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Dream Team Fantasy.

So now it has been done, the decision was made, and now let the speculation begin. Cleveland just had their hearts tugged at and then ripped out. Rightfully so the entire state of Ohio is now in ruins– their home grown hero has abandoned ship without bringing a title to a city that hasn’t had a championship since 1964. It doesn’t seem real anymore, either. Could any one really see LeBron in another team jersey? If the money and situation was right, I guess we can now. LeBron will be a Miami Heat, joining friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Call them the favorite, call them the best, call them a dynasty, but you can’t just think title..not yet.

As a Boston fan, I could see how this would work. The Miami Heat is pulling a page right from the 07 Celtics when they were able to add Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen along side friend Paul Pierce. The Celtics then signed a bunch of low salary role players and somehow ended up winning a title. Sure, Miami could do that,but I’m unsure until I see the whole roster. I mean those three super stars with Micheal Beasley, Mario Chalmers, and the rookies the Heat signed, does that sound like a championship team? Right now my money is that the Bulls will win the Eastern Conference with Boozer, Rose, Noah, and Deng. But we can worry about that later.

It seems odd to see other teams using the same strategy that the Boston Celtics did.  Before 07 superstars usually stayed put and hoped for a team to be built around them. Look at Micheal Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. Yet when superstars like Kareem was traded people were going as crazy as we were for LeBron. This sort of thing doesn’t happen as much but now it seems that general managers are playing NBA Live from EA and trying to make the most outrageous rosters.

With this the power of the Eastern Conference has moved. Not only in the fact that the Heat are a front running team to win it all but just in the power of Conferences. It used to be in the last fifteen years that the Western Conference had the more dominant  teams. I can remember when teams with losing records in the East were trying to make it as a sixth seed in the playoffs. The power has shifted; the Eastern Teams might be better and as a fan of the Eastern Conference it adds more parity and the anticipation of more exciting playoff series. I’m loving how the next season is looking.  Powerful teams are now forming and it has to be exciting.

So Cleveland, how does it feel? You have witnessed something truly awful. I can feel your pain being in Boston and having sports team show nothing but futility. Before the 2000′s our last championship was in 1986 with the Celtics. Yes, my area has been blessed recently with luck, such as discovering Tom Brady and the miraculous comeback of the ’04 RedSox, but if there is one thing I’ve learned is that there are cycles. You will get your championship sooner or later, you just need to keep your faith. And I’m sure as the streets are filled with woes, people burning jerseys, and even the possibility of riots, there is one thing to look at. At least your not the New Jersey Nets.

CJ-M

Philly Phalls Phlat

Deep dishes for everyone! How about a hot dog with tomatoes and pickles? There will be a new Red River and it’s gonna be the Chicago River after the city dyes it red after the Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers four game to two.

From the get go, the boys from the Mid-west had an upper hand on the number seven seeded Flyers. This series shouldn’t have been close and let’s be honest…it really wasn’t. If you were expecting a sweep, shame on you. These games are played like two heavyweights going blow for blow. Sure the Flyers connected a few times and squeaked out two wins, but in the loses they were bad.

It’s tough to win a series after pulling your “starting”, and I use that term very loosely, goalie twice in a series. They pulled Leighton after he gave up three goals, brought in Boucher and he did the exact same thing.

Philly couldn’t skate with the likes of Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, and the player who made the biggest name for himself, Dustin Byfuglien. We essentially saw the passing of the torch from a one-time great defenseman in Chris Pronger to that of Duncan Keith.

Danny Briere held his own as did Simon Gagne, however if was the power of the mullet, Scott Hartnell, that really kept the Flyers in the series.

When it was all said and done, the biggest difference was Antti Niemi. This kid came up with key save after key save. He was a boulder in net , compared to the pebbles the Philadelphia threw in goal. Let’s be honest, they couldn’t even save with a coupon.

Philly got hot at the right time, and in the playoffs, sometimes that is more important than being the more talented team. While they were able to ride that hot streak to the Finals, the speed and skill of the Blackhawks trumped that streak.

