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Tribe checks in at #4 on ESPN’s first Power Rankings

February 16, 2006 /

Nestled in between the New Yorks (Yankees at #3 and Mets at #5) on ESPN’s first MLB Power Rankings for the 2006 season are the Cleveland Indians:

Overcoming last September’s stretch-drive failures early will be key. How much will they miss Coco Crisp?

If anything, I see last season’s late-season collapse as a positive for this team. They’re young and hungry, and coming so close last year before falling on their faces is only going to make them hungrier. Sure, the loss of Coco will be a factor, as will the losses of Kevin Millwood and Bob Howry, but this is still a very good team and, if the rotation and Bob Wickman stay relatively healthy, they should again be in the thick of things. Do I think they have a chance to knock off the White Sox? Absolutely. Anything can happen in baseball. But they’ll have to make some moves at the trade deadline to shore up any weaknesses if they want to make a legitimate run.

Cleveland Indians

Cavs win a close one in Boston

February 15, 2006 /

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.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Judge sides with O’Brien against Ohio State

February 15, 2006 /

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.

OSU Basketball

Hughes will miss rest of regular season

February 14, 2006 /

This sucks. Larry Hughes had to have surgery performed again on his injured hand. As a result, he will miss the rest of the regular season.

Hughes, the team’s second-leading scorer, was supposed to miss six to eight weeks after having surgery Jan. 6. However, doctors concluded last week that the finger hadn’t healed as quickly as the team had hoped. The team said he will now miss an additional eight to 10 weeks.

“If all goes well for him and all goes well for our team … he could possibly be back and participate in the postseason,” Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry said.

The Cavs should still make the playoffs, but this team will never gel if guys like Hughes are gone for so long. It will be tough for him to contribute in the playoffs. It will be interesting to see if the Cavs make a trade.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Lebron too much for Spurs

February 13, 2006 /

This team is really strange. They dominate at home when facing good teams, yet they blow it against the weak teams. Basically, they have talent, but they still need to put it all together. Tonight Lebron dominated agaist the Spurs, scoring 44 points in a 101-87 victory.

Cleveland is 14-2 at home against teams over .500, and 5-5 against teams under .500. The win over the Spurs came two days after a lackluster home loss to Golden State.

“We have to grow up,” James said. “We can’t keep beating Phoenix, Detroit and San Antonio and then lose to sub-par teams.”

That pretty much sums it up.

Cleveland Cavaliers

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