Hey, at least we're better than the Nationals

Following this week's three-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago White Sox, the Indians are now on a five-game losing streak, and at 31-49, have the worst record in the American League. They are 13 games behind first-place Detroit, and 3 1/2 games behind fourth-place Kansas City. Many of had hopes as the season dawned that the Tribe would contend for the Central Division crown this year; it's pretty obvious that isn't going to happen. The Indians have been a bit unlucky — they do have a better run differential than the Royals and Orioles — but let's face it, this is not a good team.

With Jeremy Sowers on the mound, last night's game went about as might have been expected. As we've discussed previously, Sowers has lights-out the first two times through the order this year, then run into serious trouble when hitters started coming up the third time. And when White Sox leadoff hitter Scott Podsednik got his third look at Sowers with two out in the top of the fifth, Sowers and the Tribe were hanging onto a 1-0 lead. Podsednik reached on an infield single, setting up a first-and-third situation; and Alexei Ramirez followed with an RBI single, then got thrown out trying for second, ending the inning.

The Indians went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the fifth, and then came the sixth. The top of the sixth went like this: Fly-ball out, single, single, three-run homer, double, RBI single, double-play groundout. And a tie game was now a 5-1 White Sox lead. The third time through the order, the White Sox went 7-for-9 against Sowers, with two runners getting thrown out on the bases. Obviously, Sowers either needs to figure out why he can't get hitters out the third time through the order, or stop pitching to hitters three times in the same game. Because this just can't be allowed to continue.

Our Tribe opens a three-game set at home on Friday night against the 33-44 Oakland A's. Maybe they can take a game or two. But they way they're playing, I'm not holding my breath.

Brazilian reasons to love soccer

Yes, I was rooting for the United States, of course, but I just can't pass up a pun. I recognize this as a weakness.

Regardless of who won, that game between the U.S. and Brazil yesterday in the Confederations Cup final was quite a thrill. For those who don't know, the Americans, who had upset Spain to get to the final, were a heavy underdog against the Brazilians, but scored twice in the first half, leading to a 2-0 advantage at the break. It was an ominous sign when Brazil scored just a minute or so into the second half, and they did go on to vanquish the upstarts from the Northern Hemisphere, 3-2. But it sure was fun to see our countrymen hang in there like that in a game that is about our sixth or seventh most popular sport.

Think about this: Generally speaking, if you're a good athlete growing up in the States, not only are you more likely to play the big three team sports (baseball, football or basketball), you might be almost as likely to play golf, tennis or hockey as soccer. Sure, a lot of kids play more than one sport, and soccer's more popular among the generation born in the '80s and '90s than it is with my generation, but there still aren't too many kids playing soccer in this country. In Brazil, which has a population about the same size as the United States', each child is given a soccer ball at birth and kicks it constantly for the rest of his or her life.

I admit I'm not all that familiar with the structure of international soccer, so I didn't realize until after the game that every single soccer-playing nation on earth was eligible to win this tournament. The U.S. came in second. That, right there, is the highest point in the history of American soccer. Savor it, folks.

Attaboy, Jeremy!

It sure was good to see Jeremy Sowers finish the seventh inning and only give up two runs in last night's 9-2 win over the Reds. Sowers is now 2-5, and he lowered his ERA to 5.44. And for once, the bullpen didn't make it interesting, as Jensen Lewis got all three outs in the eighth (albeit after walking two), and Tony Sipp pitched a perfect ninth. Sipp, who turns 26 in a couple of weeks and has been up and down between Cleveland and Columbus this year, now has a 3.38 ERA. With a bullpen as bad as this one, it's kind of a mystery why he hasn't gotten more of a chance. If he keeps pitching like this, he will.

But the story last night was Sowers. I recently saw some numbers about how Sowers has done each time through the other team's batting order, and unfortunately I don't remember where I saw them and can't find them right now, but basically, he's been mowing them down the first time through, getting a little bit more reachable the second time through, and then getting absolutely battered the third time through.

The same thing happened last night. The only difference is, Sowers was almost totally untouchable the first two times through the order; the Reds' only hit until the third time through was by Jonny Gomes, who singled in the second inning. The third time through the order, they were 4-for-9, and the last pitch Sowers threw was the one Reds leadoff hitter Willy Taveras smoked for a double to score Chris Dickerson, who had singled to start the inning.

But hey, Sowers struck out six in his seven innings of work and only walked one, and kept the ball in the yard. Any pitcher who can do that on a regular basis will win a lot of games.

Come on already!

Does anyone remember the 1988 group that the Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes dubbed the Bullpen From Hell? His colleague, Bud Shaw, proposed this week that the current Indians bullpen should replace them with that moniker, and he's quite right. This is a terrible, horrible, awful bullpen.

They did it again last night in Pittsburgh. After Cliff Lee turned in a typical performance for him — seven innings, two runs — Eric Wedge had little choice but to call on one his relievers to pitch the eighth and ninth of what was then a 2-2 game, as Lee had thrown 115 pitches.

The eighth was very dicey, as Joe Smith walked both the LaRoche brothers after striking out Freddy Sanchez, and Rafael Perez followed by walking Brandon Moss to load the bases. He got out of it with a double play, but man oh man, your relievers can't be walking the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a tie game. That's a recipe for disaster. And by the way, the two outs Perez got lowered his ERA to 9.70. The fact that Wedge keeps having to give the ball in late-inning pressure situations to a guy who gives up more than a run an inning speaks volumes about this "relief" crew.

Enter Matt Herges in the ninth. The 39-year-old veteran made his first appearance for the Tribe on May 7, and had a fine May, entering June with a 1.13 ERA. His June? Yeah, not so good. He entered last night's game having given up seven runs in 6 2/3 innings this month, for a 9.45 ERA. The difference is right there in the strikeout column — he struck out 14 in 16 innings in May, and just two of the 20 outs he's gotten in June have come via the K. Regardless, he sure didn't get the job done last night. He didn't record an out, the three hitters he faced all singled, the last of the three bringing home the first of the three, and that was the game.

This is getting pathetic. I don't know what needs to be done, but I will say this: If Eric Wedge is still the manager when the 2010 season opens, I'll be surprised.

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.

The old Feller can still bring it ... sort of

For those who missed it, the greatest Indian of them all is still in game shape, at age 90. Bob Feller pitched to three batters Sunday in Cooperstown, in the old-timers' game that has replaced the annual exhibition game between two major-league teams. He didn't get any of them out, but none of them got more than a single, and all three are significantly younger than Feller. (Paul Molitor is 52, Bobby Grich is 60, and Steve Finley is 44.)

This piece on Sports Illustrated's website about the oldest living Hall of Famer's appearance in Cooperstown is worth the read.

Losing streak is over, but bullpen blues continue

David Huff turned in the best pitching performance of his fledgling major-league career last night, and earned the right to relax through an easy ninth inning, leaving the game with a 5-0 lead. But that isn't what happened.

Winning and losing is the important thing, and I don't want to lose sight of the fact that the Indians won last night. But what Matt Herges and Kerry Wood put us through in that ninth inning sticks in the mind. Let's recap: After Huff's eight-inning masterpiece, in which he shut out the Pirates on four hits, Herges came in and immediately blew the shutout, giving up a leadoff home run to Adam LaRoche. Then he gave up a single to Robinzon Diaz. Then an Andy LaRoche groundout sent Diaz to second. Then pinch-hitter Brandon Moss doubled Diaz in. And that was it for Herges, who left with the score 5-2 and the runner on second his responsibility.

Wood, who's been maddeningly streaky this year and is on a very bad jag, came in and gave up an RBI double to Jack Wilson. Then he struck out pinch-hitter Delwyn Young with some high cheese, in the only at-bat of the inning in which the pitcher looked halfway decent. That made it two outs, with the score 5-3. Next, an Andrew McCutchen single scored Wilson from second. Then Wood walked Nyjer Morgan, who represented the winning run. Then he walked Freddy Sanchez, sending the winning run to second. That brought up Adam LaRoche, who you may recall led off the inning with a homer off Herges. Tell me you watched that ninth inning and didn't picture LaRoche sending a screamer into the outfield and scoring two.

Well, LaRoche did hit it pretty hard, but it landed in the glove of Mark DeRosa in right field, and the Indians are now on a one-game winning streak. But it shouln't have been that difficult.

On a more positive note, it was great to see Grady Sizemore back, and getting two hits, including his second triple of the season, which scored the Tribe's first two runs. He also made some nice catches. So that's a good sign.

For those keeping score at home, the Indians are back in last place, a game-and-a-half out of fourth, and 10 games out of first. If they're going to do it, they've got to make a move in the standings very soon. But I have serious doubts about whether they can do it with these arms in their bullpen.

Indians continue losing

I know what you're probably thinking when you look at that headline. Duh, right? Well, yeah. The Indians have lost a season-high six straight, and several of those games have been particularly painful, including the one my lovely fiancee and I attended Wednesday, on my birthday. (For the record, the Indians haven't won since I was 37.)

