Cleveland Barons return ... well, one of them

OK, that was a bad pun, and probably nobody reading this even remembers the Cleveland Barons. For those who do not, they were an NHL team that played here from 1976 to 1978. Still ...

The Cavaliers have traded Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Clippers for Baron Davis and a first-round draft pick. My initial impression was, gee, I hate to lose Mo, and Baron Davis is definitely on the far side of the hill.

But then I thought about it a little more. The Clippers currently have the eighth-worst record in the NBA, which means the Cavs will have two lottery picks. If they use them wisely, this could be the way to build another contender down the road. Remember how Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, Hot Rod Williams and Ron Harper were all rookies at the same time for the Cavs? They don't necessarily have to have four super rookies to build a good team, but stockpiling draft picks sure can't hurt.

So yeah, I like the move. Good job, Cavs.

Yes, that really happened

The Cavaliers did actually beat the Los Angeles Lakers last night. I didn't actually watch it -- I rarely watch the Cavs anymore, partly because I'm so much busier than I used to be, and partly because watching the Cavs rarely brings me any pleasure -- but I saw the highlights on ESPN this morning, and there are enough witness accounts to corroborate the story that I feel comfortable going with it. (In case you're wondering, the last Cavs game I actually watched was the one in which they beat the Clippers to break their losing streak. I didn't watch the whole thing, but saw about the last three-eighths of it.)

Our boys went into the game with an NBA-worst 9-46 record. Not only that, they had lost 39 of their last 41 games, a stretch during which they set an NBA record by losing 26 straight. One of those was an embarrassingly terrible 55-point loss to the Lakers in L.A. The Lakers came in on a two-game losing streak, but please compare that number to the one affixed to Cleveland's earlier skid. They were 38-18 coming in. They're the two-time defending champions. They have Kobe Bryant, not to mention Pau Gasol and a bunch of other players that would beat any Cavalier in a game of one-on-one. No way they lose to this bunch.

It's been said many times, but it bears repeating: That, my friends, is why they play the games.

I will note, for those who care about such things, that the Cavaliers have gone 2-0 at home against Los Angeles-based teams this year. Hey, you've got to look for positives where you can find them.

Don't look now ...

... but the Indians' pitchers and catchers report to spring training in just five days. With the Browns going through the process of rebuilding their coaching staff, the Cavaliers not having won a game since the Browns were actually still playing, and the weather outside making me wish I was part penguin, baseball season is extremely welcome.

Obviously, the 2011 Indians are not going to be contenders. But there are plenty of reasons to watch them this season. First of all, Carlos Santana, one of the hottest catching prospects in baseball, is back with a clean bill of health. Grady Sizemore is healthy too. Shin-Soo Choo is one of the best in the business, and while we may not be able to keep him very much longer, we've got him now. Guys like Matt LaPorta, Jason Donald, Luis Valbuena and Asdrubal Cabrera could do big things this year.

There are pitchers to be excited about too. Fausto Carmona has obviously done huge things before, and the rest of the projected rotation (Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco, Mitch Talbot and Josh Tomlin) has plenty of upside. And Chris Perez is at least a second-tier closer, and could turn out to be one of the best.

Baseball season is almost here. I can hardly wait.

And about the Cavaliers ...

Who would have thought the Cavaliers, losers of 24 straight going into last night's game in Dallas, would actually keep it close and have a chance to tie it with a three-pointer in the closing seconds? Anthony Parker even managed to get off a pretty good-looking trey that clanged off the rim, and the Cavs got the rebound in time to try another one. But Boobie Gibson chose to pass the ball to Antawn Jamison, who had just enough time to get a shot off. He'd have had a hand in his face, but you can't make a shot you don't take. He passed, and the buzzer sounded. This is a pretty strong indication of why the 2010-11 Cavaliers have the longest losing streak in NBA history. Not only do they lack talent, they lack game smarts.

It was a pretty impressive performance. Too bad it ended the same way the previous 24 did.