Congrats the Chi-town who lifts the cup for the first time since Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita hoisted that coveted cup 49 years ago.

Breaking Down Cavs Rumors (with a side of ranting)….

The NBA season isn’t even over yet, but rumors about the Cavs change 30 times every day. It’s astounding the rumor mongering that is going on before the offseason even starts. The funny thing is, as important as the off season is to free agents *cough*LeBron*cough*, the rumors about him are fading fast while the rumors about the Cavs are spreading like wildfire.

By now, everything has kind of settled with LeBron. It’s going to be either Cleveland, Chicago, New York, or on the off chance David Geffen pries the Clippers from Sterling’s should-be cold, dead hands, the LA Clips. He’s already done Larry King. Everybody from his AAU coaches to his girlfriend’s mother’s hairdresser’s aunt has tried to leak some ‘inside information’ on what he’s planning, but it all boils down to the fact that nobody really knows yet. There’s been so many attempts at discussing LeBron that he’s just not newsworthy anymore. It’s going to happen after July 1 and any attempt to sway him one way or another; any attempt to leak where he’s going….its all pointless.

So, let’s focus on the one sure thing about the 2010-2011 Cleveland Cavaliers- with or without LeBron, the team will still exist. It probably won’t look like this years team, even if LBJ signs.

First, we’ve got the front office shake ups. Mike Brown fired and Danny Ferry resigns. Honestly, everyone knew Mike Brown was out. 5 years, numerous all-stars, the current greatest player in the game (debatable), yet only ONE Finals appearance? That just doesn’t fly, no matter who you are.

Now, I don’t think MiBro was a bad coach. Quite the contrary. I think he was a stellar coach without that drive to win the big one. Just like everyone blames LeBron for lacking the passion, the killer instinct needed to push it one more gear to win that trophy, Mike Brown was missing it as well. He was too passive with his players. He was too busy being friendly with them than getting in their faces to get them motivated. When he finally would do that, it would come off wrong. He just doesn’t have the intangibles yet to make a great NBA coach.

I think he should look into a college job before coming back to the NBA. I think he could be a great college coach, especially in a defense-oriented league like the Big Ten. His personality, youth, and coaching style would perfectly fit a college program.

Now…Danny Ferry…he’s got the misfortune of being a Duke product. Anything from Duke when it comes to basketball will fail terribly at some point or another. It’s science, really.

Ferry is the most to blame. Everyone heaps it on Mike Brown, LeBron, etc….everybody forgets Ferry and 2005. It was a huge free agent summer. Here are just some of the names you know these days that were available in 2005- Ray Allen, Chris ‘the Birdman’ Andersen, Raja Bell, Matt Bonner, Tyson Chandler, Austin Croshere, Samuel Dalembert, Chris Duhon, Udonis Haslem, Grant Hill, Robert Horry, Marko Jaric, Joe Johnson, Jason Kapono, Cuttino Mobley, Shaq, Gary Payton, Vlad Radmanovic, Michael Redd, Jalen Rose, Stromile Swift, Bonzi Wells……that’s just some of them.

Who did we pick up? Who did Danny Ferry decide to nab? Larry Hughes. The same Larry Hughes who has had four seasons with a 3pt percentage under 20%! The same Larry Hughes who had his best FG percentage in 2002! The same Larry Hughes who had ONE healthy season, back in 2001 with Golden State.

Who did Danny Ferry NOT ONCE make a phone call to?

The one and only Jesus Shuttlesworth, Ray Allen.

I mean….really? You’ve got one of the best, pure shooters in the game who is a free agent and you don’t give him a call? By that point, Ray was a 4-time All Star, 3rd team NBA, held the record for most 3s made in a half, AND had the most consecutive games played (400) for Milwaukee.

Yet he didn’t even garner a phone call.

That, boys and girls, in a nut shell, is the single biggest reason the Cleveland Cavaliers do not have an NBA Championship under their belt. Picking Larry Hughes over Ray Allen in 2005.

This is something that irks me….so I’ll end the analysis there before I get heated.

