June 19, 2013

City of Champions – Boston Scores Again

June 16, 2011 by 27 Comments

Last night the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks to win the right to drink beer out of The Stanley Cup.  After the clock read zero, I tweeted my congratulations.  ”You gotta feel good for those long suffering Boston sports fans.”  It had been a long 29 years of hand-wringing including a “kiss your sister” celebration of Ray Bourque’s Stanley Cup in 2001 after the long-time Bruin was traded to the Avalanche to win it.  In case you feel like attacking Boston’s sports credibility, just imagine for a second that the Heat had won the Finals this year and we had a party with Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  No matter, though.  Bourque is long forgotten now that the Bruins won it all.  Talk about a Cleveland contrast.

There is a generation of Boston sports fans who will have no idea what to do with themselves if Boston sports teams don’t win it all every couple of years.  Since the millennium, it is absolutely astonishing.  The Patriots won in 2001, 2003, 2004 and nearly missed a perfect season in 2007.  The Red Sox won it in 2004 and 2007.  The Celtics won it in 2008.  And now the Bruins have won it in 2011.  So that’s seven championships across four teams in basically a decade’s time.  And beyond that, it is a ton of contention even when they didn’t win it all. [Read more...]

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Bill Simmons Says “The Decision” Worked

June 9, 2011 by 71 Comments

Bill Simmons used his recently launched venture, Grantland, to deliver an article about how “The Decision” was the best thing that has happened to the NBA in 15 years.  No. Really.  He used his new venture on Grantland, where it is supposedly not merely about driving traffic and hits, to proclaim that an event that disrupted the entire structure of the NBA was good for the league. His proclamation is based almost exclusively on ratings.  So, let me rephrase.  Bill Simmons started a venture, Grantland, where quality is derived almost exclusively by not blindly chasing Internet traffic spikes and yet the league he cares so much about was served proudly by an event of extremely questionable taste and judgment because it supposedly drove up ratings?

I don’t really want to talk about LeBron James anymore.  I don’t want to talk about my feelings or what a self-centered egomaniac I think he is.  It is all tired.  It has been stated ad nauseum and there is a specific reason that I am staying away from watching these NBA finals.  I refuse to co-sign for what occurred in the league dynamic this season.  I realize fully that my little “vote” counts for very little in the ratings book.  Trust me, it isn’t about me trying to punish anyone with a “powerful sword” that I have at my side.  It is more about not torturing myself as I vote “none of the above.”

None of that means that I don’t have opinions about the league and what it has become / is becoming.  I will always have an interest in the business of sports.  That is where I have the most problem with Bill Simmons’ latest column claiming that “The Decision” worked.

Let’s get into some of the specifics. [Read more...]

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LeBron Apologizes for “The Decision”

May 12, 2011 by 77 Comments

As I’m sure you’re all aware, the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics to win the NBA Championship advance to the Eastern Conference Finals tonight.  LeBron was feeling particularly good about the victory and offered up some reflection and remorse –  nearly 10 months after “The Decision” and one year since that infamous Game 5 performance in Cleveland.  LeBron, in postgame comments, stated:

“I knew I had to go through Boston at some point. I went through a lot signing to be here… The way it panned out with all the friends & family & fans back home, I apologize for the way it happened.  This was the opportunity of lifetime”

Brian Windhorst tweeted a quote in which LeBron specifically referred to his old teammates back in Cleveland: [Read more...]

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Why I Can’t Root for the Celtics

May 11, 2011 by 33 Comments

As the Miami Heat leads their series with the Boston Celtics, ESPN reports that the Celtics provided the blueprint for what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh put together in Miami.  ”Seeing guys make sacrifices to come together and play as one.  They set the blueprint and went out there and did it.  They won a championship.  They competed every year” James said.

“With LeBron losing to Boston in Cleveland in the playoffs, he felt like, ‘I gotta do more, I need to be around more to contend for a championship,’ ” Wade said. “Me feeling the same way going into the summer, saying that I needed more, it was because of Boston. They knocked us out.” [Read more...]

