May 23, 2013

NBA Rumors: Cavs willing to trade up to No. 1

May 19, 2013 by 41 Comments

Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto dropped this little nugget in his Sunday notes column:

[Noel] is a project, especially on offense. He’s a No. 1 pick who may never make an All-Star team. That’s why certain teams may be willing to trade the pick.

Suppose the Cavs end up with the No. 3 pick. They could offer their entire draft (all four picks) for No. 1, and that team could still draft someone such as Otto Porter at No. 3.

Noel is ideal for the Cavs, a team on a mission to improve its defense. He blocks shots, 4.4 per game. He can rebound, 9.5 per game. He influences the game defensively with a 7-4 wing span.

What did the Cavs talk about all season? Improving the defense. Add Noel into the middle of the lane and suddenly there is help for Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, who both have trouble on defense. Some of those layups the Cavs yielded a year ago will be blocked or missed at the rim.

This is somewhat surprising. Given Noel’s ACL injury and that he won’t play until the middle of the season, one would figure the Cavs might be cool on the Kentucky center. While I wouldn’t be shocked if the Cavs won the lottery and took Noel at the top spot, it would shock me to see the Cavs trade up. With Mike Brown back on board, the Cavs are looking to make a playoff push next season. Having them package all four picks to take a player (an offensive project) who might miss half the season (or at least a significant chunk of it) doesn’t seem to jibe with the prevailing “playoffs or bust” attitude.

That being said, Cavs’ GM Chris Grant has a being aggressive on draft day. Both Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson were “outside the box” picks that threw many a mock draft into chaos. And last season Grant packaged their late first and early second round picks to move up to draft Tyler Zeller. So it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Grant made a bold move on draft day.

The draft order will be determined this Tuesday during the NBA Draft Lottery. Nick Gilbert will represent the Cavs at the lottery for the third straight year.

[Related: Talking myself into Mike Brown]

 

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NFL Rumors: Jets were interested in Hoyer

May 19, 2013 by 3 Comments

Turns out the Browns weren’t the only one interested in the services of former Patriots and Cardinals quarterback Brian Hoyer. ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi tweets that the Jets were also interested:

It would make sense that the Jets would look into Hoyer, as their quarterback situation is quite messy at the moment. Despite some past playoff success, the Jets are less than enamored with incumbent starter Mark Sanchez, so they drafted West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith with the 39th pick in the second round (a steal, as most analysts had Smith as a first round talent). They also had a veteran backup in David Garrad, allowing them to part ways with Sanchez if need be. However, Garrad abruptly retired last week due to a bum knee, putting the Jets back in the market for a QB.

Hoyer, a Cleveland native and St. Ignatius grad, was signed by the Browns last week after getting cut from the Cardinals. Hoyer has appeared in a grand total of 15 games, with one career start to his name. The Michigan State grad was a favorite of Browns GM Mike Lombardi while backing up Tom Brady for Bill Belichik’s New England Patriots. With Brandon Weeden expected to start, Hoyer is will look to compete for the backup job with veteran Jason Campbell.

[Related: Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden and what it could all mean].

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Turning the focus away from the empty seats

May 19, 2013 by 29 Comments
Have you heard the one about the empty seats?

Have you heard the one about the empty seats?

At best, I’m a casual baseball fan. Even in the late 90′s and early 2000′s, I would probably hit up about five Tribe games a season. The Cavs and the NBA are my sport of choice. That’s my first love. But even then, I’ll only attend about four to five games in a season.

I’ve always had a hard time getting into the early part of the baseball season (and even more so since I quit playing fantasy sports). Regardless of whether or not the Cavs are in the playoffs, I’m watching NBA playoff basketball. The best players in the world are playing in do-or-die situations. I’m in. I’m watching.

I love the playoffs. I love the extended series and bad blood the forms between teams and players over the course of seven intense games. By the end, players know each other’s moves and tendencies and now they’re just playing hoops. The mental game, match-ups and coaching become more important.

While I’m not actively trying to ignore the Tribe and the baseball season, in the back of my head I’m fully aware that the Tribe still has over 100 games left to go. If I miss a few early season games due to playoff basketball, there’s still the entire summer for me to scratch any baseball itch.

[Read more...]

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The WFNY Disc Golf Recap

May 19, 2013 by 1 Comment

May 18, 2013.photo (4)

A historic moment in Cleveland sports history.  The first Waiting for Next Year disc golf outing.

