The 10 greatest quarterbacks ever

I've heard talk of Brett Favre, who announced his retirement yesterday, being the greatest quarterback of all time. And he's got a pretty strong case. He owns the following NFL records:

• 253 straight starts at quarterback (every game since Dec. 20, 1992!)
  
• 5,377 completions
• 61,655 passing yards
• 442 passing touchdowns
• 160 wins as a starting quarterback
• 3 MVP awards.

That's an impressive list, no matter how you slice it. But is he really the greatest? I'm inclined to say it's still Joe Montana, but I might be mis-evaluating Favre because he JUST retired, and therefore, I don't have the benefit of historical perspective.

But just for fun, here's my list of the 10 greatest quarterbacks of all time:

1. Joe Montana: He was a career 63.2% passer, won four Super Bowls for the 49ers, and was once the all-time leader in quarterback rating. Incidentally, he's now sixth on that list, and Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger are among the names ahead of his. Warner was sensational for a while, but only for a pretty short time, and Roethlisberger has only played four years.

2. Otto Graham: I'll grant you that I might be looking at this through orange-and-brown-colored glasses, but Graham led the Browns to championship games every one of the 10 years he played, and they won seven of those games. Four of those titles were in the AAFC, but they still went to the NFL championship game six straight years and won three NFL titles. In Graham's day, quarterbacks simply didn't put up the numbers they do now because the running game was still paramount. But Graham led his league in passing yards five times, touchdowns three times, and passer rating four times. When he retired, he was the all-time leader in passer rating, passing yards, passing touchdowns and probably a lot of other categories.

3. John Elway: I don't want to talk about John Elway. But we Browns fans know how great he was.

4. Johnny Unitas: The man with a crew-cut you could set your watch to (according to Grandpa Simpson) won three NFL titles and one Super Bowl, and when he retired in 1973, he was the all-time leader in pass completions, passing yards and touchdown passes.

5. Brett Favre: See above. I might point out that he only won one Super Bowl, losing another to Elway's Broncos. But in fairness, there were 30 to 32 teams for most of his career, which makes it a lot tougher to win titles.

6. Dan Marino: The greatest QB who never won a championship. Most of the records Favre broke were Marino's. His Dolphins lost the only Super Bowl he played in to Montana's 49ers, in just Marino's second season. He's still second on the all-time passing yards list, just 294 yards (which was about three quarters' worth for him) behind Favre, and almost 10,000 ahead of Elway, who's third.

7. Fran Tarkenton: The second-greatest quarterback who never won a Super Bowl. Tarkenton's Vikings got there three times (they played in four during his career, but Tark was with the Giants for one of them), but they lost every one of them. He passed for more than 47,000 career yards, and is still fourth on the all-time list of rushing yards by a quarterback. And he was one of the hosts of "That's Incredible!" You've got to give him that.

8. Steve Young: He'd probably be higher on this list if he hadn't been Montana's backup for so many years. When he finally became the starter in 1991, he started putting up some eye-popping numbers. His completion percentages from '91 through '97: 66.7, 68.0, 70.3, 66.9, 67.7 and 67.7. He led the league in that category all those years but '92. He's just 21st on the career passing yards list, but No. 1 in passer rating. And he's No. 2 in the career rushing-yards-by-quarterback list. (Randall Cunningham's first, if you're wondering. No. 3 is some dog abuser from Atlanta.)

9. Peyton Manning: He's only 31, so he'll move up this list, but he's already ninth all-time in passing yards, fourth in passing touchdowns, second in passer rating, and eighth in wins by a starting quarterback. And he's first all-time in passing yards per game (260.1). Ironically, in 10 years, we might not even think of him as the greatest quarterback in his family.

10. Warren Moon: Despite not coming to the NFL until he was 28, after starting his career in the Canadian Football League, Moon is fourth on the all-time passing yards list, sixth in passing touchdowns and ninth in wins by a starting quarterback. His Houston Oilers never reached the Super Bowl, but his Edmonton Eskimos won five consecutive Grey Cups, and that sure counts for something.

Many of you will disagree with me, I'm sure, and I hope some of you will post comments to that effect. I also hope we can disagree respectfully; I didn't exclude your favorite quarterback for personal reasons or because I'm stupid. I know how these things can incite passions in people.

