We're Number One!

Ok...maybe the Cavs just stunk up game 5 and LeBron's final shot rimmed out, forcing a game 6, but to be honest, the game was so sloppy and boring I actually fell asleep during it. So no need to dwell on bad news...

In a new fan survey, Jacobs Progressive Field finished first in a ranking of ballparks. I clicked on the link thinking that the Jake Prog should be up near the top (since it is a fantastic ballpark, even almost 15 years old), but not actually thinking it would be number one! Yea!

Check it out here.

Blahhhh!

Check out John Daly interviewed and playing golf shirtless, no shoes and socks, with cigarette in mouth. Make sure you watch past the interview until he actually swings. White trash.... AWESOME!

Blahhhhh!!!!

Check out John Daly interviewed and playing golf with no shirt or shoes and socks on, with cigarette in mouth. Make sure you watch past the interview until he actually swings.

Awesome!

Do These Guys Ever Shut Up?

Unbelievable. They're still talking.

Haywood, Stevenson... shut the hell up you wannabes. As Tony Rizzo said, go shine Lebron's Air Zooms.

Jay-Z gets in the mix

Well looks like Jay-Z came up for his boy LeBron with a little remix of an old Too Short song "Blow the Whistle" where he disses that cheap shotting bitch DeShawn Stephenson.

"It was not a basketball play at all, in no shape or form."

I can't see how you try to claim that Haywood's foul wasn't incredibly dirty. I don't care if it was freaking Antonio Daniels--if Varajao gave him a two hand shove into the stands he'd have been ejected too.

Reggie Miller went from calling it a flagrant foul to just a "hard foul."

Well that was nice and relaxing (Game 2 report)

What can you say---when the Cavaliers start making shots from outside--thanks Wally--it starts making everything else easier.  Didn't love the free throw shooting, and it goes without saying that this game was a bit <strike>violent</strike> chippy, but I liked the Cavs in this.  And yes, I know, it doesn't take a lot of guts to say you liked it when your team wins a playoff game by 30.  But I haven't exactly seen anything like that before, at least in my lifetime.

Wally:  money tonight.  After I spent the first 4 minutes bemoaning the Cavs' outside shooting.
LeBron:  That dunk where he cut through two guys and was touch-fouled (no call) on his way to a "wide open" dunk (thanks Reggie Miller) was one of the finest plays I've ever seen him make.  He looked like MJ and the announcers even alluded to that.
Z:  What can you say. 
Varajao:  Maybe, once a game, back to the basket, you can dribble.  Maybe.

Jekyll and Hyde

Mike Brown has taken his shots from a lot of people over the years, and especially this season (myself included) but I'm beginning to believe.. or just accept... that Coach Brown's style, and subsequently his team, are just made for the playoffs. As painful as it is to sit through a Mike Brown coached regular season, something happens in the playoffs. His teams come to play. Yes we have Lebron, but there's no denying that while Brown's defensive obsessiveness (and lack of offensive fluidity) wears thin as the regular season progresses, it is tailor made for the post season. They play lock down defense when it matters, led by Lebron himself. That's a reflection of Coach Brown. Aside from Popovich, he has out coached just about everyone he has faced in the playoffs each year. I don't know if that says more about Brown, or less about Eddie Jordan and Flip Saunders.

He's the all time leader in playoff victories as coach in Cavalier history. I believe his record after tonight's win is 21-10?

Tonight's win was a clinic. I pray they don't give it all back in Washington.

LeBron gets help

Tha

Now THERE'S a good thought

Now Windhorst has a good solution--I can't believe some people think Anderson is a "good" player overall:

As for Anderson Varejao, though, someone must speak to him. He rebounded great today and had some good defensive plays, what he is supposed to do. But stop trying to make moves on offense. If he has an open jumper, then fine. If Mike Brown would’ve gone through with my idea from a month ago to fine him for each dribble he takes then you may have driven this out of him by now.

This may be a big week for Jake Long. I just thought I would throw a few Gholston clips out there...

Game 1 thoughts

So apparently in Chicago they haven't been publicizing the war of trash talking going on before this series between the Cavs and Wizards. I heard a bit about the Soulja Boy-Jay-Z smack (and where the hell would LeBron pull that from!?) but didn't hear how bad it got. But basically if Soulja Boy does show up in Washington, the minute his song comes on, the entire Cavs team needs to take notes from this video and bring on the dance to win the trash talking contest.

Just a couple points--this game was tough, and Brian Windhorst wrote at halftime that LeBron was way too into the trash talking. Maybe that was fixed a bit in the second half but if the hard fouls keep coming, I'm going to be worried about LeBron keeping his cool.

