James has a game plan. Overpower his defender. Get his supporting cast involved. Shut down the other team's best player. Take over the game in the 4th. Amaze.

What in this game plan is stealthy or sneaky?

Lebron is the real deal, Holyfield. He's Iron Mike at the end of the real Punch-out! NES classic. Batman? DC? I'd call him Iron Man if I wanted to continue this charade of analogies. Maybe Demolition Man. Hell, call him Terminator for all I care. But I won't.

Michael Jordan had Scotty Pippen. Big freaking deal. Why don't we call them Ace and Gary? Lebron doesn't need a Robin. He's not Batman. Lebron is bigger than that.

I think I'm done with this... yes, done. That's the rant.

Da Browns

2008-10-15T13:16:00.001-04:00

[For a real recap of this game, check out Hiko. He's funny about it. This is not that.]

At around the eight-minute mark in the third quarter of the Browns-Giants game, Jamal Lewis ran for a 5-yard gain, immediately followed by a 10-yard romp for a first down. This was preceded by a couple of 5-yard penalties, one on each team. So two official plays had occurred, along with two official defaults. The clock would read that about a minute passed, but it was actually more like two and a half. At this moment, I looked over to my highly amused friend, whose second tall can of Budweiser emptied into his stomach more and more frequently as the drive wore on, and said something like, "We're going to take this drive into the fourth quarter and go like 117 yards for our touchdown."

And wouldn't you know it.

This would turn out to be the last time in the drive that the Browns offense would pick up the first down on two tries. It was a constant game of "two steps forward, one step back," and when the Browns found the end zone at the start of the 4th quarter, after 9+ minutes of game clock, after twenty minutes of "real-time," after playing hop-scotch with the line of scrimmage- it wasn't the feeling of relief that I was expecting. It was satisfaction: it was a microcosm of what I think winning "the big one" would feel like.

And not just the Browns; in Cleveland, you get the sense that every team in every sport skips over the Cleveland rock, like a hare that passes the tortoise who slowly creeps up to the finish line mirage only to find out that it's that much further away, and that the hare had somehow sneaked its way into the trophy room and stolen it from our rightful hands. We feel the five stages of grief, only instead of acceptance at the end, it's false hope, which comes back to denial, endlessly circling the cycle of grieving all over again.

Yes. I truly feel this way.

This is not to take away from the 35-14 victory that the Browns took from the previously undefeated Giants of New York on national television. This game was well-played (sans the turnovers) and well-deserved. I'm just wary that this game is that false hope that shows its ugly head every now and again to a city that will take any form of hope when it is offered. It's like the Indians playing championship ball in the second half of this past season... after having traded away their #1 starter and pretty much throwing in the towel already. You look forward to the next year, when the cycle will repeat, give or take a few wins or losses.

This win let the world in on the worst-kept secret in the league, that the Browns have the potential to be playoff-caliber, exciting and innovative on offense, surprising and "bend not break" on defense. Conversely, it showed the lack of maturity this team has in the national spotlight, with ten penalties from mental errors and even misuse of timeouts after a long catch and before a point-after attempt (which became a 2-pt conversion). I don't really like to say this, but it's definitely a case of bad coaching, and being able to shore up this obvious weakness should be the focal point of the rest of the season. Not to mention the lack of quality linebackers on this team, though rookie Alex Hall is looking more and more like a seventh-round steal along the lines of Marques Colston or Ahmad Bradshaw.

Cleveland's Browns head into D.C. this Sunday against a Redskins team that everyone says is supposed to beat us. Washington is coming off a wake-up call against St. Louis and will (likely) be more prepared than the Giants were. No excuses. Except maybe Mr. Winslow and his huge balls.

Now That's What I'm Talking About

2008-10-14T13:51:00.002-04:00

Anyone who read my last post (both of you) could probably tell I was getting a bit disillusioned with this Browns team. Three Browns starters sat on my Fantasy bench (though Winslow was legitimately there due to a rumored ball-enlarging injury) with three Giants starting. Last night on national television under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, Derek Anderson and the Cleveland Browns stepped up after the bye week and put me and millions of other doubters in our place.

There'll be a more in-depth recap of the game here later today or tomorrow, but here are some things that stuck out to me:

-The defense is really not as bad as it's been made out to be. I know the Seahawks, the Rams, and the Bengals aren't exactly models on the defensive side of the ball (or on the offensive side, for that matter) but the Browns held the Giants to significantly fewer points than these teams (helped by 3 interceptions by an oft-disparaged secondary) and even allowed fewer points than the widely-regarded-as-legit Washington Redskins. We still have real problems at linebacker, but our D-line looks pretty good when given opportunities to rest (Shaun Rogers is a beast) and our secondary has been making plays when pressed. We are hardly the Steelers or Ravens, but our defense is not the liability many were thinking after the preseason and the Cowboys game.

-When Winslow returns we will have 3 legit pass-catching tight ends. And Steve Heiden was shown a few times holding blocks against the Justin Tuck wrecking crew (in addition to his 5 catches for 50+ yards.) Think about that.

-Chud is apparently back. Double reverses, deep passing, multiple Jerome Harrison signtings, and the oft-mentioned but rarely seen "Flash" formation. These kinds of looks should have defenses thinking "what the fuck" long enough for the Browns to rack up some serious yardage and points (hopefully in increments of 6-7.)

-Jamal Lewis is like the Juggernaut. Once he gets going it gets harder and harder to stop him. He's like Knox from Heroes. The more defenses fear him the more of them he carries on his back for the first down.

-Ryan Tucker means a lot to this offensive line. He comes back and all of a sudden the Browns' pocket is an impenetrable wall.

I'm still skeptical of Derek Anderson as a QB, especially on the road. I've long held, however, that his success was tied more to the performance of his receivers than his own so if Edwards, the o-line, and the Browns' apparently fearsome stable of tight ends keeps showing up we should be fine. It would also be nice to see more from Donte Stallworth than routes being run just to distract opposing secondaries.

