Cavs up 3-0, Dirty Delly, plus Tomorrowland and Ex Machina – WFNY Podcast – 2015-05-25
May 26, 2015Ball Played: Prince Fielder taunts Indians in Rangers win
May 26, 2015
Happy Tuesday WFNY!
I hope you guys all enjoyed your extended holiday weekend. I know I sure did. In fact, I had such an enjoyable weekend that I forgot for a second that today is actually Tuesday and not Monday. And, more important, that meant that today is my WWW day. So, while I’m still getting back in the swing of things and am fully acknowledging that outside of the Cavaliers I was completely unplugged from the world of sports all weekend, today’s WWW will be a little more brief than usual. Apologies for that.
But what a weekend for those aforementioned Cleveland Cavaliers, eh?
I’m sure most fans were more or less just hoping for a split in Atlanta. When the Cavs took Game 1 in Atlanta, it was a pretty relieving feeling. The Cavs had done the bare minimum that they needed to do. Game 2 felt like a bonus, and that’s probably partially why Kyrie Irving didn’t play. I was hoping the Cavs could steal Game 2, but I certainly wasn’t expecting it.
What I never thought would happen, though, is that without Kyrie the Cavaliers would pull away from the Hawks in the second half of Game 2 and seemingly break the spirit and will of the Hawks. It was pretty stunning, but suddenly the Cavs were up 2-0 and heading back home.
For Game 3, Kyrie was once again ruled out. I figured the Hawks would come out with a backs-against-the-wall mentality and give the Cavaliers everything they could handle. And that’s exactly how it played out. There were multiple points in Game 3 where I felt that the Cavaliers were done. But man, every single time you want to count out this Cavaliers team, they just find a way to somehow claw their way back to life. LeBron James was again simply incredible and when OT was over, the Cavaliers held a 3-0 stranglehold on the series.
And so now here we sit, the Cavs once again on the verge of an NBA Finals appearance. And what can we really say about this team? With all due respect to the nostalgia of the Mark Price teams of my youth, I have always felt the 2009 Cavaliers team was my favorite Cavs team of my lifetime. They weren’t the best Cavs team of my life (in my opinion the 2010, 1989, and 1992 teams were all better overall teams), but that 2009 team was the most fun1. The players on that team had more chemistry than any other Cavs team I can remember. Watching the way that team would all celebrate for each other, LeBron dancing on the bench with his teammates as the Cavs steamrolled team after team all season long was just the best thing ever.
This year’s Cavs team was one of the most frustrating teams in many ways. It’s hard to fathom that this team really was 19-20 at one point. It seems like that was five years ago already. So much has changed and this team has grown in so many ways. I might be more proud of this team than any other Cavs team. I’ve said it before, but I have no problem repeating it. This team reminds me so much of last year’s Ohio State football team.
The way the Buckeyes overcame two of the most devastating injuries you can face2, only to band together and fight as a team for a Championship was one of the most awe inspiring moments of my life. Now the Cavaliers are trying to do the same thing. When Kevin Love was lost for the year, I thought the Cavs were done. Now they are one win away from going to the Finals, where anything can happen.
Slowly but surely this team is carving an incredibly special place in my sports heart.
*****
New(ish) Album of the Week
Predictably, the Tuesday after Memorial Weekend is slow for new music releases. There are a few decent new albums worth checking out (for any fans of punk music, the new Anti-Flag is out this week). But for my favorite new album of the week, I’m going with an album that came out a couple weeks ago, but had escaped my attention until this week. That album is the release from The Early November titled “Imbue”.
The Early November is a pseudo-emo indie rock band from New Jersey. In 2006 they released one of the most ambitious projects I’ve ever heard, a three-disc album titled “The Mother, The Mechanic, and The Path”. Three discs, each one very different from the others. It tied together all kinds of themes of family, dysfunction, therapy, etc. It was music that had something very real to say and it tried to convey its message not only through the lyrics, but through every musical decision made throughout the album.