Yup. Disc golf. Not a regular, normal ball golf outing but rather its hippie cousin. My persistence had paid finally off. I had annoyed enough people. This was happening.

Saturday morning, Rick, myself and some of the WFNY faithful (including CavsZine editor and Chris Perez look-a-like @WayneEmbrysKids) met up in Akron at Portage Lakes state park to throw some discs at some trees baskets.

I had my concerns about the weather; we had some people traveling for this event and there had been rumors of rain. But the weather couldn’t have been more gorgeous and we had gotten there early enough that the course was mostly empty. Plus, we had six people, which made for even teams.

It was glorious.  [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… Another Tribe walk-off, Weeden’s starting chances, and Cavs draft options

May 19, 2013 by 1 Comment

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Back-to-back walk-off wins for the Tribe and they couldn’t have been more different. A three run bomb versus a fielders choice. Oh, baseball. “Chris Perez, apparently wanting to up the drama of a game the Indians had been in complete control of for 8.2 innings and force me to completely re-write my recap, gave up a pair of two-out solo homers in the bottom ninth to tie the game at 4, unfortunately robbing Zach McAllister of a well-earned W.  (For the record, I know Perez has his detractors, but unless your name is Mariano Rivera, blown saves happen to even the best closers. Yes, it’s rarely easy with Perez, but that’s only his second blown save all season. He came into the game 6-for-7 on save chances with a 0.64 ERA, and it’s still just 1.80. Perez is the kind of pitcher who probably won’t be appreciated until he’s gone.)

Fortunately for Perez and the Tribe’s now 22-0 record when leading after six innings, the offense came right back in the bottom of the ninth. Jason Kipnis continued his “shut up everyone who said I should be moved down in the order” tour of May with a solid single to start the ninth. (Mea culpa, Jason, mea culpa).  Asbrubal Cabrera then made up for an earlier base running blunder by blasting a double to left. After walking Nick Swisher to load the bases, Mark Reynolds then drove in the winning run (his third RBI of the game) by smashing a grounder in the hole that Brendan Ryan grabbed on a dive, but his throw from the seat of his pants pulled Jesus Montero off the plate.

Back-to-back walk-off wins is certainly one way to start getting fans to take notice, and the Indians appeared to have another good crowd Saturday following up on Friday’s 34,000.” [Matt Hutton/It's Pronounced "Lajaway"].

[Read more...]

Filed Under: General

Talking Myself into Mike Brown

May 18, 2013 by 17 Comments

Dan Gilbert, Mike Brown, Chris GrantTo say I was less than thrilled when the Cavs rehired Mike Brown would be an understatement. I loathed this move. The Cavs’ coaching search took less than a week and it ended with them hiring a guy who had already blown playoff series for the franchise.

That’s not to say that I would’ve preferred another year of Byron Scott. I was fine with the Cavs giving Coach Scott his walking papers. More than fine, really. Now, was Byron given a “fair shake”? Most would argue no and I would tend to agree.  While it was clear that Byron’s Cavs teams never had playoff aspirations (or even finishing-close-to-.500 aspirations), I do think “not historically bad” wasn’t too much to ask for. Yes, the roster was bad and yes, there were injuries to key players. But those reasons are just arguments for him not to be fired, not arguments for him to keep his job.

From the minute Scott was let go, it was Mike Brown and only Mike Brown. As far as I’m aware, there were few, if any, meetings with other potential coaching candidates. Sure, Gilbert gave a perfunctory call to Phil Jackson, but Phil was never a realistic option. The Cavs had their sights set on Mike Brown and they got him and as we saw from the Chip Kelly debacle, there’s something to be said for that.

But I still didn’t like it. I didn’t like the harkening back to the LeBron-era. I didn’t like the idea of watching that offense again. I didn’t like all the talk of the “LeBron 2014” ramifications. I didn’t like that they seemed to have left many a coaching stone unturned.

In short, I didn’t like that they Grover Cleveland’d it up. It was a letdown.

But less than a month later, I’ve changed my tune. That’s part of the deal as a sports fan: you can rationalize anything.

And I’ve talked myself into Mike Brown. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… Tribe wins, Lessons from the Grizzlies and some Haslam speculation

May 18, 2013 by 2 Comments

 

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Dollar dog night, fireworks and a walk-off bomb from Kipnis. A perfect storm of awesome. “Dollar dog night. Fireworks. A walk-off home run. Tribe fans had a lot to celebrate Friday night at Progressive Field as Jason Kipnis hit a walk-off three-run home run in the 10th inning and the Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners 6-3 in front of 34,282.