One final point: In the first quarter (maybe early second) I declared that if we could beat the Giants we were going to kill the Redskins next week. From a confidence standpoint this team has to be high on itself after this win, and that will be huge going into next week's game. I'm a bit frightened of Clinton Portis but if the team plays like it did last night I see nothing to stop us from hanging 30 on the 'Skins while only giving up around 14 ourselves.

You Mean Cleveland Has a Professional Football Team?

2008-09-30T19:35:00.003-04:00

I'm actually not so sure.

I sat through the dismal preseason, teeth gritted, thinking "Don't worry these games don't matter anyway." I was sure that the Browns would regroup and bring their offensively devastating and defensively passable attack to the regular season.

If only.

Fourth quarter collapse against the Jets? Ken Dorsey was in the game. We weren't even trying to win. It's just the preseason

Complete dismantling (including 7 injured starters, some of whom would not see the field again until the season was well underway) by the NY Giants playing without their top three receivers? They were the Superbowl champs! And besides, it's just the preseason.

Two more lackluster performances featuring penalty after penalty after penalty? Well, it'll be fine once the season starts.

Those were the thoughts running through my apparently delirious Cleveland brain in the run up to this season. We were 10-6 and cheated out of the playoffs last year. Savage's moves to improve the defense would bolster our only weakness and this would be the year all of Northeastern Ohio's suffering would be vindicated with, if not a championship, then at least a couple of stirring playoff victories.

That train of thought, barreling through my consciousness, derailed when it smashed straight into the Browns' 0-3 start to the season. Countless penalties, quarterback miscues, dropped passes, ridiculous play calls and wasted time outs all but obliterated my confidence in even a Browns winning season.

Heading into the Bengals game there were still a handful of excuses to cling to. Even though Derek Anderson was doing his best Victor Mancini impression (addicted to screwing the Browns and making himself choke to get sympathetic attention) and Romeo Crennel was apparently watching re-runs of Ace of Cakes on the sidelines, the Browns (and borderline psychotic Browns fans) could rationalize our record through key injuries (Donte "Stretching Hurts my Muscles" Stallworth, Joe Jurevicious, Antawn Peek, Willie McGinnest, Sean Jones, Martin Rucker, and the right side of the offensive line) and the fact that they played projected Superbowl contenders in the Cowboys and two of the most rugged defenses in the league with the Stillers and the Ratbirds. Nevermind that our defense (and nature) kept us in the Steelers game and our offense gave up more Ravens points than our defense.

No, the Bengals game was supposed to be a repeat of last year where D.A. exploited one of the only secondaries in football more porous than our own and used it to ignite another killer season. That Carson Palmer sat out the game with injury should have made our victory even more of a pounding. Imagine my dismay to find the Browns trailing 6-3 going into the fourth quarter despite 3 picks of rookie QB Joe Flacco. And Anderson still taking snaps behind center (with a pick of his own, I might add.)

Anderson and Crennel will point to the late 90-yard drive ending with Brick-hands Edwards' first touchdown reception of the season as a turning point but if either of them thinks that the team that barely eked out a fourth-quarter win against a Palmer-less Cincinnati Bengals team will stand up to the undefeated, Superbowl champion, top of ESPN power rankings, team-that-injured-half-of-the-Browns-starters-in-preseason NY Giants after the Bye they are more delusional than the fans that think we still have a shot at the post-season with the team that took the field last Sunday.

I wasn't high on Anderson over the summer. I wasn't dying to get rid of him, but when trade rumors began fluttering around I certainly wanted us to parlay any such move into an experienced cornerback. Even before the season started an starting-level cornerback was a bigger need for this team than a QB that panicked, choked under pressure, and killed plays when his first choice of receiver was covered. That doesn't even win you games in Madden.

After four dismal performances, even with the win against Cincinnati, I think the Browns need to spend the next two weeks giving practice reps to Quinn and seeing if anyone is foolish enough to give up anything resembling a CB for a headcase QB.

With that, and the return of several injured players after the off-week (here's hoping 5 weeks is enough time to recover from a quad strained during warmups) this team might just finish looking like a group an competent coach might want to take over next season.

9/7/08: Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns In-Game Thread, 2nd Half

2008-09-07T17:57:00.006-04:00

A little bit louder or a little bit worse? Second half begins..

(Got back late from break).. Browns stop Boys on first drive? Something happened with TO being penalized for misbehaving. Browns to start drive at midfield.
11:35.. Two Jamal power runs leave it at third and short. Incomplete to Braylon after Zach Thomas pressures DA, forces another punt and no points! Boys fumble the fair catch, Browns recover, but not according to the refs. Dallas ball.
10:50.. After easy out to Crayton for a first down, Barber pitch for 5. Boys can do it all day.
10:11.. Romo hit hard after pocket collapses. That was unexpected.
10:06.. Browns getting some pressure, but Witten can't be covered on a 5 yard slant by Eric Wright. First down.
9:19.. 25 yds. to Crayton. Doesn't take much to find holes in our zone.
8:35.. Another Davis INT drop, negated by McDonald penalty. Romo hit again, hard. Should be expecting run from here on in.
8:20.. Barber run. What I tell ya! Sniffed.
7:45.. McGinest gets juked by Barber, turns minimal screen pass into 7 yd. gain.
7:06.. Poor tackling. Barber stopped well short of first down, carries Wimbeley 3 yards for the first.
6:24.. Felix Jones TD up the middle for 12. Maybe I should have started him instead of Maroney in my fantasy league. Boys up 28-7.
6:17.. Lawson with a nice return for 30+. Still missing Cribbs.
6:11.. Screen pass to Harrison too low- a shame because he had 20 open yards in front of him.. Browns burn a timeout for.. some reason.
5:20.. After a DA scramble for 6, another DA scramble leads to an incomplete pass and a punt. Promos for the "Hole in the Wall" show continue to annoy. Nice punt by Z, by the way.
4:55.. Witten with another long gain. There is no one who can cover Witten. Can Soldier play LB?
4:40.. Felix runs for another long run. For shame. Aside: he's looking like a great 10th round pick in my fantasy draft! Looking forward to games NOT against the Browns D.
3:42.. Some random former QB catches an 8-yd. pass, proving once again that any UPS worker can hurt us.
2:50.. Crayton with a nice catch under a flailing McDonald. Apparently Brandon can't guard anyone.
2:06.. TO catches a bullet to the 6 yard line. I predict a 6-yard TD run.
0:38.. Romo underthrows TO, and Eric Wright picks it off! Return to the 13. Unreal.
0:20.. Jamal carries 6 Boys for a 24 yard gain. Could this be the spark we need? It better be! End of quarter 3, Boys up 28-7.

