We're talkin' baseball, Indians baseball

As The Onion's Jim Anchower would say, I know it's been a long time since I rapped at ya. And it's been even longer since I rapped at ya about the Indians. But the trucks left Cleveland yesterday on their way to Goodyear, Ariz., full of the equipment the Tribe will need for spring training. Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks, and while this figures to be a rebuilding year for the Indians, I'm excited to see how this season plays out.

Some early computer projections for how the season will play out have been completed, and I don't think it'll surprise any loyal Of Fair Hooker readers to find that the Indians are expected to finish third or fourth in the AL Central, with a sub-.500 record. This projection has our Tribe finishing third at 76-86, behind the Twins and White Sox; this one has them finishing fourth, behind those teams and the Tigers, but also 76-86. Unfortunately, coolstandings.com hasn't done its projections yet, but I would imagine it will be something close to the same.

As fans, we always want our team to contend for a title, but we have to accept that in Major League Baseball's financial climate, the Indians can't compete year after year. A team like ours has to rebuild and make a run for it every few years. They were able to stay one of baseball's top teams for a few years after the ballpark then known as Jacobs Field was built, but that stadium is no longer the advantage it once was. If they do finish 76-86, that would be a nine-game improvement over last year, and I'd be OK with that. Not happy, exactly, but OK.

Cavaliers continue to amaze

Last night at the Q, the Cavaliers did something you've never seen them do before: They hit 11 three-pointers in one quarter. That tied the team record for a half. The Cavs led the Clippers by 26 after that 46-point first quarter — again, 33 points of which came from beyond the arc — and coasted the rest of the way to a 114-89 drubbing. The Clippers actually outscored the Clevelanders by a single point over the last three quarters, but they had no chance to make it interesting.

At some point during the first quarter, my wife asked me if any team had ever scored 200 points in a game. I said no, and while I thought it outlandish to even consider the possibility, I couldn't help but wonder at that moment whether these Cavs had something like that in them on this night. It was an unbelievable performance. They would go on to hit 16 treys in the game — five by LeBron James, four by Boobie Gibson, two each by Jamario Moon and the little-used Jawad Williams, and one each by Anthony Parker, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the little-used Danny Green. It's always nice to see those end-of-the-bench guys coming in to contribute, even in garbage time.

For those interested, the record for most points in a game by one team was set on Dec. 13, 1983, by the Pistons against the Nuggets. They put up 186 in a triple-overtime game. The Nuggets on that night put up the second-highest total ever, 184. The record for a regulation game is 173, set by the Celtics against the Minneapolis Lakers all the way back in 1959, and tied by the Suns against those poor Nuggets in 1990. Special thanks to nba.com for its comprehensive records page. I was not able to find the NBA team record for three-pointers hit in a single quarter, but I did find that the most points ever scored in a first quarter was 50. So these Cavs really did something special last night.

It was the Cavaliers' eighth consecutive win, their longest streak of the season, and kept them a half-game ahead of the Lakers (who now play in Los Angeles, in case you didn't know) for the NBA's best record.

Staying hot against the Heat

The Cavs-Heat game last night was billed as a battle between two of the NBA's superstars, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. And it didn't disappoint. James and Wade both put on a heck of a show, especially in the second quarter, when they combined for 37 points (20 for Wade, 17 for James). Of course, it's worth mentioning that Wade had 30 points in the first half, but just two in the second. And Wade missed two critical free throws with 41 seconds left, after Boobie Gibson fouled him at the other end of the court while going after a loose ball.

Still, when Wade blocked James' eight-foot jumper with about 28 seconds left and his team up 91-90, it looked like the Heat had the game on ice. So with the Heat taking the ball down the floor, holding that one-point lead, and about a three-second differential between the game and shot clocks, the outlook wasn't brilliant for the Cleveland Five. The Cavaliers desperately needed a stop, and preferably fast, so they'd have some time to get a good shot off. For their part, the Heat just needed to run the clock down and try to put two more points on the board, which would have forced the Cavs to hit a three just to send it to overtime.