Drew Stubbs worked a two-out walk in the 10th and stole second when Seattle reliever Lucas Luetge threw to first base, but the speedy Stubbs had already made his move and never looked back to beat the throw to second. Michael Bourne followed with an infield single before Kipnis brought the house down.

“You just have to be patient with good players and it’s paying off in huge dividends,” Francona said about Kipnis. “He’s not just getting hits, he’s getting big hits and he’s driving the ball out of the ballpark. He’s running the bases. He’s doing everything.”” [Ryan Hohman/Did the Tribe Win]. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

Rays blank Cleveland again, Tribe falls 6-0 in Bauer’s debut

April 7, 2013 by 9 Comments

bauer acabTrevor Bauer’s Indians debut could’ve been worse. It sure could’ve been better. But all things considered, it could’ve been much worse.

Bauer battled through five innings, giving up three runs on two hits and seven walks. It wasn’t pretty, but Bauer worked himself out of some (self inflicted) jams and gave the Tribe a chance to stay in the game. Bauer began his evening by walking the bases loaded and forcing himself to deal with Evan Longoria.  After getting ahead of Longoria 1-2, the Tampa slugger worked the rookie, fouling off numerous pitches and eventually earning the walk and forcing home a run. Bauer got James Loney to foul out and then Yunel Escobar lined one to Ryan Raburn, who gunned down Matt Joyce at home. Bauer escaped heavy trouble, but the damage was done. Tampa Bay and Alex Cobb had all the run support they’d need.

This was the second night in a row that the Rays’ pitchers have baffled the Indians’ bats. Cobb followed up Matt Moore’s 6.0 inning, two hit performance on Friday with a 7.1 inning, four hit gem of his own. The Tribe just couldn’t get anything going and have now managed just seven hits over the last 18 innings.

The bullpen did no one any favors. Matt Albers relieved Bauer to start the 6th and immediately gave up a hit to Yunel Escobar, who stretched the single into a double. Sure, Jason Kipnis applied the tag directly to Escobar’s foot a good three feet or so before he hit the bag, but it’s not like 2B umpire  CB Bucknor was in position to see it. Albers proceeded to give up a hit to former Indian Shelley Duncan, plating the runner. Cody Allen worked the 7th and 8th innings and gave up four hits and two runs.

After winning their first two games of the season, the Tribe’s record now stands at 2-3. It would be a real shame if they came back home from this early road trip at 2-4. But unfortunately that’s a realistic scenario as the Tribe faces David Price (only the reigning AL Cy Young award winner) on Sunday. I’m sure seeing him will get them out of their funk. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… Grading past Browns’ drafts, Cavs win by the numbers and previewing the Captains

April 7, 2013 by 1 Comment

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Some numbers on Cleveland’s win versus Boston. “The Cavaliers broke an eight game losing streak that lasted over two months in games against teams that have clinched a playoff berth when Tristan Thompson attempts at least 10 shots. That being said, increasing Thompson’s role in the offense (attempted 10+ shots in 21.7% of games last season and is doing so in  48% of games this year) figures to pay dividends sooner rather than later. His scoring has increased by 25.6% while shooting nearly 5% better from the field. His numbers have spiked without a healthy Anderson Varejao, but the skill set is there, and shouldn’t disappear when playing alongside the rebounding machine. If Cleveland can ever get all of its pieces on the court at the same time, this is a scary team that is only going to get better with time.

Kevin Jones struggled from the field but was very active on the glass, earning his 22 minutes by grabbing eight rebounds (three offensive). Jones has appeared in 25 games this season, but has tallied 37% of his rebounds in just two of those contests and 50% of them have come on a Friday. At 6’8” and 260 pounds, Jones is another young force around the rim that can serve as a stop gap when the starters are out of the game. Jones’ rebounding and positive impact was felt by the 14 point advantage held by the Cavaliers in the paint, a game changing stat given the fact that Cleveland won the game by six points. His body type gives him the potential to turn into a specialist, as he can  matchup physically with some of the elite scorers in the league.” [Kyle Soppe/Hardwood Paroxysm] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

MLB Injury News: Lou Marson day-to-day with neck strain

April 6, 2013 by 1 Comment

After a collision at the plate, backup catcher Lou Marson left Saturday’s game against Tampa with a neck strain. The Indians announced that he’s day-to-day.