After its release, the band took a bit of a hiatus before returning in 2012 with an album called “In Currents”. Now, they are back with their fourth album. “Imbue” is not a huge departure from the band’s core sound. It’s more or less exactly what you’d expect from The Early November. But that’s a good thing. A very good thing.
I’m disappointed that I somehow missed this when it came out, but you know what they always say, better late than never.
*****
That’s all I have this week. Next week this space will find us either preparing for the start of the NBA Finals, or else lamenting an epic Cleveland collapse. It’s going to be the former. Have a great week, WFNY!
- Why don’t I think the 66 win team was the best Cavs team ever? They lacked depth and they seemed to lose every game against elite teams in the regular season. It was great that they destroyed all the teams worse than them, but they sometimes struggled against equal opponent. The 2010 added so much more depth and they actually beat the other elite teams. I still think the 2010 Cavs team was the best Cavs team ever. Something just happened in that fateful Celtics series that caused them to collapse. [↩]
- Losing your starting QB is bad enough. But to have a player like JT Barrett rise up the way he did, only to be knocked out for the year himself was just awful [↩]
15 Comments
I can’t wait to listen to some Early November. I was big on them for their first two major releases For All of This and Room’s Too Cold, but fell off of them after that. No idea why I forgot about them, because I always liked it. Feels like a bonus.
Perhaps it is partially nostalgia, but my favorite Cavs team will likely forever be the ’92 team. Price/Daugherty/Nance all healthy and peaking just as the playoffs hit. Ending the career of Larry Bird. Not to mention the 2-PG backcourts with Price/Brandon/Battle/Kerr all demanding playing time.
I still remember being shocked after Game 6 against the Bulls as it was “our turn” to blow them out as we had gone back and forth doing in that series.
always appreciate your music picks as they are right on par with bands i love/grew up loving. uncanny
I remember watching that game at the BW-3 on Exchange Street at the University of Akron. :/
I’m old enough to remember the Stepien chaos, and I’m telling you that more significant events – lotto wins, signings, trades, injuries, whisperings, losing, winning, drama both good and bad – has happened in the last 12 months than any year of any Cavs era.
Whatever anyone thinks about Blatt, it’s a mighty fortunate thing that he’s coached for Russian oligarchs and players who spoke little English and thrived despite that and untold weird stuff. Can’t believe Calipari or someone of that ilk would have fared better. Before the season started I predicted that too many had to adapt to too much for a title this year. With all that’s happened I’m viewing a trip to the Finals as playing with house money, and just hoping next year will feature much of the same roster. Someone should and will write a book about this year, regardless of how it shakes out. Talk about intense, and entertaining beyond anyone’s reasonable expectations.
I loved that team as well Mark Price is still one of my all time favorite Cavaliers.
I love how the Cavaliers have come together they really are a band of brothers you can see it. Losing Love and having KI battle through his injuries solidified the team. The great thing about being up 3-0 is win or lose tonight I don’t see any reason for KI to play tonight.
The 2009 Cavs were 12-4 against the eight playoff teams from the Western Conference in the regular season, so not sure how that translates to “seemed to lose very game against elite teams in the regular season.” It was only Boston and Orlando that they struggled with that year and they still only lost to Orlando in the ECF because of a couple of fluke plays that went the wrong way. Oh, and Orlando’s players juicing, let’s not forget that one.
Hopefully Atlanta won’t resort to Celtic goon-ball.
Lest we forget in all the excitement of the Cavs victory….Cersei got pitched into a dungeon cell.
By “elite” teams, I mostly meant Boston and LA. Cavs were 2-4 against them. And I have always maintained that the Cavs were better than that Magic team.
But for my money, the 2010 team was better. Just an opinion, though.
I’m just still bitter over 2009 is all. No way that Magic team was better than Cavs, just all the breaks went their way. A series that still haunts to this day.
unless, of course, he is capable of running sprints in the hallway outside the locker room, then he must be 100% healthy
not even then absolutely zero reason for KI to play at all tonight!
By any means necessary – Whitey Bulger – Black Mass coming to a theater near you soon!