LeBron for MVP?

Happy primary election day, Ohioans! Don't forget to vote! Though, I suppose if you need a sports blog to remind you to vote, I'm not sure if I want you to cast a ballot.

Anyway, on this somewhat Super Tuesday, "SportsCenter" last night/this morning asked various observers whether the MVP of the NBA is our LeBron James or the Lakers' Kobe Bryant. And the consensus seemed to be in favor of the one who's not from Ohio. That seems to be the nationwide consensus too, according to an espn.com poll -- Kobe got 75 percent of the vote, and LeBron only carried two states, Ohio and Rhode Island. Why Rhode Island? No idea.

It must be noted that the poll did not ask who is the MVP, but who is the best player, and that's not the same thing. But I'm sure most people would vote the same way.

I suspect much of this has to do with the fact that Kobe's the established superstar, and while he's been considered the best, or at least one of the two or three best, in the game for several years, he's never won an MVP. But who can see into the hearts of Kobe voters?

The Cavaliers are 34-20 when LeBron plays, 0-6 when he doesn't. But Kobe hasn't missed a game all year, and the Lakers are 42-18. To be fair, you have to give Kobe a little extra credit for not missing any games, even though it's not LeBron's fault he was hurt.

I still think LeBron's the guy, mostly because of the way he takes over games in the fourth quarter and seems to get wins singlehandedly. But I can't pretend to be unbiased, and I've obviously seen a whole lot more of LeBron than I have of Kobe. Anyway, it doesn't matter what I think, because I don't have a vote.

Today in sports history -- Knute Rockne

On this date 120 years ago, Knute Rockne, All-American, was born in Voss, Norway; he and his family moved to Chicago when he was but a wee lad. He is regarded as one of the greatest football coaches of all time, thanks to his innovative work at Notre Dame between 1918 and 1930, before his premature death in a plane crash on March 31, 1931. His career record at Notre Dame was 105-12-6, and he won six national championships in those 13 seasons, establishing the Fighting Irish (and whenever I think of this team name, I imagine an Irishman with his fists up, spitting out, "What did ya say about me mother?") as the preeminent national football power -- which they have remained throughout most of college football history.

Rockne's most famous moment is probably the "Gipper" speech, which he made to inspire his charges to victory using something former Notre Dame player George Gipp supposedly said to him on his deathbed at age 25, climaxing with "Win just one for the Gipper." Since there is no audio tape of Gipp's death, we'll never know for absolutely sure whether he said that, but most observers believe he didn't (though it provided a memorable movie moment for a certain future politician). Rockne almost certainly made the whole thing up. I can only wonder how Gipp would have felt about his death being used in that manner.

Would you rather be president or LeBron?

On Fox 8 news this morning, a clip was shown in which a reporter asks LeBron James what he thinks of a recent statement by Barack Obama that he'd rather be LeBron than president. I can't find any mention of it online, but regardless, it gives you some idea just how big this Cleveland athlete is.

And he showed why he's a leading MVP candidate again yesterday, dominating the fourth quarter in what became a 95-86 win against the Chicago Bulls. Starting with the game tied at 83 and 3:10 to go,
LeBron scored the next six points, including one of his patented spectacular, unbelievable, split-the-defense dunks.

LeBron wound up with 37 points, which is certainly an MVP-caliber performance. Kobe Bryant outdid him yesterday, though, going for 52 in an overtime win. But whatever; LeBron seems to genuinely care more about winning than any individual accolades, and we won, so that's the important thing.

Today in sports history -- Larry Doby

Ten years ago today, Indians great Larry Doby was named to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. Doby was the American League's first black player, debuting a couple of months after Jackie Robinson in 1947. And he certainly had a tough time of it too, as documented in the excellent 2007 Showtime documentary "Pride Against Prejudice: The Larry Doby Story."

Doby made seven straight All-Star teams (1949 to 1955), and he had remarkably consistent seasons during that period. His first truly great year was 1950, when he hit .326 with 25 home runs and 102 RBIs, and he led the AL with a .442 on-base percentage and a .986 OPS. He finished eighth in the MVP voting that year, at age 26.