14:49.. Face mask penalty kills a nice Jamal run.. DA steps up at 1st and 25 and tosses a nice pass to Steptoe, who jitters it away. The ghost of Travis Wilson laughs in the distance.
13:38.. DA scramble turns a long second down into a manageable 3rd and 9.. Steptoe comes through with a nice RAC to pick up the first down.. Soldier is back with a 9 yard catch.
12:29.. On 2nd and 1, Boys looking run and Sanders catches a nice toss to the 24. He is somehow on the team.. I must have missed a report on this.
11:15.. DA scrambles for 3 and takes a little hit to the face by Anthony Henry. No call, and I agree, but DA doesn't. Time wasted leads to use of 2nd timeout. Which sucks.
11:10.. Braylon with a false-start. Even I saw that. Braylon is a little rusty.
10:13.. 4th and 3 and Dawson pops a 34 yd. FG. Not sure why we don't go for it.. nope, still not sure. Must be some illegal betting going on, obviously. Browns cut deficit, 10-28.
10:00.. Barber hurt? Yes! Felix the pick to get some featured back carries. Hopefully for no gain on THIS day.
8:40.. Another first down pass on a third down! Browns give away blitz, rookie Jones picks up nice block.
7:50.. Defensive holding on Rogers, whatever that is.
7:23.. Felix Jones runs for forever, but called back for holding. Replay shows Leonard Davis tombstoning a Browns LB.
6:56.. Another holding penalty. Yes, keep giving Dallas more downs and more time to waste. 1st and 28. Right where they want us.
5:51.. Felix Jones runs for more ridiculous yardage and a first down. I change my mind- break his legs.
3:32.. Somebody named Choice runs for 15 on third down. This is just heartbreaking.

(yadda yadda yadda)

Browns got worked. The defensive line has holes larger than Ted Washington. When the QB has the time to make a tuna sandwich on multi-grain toast in the pocket and there's no push from our line to make some tackles in their backfield, it equates to a long, frustrating day. I will say, however, that this doesn't reflect on the quality of our play as much as it shows how far above and beyond us this Boys team is. Offensively, we are very similar teams- gunslinger QB, stud WR, power back, match-up monster TE, rock of a line. Obviously, our defense needs work, but it's not every day that you start your season against the Dallas Cowboys, who IMO are the prototype for an offensive juggernaut. Not to sugarcoat this blowout, but this game just proves that we have the talent to rock this league but no idea how to use it.

Final Score: Boys 28, Browns 10.

9/7/08: Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns In-Game Thread, First Half

2008-09-07T16:19:00.010-04:00

Just watched an Eagles thrashing of the Rams, rendering my fantasy duo of Stephen Jax and Torry Holt moot as moot can be. Browns game on next, preview of the Super Bowl, so let's not miss a minute...

4:15.. Joe Buck's tongue-in-cheek comment on Cowboys quarterbacks flies over co-commentator Troy Aikman's head. Uneasy two seconds of silence.
4:16.. Lebron on the sidelines, but don't know which side. Wearing Yankees hat and Cowboys colors. Oh yeah, Dallas is his favorite football team. Can you love the player and hate the man? I wonder if he rooted for China in the Olympics too...
4:20.. Nice start to opening drive, includes well-executed screen pass to Jamal. Ends horribly in a 3rd and 1 fumble. Punt nets nearly nothing.
4:24.. Barber sweeps right for long gain. I remember that. Browns stop Boys on two runs to set up long 3rd down.. nice blitz, sniffed out with equally nice blocks, Witten converts. I remember that..
4:27.. TO behind the back catch for 13.. ridiculous safety blitz opens field for Witten, long gain. Browns stuffing the middle but not getting to Romo. Romo building a nice meditation pocket in the middle of the backfield. Browns abiding by "Do Not Disturb" sign.
4:30.. 1st and goal at the 1, the Boys looking to... yup, Barber up the gut. TD. That was disheartening.
4:36.. Nice pocket for DA, finds Soldier for 13 and 1st down.. Braylon just misses acrobatic catch number #1.. Jamal delay up the middle for 4, works a little better than Metcalf.. Boys penalty saves our ass.
4:39.. Braylon misses a chance for six downfield.. Browns love the 2nd & 10 draw play, hopefully setting up something big later on.. Soldier with a big catch for a first down. My fantasy team gains another point.
4:42.. Braylon with a ton of room for 12 yards, sets up 3rd and 1.. DA bootleg, Heiden with a nice catch for first down. Steve Heiden! He does more than block!
4:47.. Penalty somewhere, end of quarter 1, Browns down 0-7.

