Month: April 2006 (Page 5 of 17)

Wizards pay back Cavs, tie series

April 26, 2006 / John Blake

The Washington Wizards evened up the series Tuesday night, beating the Cavaliers 89-84 at the Q. LeBron James, following his superb triple-double performance the other day, scored 26 but also turned the ball over 10 times. The Cavaliers opened up a large lead to start the game but then the Wizards got hot to make it close at the end of the first quarter. Drew Gooden, on 11-12 shooting, finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison each scored 21 and Gilbert Arenas added 30 for the Wizards.

You have to give the Wizards credit, they limited James as best they could and prevented him from driving the lane. This loss puts the Cavaliers in a difficult position because now they have essentially lost the home-court advantage. Mike Brown, LeBron, and the rest of the squad are going to have to somehow figure out how to solve Washington’s defensive formations. It also didn’t help that LeBron had four fouls going into the fourth quarter. That obviously seemed to limit his aggressiveness on both sides of the court.

“They had a great scheme by playing me 1-on-1,” said James, whose 10 turnovers were a team playoff record. “I missed a lot of shots, layups that I usually make. They did a great job. I didn’t come to play.”

Cleveland Cavaliers

Trading up for Hawk?

April 24, 2006 / G

Phil Savage has called A. J. Hawk the “safest pick in the draft,” so Terry Pluto is asking why don’t the Browns try harder to trade up to get him? He argues the Browns should consider trading their #1 pick for this year and next year for Hawk, as long as they can get some decent late round picks in return.

This would be a very tough call. Hawk is a stud, and he could anchor a team’s defense for ten years. He’s Chris Speilman but with much more talent. If he lives up to that billing, the trade would be worth it. The Browns could have a decent season next year, and that would make next year’s less valuable. Yet the Browns could also end up with a great player at #12.

The one factor holding Savage back might be the huge salary that the team would need to pay for a pick in the top five. That might be enough to make him stay put at #12.

Cleveland Browns, OSU Football

LeBron’s many successful debuts

April 24, 2006 / G

Brian Windhorst of the Beacon Journal has written a cool article on ESPN.com detailing Lebron’s evolution as a player, debut by debut.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Indians lose roadtrip finale

April 23, 2006 / John Blake

What once was a hot start for the Indians is starting to cool off. The Tribe lost their second straight to the Royals by a score of 5-1 Sunday afternoon. The Indians have now dropped four of five and eight of their last twelve. Jeremy Affeldt became the first Royals starter to get a win this season as he allowed only one run in 5 1/3 innings. Ronnie Belliard accounted for the only Indians run when he hit a home run in the second. Jason Johnson took the loss for the Tribe, surrendering four runs in 6 innings.

“I didn’t feel real good pretty much the whole game,” Johnson said. “All my pitches were up. A sinker doesn’t do much when it is up. I just tried to battle through it. If I’m not in there in the seventh inning, I didn’t do my job.”

With all the young, inexperienced arms we now have in the bullpen because of injuries to Miller, Betancourt, and Cabrera, it is critical for our starters to pitch well and take us deep into games. For the last several games that hasn�t been the case and is really becoming a problem for the Tribe. Perhaps some home cooking will do us good.

Cleveland Indians

Indians fall behind early, lose to Royals

April 23, 2006 / John Blake

Paul Byrd got off to a rocky start and it didn’t get much better as the Indians lost to the Royals 11-5 Saturday night. A four-run first inning set the tone for Kansas City, which ended its 11-game losing streak. Byrd gave up seven runs in three innings, raising his ERA to 9.15 on the season. Things got a little heated in the sixth as reliever Jeremy Guthrie was ejected for hitting a batter. Eric Wedge was also ousted when he came out to argue.

“This shows a complete lack of feel for the ballgame,” Wedge said of the umpires. “They were saying we were trying to hit the guy on purpose because he stole a base with a seven-run lead. That’s ridiculous. I don’t know how you can umpire that long and have such a lack of understanding for the game.”

Overall not a very good night for the Tribe. Byrd continues to struggle with his command and is having a rough start to the season.