I know what you’re thinking…Indians fans have something to cheer about?

Yes, yes we do.  Johnny Peralta hit a ball deep to right centerfield.  So deep, in fact, that the outfielder literally crashed through the Indians bullpen door trying to get to it.  Peralta is not quick.  I actually think that a snail could have beaten him to home plate.  But he managed to beat the delayed throw home, and thusly, a two-run inside the park home run.

The Indians finished off a banner weekend with the win today.  A four game sweep of the Tigers is not an easy feat, moreso when you consider that we have a bunch of AAA players developing in the majors.

We’ll see if the Tribe can keep the streak going…but I’m not holding my breath.

Dan Gilbert is the ballsiest and greatest owner out there not named Mark Cuban. I don’t care how classless anyone thinks this letter may be, this perfectly sums up how Cleveland fans feel.

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html

I’ll put something down later when I can fill a page with more than just cussing and scenarios in which LeBron tears both ACLs.

Go Cavs.

It’s hard to say James made the wrong decision because he’s playing with Wade, and Bosh. Miami fans don’t come close to Cleveland fans. Cleveland fans are some of the most loyal fans ever. Cheering for pathetic teams isn’t easy to do…trust me, I find myself questioning why I continue to chee for the Pirates, but then I remember it’s because I love that team. And Clevelanders love their teams. No fault there. But seriously, why get all upset. In seven years, how many championships has James gotten you all? Zero. How many finals did he lead you to? One and they got swept.

Now are you a better team without him. HELL NO. Not even close. Actually, the Cavs are now one of the worst teams in the league if you ask me, but cut the guy some slack. Except for the last few games in this postseason, this guy carried you. He led what was otherwise a collaberation of run-of-the-mill players to the best record in basketball. Here’s something you all should do. Learn from Pittsburgh. When Sergei Gonchar signed a contract with the Ottawa Senators this offseason, the city didn’t go up in arms, instead they thanked him for his time and service to the team and community. Granted Gonchar was a key contributor to their Stanley Cup championship, but when he comes back to Pittsburgh, I promise you he will get a standing ovation. Please do the same with James.

These super-freakish athletes are humans too. They need to lookout for themselves. James tried for seven years and couldn’t get it done. Now nothing is for sure, but I think he has earned the right to go to South Beach to try and win a championship. If nothing else, James can’t be called greedy or that he is in it just for the money. Instead he wants to win. He tried and Cleveland, but now will try in Miami.

Yeah, I’m happy he left. I feel bad to an extent for Cleveland, but at the same time, deep down I’m smiling. Guilty pleasure.

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

Besides, just watch out Twitter account @BorderWarSports.  Just easier to re-tweet what Windhurst at the Plain Dealer is reporting.

Maybe we’ll have a reaction piece on Friday.  If we care enough about the biggest decision in Cleveland history.

And yea, I’d consider ranking LeBron with Model if he left.

/Editor out!

Wood only has seven saves this season in 10 opportunities, but may have finally found his groove.  The timing could not have been better, considering the trade deadline is getting closer, and the notion that the Dolans are willing to trade everything (Hell, even Slider might get traded at this point, I reckon).

I honestly think that Wood is peaking at the right time, from the trade perspective, since some team looking for a better closer will trade a few prospects and take his huge contract (well, huge for Cleveland) off our hands.  Sure, we don’t NEED to lose a closer just as he’s getting good, but the season has been lost since game one.  Time to start looking at the 2013 season (yea, I’m giving up on 2012 already) and the wish of a new owner (could Dan Gilbert buy the Indians too? Pretty please?).

While some of our younger talent (LaPorta, Crowe, and the less famous Carlos Santana) are starting to develop (unfortunately at the pro level since they were rushed through the minors), I don’t see them leaving for greener pastures.  Choo could be departing, but odds are that his situation is not attractive to other teams (essentially trading for his services the rest of this season if he decides to go back to South Korea to fulfill his military obligations in 2011).  Sizemore is too much of an injury liability now for any other team to take him.  Also, Hafner isn’t putting up the numbers like he used to, so is no longer worth trading.

Returning to pitching, Talbot or Carmona could be on their way to other cities since they have won more games than most at Cleveland.  Somebody looking for a cheap fix might try to wheel and deal for an OK pitcher.  With Huff still recovering from being drilled in the head, he’ll never fetch much.