Switching to game clock:
15:00.. Jason Wright with a nice first down run. Good change of pace.
14:10.. Boys out of sync, Browns can't capitalize with Lewis run. 3rd and goal.
13:27.. Pacman sees a ghost fly by named Braylon, pass-interferes. First and goal again.
12:43.. After unsuccessful run, DA play-action to WIDE OPEN Winslow for 6! How much more open can a guy get? PAT makes it 7-7.
(Dallas marching at will, no comment)
9:55.. Holding on the Boys, Shaun Rogers is a monster.
9:48.. TO TD. Romo has all day. TO celebrates on field for penalty. More amused by his Lebron James "magical chalk" imitation on the sidelines. PAT, Boys up 14-7.
9:45.. Extra yardage does nothing. Steptoe steps on his toes for some return yardage. Fans everywhere miss Cribbs.
9:41.. First and 15 after penalty, nice pass just out of reach to Heiden.. Jamal hits hole for 11 ti make it third and short.
8:47.. Braylon and DA just not connecting, pass just out of reach.. meh kind of punt. Here come the Boys.
7:16.. Romo inviting Browns lineman to his meditation pocket, but they don't want any part of it. After some deep contemplation, Romo throws a clunker incomplete for fourth down. Punt? What's that, says Dallas.
6:19.. 3rd and ridiculous, DA with time, checks down to Wright for an almost Boys INT-to-TD. Previous play, Soldier takes a big hit downfield, which is not legal, but no comment. Puntage.
5:50.. Romo with a new summer home in the pocket. Seems a shame to pass away the ball when nobody wants to touch him, but he does to Witten for another easy first down.
4:40.. Fox cameras seem really close to the field.. "gang tackle" of Barber to set up another long, heartbreaking 3rd down.
3:36.. Barber with a nice run-after-catch for first down.. TO with an easy catch, 1st down..
2:18.. Robaire Smith with some penetration, sacks Romo for a loss. Negated by Brandon McDonald penalty on TO. I was wondering who was getting burned all day by TO.. Two minute warning.
1:55.. Andra Davis drops Romo pass, opportunity wasted.
1:06.. TO TD.. hmmm, not called.
0:38.. No challenge.. Barber runs left for easy 6. PAT good, Browns down 7-21.
0:00.. Ugly first half for Browns fans. Boys moving at will and not being pressured or challenged at all. Up 21-7 and getting the ball back in the 3rd quarter, if they were us, they would milk the clock. They are not us. Look for more ridiculous 30-40 yarders to their playmakers to open the second half. End of quarter 2, Browns limping 7-21.

I refuse to watch Fox halftime. Going to get some grub.

Inconsequentially Late Week(s) in Review 8/15/08

2008-08-15T12:17:00.002-04:00

To be honest, I was avoiding writing this, with the Indians going 7-4 in August thus far. The Cleveland superstition in me held my tongue at bay, believing the cute little 4-game winning streak was sustainable (or, meaningful) or the Browns first team success (read: health) against the Jets would continue throughout the preseason. Unfortunately, the Indians employ Brendan Donnelly and Braylon Edwards did go to Michigan.

I finally disagree with the B-List. Having Brendan Donnelly pitch to Nick Markakis with first base open, even on a 3-2 count- what? Yeah, Buffum says that the whole shake-off thing was going on (I didn't watch the game), but it should never have even come to that. Eff this gut feeling b.s.- I don't know why I'm sort of mad about this. I guess it's because I can't stand losing winnable games- or rather, wasting them. Actually, I'm just resentful that Jeremy Guthrie is still awesome. Oh well. We lost again last night 11-6, in spectacular fashion too. An 8-run 8th killed a 3-3 nail-biter. Man... Baltimore? Really?

Who in the world gets less credit or respect than Paul Byrd? Daniel Baldwin? All American Indians, maybe? But this isn't about the flaws in U.S. infrastructure, is it. It's about me reading like three articles in total about the Indians Byrd-dropping in Boston. Paul Byrd spent 2+ years here ducking and weaving and greasing his way through opposing lineups. He amused me with his old-fashioned get-up and wind-up (and to an extent, "fess-up" after his book release last month). His humility after a win and propensity to shoulder blame in a loss was commendable. His double wind-up was ridiculous, but it made him more than a sponge on this team full of budding stars in need of a veteran clubhouse leader. Now that he's gone, I can't think of a single sage-like player on this team, and I'll be damned if Brendan "shake it off" Donnelly" thinks he's ready for that role. I still don't really understand what we're getting back in return ($10,000 or PTBNL? What player is equivalent to 10k?) Would the Indians have gotten any compensation in draft picks had he left via free agency this offseason? Like an extra 10th rounder? It's still better than getting a pity check from the BoSox. I suppose them paying the rest of his salary this year means something. Here's one fan that will miss Paul freakin' Byrd.

The Indians just signed their fifth round pick, pitcher Zach Putnam out of (cough) Michigan. He was Big Ten pitcher of the year after a sick junior season. Fifth round picks don't usually make good news fodder, except for some reason I'm excited about this pick. Not just because it came a day before signings must be under contract, but also since his projection as a 2nd (possibly late 1st) rounder and subsequent drop was due to signability. He's got talent, and he's in a system that favors pitcher development, especially from the collegiate level. I wouldn't be surprised to see this cat pitching on the big club in less than two years in a Jensen Lewis type role or competing for starter's minutes after that. Now let me go throw up now after all this Wolverine adulation.

The Mo Williams signing has be covered ad nauseam. Eric did a great job on that yesterday, and to just throw my two pennies in there... this move is big. It's big in that we've just entrusted half a decade and $40 mil to one person. We haven't done that in a while, and even then the results have been Hughesly disappointing. But this is also one of those legitimate acquisitions rarely done by the Cavs. None of this David Wesley/Devin Brown/Jiri Welsh crap. This move parallels the Artest/Camby/Jefferson movements earlier in the offseason, and it makes a statement to the city and the team that we are serious about winning now and building a core around Lebron for the future. Ferry has done an admirable job in managing these expiring contracts, and I have faith that the big batch (Szerb/Snow/possibly Varejao) will net the white whale we've all been waiting for.

Braylon needed stitches after Donte Stallworth stepped on his foot at a recent practice, which will cause him to miss two preseason contests. He was apparently in a footrace without wearing shoes. Braylon Edwards went to Michigan for four years. That's all I have to say about that.

In other news, I thought I hated the Michael Phelps media machine that IS Olympics television. I didn't care about the fascination with an abnormally shaped swimmer who looks like a video game geek. It turns out that I'm pretty nationalistic, that I hate when other countries take the gold, and that I kind of just take winning for granted, which is a weird feeling from a guy who lives and breathes Cleveland sports. I suppose I should just enjoy supporting something that is not destined for failure. I should also be worried that I just jinxed my country. There's that superstition bug again.