Marson took a monster hit from Rays CF Desmond Jennings in bang-bang play at the plate. In the bottom of third, with no outs and Desmond Jennings on third, Matt Joyce hit a dribbler to Lonnie Chisenhall, who threw home for the fielder’s choice.  Jennings arrived just after the throw and went shoulder first into Marson’s helmet. Marson was bowled over, his head whipping back and hitting the dirt, but he held onto the ball and recorded the out.

Team doctors examined Marson on the field, but he stayed in the game and finished out the rest of the inning. However, Marson didn’t come back out for the bottom of the fourth. Carlos Santana, who started the night as DH, was inserted behind the plate. And since Santana started the night at DH and moved to the field, their pitchers were forced to bat in place of Marson (which was 9th).

Saturday night was Marson’s first appearance of the season and he walked in his only plate appearance. Marson, 26, appeared in 70 games for the Indians last season and hit .226 with 8 doubles and an OPS of .635 in 195 at-bats.

[Related: Tribe Preview Part I- The Position Players]

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Cavs late season woes could have big offseason impact

April 6, 2013 by 6 Comments

152062739_Bobcats_Cavs_Kyle061_0

I’ll be honest. Until Jason Lloyd’s “Scott’s seat may not be safe” article and the debacle that was Wednesday’s game versus Brooklyn, I hadn’t been paying close attention to the day-in, day-out happenings of the Cavaliers. I knew that they were in a bit of a free fall, but that’s not entire surprising given both Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving were missing time due to injuries. Even though I wasn’t a huge Byron guy, it hadn’t even occurred to me that Byron Scott’s job could actually be in jeopardy. Everyone knows they’re tanking, no?

Hell, before Byron’s Teflon coating wore off last week, the biggest late-season story of this Cavaliers season has been whether or not the Lakers can make the playoffs 1 . Instead of watching horrible losses to the Rockets or Hornets (and really guys, you lost by 20 to the freaking Hornets?), I’ve spent these last few weeks following the Lakers and hoping they can hold off Utah and (suddenly hot) Mavericks for that final Western Conference playoff spot. If the Lakers can find a way to sneak in, the Cavs would be well positioned to have a monster offseason 2 . I was happily biding my time waiting for the draft lottery (Tuesday, May 21st!) and wondering if any of these people I watched (for the first time) in March Madness were any good.

But now that the Cavs had a gut wrenching collapse against Heat, followed it up with a loss to the Celtics in which they gave up a game winning layup, and suffered through a double digit losing streak that ultimately culminated with the non-competitive laugher versus Brooklyn, people are (finally?) starting to question Byron Scott and all of my focus is firmly back on happenings at The Q.

Let’s see what’s going on, shall we? [Read more...]

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  1. allowing Chris Grant to swap the Lakers’ mid-first rounder with Miami’s late first acquired in the LeBron trade. If they miss, Cavs don’t get to swap and the pick goes to the Suns [back]
  2. I’m fairly confident that the Lakers will get in, even though their record sits at 40-36, just a half game ahead of Utah at 40-37. But I fully expect the combination of the Lakers Hall of Fame talent an the NBA’s, um, big market bias, to push the Lakers over this final hump. I’d be shocked if Kobe, Dwight and Nash weren’t in the playoff promos. Shocked [back]

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Indians News: Carrasco to start Tuesday vs Yankees

April 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Tribe manager Terry Francona stated RHP that Carlos Carrasco will start Tuesday’s game against the Yankees at Progressive Field. Carrasco will also replace injured No. 5 starter Scott Kazmir in the Tribe’s rotation. The Tribe promoted top prospect Trevor Bauer to start in place of Kazmir tonight in Tampa.


With the Tribe’s next off day not coming until Monday, April 15th, inserting Carrasco into the rotation will help keep Ubaldo and Masterson on their rotation and give Myers and McAllister an extra days rest.

Carrasco, 26, was acquired by the Indians in the Cliff Lee trade and missed the entire 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September of 2011. Carrasco went 8-9 with a 4.62 in twenty one starts for the Indians in 2011. Carrasco has been on Cleveland’s 25-man roster but is ineligible to pitch until after Sunday, as he’s still serving a six-game suspension for throwing at Kansas City’s Bill Butler in 2011.

Bauer, the main piece in deal that sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Reds, and Carrasco were fighting for Kazmir’s spot in the rotation throughout spring training.