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The Indians Help Me Ignore the NBA Playoffs

May 2, 2011 by 26 Comments

Yesterday afternoon after the Indians completed their sweep of the Detroit Tigers, I was all set to watch Boston vs. Miami in the NBA playoffs.  I had it on and I was kind of watching until I realized that I really didn’t care.  LeBron James and the Miami Heat were winning the game and instead of feeling invested in KG and the Celtics, I was actually completely apathetic.  I wasn’t angry about the Heat and their league-ruining formation.  I wasn’t interested in the farcical “feel-good” storyline that would suggest I could find a way to root for the Celtics.  As it turns out, I was more interested in watching Kathy Ireland pretend to be a kicker in the 1991 Scott Bakula vehicle, Necessary Roughness on cable.

I joked over the weekend that Chris Antonetti is a much better GM than Mark Shapiro.  The guy takes the Indians GM job and all of a sudden the Tribe gets off to one of the hottest starts in their history.  Regardless of my attempts at humor, Shapiro, Antonetti, and Manny Acta are largely responsible for putting me in a position where I don’t feel the need to be invested in the NBA playoffs.  It’s awesome though.  It is freeing to not have something so negative get a hold on you.  And to be able to replace it with something so positive?  Awesome. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cavaliers, Indians Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Cavs’ Fan Guide to the NBA Playoffs

April 18, 2011 by 28 Comments

Over the weekend when I wasn’t watching the Tribe sweep the Orioles, I was checking out the NBA playoffs.  I saw on Twitter that some of the rest of you were doing the same and it got me thinking.  There were many theories about how to root in the playoffs in order to best represent the interests of Cavs fans.  Obviously, rooting against the Heat is an easy one and we can get that one out of the way early.  After that, it gets a lot more difficult.

I saw some people rooting for the Oklahoma City Thunder.  That makes sense because the Thunder have an amazing budding superstar named Kevin Durant who is easy to get behind.  This is a guy that announced his extension with his current club on Twitter.  This is a guy who went through the building process with his club and wants to be the glue that holds it all together as they strive toward the ultimate NBA prize.  You think Cavaliers fans can get behind something like that?

Only problem is he plays for a franchise that ripped the basketball heart out of the city of Seattle.  Many will try to claim that it is the city’s fault or whatever, but they said the same things about Michael White and the Browns.  The Sonics fans lost, regardless of who was to blame. [Read more...]

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Cavs Finish Second Deal Under the Wire

February 24, 2011 by 23 Comments

According to reports the Cavs have made a deadline deal to send a second round pick in the 2013 draft (the one acquired in the Sessions deal) to the Boston Celtics for Turkish center Semih Erden and forward Luke Harangody. [Read more...]

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NBA Trade Rumors: Cavs to Stay Put?

February 22, 2011 by 29 Comments

As the NBA trade deadline is just over 48 hours away, sources close to WFNY indicate that the most likely scenario will be Chris Grant and the Cleveland Cavaliers remaining as currently constructed for the remainder of the 2010-11 season.

The 10-46 Cavaliers have long been rumored to be shopping several players while receiving phone calls about others, but sources says that the front office is not currently looking for late draft picks, and what teams are currently offering the Cavs does not match up with what the Wine and Gold are asking for in return.  Much of the potential stalemate revolves around the pending expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, but the rest hinges on the fact that the team is fairly confident that it could purchase late first- or second-round draft selections if needed.

[Read more...]

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NBA Trade Rumors: Celtics Join Bulls in Pursuit of Anthony Parker

February 19, 2011 by 5 Comments

Fresh off an 18-point, nine-assist performance, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Anthony Parker is all the buzz in the latest NBA trade rumors.

A crucial contributor in Cleveland’s upset over the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night, Parker already had been mentioned over the past few weeks, but potential talks are just starting to heat up now. The latest updates from ESPN.com’s Marc Stein say that the Boston Celtics now are inquiring about the 35-year-old veteran, joining the Chicago Bulls as the leading contender for his services.

The latest rumors speculate that the Cavaliers potentially are demanding a young big man or first round draft picks in any such trade. WFNY’s Andrew covered where Cleveland stands for the future just the other day in his All-Star Break feature, and Scott recently rated Parker as the team’s most likely player to be traded by the deadline on Thursday, Feb. 24. [Read more...]

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On Bob Saget, Rajon Rondo and Being “Fine”

December 1, 2010 by 7 Comments

There’s a classic Saturday Night Live skit from the 1995 season where Bob Saget was the coach of a track team that looked like they should be doing just about anything that did not involve physical competition.  The skit takes place in between events, where Saget is there to help his team make what would be considered halftime adjustments. 