Mo' Money, Mo Williams

2008-08-14T09:43:00.004-04:00

By now you've probably heard the news: Yesterday Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst made his triumphant return from near life-threatening illness by breaking the story that the Cavaliers had traded Joe Smith and Damon Jones for Milwaukee Bucks PG Mo Williams.

Let me just say, "Hell. Yes."

This three-team trade (Jones goes to the Bucks, Smith goes to OKC Super-Thunder-Barons, Luke Ridnour goes to the Bucks) was all-win for the Cavs for several reasons.

We got rid of two aging bench players with limited roles - whose contracts were expiring this year and whose productivity will likely only decrease going forward - for a starting-caliber point guard who is just entering his prime and coming off of the best year of his career (which, by the way, wasn't a contract year). Anybody who watched any Cavs/Bucks games last season could see how lethal he was as he routinely tore apart our much-lauded defense and scored basically at will, and any fears that he might be the "Me Williams" that some Bucks fans have claimed should be allayed by his 6 assist/game average over the last two years (who knows how many "hockey assists" that equals) and the fact that he's playing next to the greatest player on the planet.

Further, Ferry was able to pull this off using our two smaller expirings, leaving us with Snow's $7 mil (provided this medical insurance business keeps trudging along at its glacial pace) and WallyWorld's $13 mil to use to go chase down another legit big man to replace the hole left when we get rid of Anderson "Finals King" Varejao.

In the last eight months Ferry has certainly shown that he's grown past his initial management mis-steps (Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall, Jones' large contract) through both his trades and his pickups of Daniel Gibson and J.J. Hickson (real worth TBD).

It's unknown how all of this will mesh with Mike Brown's current "Stand and Watch Lebron" offensive philosophy, but what is certain is that (especially if they can finally lock down Delonte West) the Cavs are in far better shape than they were at the end of the season and are poised to make another deep run into the playoffs, even with next season's deeper Eastern conference.

In the preseason, there are no winners.

2008-08-08T09:18:00.007-04:00

And that is why Ken Dorsey is Ken Dorsey.

I can only assume that our 3rd and 4th-string teams do not reflect the quality of play that our 1st and 2nd stringers show. The final score says 24-20 Jets over the Browns, but amidst the three 60+ yard scoring plays (not drives, mind you) the Jets popped (THREE! Two of them seventy yard passes! Three plays! Three touchdowns! Go back to UPS, you defensive backs whose names elude me. One of those scores may have been a punt return- my head is still spinning from the eight redzone plays in the final minute in which we couldn't score) and the hooplah around the Brett Favrere..rerer lovefest (I don't care, you don't care, let's not pretend we care), there was about a quarter's worth of real football being played and a whole season to look forward to.

A staphless, injury free year means playoffs for these Cleveland Browns. That is a lot to ask, so I'll just hope for an eventless preseason. The first team offense scored on it's only drive, the first team defense held on its only opportunity, and throughout the game, the various levels of depth showed they were very capable backups. Except those D-backs, of course. Martin Rucker will be pushing his way up the depth chart in no time. Syndric Steptoe (he's still on the team?) and Travis Wilson (he of the bobble-drop technique) showed up and put up decent numbers. But I will say that it was most refreshing to see the Browns controlling the time of possession like they did (37:19 to 22:41). Granted, when you're giving up THREE 60+ yard scoring plays, the opponent isn't going to eat a lot of clock. But from an execution standpoint, the Browns offense did all of the little things to keep the ball moving whenever they wanted to. My only real critique is on the Browns defense: a sack or two would've been nice, maybe even a tackle for loss. There was one good 4th and 1 that we stonewalled, which was nice, but I'm hoping that our revamped D-line will be capable of creating some havoc up front, which can only help the chaos in the defensive backfield.

Braylon Edwards is a star. The moments after our Buckeyes beat his Wolves his senior year at Michigan, I recall telling a friend, "Now I like Braylon Edwards." His status as enemy was up, and I was ready then and there to draft him. He's become one of the most exciting players in the league since then. Last night's one-armed, spin-around, perfectly timed and placed, somewhat wild, diving end zone catch... that was poetry in motion. You see a play transpiring like that and you just know we're going in for six...

...as opposed to that debacle the "Browns" showed against the "Jets" in the last minute of the game. First and ten at the 30? No idea what's going on. First down inside the twenty? Not a clue. First and goal at the 5? Still not convinced. I'm sorry, Mr. Dorsey, but that was an abhorrent sequence of events. God bless you and your skills with a headset and a clipboard though. When Martin Rucker (6'6") is hovering over 5'11" D-backs in the end zone, a quarterback's touch, to me, seems less exigent than his awareness of matchups. Anyway, slant here, slant there, scramble scramble INT.

That is the story of Ken Dorsey.

I will say that SNY really did a good job spinning this game as some kind of reflection of how the season is going to be. They had the Brett Jet flying, Joe Namath rambling, me laughing. Honestly, if this game was any indication of the real season, then the first team Browns will be marching down the field at will and practicing fine-inducing end zone celebrations, while our defense will treat opponents like they were the Browns circa 1999-2006. I'll take that, along with the pot o' gold at the end of that rainbow. The Jets dropped a potential starting QB and added the media circus of Brett Favrere..rere?...re a month before the season while scoring three TDs on people posing in orange helmets, yet these commentators create this illusion that this was something to look forward to. I'm not trying to hate. I'm just sayin' is all.

Did I tell you that Travis "best receiver in the draft" Wilson caught a pass? You may need to watch that again. Go Browns.

A Couple Days Late Generic Week in Review for 7/31/08

2008-07-31T09:13:00.004-04:00

First, a rant: Well. I'm glad I didn't post this before last night's mess of a ballgame. I may have been my usual optimistic self... or somewhere close to that. The Indians squandered an 8-1 lead. These pitchers.. ugh-ly.. they not only threw away the most winnablest game of the year, they discarded my faith that this season had a chance, and that, my friends, is QUITE the feat.

