End Of The Indians As We Know It

With the trading away of Victor Martinez today, coupled with the Cliff Lee trade of two days ago, the Indians have officially traded away fans and any excitement towards the team for the foreseeable future. What is really frustrating is that they traded Lee away for no major leaguers and not even the top prospect in the Phillies organization. What we got in return is Jason Knapp, an 18 year old pitcher that is ALREADY shut down for the rest of the year with right shoulder soreness (apparently the key to the deal), Carlos Carrasco, a 22 year old pitcher with a 5.18 ERA in Triple A Lehigh Valley, 23 year old catcher Lou Marson (a top catching prospect I'm told), and 24 year old shortstop Jason Donald whose batting .236 with one homer and 16 RBI for Triple A Lehigh Valley after just returning from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. Let's review: Trading last year's Cy Young winner and your ace for a guy that is shut down for the remainder of the season, another who is coming off an injury to his knee, a pitcher with a high ERA in Triple A, and ANOTHER catcher. Now, as far as the Marinez trade is concerned, they AT LEAST got a pitcher that has pitched in the majors, with success, in Justin Masterson. What I don't like about this is the fact that they probably could have resigned him next year if they were to pony up the money to do so. You just lost a leader on your team and arguably your best and most clutch hitter. I just hope that management, especially the Dolans, understand that by cutting salary and trading away most of your best players, expect not to draw fans this year or next because you're not going to win and no one is going to know who the hell is taking the field. Also understand that AT SOME POINT in the next couple of years, you will have to SPEND MONEY if you want to win anything. All I keep hearing is that "we'll spend money when the time is right" and we want to make decisions that are "financially prudent at this junction". That is a bunch of BS. I would have a little more respect for you if you were to come out and publicly say that this is only a business to you and you don't care about winning but only about making money. Newsflash: You tend to make money when you win. I truly wonder if the Dolans are aware of this. With these last two moves, I feel they don't. I worry that, with the constant firesale of proven, quality, players that fans will start to become apathetic towards this team and when that happens, it can take years for fans to come back. Granted, I am only 23 years old, but this is one of the saddest days in Indians history that I can remember.

NBA Free Agency---Facts and Fiction

Free agency in the NBA has come in with a major bang to this point, and we're less than a week in. This is one of my favorite times of the year because we as fans get to see how much money and how many years desperate teams are willing to throw on guys who are largely over-valued in exchange for the possibiliy of winning more games.

So far, some big names have changed addresses, and I'm going to lay down the facts and the BS about all of them.

Here we go.....

Jason Kidd signs a 3-year, $25 million deal to stay in Dallas.

FACT---Kidd makes the Mavericks better. People who toss around the idea that he's washed up don't know basketball, plain and simple. Yes, his stats have decilned in points and assists (the two main categories when judging his play), but he's still effective in running the offense and getting Dirk Nowitzki the ball where he wants it. That's more important than how many points Kidd scores or dimes he drops. He does exactly what Dallas needs him to do, so in that regard the signing makes sense. He'll probably have at least one more productive year, possibly two.

FICTION---If anyone thinks he'll give Dallas more than 1-2 good years, they're wrong. He's a great fit in Dallas, but he's still old. The Western Conference is backloaded with younger, quicker point guards. I can't imagine him lasting the full length of his contract.

Rasheed Wallace agrees to sign with Boston for the MLE.


FACT---This isn't a bad pickup for the Celtics, because they have no depth whatsoever and he's an instant upgrade over scrubs like Brian Scalabrine. He'll stretch the floor a little, score a little and occasionally rebound a little. He'll have some games where he hits three pointers like he's shooting the ball into the Atlantic Ocean. His contributions will be 100% off the bench, which may make him more effective in the long run.

FICTION---Rasheed Wallace puts the Celtics over the top in the Eastern Conference. This is completely laughable. At 34-years-old, 'Sheed isn't capable of impacting a team anymore the way he did in Portland and Detroit. He doesn't have the legs anymore, and he's way too complacent when it comes to shooting bad jump shots. Oftentimes, he'll camp out at the three-point line and just jack up shots for most of the game, not even thinking to get to the post. It's a shame, because he's a pretty solid post player when he wants to be. Also, it's total fiction that he won't have any outbursts because of the guys he'll now be playing with. He'll still pick up technical fouls, and he'll still make bad decisions in games, just like the rest of his career. Boston got a lot older with this signing, which isn't good in the East, with all the young, athletic teams. Do fans honestly think this signing makes Boston better than Orlando and Cleveland? If they do, I feel sorry for them. Healthy Kevin Garnett or no, this signing won't amount to what the Celtics hope it will. Boston's championship window has closed due to age.