Moving on to other rumors…

Tom Izzo. Love this move. I think its great. Izzo is a stellar, take no crap coach. He’s the polar opposite of Mike Brown. His players love him because he forces them to respect him. This is the type of coach a superstar like LeBron needs. Not one who’s main soundbyte is ‘I’m glad LeBron lets me coach him’. You need a coach who will do just that, coach, and not be a constant ennabler. I really hope we can pull this coup off. Izzo is one of the all-time great college coaches and I think that could easily relay into a great professional coach. He already runs a pro-set offense with MSU as is, so the translation in game between college to pro won’t be as tough.

Trade Bait! The Cavs are shopping Mo and Delonte to see what they can get out of them. With Delonte, you really can’t go wrong. The Cavs would be effectively selling high after they bought low with him. They brought him in as a deep benchwarmer and have turned him into a starter on most any NBA team….barring of course his mental state that day. I love Delonte. I think he’s hilarious. But if we’re gonna be contenders, one of our main guards can’t be a guy where everyday we have to wake up and hope he’s not gonna be carrying his shotgun in a guitar case on a trike because somebody didn’t get him his donuts.

As for Mo…well…I’m really torn. I like Mo. He’s a great guy and a great regular season player. He hasn’t really been a playoff contributor. That could be attributed to fatigue, maybe nerves, I don’t know. This year, he had two stellar playoff games- one against Chicago and one against Boston, but otherwise has been suspect. He’s been a great addition to the Cavs but my fear is that he has reached his ceiling.

There has been rumors of overtures to Toronto about Mo, which made me a bit giddy. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I really think those overtures concerned a sign-and-trade for Bosh. Most rumor reports that I could find mentioned those two for Calderon and others….but I think there would have to be more to it.

If you could package Mo, Delonte, JJ, and Shaq to Toronto for Bosh and Hedo, would you pull the trigger?

I would, in a heartbeat. Hedo hates Toronto and Bosh wants to play with a superstar. With this trade, the Cavs can wipe about 30-40mil off their books. Toronto uses Shaq as cap relief and they get talent for the already-departing Bosh.

This would also give the Cavs Bird rights on Bosh, which allows the Cavs to offer the max contract to both Bosh and LeBron without affecting the year’s salary cap.

Jesus Shuttlesworth is also a free agent this season. Just sayin….Allen, Hedo, LeBron, Jamison, Bosh starting five? Game over. Absolutely game over. Pack the season in and gift wrap the trophy, because it’d be coming to Cleveland.

Even if they didn’t pick Allen up….Boobie can be a starter. You’ve also got Bassy Telfair who just picked up his player option for another year. There’s also some young FAs out there you could probably pick up like JJ Barea or TJ Ford.

In the end, there’s a lot of What Ifs for the Cavs in the coming weeks. Its exciting. Even if LeBron does leave, Dan Gilbert has shown Cleveland he will do what he needs to make us contenders and bring us championships, which is what we need in an owner. Dolan would be run out of town on a pike if fans could get a hold of him and Lerner has finally gotten the hint that we wouldn’t stand for him to focus on Aston Villa…a freakin English Premier League soccer club over our Browns.

So, over the next couple weeks, keep an eye out for more and more Cavs news, because I’m positive it will keep mounting.

Let’s get ready for a good 2010-2011 season, All Together! (which, by the way…one of the worst playoff themes ever…)

‘Etta Express jumps track

It had the making of a major league beat down. Except we’re playing college ball. Oh and the fact that after the first inning, the ‘Etta Express probably would’ve had an easier time figuring the 423rd digit of Pi than they did figuring out Thomas More pitcher Paul Uhl. Uhl and Kyle Wewe (yes it’s pronounced just how its spelled…trust me plenty a laughs were had) limited the Pioneers to three runs and just one after the first inning leading Thomas More to a 4-3 win.

In the first inning Britt Meador stroked a double into the gap. Dan Jones advanced Meador to third on a fielder’s choice then John Snyder ripped a double of his own into the gap scoring Meador. Casey Levens followed suit, scoring Snyder. After Braden Park walked, Chris Beatty came to the plate. Mired in a big slump head coach Brian Brewer had him batting out of the six hole and he put a good bat to the ball, but grounded into an inning ending double play. He grounded into two of them, the team overall hit into three.