Let me tell you how much faith I like to dish out. Remember '05? Down like 1 game going into the Tampa series and getting our butts kicked around? Yeah, I didn't sweat it. I kept thinking, "Oh no worries. Lee and CC and Millwood have got this." Then the Chicago series happened, and even while getting swept, to the last game I thought, "Hey, maybe Boston will somehow lose this. It was mathematically impossible. I didn't care. I had The Faith. We were fifteen games out going into August, but then we had a sick run to cut it to heartbreaker size. Today, we are roughly fifteen games out going into August. Sure the roster's different (almost completely), but others have stepped up in their stead (with great mediocrosity). We have both a Cy Young candidate and arguably the best position player in the AL in Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore, respectively. Shoppach is trying his best to push Victor into a permanent first baseman career path. Blake's gone (waahh..) and Marte's (finally) playing. The wheels are turning, the future is on display, and I still had some weird, back-of-my-mind maybe we still have a chance when Victor comes back foolish thought.

Wrong, sir. Bzzzzt! Try again.

I wanted my season bloody rare, and as of July, it is well.. well.. DONE. It's not even medium well. The silver lining was traded away for two prospects over the weekend. Bah. A pox on the House of Shapiro.

Anyway, the Indians lost 14-12 in a 13-inning slow death last night and the Browns season can't come any sooner. Huzzahs to no staph infections!

End of rant.

A word on that silver lining. The Tribe traded away my favorite player of this ephemeral era, Casey the Blake. He was a decent player. Reminded me of my childhood fascination with Cory Snyder (read: lots of strikeouts, fleeting moments of success, never clutch). No tears will be shed, since Blake was only a marginally successful big leaguer. I was happy that he grew into a tradeable asset during his walk year, and the package we received from the Dodgers addressed our needs and stripped their system- always good. I've read that he might get $7-8 mil per year as a free agent. Hmmm... not likely. I can see a 3-year, $18-20 mil + club option.. from the Indians. Would we lose a draft pick from this? I would not enjoy that.

CC Sabathia took out an ad in the Plain Dealer thanking everyone and their mothers. You can read this as "Sayonara forever!" I wonder what hat he'll wear when he's inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Lebron dropped 20 on 8-9 shooting with 5 steals on a bum leg as the U.S. beat Turkey today. Obviously his ankle sprain forced him to take one errant shot, and he will be properly chastised for this. Anyway, here's hoping that all these exhibition games, aka the Olympics, don't wear him down by the playoffs next season. He is turning 24.

The Browns. No staph infections! Huzzah! Honestly, what other news do you really need to hear?

Not to Get All Rodney Dangerfield, but...

2008-07-25T10:08:00.002-04:00

I'm going to start this by admitting that two years ago I moved away from Cleveland to the bright lights of New York City. I understand what it means to feel the need to experience bigger and broader things than Cleveland can offer. That said, I'm getting ever more pissed off at the way Cleveland sports continually get zero respect outside of Northeast Ohio. I'm not talking about the occasional bad blood Bengals fans will have for the Browns... jealousy makes people do ugly things. I'm talking about the way national media types (and a lot of large market sports fans) are shocked anybody might want to play in Cleveland, and go out of their way to deny that any sports team playing within view of Lake Erie could possibly be a contender for anything other than an early draft pick.

It's true that those of us that have grown up with Cleveland sports indulge in this sort of "Woe is me" thinking, but that's like talking bad about your little brother: you're allowed to do it but if a stranger does it then it's time to throw down.Those of us on the North Coast born into the legacy of "The Shot", "The Drive", "The Fumble", and most recently the "Mentally Deranged Layup" will usually be the first to disparage our teams, but unlike our non-Ohio counterparts deep down we always (ALWAYS) believe we have a chance to win. We might moan about the Cleveland Curse, but every first pitch, kick-off, or tip-off for us holds at least the slim promise of victory (however short-lived).

It's with much consternation, now that we have teams that are legitimate contenders (on paper at least) in every major sport, that I read media types practically willing our teams to perform poorly. Hot on the heels of the first ever appearance of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals were the rumors (ever-strengthening among everyone that doesn't know what they're talking about) that LeBron James is certainly bailing for New York or New Jersey as soon as he can opt out of his contract in 2010. Then, though the Browns are coming off of their best season in recent memory, at least one report has come in predicting the Orange and Brown to finish LAST in the AFC North; the conference loaded with such 2007 powerhouses as the Cincinnati Inmates and the Baltimore Geriatric Defenses.

I'll be the first to admit that Cleveland has a long and storied history of blunders, mistakes, mishaps, and acts of God that have led us to repeatedly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but those past teams should have no bearing on our current performance. Cleveland today is much different from the "Mistake by the Lake" that let the Cuyahoga river burn in the 60s. We're home to an Iron Chef, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and an art museum whose collections have toured the world.

Sure we make the Pistons/Pacers brawl look like a Backstreet Boys concert but we've managed to develop a young group of rising stars poised to dominate the AFC North, the most talented basketball player on the planet, and (though I've cringed thinking about the Indians since "The Marlins", and this season is doing little to allay my concerns) some of the best pitching in baseball.

I'm sick of playing Oliver Twist when it comes to national respect in every major sport. The day is soon coming our teams will command it, and we, as fans, will demand it.

*Note: I was knocking fervently on wood while writing this entire piece

I'd hate to say I told you so, but...

2008-07-23T13:40:00.002-04:00

Someone needs to just shut me up. A day after I wax poetic about how good we've had it this past week, I see that the Tribe played (and I quote from The B-List) "squanderball" last night, the King limps into Beijing, and my Burger King free chicken fries coupons expired. Unbelievable!