He also led the league in home runs, runs scored and slugging in 1952; and home runs and RBIs for that great 1954 team that won 111 games. Doby finished second in the MVP voting in '54, behind Yogi Berra. And he hit a pinch-hit home run in the All-Star game that year, in front of his own home fans at Cleveland Stadium.

He finished his career with 1,515 hits, 253 homers and 970 RBIs. If he hadn't been a trail blazer, would he have gotten into the Hall of Fame? Probably not. Doby was only a truly great player for about six years; most Hall of Famers were great for at least a decade. It took him nearly 40 years after his retirement to get in as it is, and the Veterans Committee undoubtedly gave him extra credit for being the AL's first black player -- as well it should have, in my opinion.

In 1997, when Robinson's No. 42 was retired throughout the major leagues, Doby was virtually ignored, despite having suffered many of the same indignities Robinson did. But the All-Star game was at Cleveland's Jacobs Field that year, and Doby was given the honor of throwing out the first pitch. Maybe that attention helped get him into the Hall the next year. I'm glad it happened when he was still alive to enjoy it (he died in 2003).

Browns stay busy

It appears the Browns have given newly re-signed quarterback Derek Anderson a new target to throw to. Donte' Stallworth, to whom the Patriots declined to give $8 million to play next year, is on board for seven years. Seven years! The deal is worth $35 million, with $10 million of it guaranteed.

It's amazing how these numbers get thrown around in sports these days. But anyway ...

Stallworth, 27, is a six-year veteran, and the Browns will be his fourth team. He caught 46 passes for 697 yards last year as the Patriots' third wide receiver, behind Randy Moss and Wes Welker. His best year was 2005 with the Saints, when he caught 70 balls for 945 yards.

He'll presumably start for the Browns, opposite Pro Bowler Braylon Edwards; and along with Pro Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., this gives us one hum-dinger of a receiver corps.

And not only does this make the Browns better, it makes the Patriots worse. So that's another reason to like it.

Stallworth, it must be said, is a bit of a wild card. He's had some injury problems, specifically hamstring trouble. And he's got a Martian alter-ego named Nicco. I know what you're thinking, your faithful correspondent is having a laugh with you. If only! Read this post if you don't believe me. Stallworth actually blamed this Nicco character for being caught from behind in this past season's playoff game against the Jaguars. I can only hope he was having a laugh, but whatever. If he catches passes and scores touchdowns, he can have as many alien friends as he wants.

Remember Pat Tabler, Tribe fans?

Pat Tabler, the greatest bases-loaded hitter I ever saw, has a son named Troy who's a freshman at Wright State University, and plays basketball for the Raiders.

Troy Tabler, a 6-foot-3 guard, is playing 15.8 minutes a game off the bench, averaging 5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1 assist a game.

His dad, in a 12-year career with the Cubs, Indians, Royals, Mets and Blue Jays, hit just .282 for his career. But with the bases loaded, he turned into Willie Mays, Ted Williams and Ty Cobb all rolled into one, hitting .489 (43 for 88), with 108 RBIs. Who knows why? He just had a knack for it, I guess.

RedHawks icers conclude regular season

Miami (Ohio)'s hockey team completed a five-game season sweep over Ohio State (of which school I'm a fan in every sport but hockey) last night in Oxford to finish its regular season at 29-6-1, second in the CCHA, behind Michigan. The RedHawks were ranked No. 1 at one point, but after a tie and a loss against Michigan (which school I root against in every sport, including hockey), followed by an inexplicable 0-2 weekend against Ferris State, they fell to No. 5, which is where they've been the last few weeks.

They finished strong, though, winning their last four, and will host a three-game series starting March 14 in the second round of the CCHA playoffs. And Miami's a lock for the NCAA tournament, where we'll likely get a No. 2 seed. So let's hope that little blip is behind us. I mean, come on. Ferris State?

Today in sports history

Twenty years ago today, Wayne Gretzky, in his last season with the Edmonton Oilers, got his 1,050th career assist, which put him past Gordie Howe to become the NHL's all-time leader in that department.

Since then, six other players have passed Howe, but with 1,963 assists, Gretzky retains a huge lead over second-place Ron Francis, who has 1,249.

I wrote more about Gretzky here. He was one of a kind.

