Quick thoughts

* The Indians had a bit of a rough stretch there, but they've won two in a row to regain the best record in the majors. A certain Of Fair Hooker reader who has been constantly beating the drum of negativity about the Indians (who goes by the name of Jeff Brown) emailed me the other day to opine that the Tribe will soon go the way of the Royals, who are now 5-13 since starting the season 20-17. First of all, the Indians' record is a lot better than 20-17, and second of all, they're pretty obviously better than the Royals. The Indians are now on pace to win 101 games. I don't think they'll actually win that many, but it probably won't take 90 to win the Central. I will be surprised if Detroit overtakes us, and shocked if Chicago does. Kansas City and Minnesota are all but eliminated right now.

* Jim Tressel has left the Ohio State football program in disgrace after committing the unpardonable sin of allowing his players to participate in capitalism. ... Don't get me wrong, Tressel should have known better, and signs are starting to point to the fact that this has been going on for years right under his nose, and he has been running a pretty corrupt program (at least in terms of the NCAA rules). But at least he won a national title. That's better than cheating and NOT winning a national title.

* Shaquille O'Neal, who spent the 2009-10 season in Cleveland, has announced his retirement. Shaq was at one time the NBA's most dominant player, and has to go down in history as one of the five best centers ever. And he's one heck of a character. Here's what he said about coming to Cleveland: "I came here with the perfect chemist's perception. The formula they had was perfect and any added ingredient could make it go bad or worse." ... Well, obviously the added ingredient that made it go bad wasn't Shaq, it was LeBron James losing his desire to win in Cleveland. Odd that he seems to have found it again in Miami. But that's a separate issue.

* I really don't want the Heat to win the championship. That's a given. If you're reading this, you probably don't either. But you know what? If Miami sweeps the Mavericks and hoists the trophy the evening of June 7, the sun will still rise on June 8. Not only that, the Cavaliers will still exist, and will still have the first and fourth picks in the upcoming NBA draft. They'll be one of 29 teams trying to knock off the champion. Whether that's the Mavericks or the Heat is not especially material.

Tune-up ends tonight

The great Shaquille O'Neal has been cleared to play in tonight's regular-season finale against the Hawks. Whether he'll actually play or not is an open question, as Mike Brown has been resting his starters ever since the Cavaliers clinched home-court throughout the postseason, including the great LeBron James the last three games. But the fact that he has been cleared means the Cavs will be at full strength when the playoffs start this weekend. The only question is whether they'll open against the Chicago Bulls or the Toronto Raptors.

The Cavaliers are 16-6 since Shaq injured his thumb on February 25 against the Celtics, and that includes losses in their last three, with LeBron out. And it bears mention that they didn't lose any of those three by very much (by one against the Bulls, by three against the Pacers, and by six against the Eastern Conference's second-best team, the Magic).

This team is ready for the playoffs, ladies and gentlemen. I can hardly wait.

Odds and ends, starting with Shaun Rogers

So they say Shaun Rogers tried to carry a gun onto a plane yesterday at Hopkins. Well, not so much "tried to" as "forgot not to," at least if you believe him. Which, frankly, I do, because how stupid would he have to be to intentionally try to carry a loaded gun onto an airplane? Don't get me wrong, it's pretty stupid to forget it's in the bag you're trying to carry on too, but ... yeah, I've got nothing to add to that.

The arrest puts the 31-year-old Rogers' career in jeopardy, because even if he doesn't get jail time, he's likely to be suspended by the league, and for a long time because he'll be a repeat offender. He tested positive for a banned substance in 2006 and was suspended for four games. The Browns are going to have to expect to play next season without him.

* Indians manager Manny Acta gave the final spot in the starting rotation to David Huff, as I predicted. Don't bother to check what I predicted, just take my word for it. OK, you're right, I thought it would be Aaron Laffey. Anyway, Huff went 8-11 as a rookie last year, with a 5.61 ERA. He walked 41 hitters and struck out 65, and gave up 16 home runs in 128 1/3 innings. Maybe Manny sees something I don't. I'll be shocked if Huff stays in the rotation all year.

* Shaquille O'Neal took part in the Cavaliers' practice yesterday, for the first time since he tore a ligament in his thumb on Feb. 25. Coach Mike Brown says he's not counting on Shaq being back before the playoffs, but the big man says he's ahead of schedule. I hope he's right; it would be nice to get at least a couple of games under his belt before they start needing to win four to advance.

* The Browns were among 30 teams (out of 32) to check out Texas quarterback Colt McCoy on Wednesday. McCoy's skills are said to be well-suited to a West Coast-style offense, which the Browns are planning to implement. We all know Jake Delhomme's not going to be our quarterback in a year or two, so whether the Browns pick up McCoy or Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen or whoever, they're picking a quarterback this year. They'd have to trade up for Bradford, and might have to trade up for Clausen too (stupid end-of-season four-game winning streak), but McCoy could be available when the Browns pick in the second round. If so, they'd be fools not to give him a shot.

We need mo' Mo

In a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers took the Orlando Magic to the woodshed last night, in a game that was never as close as the final score indicated. The Cavs' lead was in the 20s all night, until the Magic outscored them 25-14 in garbage time, aka the fourth quarter.

We were all anxious to see how Shaquille O'Neal would do against Dwight Howard, who manhandled the Cavs in the aforementioned series last spring, and he did not disappoint. Though Howard did not miss a shot from the floor, he only took three, and finished with 11 points. He was also in foul trouble for much of the contest. (As was Shaq, I might add.) Shaq only scored 10, but his job is no longer to be the offensive force he used to be — not on a team with LeBron James.

