There you have it: Kyrie Irving’s first game-winner, and it was a thing of beauty. Irving took a screen at the top of the key from Anderson Varejao as the clock ticked down, slid around Avery Bradley into a 360, finishing off balance with his left hand in a beautiful swish over a swatting Brandon Bass. The Cavaliers needed one more defensive stop, but they got it and held on for a 88-87 victory in Boston. Irving led the team in scoring 23 points and 6 assists, but Varejao fought for key second chance possessions in the final minute, and Andy finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 22, but the Celtics came up short as they blew a 11-point lead with 4 minutes remaining. The Cavaliers improve to 8-11 and face these same Celtics on Tuesday night in The Q.

Ahh, sole possession of first place in the Big Ten Conference by beating Michigan. As far as the regular season goes, it doesn’t get much better than that. The Buckeyes faced some adversity in this one and Michigan’s zone slowed the Buckeye attack. However, the Buckeyes were a little bigger and a lot tougher on the boards, and it propelled them to a 64-49 victory at The Schott this afternoon. Lenzelle Smith Jr. was the star for the second conference game this season, posting 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Jared Sullinger was held to just 5 first half points, but he finished with 13 points and 4 boards as he scored a couple crucial buckets late. The Buckeyes are now 7-2 in conference play and hold a one-half game lead over Michigan State, who doesn’t play until Tuesday.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Indianapolis Colts are pairing new head coach Chuck Pagano with Bruce Arians and Keith Butler as offensive and defensive coordinators respectively. Pagano was the Browns’ secondary coach from 2001-2004 and had been Baltimore’s defensive coordinator this past season, Arians was the Browns’ offensive coordinator from 2001-2003 and had been with the Steelers ever since (in the coordinator position since 2007), and Butler, who was the Steelers’ linebackers coach, was the Browns’ linebackers coach from 1999-2002, the lone holdover from the Chris Palmer era. So, that’s three coaches from Butch Davis’s staff in Cleveland. Indy’s hoping it turns out a little better for them than it did here with the Browns. We’re hoping it takes away some of the Steelers’ thunder.

HardballTalk on NBC Sports has the story about former Cleveland Indian Jim Thome having a handshake agreement with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf to join the club in some capacity following his retirement. Thome, 41, signed with the Phillies in the offseason following his stint at the conclusion of the 2011 season with the Tribe. This could be a blow to some fans who may have hoped for the same agreement between Thome and the Indians. Jimmy played with the White Sox from 2006-2009.

“When he left here to go to the Twins (in 2010), we kind of shook hands and agreed that, whenever his career is over, he’ll come back to the White Sox in some capacity, Reinsdorf said. He did say that he wants to live in Chicago. Whenever it’s over, hopefully I’ll see him back here. And I hope I live to see him go into the Hall of Fame.

Anything he wants, Reinsdorf said. I’d like to see him come to spring training, work with the young players. He’s a great role model. He really understands hitting. This is not just a guy who goes up there with a bat and swings. He understands hitting. We’ve talked about hitting a lot. He understands it. There’s a lot that he can impart. Just being around, you know. If he goes on to be a big league coach, that would work too.”

What say you, Tribe fans? Does this bother you considering Thome spent nearly three times as long with the Tribe as the ChiSox?

As we covered here on Thursday, Tony Grossi has been reassigned off the Browns beat after his accidental Twitter jab at Browns’ owner Randy Lerner. There has been a large outcry on both sides, from fans who felt Grossi had lost his objectivity long ago to staunch support from fellow national writers and local radio personalities who feel Grossi was unfairly punished. This morning, we finally hear The Plain Dealer’s reader representative, Ted Diadiun, weigh in on why the Grossi reassignment was unfortunate but necessary. This excerpt drives home the two main reasons why the PD felt this move had to be made.

“‘If in your most private moments you feel like the leader of the institution you cover is pathetic, that raises questions about how fair you can be,’ she [PD Editor Debra Adams Simmons] said. ‘And once those opinions become public, it becomes a bigger problem. There’s the potential for readers to question the objectivity of everything you write.’

An important point to make is that there is a difference between columnists and reporters at a newspaper.

‘If it had been a columnist who wrote that, we might cringe, but that role is different,’ said Adams Simmons. ‘They’re paid to offer up opinions, however prickly. But we’re not asking them to go out and cover a team in a fair and balanced and objective way, like we are with a reporter.’”

Once again, full disclosure, WFNY has a partnership with Cleveland.com, The Plain Dealer’s internet home. Read the rest of the response from Diadiun here.

UPDATE: Mary Schmitt Boyer has posted an article regarding the Cavaliers’ interest in Kaman. Check that out here. Also, Terry Pluto said on his Twitter account that he got a “no comment” from a higher up in the Cavalier organization, which Pluto believes means there is some genuine interest.

In recent days, New Orleans GM Dell Demps made it public that the team is actively trying to trade center Chris Kaman. There have been several teams reportedly interested, but you had not heard the Cavaliers mentioned as a potential suitor. Then, this morning, the @PDcavsinsider Twitter handle, presumably Mary Schmitt Boyer, tweeted this.

Kaman, now 30 years old, has career averages of 11.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Now in his eighth NBA season, Kaman, the sixth pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, was on the Cavaliers’ radar a couple of years ago, but injury issues made the wine and gold hesitant to acquire him. While this tweet only implies possible interest, it would be a surprise to see the Cavaliers target Kaman, despite his status as a true traditional center. Anderson Varejao takes up most of those center minutes at the moment, and with Andy having one of his best seasons statistically (not to mention being younger than Kaman), the rebuilding Cavaliers should look elsewhere for a center, perhaps in June with big boards, suits, and funny looking draft hats.

The New Jersey Nets looked like a completely different team than the one that the Cavaliers blew out on New Year’s Day in The Q. The backcourt duo of Deron Williams and Anthony Morrow lit up the wine and gold with 49 combined points as the Nets drained 11 three pointers and led by double digits for most of this one. Kyrie Irving led a dramatic late charge for the Cavs, scoring 21 of his 32 in the final act and 17 of those in the final three minutes, but they started their run just a little too late. Antawn Jamison added 20 points for the Cavaliers as the Cavaliers fall to 7-11 on the season.