Glaring in disbelief at his team of obviously overmatched runners – which one could surmise without even laying eyes on the opponent – his only words of advice were to simply “run faster.”  One of his runners lost a race and the only question the coach had was “why didn’t you run faster?”  You know, as if one can just instantly become more athletic during a given event.

A similar scene is envisioned following the 106-87 loss to the Boston Celtics where the Cavaliers defenders were mere Wine and Gold-colored stand-ins, allowing their opponent to successfully execute lay-up after lay-up. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers Preview Game #17: Celtics at Cavs

November 30, 2010 by 5 Comments

Boston Celtics (12-4) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (7-9)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
7:00 PM EST
FSOH/WTAM

Nobody is looking ahead to Thursday and everyone is focused on tonight’s game against the Celtics, right? I hope not. While it’s easy to understand the anticipation with Thursday’s homecoming game looming, this game tonight is still a big game for the Cavaliers. Sure, the Cavs are no longer the title contenders of years past, but any time you have a chance to try to beat the Celtics you should embrace how much fun it is. The Cavs-Celtics is by no means a major rivalry, but these two franchises do have a bit of a history with one another including some memorable playoff matches and it’s still a game I want the Cavs to win just a little more than most games. So for the rest of the evening, put LeBron and the Heat out of your minds and gear up for what will hopefully be another fun and exciting matchup with the Eastern Conference’s premier team. [Read more...]

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Though Miami is Looming, Cavs Will Not Look Past Boston

November 29, 2010 by 8 Comments

This upcoming Thursday has been circled on nearly every calendar in Cleveland, but Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott wants to make one thing clear: his team is not looking past the Boston Celtics.

When asked if there was any concern about his team looking past Tuesday night’s contest, Scott vehemently said that it was not even a remote possibility.

“No, no [concern] whatsoever,” said Scott following Monday’s practice. “We’re playing the Boston Celtics tomorrow. They’re one of the best teams in the league.  Our focus right now is on tomorrow night, period.”

With Cleveland playing host to LeBron James and the Miami heat for the first time since the former Cavaliers left town via free agency, all attention (thanks, ESPN!) has been focused on the second of two games that will go down this week.  But Scott would rather the team focus on Tuesday night’s contest with the team currently atop the Eastern Conference standings and they are happily obliging. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers and Their Fans Show a Winning Spirit in Season Debut

October 28, 2010 by 32 Comments

Ok, lets get the excuses out of the way first. The Boston Celtics were tired from playing such an emotionally charged game the night before. The Celtics age is going to hurt them in road ends of back-to-backs all year. They overlooked the Cavaliers and didn’t give the same focus and effort they gave at home against Miami. There was no intensity in a meaningless game like this to the Boston Celtics. Does that about cover it? Ok, good, now lets move on.

Perhaps this game didn’t really matter on a macro-sociological level in the NBA, but then again, not all outcomes matter equally. For one night, Cleveland had it’s redemption when the final buzzer sounded and the Cavaliers had secured their 95-87 win over the Boston Celtics. Disregard all the excuses and the self-righteous indignation of pundits who would berate this organization for daring to have belief in the talent on this roster and not just immediately giving up and selling off parts for pennies on the dollar. None of that matters today. What matters is what this win meant to this region which was so let down and humiliated by the events of this offseason. [Read more...]

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Byron Scott’s Addition Gives Daniel Gibson a New Life

October 28, 2010 by 24 Comments

Not every bench player gets to miss his first eight shots yet still earn fourth quarter minutes.  But such was the case with Daniel Gibson during an epic opening night for the New Expression Cavaliers.

Often passed over due to his lack of size and occasional inconsistency under Mike Brown, Gibson had one of his most memorable nights since scoring 31 points in Game 6 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals.  Starting off on a rocky note, the man affectionately known as “Boobie” would flourish in the end by sinking four clutch free throws in the final seconds of Wednesday night’s 95-87 win over the Boston Celtics.

“Pops always told me to have a short memory if you want to be a great shooter,” said Gibson. 

[Read more...]