[Related: WFNY 2013 Tribe Predictions]

Filed Under: Headlines

Cavs snap skid, Tristan leads wine and gold past Celtics 97-91

April 6, 2013 by 5 Comments
Tristan Thompson finished with a career high 29 points and 17 boards.

Tristan Thompson finished with a career high 29 points and 17 boards.

Everyone take a deep breath. The losing streak is over. We can all relax. Well, at least a little bit.

Cavaliers bounced back from (possibly) their worst loss of the season, beating the Boston Celtics 97-91 and snapping their season-long 10-game losing streak. Tristan Thompson led everyone with 29 points and 17 boards (both career highs) and Alonzo Gee finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, as the Cavs improved to 23-52. The Celtics were paced by Jeff Green’s 23 point, nine rebound, four assist evening and got 16 points and seven boards off the bench from someone named Shavlik Randolph. Boston, firmly rooted in the 7th seed in the East and playing without Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, saw their record fall to 39-37.

This wasn’t Cleveland’s most impressive win of the season, but it was possibly their most important. Following a week of coaching speculation and the debacle that was Wednesday’s loss to the Nets, it was nice to see the Cavs bounce back and win on the road in Boston. Yes, the Celtics were missing key players on Friday night, but when has that foretold a Cavalier victory? The Nets were without Joe Johnson on Wednesday night and the Cavs lost by roughly a billion. That they played hard and didn’t overlook a hobbled Celtic team is (sadly) itself a minor victory.

A win is a win. But a bounce-back win after a week of “have the Cavs quit on their coach” speculation is even better. The Cavs played a fantastic third period, holding the Celtics to just 16 points and ending the quarter on a 19-6 run that (coupled with their 8-0 run to start the fourth) put them in firm control of the ball game. Cleveland’s lead ballooned to as many as twelve during the fourth (82-68) and while the Celtics made their requisite run, the Cavs never let them get closer than four points. There would be no repeat of last week’s loss to the Celtics at the buzzer. The young Cavs kept up their defensive pressure in the final period (and Boston did their part by missing open treys and stumbling into some unforced turnovers) and Cleveland went 7-8 from the free throw line in fourth quarter to keep their hard earned victory.

Oh, that Kyrie Irving guy played too. It wasn’t Irving’s best night, as he finished with just 11 points on 4-20 shooting (though also eight assists and five boards), but it was enough. The young All-Star set up Tyler Zeller for an easy layup to increase Cleveland’s lead to 93-87 with two minutes to play and he followed it up thirty second later with his only basket of the fourth, a step back jumper to put the Cavs up 95-87 and essentially ice the game.  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cavaliers, Featured Tagged With: , , ,

While We’re Waiting… Cavs win, Tribe loses and the realness of wrestling

April 6, 2013 by 2 Comments

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.WFNYBanner www

Cavs w in! The streak is over! “This game was a Rorschach test for Cavs fans.  Fans who think the Cleveland has been mostly tanking during this 10 game streak can say, “yep, when they needed to win to quell fan unrest, and they did.”  Fans who think that Byron Scott is a bad coach and that this Cavs team isn’t very good can look at this game and say, “Woo hoo.  The Cavs beat a team that is firmly implanted in the 7th seed in the East, and is sitting their two best players.”  They have a point.  The Celtics shot awfully.  Some of that was by design, as the Cavs packed it in the paint and dared the Celtics to beat them from outside.  The Celtics didn’t do it, but the Cavs gave up a lot of wide open corner threes, and the Celtics couldn’t convert, going 6-22 from the 3 point line.  The Cavs also gave up 16 points and 7 rebounds in 13 minutes to Shavlik freaking Randolph. The Cavs interior defense mostly stunk.  If the Celtics had anyone who could score in there, they probably would have won.

I don’t know what to think.  For what it’s worth, Tristan Thompson won the completely unfair referendum tonight for coach Scott and the team’s future — next referendum Sunday.” [Nate Smith/Cavs the Blog]

[Read more...]

Filed Under: General

March Madness through Wine & Gold glasses

March 31, 2013 by 3 Comments
Kyrie once dropped 28 in a Tournament game.

Kyrie once dropped 28 in a Tournament game.

While I love the NCAA tournament (I mean, who doesn’t love all-day basketball?), I’m always looking out for NBA prospects. NBA is my first love and I just can’t help but filter my college hoops through an NBA lens. This has been especially true in the post-LeBron era, where the Cavs’ crappy records gives them a great shot at selecting the cream of the college crop at the top of the NBA draft.