Looking good (against a bad team)

The Cavaliers took care of business at home last night against the Timberwolves, who have won exactly two games on the road this year. The final score was 92-84, but the Cavs were up 15 with 1:04 left, before Mike Brown put in the scrubs. On the other hand, the Cavs were only up four with four minutes left, and they were losing briefly at one point in the third quarter. You'd like to see a better effort against a 12-45 team.

But hey, a win's a win. And Mr. LeBron had one of those unbelievable plays for which he's become legendary. Damon Jones was dribbling down the key and looked like he might try for a contested layup, but he saw LeBron out of the corner of his eye, at the top right corner of the key. LeBron was at least 20 feet away from the bucket when Jones let go of the ball, but he went right to the hole and completed the alley-oop. I don't think my description really does it justice, but trust me, it was cool. LeBron finished with 30 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who's still recovering from his upper respiratory infection from the other day, didn't do a whole lot offensively (10 points), but came up huge on defense, with four blocks. All five starters played well, in fact.

The Cavs were without Wally Szczxzqzerbiak, who was with his wife as she is close to giving birth to their third child. Maybe he'll find his shot while he's gone, and I mean that respectfully.

Browns get better

The Browns made nice moves on both sides of the ball yesterday, signing QB Derek Anderson to a three-year, $24 million contract. Anderson became a free agent at 12:01 a.m. Friday, and reportedly had a deal worked out by 5 a.m. My assumption is that Phil Savage went out and got drunk Thursday night with Anderson's agents, and when the bars closed at 2, they went to Savage's place and sat in the hot tub for a while, drinking champagne and arguing about politics. Finally, at 5, Savage said, "OK, I'm going to bed, but first, let's talk contract. How about $24 million?"

That might not be what happened, but you can't prove it's not.

In all seriousness, this is a darned good thing. Along with the recent signing of Jamal Lewis, this means the same pieces are in place that ran the Browns' efficient offense last year. And if Anderson should falter, Brady Quinn's waiting in the wings.

And Savage improved the defense yesterday too, getting defensive tackle Corey Williams from the Packers for a second-round draft pick, then signed him to a six-year contract. Williams, whose middle name is Dornail (no lie), is 27, and tied a career high with seven sacks last year. Savage has also reportedly finalized a deal with the Lions for D-lineman Shaun Rogers for Leigh Bodden and a third-round pick. That pass pressure should take a lot of pressure off the defensive secondary.

End Zone View reports that free agent wide receiver Donte Stallworth will soon visit Cleveland as well. Die Hard Cleveland takes a more in-depth look at Friday's dealings, noting that the Browns are now without a draft pick until the fourth round next year.

There are some differing opinions on the Anderson deal. The Plain Dealer's Bill Livingston still thinks Quinn is the future. That could be, but Anderson's the guy until he proves he's not.

And the Tribe takes the field

The Indians played their first spring training game yesterday (it sure feels good to say that), trouncing the Houston Astros 12-2. I know we're not supposed to care about the score in spring training, but a 12-2 win is a lot better sign than a 12-2 loss.

Eric Wedge used nine pitchers and 18 position players in that game, so it's hard to pick out any individual performances to mention. So I won't bother. But I'm glad there are baseball games again. Summer can't be far behind.

Here's a nice piece on ESPN.com about some players we thought were done, but are in spring training this year, leading with Northeast Ohio native and former Indian Brian Anderson, who has already started his broadcasting career, doing a few Tribe games last year on Sports Time Ohio. The 35-year-old hasn't pitched in a major-league game since 2005, with Kansas City, due to elbow problems. He's in the Tampa Bay Rays' camp, and I'm rooting for him.

Today in sports history

Happy 40th birthday, retired NBA forward Chucky Brown.

Chucky was a second-round pick of the Cavaliers in 1989 out of North Carolina State, and had two decent years in Cleveland before being waived in 1991. After that, he played for the Lakers, Nets, Mavericks, Rockets, Suns, Bucks, Hawks, Hornets, Spurs, Warriors, Cavs again, and finally the Kings. He played for 12 NBA teams, setting a record he now shares with Tony Massenburg and Ohio State's Jim Jackson, also a former Cavalier.

Chucky has coached in the D-League with the Roanoke Dazzle and the Los Angeles D-Fenders. (D-Fenders? Is that where we've gotten with team names? Yeesh.)

