The Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 50 point performance by Paul Pierce of the Celtics, poor free throw shooting down the stretch and some terrible “home town” calls to win a double overtime thriller 113-109 at Boston. Once again, Lebron James scored 43 points, had 12 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the Cavs, while Drew Gooden pitched in with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Cavaliers showed some endurance and toughness with this victory, and went into the all-star break on a high note.

I still believe GM Danny Ferry needs to work his magic and come up with a block buster trade to support Lebron during the absence of Larry Hughes. The last 30 games are a long grind to get into the playoffs.

A judge ruled that Ohio State improperly fired head basketball coach Jim O’Brien, despite ruling that O’Brien violated his contract when he gave $6,000 of his own money to a foreign player.

Clark wrote in the ruling that the possible NCAA sanctions and damage to Ohio State’s reputation from the loan would have been relatively minor, while O’Brien’s loss of salary and benefits was substantial.

This ruling shows how ridiculous the whole system has become. Despite the judge’s opinion on how the NCAA would have ruled, Ohio State simply did not have the luxury of taking any chances.

Let’s hope the NCAA doesn’t go any further next week when a final ruling on penalties is expected so the Buckeyes can play in the NCAA tournament this year and welcome their awesome recruiting class in the fall.