Speaking of the King, he was his usual self, pouring in 36 points to go with eight rebounds. And Mo Williams was just phenomenal in leading the Cavs to their big first-half lead — they were up 15 at the half, led by Mo's 22 points on 9-for-9 shooting, including four three-pointers. Mo cooled off in the second half, but still wound up with 28 on the night.

And J.J. Hickson, starting at power forward, made a real positive conribution. Hickson had nine points and six rebounds in just 23 minutes, and always seemed to be around the ball. Hickson's plus-minus for the game was +13, which was tops on the team.

Next up, the Cavs have Dwyane Wade and the Heat tonight. It'll be a tough assignment, coming on the second day of a back-to-back, but I look forward to seeing it.

Nice comeback

Last night's 102-90 win over the Wizards was the Cavaliers' first win over a good team this year, and was thanks in large part to the best performance so far of Shaquille O'Neal's five-game-old Cleveland career. The Big Witness put in 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting, with eight rebounds, to nicely complement LeBron James' 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, as the Cavs came back from a 39-21 second-quarter deficit to make the Wizards disappear.

It wasn't just the King-n-Shaq Show. Mo Williams knocked in 15 and Boobie Gibson added 14; and in fact, the Cavs pulled away in the fourth quarter, during which LeBron only played four minutes. But the main reason the Cavs won this game is because the Wizards had no answer to Shaq. That's the reason we got him, and it was great to see.

Shaq is in the house

The Cavs' two-a-day practices start today, and the great Shaquille O'Neal showed up yesterday, which made for a bit of a media circus. Shaq knows he's not the player he used to be, but he hopes to augment the already talented team led by the NBA's reigning MVP, LeBron James.

Taken from this morning's Plain Dealer:

"I'm 37 years old; it isn't my time anymore," O'Neal said. "I had my time, and I did what I did. I'm not one of those players that always thinks it is his time. It would not be advantageous for me to take 30 shots a game when you have a guy like [LeBron]. We'll get him the ball and let him do what he does, and when he drops it off to me, I'll do my job."

Shaq is going to help this team; I don't think anyone doubts that. The Cavaliers won 66 games last year. I'm darned excited about seeing what they do this year.

SHAQ!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this one's a mind-blower. Two future Hall of Famers on the same team at the same time, right here in Cleveland. LeBron and Shaq. Shaq and LeBron. When this trade was rumored a couple of weeks ago, I'm sure we all thought it was too good to be true. But yet, here it is. Shaquille O'Neal is going to become a Cleveland Cavalier. Wow!

Yes, it's true that he's 37 years old, and is no longer the player he was in Los Angeles, or Orlando, or even Miami. But jeez, the guy still scored 17.8 points and hauled in 8.4 rebounds a game last year for the Suns, shot 60% from the floor and made his 15th All-Star team. Nobody's going to tell me you wouldn't take that kind of production next year. (And yes, I know he won't score like that when he's sharing the offense with LeBron. Still, though, he'll take a lot of that offensive pressure off the King.)

This will most likely mean Zydrunas Ilgauskas will come off the bench next year, and that's a good thing. Z is one of my all-time favorite Cleveland athletes, but his 34-year-old body is starting to break down. With Z and Shaq splitting the minutes at center, that's going to allow both of them to stay fresh down the stretch and into the playoffs, which is huge.

The best part about this deal is the Cavs gave up next to nothing. Ben Wallace is at the end of the line, and will probably retire. Sasha Pavlovic didn't contribute much last season, as the Mo Williams acquisition made him fairly redundant. The 46th pick in the draft doesn't usually amount to much.

Shaquille O'Neal is coming to Cleveland. This is a good day to be a Cavs fan.

Shaq in Cleveland?

You've probably all heard the rumors, and they're apparently true. The Cavaliers are talking to the Suns about a trade that would allegedly send the great Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland in exchange for Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace. Pavlovic was a starter on the team that went to the Finals in '07, but no longer plays much; and Wallace is a former All-Star who is no longer the player he was, and is now contemplating retirement.

So if that part of the rumor is true, the Cavs would be basically getting something for close to nothing. And according to this story at ESPN.com, that's not going to be enough to get Shaq. The report says the Suns are interested in Delonte West, but I'd sure hate to see him go in exchange for a 37-year-old, even if it is Shaquille O'Neal.

On the other hand, Shaq is coming off a fine season, in which he averaged 17.8 points and 8.4 rebounds a game for the also-ran Suns. Teamed up with LeBron James and Mo Williams, he wouldn't be a good bet to put up those scoring numbers, but I think it's pretty obvious he's still got most of what he had in his younger days in Orlando and Los Angeles.

The obvious question is, would Shaq have made the difference in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Magic? They beat us with a strong perimeter game, made possible in large part by Dwight Howard's dominance in the paint. I love Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but he wasn't able to do much to slow Howard down. Somebody like O'Neal, who's just three years older than Z, might have been able to do something about that. And wouldn't you love to see LeBron and Shaq together? Z would gladly come off the bench to make room for Shaq, and I wouldn't be surprised to see both of them on the floor at the same time sometimes, as their skill sets are very different.

These talks are reportedly in the very preliminary stages, so it sounds like it'll be a while before anything gets done, if it ever does. But I don't mind telling you I hope it happens.