I’m a huge proponent in the Cavs building through the draft. The Cavs have drafted players like LeBron James and Kyrie Irving (and Brad Daugherty, Terrell Brandon, Ron Harper and Mark Price) while they’ve added guys like Larry Hughes, CJ Miles and Anthony Parker through free agency. The lesson I’ve taken away is that if I want the Cavs to add All-Star talent, it’s (unfortunately) going to have to be through the draft. 1

Now, one of the things I’ve learned over the years is that you can’t necessarily equate a good/great tournament performance into a good NBA player 2 . Some guys like Mateen Cleaves are just great college players. That’s fine. A good tournament run does not an NBA career make.

But what about going the other way? Do NBA All-Stars have crappy NCAA tournament games? A guy like Cody Zeller drops a stink bomb against Syracuse and I’m wondering if that should be a giant red flag or if I should focus more on his complete body of work. It’s the flip side of falling in love with a Big Game performance from someone like Derrick Williams 3 .

The Cavs’ current record 22-49 places them at third-worst in the NBA, giving them the third-best chance at landing that coveted top pick. And since I want the Cavs to draft another All-Star, I’m going to take a look at how the 2013 All-Stars fared in their respective NCAA Tournaments and see if many (or any) of them played poorly.    [Read more...]

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  1. the last All-Star that the Cavs have traded for was Mo Williams (and let’s be honest….). Before that it was Shawn Kemp. Before that, it was Larry Nance. [back]
  2. or we’d still be marveling at the NBA career of Trevor Huffman [back]
  3. let’s take this time to thank anything holy that Chris Grant didn’t put too much stock into Williams’ 2011 tournament performance [back]

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While We’re Waiting… Reality sets in for Ohio State

March 31, 2013 by 1 Comment

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.WFNYBanner www

Glad we didn’t have to use a ‘shocker’ pun. “With 12:27 to play, Ohio State found themselves facing a 51-31 deficit. While losses of this magnitude seem to transpire in March roughly once every decade, going into this one, it didn’t seem that without a total off night there’d be any way this Buckeye team would find themselves on the receiving end of history’s cruel joke. And yet everything seemed to fall into place for WSU.

But not without Ohio State getting one last word in edgewise first. LaQuinton Ross would being to assert himself as the de-facto “Deshaun Thomas of the second half” and a few careless (e.g. fearful) turnovers on the part of the Shockers would help to key off the Buckeyes on a 7-0 run. OSU would continue to add to it, helped in part by being in the double bonus so relatively early.

Thomas and Ross would keep trading opportunities and with Craft adding some free throws in the process, suddenly that 20 digit lead was down to 60-52 with just under four minutes to play. A huge Ross make would get the Buckeyes down to 5 with OSU’s come from behind run peaking at 23-6.

Tekele Cotton would hit a huge 3 to get the lead back up to 65-59 for Wichita State, and though Deshaun Thomas would answer with a make, four would be as close as Ohio State would ever be able to get again. The Buckeyes stopped being able to get the offense they’d benefitted from during an almost historic comeback, and the Shockers continued to both rebound their misses and hit their free throws when needed. The Bucks would get the margin superficially closer than it was, but it was Wichita State’s night. George Mason-2006 had company.” [Luke Zimmerman/Land-Grant Holy Land]

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“The Buckeyes only led twice, 8-7 and 9-7. They trailed by 13 at the half, and it wasn’t largely to do with Wichita State playing well. The Shockers only shot 35.5 percent in the half, though they were buoyed by five 3s. Missing one of nine free throws also helped.

“You shoot 24 percent in the first half in the Elite Eight and you’re probably going to be down double-digits at halftime,” Matta. “Geez, we never had a feel-good moment in the first half.”

But Ohio State’s lack of forced turnovers and transition points was the main culprit in its defeat. The Buckeyes finished with zero fast break points. The aggressive, athletic and physical style Wichita State employed seemed to catch Ohio State off guard.

“We didn’t score in transition at all today, and that’s been our calling card throughout this run, getting stops and scoring in transition,” said Craft, who finished 2-of-12 shooting. “We didn’t score at all. We really didn’t get very many easy buckets tonight and it shows.”

For the fourth consecutive season, one bad half of basketball has ended a potential national championship for the Buckeyes.