Hedo Turkoglu to the Raptors for a lot of money.

FACT---This signing makes Toronto instantly playoff-caliber. The threesome of Turkoglu, Jose Calderon and Chris Bosh will be very tough for opposing teams to deal with. Hedo can run the floor, handle the ball and create his own shot. That makes him an awesome fit on this Raptors team.

FICTION---Signing Turkoglu makes Toronto a title contender. Hedo or not, the Raptors have no depth at really any position. They've already lost Anthony Parker and Shawn Marion to free agency and Jason Kapono to a trade, which severely hurts their efforts to not just make the playoffs, but be a higher seed. There's also a health question with Bosh. I can't remember one season in which Bosh played every game or almost every game. He's gotten hurt every year of his career. Add in the team's glaring lack of depth and they're still going to struggle at times next season. I expect them to make the playoffs, but it'll be one of the bottom three seeds.

Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva sign with Detroit for $50 million-plus and $35 million, respectively.

FACT---These two signings will make Detroit better than they were a year ago. The Pistons became so awful after trading Chauncey Billups to Denver that any improvement GM Joe Dumars makes will look good in the short term. Both guys will score their fair share of points and have breakout games where we all sit back and think that they're budding NBA superstars.

FICTION---Signing Gordon and Villanueva puts Detroit back into the East playoff picture again. Sorry, not buying this one. Gordon and Charlie V each have some pretty big flaws in their all-around games, and the Pistons don't have anyone outside of Rip Hamilton to count on on a consistent basis. Tayshaun Prince is one of the most overrated players in the NBA every year. Rodney Stuckey regressed mightily once Billups left and he was given the starting point guard role. Kwame Brown is still on the team. Jason Maxiell is grossly undersized for his post position. The team currently has no head coach and no true center outside of Brown, one of the worst players to ever be drafted in the first round of any pro sport. Aaron Aflalo isn't a starter in the NBA. Factor in that Hamilton wasn't happy coming off the bench last year with Allen Iverson, and he won't be happy splitting so much time with Gordon. Then, there's the new guys' flaws. Villanueva has a reputation of disappearing sometimes and not using his head during games. He'll take plays off and his shot isn't going to fall consistently every night. He's also not a strong defender. Gordon's only real NBA talent is shooting. Other than that, he's way undersized, doesn't play a lick of defense and wasn't very well liked in Chicago for having an awkward personality. The Pistons still have a ways to go before they're a contender again. I don't see these two signings truly helping them in the long term.


Vince Carter to the Magic for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie.

FACT---The trade gives Orlando another NBA superstar to add to its starting lineup. They now have gour near-guaranteed All-Stars on the court every night (health permitting) and will draw more excitement and attention from fans.

FICTION---This trade puts Orlando over the top. In my opinion, the Magic got worse with this deal. Vince Carter's reputaion as a malcontent who only tries when he feels like it preceeds him, and it will resurface again in Orlando. Carter is Carter. Playing for a title contender won't change what he's been his entire career. But how do fans expect to win a championship when Carter will expect to have the ball in his hands down the stretch of every game? Didn't Dwight Howard call out his coach during the playoffs because he wasn't getting enough touches? That happened with the unselfish rookie Lee as the team's starting shooting guard. What now? Get ready for big Dwight to be unhappy with his role again. Having VC also means the Magic will be worse defensively. Lee was very athletic and physical and could stay in front of most other 2s. Carter won't do that. Past knee injuries won't let him anyway. I've always said that no team with four All-Stars can win a title in the NBA because that's too many guys demanding too many shots. With three stars, it's possible, as long as they're mutually willing to pass up shots in order to play better. It happened in Boston two years ago. It will not happen in Orlando this year. Vince carter isn't the character guy Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are. He just isn't. Also, getting Carter eliminates the only thing that made Orlando a nightmare to play--they're size. Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis were both 6-11 and could shoot the three. Vince Carter is a conventional 2, standing at about 6-6. With his decreasing quickness and tendency to settle for jump shots, he'll be an easy cover for more defensive-minded guards. Add in the Magics' lack of depth, and their fans will be kicking themselves in next year's playoffs when Boston or Cleveland knocks them out.