The key problem has been the bullpen, as we know, though the starting rotation hasn't been great either. A quick review of the relievers' performance against the starters' in the six-game stretch:

* 6/15, vs. Brewers: Carl Pavano had one of his worst starts of the year, giving up six runs in five innings, but left with an 8-6 lead. The Indians go on to lead 12-7 before a six-run eighth inning at the expense of Luis Vizcaino, Matt Herges and current minor-leaguer Rafael Perez gives the Brewers a 14-12 win. The relievers gave up eight runs in four innings.

* 6/16, vs. Brewers: Jeremy Sowers took the loss in this one, but still only gave up three runs in his five innings of work, and left with the score 3-2 in Milwaukee's favor. Jensen Lewis did all right in his first two innings of relief, but went on to give up three runs in the eighth. The Tribe came back to score two in the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't make up the deficit in what turned out to be a 7-5 game. The bullpen gave up four runs in four innings.

* 6/17, vs. Brewers: This is the game we went to, and it started late because of rain. Not that that's important, but I'm just sort of thinking out loud, as it were. It's my blog, and I'll think out loud if I want to. Anywhat, starter David Huff struggled through five innings, but still only gave up three runs. It was tied at three going into the seventh, but Joe Smith was in his second inning, and couldn't hold them. Smith, Herges and Vizcaino gave up five runs over the last four innings of regulation. After the Indians sent it to extras with a stirring four-run bottom-of-the-ninth comeback, Kerry Wood pitched a perfect tenth, and current minor-leaguer Greg Aquino was lucky to get out of the 11th with just one run scored. The Indians weren't able to get a run in the bottom of the 11th, and it was a 9-8 loss. The bullpen gave up six runs in seven innings.

* 6/19, at Cubs: The Indians gave starter Cliff Lee a 7-0 lead to work with, but he started to let the Cubs creep back in, giving up a solo homer in the fifth and another one in the sixth. He left with a 7-2 lead after giving up a leadoff single in the eighth, and that runner would score with Smith on the mound. So Lee went seven and gave up three. From there, the bullpen completely imploded. Smith gave up three of his own (two were unearned), and Wood blew his third save in his much-anticipated return to Wrigley Field, forcing another extra-inning game. Vizcaino was the loser after walking Alfonso Soriano, letting him steal second, and then giving up an RBI single to Ryan Theriot. The bullpen gave up five runs (three earned) in 2 2/3 innings.

* 6/20, at Cubs: Starter Tomo Ohka struggled, but battled, through six innings, giving up four runs, but left with a 4-3 deficit. For once, Lewis, Herges, Smith and Perez held them tough while the Indians tied it in the seventh, then scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 13th in their third consecutive overtime game. But Wood totally imploded in the bottom of the 13th, blowing his fourth save of the season as he gave up the tying run on a single and the winning run on a wild pitch, which is the second-worst way for a pitcher to lose a game (after a bases-loaded walk). The bullpen gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings.

* 6/21, at Cubs: This one was the starter's fault. Sowers gave up six runs in 4 1/3, and the offense was punchless against rookie Randy Wells. The bullpen gave up zero runs in 3 2/3 innings.

So during the six-game slide, the starters' ERA is 6.96, and the bullpen ERA is 8.44. And that's why the Indians have lost six games in a row.

NFL out-punishes court system on Stallworth case

Well, Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth got 30 days in jail for killing a man with his car while driving drunk. Whether or not you or I would get the same sentence if we did the same thing is an open question, but I won't address that here.

As Browns fans, many of us probably had the initial reaction upon hearing of that sentence along the line of: Well, that's over with. Maybe he can come back and contribute on the field this year. But Roger Goodell had other ideas, suspending Stallworth indefinitely. And good for Goodell. Stallworth is, from what I understand, a basically good guy who made a colossal mistake, but the NFL can't be having its players getting loaded and driving around killing people.

I guess we'll see how long "indefinitely" is, but I hope we can all agree that a man's life means a lot more than football. And maybe Goodell's swift punishment of Stallworth will help prevent more such tragedies in the future.

Pitching pandemonium

There's plenty of blame to go around for the Indians' ugly 14-12 loss to the Brewers yesterday. Carl Pavano was never sharp, and gave up six runs on nine hits, including a Ryan Braun home run, in struggling through five innings. And the bullpen was even worse. Greg Aquino, Luis Vizcaino, Matt Herges and Rafael Perez each gave up two runs — though it should be pointed out that Herges' runs didn't score until Perez was on the mound. Perez gave up the Prince Fielder grand slam that put the Brew Crew ahead 13-12, and gave up two other hits and a walk. He never did record an out.

Perez was once one of the better set-up men in the majors, but he sure doesn't fit that description these days. He's been about as good at pitching as George Armstrong Custer was at battlefield planning. In 17 1/3 innings this year, Perez has given up 23 runs, all earned, for an 11.94 ERA. He's struck out 14, which is pretty good; but also walked 14, which is very, very bad. He spent most of May in Columbus, and I hope he liked that city, because he'll be back soon.

The Tribe offense seems to be humming along pretty well, I'm glad to report. Their 12 runs came with the help of four homers, and I just read that Grady Sizemore will be back in a week to 10 days. If they can just get the bullpen straightened out ...

Aw, let's face it. That's not going to happen this year. Too bad.

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.

Domination!

I'm sure anyone interested enough in Cleveland sports to be reading this blog is aware of what Cliff Lee did last night. But just to recap, he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and wound up with a three-hit shutout of the Cardinals. My question is, who jinxed him by saying "no-hitter" in the eighth? Because clearly, we fans have that kind of power over the events on the field.

Seriously, the reigning AL Cy Young is having another fine season, even if he doesn't have a big pile of wins to show for it. He's now 4-6 with a 2.88 ERA, good for seventh in the league. He is second in the league in innings pitched — no small matter when you're dealing with this Indians bullpen — and 11th in strikeouts. He's walked just 20 in his 97 innings, and given up just five home runs. So he's doing quite well in the defense-independent pitching stats.

Choo-choo Choo

For the second straight night, Shin-Soo Choo was one of the heroes last night in the Indians' 7-3 win over the Cardinals. Choo went 3-for-4 and knocked in three runs, and didn't need no stinking seagulls to do it this time. He'd been struggling lately, so it's nice to see him break out a little bit. Let's hope he can keep it going.

David Huff, who got the win to improve to 2-2, had his best start as a major-leaguer, in his sixth try. Huff went 7 1/3 innings and left with the score 5-1. Joe Smith gave up back-to-back singles to Albert Poo Holes and former Indian Ryan Ludwick to score two more runs that were charged to Huff, but he and Rafael Perez finished a shaky eighth that ended with a bases-loaded ground ball to short. Huff's ERA dropped to a still-ugly 7.39, but it's definitely moving in the right direction. He got battered in his first two major-league starts, after which his ERA stood at 17.55, and then with each start fell to 10.97, then 9.77, 8.71, and now 7.39. At this rate, he'll be under 1 in no time. (Yeah, I know. I'm just kidding.)

The Tribe offense came right back with two more in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of a Victor Martinez two-run double, and Kerry Wood pitched a perfect ninth in a non-save situation. Wood has had some rough outings too, as we all know, but last night's performance got his ERA under 5, and he hasn't given up a run in his last 10 outings.

I have to take issue with one of Eric Wedge's tactical moves last night. After Ryan Garko led off the seventh with a double, Wedge pulled him in favor of pinch-runner Trevor Crowe. I understand what Wedge was trying to do there, as it was then a 2-1 game and he wanted to get an insurance run. But the Indians' offense still had nine outs to work with, counting the bottom of the ninth, which they proved not to need. That meant Garko's spot in the order would probably come up again, and Crowe came into the game hitting .185. Seemed to me the Indians were more likely to get another run via Garko's bat than Crowe's legs. Sure enough, Crowe didn't score a run (he got thrown out at the plate), and he did come up to bat in the bottom of the eighth, whereupon he promptly struck out.

But hey, a win's a win. At 28-35, the Tribe is now just a half-game behind the White Sox for third place, and 2 1/2 behind the Twins for second. The first-place Tigers are seven in front of the Indians, but we've got to take things one step at a time. There's still 99 games to go.

Byrd vs. bird

Waiting for Next Year undoubtedly gets many more hits per day than Of Fair Hooker, which makes sense because they have nine regular posters, while I have just me. And they do a fine job. So it probably doesn't make much difference to them to have me sending people over there to view their posts. But I just have to alert my readers to this post, which is a boxing-style "tale of the tape" between Paul Byrd and the bird Shin-Soo Choo's game-winning hit bounced off of the other day. It made me laugh out loud.

On a wing and a prayer

I've often said that if you watch a baseball game from start to finish, there's a good chance you'll see something you've never seen before — even if you've watched thousands of baseball games in your life. The ending to last night's Indians-Royals game was one of those things. I've never seen a seagull deflect a ball off its wing, causing the center fielder to misplay it and allowing the winning run to score. It's a pretty good bet I'll never see it again.