You may be wondering, what about Kearns?  Dan Tylicki over at Bleacher Reports says that he may be heading to the Giants. I guess he has a solid enough bat.  I don’t see us getting anything near what Branyan got us.  Although, what we got for Branyan was a gift in itself.

Overall, it seems like the major Tribe move has already occurred.  The opportunity remains for several other moves to be made, at the disgust of Cleveland fans everywhere.

But I may get this t-shirt first.

It captures the essence of funny type shirts, with a destinctive local flair.  I MUST HAVE IT.

Anyways, I now return you to the Indians giving up four consecutive doubles (to the same spot in left center, mind you) in a loss to the Mets, or the first game for another new Pittsburgh Pirate in an attempt to grab headlines.

In what was the more important of the two major press conferences tonight (well, at least if you’re in Cleveland, which has despised BP since they moved their workforce from downtown Cleveland), Tom Izzo announced tonight that he would be staying with the Spartans.

This leaves me wondering what Dan Gilbert will do with his Izzo-themed PJ’s and alma mater tax write-offs.

Anyways, Izzo probably did the right thing.  He stuck with what he knows works well and will continue to work well.  Despite the secretive flight to Cleveland, and then an equally secretive flight by Gilbert to Akron’s Fulton Airport to meet with LBJ, supposedly (Media covered both flights, but the latter has seemingly disappeared from the interwebs).

LeBron is the question mark, and no high-quality coach will be willing to come to Cleveland  without him playing for them.  Without the ‘Akron Hammer’, the Cavs have nothing to keep good talent.  Except for the rumored promise of somewhere in the range of $6 million a year.

Unfortunately, it would seem that Cleveland is in a bit of a quagmire.  They will have to try to sign LeBron first, then a coach.  This isn’t what NBA teams usually do..  Typically, you want to hire a coach early in the Summer, that way you can get the best name on the market and let him plan for the Fall season (which feels like starts in a few weeks…damn you three month long playoff system *shakes fist*)

The Cavs won’t do that, though.  They heard the message loud and clear.  Sign LeBron.  Then we’ll talk.

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.

Here’s how the cookies crumble in my theory.  Notre Dame decides to stay independent in football.  No real surprise there.  The money is much better.

There are two keys that we know for sure.  Colorado is going to the Pac 10, and Nebraska is going to the Big Ten (or Televen, or Televe, at that point).  Two teams have now left the Big 12, leaving the North division with four teams.

Missouri, also in the North, may not be saying it has a bid opportunity, but I’m sure the Big Ten would grant them a bid at this point, now that the Fighting Irish are out.  Their hand will be forced by the Pac 10 giving the entire South division bids.

The entire South division gets bids to the Pac 10 because the conference knows that the Texas teams will want to stay together.  All the big Texas schools want to keep competing against each other.  If you don’t give them all bids, Texas Tech or Texas A&M may try to break for the SEC (which I find doubtful, but possible).

Because two teams have already left, and Missouri will at this point have a bid from the Big Ten, the Southern bloc if the Big 12 feel the pressure to move West.  And they will, in my opinion, do so.  Not that the Texas teams are hurting for a TV audience, but the Pac 10 will expose them to an entire West coast audience.

The Southern bloc move will leave Kanas, Kansas State, Iowa, and Missouri.  Four teams do not a conference make.  The death knells have been rung for the Big 12, and a very lucky Big Ten then lucks into four teams.  Now, I argue with myself here.  You obviously give bids to Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas State.  But Iowa State isn’t really the greatest of teams.  Yea, Iowa State and Iowa can play their rivalry game in-conference now, but if you choose to only have 16 teams, who would you rather have? Rutgers or Iowa State.

From a TV perspective, you want Rutgers.  They may not be the best team either, but they open the Big Ten Network to New Jersey, and more importantly, New York.  While I chose to bring both teams into the Big Teventeen (mostly due to coaxing from Mickey), I could easily see Iowa State getting shut out and left looking for a bid with the Mountain West or WAC, while Rutgers joins the Big Tixteen (yes, I am going to run that into the ground).

To close things out, in case you’re wondering…Rutgers gets a bid during the whole Big 12 South bloc swap, and accepts before the North bloc moves over.