Cavaliers get beat down.
March 6, 2008Brady On The Move?
March 7, 2008Man. Talk about taking one on the chin. I’m sure I’m not alone on this one, but I turned this game on in the second quarter. I saw LeBron James nail the three-pointer from the time line to end the half, and then took off to meet a few buddies at a local establishment. By the time I walked in the door, the Cavs were down 14 points – and that was that.
Don’t doubt for one minute that Joakim Noah wasn’t energized for this game. Tyrus Thomas was suspended, and Aaron Gray isn’t about to steal minutes in a vindication-type game. Noah hustled the entire time he was on the floor – even throwing down a huge dunk that ultimately wouldn’t count as it followed a foul on Luol Deng. But it was enough to get the crowd on their feet, and it was about that time in the game where you could see the Cavaliers simply deflate.
Call it the second of a back-to-back on the road. Call it simply another game where the team came out absolutely flat in the second half. Whichever way you look at it, all it took was an ugly 12-minute period to put the “L” in the books.
In the rest of the world…
Browns fans will be very intrigued by this piece over at PFT. Former Bengal, and current Brown, Shaun Smith goes on record to discuss an altercation that occurred over two years ago. One that Cincinnati tried its hardest to cover up. Let’s face it, did Cincy really need another black eye on their name?
Asked at the 5:20 mark of the clip about the incident that occurred in the team’s locker room during the only playoff game of the Lewis era, Smith said of Johnson: “He swung on Marvin. . . . [Johnson] shattered the training room glass. . . . He swung on Marvin [and] hit Marvin in the eye. . . . Then he tried to swing on wide receivers coach Hue Jackson, who’s now in Baltimore.”
And Marvin Lewis won’t trade Johnson? I really can’t blame Bengal fans for reacting the way they have this off-season. Botched trades and all. They could be in for another ugly season.
A solid interview with Cleveland State freshman hoopster Norris Cole in today’s Plain Dealer. It’s always a feel-good story when athletes have such strong support from their family – before making it big. Couple this with the fact that Dayton isn’t exactly the next town over from Cleveland and it’s even that much better.
There’s a very interesting post by James Walker over at the Columbus Dispatch regarding the contract of Derek Anderson.
What stands out most is the huge roster bonus of $5 million due before the 2009 season. This confirms everyone’s suspicion that Cleveland’s two-quarterback system is a one-year experiment.
The Browns will not pay Anderson a $5 million roster bonus next year unless they are convinced he is their long-term solution at quarterback. If not, the Browns likely will make a trade and turn to Brady Quinn.
This is very intriguing given the fact that I feel Anderson is still trade bait. But how many teams would be willing to take on the possibility of last year being a fluke season only to have to pay the guy an extra $5 mill come next year? Do the Knicks need a quarterback?
Have a good Friday, all.
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