Here's how it happened, for those who missed it. In the bottom of the tenth, with the score tied at 3, Mark DeRosa singled off Kyle Farnsworth, who then walked Victor Martinez to bring up Shin-Soo Choo. Choo sent a solid single to center field, where a flock of seagulls were hanging out. Center fielder Coco Crisp probably wanted to run so far away. ... As the ball approached, the birds started scattering, and Crisp, who's always been a good egg, got in position to field the ball and wing it home. But one of those seagulls was apparently an Indians fan, and let the ball hit it. Coco had a good bird's eye view of the ball as it bounded past him. DeRosa came home to roost, and that was the game, boys and gulls. This sent the Tribe back into fourth place, which is a real feather in their cap.

My fiancée says I'm a punaholic. I don't know what she's talking about.

That was fun while it lasted

Well, the Indians got out of last place for exactly one day. The Royals totally dominated the Tribe last night, as Gil Meche struck out 11 in seven shutout innings and Carl Pavano had his worst start in months on the way to a 9-0 loss at Progressive Field. Pavano gave up all nine runs on 11 hits — including three homers — in 4 2/3 innings.

But on the plus side, the same fan in left field caught two home runs in the same inning. Unfortunately, they were both off Royal bats.

The Tribe will try to salvage the series tonight, with Jeremy Sowers going against early Cy Young front-runner Zack Greinke. Yeah, I don't see it happening.

Out of the cellar

Good old Mark DeRosa. His line-drive grand slam off Jamey Wright in the bottom of the seventh last night left the park in about three seconds, giving the Indians an 8-4 lead over Kansas City that would turn out to be the final score. I'm not much of a lip reader, but it looked like as DeRosa rounded first, he was shouting an expletive that rhymes with "duck," followed by "yeah." And who could blame him. The Indians' win earned them fourth place in the American League Central, as they traded places in the standings with these same Royals.

That was DeRosa's 10th home run of the year, tying him with Victor Martinez for the team lead; and gave him 42 RBIs on the season, tops on the Tribe. Not bad for a guy who can play any position on the diamond but pitcher and catcher — and I wouldn't be surprised if he's considered the emergency catcher in case Martinez and Kelly Shoppach are both hurt in the same game. At age 34, DeRosa is having a fine season, and seems a good bet to top his career high in home runs, which is the 21 he hit last year for the Cubs. So far, getting him for pitchers Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer and John Gaub — none of whom have reached the majors yet — looks pretty darned good. Of course, that'll change if one of those guys goes to a couple of All-Star games, but that's not particularly likely.

Last night's win came on a day Cliff Lee didn't pitch particularly well, giving up four runs on 11 hits in six innings. Two of those runs should never have scored, though. On Miguel Olivo's single to right in the top of the sixth, Mark Teahen beat Shin-Soo Choo's throw to third, and then slid off the bag before catching it again with his hand. Replays showed Jamie Carroll was tagging Teahen while he was off the bag. Third-base umpire Mike Reilly was looking right at it, but apparently wasn't looking hard enough. That would have been the third out of the inning, and the two runs that scored after that play would never have happened.

But the Tribe came back with four in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to some very generous defensive play by the Royals. On two separate occasions in that inning, throws pulled defenders off bags — and the Royals looked distinctly like a last-place team. Thanks to last night's result, that's just what they are.

Broadcasters aplenty

Today, I have no particularly original thoughts, so I'm posting a link to someone else's blog. One of the authors of Waiting for Next Year has put together a list of his five favorite Cleveland sports announcers of the last 30 years, along with a paragraph about why he likes each of them. His five are, in order, Joe Tait, Nev Chandler, Tom Hamilton, Michael Reghi and Jack Corrigan.

Naturally, any time someone puts together such a list, there will be disagreements, and I respectfully disagree slightly with this list. No argument against Joe Tait; he's the best there is. I'm old enough to remember when Tait did Indians games with Bruce Drennan, and I thought those guys were fantastic together. But he's mostly made his mark as the radio voice of the Cavaliers, and he is brilliant at that job, working without a partner. It's a rare broadcaster who can both entertain and illuminate by himself, and Joe is that guy.

The late Nev Chandler did a fine job as the radio voice of the Browns, and I'm also a big fan of Tom Hamilton, even though he sometimes goes a little bit too crazy for my taste. I really liked Jack Corrigan too, and he was kind enough to reply to an e-mail I sent him a few years ago in which I lamented the fact that he was the odd man out when Channel 43 stopped carrying Indians games. Why they held onto John Sanders over Corrigan is beyond me. People who say baseball is boring must have been watching John Sanders broadcasts.

So that leaves one guy on the list, and it's Michael Reghi. Let me start by saying I really don't have anything against Reghi, and thought he was treated unfairly when the Cavs sent him packing on the cusp of the 2006-07 season in favor of Fred McLeod, whom I consider his inferior as a play-by-play man. Reghi now hosts the afternoon drive-time show on WNKR, and I've listened to him from time to time. He knows his Cleveland sports, and expresses himself articulately about them. But there's always been something that bugged me about Reghi, that I've never been able to quite put my finger on. He somehow seems a little bit cocky, I guess, even though I've never heard any stories that indicate he really is.

I would have liked to see Herb Score on the list. The guy from WFNY obviously didn't care for Herb, saying he "suffered through so many years of Herb Score." Herb misspoke sometimes, and gave some players' names creative pronunciations that he stuck with, but he was a colorful character who knew his baseball and loved Cleveland.

The other glaring oversight I see is the current radio voice of the Browns, longtime Channel 3 sports anchor Jim Donovan. Donovan is similar to Chandler, in that he calls it like it happens and doesn't sugar-coat anything, and will crack the occasional joke at the Browns' expense, which I really like.

So I guess my list would be six. I think I'm entitled to that.

I hate to say it, but ...

It's time to pull the plug on Fausto Carmona. I don't mean that he should be put to death, of course, but he has no business being in a major-league starting rotation right now. He should either be sent down to Columbus or go to the bullpen, or possibly both at the same time, as I understand they have a bullpen in Columbus as well.

After yesterday's debacle against the Twins (seven runs in two innings), Fausto is now 2-6 with a hideous 7.42 ERA. He has walked 41 hitters and struck out just 36 in 60 2/3 innings this year, and given up nine home runs. In his last three starts, he's gone a total of 7 1/3 innings and given up 19 runs, 16 earned. That's an ERA of 19.64. He's not fooling anybody. It's time to give someone else a chance.

It's hard to believe this is the same man who went 19-8 and finished fourth in the A.L. Cy Young voting just two years ago. Maybe there's something wrong with him that we don't know about, or maybe he just doesn't have his head straight right now. Regardless, he's got to go.

P.S. Just to avoid any confusion, I'm just joking about putting him in the bullpen in Columbus. If he goes there, he should start.

Yeah, so the Cavs ...

Well, they had a fine season. They went 66-16, better than any Cavaliers team has ever done in the regular season. They were the first Cavs team ever to have the NBA's best record. They set themselves up such that if they won all their home games, they would run the table. LeBron James was the Cavs' first MVP of the NBA. Mike Brown was named Coach of the Year. Mo Williams was an All-Star, and deservedly so. Anderson Varejao developed into a legitimate NBA starter. They swept their first two postseason series, winning each game by double digits. Barring a Finals sweep (which is possible), they will be the only team to have swept any playoff series this year. They seemed invincible. I could go on and on.

And we all know what happened. The obviously inferior Orlando Magic squashed us like a bug.

The Cavaliers certainly could have won that series. They were never in that game six, but they had great chances to win games one and four. But if one were to look at it that way, one would have to admit that the Magic could have swept, because it was a minor miracle that the Cavs took game two. There is no question that the Orlandoans had the better team in this series.

Of course, once we have fully digested this loss, the talk will inevitably turn to whether or not LeBron James is in his last days as a Cavalier. And if he does, whether or not he will become a Knick. And unless he signs an extension, you and I will get very tired of hearing about it.

It's the offseason. Go Tribe. ... What? ... They're in what place?

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.

Mailbag: Lamenting Tribe's start

My good friend Jeff Brown sent me this e-mail recently:

Not only is the Tribe stinking up the joint in their ill-fated attempts to play baseball so far this season, but [last] week they set a new record -- the lowest single-game attendance for a game at Jacobs Field = 11,408.

Steve, remember the early days of Jacobs Field, when it was difficult to even get a ticket? When they sold out every single game several years running?

Obviously, those days are long, long gone, my friend.

This is beginning to remind me of the old days at Cleveland Municipal Stadium when they drew about 5,000 fans per game in the cavernous 80,000 seat stadium, and you could hear the beer vendors voices echoing off the empty parts of the stadium.

What has become of our beloved Tribe, Steve?

You know, they're not playing badly, except for the bullpen. It's amazing how much that one phase of the game can influence the won-lost record, given that those pitchers generally only pitch one-third or so of the total innings in a season. The offense is slumping a bit right now, though.

That attendance figure is emblematic of the fact that the Indians no longer play in a new ballpark, they are no longer an elite franchise, and with the Cavaliers' ascension and the Browns' continued (albeit pathetic) existence, the demand is no longer there for Indians tickets. Also, we had crappy weather that day. Regardless, I'm sorry to say that what we'll see in the future will probably be closer to those old days at the Stadium than the early days of the Jake, at least in terms of attendance. No, I don't think we'll go four decades between playoff appearances again, if only because there are eight playoff teams now; but we certainly won't be able to afford one of the top-five payrolls any time soon.