Trevor Ariza to Houston for the MLE.

FACT---Trevor Ariza is going to be a very good NBA player. What people fail to realize is that, no matter how a guy's shooting, he can always play defense, and that's exactly what Ariza does. As long as he sticks to that principle, he'll never be overrated or a waste of money. He's not as good as Ron Artest (yet), but he's only 24 and he's got a lot of time to improve all parts of his game, especially since the Rockets are going to be awful next season.

FICTION---Ariza is going to be a star in the NBA. Folks, he was good in the playoffs, and slightly above average during the regular season. He isn't the second coming of Scottie Pippen, as some have alleged. I do think he'll get better all-around, but he's not going to have the impact throughout his career that people mistakenly think he will. Think James Posey, but without the consistent jumper.

Ron Artest signs with the L.A. Lakers for the MLE.

FACT---Artest gives the Lakers even more credibility as the NBA's elite team right now. We know what to expect out of Artest during games. He's going to score between 15-18 points a night. He's also going to play outstanding man-to-man defense. He gives his new team even more star power. Right now, the Lakers, on paper, have the best team in the NBA.

FICTION---Artest to L.A. will work. Two words: Kobe Bryant. If you think Ron Artest and Kobe can get along for a full season, think again. Artest has never truly gotten along with a second alpha dog on any of the teams he's played for. He didn't work well with his teammates in Indiana. He didn't initially get along with Yao Ming in Houston, and he never really got along with Tracy McGrady. The only times he's been truly effective were in Indiana when Jermaine O'Neal and Reggie Miller were out of action or in Sacramento, where Kevin Martin was the only other good player, and he was still very young and on the rise. Artest always backs himself into the corner of having to be the top guy, even though he really doesn't have top guy talent. That's where his relationship with Kobe will sour. Bryant is famous for avoiding passing to open teammates in favor of jacking up bad contested shots. Will Artest be okay with that? I doubt it. And how will this affect guys who already don't get enough touches because of Kobe, like Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum? My guess is negatively. Artest cannot coexist on a team like this. He just can't. Don't be surprised if this backfires in some way. There are a lot of teams out there Artest would've fit with better.

Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland in a trade with Phoenix for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic.

FACT---No matter what stage of Oneal's career it is, this trade makes the Cavaliers better than they were last season. The simple reason for this is the fact they gave up absolutely nothing to bring the big guy in. Ben Wallace's best days were well behind him and Pavlovic hasn't really ever had any best days in his seven-year playing career. All Shaq has to do to replace both guys himself is average something in the neighborhood of 10 points and five rebounds a game, and he'll instantly exceed the combined production of both guys he replaced. That's really all he has to do. For that reason alone, it was a fantastic trade for Danny Ferry and the Cavs. People have tended to make too much out of Shaq being 37 and on the downside of his career. That's true, and he's not going to come in and play like the Shaq of 2000, but he really doesn't have to. He doesn't even have to come close. If nothing else, it's addition by subtraction for the Cavs. Then factor in his name recognition and all the extra coverage Cleveland will get because of him. The Cavs haven't traded for a player with Shaq's on-court resume since Shawn Kemp in 1996. And there's no way O'Neal will be worse than Kemp was. He'll do wonders for the team's confidence and make everybody better. And he'll give LeBron James another toy to play with. Expect James' per game numbers to go up next year, as hard as that can be to fathom.

FICTION---Getting Shaq puts Cleveland over the top. It definitely doesn't, and in my mind, still doesn't make them favorites to win the East. The Cavs dodged a bullet with Orlando foolishly trading Courtney Lee and letting Hedo Turkoglu walk, but they still need to make one or two more moves (trades or free agency) to make them the East's best team. And remember, just because the team hasn't signed a big name free agent, it isn't the end of the world. The Cavs are going to be very good again next year, and they have until the February trade deadline to make their big splash. They will do something significant, but it might not be right away. This is still a very good, contending team without another big move. that's why the Shaq trade is so exciting. Cleveland's definitely better, but not all the way better. Yet.

