The Cavs Bore Me 'Cause the NBA Blows

Okay, I give up. I try to blog about the Cavs, but I sound like more of a jackass than usual when I do. There's a simple reason for that-- most of the time, the team just bores me so much that it's harder for me to feign interest in them than it is for my wife to feign interest in me.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Cavs, but of the three local teams, they're the team that I care the least about. Why? Because they're part of the NBA, and the NBA just blows.

Here's the latest example: the Cavs are now touting Wi-Fi access at Quicken Loans Arena. Whoopie! Now die-hard fans will be able to concentrate even more on their corporate dealmaking without the bothersome distraction of watching a basketball game.

Of course, most NBA games are so boring, predictable and just plain awful that you can understand why somebody who drew the short straw and had to sit through one in person might want to surf the net instead of watch a parade of intensely unlikeable egomaniacs like Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and everyone ever affiliated with the Detroit Pistons slog their way through glorified pick-up games every night.

The NBA is a league run by corporate lawyers for the benefit of shoe companies. Everything from player dress codes to wireless access is designed to cater to people who don't really give a damn about the teams involved or the outcome of the game. What's worse, the NBA isn't content to just screw up its own product, it has managed to ruin college basketball as well--and let's not even mention how the NBA's most recent Dream Team performed at the last Olympics.

Absolutely devoid of anything interesting to show us on the court, the NBA has decided that it will instead dazzle those in attendance with ridiculous sound and light displays during player introductions, non-stop floor shows at every single break in the action and other antics designed to distract fans from the abysmal quality of the games.

So, while I hope the Cavs make the playoffs and eventually win a title, don't look for me to set any cars on fire during the post-title rioting. Oh, sure, I might do a little looting, but I'll save the real mayhem for a Super Bowl or World Series victory.

Draft and Free Agency News

Some interesting Browns-related reports today. According to this article in the Cowopolis Dispatch, the Browns spent a lot of time at the Combine with RBs DeAngelo Williams of Memphis and Laurence Maroney of Minnesota. Based upon his published comments, Savage seems to have been particularly impressed with Maroney.

Interestingly, while Savage spent time interviewing running backs, one guy he didn't interview, according to this article in today's Plain Dealer, was Chad Greenway, the Iowa LB who has emerged as the consensus favorite among mock drafters to be the Browns first round pick. Of course, as Savage hastens to point out, the Browns didn't interview Braylon Edwards during last year's combine either.

Steve Doerschuk's team report in The Sporting News highlights some guys on the Browns' free agency priority list. Assuming the collective bargaining situation doesn't screw things up, the Browns have enough cap room to make a big difference next year if they choose their free agents well. Of course, there's more than a minimal risk that the impasse with the players union will screw things up, and since the Browns are one of the teams in a position to benefit most from free agency, well, you know how stories like this usually end, right?

Anyway, assuming there is an active free agent market this year, Doershuck notes that one of the guys on the Browns' shopping list may be Ravens' NT Maake Kemoeatu. Kemoeatu is listed at 6'5" and 350 lbs. (yeah, right), and a decision to go after him may reflect the team's belief that Haloti Ngata won't be there when it's the Browns' turn to pick. On the other hand, Kemoeatu may represent a less risky alternative to taking Ngata with the first pick. Risky? Here's a history lesson from a Buffalo Bills fan site about the perils of selecting a DT early in the first round.

One guy the Browns apparently won't have to replace in free agency is Orpheus Roye. Tony Grossi is reporting that the Browns came to terms on a new deal with Roye today.

Celebrity Bloggers

AlthoughTressel's World is the Internet's best blog, Coach Tressel is by no means the only celebrity blogger. For example, Cleveland's beloved weather icon Dick Goddard has a blog that has a lot in common with Coach Tressel's, including a love of Adobe Photoshop.

Looking beyond Ohio, other celebrity bloggers include Mel Gibson, and some guy who is a real Ninja. Former Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers was a blogger-- and so is the guy who got the job she sought, United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. President Bush has not one, but two blogs. In fact, other world leaders have blogs, including Kim Jong Il of North Korea. Vice President Cheney tried blogging, but soon became frustrated.

Last, but certainly not least, God has blogs here and here and here and here.

Lee Nailon and Stephen Graham: Follow the Bouncing Players

Okay, time for some NBA musical chairs. On Thursday, the Cavs acquired forward Lee Nailon from the Philadelphia 76ers. They got Philly's second round pick, and sent a conditional second round pick to the 76ers in exchange. Are you with me so far? Good. Here's where things get interesting.

In order to make room on their roster for Nailon, they waived Stephen Graham (see the last paragraph of this story), whom they previously had been signed to a second 10-day contract on Monday. Then, yesterday, the Cavs waived Nailon, and re-signed Graham for the remainder of the season.