Bring on the Heat (or Hawks)

The Cavaliers made mincemeat out of the remnants of the Detroit Pistons over the last 10 days or whatever. And that's what's supposed to happen when the team with the NBA's best record plays the team with the worst playoff-qualifying record. The only time the Pistons made it remotely interesting was Friday night, when they briefly pulled ahead in the third quarter of Game 3 before getting smoked the rest of the way. Yesterday's Game 4 was never in any doubt. And so our Cavs become the only team to sweep a first-round series in this year's playoffs, and only the third team in NBA history to sweep a series while winning each game by double digits.

Next up: the winner of the Heat-Hawks series, which Miami currently leads 2-1 going into tonight's Game 4 in Florida. If the Calories were to win tonight, they could close it out Wednesday in Atlanta. But more likely, the series will go six or seven games, which would have the series ending as late as Sunday, leaving the Cavs resting for over a week. I don't think it matters much who we're playing. The Cavaliers went 3-1 each against Miami and Atlanta this year, and I don't see this series going longer than five games. Maybe six.

Love and honor to Miami!

Yes, this is a Cleveland sports blog, but I'm all abuzz about my alma mater, Miami University, having its first chance ever to play for a national championship in any sport. The RedHawks (known as the Redskins during my college days) dispatched the Bemidji State Beavers yesterday, 4-1, in a game that probably wasn't as close as the final score. One more win, and we're champs. I can hardly contain my excitement. The Hawks will be underdogs against the Boston U. Terriers of Hockey East, but our boys have proven they can hang with the big dogs.

The biggest moment in last night's game came right after Bemidji cut Miami's lead to 2-1 on a power play goal in the second period. Will Weber took a shot that hit Bill Loupee’s stick in the crease, and the puck ricocheted off Bemidji goalie Matt Dalton and back into the net. Miami, 3-1. They'd score their last goal on an empty-netter in the third. And in their first-ever trip to the Frozen Four, the RedHawks (23-12-5) have reached the title game.

The Terriers (34-6-4) come in after a hard-fought come-from-behind 5-4 victory over Vermont in the other national semifinal, and have won their last six and 11 of their last 12. They rattled off a nine-game winning streak earlier this season, which was followed by a rather bizarre three-game tying streak, then a five-game winning streak. So at one point, they won 14 games between losses. Since January 1, they're 23-2-3. This is a tough opponent for anyone. Our guys will have their hands full, but once the puck drops at 7 p.m. Saturday, the score will be zero-zero.

I can hardly wait.

No 162-0

Yeah, so the Indians lost the opener. Yeah, so Cliff Lee looked as bad as we've seen him since ... well, 2007. Yeah, so the Tribe only managed five hits against former Indian Kevin Millwood and the Rangers' bullpen, and their only run scored on a wild freaking pitch. It's still just one game. And that's what I love about baseball: There's another game tomorrow. (Except there isn't one tomorrow, because Major League Baseball always schedules an off-day the day after Opening Day. Why? Bud Selig is a moron.)

On to some other thoughts:

* The Cavaliers played very, very badly on back-to-back nights in losses to the woeful Wizards and the surging Magic. I switched away from that game against Orlando in the second quarter, and just checked back from time to time. It was uuuuuug-LEE! But again, it was just one game. And hey, our boys came back out on Sunday and kicked the Spurs' butts pretty hard. And that was without Anderson Varejao, who might be back Wednesday in the rematch against Washington. In fact, Ben Wallace might be back for that game too. Either way, I can't see the Cavs losing twice to the Wizards in a week, especially with the second game at home.

* If you had Michigan State going to the title game in your bracket, you're a lot more prescient than I am. I knew they were a good team, but remember when Ohio State beat them in the Big Ten tourney? I guess it just goes to show no team is at its best every game. I'm guessing not many people will read this until after tonight's game, but I wouldn't be that surprised to see the Spartans topple the Tar Heels tonight. I think you have to favor Carolina, but I think it'll be a lot closer than the UNC-Villanova game the other night.

* I have no way of proving this, but I predicted Michigan State's win over Connecticut -- right before the game started. I saw the UConn players coming out during the introductions, jumping around and laughing with each other, and I said, "They look awfully arrogant. They're going to lose." Sure enough, the Spartans had them down early and put them away late.

Well, that's about all I've got right now. I'm off to watch some more baseball, and then switch to hoops for the big game. I hope it doesn't go too late. Some of us have to work tomorrow.

Lewis, Reyes earn spots

Real quick, because I don't have much time and I want to say something about this ...

I'm not a bit surprised that Anthony Reyes got a spot in the Indians' rotation. (On an interesting side note, it seems every time I try to type the word "spot," my fingers want to type "sport." Well, it's interesting to me, anyway.) Reyes, 27, proved himself last year, and deserves the shot. (Not the short.)

Scott Lewis pitched very well in four starts at the end of the year — after being called up to replace Reyes — but you had to think going into spring training that Aaron Laffey or Jeremy Sowers would find a way to claim that slot. (I don't know what a slort is, but I just typed it. I've psyched myself out a bit, I think.) But Lewis leads the club in strikeouts this spring, and he's earned his chance too.

Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona both started badly this spring, but each has pitched well in his last start. Carl Pavano ... well, let's just hope he keeps his ERA under 5. But this is a pretty good-looking rotation.

Congratulations, Cleveland State (and some other thoughts)

The Cleveland State Vikings last night clinched their first NCAA Tournament berth since that magical run in 1986, by beating heavily favored Butler, 57-54. For those too young to remember, those '86 Vikings were a 14 seed and upset Bob Knight's Indiana squad in the first round, then made the Sweet Sixteen before falling to a Navy team led by future Hall of Famer David Robinson.

At 25-10 against a Horizon League schedule, this Cleveland State team will also be a low seed, but they'll ultimately be in the same situation as 63 other teams. Win six games, and you're the champs. And every game starts at zero-zero.

* The Cavaliers nearly laid an egg last night against in L.A. against a bad Clippers team. They trailed by 19 early in the fourth quarter. But Mo Williams' three-pointer with 6.6 seconds left capped a furious comeback that also included LeBron's fifth triple-double of the season, and put the Cavs ahead to stay. I'm guessing I'm like most of you in that I didn't stay up for the end (the game started at 10:30 our time), but I did see our guys' early struggles. They're going to have to play better than that to win a championship. Give them credit, though. It's not easy to make up 19 points in one quarter in the NBA, even against a team that came in 15-48.

* I don't know how many of you are following the World Baseball Classic, but I've found it very entertaining so far. The U.S. team (featuring new Indian Mark DeRosa) won a tough game against Canada and then blew out Venezuela to move into the next round. They've got a rematch against the Hugo Chavez boys tonight to determine seeding.

* I didn't see either of the Dutch team's upsets of the Dominicans, but that's got to rank right up there with Chaminade over Virginia or the Miracle on Ice in terms of sheer magnitude of the upset. And they did it twice! Dominicana (as it says on their uniforms) outplayed the Netherlands in every phase of the game except defense — and, of course, that's why they're done. They made costly errors in both games, and the Dutch boys capitalized. And that's why they play the games, ladies and gentlemen.

* If you play fantasy baseball in a keeper league, you can sympathize with this: A league I'm in has five keepers per year, so you've got to make some tough, tough choices. My five keepers are David Wright, Josh Hamilton, Tim Lincecum, Brandon Webb and Joe Nathan. That's a fine group, to be sure, and I'm happy to have them all. But I had to leave off Prince Fielder, who had a bit of a disappointing year in '08, but still hit 32 home runs and knocked in 102 runs, and is only 25; former Indian Ryan Ludwick, the steal of last year's draft, who hit 37 dingers for the Cardinals; Cole Hamels, who had bad luck with wins and losses but struck out 196 hitters and posted a 3.09 ERA for the champion Phillies; and Alfonso Soriano, who hit 29 homers and stole 19 bases last year. Not to mention Kerry Wood, the supposed savior of the Tribe's bullpen. But the league commissioner wouldn't let me keep more than five. It hurts a little, but I'll get over it.

Clinched!

Our Cavaliers last night became the first team to clinch a playoff spot in the NBA this year, about half an hour before the Celtics joined them in Clinchville. At 48-12, our guys wrapped up their fourth straight playoff berth with more than a month left in the season, and if they can hold off Boston (48-14) and the Lakers (49-12) for the league's best record, I predict they'll win it all. I know L.A. is the only team that's beaten the Cavs at home, but if we've got home-court for four of seven, I think we can take them, especially if they can get everybody healthy for the playoffs. As Terry Pluto pointed out in his column on Sunday, the Cavaliers are 26-4 in games started by the regular group, which is LeBron, Mo, Z, Big Ben and Delonte.

I've said before that this is the best team in franchise history, and they will soon prove me right by winning more regular-season games than any Cavaliers team has before. Their best regular-season record in history is 57-25, which the Price-Daugherty-Nance Cavs did in 1988-89 and again in 1991-92. This bunch will have to go at least 10-12 the rest of the season to top that, which is about as close to a foregone conclusion as you can get at this point in the year. This team is playing extremely well right now.