I know Jhonny needs a day off every now and then, but couldn't it wait until Thursday- you know, the day everyone is off? Granted, it was a righty and.. no, wait, Jhonny has a reverse split this year with a sixty point differential. I guess it was because he's a career .222 hitter against Weaver- well, 2 for 9 with two doubles doesn't really tell much about that. It couldn't be that his OPS of 1.643 is his highest at any stadium (albeit a four-game sample size). I just can't think of a reason to justify letting our hottest hitter sit while we were playing.. so... well. Guh. Give him Thursday!

Meh. Squanderrific. Two caught stealings, two double plays, leadoff (solo) home run (yes, I'm a "Grady to the 3-hole" supporter), 9 LOB, three runs in six innings by Ginter (Who? Score some runs for this guy! He's looking for a team when Fausto comes back for crepes sake. Help a guy out!). I hate wasting things. It's why I don't go to buffets. Or why i DO, rather...

I love Casey Blake. And not just because his chiseled jaw reminds me of Sgt. Slaughter or because, like me, he does a lot of things but not one thing really well. I think it's because he symbolizes everything about this team- scrappy, overachieving, consummate pro (blah, blah, blah..). He's the face I'll recall when thinking of 2003-08 (oddly, yes really.). That being said... get rid of him. Now. His value couldn't be any higher. He's a free agent-to-be in line for more than the $7 million he's earning this year. The Rays and the Mets need him. Blake is needed by teams. Even the Dodgers will give up people. People! Not like that guy who was traded for bats. Casey, you're the man. Now, you must go.

What can I say about Lebron hurting his ankle after landing on Kevin Durant's unnaturally long cuboid? "Thaaaat's Cleveland!" But enough about me. The Indians are on.

Generically Titled Week-In-Review 7/22/08

2008-07-22T13:04:00.005-04:00

Besides the ridiculous Carson Palmer comments, it's been a pretty up-and-up week for the hometown heroes. The Browns training camp is coming up, and nobody needs an arm or a leg amputated. Yet. The Indians have been tolerable, surprisingly, even while depleted, and Fausto will be back by Saturday (ta-ta, Mr. Ginter, whoever you are). The Cavs are... floating along. This even extends to yesterday's "Titletown USA," Columbus, OH, home of your Ohio State Buckeyes. So as it goes, I'm pickin' up good vibrations...

Jason Taylor's last dance is coming in a Redskins uniform. He was bought for a second round pick in '09 and a sixth rounder the year after that. It looks like the Browns could have had the NFL all-time active sacks leader for a couple picks, and a lot of people feel he would have been a good fit off the edge in a Browns jersey. Not I, said the dog. Granted, getting a player of his caliber is always a plus. And as if the Browns needed any more press going into the '09 season. I just don't feel a post-prime DE (who will probably be battling with Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson for movie time after next season) is worth losing a second round pick. If you haven't noticed, our second-round picks the last few years have been working out pretty well. That's enough about Jason Taylor. What I really want to know is which team is going to be the first to cut a cornerback who will become a starter in the Browns secondary by game three...

J.J. Hickson- nice! Robert "Tractor" Traylor- no! That's all you need to know about summer league. But in offseason news, Boobie is a Cavalier for the next five years (talk about a team-friendly extension! Give this kid the key to the city!), and hopefully West is soon to follow. No word yet on the Kirk Hinrich for Varejao plus 2nd-round pick considerations trade rumors coming to fruition, mainly because I started them.

It's been a fun week since the MLB All-Star game which, of course, the good guys won in record-setting fashion. (By the by, how great was it that Yankees fans had to sit through the longest All-Star game ever.. EVER.. without a single Yankee in the game past the 9th inning? Sure they saw a pretty incredible game, what with homeplate being the next Ft. Knox, but what I saw was thousands of New Yorkers kinda-sorta happy and somewhat disgruntled that Wednesday morning. Like a big game just passed them by and they had nothing really invested in it after Mariano finished off the ninth. The jerk in me couldn't help but laugh every time I saw images of the crowd after every play at the plate. I don't know.. it just gives me goosebumps for some reason.)

Anyway, Our boys with the racially and culturally insensitive moniker have been on a little roll that extends to before the break. After some ridiculous losing streak which we won't mention, we've won 7 of 8 following last night's silent 5-2 thump over best-record-in-league Angels. We've climbed up from last place to... a share of last place! (We're actually a few percentage points behind the Royals, but only computers know that.) Now I'm not going to say what this is not (if I did, I'd call it a "turning point" and a "chance to get back into it," but I won't because it's not). What it is is some good ball being played. We're getting decent pitching performances (Read: no game-crushing surprises. Laffey's hiccup performance notwithstanding. Example. Sowers giving up four runs in six innings. I can take that. I think the Indians can score at least four runs on a pitcher that another team would feel confident putting up against, arguably, our worst pitcher at the moment.) and timely hitting (and by "timely" I mean, playing time for my favorite underachiever and yours, Andy Marte). Some run-support for the starters too. I know, things are weird. Now obviously, because I said it, we're probably headed for another downturn (not because we're playing one of the best teams in the league on the road while they too have been playing good ball lately as shown by their recent winning streak), but it's just nice to follow a well-playing, fundamentally unstupid team once in a while. I'll be back with my take on how the rest of 2008 should go in terms of development and planning for 2009 (and not on how "we're still in it," because we're not?).

On a side note, you need to see Batman: The Dark Knight. This is the only time that it's okay to like something everyone else likes. Maybe the last. Go on. Come back later. Until then, true believer!

The thin line between dumb and donkey

2008-07-22T09:45:00.010-04:00

Carson Palmer is a donkey. I couldn't quite figure him out for a couple of years. I knew he was one of those Pete Carroll-always a winner-type guys. Gives 110% or whatever. Kind of felt sorry for the guy when the Steelers took him out of his only playoff appearance. Legs aren't supposed to bend that way. He's a top-5 QB in my fantasy draft for goodness sake. And I don't necessary hate the Bengals- it's hard to hate other orange helmets. And they do, after all, have such a following that a bar near me in Brooklyn turns orange and black and plays all their games on the big screen every fall (to which I attempt to attend two games per season, and I think you know which ones). That being said, Carson Palmer? Hee-haw...