Why did they go through these gyrations? Everyone knew money was a factor in the deal, but it turns out that the entire transaction was motivated by the 76ers' desire to reduce their payroll and avoid issues under the NBA's luxury tax system. In light of the Cavs' decision to cut Nailon loose right away, my guess is that the condition in the conditional pick wasn't Nailon's playing time with the Cavs, but where the two teams finish the regular season. If the Sixers finish with a better record than the Cavaliers, they probably get nothing. On the other hand, as this article points out, by sending him to the Cavs, the Sixers avoid having Nailon's $835,000 salary count against the team's tax threshold of $61.7 million.

None of this high-finance helped the Cavs last night, as they went down in flames to the Wizards, 102-94.

Nailon hasn't played since he was arrested in January for allegedly smacking around his wife. I'm sure that's all just a terrible misunderstanding, but his release now frees Nailon to devote all of his efforts to clearing his name. If he has time, perhaps he can join O.J. in the hunt for the real killers.

Winston Justice

Any team with needs to address on the offensive line has to give some consideration to USC Tackle Winston Justice, and he's been mentioned more than a few times as a possible first round selection for the Browns. Justice is another guy with huge upside potential, but he is also regarded as being pretty raw. He only started playing football during his sophomore year at Long Beach Poly High School. Justice learned fast during his tenure with the Jackrabbits, and had matured enough as a player to start 12 games during his freshman year with the Trojans.

At 6'6" and 300 lbs., Justice is a bit undersized for the Tackle position by NFL standards. He played Right Tackle at USC, but bear in mind that Leinart is left handed, so he's done backside protection his entire college career. He also suffered from missing the entire 2004 season, for reasons I'll tell you about in a second, and supposedly looked bad at times last season.

Still, the biggest issues with Justice aren't on the field, but off. Justice was suspended for the entire 2004 season after pleading no contest to charges arising out of brandishing what turned out to be a pellet gun during a dispute with another student. This came on the heels of another no contest plea to a misdemeanor count of solicitation of prostitution. These aren't particularly heinous crimes by NFL standards, but if the Browns are thinking seriously about Justice, they better make sure they do their homework on these issues.

Cavs' Deadline Deals

The Cavs made some moves before the deadline, picking up Guard Flip Murray from the Sonics in exchange for Mike Wilks and cash. The team also picked up former Cav Lee Nailon and a second round pick from the 76ers, who got the Cavs' 2006 second round pick in exchange.

Brian Windhorst likes the deals, and from a fan's perspective, they're certainly easier to swallow than last year's Jiri Welsch fiasco. The deals aren't blockbusters, but they improve the team by adding depth where it was needed without mortgaging the future. You can't rule out a second half collapse by any Cleveland team in any sport, but these trades certainly seem to make what happened last season less likely.

Now, on that modestly positive note, I'll point you to a couple of different perspectives on the rest of the Cavs' season. God Hates Cleveland Sports says the glass is most definitely half empty, while Cleveland Sports Perspective says its half full. You guys go ahead and duke it out over the Cavs. I'll sit here and worry about whether the Browns might actually draft Davin Joseph.

Russ Lande's Mock Draft

CBS Sportsline.com's NFL draft analyst Russ Lande is getting a lot of attention for his QB position ratings, mostly because he rates Texas' Vince Young as the 6th best QB in this year's draft, behind the likes of Northwestern's Brent Basanez and Georgia's D.J. Shockley. The best take on this rating was supplied by Wesdaddy24, who left a comment on Deadspin.com's story about it to the effect that he was expecting to see Uncle Rico ranked on Lande's chart. I don't know about that, although I've heard that Uncle Rico was really something back in '82.

Anyway, Russ Lande has a mock draft that has the Browns drafting Oklahoma Guard Davin Joseph with the 12th pick. Absolutely nobody else has Joseph going that high in the draft. Most of the mock drafts that I've seen have Joseph as a late second round pick, although his stock is rising and Tampa Bay reportedly may have an interest in selecting him with their first round pick (#23). Joseph is a good prospect, but he spent his senior year playing out-of-position, due to the significant losses that Oklahoma experienced along the offensive line after the 2004 season. Based on what I've read, most people don't see him playing Tackle in the NFL, and if the Browns use that pick on an offensive lineman, I'd like to see them take a Tackle.

Lande was a college scout for the Browns during the Davis regime, and also spent some time with the Rams. His GM Jr. draft book is published annually, and I guess he's as respected as any of the other talking heads when it comes to the draft. Nevertheless, it would surprise me if the Browns spent their first pick on Joseph.

On the other hand, I also have discovered that Lande's got some credibility when it comes to QBs--he had Tim Couch rated as only the 6th best quarterback in the 1999 draft based on his grading system and around the 50th best player overall. In hindsight, that was a pretty good call. So, while Lande's assessment of Vince Young's talent seems absurd, maybe teams that are thinking about Young ought to give Uncle Rico another look. Hey, you don't want to make the same mistake that Coach made back in '82.