Injury bug bites Cavs again

I didn't realize it had been three weeks since my last post. Bad Steve! I hope you good people can forgive me.

The Cavaliers have done a pretty good job weathering injuries from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West this year, but losing Big Ben Wallace might hurt more than those did. Wallace is out 4-6 weeks with a broken leg after Yao Ming kicked him in the second quarter during last night's game in Houston. He played through it into the third quarter before deciding to come out and get it X-rayed, and that's when the fracture was discovered. The guy must have a high tolerance for pain!

Wallace has missed three games this year, during which the Cavaliers are 2-1. He's only averaging 3.0 points and 6.6 rebounds a game, but he's the anchor of the defense. Anderson Varejao will presumably slide back into the starting lineup, as he did when Z was hurt. He'll do a fine job, I'm sure, but he's so great bringing energy off the bench. We'll miss that.

Don't misunderstand: With or without Ben Wallace, this is still one of the NBA's elite teams. As long as you've got a LeBron James, you've got a chance to win any game. But it's going to be hard to hold off the Celtics for the East's best record as it is. We need healthy players for that.

Tsmfp, Yjpihjyd ("Random Thoughts" with my fingers one key off)

Having survived this morning's subzero assault:


* Mo Williams again got snubbed for the All-Star roster, as Commissioner David Stern chose Ray Allen to replace the injured Jameer Nelson. I'm led to understand a lot of people are upset about this, and a caller to the Trivisonno show this afternoon (hosted by Chuck Galeti in Triv's absence) suggested that LeBron should sit out the All-Star Game in protest. I hope most of us can agree that's ridiculous. I agree that Williams deserved to go, but Stern didn't do this to flip off Cleveland. Ray Allen's a pretty good player too. Reasonable people can disagree about which deserved it more.

* LeBron's performance at Madison Square Garden last night was just unbelievable -- except that we've come to expect that from him. But come on, a triple-double in which he scored 52 points? Kobe Bryant got so much attention for scoring 61 in the Garden in the Knicks' previous game, but that was with zero rebounds and three assists. LeBron's follow-up was just as good. If you add up all his positive stats (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) and subtract his negative ones (turnovers, missed field goals, missed free throws), LeBron's game total is 53. Kobe took a lot of shots and didn't miss many on Monday night, but he didn't do much else. His total was 51.

* It's hard to imagine in this weather, but the Indians' pitchers and catchers will report to the club's new spring training home in Goodyear, Arizona, a week from today. There are a few things to be decided in Goodyear. Mark Shapiro and Eric Wedge have said Mark DeRosa will play third base, leaving Jhonny Peralta at short and Asdrubal Cabrera at second. It makes more sense to me to shift J.H. to third and Droob to short, but that's assuming J.H. can play third. We can't really assume that. He is supposed to see some time at third in Goodyear, so maybe that's still on the table.

* We know who the closer is (Kerry Wood), and we know we'll have Los Dos Rafael along with Joe Smith and Masa Kobayashi in the bullpen. The last spot in the pen is likely Adam Miller's to lose, but there's always a competition for that spot, and it always changes a couple of weeks into the season anyway. We'll probably see John Meloan, Tony Sipp and Rich Rundles at some point. Edward Mujica, who had a great year at three levels a couple of years ago but was pretty awful last year, is out of options, so he might be gone. But he might clear waivers anyway.

* The top of the rotation is Cliff Lee and Fausto Carmona, and of course Carl Pavano has a spot locked down already. The last two spots are up for grabs, but I'm thinking Anthony Reyes has earned a chance. Unless they sign somebody else, the favorite for the fifth spot is probably Aaron Laffey. I'd sure like to see Jeremy Sowers bounce back, but he might have to start bouncing back in Columbus. (Too bad they moved the AAA team; "bouncing back in Buffalo" would have sounded better.)

* I haven't been paying close attention to college basketball this season, but I can't help but notice that after Ohio State's upset of No. 12 Purdue the other night, the Buckeyes are 16-5, 6-4 in the Big Ten, which puts them in a four-way tie for third place. They're still unranked, but they're 26th in RPI, and could make some noise come March Madness time.

Recapping one of the best Super Bowls ever

I hate to call this one of the best Super Bowls ever, simply because of who won. I wanted badly for the Cardinals to pull it out, and the fact that they didn't was very disappointing from that perspective. But it was a dramatic, thrilling heavyweight prize fight, and it will be well-remembered for years to come. And at least, as a Miami University graduate, I can be proud of my alma-mater-mate, Ben Roethlisberger. I'm not, but I can be, if I so choose.

I will now go through the game, highlight by highlight:

The Steelers' opening drive was impressive, and it seemed inevitable that they would score a touchdown. But Arizona held them tough, and of course a Roethlisberger touchdown got called back on replay. That was huge -- had Roethlisberger gotten maybe an inch farther with the ball, it would have been six, and probably seven. So one inch was worth four points, if you follow. ... Still, the way Big Ben and the Steelers drove through the Cards' D on that drive seemed to portend ill for those who prefer a tight game, and for those who were rooting for the men in red.

Of course, Kurt Warner and his gang hadn't taken the field yet. Warner, as we all know, was a Super Bowl MVP 10 years ago for the Rams, and seems to have regained his form. There has been talk over the last two weeks of a plaque for Warner in Canton, and while I can't say I really think of him as a Hall of Famer, he has at least proved this winter that at age 37, he still has the goods. But the Cardinals stalled and punted, which led to the first Australian-born player ever to play in a Super Bowl, playing in a Super Bowl. That, of course, is Cardinals punter Ben Graham. That graphic flashed across the screen, and all I could do was laugh. The things they keep track of these days, huh?

On the ensuing Pittsburgh drive, Roethlisberger started showing off his scrambling legs, making a great play to get free on an across-the-field first-down throw to Heath Miller. A quarterback who can do that is pretty dadgummed hard to stop, as we would see over and over again throughout the course of the game. Benny-boy gave credit to his offensive line in the post-game interview, but the protection really wasn't that great. He just wouldn't let those big, mean defensive linemen get to him. The Steelers, of course, banged it in on that drive, and it was 10-0. And the rout was on, it seemed.

But Kurt Warner and his three 1,000-yard receivers went to work on the next drive. Warner made some big throws on that drive, and Ben Patrick -- who hadn't caught a touchdown pass the entire season up to that point -- made a great catch in traffic to make it 10-7. And now we knew we were going to have a game.

Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes combined for a big gainer on the ensuing drive, but it got called back for holding, and the Steelers were forced to punt to Steve Breaston. The Michigan grad returned it all the way to the Steelers' 42 as the second quarter started to wane, but a big Lamar Woodley sack on Warner stalled that drive. Ah, but Carlos Dansby picked a Roethlisberger pass that had been tipped at the line, and the Cards were in bidness again.

Unfortunately, that set up what was to be probably the play of the game. On what was to be the last play of the second quarter, Warner tried to find Anquan Boldin in the end zone, but he was well-covered by defensive end James Harrison. And, it turns out, Harrison can catch, and Harrison can run. As you are no doubt aware by now, his 100-yard interception return for a touchdown was the longest play in Super Bowl history. The longest play in Super Bowl history -- made by a DEFENSIVE END. It seemed the football gods wanted the Steelers to win. Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston -- two wide receivers -- managed to catch up to Harrison before he got into the end zone, but they were not able to make the tackle. It's usually pretty comical to watch a wide receiver try to make a tackle, and this was no exception. Fitzgerald actually took Harrison down, but the only reason Harrison's knee didn't touch the ground is because Fitzgerald's body was in the way. Had Fitzgerald been maybe an inch or two to the left or right, Harrison's knee might have hit the ground, and it might have been 10-7 going into halftime. So in this case, an inch meant seven points. And it's worth noting that had the pass fallen incomplete, the Cardinals would have had time for at least one more play, maybe two. So what could have been a 14-10 Arizona lead was instead a 17-7 Pittsburgh lead. Gut-wrenching stuff, Clevelanders. How does a freaking defensive end run 100 yards for a touchdown? Come on! A defensive end!

The Cardinals no doubt were champing at the bit to get back out there and close the gap, but they had to wait through a Super Bowl-length halftime. I don't actually know how long it was, but with Bruce Springsteen out there, it seemed like about four hours. (Yeah, I'm not a fan, and I don't care who knows.) It must have been at least 20 minutes, though, and we all know halftime of a regulation NFL game is supposed to be 15 minutes. I don't care what the entertainment is at halftime, I think it's wrong to stretch it out any longer. Whatever pageantry has been assembled should automatically be subordinate to the interest of the game. Harrumph and grumble. The halftime entertainment at the Super Bowl has become a story in itself, and I'm tired of it. Call me a curmudgeon if you will, but I think if you sit down to watch the Super Bowl, you should be most interested in watching a football game, and not some dumbass singer who wears jewelry on her nipple.

Now then, getting back to the game ...

The Cardinals didn't do much on their first drive of the second half, dodging a bullet when what was originally ruled a Warner fumble that Pittsburgh's Harrison recovered, was ruled an incomplete pass on replay. His arm wasn't moving forward very much, but it definitely was moving forward. Maybe an inch.