So there you have it. As more signings happen, I'll add updates to this post. But for now, those are the big names. Sign/trade at your own risk, NBA front offices.

Sorry "Air McNair". No love for you here...

Steve McNair is dead. And it's a shame.

He was a very good, not great, quarterback who became the face of the Tennessee Titans franchise for nearly a decade. He came within inches of winning the city's only Super Bowl. He's one of the best African American quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL, and one of the better QBs to play in the league, no matter the color of his skin.

He constantly gave to charities, worked youth football camps, paid for many of those same camps in full and served the communities in which he played very, very well.

Again, Steve McNair's dead. And it's a shame.

But I'm done praising Steve McNair the football player. It's not fair to him, his family, the family of the young lady who was also killed, and anyone directly affected by the events of July 4.

No offense, but I can't praise Steve McNair the NFL Pro Bowler when I know he's dead because of some REALLY poor decisions in his personal life, and all it took was simply listening to his conscience and not following down the same path as so many other professional athletes.

In the end, in his retirement, the 36-year-old McNair couldn't help himself, and now it's truly the end. There are currently four boys in Mississippi right now who have to cope with not having a father, and a wife and mother who has to cope with not only losing her husband and the father of her kids, but a guy who clearly went outside his marriage to get together with a 20-year-old waitress in an affair that lasted for months.

For anyone with any moral fiber in their body, that should be when the praise of Steve McNair stops.

Yet, all day I've heard nothing but undying hero worship of the man. ESPN is on a 24-hour coverage kick of the "NFL Live" guys talking endlessly of how perfect and teriffic he was on the field, and how his ability to throw a football should be the only defining part of his life.

That, folks, is BS. The minute he entered into his extra-marital affair, his personal life decisions began to overshadow his play in NFL stadiums. At least for me it did.

When I think of some of the great plays he made during his many seasons, it's now impossible not to instantly think of the pictures of him and his new girlfriend out on vacation together, smiling and having a great time. The pictures were taken by TMZ, and they show a much different "Air McNair" than the one Trey Wingo and Mike Golic want us to remember. It shows a cheater and a liar (at least to some degree)openly engaging in an act that completely violates his marriage and puts his four kids on the backburner.

And now he's dead. And it's a shame.

Decisions a person makes when the cameras and/or attention aren't on them can often define that person, and in McNair's case, he will most likely be defined in a way other than what NFL analysts and former players would like. He can't escape being part of one of pro sports' ugliest statistics.

And if he's allowed by the media and fans to escape his fate as a man with definite personal flaws who went too far, then that's a serious indictment on the media and fans. And what if the Hall-of-Fame comes knocking someday? That's even worse.

In the long run, Steve McNair was a very good football player for a lot of years, and people should remember that part of his life. But just a small part. What he should ultimately be remembered for, fair or not, is what he did in his personal life that so greatly hurt his own family.

Steve McNair is dead. And it's a shame.

Orlando trades for Vince Carter

While the Cavs trading for Shaq was a great move that's going to help our team, the trade that changed everything is when Orlando traded for Vince Carter. They gave up Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, and Tony Battie to acquire a player that is selfish, plays when he wants to, and completely screws up everything that got Orlando into the Finals in the first place. And by making this move, Orlando just guaranteed themselves to lose Hedo Turkoglu who was their go-to guy in crunch time. Orlando was build upon tall shooters who were unselfish and willing make the extra pass for the good of the team. Vince Carter has never cared about the team he's on, only the stats that he posted. Also, Orlando has Carter for two years at around $18M a year. So when you're thinking about what the Cavs can do to get better, just thank Orlando for making themselves worse.

Shaq's has a new Home!