Thank you, Green Bay Packers

I hope all you people out there in Of Fair Hooker-land can forgive me for the scarcity of my postings lately. I'm a very busy man these days, what with working a job, tackling an engineering curriculum at the University of Akron, and the fact that my wife and I have four kids at home. I trust you will understand that those are all much, much higher priorities than a silly old sports blog.

So it took me two days to write anything about Super Bowl XVI. I'm sure you still remember the game. It was a good one, probably one of the 10 best ever. And I don't have much to say about the game itself; anyone who's interested in reading thoughtful analysis about that has surely already done so, and there's not much I can say that can add much to any of that. Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers, and to Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers, who has obviously stepped out of Brett Favre's shadow.

It was nice watching the Steelers lose, too. And not just because I'm a Browns fan and the Steelers are our most-hated rival -- though that played a role. I watched the game at a friend's house, along with maybe 20 or so of my closest friends. And it just annoys the crap out of me how many people in Northeast Ohio are Steelers fans. There were about five of them at the gathering in question. If someone is from Pittsburgh and roots for the Steelers, I consider them a friendly rival. If I were from Pittsburgh, I'd probably be a Steelers fan too.

But if you're from Browns territory and root for the Steelers, you're rooting against your own city. That makes no sense to me. Sure, Steeler fans have had a better team to watch than Browns fans over the last ... well, 40 years or so. In fact, the Steelers are without much doubt the single most successful team in the Super Bowl era. They've won six Super Bowls, played in eight, and reached the AFC championship game 15 times. It's painful to admit it, but that's just a very well-run football organization, and the Browns could learn a few things from them. But that's a terrible reason to root against your own city.

A chance to run over a Steelers fan

Before I start telling you this story, I want to make it abundantly clear that I would never truly consider hitting someone with my car just because he roots for my team's arch-rival. So when you read the below, don't go thinking I'm really some bloodthirsty Pittsburgh-hater. I'm not bloodthirsty at all.

That said ...

I was running late this morning. My first class at the University of Akron was at 8:55, and after I dropped off my stepdaughter at kindergarten -- getting a late start because of my 17-year-old stepdaughter's absent-mindedness -- I punched my usual parking deck into my GPS. It said I would arrive at 8:48. Given that it usually takes about 10 minutes to walk to class from that parking deck -- and it's the closest one to my class -- I shifted into "everybody get the %@*$ out of my way" mode. I had pretty good luck with traffic most of the way there, until I actually got off the exit in downtown Akron. Akron may not be as big a city as Cleveland, but hey, city traffic is city traffic. I inched along with the traffic until I turned off Exchange Street onto the little side road that leads to the parking decks on the southwest end of campus, then waited and waited and waited for the car ahead of me to turn left into the deck I use, as cars continued to come toward us from Carroll Street. A pedestrian blocked the path of a car that would otherwise have blocked the path of the car in front of me, and she finally turned in. I followed hot on her heels.

But no, I was unable to hurry up the ramp because just as I was pulling in, some yahoo wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jacket chose that moment to walk into the garage from the sidewalk, ignoring the pedestrian entrances that are all over the place and going up the vehicle entrance, thwarting my attempt to get in. I did make the left turn, but had to go at walking speed until that moron got out of my way. He finally did, and I hit the gas and made my way up to the fourth level, where there's a walkway onto campus. I did get to class in time, but barely.

Now, I don't know what was on this guy's mind. Perhaps he was so preoccupied with Sunday's Super Bowl that he forgot to look where he was going. Maybe he deliberately got in my way so I'd notice his Steelers jacket and get agitated. Or maybe -- just maybe -- the dude has a death wish, and was hoping that his behavior coupled with his attire would goad some unsuspecting Northeast Ohioan into committing an unspeakable act.

All I know is, I've never been more tempted to run somebody over in my life. I'm not saying I truly considered it, of course, but I can honestly say I've never been more tempted.