After the Steelers got it back, it seemed the Cardinals were bound and determined to let them score, simply by giving them penalty yardage. The Cards were called for three personal fouls on that drive, though I will say one of them -- a roughing-the-passer call against Dansby -- was pretty ticky-tack. They again held the Steelers to a field goal (though Adrian Wilson gave them a second chance to go for a touchdown by steamrolling the holder on their first attempt), so it was 20-7, and starting to look like the Cardinals might want to think about their post-game plans.

The teams exchanged fruitless possessions before Warner and the Cardinals started to go to work again. Warner did a lot of dinking and dunking on that drive, completing almost all of his passes, before Fitzgerald made a fan-freaking-tastic catch on a ball the Steelers' Ike Taylor had a hand on. And now it was 20-14, and the barn was starting to burn.

A sack of Roethlisberger on second-and-six was the key to stopping the Steelers' next possession, and Warner went back to work. Taylor helped them out with a late hit out of bounds on a Boldin catch, but on two separate occasions in the next sequence, Warner almost threw an interception, and the Cards had to punt again. When the punt pinned Big Ben's Boys back behind the 1, everybody at the party I attended was yelling for a safety. Even in that situation, a safety is highly unlikely, but darned if it didn't happen, due to a holding penalty in the end zone. That made it 20-16. Given that that happened with less than four minutes to go, the points didn't make a huge difference, but the key is the Cardinals got the ball back with plenty of time to work the ball down the field.

They didn't use much -- Warner and Fitzgerald connected on a 64-yard catch and run that gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 23-20 with 2:37 to go in the game. Breaston and Boldin ran out routes that took the corners toward the sidelines, and Fitzgerald caught a slant pass and outran everybody to paydirt. It was a thing of beauty, and I'm not ashamed to admit I jumped for joy.

But that 2:37 was, as we now know, more than enough time for Roethlisberger, Holmes and the boys. Roethlisberger ran wild in the pocket on the next drive, completing a big third-down pass to Holmes on one play after scrambling and another big one to Holmes after stepping up in the pocket, though his 40-yard pass to Holmes that took it down to the 6 was made from a stationary position. As the clock ticked to under a minute, it looked like we might be looking at our first overtime Super Bowl, but then Holmes made a tremendous catch in the corner of the end zone, and managed to get both feet down. Maybe it was my Browns-fan glasses, but it sure looked to me like he didn't get his right foot down before he went out. But of course, it doesn't matter what I think. Had his foot been an inch off the ground, it would have been an incomplete pass. So in this case, one inch was worth the game.

Warner didn't have enough time to return the punch, and fumbled it away while trying to make a miracle happen with five seconds left. And one of the best Super Bowls I ever saw was in the books, gone to the stinking Steelers, for the sixth stinking time.

As Slim Pickens said in "Blazing Saddles," I sure am depressed.

Cavs continue to hum

Watching from my window as the snow continues to fall ...

The Cavaliers sleepwalked through a lot of that game last night against the Kings, but two guys who didn't sleepwalk at all were (of course) LeBron James and Mo Williams. Mo scored 43, which is the most a LeBron teammate has ever scored; and they came within two Williams rebounds of being the third set of teammates since 1989 to each have a triple-double in the same NBA game. Mo was a huge addition to this team, and is the main reason why a team that struggled to stay above .500 last year now has the NBA's best record. The All-Star reserves are about to be announced, and I admit I haven't looked at the stats of players Williams might be up against for one of those spots, but it sure seems to me like he deserves to go. It's hard to believe all Danny Ferry gave up for him was Joe Smith and Damon Jones.

The Cavs are now 21-0 at home, the fifth team in NBA history to stay undefeated after more than half the season's home schedule. Of the other four, only the '95-96 Bulls (who started an NBA-record 37-0 at home) went on to win the title. Interestingly, the second-longest season-starting home winning streak belonged to another team in the same conference, the same year. Shaquille O'Neal's Magic, who lost to those Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, went 36-0 before losing their first home game in '95-96, a year after starting 21-0 at home and losing in the NBA Finals. The other team to start 21-0 at home was the '77-78 Trail Blazers, who won their first 26 home games and went on to lose in the Western Conference Finals. We are students of sporting history here at Of Fair Hooker.

As mentioned here earlier this week, Zydrunas Ilgauskas hopes to return tomorrow night in Orlando. Whether he makes it back for that marquee matchup or not, he'll be playing again soon. Delonte West will take a little longer, but should be back around mid- to late February. If this team can stay healthy after that, I'm really not sure anybody can stop them.

Happy Monday

Today's thoughts are brought to you by the number 18.4:

* George Kokinis is the new architect of the Browns' fortunes, as we all expected. They didn't get him in time to represent the team at the Senior Bowl, but he'll be running the show at the combine next month. Kokinis and Eric Mangini are old friends and both former Belichick guys, which could be good. Or bad. All I know is they've got to be better than Phil and Romeo. (I'm not saying they are better, simply that they've got to be. They've just GOT to be!)

* I don't know how long this has been up, but I just noticed the Plain Dealer's Web site is advertising the fact that they have every Browns game story ever available now on their Web site. You can search the database here. You can search by season, or by opponent, or by how many points the Browns scored or gave up, or by whether they were at home or on the road, or by whether they won, lost or tied, or by some combination of the above. I just did a search for overtime games that the Browns won, in which they scored at least 30 points, and came up with nine results dating back to a 30-27 win over New England in 1977. How freaking cool is that?

* The Cavaliers just completed a darned nice road trip, in which they went 3-1, their only loss to the Lakers. And they're about to get one of their key pieces back, as Zydrunas Ilgauskas is planning to return to the court for Thursday's game against the Magic, in a matchup of Eastern Conference heavyweights. The Celtics seem to have righted the ship again, and the above-named trio of teams are the clear class of the conference this year. Anyway, it'll be good to get Z back. Anderson Varejao played well as the starting center in his absence, but Z has four inches on him, and believe me, that makes a difference. And I like Andy bringing the energy off the bench. Z's broken ankle has cost him 14 games this year, and the Cavs have gone 10-4 in those games. That's darned nice, but they're 24-4 in games Z has played, so they've clearly missed him.

* LeBron James was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the fourth time this year. We've become so spoiled by this guy. If he didn't play for my team, I'd be sick and tired of him. But he's already a strong candidate for best athlete in the history of Cleveland team sports. Sure, I'd vote for Jim Brown right now, perhaps followed by Tris Speaker, and you have to consider guys like Otto Graham and Bob Feller, but LeBron's definitely in the conversation. And he just turned 24 last month.

* There's not much going on with the Tribe right now, but pitchers and catchers report in less than a month. ESPN's Tim Kurkjian breaks down the Tribe and the entire AL Central in this piece, and concludes that the division is up for grabs. The page includes a video clip of Peter Gammons talking Tribe on Baseball Tonight. Interesting stuff.

* Go Cardinals!

Dante Lavelli, RIP

As I sit here typing this blog post, I'm picturing you as you read it. I may or may not know you, but the picture I have is of somebody like me, a guy in his late 30s who's been watching the Indians, Browns and Cavaliers fail to get a championship over and over and over again. It's possible that you personally are a woman in her 90s, sitting in New Delhi and, having just heard of Cleveland for the first time, decided to investigate and clicked links until you got to this site, but I guess that's pretty far-fetched.

So chances are that, like me, you don't remember Dante "Gluefingers" Lavelli's 11 years with the Browns, nor the seven championship teams of which he was part. He was Otto Graham's favorite target from the team's inception in 1946, leading the AAFC in receiving as a rookie and catching the winning touchdown pass in the title game. Four years later, in the Browns' first year in the NFL, he caught 11 passes in the NFL Championship Game against the Rams.

Bill Livingston's column in the PD is worth reading. It's about how loyal Lavelli was to the Browns organization, never speaking his mind about Modell until the day he announced the Browns were moving. Then he let loose on Modell, who had betrayed the city in a way Lavelli didn't respect. Livingston also mentions how Lavelli "did not so much catch the ball as attack it." It sounds like he was a lot of fun to watch, if you were a Browns fan.

Lavelli only caught 386 passes in his career, tied for 193rd on the all-time list. Of course, there were only 12 games in the regular season then, and the running game was greatly favored; at the time he retired, he was second on that list (behind Tom Fears). He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.

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.

Random thoughts

The quick-hit style of a previous post or two seemed popular, so I'm going to do that again now.

