Author: John Blake (Page 63 of 68)

Fourth quarter surge ends Nets’ streak

April 8, 2006 / John Blake

LeBron dropped 37 points Saturday afternoon as the Cavaliers beat the Nets 108-102, snapping New Jersey�s 14-game winning streak. James, once again, took charge and led his team when it counted, scoring 18 of his points in the fourth quarter. With a Washington loss to Miami, the Cavaliers will lock up the fourth seed and clinch home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

New Jersey is the hottest team in the NBA and to come from behind and beat them on their home floor is pretty remarkable. Without Z, LeBron put the team on his shoulders and was phenomenal the way he carried the Cavaliers to victory.

“LeBron James was LeBron James; he is truly an amazing player,” Mike Brown said. “In my opinion, there are a lot of great players out there, but without him we’d be in trouble. So in my opinion, he’s an MVP.”

Cleveland Cavaliers

Indians, Blake slam the door on Twins

April 7, 2006 / John Blake

In their home opener, the Indians treated the sellout crowd to quite an offensive show, beating the Minnesota Twins 11-6 Friday afternoon. The Tribe was helped by two Travis Hafner home runs and a grand slam by Casey Blake as they pounded out a total of 17 hits. Paul Byrd was a little shaky in his Indians debut, allowing five earned runs in six innings but pitched well enough to get the win. Byrd knows the Indians must get off on the right foot this season and so far is pleased with the results.

“This is a good team that went through a lot last year,” he said. “We wanted to get off to a good start, and so far, that’s what we’ve done.”

After the season opener, the Tribe has looked very impressive the last three games. They�re getting decent starting pitching and are hitting the ball extremely well. So far, the Indians are living up to the one through nine philosophy once again.

Cleveland Indians

Winslow working to silence doubters

April 6, 2006 / John Blake

Kellen Winslow II took time to talk about how his rehab is progressing and what he is doing to prepare for the 2006 season. Being out of action for nearly two full seasons can be extremely trying on any athlete but Winslow has stayed upbeat and focused during these difficult times.

The self-confidence and motivation of a football player are severely tested after going through two major knee operations in two consecutive seasons. Winslow, however, is as driven and passionate as ever to prove to the organization and the fans that he can return to the field strong and healthy.

“This is it,” Winslow said. “I have something to prove to everybody, and to myself. This is it. It’s time to do it.”

K II’s attitude has been very admirable during his rehab process. He seems like he has learned a great deal about himself over the last couple years, specifically regarding his motorcycle accident. Winslow realizes that he is not invincible and that bad things can happen no matter how untouchable you think you are. He has put his mistakes behind him and is working his tail off to get back to full force.

Cleveland Browns

Cavs come back to Earth

April 5, 2006 / John Blake

All good things must come to an end. The Cavaliers� mammoth nine-game winning streak did on Wednesday night, as they lost to the woeful New York Knicks 96-94. LeBron James finished with 36 and the Cavs outscored the Knicks by 15 in the final quarter but it still wasn�t enough. Mike Brown was not at all pleased with his club�s effort.

“I was disappointed in our effort,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “I thought that our guys felt that they could show up in this building and win the ballgame whenever they wanted to. We didn’t take care of the basketball, we didn’t really share the basketball. We weren’t aggressive attacking until late in the game and we didn’t do a good job defending.

Z being out must have affected the team�s psyche or something because, with the exception of the last quarter, the Cavaliers did not show up.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Michaels, bullpen help Tribe win second straight

April 5, 2006 / John Blake

In a tight extra inning affair, the Indians came out on top in the rubber match to beat the White Sox 4-3 in 11 innings. Jason Michaels delivered the game-winning double for the Tribe and Bob Wickman came in and got the save. Indians starter Cliff Lee went 5 1/3 innings and gave up three runs before turning it over to the bullpen, which did a superb job keeping the Sox scoreless the rest of the way.

Michaels and Mota were awesome today. Jason is a tough and gritty ballplayer who gives it his all in the outfield and in the batter�s box. Whether he gets a hit or not, he seems to be a very difficult out who will always give himself a chance to get on base. Mota has great movement on his pitches and really showed me something today with his performance. Great win and just like last season, Eric Wedge knows the focus of this team is on winning series.

“Our goal is to win each series and it’s nice to get this first one,” Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said after Wednesday’s 4-3, 11-inning victory over the defending World Series champions.