WaitingForNextYear

Cavs/Magic Preview: Can Kyrie Irving add Dwight Howard to his list of victims?

February 3, 2012 by Scott · 1 Comment

Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving has been carving up opposing big men as if he arrives to Quicken Loans Arena along side a giant blue ox.

A spin-move off of Al Jefferson, a cross-over of Marcin Gortat and a high-pick split of the Boston Celtics defense which featured a 6-foot-8-inch Brandon Bass are moves that headline the first chapter of the first-overall pick’s career. But with all respect due to the aforementioned, Irving, on Friday night, will have to face a man who may potentially be the best post defender he may ever play against during his career in the NBA in the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard.

Despite his well-documented distractions, Howard continues to be a force in the paint, rarely playing nice with those smaller than him. Which is why Irving — a 191-pound point guard who relies heavily on slashing and weaving and bouncing his way toward the rim – can only smile and wonder what’s in store for him when the Cavaliers tip off against the once-vaunted Magic.

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Randy Lerner, The Browns and the New Business as Usual

February 2, 2012 by Craig Lyndall · 19 Comments

Mike Holmgren’s interactions with the media weren’t perfect this year. He left everyone with some audio that he could regret some day if he was the type of guy to ever truly regret anything. I don’t get that sense about him, but certain quotes about playoff tickets could haunt a less confident person. Anyone who knows me well knows that I dwell on things I’ve said that were far less important than that on much smaller stages for excruciating periods of time as if it would do me any good to second-guess the things that come off the top of my brain. In that respect, I am guessing Randy Lerner is a lot more like I am than he is like Mike Holmgren.

Randy Lerner has turned things around of late and is letting people inside the giant gates that he’s maintained around him since he was pushed into stewardship of the Browns. We learned from Vince Grzegorek’s amazing profile of Lerner in Cleveland Scene Magazine that Lerner prefers not to be called “owner” of the Browns. That isn’t the most important thing Lerner says in the must-read profile. It seems Randy Lerner can learn a very important lesson about the value of letting his guard down and speaking freely. [Read More]

Buckeye Basketball Checkup: Halfway Through Big Ten, Buckeyes In Good Shape

February 3, 2012 by Kirk · Leave a Comment

When the Ohio State Buckeyes take the floor tomorrow afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin against their newest and freshest rival, the Wisconsin Badgers, they’ll do so with a one-half game lead over the Badgers and Wolverines, fighting to hold onto first place. That’s often how it is in the Big Ten conference, but the number of B1G title contenders this season is greater than most, with seven and maybe even eight teams having a shot at the NCAA tournament. So, at 7-2 and 19-3 overall, the third-ranked Buckeyes are in great shape for a run at the Big Ten title and a number one seed, but there are certain issues that have plagued them in their losses and could surface again as the schedule gets even more difficult down the back stretch.

Let’s start with what has gone right, and there’s plenty of it. It has to start at the defensive end of the floor, where the Buckeyes have made life tough for opponents this season in many ways. In eye popping fashion, the Bucks have held opponents to 39.1% on field goals this season (shockingly, it’s even lower in conference play at 37.7%). Teams are scoring under 56 points per game against Ohio State, and with them averaging over 77 per contest (still over 75 for B1G play), it’s not a matter of pace. Quite simply put, the Buckeyes have been winning quite often via blowout.

The team lost great defenders last season in Lighty and Lauderdale, but what they lost in individual defense, the Buckeyes have picked up in a unified team effort. It starts with Aaron Craft, who is averaging 2.4 steals on the season. But, the incoming freshmen have picked up on how important defense is when it comes to playing time as Shannon Scott has proved he is worthy to give Craft a breather on that end of the floor for short spurts. Sam Thompson has replaced incumbent bench guard Jordan Sibert mainly because of his defensive effort, and Amir Williams has the ability to rattle off multiple blocked shots. Truly though, the commitment to defense has been picked up by Smith Jr., Sullinger, Thomas, and Buford, who have all become better defenders. [Read More]

Introducing Your New Big Bat: Casey Kotchman?

February 3, 2012 by TD · 15 Comments

The quest is over! And now we can finally get on with our lives. I wrote about the Indians search for an extra bat for months, and it has finally come to an end.

Two days ago, I flew back home from a business trip. Walking towards baggage claim, I saw a man from a limo company holding up a sign that said “Kotchman.” I then tweeted the following:

24 hours later, Casey Kotchman was your newest Cleveland Indian. [Read More]

Asdrubal, Mr. Cavalier Highlight Cleveland Sports Awards

February 3, 2012 by TD · 30 Comments

I was lucky enough to attend one of the better annual events in our city last night, the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. Held at the Renaissance Hotel Ballroom downtown, the night celebrates the best of our local sports scene for the past year. Each year, the event has a big name host. From Jim Nantz to Mike Tirico to Bill Walton to Kirk Herbstreit, the committee has always hit a home run. This year was no exception – ESPN siren Erin Andrews was in charge of the evening.

Let me just get it out of the way – she is absolutely stunning in person. Fortunately for me (and thanks to a great friend), I was at a table right next to the stage. This is a family site, so no need to get any deeper, but in all seriousness, up close she is even more beautiful than on TV.

As for her presentation, she did a nice job, although she did hit our fair city with a few barbs here and there, but it was all in good fun. One thing she did say that would be of some interest to Buckeye fans is that Urban Meyer is like “a second father” to her and she just raved about the man who has taken over the Ohio State Football program and his top five recruiting class. [Read More]