“I’ve lost my three tournament games now by eight points combined,” Craft said. “It’s tough. It’s crazy tough. It’s very tough to grasp how important a possession is in the first half and how that can come back to haunt you in the second.” [Kyle Rowland/Eleven Warriors]

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This makes sense to me. ”4. Asdrubal Cabrera is traded to the St. Louis Cardinals or Tigers at the trade deadline

One of the best shortstop prospects I saw all spring was Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians. With range and speed to both sides, a strong arm and a terrific swing, he reminded me of a young Barry Larkin. It’s only a matter of time before he’s ready. So while the Indians continue to rebuild, their best time to trade Cabrera is now, before he becomes a free agent after the 2014 season.

The Cardinals and Tigers would be the best trade fits for the Indians. St. Louis might offer one of its top young arms, such as Shelby Miller, Trevor Rosenthal, Carlos Martinez or Joe Kelly in the right deal. Detroit could package Rondon and Drew Smyly, especially if it getsChris Perez back in the deal to solve its closer problem.” [Jim Bowden/ESPN]

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Missing out on Brent Grimes may not be the worst thing ever. “The Grimes signing highlights a bigger lesson, however, mainly that there is no one player that the Browns “have to get.”

Think back to 2011 when many believed the Browns “had to get” quarterback Kevin Kolb from Philadelphia. Or to last year, when many claimed the Browns “had to get”quarterback Matt Flynn, the one-game wonder from Green Bay.

Well, where are Kolb and Flynn now? The Cardinals couldn’t wait to get rid of the Kolb after two disappointing seasons and Seattle liked the Flynn signing so much that they went out a month later and drafted Russell Wilson.

Now, Flynn may be heading to Oakland, unless the Raiders decide to go after Kolb, who may also go to Buffalo.

Boy, it would have been all kinds of fun if the Browns would have pulled the trigger on those “must have” players. [Tom Moore/Red Right 88].

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March Madness from the press box. “I was feeling rather confident before that moment, however, and went about introducing myself to Ohio State Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith, as he was standing by himself and made eye contact with me. I explained to him that I was a student at Ohio State covering the tournament for a radio show in Indiana. He was very kind and supportive, chatting for a couple of minutes about Ohio State, the Cleveland area, and the game at hand. I couldn’t believe what a nice guy he was, and offered me help if I was in need of anything. It was a highlight, for sure, of the weekend.

The rest of the evening, however, wasn’t all that exciting. Ohio State dominated Iona, but nothing really exciting happened in the world of the media. I guess it’s because I was more used to it. More professional and less star struck. The one thing that was incredibly interesting during the Ohio State game was the amount of attention being paid to the Georgetown, Florida Gulf Coast game. We’re sitting there watching a basketball game right in front of us, but all of our screens were on the CBS.com streaming video of the Florida Gulf Coast game. It was unbelievable. Even the crowd, as they were informed, was cheering as they saw the scores of the game. It was really an amazing thing to witness, especially as we were at another NCAA Tournament venue.

The Notre Dame game was a laugher, and it was a little bit sad to watch. The Notre Dame faithful that had stuck it out through the Ohio State game must have been entirely let down by their team. The man sitting next to me, Wes Morgan from BlueandGoldInsider.com, said that Notre Dame played the ugliest game he has seen in his four years of covering them. I haven’t watched all that much Notre Dame basketball, but I would tend to agree.” [Hayden Grove/More Than a Fan].

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If you missed Jason Lloyd’s piece on Byron Scott, this a must read.

 

Filed Under: General

NBA Rumors: Anonymous players voice Byron Scott criticisms

March 30, 2013 by 10 Comments

Akron Beacon Journal and Ohio.com beat writer Jason Lloyd wrote a very interesting piece on some internal criticisms of Cavaliers coach Byron Scott. The anonymous complaints really run the gamut; there’s the “run too hard of a practice session” complaint, the “team hasn’t played defense in three years” complaint, the “please use your time outs” complaints, the “why does Kyrie play only half of the fourth” complaint and finally, the rarely seen “give Tristan Thompson more push-shot opportunities” complaint.

The piece is all encompassing.

Most, if not all, of these seem pretty minor. I find it hard to believe that the fabled “Camp Scott” is really having an effect on their legs at this point in the season. And it’s telling that the veteran player quoted dismisses the “hard practices” stuff.

While I do feel that players like Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters have made strides under Scott, the concerns raised with regard to playing time and the use of time outs have been troubling. Also, it’s not good that after three seasons, the team still has no defensive identity.