Well, I have not posted in awhile because I felt there has really been nothing interesting to talk about. Now not only can I talk about the USA soccer team beating the best team in the world, but talk about how one of the best centers to play the game is coming to the Cleveland Cavaliers. As everyone saw in the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavs had no answer to Dwight Howard. That has all changed now because the Cavs now have the Diesel to shut down so called "Superman" Dwight Howard. Now I know Shaq is not the player has used to be, but he is still a person every team has to worry about. I can not wait to see the MVP Lebron James play with another proven all star. Not only does Shaq bring a force into the middle, but when playoffs come around his leadership and playoff experience will help out the whole team. If Lebron doesn't win a championship this year, there is no doudt in my mind that he is leaving. They brought Shaq here to make sure this doesn't happen. Alll we can do is wait and see how good Lebron and Shaq will play together, but I cant wait to find out.

How to fix: The Cleveland Cavaliers

Alcoholics are allowed 12 steps to get over their addiction. I'd say that's more than fair. But I think I can one-up them when it comes to getting over another problem--fixing a team that needs help.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were the NBA's best team (technically) in the regular season, the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and swept their first two playoff series until getting humiliated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games.

The Orlando series went a long way in exposing the sorrier parts of Cleveland's roster and coaching philosophy and showed their fans that there's still a ways to go until LeBron gets legitimate help.

That's where I come in.

I've read a million reports over the last two weeks that have suggested GM Danny Ferry is going to wheel and deal to get some more talent in town for 2009-10, and I've heard just about every name but Kobe Bryant's come up in trade discussions. The problem is that the majority of ideas and players involved make no sense whatsoever.

In six steps, I'm going to lay out my plan to fix the Cavs and get them an NBA title.

1.) Unload all your draft picks for the next two years---The Cavs have picks in both rounds this season and I believe they do next year as well. I say trade 'em all. The hot item in the NBA right now is taking on expiring contracts, picks and additional money. Therefore, Ferry needs to get rid of all his team's picks in order to get seasoned talent in uniform for next season. Make no mistake, the Cavs are on a short timetable. LeBron needs to see that the effort's being made to win a title RIGHT NOW, not two years from now. This year's draft is one of the worst in quite awhile talent-wise, and there are maybe two to three guys in the entire thing who are going to make any kind of real impact at all as rookies. The Cavs have the 30th pick in the first round, so drafting anybody is going to set the team back. They don't have time to develop new players. J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson are already projects, and the case can be made that Daniel Gibson is still a major work in progress, too. Danny, unload those picks!

2.) Take advantage of the bad economy---The NBA's got a real big problem on its hands. The economic turmoil throughout the country has hurt the league immensely, even if it's not being as widely reported as it should. All of the bad teams in the league (Oklahoma City excluded for now because they're new) lost a ton of revenue last year due to low crowds and high costs of operation. Right now, most of these teams are looking to unload all the contract cash they can in order to pay the bills (Sacramento, Phoenix, etc.) and will more than likely make a bad trade or sign-and-trade in order to save some money. That's where Ferry needs to do his best work. He needs to fleece a team or two to get more talent on the Cavs, and he can do it if he plays the game smart, waiting and applying pressure to the teams he deals with. If he can somehow con Phoenix into handing him Shaq for Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace, teriffic. There are other moves to be made as well, but that's one example. The Cavs will be one of the handful of teams this summer who are actually willing to take on additional payroll while everyone else has the "For Sale" signs up. Take advantage and play the market like a fiddle. It'll work.

3.) Take on players with an edge---Everybody's afraid of taking on guys with questionable or combustable personalities because they don't want the Cavs' vaunted "team chemistry" to take a hit. But here's the deal, the Cavs need more of a mean streak out on the court. When Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis were tearing them apart in the ECF, where was the anger from anyone but LeBron? Where was the fire in Game 6 when the season was on the line? The team needs more force of personality. That's why I like the Shaq trade, and that's why I'll support bringing in a guy like Rasheed Wallace for a year or two. Both guys are outspoken. Neither one takes crap from anybody in the other uniform. And both guys have an over-abundance of pride. The way the Cavs are situated now, that's a good thing. When the team was searching for its identity two years ago, I would've said 'no way, don't get those idiots'. Now, the team needs those idiots to win a title. They need outspoken/angry guys who will make other teams/fans hate them. Two seasons ago, everybody outside of Boston hated Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the core. Many still do. But they've got a ring. The Cavs can win it all with edgier guys like that. I want 'Sheed to get T'd up. I want Shaq to say something offensive about Dwight Howard's lack of post offense. The Cavs need that fire. When your team's down 10 in the fourth quarter, the Cavs need veteran guys who are going to say "F*** this, let's go right now!" Outside of LeBron, they didn't have that last season, and really haven't had that at all in the entire LeBron era. That has to change. Ron Artest anyone?