• The Cavaliers have lost two of three, the latter of which was to a Wizards team that is now 7-26. Yes, that's disappointing. (And yes, LeBron did travel, at least according to the traveling definition as I understand it.) But the same night, the Celtics lost to a Knicks team that finished the game at 13-19, and they lost again last night to the Bobcats team that came into tonight's game at the Q at 13-22. It's the NBA. It happens. The NBA's best record nonetheless resides in Cleveland. (And Los Angeles, yes.)
• Ohio State sure disappointed by not pulling out the Fiesta Bowl, but at least they didn't get blown out like they did the last two years in the national championship game. And the Texas Longhorns had about as good a claim to a title-game berth as Oklahoma or Florida. As loyal reader John Arthur Hutchison said, we can at least be happy they beat Michigan and won a share of the Big Ten.
• The Indians have had a fairly quiet offseason, but that doesn't mean they haven't done anything to improve. I love the Mark DeRosa trade, and the Carl Pavano signing is a low-risk, high-reward proposition. Pavano has been oft-injured for the last four years, but he did go 18-8 for the Marlins in 2004, and at 33 (tomorrow), he certainly could bounce back. His base salary of $1.5 million may seem like an awful lot to you and me, but it's not much to a Major League Baseball franchise. He has a chance to earn $5.3 million in incentives, and if he does the things that kick in those incentives, the Indians will gleefully pay that out.
• The NFL Hall of Fame today announced 17 finalists. None of them played for the Browns, but Cris Carter had a great career for the Buckeyes. Good luck, Cris. (I assume he's a regular reader of Of Fair Hooker.)

He's the Mangini!

To the surprise of none, Eric Mangini is the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and I think it's a good choice. He becomes the Browns' first coach with previous NFL head coach experience since Terry Robiskie, who hardly counts because of the interim label; before that, you have to go all the way back to Nick Skorich, who coached the Eagles from 1961-63 before taking the helm in Cleveland from 1971-74. So the year I was born was the last year an experienced coach started the season as the Browns' coach. And look how big I've gotten! (I know you can't see me through the computer, but trust me, I'm a decent-sized fellow.)

For them what's curious, Skorich took over a team that had gone 7-7 in 1970 and led them to the playoffs in his first two years in Cleveland, but never won a playoff game with the Browns. That's interesting, but not particularly relevant; I just thought I'd mention it.

Mangini was born the same year I was, which makes me shake my head a little, but if the Constitution says you can be President at age 35, the Browns can certainly afford to hire a man who's about to turn 38 to be their coach. He went 23-25 in three seasons with the Jets, with one good year (2006, when they went 10-6), one bad year (2007, 4-12), and one mediocre year (2008, 9-7 after starting 8-3). It's hard to evaluate coaches, but give me a guy who's had some success as a head coach over a guy who's never done the job before any day. We Browns fans all know how successful a coach can be in his second job. And Mangini has Cleveland ties, having served as a ball boy for the Browns during the Belichick era. Yeah, that still counts.

Eric Mangini (I assume you'll read this), welcome back to Cleveland. We're excited to have you on board. (That's right, I presume to speak for all Browns fans. If you disagree, that's what the comment option is for.)

Happy New Year

Some thoughts on the various sporting action from New Year's Day and the last few days of 2008:

• Pete Carroll said after USC's 38-24 win over Penn State in the Rose Bowl that "in all due respect," he doesn't think anybody can beat the Trojans this year. Setting aside the incorrect preposition and the fact that somebody actually did beat USC this year, he's got a point. Southern Cal was one of seven teams from BCS conferences to win all but one of its games, and they earned the right to play for the national title just as much as Florida or Oklahoma did. (So did Penn State, for that matter.) We're not going to see a playoff anytime soon, I'm afraid, but this should have been a playoff game.
• Penn State could have won that game if they hadn't made so many big mistakes. This despite a Rose Bowl-record .800 passing percentage and 413 yards from Mark Sanchez, who was simply outstanding. Penn State turned the ball over too many times, and got a turnover of their own called back because of an offsides penalty -- which was one of too many penalties they committed against too good a team.
• The Lions weren't the only Big Ten team to fall on Thursday. Michigan State couldn't hang with Georgia in the Capital One Bowl, and after earlier losses by Northwestern, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the conference is now 1-5 in bowl games. Ohio State has a chance to make them 2-5 by beating Texas on Monday night in the Fiesta Bowl, but that's going to be tough. If not for Iowa's drubbing of South Carolina in the Outback Bowl yesterday, we could be looking at a Big Ten goose egg.
• Beanie Wells hasn't decided yet whether he'll play on Saturdays or Sundays next year. Selfishly, as an Ohio State fan, I'm hoping he sticks around another year, but if I were him, I'd go for the money. If he stayed in college another year, he might win a national title, but he would risk a very expensive injury.
• I didn't watch the hockey game that was played at Wrigley Field yesterday, but I love that there's one outdoor NHL game every year. Many hockey players grew up playing on ponds in the wintertime, and I kind of feel like that's the way the game was meant to be played. And in watching the highlights, it was kind of neat to see the hand-operated scoreboard being used for hockey.
• The Cavaliers lost their fifth game of the year the other day (on LeBron's 24th birthday), to a pretty good Heat team in Miami, two days after beating the same team in Cleveland. At 26-5, they've still got the league's third-best record, and I'm still optimistic about their chances to win it all. But they've got to get home court over the Celtics. And don't look now, but the 25-7 Magic is a threat too.
• For those who, like me, jones for baseball all winter, you should check out this Tim Kurkjian column about the Indians' outlook for 2009. Kurkjian concludes that the Tribe "could rebound in a big way," and I think he's right. Did you know our guys had the AL's second-best record after July 9 last year? That all came after the Sabathia trade, too. (Special thanks to my good friend John Arthur Hutchison for sending me the link.)
• Speaking of baseball, the MLB Network debuted yesterday, and thank goodness for that.

A pathetic epitaph for the 2008 Cleveland Browns

Today's game against the Steelers went pretty much as we all expected. Yeah, I think we all would have guessed that 31-0 would sound about right. If the first-, second- and third-string quarterbacks couldn't lead a touchdown drive, it was nearly a lead-pipe cinch that the guy who wasn't on an NFL roster a couple of weeks ago wouldn't manage it either.

So the Browns finished 4-12 for the second time under Romeo Crennel. They ended up last in the AFC North, after the Bengals managed to win their last three to best them by a half-game. They had the second-worst record in the AFC, topping only the 2-14 Chiefs. They lost their last six. During that streak, their opponents scored at least three touchdowns (off the top of my head) on plays the Browns started on offense, but the Browns did not score a single offensive touchdown in that time. Pathetic. You probably heard this, but that's the first time any team has ever rattled off that long a streak (the previous record was 22 quarters by the '74 Bears). The Browns will have a chance to lengthen it going into the first game of 2009.

I suppose I could go into recap mode, but other writers will do that, and I'm kind of lazy. I will mention that Jamal Lewis got to 1,000 yards for the second year in a row, and the third time a Brown did that in the expansion era. So that's cool. I loved Josh Cribbs all year, and of course Joe Thomas and Sean Rogers made the Pro Bowl. And hey, the Browns won four more games than the Lions. So we've got that going for us.

Cavs pull even with Celtics in loss column

It's generally accepted that there are three NBA teams that tower over the rest this season -- the defending champion Celtics, the defending Western Conference champion Lakers, and our Cavaliers. For weeks, the Cavs have been looking up at the Celtics for the best overall record, but after Boston fell on back-to-back nights to the Lakers and Warriors, we're essentially even with them now. Yes, they're 27-4, and we're only 25-4, but the important number is that 4.

There seems little reason to doubt that the Cavaliers and Celtics will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals in a few months, provided everyone stays healthy. And it seems to me the determining factor in who wins that series will be who has home court. Both teams have been nearly invincible at home: The Cavs are 15-0 at the Q, and the Celtics are 17-1 in Boston. Not that this means anything, but current tabulations on coolstandings.com predict that Cleveland will go 65-17 on the year, and Boston will go 62-20. (The Lakers are also projected at 62-20, which would give us home court for the Finals, should we face them in that series.)

It's definitely less than a 50-50 bet that the Cavaliers will be NBA champions in six months. But there has never been a better basketball team in Cleveland, and at this point, they have as good a shot as anybody. As Terry Pluto points out, there are only five players on this team who were here at this time a year ago. I used to think it took players a lot longer than that for a basketball team to come together. The '07-08 Celtics proved me wrong. I have a darned good feeling about this Cavaliers team.

Some random notes

I haven't had much time to post lately, and I don't have much time right now either, but I've got a few quick hits for you while I have a moment.

• Let it be known that the absolute low point, the very nadir, of the Cleveland Browns expansion era occurred on December 21, 2008. Losing at home, 14-0, to one of the worst teams in the NFL is just sickening. In theory, they could go lower, but they could lose 70-0 to the Steelers on Sunday and it wouldn't feel as pathetic as that loss to the Bengals did. It should be interesting to see how Bruce Gradkowski does. He can't do much worse than Ken Dorsey did against the Bungs.

• On the plus side, the Cavaliers are looking as good as ever, dispatching the 19-10 Houston Rockets in the second half last night after keeping it even at the half. Mo Williams was a big key to that effort, and LeBron had another one of his how-the-hell-did-he-do-that blocks from behind — this time on 7'5" Yao Ming.

• There's not much going on with the Tribe, but the Yankees just reminded us how much harder it is for everybody else to put a competitive team on the field, after signing Mark Teixeira. They now have the three most expensive contracts in baseball. I hope they choke on them.

• Joe Paterno's going to coach until he's 200 years old.