That being said, I do think that Scott deserves a shot to coach a Cavalier team that both their full compliment of players and an organizational backing to make a playoff run. Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao keep getting hurt and his best players off the bench are Luke Walton a guy who was waived by the Wizards. That doesn’t explain some of the in-game decisions, but it sure can help explain the dismal record.

[Related: Another Cavalier blowout brings more 'Fire Byron Scott" murmurs]

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NBA News: Kyrie Irving could return soon

March 30, 2013 by 5 Comments

Well color me surprised. We might actually have some good news, Cavs fans. And we can thank Luke Walton. Sorta.

Kyrie Irving participated in practice on Saturday and although there was no official news on Irving’s left shoulder injury, the Plain Dealer’s Jodie Valade reports that Walton let slip that Irving could be back soon.

“I still believe that we’re all in this together and we’re going to play better basketball these last 11 games. Hopefully with Kyrie coming back, that can give us that spark needed to get us going in the right direction again,” Walton said Saturday after practice.

Now, I don’t want to get too excited.Assuming Luke Walton isn’t lying, this is definitely a pleasant surprise. Given Kyrie’s injury history and the stank of tanking looming over these final eleven games, most Cavs fans have all but assumed that Irving has been shut down for the rest of the season. And while Luke Walton is not a medical doctor and can’t clear Kyrie to play, the fact Irving is playing hard in practice and his teammates are assuming he’ll be back soon can only count as good news.

Irving, 21, has missed 20 games this season due to various injuries and is averaging 23 points and 5.7 assists in his second year. The All-Star guard and reigning Rookie-of-the-Year appeared in 49 of possible 66 games during last season’s lockout shortened campaign (that’s 37 missed games in two seasons for those of you scoring at home). Irving has missed eight games with this current injury and hasn’t played since March 10th against Toronto. The Cavs have gone 1-7 during Irving’s absence (to be fair, Dion Waiters has missed the last five games due to loose cartilage in his knee).

[Related: Podcast: Ben and Craig talk Cavs, Browns and Disc golf]

 

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Terry Francona sets the Indians’ Opening Day roster.

March 30, 2013 by 11 Comments

With Opening Day just days away, the Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes reports that Tribe manager Terry Francona has announced his initial Indians lineup:

  1. CF Michael Bourn (L)
  2. SS Asdrubal Cabrera (S)
  3. 2B Jason Kipnis (L)
  4. 1B Nick Swisher (S)
  5. LF Michael Brantley (L)
  6. C Carlos Santana (S)
  7. DH Mark Reynolds (R)
  8. 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (L)
  9. RF Drew Stubbs (R)

The 2013 lineup is varied and versatile. There’s some speed and there’s some power. There’s never a run of lefty or righty hitters and Francona has the switch hitters spread throughout the lineup.

It’s quite a different look than the 2012 Opening Day lineup. There’s only four holdovers from 2012 and of those four (Cabrera, Santana, Kipnis and Brantley), only Asdrubal is in the same spot.

The Indians open the season this Tuesday, April 2nd against Toronto Blue Jays at 7:05 in the Rogers Centre. Justin Masterson will start his second straight season opener for the Indians and will go against former Mets’ knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

[Related: Roster is Set - Any Concerns?]

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NFL News: CB Brent Grimes signs with Miami Dolphins

March 30, 2013 by 12 Comments

Former Falcons pro-bowl corner back Brent Grimes signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. The deal is worth a reported $5.5 million.

Grimes, who only appeared in one game last season due to a torn Achilles tendon, made a visit Cleveland back on March 16th but left without a deal.

ESPN’s Brent Sobleski tweeted that the Browns were offering Grimes similar salary (slightly less), but spread out over a couple years.

CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported that the Browns, who have $28 million in cap space, weren’t willing to match the high price for a player coming off a torn ACL.

Grimes, 29, was undrafted out Shippenburg University (GO SEA DEVILS!) in 2007 and spent the past six seasons with the Falcons. Grimes made the Pro Bowl in 2010 and the Falcons used the franchise tag on him following the 2011 season.

With Grimes off the market, the Browns are still looking for a corner back to play opposite of Joe Haden. Missing out on Grimes should only increase speculation that the Browns could take Alabama CB Dee Milliner with the 6th pick in the 2013 NFL draft on Thursday, April 25th.

[Related: Fun with Numbers: New Browns Edition]

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