Brian Windhorst tweeted tonight that Cavaliers center Shaquille O’ Neal will have surgery on his injured right thumb tomorrow with a hand specialist in Baltimore. Windhorst inferred that the recovery time will most likely be 6-8 weeks for O’Neal which would effectively end his regular season. Shaq would most likely be back in time for a playoff series against the Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard – a primary reason for his addition to this Cavaliers squad. Windhorst tweeted that Shaq had been in excellent shape and that conditioning would most likely be the primary concern upon his return in the middle of the postseason. A postseason return is not guaranteed as the Cavaliers have not set an official timetable for his return. While there have been numerous reports since Friday that Zydrunas Ilgauskas intends to return to the Cavaliers, we still await official word from Z and his agent announcing this to be the case. In the interim, the Cavs will be without a true center for the foreseeable future.
As the calendar turns to March and we await 
The NFL Scouting Combine is one of the highlights of the NFL offseason. Many experts and draftniks have the Browns zeroing in on a defensive back – either Florida CB Joe Haden or Tennessee S Eric Berry. The DBs arrived yesterday and are going through measurements and interviews but will not workout until Tuesday. Off the “field,” however, the combine provided a platform for the Browns brass – Holmgren, Heckert, Mangini – to get in front of a microphone and address the league wide assembled media for the first time. Between the three of them, the Browns have made some of the more notable statements coming out of the NFL weekend in Indy. Let’s take a look at what each has addressed over the past two days.
Ohio State finished off an impressive month of February with a home win over rival Michigan on Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes are playing their best basketball of the season as the most important month in college basketball approaches. With a number of top 15 teams having lost already or squaring off against each other later today, the Buckeyes can continue a push for a 2 seed and potential placement at the Buffalo 1st-2nd Round site (the only site reasonably close to Cbus). With only one game remaining (home Tuesday vs. Illinois), the Buckeyes needed to take care of business against a below average Michigan team as they head into the Big Ten tournament as the potential favorite after this week’s season ending injury to Purdue’s Robbie Hummel.
As we await word on the MRI of Shaquille O’Neal’s severe thumb sprain (aka torn ligament), there still remain questions and controversy over how he was injured and what transpired shortly thereafter when he initially tried to play before being taken to the locker room. Shaq was injured when Glen “Big Baby” Davis came down hard across his arm and hand as Shaq attacked the rim. A foul was not called on the play but Shaq was clearly banged up and grabbed his hand while grimacing. On a subsequent possession before he exited to the locker room, TNT cameras showed Davis trying to grab at Shaq’s damaged hand as O’Neal posted up on Davis in the block.
The Cavs escaped Toronto with an overtime win on the second night of a back-to-back that will hopefully kick start a new long winning streak. The trade of Z and injury to Shaq forced the Cavs to play without a true center but the Raptors were also without their dynamic young center Chris Bosh. Cleveland’s depth was on full display, however, as 6 players hit double figures led by, what will be during this shorthanded stretch of games, the Cavs version of “the big 3.”
TNT’s Inside the NBA studio show is hands down the best in the business. Ernie Johnson has played the role of straight man with Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith to rave reviews. Throw in the occasional appearances from the made for TV Chris Webber and Kevin McHale and you have a tasty recipe.
The Cleveland Cavaliers had another statement victory last night to improve to 45-14 and now own a decent lead in the Eastern Conference as well as the NBA. Last night was fun to see how the new-look Cavs match up against the Celtics, but what about the other Eastern powers? That is the topic for today’s playoff Cavs post, as guest writer Matt Manuszak, returns to WFNY to complete his previews with three more possible playoff opponents.
Cleveland Cavaliers (44-14) vs
Still getting a lot of questions about Zydrunas Ilgauskas and what will happen next. Here are Z’s options and a timetable according to the best of my knowledge. Hopefully we can put the topic to rest soon.