But that's not what happened. Wade, with James guarding him, tried to make a behind-the-back pass to a teammate on the wing. LeBron sniffed it out, got the steal and took it all the way to the hole at the other end, where Wade fouled him hard. LeBron made both his free throws, and Wade missed a 19-footer at the buzzer.

And the Cavs won because our superstar was better than their superstar in the final minute of the game. It was a thing of beauty.

That was HUGE!

Check out those Cleveland Cavaliers! After completing a sweep of the season series against the defending champion Lakers last night, the Cavs are 33-11, just percentage points behind the 32-10 Lakers for the NBA's best record. And the Cavs have an easier schedule going forward, with just 16 remaining away games and 22 at the Q. The Lakers have 25 road dates left, 15 at home. And if they should finish with the same record and meet in the Finals, the Cavaliers have just taken the tie-breaker for home-court advantage.

And it bears mention that the Cavaliers won this game without Mo Williams, their second-leading scorer and an All-Star last year. If they can beat the full-strength Lakers without their second-best player, there's no reason to think these Cavs can't be NBA champions. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm darned excited about this team.

Here's something I'll bet you didn't know

The NBA a couple of years ago borrowed a statistic from hockey, known as plus-minus, commonly written as +/-. For those who don't know what that means, it's simply the net difference in points when a particular player is on the floor. Let's take last night's heartbreaker against the Jazz for the sake of example. LeBron James played 40 minutes, during which time the Cavaliers outscored the Jazz by seven, so his +/- for the game is +7. Anderson Varejao's, on the other hand, was -12 in 36 minutes off the bench.

(In case you're wondering, I didn't watch it, as it started at 10:30 p.m. here in the Eastern Time Zone, and I have a job. Too bad, because it was apparently a real thriller, in which Jazz rookie Sundiata Gaines hit the first three-pointer of his NBA career at the buzzer to win it 97-96.)

The NBA keeps its +/- stats on this page. And it doesn't just keep one-player +/- stats. You can search for the best two-player combo, the best three-player combo, etc. It's really quite fascinating.

But can you guess what individual player is leading the NBA in +/-? I'll give you a hint: He plays for the Cavaliers. Of course, your first guess is likely to be LeBron James, and that would be a very good guess. But LeBron is actually #2 on this list, behind teammate ... wait for it ... Anderson Varejao.

Even after last night's stinker, the Cavs have outscored their opponents by a grand total of 337 points with Andy on the floor this season. LeBron is next with +332, followed by Kobe Bryant at +319, then Lakers teammate Ron Artest at +299, and the Hawks' Josh Smith rounds out the top five at +292. Naturally, all the top names on this list are members of the NBA's best teams, but would you have expected the #1 guy to be someone who comes off the bench?

This obviously doesn't mean Varejao is the NBA's best player. Far from it. But it does indicate that he's been a huge factor in the Cavaliers' 30-11 record at the halfway point in the season, and he's going to have to continue to play at the same level if the Cavaliers are going to keep winning at the clip they've been.

Put the baby back in his crib

All right, I don't really think Josh Cribbs is being a baby; I was going for a cheap pun. But still, I think he's acting like a bit of a spoiled brat.

Cribbs is under contract for the next three years -- a six-year, $6.77 million contract he signed before he set an NFL record for kick return TDs, and before he reached two Pro Bowls. That's the risk you take signing a long-term contract, and the Browns are under no obligation to restructure it. Still, they've offered him a raise to $1.4 million per season. Cribbs calls that offer insulting.

Listen, it's his right to ask for a better contract, and given that he's been the Browns' best player the last few years, maybe he deserves it. But he signed that contract. I wasn't there when he signed it, but I'm pretty confident that there wasn't a gun pointed at his head when he did it. And for him to call $1.4 million an insult is itself an insult to the fans who buy season tickets with their $50,000 salaries (or whatever). OK, he wants more money. Who doesn't. OK, the Browns would be a lesser team without him, and maybe he's worth more than $1.4 million to them. I would imagine that once Mike Holmgren gets his bearings, he'll make a better offer, just to keep Cribbs happy. But he doesn't have to.