He played in 694 NBA games, 265 of which he started, and averaged 5.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. And he is easily my favorite player named Chucky.

For some reason, there only seem to be about a quarter as many events and birthdays to choose from on February 29 as there are on other dates. I think Congress should do something about that.

Today in sports history

Happy 35th birthday, retired hockey superstar Eric Lindros.

Lindros, taken by the Quebec Nordiques (R.I.P.) as the first overall pick in the 1991 NHL draft, played 13 years in the league, but he never quite lived up to his potential, due in large part to repeated injuries.

As a junior hockey player from London, Ontario, Lindros was nicknamed "The Next One," implying that he could be as good as Wayne Gretzky, a.k.a. "The Great One." That kind of nickname is unfair to any young player; nobody can be expected, in his late teens, to eventually be as good as the greatest player in the history of his sport.

Lindros refused to play for the Nordiques, who traded him to Philadelphia, and he wore No. 88 for the Flyers from 1992 to 2000. The Nordiques, who became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995, made out pretty well in the deal. Among the pieces they got were Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Chris Simon and a first-round pick they used to select Jocelyn Thibault. Those are all names even I recognize, even though I barely follow the NHL. The Avalanche went on to win eight division titles and two Stanley Cup championships with those players.

The Flyers, with Lindros as their leading playmaker, would reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1997, losing to the Red Wings. After that, the injuries started taking their toll. Lindros had his first concussion in 1998, followed by a collapsed lung that was initially misdiagnosed as a rib injury. A trainer reported the injury to team officials, who told him to put Lindros on a plane to Philadelphia (the team was in Nashville at the time). The trainer thought better of it and took him to a local hospital, where it was discovered he'd lost nearly half his blood. That trainer probably saved his life.

Lindros publicly criticized team doctors (and I can't say I blame him), and his relationship with Flyers management deteriorated from there. He sat out the 2000-01 season in an attempt to force a trade, which he eventually got before the 01-02 season. He spent the next three years with the New York Rangers, then one year each with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars. He struggled with various injuries throughout his last three seasons, and announced his retirement Nov. 8, 2007. Three days later, the NHL Players' Association named him to the newly created position of ombudsman.

This blogger suspects "he'll be known as the guy who had about 50 concussions and a collapsed lung. In a league full of indestructible robots, Lindros had the misfortune of actually getting hurt. That'll do ya in."

Moral victory?

You know, the Cavaliers were down nine after one period tonight against the Celtics, and they only lost by five. And for a short time, it looked like LeBron might be seriously hurt. But he came back, and he scored his 10,000th career point on a spectacular left-handed dunk. He's now the youngest player in NBA history to score 10,000 points. But the bottom line is, it goes under "L" in the standings.

I usually gush about LeBron on this blog, and I still believe he's the best player in the game today. But it seems like every time he stubs his toe or bumps his elbow, it looks like the worst injury in the world. He writhes on the ground and grimaces in pain. And then he gets up and finishes the game. I don't know if he's a drama queen or what, but it's getting a bit old. That said, I'm still enormously glad he's on my team, and I hope he stays on it.

Delonte West had his best game as a Cavalier so far (out of three, but still), with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting. And he had a plus/minus of +6. He's a former Celtic, and had a good game against the Celtics earlier this year, while with the Sonics. Let's hope he can keep it going.

Mike Brown put on quite a show too -- getting thrown out of an NBA game for the first time, late in the third quarter. He didn't like a foul called against LeBron. I honestly wasn't watching the play, so I can't say whether he was right or wrong, but I've never seen him that animated.

I don't have much else to say about this game. When we fell behind in the first quarter, I decided to do some reading and didn't pay very close attention. What can I say? I'm human.

Bill Needle!

Longtime Cleveland sportscaster Bill Needle appeared on "Jeopardy!" Monday, and he did OK, even though he wound up finishing with no money. Needle, who is now the radio play-by-play voice of the Kent State Golden Flashes football and basketball teams, previously hosted a sports talk show on WKNR radio in Cleveland, and has also done pre-game work for FSN Ohio before Cavaliers and Indians games.

