Happy Monday, sports fans

Having dug out from under the weekend's storm, I have the following thoughts about what's going on in Cleveland, sports, and most especially, Cleveland sports:

• The Cavaliers' win over the Celtics on Friday night was indeed satisfying, but let's not forget that, though the Celtics still have the Eastern Conference's third-best record, they came in on a major slide, having lost their last three and five of their last seven. The Cavs are currently a half-game behind the Lakers for the NBA's top record, and topped ESPN's power rankings this week.
• Our guys are 3-1 since Zydrunas Ilgauskas went down with an ankle injury. Anderson Varejao has been starting in Z's place, and has done a fine job. And J.J. Hickson has gotten some extended playing time during that stretch, and has looked pretty decent.
• The Indians signed backup catcher Kelly Shoppach to a one-year deal worth $1.95 million today, avoiding arbitration. Leaving aside the ridiculous money a backup catcher can make these days, Shoppach's a key piece for the Tribe next year, as Victor Martinez increasingly becomes an ex-catcher. Here's a question you probably wouldn't have gotten if you weren't already reading an item about Kelly Shoppach: Who led American League catchers in home runs in 2008? No, not Yogi Berra.
• Cy Young winner Cliff Lee has announced he will not pitch in the World Baseball Classic this year. As an American, I kind of think that's too bad. The other participating countries will all put their very best players on the field, but U.S.-born players just don't take it seriously. That said, I can't really blame him. He doesn't want to jeopardize his regular-season performance. I don't want him to either.
• Michael Aubrey, a former top corner infield prospect whose career has been hampered by injuries, has cleared waivers. He was taken off the 40-man roster to make room for Carl Pavano. Aubrey turns 27 in April, and most hitters peak around age 27. I hope he can get it together, but I'm not highly optimistic. We'll see.
• The stinkin' ex-Browns or the stinkin' Steelers will be AFC champs. That's depressing, to the extent that the results of a sporting event can be depressing.
• As if we didn't have enough reason to root against Baltimore, the Browns have interviewed George Kokinis, the director of player personnel over there, for the vacant general manager post, and can't sign him until the Cravens are eliminated. If he's the guy. I have no idea if he should be or not, but it kind of sucks that we have to wait to find out.
• Rickey Henderson got into the Hall of Fame on his first try, and Jim Rice got in on his last try. Henderson is a worthy first-ballot Hall of Famer; Rice is a pretender. No offense to him; he was a fine player, but several others are more deserving. (Blyleven, Dawson and Raines come to mind.) Too many voters don't understand how much Fenway Park inflated Rice's numbers. But there are other undeserving Hall of Famers, and Rice is certainly less glaring than some.
• U.S. Sen. (and Cleveland resident) George Voinovich announced his retirement from politics today. As a fiscal conservative, I admire Voinovich and would have been interested in seeing him run for president. He's an honest politician, which is far too rare. Would that there were more like him in Congress -- not to mention other offices around the country. See? I know about things other than sports.