• I haven't had time to do a proper tribute to the late Sammy Baugh, but how amazing is it that he still, to this day, holds passing, intercepting and punting records?

May you and everyone you care about have a merry Christmas. And while I'm at it, have a merry December 26th too. I hope you don't spend the whole day returning gifts.

Kerry Wood to the mound

Before I start on Kerry Wood, let me apologize to both of my regular readers for the fact that I have not posted anything in a week and a half. I've been so very busy lately. Doesn't mean I haven't had anything to say, or that I don't love you.

My good friend Jeff Brown had this to say about the Wood signing, which as you may recall is two years, $20.5 million, with a club option for a third year at $11 million that kicks in automatically if he finishes a certain number of games in either '09 or '10:

Does Mark Shapiro know what he's doing?

They just gave over $20 million to a pitcher who has spent more time in the hospital getting surgeries and doing rehab than he has pitched over the past 8 years.

He'll go on the DL in early May, after missing most of Spring Training, then be on and off the DL all year (mostly on) and finish with 6 saves, a 5.97 ERA, and a record of 0-6.

Jeff could be right, of course, but I do not share his pessimism. There's some degree of gamble involved, just as there is some degree of gamble in signing any player, especially a pitcher. But Wood's is not a young arm anymore. He'll turn 32 on June 16. A lot of pitchers have been injury-prone during their 20s and then come around to be healthy through their 30s. In fact, I think such a pitcher might be slightly better off because all those years when he could have been putting strain on his developing arm by throwing 100 pitches every five days, he was sipping piña coladas and waiting for his arm to be ready to pitch again. The throwing arm isn't fully developed until it's been around for nigh on 30 years.

And Wood managed to stay healthy last year while pitching only the ninth, sometimes as many as three days in a row. I think his arm can handle that on an ongoing basis, and apparently Mark Shapiro does too. There's no guarantee he'll stay healthy, just as there is no guarantee CC Sabathia will stay healthy for the Yankees. But I think it's a good bet.

Anyway, the Indians introduced their new closer yesterday at Jaco ... er, Progressive Field, and Shapiro talked about what else the Indians are planning this offseason. He talked about wanting a second or third baseman to fill the hole created by the Casey Blake trade, and about how the starting pitchers who are out there are out of his price range. So we may or may not see another signing before the season starts, with Asdrubal Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta possibly each shifting one position to the left. Peralta's been working at third base in winter ball, and of course, Cabrera is a natural shortstop. So that could certainly work.

If there is no signing, we will see Jamey Carroll, Josh Barfield or Luis Valbuena playing whatever infield position is left over. I'd hate to see Carroll playing every day unless he's been hiding some hitting skills from us, and of course Barfield has been a flop the last couple of years but has actually been a good major-league hitter before. Valbuena, who came over in the three-team trade in which we gave up Franklin Gutierrez, is only 23, and his major-league experience consists of 18 games after the rosters were expanded on Sept. 1. But he hit .303 between AA and AAA last year, with 11 home runs in 452 at-bats. I don't know how his glove is, but he's got some talent with his bat.

Hall of Fame adds an Indian

The great Joe Gordon was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today, which surprised me only because I thought he was already in. He was a power-hitting, slick-fielding second basemen, which in his day was a far more unusual combination than it is now. And it's not common now either. There's Chase Utley, our old friend Brandon Phillips, ... and that's about it. AL MVP Dustin Pedroia hit 17 home runs and won a Gold Glove award this year, but Gordon routinely hit more than 20 a year in an era when that kind of power from a second baseman was almost unheard of. But Pedroia's only 25, so he's got a chance to become that kind of player.

Gordon played from 1938 to 1950, losing two prime seasons to World War II, as so many of his contemporaries did. He missed his age 29 and age 30 seasons, 1944-45. He was reportedly very strong in the field, and while they didn't have Gold Gloves in those days, the blunt defensive numbers support his reputation. He led the American League in assists four times and double plays three times.

"Flash" (a nickname anyone named Gordon is destined to be stuck with for all eternity) was the first American League second baseman to hit 20 home runs in a season -- and he did it seven times! He finished with 253 career homers in 11 seasons, which works out to exactly 23 a year, on average. If you were to suppose he'd hit 23 each of the two seasons he missed, that would have put him at 299, which is an awful lot for a second baseman in the '30s and '40s.

Gordon, of course, is not around to enjoy the honor, having died 30 years ago. That's unfortunate, but at least his family and those who remember his career can enjoy it.

Joe Gordon will no doubt be wearing a Yankee hat on his plaque, as he played seven seasons for them and just four in Cleveland. He also won four World Series in the Bronx, and one on the shores of Lake Erie. So objectively, I admit he's got to have the Yankee hat on. But I don't have to like it.

Cavs keep a-rollin'

LeBron got to sit out the fourth quarter again last night as the Cavaliers made a mockery of the Charlotte Bobcats, 94-74, in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score indicates. It was the Cavs' eighth straight win, each by at least 12 points. That ties an NBA record, which they now share with four other teams. They'll get a shot to break the mark on Tuesday against the 8-10 Raptors at the Q, and I like their chances. The wine-and-golders are now 17-3, the best start in the 39-year history of the franchise. As good as the Price-Daugherty-Nance teams were, they can't hold a candle to the '08-09 version.

This game was over before it started. The Cavs raced out to leads of 13-4, 23-11 and 27-12 on their way to a 30-14 lead at the quarter pole. Cleveland led 55-35 at the half -- the Kitties took until nearly midway through the fourth quarter to score as many points as the Cavs scored in the first half alone.

The way things are going, LeBron's not likely to successfully defend his scoring title, simply because he's not playing many fourth quarters. (At 26.5, he's currently second behind Dwyane Wade's 28.9.) James had 25 in his 28 minutes, and added a block from behind that's becoming a trademark of his. I've never seen a player who's so good at following an opponent on a drive to the bucket, then swatting the ball away from behind. It's a thing of beauty.

Boobie Gibson, who's started slowly this year, had his best game of the young season, putting in 22 points in 31 minutes. So that's good to see.

That these Cavaliers have to be taken seriously as a title contender is beyond question. Unfortunately, there are three dominant teams in the NBA this year. I do think the Cavs are perfectly capable of beating the Celtics and/or Lakers in a best-of-seven, but I'll feel a whole lot better going into either of those prospective series if the seventh game is in Cleveland.

How about those Cavaliers!

LeBron James has been named the NBA's Player of the Month for November, the eighth time he's won that award in his six-year career. More importantly, the Cavaliers are absolutely rolling, at 14-3 after winning four games in five nights by an average of 20 points each. Granted, all four games were against relatively weak teams, but still, winning four games in five days is never easy.

This very well might be the best team the Cavaliers have put on the floor in the team's 37-year history. The difference from last year is Mo Williams, who is putting up 15.7 a game, with 4.6 assists against 2.2 turnovers. Delonte West and Wally Szczqzxzerbiak have had some time to get settled in after last year's midseason trade, and 33-year-old Zydrunas Ilgauskas is quietly having a fine year, in his 11th NBA season, all as a Cav. Z is averaging 15.6 a game in just 26.6 minutes, and if he keeps that up all year (I know, there's still a long way to go, but bear with me), that would be his highest scoring output in three years.

The Cavs have the Knicks at home tomorrow night. They should win by a couple of dozen.

Ken Dorsey to the rescue

I haven't had a chance until now to post anything about the Browns' embarrassing loss Sunday to the Colts. I'm sure you all saw it. The defense was phenomenal, holding Peyton Manning's high-powered offense to three points -- they made plays and forced key turnovers, and if you can't win when you hold the Colts' offense to three points, you're not going to win very much. The offense, of course, was abysmal, putting up just six points and giving up seven, on Derek Anderson's fumble that was returned for a touchdown.

And now Anderson's out for the year, joining Brady Quinn in that status. We all know how Anderson went to the Pro Bowl last year and opened the season as the starter, and played as badly all year as he played Sunday. So third-stringer Ken Dorsey, who went 0-for-3 Sunday in desperation time, is left to play out the string. Former Kent State quarterback Josh Cribbs becomes the backup, which is very interesting -- that could mean that if Dorsey should go down, our quarterback could be the guy who returns kickoffs. I'm guessing he'd be relieved of that duty in that event, which would be a shame because he's one of the best special teamers in the league, if not THE best.

Romeo Crennel has declared Quinn the starter for 2009, which is an interesting decree by someone who's going to be a defensive coordinator in some city other than Cleveland next year. Crennel is reportedly out unless the team has a miracle finish, and probably rightly so. He's a good guy, and he knows his football, but this is a very talented team that's 4-8.

In an interesting side note, Romeo's old buddy Charlie Weis is also on the hot seat at Notre Dame. They were both highly hyped as Bill Belichick's top assistants in New England, and they have both largely failed in their first head coaching jobs. Belichick did too, of course, but Belichick wasn't in his 50s when he got his first top job.

One more thing: The Browns are STILL the only team to have beaten the Giants this year. If the Fighting Plaxicos win out and then take the Super Bowl title again, our Brownies will have been the only thing standing between them and joining the '72 Dolphins. And they're 4-8, and likely to finish about 5-11. Freaky.