In my opinion, LeBron has been way too involved. He needs to cool down, he is
the guy who says he doesn’t need trash talk but he’s been more active than
anyone. After getting whacked twice in a row by Andray Blatche, LeBron hit him
with an elbow after a foul in a play that I think may be turned into a flagrant
foul by the NBA after this game. Then at the end of the half he got a technical
foul for jumping up and into Brendan Haywood after he stood over him after an
offensive foul. At the end of the half, LeBron also said something to DeShawn
Stevenson as he walking off the floor. I believe Antawn Jamison and Z got into
it as well. My point is, I just mentioned LeBron way too many times. He is the
leader, but he’s got to preach control, that is the way the Cavs play.

Well my solution: if anything happens, just send Anderson in with fists flying. I don't think I can stand watching him. If he ever gets the ball more than 5 feet from the basket when he isn't sprinting toward the basket, he needs to know to pass it immediately. I can see the wheels turn in his head, and the minute he puts the ball on the floor I know something bad is about to happen. I wonder what the percentage of times he dribbles the ball toward the basket result in a hoop. My serious guess: less than 10%. I should start keeping track of it.

Oh well Cavaliers won this afternoon, not a great win, had some grittiness which I liked, but an offensive game plan would be nice for game 2. There were a few instances of a game plan (the LeBron moving without the ball twice in a row segment in the second half comes to mind) but for part of the game today the thought on whether Mike Brown would be fired should the Cavs lose this series actually crossed my mind. Just looked defunct at times. But maybe there's hope. And that one handed alley oop dunk was as spectacular as you can get.

You had to see this coming...

Joe Borowski goes on the DL with a "strained right triceps." That's the super-secret shoe phone code for "sucking hardcore." Well, better to take care of this 13 games in than toss Joe out there for the rest of the month to see if he can work his way out of throwing 80-mph "fastballs" to Manny Ramirez. And the Tribe does have a few options to take over the closer's role: Jorge Julio has some experience, as does Masa Kobayashi. Some media pundits are already talking up the possibility of converting longtime mega-prospect Adam Miller (who's currently in extended spring training) to closer before the end of the season. Indians fans and fantasy dorks wait on pins and needles in the meantime.

That game last night brought back horrific visions of a certain ALCS. Friggin' Manny...he haunts lots of teams, but boy does he murder us with some frequency. I was never a Borowski hater. All his numbers besides the save totals were lousy, but he was a gritty SOB who got the job done even if he put a guy or two on base. However, his margin for error is so thin as it is...without precise control and a little velocity his stuff is dogmeat.

I have never felt more like...

LeBron is just going to get up and leave the Cavaliers--and maybe not wait until his contract is up to force something to happen. Team attitude, what he says to the press, the way the team is playing (like crap), I just don't feel good about this one today...

More Questionable LeBron Covers

I found this somewhat funny from Scene's online blog. Given all crazy talk about his recent Vouge cover and it's racial undertones I thought this was a good look back at the other covers he's been on.

The title of the post says it all

The controversial LeBron covers you may have missed.

I've copied the post below.

The controversial LeBron covers you may have missed

Mon Mar 31, 2008 at 01:29:26 PM

LeBron: Clueless dupe, or promoter of racism?

There’s been quite the brouhaha over the Vogue cover featuring LeBron James and Tom Brady’s current flame that was shot by Annie Leibovitz. The not-so-subtle King Kong reference has given rise to a furious debate over the depiction of black athletes, with pundits far and wide hoping to set the new land-speed record for sphincterism.

But did you know that LeBron has been appearing in racially insensitive cover shots since high school? That’s right. The guy is practically a walking advertisement for the Klan. Here are some of the other controversial covers you might have missed…

The message the photographer is trying to convey is obvious: Though LeBron drives a car worth more than your house, he’s little more than a field hand. Okay, so he’s a very rich and adored field hand, but his neck is still rightfully under the boot of The Man, where it belongs.

In this view, LeBron is an assassin, and the photographer is clearly equating throwing a basketball -- commonly referred to on the “streets” as “the rock” -- with throwing an actual rock. The message: LeBron is really a masked rioter who throws stones at police, because that’s what black people like to do on their lunch hour.

That little head lock on Jimmy Kimmel might look playful to the untrained eye. In reality, it’s a subtle commentary on Lebron as the mean older brother who picks on little white guys who talk too much. Underlying message: Don’t talk so much, whitey, because black people are mean and give really hard noogies.

Haha! Clearly LeBron has the maturity of a little high school girl blowing a bubble during class. Message: Though black men give hard hard noogies, they’re really part girl and have posters featuring Troy Polamalu naked on their bedroom walls.

Here we go again, the most insideous stereotype of all: Black people are little more than cartoon amphibians created by Jim Henson. Really, shouldn’t this kind of racist imagery have died with Walt Disney?

– Vince the Polack