After that the Pio’s offense was essentially non-existent. They got a few run of the mill base hits, but never threatened to put a dent into the scoreboard.

They fell behind after a hot shot down third base eluded Park, and two runners scored making it 3-2 Thomas More. That was all of the scoring until the bottom of the 8th when Park singled in Jones to tie the game, but in the 10th, a single, push bunt, and sacrifice fly sealed the Pioneers fate as they went quietly in the bottom half of the 10th.

The ‘Etta Express now have a very tough climb to reach the World Series. They face an elimination game tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. against Washington and Jefferson or Wooster if the Fightin’ Scots lose tonight.

I asked Brewer after the loss what the game plan for tomorrow would be, and he replied in a word…win.

Sounds easy enough. He’ll throw Brian Gasser and will have Mark Williams and Kyle Lindquist ready to go at the first sign of trouble. It’s a win or go home situation. Now some brainiac is probably sitting at home reading this while munchin on a bowl of Cocoa Puffs goin “Duh even if they win they go home…its in Marietta.” While this is true oh Price of Puffs, to split up this squad and have them disperse back to their original stomping ground across the country would be disheartening. While they have a long way to go, they have the one thing needed to continue their run…talent. Don’t believe me? It’s cool. I’ll just let the 11 members of to make the All Conference team back me up.

Puzzling Pirates Continue to Confuse

17-22. With a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies this evening, that is where the Pittsburgh Pirates record stands. Great pitching effort from Zach Duke and the bullpen tonight. That seems like a pretty lousy record by the numbers. And with the track record to go along with it, it would seem the Pirates are right on schedule for where they should be for the remainder of the season: out of contention and shipping off the few productive players they do have.

But hold on, the Pirates just split with the Phillies who are owners of the best record in the National League. Before that they took two of three from the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field and were within a few pitches of getting out the brooms. When it was all said and done, they finished the road trip with a 3-2 record. Their first winning record on a road trip since 2007. Yeah, wow.

For some reason that I can’t put my finger on, this 2010 edition of Buccos seems different than usual to me. Worse than usual you ask? Well possibly. Rocco DeMaro, a radio host for the Pirates flag station, even labeled this year’s Pirates as possibly the worst in the losing drought that has seen umpteen consecutive losing seasons

But what gets me thinking that this year could be the year they go over .500? Ask a causal baseball fan to name a player on Pittsburgh and many would struggle. But there is a solid nucleus of players that surround all-star to be Andrew McCutchen. Garret Jones is a power hitter in the making, and Yahoo! Sports hit on that early during the season. The bullpen has been fantastic, and Octavio Dotel is 8 for 10 in save opportunities. His velocity is looking like his days in Houston. But then there is the bad…

It’s really hard to believe Lastings Milledge plays professional baseball. His outfield skills are horrid, awful, ridiculously bad, terrible, and any other negative adjective you can think of. He takes the worst routes to fly balls ever. He has an average arm and can hit in the ,270 era. But nothing he really brings can make up for his defense blunders he creates in left field. Wow. I really feel bad for McCutchen having to patrol the outfield next to him.

There is also the offseason acquisition of Aki Iwamura. Recently he has been sidelined with tightness in his right hamstring, or as we know it, a bruised ego. Through 34 games, he has 20 hits for a .157 average. I don’t care if you made a trade to get this guy, there is absolutely no way he can get constant playing time, especially in the leadoff spot hitting .150, and finally the Pirates realize this by giving him a few days on the pine.

The Pirates have a chance to get things rolling as they travel back to PNC Park for two games against the Milwaukee Brewers and three games against the Atlanta Braves, both of which are somewhat struggling teams. Then again the Brewers defeated the Pirates earlier this season in a three game sweep by the score of 36-1.

Give it time and we’ll see how things will play out for the Pirates. And you can almost count that along the way myself and the few other Bucs fans will be scratching their heads in confusion.