4.) Drop the dead weight---Anyone who knows me knows exactly who I'm talking about, but there are other guys who need to go to. First and foremost, the Sasha Pavlovic experiment is over and it failed miserably. He was overrated when former GM Jim Paxson traded for him, he was overrated when he started during the 2007 Finals run, and he's overrated right now as he sits at home eating leftovers on his couch. He's not a very good player and he's a mental midget who doesn't show up to play, well, ever. He just goes through the motions. That lack of focus kills the team, and it hurt badly in the playoffs. He has to go THIS summer. Also, people may not agree but I don't care. Daniel Gibson has to go as well. His game has regressed in the past year, and he hasn't developed any other part of his game at all since being drafted. That should be a huge red flag to team management. Basically, when Gibson's shot isn't falling, he's completely and utterly useless on the floor. He doesn't do anything else well. The Cavs need to trade him away and get a backup point guard who can handle the ball, get to the foul line occasionally and play a lick of defense. Gibson hasn't developed into that guy. Time to make a change. Also, Ben Wallace needs to go. He may not play again anyway because of a litany of nagging injuries, but he's prime trade bait, so trade him. The team should keep either Hickson or Jackson, but not both. They're essentially the same player. Hickson has more upside, but Jackson's more of a dirty work guy, which every team needs. Honestly, if Hickson's healthy, I'd trade him.

5.) Re-sign Andy Varejao---People always want to point out his per game averages when building a case against him, but all that is a bunch of BS. Anderson Varejao means more to the make-up of the Cavaliers' team than any other player on the roster except LeBron. He's the ultimate intangibles player, the guy who will do literally anything to get his team an extra possession, extra shot, draw a foul, get points, anything. He plays hard at both ends and is one of the only guys LeBron has played with since he got drafted that moves without the ball on offense. For those reasons, he has to stay. Varejao is a massive part of the team's identity, and opposing teams hate to play against him. He doesn't have the mean streak of a Shaq or Rasheed, but he's intense, quick for his size and he gets under other big guys' skin. Those are indespensible qualities. If the Cavs want an NBA title, they'll bring "Wild Thing" back on a new contract.

6.) Don't worry about long term effects---Danny Ainge mortgaged the future of the Boston Celtics when he traded literally half the roster and all of his quality young players to Minnesota and Seattle for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, but the team went on to win a championship, and if you ask any Celtics fan if they care that the team will suck a year or two from now, they'll probably all tell you they don't give a damn because they got a ring out of it. That's the exact attitude the Cavs need for 2009-10--do whatever it takes to win it all right now. Don't worry about how the franchise will look three years from now. You can't think in the long term, especially with the LeBron cloud hovering over the franchise. Strike early and often once July 1st hits, and don't look back. Also don't look forward either. Live in the now. Gamble a little bit. Just don't, under any circumstances, stand pat. That would be the ultimate mistake Dans Gilbert and Ferry could make. If the team has to take major luxury tax hits, then so be it. A title will more than make up for the lost cash. If the situation arises where Amare Stoudamire or Chris Bosh can be had (slim chance, but never say never), then do the deal and don't look back. Danny Ferry has to have major balls this offseason in order to take this team over the top. He can start by getting as creative and aggressive as he can on the free agent/trade markets.

In closing, this is going to be the most important offseason in the history of the Cavaliers franchise, maybe even the history of Cleveland sports in general. The front office will have to pull out all the stops to get this team over the title hump. This is the year, this is the time. The six steps above will make it happen.

NBA Finals---What We Learned

The NBA Finals ended last night and the Lakers are your champions. Here are five things we now know about the series that we didn't before they started.