I just read that Cribbs uses Twitter, and tweeted the following, in two tweets: "Thanks for all the support everyone and your words of encouragement...wise man once told me..." "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."

What a load of garbage. Asking for more money is not standing for something. It's just wanting more money. I love Josh Cribbs as a player, and I hope he stays here, but on this issue, I think he's full of something other than himself. (Though he's obviously full of that too.)

Good gravy, the Browns have won four straight!

Do you know how many NFL teams ended the 2009 season with at least four straight wins? Three. The AFC West champion Chargers, who have won their last 11; the Texans, who finished 9-7 and only missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker; and your Cleveland Browns. Do you know how many times the Browns have won four straight games since returning to the league as an expansion team? One. The last four games of the 2009 season.

And a team that was once 1-11 won their last four to finish 5-11. What are the odds of that? Has that ever happened before? I checked the Elias Sports Bureau's "Elias Says," and they don't have any information about that, but they do point out that Pro Bowler Josh Cribbs is only the second player in league history to score touchdowns on a kickoff return, a punt return, a reception and a rush (Brian Westbrook is the other); and with 127 rushing yards in Sunday's finale against the Jaguars, Jerome Harrison racked up 561 yards over the last three games, the second-highest total in league history (O.J. Simpson had 647 in 1976).

The Browns have known for months that they weren't going to get into the playoffs, but the visiting Jaguars went into yesterday's game with a 7-8 record and a chance, albeit a very slim one, of qualifying for the postseason tournament. But it was the Browns who looked as if they were playing for something yesterday. They closed the season with a 23-17 victory that would have been 23-10 if not for the Jags' meaningless final drive. There was never any doubt about this one.

The Browns won despite just 86 passing yards from Derek Anderson, probably in his last start as a Brown, possibly in his last game as a Brown. But Anderson only threw the ball 11 times, completing seven. He did throw a pick. But this game was won on the ground, with another fine performance from Harrison, plus 47 rushing yards from Cribbs and 38 yards from Chris Jennings. Jennings turned in a fine performance off the bench. Remember that run where he was trapped behind the line of scrimmage, then reversed course and wound up going for 11 yards? That kid's got talent.

And the Browns' defense played well too, holding the Jaguars to 328 total yards. Eric Mangini is a defense-minded coach, and should be pleased with the strides his defense has made this year. If he's back next year, presumably a new offensive coordinator will come in and run Mike Holmgren's preferred West Coast offense. I'd think they could work that out. If not, Mangini has made a case for his next job.

Either way, I can't wait to see this Browns team next year.

Buckeyes get the monkey off

Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes needed this one -- not just because it was a chance to finish strong, but for the long-term credibility of the Ohio State football program, and even the entire Big Ten. Ohio State came into the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi on Friday on a three-game bowl losing streak, and came out with an impressive 26-17 win over the #8 Oregon Ducks. And no Big Ten team had won a BCS bowl since January 2006, when the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and Penn State beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Terrelle Pryor was the obvious MVP, having played the best game of his two-year collegiate career. He threw for a career-high 266 yards on 23-of-37 passing. He threw two touchdown passes and one interception. He also rushed for a Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi-high 72 yards, and got some big first downs with his feet. There were times when he seemed too quick to run, and maybe should have tried to hit a running back on a hot route or something of that nature, but these are minor quibbles. Pryor played a heck of a game.

Give the Buckeye defense a lot of credit for this victory in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi. They gave up some big running plays to LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner, but they held Jeremiah Masoli and the high-powered Ducks passing game in check. Masoli's numbers were terrible -- 9-for-20, 80 yards, no touchdowns, one pick. And while he did run for a touchdown, Masoli only gained nine yards on the ground, on six carries. Without an effective passing game to lean on, the Ducks only got 12 first downs in the game, to the Buckeyes' 26; and were just 2-for-11 on third down conversions. And the Buckeyes win their first Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi since 1997, when it was just called the Rose Bowl.

