Cavaliers are freaking unstoppable

I almost feel sorry for the Atlanta Hawks. Our Cavaliers have totally dominated the first two games against Atlanta, after making a mockery out of Detroit in the first round, and have now won all of their first six playoff games of the year by double-digits. More than that, the 85 points the Hawks scored last night were the most the '08-09 Cavs have given up in a playoff game, and they only got that many because the second units played almost the whole fourth quarter.

Our boys absolutely toyed with the Hawks for three quarters. LeBron's shot from nearly half-court at the end of the half was a microcosm of the game. The Hawks could do nothing but watch as the home team had its way with them. That shot gave the Cavs a 24-point halftime lead, which got as big as 36 in the third. It was just so very, very easy.

I've predicted that the Cavs would win this series in five games, but I'm starting to think it'll be another sweep. As if the Hawks weren't having enough trouble hanging with us, leading scorer Joe Johnson turned his ankle last night and is questionable at best for Saturday's Game 3. If Johnson can play, it's going to be tougher to win in Atlanta than it was in Detroit, but there's no reason these Cavaliers can't rattle off two more quick ones and wait for Orlando and Boston to finish beating up on each other.

I've long felt that the '95 Indians would probably be the best Cleveland team I'd ever see, even if they didn't manage to win the title. As great as that team was, the '08-09 Cavaliers are better. This is a championship-caliber team. Those Lakers over there in the West are awfully strong too, and if they meet up in the Finals (as seems almost inevitable), that's going to be a barn-burner, but in the East, our Cavaliers are men among boys. Savor it, Cleveland.

Manny being chemically enhanced Manny

Turns out the best hitter I've ever seen in an Indians uniform hasn't been playing by the rules. I'm guessing anyone checking this blog right now has already heard, but Manny Ramirez has been suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy. Reportedly, the drug he took was not a steroid, which raises two questions: What is it, and why is it banned by MLB? Manny says it was a drug a doctor prescribed, but it's the player's responsibility to know what drugs are banned. Raise your hand if you're surprised Manny spaced on that. (Put your hand down, you liar.)

The bigger question is what this will do to Manny's legacy. Based on his numbers, he's a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer if he retires today, but we all know that players of the last 20 years or so are not judged solely on their numbers. Mark McGwire is not within a sniff of the Hall, and we'll soon see players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens suffer similarly. I predict the latter two will eventually get in, but it will take them a long time if they do. If what Manny took was truly not a steroid, maybe it won't hurt him much, but I'm interested to see how this plays out.