Browns Update

Good articles in the Canton Repository and the News Herald over the last couple of days about the Browns' draft plans.

Steve Doerschuk's story in yesterday's Repository notes that Phil Savage has conceded more than a passing interest in selecting Oregon NT Haloti Ngata if he's still around when the Browns are on the clock. Doerschuk also has some insights from Savage on the Browns' priorities in free agency. In today's News Herald, Jeff Schudel writes about the combine and the draft analysis that the Browns are going through. In Schudel's piece, Savage pours some cold water on speculation that the team might select Vanderbilt QB Jay Cutler with its first round pick.

The Browns made a little of their own news today, when they released Kennard Lang and Michael Lehan. Here's the story from the Browns' website.

By the way, if you're interested on staying on top of local media coverage of the Browns' offseason moves, I highly recommend the Brownsbacker.com website. They do a great job compiling newspaper and internet stories on the Browns. (That's where I found the two articles I referenced in this post.)

Nice Story for a Dreary Day

On a day when the Cavs lost, the U.S. Olympic Hockey team went down in flames, and the stories about spring training just serve to remind you that the Tribe's in Florida, and you're not, I thought you might like this story from my old stomping grounds. It's about a waterboy for Greece-Athena high school in Rochester, New York--and no, his name isn't Bobby Boucher.

I guess I should've said former waterboy, because that's a more accurate description of him, after his coach decided to reward him for his dedication by putting him in uniform for the last game of his senior year. Of course, an even more accurate description of him now is the new holder of the school record for three pointers in a single game. Check out the kid's story here.

Update: The kid's story's going national in a big way. Check out the CBS News' video here.

Tribe TV

This post from Cleveland Scores suggests that the Indians are well on their way to screwing up their new television venture by trying to hold the cable companies hostage. I understand the need to maximize revenue streams, but if the Tribe thinks fans are going to blame the cable company if there are problems getting games on TV this season, they're mistaken.

Tribe TV is the Indians' baby, and everybody knows it. They were so enamored with the concept of their own network that they decided to walk away from FSN Ohio, which did a decent job of local coverage for the past several years. The network has the potential to be a bonanza for the Indians and local sports fans, but if Tribe TV doesn't work right, fans will blame the Indians.

Les Levine's Looking Forward to Hearing From Savage

I have always respected Les Levine. I think that he stands head and shoulders above the other Cleveland sports talkers in terms of credibility, and I know Vinny respects him as well. There's a reason you don't hear Les broadcasting during the morning or afternoon drive on the official mouthpieces of the local franchises--he has an annoying habit of telling the truth. That's why this post on his blog is encouraging to me. My perception of Phil Savage has been that he isn't going to blow smoke at us, and that seems to be Levine's perception of him as well. This informal meeting with the media should be interesting.

LeBron James: All Star MVP

Yes, I know LeBron was named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game. If you're excited about that meaningless feat, you're part of the problem that has plagued this town's sports teams for the last 42 years.

Let's be crystal clear about this--LeBron's award doesn't mean squat. Only championships mean a damn thing: not individual awards, not fantastic finishes, not inspirational performances, not moral victories, not local heroes, not nice media write ups --ONLY championships.

And Cleveland has none, for those of you keeping track.

Ricky Williams

About all I can say is: Jeezes, what an idiot!

Huh? No, I'm not talking about Ricky Williams, I'm talking about Mike Shanahan. How friggin' insane is this guy? Remember, Ricky Williams' alleged drug test screw-up was disclosed by the Denver media because Shanahan was thinking about trading for the guy. This comes on the heels of media reports that the Broncos are hot and heavy after Mr. "No 'I' in Team" himself, Terrell Owens.

Wow. No risk of a Boy Scout convention in the Mile High City this year, huh? Too bad Ricky flunked his drug test--he'd have been a great roomie for Gerard Warren.

Mike, I know it sticks in your craw that you haven't been back to the Super Bowl since Horseface retired, and you're desperate for that missing piece that will put you over the top. I sympathize with your plight (just kidding--screw you!), but going after every miscreant in the NFL isn't going to get you another ring unless you change your uniform colors to Silver and Black (and Al Davis already fired you once).

RIP Curt Gowdy

Curt Gowdy died today at the ripe old age of 86. He broadcast everything from Red Sox games to The American Sportsman, but I remember him most as a football broadcaster partnered with Al DeRogatis during the late 1960s and early 1970s. During the 1960s, Gowdy was the voice of the AFL, and during the 197os, he called some of the most memorable football games I ever saw. Of course, Gowdy was first and foremost a baseball announcer, but I always thought pro football was where he did his best work.