The Buckeyes have become the Big Ten's standard-bearer in the Tressel era, having won or shared six conference titles in Tressel's nine years here, including each of the last five. They've won the Big Ten's only national title in that time, and have won four of the five BCS games the Big Ten has won this century. (Iowa has a chance to add to that total in Tuesday's Orange Bowl.) With Michigan down and out the last couple of years, and nobody else stepping up to challenge them, the Buckeyes have dominated this conference. That has enabled Ohio State to play in eight BCS bowls, the most of any school since the BCS' inception in 1998. May it continue into 2010 and beyond.

You can't stop these Cavs

For the second time in less than a week, the Cavaliers beat one of the NBA's best teams on the road last night. The Atlanta Hawks came into the game with a 21-8 record and were looking like serious contenders for an Eastern Conference title. And they played our boys tough through three quarters. The Cavs were up just one point, 75-74, going into the fourth. But nearly nine minutes into that fourth quarter, the Cavs had scored 10 points, and the Hawks had scored ZERO. Zilch. Nada. Bupkis.

After a timeout, the Hawks finally found their offense, and scored 10 over the next two minutes, but the Cavs answered most of their scores and came out with a 95-84 win. Over that eight-plus-minute scoreless stretch, the Hawks took 10 shots and missed every single one. It was a singularly impressive defensive effort by the Cavs. Radio announcer Joe Tait said he'd never seen a team go scoreless that long before, and Joe Tait has watched an awful lot of basketball. And these weren't the Washington Generals — the Hawks are the Eastern Conference's highest-scoring team, averaging nearly 105 per game.

Another thing to note: The Cavs won despite just 14 points from LeBron James, on 6-for-20 shooting; and they won despite turning it over 18 times, including seven by Mo Williams.

After demolishing the Lakers in LA on Christmas and putting this effort together last night in Atlanta, these Cavaliers are looking unstoppable.

Oh, and the Cavaliers are rolling too

After falling behind 16-4 in the early going against the Rockets yesterday, the Cavaliers came back to outscore them 92-67 the rest of the way.

The Cavs have now won four straight, including a highly impressive 15-point win on the road against the Lakers on Christmas Day. The Cavs are now 24-8 on the season, after losing their first two; and have won nine of their last 10. They have the NBA's third-best record, behind the Lakers and Celtics, and have just proven they can beat LA on the road. Their first chance to prove the same about Boston comes Feb. 25, but whether they win or lose that game, these Cavaliers are a very strong contender for an NBA title.

Browns are unstoppable!

It's amazing how three short weeks can change the entire outlook of a football team. After losing to San Diego on Dec. 6, the Browns were 1-11 and looking like they might never win another football game. Three straight wins later, and suddenly our boys look like they might actually make a splash in 2010, and Eric Mangini looks like he might actually have some idea what the Sam Hill he's doing.

Yesterday's 23-9 win over the Raiders was not exactly textbook football, but hey, a win's a win. The Raiders lost that game more than the Browns won it. Both Browns touchdowns were set up by huge mistakes by the Raiders. Jerome Harrison's 17-yard run was pretty, and he went through a gaping hole the line made for him, but it only happened because Raiders quarterback Charlie Frye made a terrible decision that led to a David Bowens interception two plays earlier.

And Derek Anderson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Massaquoi just before the half was a fine throw and catch, but that was set up by a pair of boneheaded Oakland mistakes that should embarrass the crap out of the Raiders. They provided them 30 yards via penalty on that drive: a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call against Richard Seymour, and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness call against Stanford Routt that was so heinous it got him tossed.

Anderson was workmanlike in his return to the starting role, following Brady Quinn's injury last week. He completed eight of 17 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown, and didn't turn the ball over. When you've got Harrison running for 148 yards — about half what he got last week, but still impressive — that's plenty of production from your quarterback. The Browns were actually outgained by a fairly significant margin in this game (389 yards to 282), but the fact that Frye threw three interceptions and Anderson threw zero made all the difference.

The Browns finish up next Sunday against the 7-8 Jacksonville Jaguars, who were eliminated from playoff contention yesterday after a 35-7 blowout loss to the Patriots. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think the Browns will win that game and finish the season on a four-game winning streak. That ought to set a nice tone for '10!