1.) The Magic's offensive system really doesn't work in the long run---Listen, the 'jack up as many shots as possible and see what sticks' offense won't win you a championship, even when you have great shooters. The way the Finals played out shows that Orlando's shooters benefited more from the Cleveland Cavaliers' lack of perimeter size and Mike Brown's awful, unchanging defensive philosophy than they did their own talent. Look at the way Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu disappeared for long stretches of almost all five games. That's not a coincidence. Orlando's offense requires a size advanatage, along with a real positive streak, as all of the Magic shooters are streaky as hell. Give credit where it's due to the Lakers, who had the size to match up with Orlando's big guns and played very good defense on them throughout. Guys like Courtney Lee and Mickael Pietrus were not really factors all series, either. They got hot shooting against the Cavs, but it fell apart in the Finals. Defense still wins championships.

2.) Stan Van Gundy's still not a coaching genious---Everybody in the national media was ready to annoint Stan Van Gundy as the next big thing in coaching, a Phil Jackson without the smug attitude or fashion sense. The Finals proved he's got a long way to go. He's a smart coach when his team is better than its competition. When he's matched up against an equal or better team, he doesn't cut it. He openly questioned his own decisions after two of his team's four losses, never a good recipe for success. He also started to employ Brown's idiotic method of playing random guys out of the blue to see if they could spark the team, which almost never works, especially when you're trying to do it with guys like J.J. Redick.

3.) Playing Jameer Nelson was a massive mistake---Want to kill team chemistry? It's simple: play a guy who hasn't laced 'em up in over four months. Now, Jameer Nelson was an All-Star selection this year and was putting up great numbers (16 points, 7 assists a game) before injuring his shoulder, but he was out for four months after that and was largely ineffective when he played. The biggest problem wasn't even that he played, it was the amount of minutes he got. He often played more minutes than starter Rafer Alston, and backup Anthony Johnson barely touched the floor. The Magic built up a great rhythm in the playoffs without Nelson, and Van Gundy's insistence that he get big time minutes killed the team's momentum. Factor in that Alston is a mental midget, and they were doomed. Bad idea.

4.) Phil's the man---The guy's got 10 titles now. That's more than anybody, Red Auerbach included. It doesn't matter that he coached Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaq and Kobe. His ability to reign in those colossal talents and egos and get them to play a more team-oriented game has been his defining quality as a coach, and it's why he's at this point. There are way more coaches who can't do that than can. I'd say Phil and Pat Riley are the only two that definitely can. Gregg Poppovich maybe.

5.) Kobe's still the man---I disagree that he's the best closer in the game, but you can't deny that he impacts the game without touching the ball. LeBron gets the same treatment, but with Kobe, teams are downright afraid to let him shoot. It's because he can score from literally anywhere at any time. In that regard, he's still ahead of LeBron. Orlando threw double team after double team at him and he beat them all. Then, he made Pietrus look like a fool for five straight games. Yes, LeBron did the same thing, but there was just something more cold-blooded and filthy about the way Kobe did it. He didn't take a single play off all series and Orlando had to tap out. He broke their will. That's the measure of Kobe's talent. Whether you like him or not, he's always effective in what he does.

That's what we learned about the Finals. The Lakers are champs for a reason, and Orlando couldn't match up with them because they had equal size and more skill. Don't be surprised if Orlando's not back in the Finals next year.

100/100 - The True Test Of A Runner & Drinker

Over the last 5 years there have been two major parts of my life, drinking and running. I have been running competitevly and have been drinking like an idiot with my buddies over this time and have had a fantastic time.

A couple years ago my buddies and I heard about the true test called 100/100. This consists of running 100 miles and drinking 100 beers in 1 week. We figured that it would take about 14 of each everyday in order to accomplish this endevour.

Since I am done running for a team and I am officially on summer vacation, I thought that it was time to see if 5 years of training will all pay off to accomplish this task. I start today and I am going to work my hardest to fight through the pain and accomplish something everyone else doesn't think I can do.

I plan on accomplish this by playing a various amount of drinking games and running methods.

These are as follows:

Powerhour

Beer Pong

Flip Cup

Edward 40 hands

Bonging

Beer Mile

Run 1 Drink 1 Run 1 Drink 1 ..etc.

Drink 5, Run 5, Drink 5, Nap

If you have any ideas please feel free to add them on. I am hoping to post my experiences as they happen throughout the week. Lots of drinking, running, sleeping, vomiting, and shitting are in the forcast and I couldn't be any happier!