I am a regular Jeopardy watcher, though I don't often watch it the day it was broadcast. I saw Monday's show today, Wednesday, thanks to the miracle of digital video recording. But when the announcer introduced "A play-by-play announcer from Chagrin Falls, Ohio," I thought, hey, there's a chance I'll know who it is. And there he was! Bill Needle! In all the years I've watched Jeopardy, this is the first time, outside of celebrity week, that I've had prior knowledge of one of the contestants.

During the "meet the contestants" portion of the program, Alex asked Bill, "In your best play-by-play-announcer voice, sum up the first part of the game for the audience." Bill deepened his voice a bit, smiled and said, "Well, Alex I think on the Double Jeopardy, I will do better than I might have done on Single Jeopardy." That turned out not to be the case, but Bill had $9,200 going into Final Jeopardy. Unfortunately, the defending champion, a very bright stay-at-home mom from Dana Point, Calif., named Aileen Hawkins, had an insurmountable lead. Bill bet it all and got it wrong.

For those who may wonder, the category was biblical places, and the clue was: In "Return of the Jedi," a planet shares its name with this home of a woman who summons a spirit for Saul.

I had no idea, even though that's the one Star Wars movie I saw when I was old enough to remember some of it. Bill apparently had no idea either, guessing Esther. The other challenger, a legal writer from Arizona named Beth Holliday, guessed Tattooine. Aileen's answer: What is Endor? And she was right. She's a tough champion.

Bill appeared cheerful enough at the end, as he went to shake Aileen's hand, and later, chatting with Alex. I'm sure he had a good time.

Today in sports history

Happy 40th birthday, Canadian-born journeyman major league outfielder Matt Stairs.

The stubby little Stairs (listed at 5'9", 175 pounds), grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and was a standout in both hockey and baseball. He chose baseball, obviously, and the Montreal Expos (R.I.P.) drafted him as a pitcher/shortstop. He made his major league debut in 1992, but played in just 19 games for the Expos in '92 and '93 before going to Japan, playing one season for the Chunichi Dragons.

After a season with the Red Sox, Stairs started to blossom in Oakland, where he spent five years, topping 100 RBIs twice, and hitting 38 home runs in 1999, finishing 17th in the American League MVP voting that year. Stairs was kind of a late bloomer, having his best season at 31. Most hitters peak around age 27, but Stairs didn't even get to play regularly in the majors until he was 29.

Sensing that Stairs might be in for a budget-busting contract, A's GM Billy Beane traded him after the 2000 season to the Cubs for Matt Ireland. (Who? Exactly.) After that, he spent one year with the Cubs, one year with the Brewers, one year with the Pirates, and two-plus years with the Royals. Just to make sure he didn't get comfortable, the Rangers made a deadline deal for him in 2006, then waived him that September after he'd hit just .210 for them in 26 games. The Tigers picked him up, and he filled in for 14 games before signing with the Toronto Blue Jays, his 10th major league team (11th if you count Japan).

He had a decent 2007 for the Blue Jays at age 39, hitting .289 with 21 homers and 64 RBIs. He is signed through 2009. Perhaps he'll finish his career in his home country, just as he started it there.

Give Redd credit

Michael Redd hit a clutch 3-pointer at the buzzer to carry the Bucks to a 105-102 win over the Cavaliers Tuesday night. He hit it with Wally Szczerbiak's hand in his face; Szczerbiak had to be careful, so as not to allow Redd to break the tie from the foul line, but he still definitely contested the shot.

Redd's dagger followed LeBron's layup with 5.9 seconds left, capping a furious Cavs comeback that was made possible, in part, by Redd himself missing a free throw in the closing minute. It looked like the game was destined for overtime. But James left too much time on the clock. Even so, we figured to have an extra five minutes, with Redd jacking up a prayer at the buzzer. But it went in.

Interestingly, the first and last buckets of the game were both pretty darned improbable. The first, in fact, was far more improbable than the last. Anderson Varejao, playing in his first game in a month, due to an ankle sprain, started in place of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had an upper respiratory infection and watched the game from a Milwaukee hotel room. And Varejao's the one who scored the first hoop. So right there, you're looking at fairly long odds. But the way it happened was beyond the normal limits of probability.

Varejao got the ball at the lower left corner of the key, and with his back to the basket, tried to make a pretty pass to Delonte West, who was cutting under the hoop. The Bucks' Mo Williams got a hand on the ball, however -- and batted it right into the basket from about four feet away. And the Cavs were up 2-0.