I don't want to get too much into this, being that this isn't "news" per say, nor is it "noteworthy" in any way, but Mr. Palmer is on record saying some things about the Ohio State Buckeyes (rather, their fanbase) that I don't care to repeat. He's entitled to his opinion. He went to USC and the Bucks have to beat the Trojans twice in the next two seasons- twice! I understand that it's going to hurt. I get the sticks and stones routine. I just thought that as a Pro-Bowl franchise QB (and to be honest, you might be able to put Akili Smith back at QB and having Ocho Cinco and TJH would make Smith look like Jon Kitna in his prime- well, maybe at least one of the Detmers), he would have an intelligent, rational head on his shoulders. You're a professional football player now. Cheapshots are supposed to be beneath you! Don't they teach an etiquette course when it comes to possible backlash from fans for idiotic remarks? Disparaging words that undoubtedly irk a chunk of the Bengals own fanbase- come on now, buddy. You don't see Kellen and his Hurricane roots whining about losing to the Bucks in 2002. Braylon Edwards, as maize and blue as any kid from that school up north, isn't wasting his time talking trash about his professional team's fans. It's in the past. They cheer their teams all they want, but they're not talking trash about the people paying to see them. It's about being a professional. All I'm saying is that it's one thing to support your alma mater and be a fan. It's another to purposely ostracize the people who cheer for you every week. I don't know what it's like to be a Bengals fan. I imagine it's pretty tough, what with seventeen losing seasons in the last eighteen years or some crazy number... wait a second. I do know what that's like! We all share that Ohio bond, and Mr. Palmer should know that it's just-not-cool. Donkey.

Grady's secret weapon, a Byrd in the hand!

2008-07-15T14:44:00.010-04:00

How easy is it to win a Home Run Derby? (The answer being "Not," but we're gonna go with this for a minute.)

Grady Sizemore batted second in the Home Run Derby yesterday, belting out six dingers and (I believe I counted) three unwittingly distant and ultimately useless foul drives into the right field stands (two into the third deck, no less- yowza!). It's too bad Grady couldn't convince Byrd to throw to him, or else we would probably be talking for years to comes about the incredible Sizemore/Hamilton HR battle when they ran out of baseballs and State Farm Insurance got sued for rescinding their $17K per golden ball donation. Come to think of it, Byrd's probably only allowed near a home run derby every five days or so- except he calls them "starts" or "my career as a pitcher." Ahhh, who am I kidding, I love Paul Byrd and his oiliness and his slickery and his oddly low WHIP and herbally enhanced SLG against...

Regardless, Josh Hamilton hit a bunch of Thome-like golfballs at thousands of Yankees fans who seemed more interested in seeing whether or not some guy or gal or infant would catch the lasershot or fall to his death trying. Honestly, have you ever been to Yankee Stadium? It's probably the steepest upper deck I've ever had the pleasure of squeezing my knees into. Some advice: if a ball comes flying four feet away from you, let the guy two seats over look silly spilling his beer all over his unimpressed girlfriend on her cell phone. You will fall and hurt yourself and smell like dirty looks from the family who now knows your shoe size and general weight. That would be a horribly hilarious death.

At any rate, somehow Hamilton lost. How's that for "it's about the journey, not about the destination." Admittedly, I didn't not watch this self-discovery moment and only saw a brief headline about it. Following Grady's elimination, to me the Derby was, after all, boring. I also distinctly remember the rules being that the final round was to be done in five outs, but somehow before I changed the channel, I see Justin Morneau flailing away at outs number 7, 8, and 9. That tickled me bothered a bit. But that's just me being picky. (Aside: Will Pronk ever be good in April through June to be chosen as an All-Star? I'm beginning to think he purposely stinks it up to ensure those Travis/Bill Selby fishing trips each mid-July need not be rescheduled. Edit: Will Pronk ever be good, period? Meh.)

Anyway I think I've gone off-topic (ha!)... Mr. Sizemore leads the AL with 23 one-eyed jacks, and I'm looking forward to the next 70 odd games or so to see how much he really hates the leadoff spot, or at least everyone batting around him. Which begs the question, how bad can a team with the HR champ AND the Cy Young winner really be?

The first post is always the tiredest.

2008-07-15T13:05:00.002-04:00

Honestly, I don't know why it took me this long to start a Cleveland/Ohio sports blog.

Maybe it's because I've moved away from Ohio, nomadically finding myself in the Big Apple, with the only exposure I have to my heartbreaking teams is through the internet. And the occasional Cleveland V. New York/New Jersey game on MSG/Yes, or the Lebron games on TNT, or the Buckeyes at Tonic... okay, okay- I guess I still have plenty of outlets to cudgel my superego to the point where I still feel "in the loop" about Cleveland sports. Let's just say that I wouldn't know if Eric Wedge still sports a 'stache or what Eric Snow looks like in a suit, but I could probably deduce something from a Cavs 32% shooting night or Jhonny going 1-4 with a single and 3 Ks batting clean-up. And I could give two shakes about the latest Knicks lottery pick, or the Mets 9-game winning streak, or Joba's pitch count. That would place me, so to speak, "neither here nor there."

So my little rants will be somewhat askew, but never one-sided, and hopefully through these tired words and listless diatribes to provide a little insight into my experience as a Cleveland fan in my short life in and around the lovable mistake by the lake. Maybe conjecture as to why We can bring home the big prize (but won't). And for my grandiloquence not to come off as the invectives of a displaced small-towner in the big city, but rather... something to make you go, "Hmmm. Cleveland, you say?"

That being said, most, if not all, of what I will write will be purely reactionary and probably, if not always, uninformative. Sometimes illogical, maybe even illegible. This is my sulcated brow reflecting on the Prevent-D. This is my shot of Jameson after Lebron misses a game-winning free throw. This is Dawson's kick splitting the uprights in Dante's fifth circle of Hell. I guess what I'm saying is, "Hello, welcome to my world."