Remember Dick Jacobs

RIP Mr. Jacobs.

He may have been the best owner that this city has ever seen. He single handidly revitalized the city of Cleveland by leading the construction of Gateway. He was responisble for building Jacobs Field, The Gund Arena, and bringing hundreds of new buisnesses to create a welcoming area for Cleveland Sports and entertainment.

Mr. Jacobs bought a sorry Cleveland Indians franchise in the mid 1980's for a whopping $40 million and turned around to sell it in 2000 for the huge profit of $200+ million. He revitalized this team and city by constructing the most beautiful baseball field in the MLB and putting a team on the field that I grew up to love. He brought in players like Baerga, Sorrento, Lofton, El Presidente, Belle, Thome, Ramirez, Kent, Williams, Hersheiser, Grisom, Justice, Robbie and Sandy Alomar, Murray, Mesa, Plunk, Assenmacher, Wright, and the list goes on and on. With these players he brought this city a winning atmosphere that no life-long Cleveland fan could have ever imagined!

He built a winning tradition from 1994-2000 that produced 5 straight Central Division Titles, 2 American League Pennants, and a team that was within 1 out of winning the World Series for the first time since 1948. Most importantly he built a tradition that translated into a MLB record 455 straight home sell-outs. It was almost impossible to get a ticket for that place.

I was lucky enought to meet Mr. Jacobs in 1996 during the a home ALCS game against Baltimore. My dad was lucky enough to get club seats for that game and that meant we got to take the elevator up to our seats. As I was standing in the elevator I looked over and Mr. Jacobs was standing right there. (Gapa loves when I randomly meet Ohio sport legions) My dad introduced us and he was the nicest guy ever. He asked me if I was having a great time and he was kind enough to sign my ticket. That ticket sits on my sports mantle to this day as a great memory. That was the kind of owner that he was. He always put the fan first!

I only wish that Mr. Jacobs would have never sold that team to Larry Dolan. He hasn't held true to Mr. Jacobs thought of doing whatever it takes to win a World Series for this team. Plus he took away the greatest stadium name ever. It will always be Jacobs Field in my eyes and we will always refer to it as "The Jake".

Thank you for everything Mr. Jacobs. I have you to thank for so many great Cleveland Indian memories. Hopefully you and Herb will look over us and bring us that World Series that we need so badly!

Leave Lebron Alone!

Lebron James probably had one of the most epic performances EVER in this past Eastern Conference Finals. He had a last second shot that reminded me of Jordan over Ehlo and he had a line of 47-12-12. Those two games alone put him in the next atmosphere of great NBA players.

These people that have the nerve to bitch and complain about Lebron need to shut up! How ridiculous do you sound? Lebron is the best thing that could have possibly happened to this city.

People actually attend Cavs games. We play half of our games on national television. He has increased the value of this organization by about 100x. He won a Gold Medal. He helped Mike Brown win Coach of the Year. He was the MVP. He makes all of his teammates potential All-Stars. He was runner-up for Defensive player of the year. And most importantly he plays for US!

The Cavs winning the draft lottery was us literally winning the lottery.

All the haters need to shut it. Okay. Lebron not shaking hands with the Magic or not talking to the media is being completely blown out of proportion. This guy has poured every second and ounce of strength into this entire season trying to bring this city its first championship since 1968. He literally carried his team on his back against an opponet who just matched up against them better. He was emotionally drained and didn't want to deal with all of the stupid questions that were going to be asked.

I don't know about you, but I have spent a good part of the last few years competing in a sport that I really do love. I may not work as hard to put as much into it as Lebron, but I know the feeling of defeat. The last thing that I want to do after I am defeated is to talk to my opponet of talk to outsiders about it. I need to get away from it all and just deal with it on my own. I may not be Lebron, but I'm pretty sure he was feeling the same way.

Then you have David Stern getting all pissed off about him not talking to the media. Dwight Howard goes on ESPN and says that he's hurt for not Lebron shaking his hand. ESNY, I mean ESPN, is covering this situation like he just got found a cure for cancer. It's just annoying!

Leave Lebron alone and Lebron should tell Stern to take his $25,000 and tell him to wipe his ass with it.