Z was obviously missed, and Varejao was not in any kind of shape to pick up the slack for him. I don't know many people who would be in great shape after missing a month, though. Andy finished with six points, six rebounds and five personal fouls.

The top two new guys both played worse than they did in their first game as Cavaliers, though neither was really bad. Ben Wallace got 11 rebounds, but did basically nothing else; and Wally Szczerbiak scored 13 points, but on 5-of-18 shooting. He seemed not to see a single shot he didn't like, and there were plenty of shots he shouldn't have liked.

Joe Smith had a decent game, with 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench. And Delonte West did OK too; he had just seven points, but with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Mr. James was his usual MVP-candidate self, with 35 points, though he recorded just four rebounds and six assists. Somehow, it seems like an off-night if he doesn't at least threaten to get a triple-double. But that just shows you how spoiled we are when it comes to LeBron. He did get the Cavs' only blocked shot of the game, though he blocked it right into the hands of the Bucks, who scored anyway.

I think it's pretty clear that if Z had been healthy, we'd have won this game. We had almost no low-post presence on the offensive end. Mike Brown has said repeatedly that the Cavs are a "no-excuses team," but that means they can't make excuses for themselves -- it doesn't bar me from making excuses for them.

Also, we have to remember that we have four key players who have now played exactly two games with the rest of the team. Take away the second-most-important holdover, and you can't be that surprised to lose, even to a pretty bad Milwaukee team.

We've got the Boston Celtics tomorrow night, in Massachusetts. I'll be shocked if we pull that one out. But when you've got a LeBron James, you just never know.

Today in sports history

Happy 40th birthday, longtime major league first baseman Jack Thomas Snow Jr., aka J.T. Snow.

J.T., the son of former NFL wide receiver Jack Snow, was drafted by the Yankees in 1989 after three years at Arizona, and broke into the majors with that hated franchise in 1992. He was then traded to the Angels (with two other players) for Jim Abbott, and played four years in Anaheim. The Angels dealt him to the Giants for two players you've never heard of, Allen Watson and Fausto Macey.

Snow played nine years in San Francisco, and he had some good years there, even finishing 26th in the MVP voting in 1997. He then finished up with a rough partial season with the Red Sox in 2006. He played in 1,715 games, and never played a defensive position other than first base. A career .268 hitter, he finished with 1,509 hits, 189 home runs and 877 RBIs.

He was a rare animal, a slick-fielding, light-hitting first baseman. He won Gold Gloves in six straight years, 1995 to 2000. And he did once lead the league in an offensive category -- sacrifice flies, with 14 in 2000.

Baseball fans will never forget how Snow may have saved 3-year-old Darren Baker, son of manager Dusty Baker, from injury during Game 5 of the 2002 World Series. Darren was toiling as a bat boy, and on Kenny Lofton's triple that scored Snow, the little guy ran out onto the field to collect Lofton's bat before the play had concluded. Snow picked him up by his jacket and carried him off to safety. The look on Dusty's face was priceless. He was mortified.

Today in sports history

On this date 75 years ago, Tom Yawkey bought the Boston Red Sox. Yawkey was the sole owner of the Red Sox for 43 years, until his death in 1976. It was the longest anyone has been the sole owner of a team in major-league history.

In those 43 years?

World Series titles: Zero.

American League pennants: Three (1946, 1967 and 1975; they lost the World Series in seven games each time).

Racial record: Abysmal. The Red Sox didn't have a single black player until 1959, three years after Jackie Robinson retired.

Regardless, Yawkey was elected to the Hall of Fame posthumously in 1980, and Yawkey Way, on which Fenway Park is situated, is named for him. He was a popular man, and he served as American League vice president for 17 years. He willed a chain of islands off South Carolina to the U.S. Department of Natural Resources, and it's now known as the Yawkey Heritage Preserve.

Incidentally, Yawkey paid $1.2 million for the Red Sox in 1933, during the Depression. I've been unable to find a figure for how much the Crimson Hose's current owner, John Henry, paid for the club, but he previously owned the much-lesser-valued Florida Marlins, for which he forked over $158 million. So that gives us some idea where inflation, economic expansion and TV revenue have gotten us.