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Cavaliers Preview Game #1: Celtics at Cavs

October 27, 2010 by 45 Comments

Boston Celtics (1-0) vs
Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0)
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
7:00 PM EST
FSOH/WTAM

The Cleveland Cavaliers begin a new journey tonight. Although the result of their path is as unclear as I can ever recall it being, just having the ability to begin down the path brings excitement. And with that excitement comes the nerves. I’m not sure I can remember the last time I was nervous about a season opener. Nervous in a good way, I mean. Nervous because I don’t know what to expect. Nervous because my security blanket is gone. Nervous because I had forgotten what it’s like to watch the Cavaliers and not have LeBron James being a part of it. But it’s a nervous excitement because tonight we begin this journey together. This is about as united as the fans, players, and team as a whole have been in a very long time. We don’t know how this is going to turn out, but we’re in this together. [Read more...]

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Cavaliers, Fans Prepare For Season Opener

October 25, 2010 by 4 Comments

The Cavaliers open the 2010-2011 season Wednesday night at home against the Boston Celtics. Shaquille O’Neal will no doubt find his way from the visitor’s locker room to see some of his Cleveland friends, but the trip will be all business for the poetic big man. Delonte West will likely not make the trip as he will begin serving his suspension for the weapon’s related trouble he got into prior to last season.

The Celtics will come to town on the second half of a back-to-back. They play the Miami Heat on Tuesday.

The Cavaliers finished the preseason with a 6-2 mark. That record means absolutely nothing of course. The team has been trying to implement a new system, all while adjusting to a different roster. This year’s roster features 6 players that were not members of last year’s team. To make matters more difficult, they have played the majority of the preseason without starters Mo Williams and Andy Varejao. Antawn Jamison has also been limited in his on-court time. [Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting… Cavs Preview, Leon Powe, Eric Wedge Interviews

October 9, 2010 by Leave a 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

Previewing the rocky situation for the Cavs this season: “The question of whether the Cavaliers are worse off after losing LeBron James is not debatable. Of course the franchise is worse off — today, tomorrow and possibly forever. The question is how far will Cleveland fall, and how long will it take to recover.

The latter is a bit misguided in the sense that Cleveland’s recent performance (at least in the regular season) is so rare it’s hardly regularly achievable. The Cavaliers won 66 games last season, becoming only the fourth team since 2000 to do so.” [Bethlehem Shoals and Tom Ziller/FanHouse]
[Read more...]

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2010-11 NBA Blogger Previews – Atlantic Division

September 20, 2010 by 2 Comments

Yep, it’s that time of year again already. Once again, CleticsBlog are hosting the annual Blogger Previews for every team in the NBA. How this works is simple, every day a certain NBA team is up and bloggers who write about said team will offer their previews for that team in the upcoming season. Then, once a division is completed, all the bloggers throughout the NBA who are participating will post links for all the previews for that division.

First up is the Atlantic Division. All the previews are linked below, and I encourage everyone to take a few minutes, click on the links, and check out what writers from across the nation are saying about their own teams. We will be posting the Cavaliers preview on September 29, so stay tuned. [Read more...]

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Could Shaquille O’Neal Shed Light on the Cavs Locker Room Rumors?

August 5, 2010 by 19 Comments

Since the end of the 2010 NBA playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers have had a few nameplates removed from the locker room at Quicken Loans Arena. Some left on better terms than others, two specific players actually yielded a return. But if any one player were to air the laundry of what took place in the clouded series against the Boston Celtics, it would be their newest center Shaquille O’Neal.

Throughout his entire career, O’Neal has left his mark in every town he has called home whether it was with a championship ring or a backhanded opinion on his way through the door. In a Hansel and Gretel-like fashion, the one they call Big Diesel left a trail of crumbs for the world to see: passing up a larger contract with the team that drafted him, not taking well to being Kobe Bryant’s sidekick and going as far to call Pat Riley unprofessional for “making him play with Chris Quinn and Ricky Davis.”

So what would stop him from a few parting shots on his trip from Cleveland to Boston?

[Read more...]

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NBA Free Agency: Shaquille O’Neal Takes League Minimum to Play in Boston

August 4, 2010 by 21 Comments

After one year of service as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, veteran center Shaquille O’Neal appears ready to take his talents to Beantown and play for the Boston Celtics.

After winning the Eastern Conference in 2009-10 season and falling just short of yet another NBA Championship, Danny Ainge opted to add depth at the center position - a position which had been exposed after Kendrick Perkins went down with an injury.  Adding another veteran O’Neal in the form of Jermaine, it is reported that Shaquille O’Neal will take the league’s veteran minimum compensation ($1.4 million) and come off of the bench for the first time in his 18-year career. [Read more...]

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