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Friday, May 14, 2010

Cavs Fall to Celtics

Is it even a discussion who the best basketball player in the world is anymore?

In my opinion, no. Kobe Bryant is now by far the best player in the world. And after the pathetic showing of LeBron James these last few games against the Boston Celtics, I’m hesitating to call him even the 2nd best.

Why do I say this? The best player in the world does not fold up like a lawn chair when his team, nay, his CITY needs him most. Now you may say, “Gee, Matt. LeBron had a triple double in game 6. He had 27 points, 10 assists, and 19 rebounds. What’s wrong with that?” You and I both know stats do not tell the entire story, and anyone who watched game 6 saw that LeBron James was not out there playing for a championship.

It is one thing to watch a team go out playing their best basketball. It is another to watch a team fall into a slumber and just not care whether they win or lose. It was even shown in this series that when the Cavs were at their best the Celtics could not stop them. So why did the Cavs decide to close up shop?

I knew there was something amiss after the game 2 loss to the Celtics when Mike Brown went out and called out his team at the press conference, and rightly so. What followed shocked me most. LeBron went to the podium and just seemed like the worst thing that happened was that the game kept him from finding out what happened on 24 that night. Little did I know this was just the beginning of the LeBron James rollercoaster.

The series returned to Boston where the Cavs blew the Celtics out of the building. For a moment all seemed right with the universe. LeBron was the best player on the court, and the Cavs looked like the team that was going to win the NBA Championship. Oh, how a week can change things. Game 4 came, and while the Cavs did not look awful, they were a team that only appeared to be interested in playing for a few minutes at a time. There appeared to be a switch somewhere that turned the Cavs off and on, but eventually they folded, the Celtics pulled away, and the series was even.

The Cavs still had two home games left to the Celtics’ one. Everything was still in their favor. However, apparently the players, most notably LeBron, decided this whole playoffs thing was starting to get a little uninteresting. Game 5 was the most important game of franchise history, and in the career of LeBron James. So what happens? Not only to the Cavs barely show up, but James puts on a performance that warranted the return of his MVP trophy to the powers at be.

The thing about star players is that even when they are not 100%, they are still supposed to be a factor. LeBron James could not even give the Cavs fans that in game 5. He went on the court, threw up brick after brick, and often stood off to the side of the play apparently with the thought basketball is more fun to watch. Eventually he went and sat on the bench like a kindergartener in time out.

Now, the bad game is one thing, but after the game he gave a press conference that felt like a middle finger to Cleveland fans everywhere. He dismissed the game as a “bad day” and just seemed to not care in general about the fact he just blew the entire season and made people across the nation second-guess his legitimacy as the best player in the game.

Then came game 6, which I barely feel like discussing. Was he better? Yes. Did he make some good plays? Yes. But he was not the best player on the court, nor did he truly appear to be playing as if there was no tomorrow.

Is it the elbow? Maybe, but that doesn’t explain his performance in game 3, which was the only game I felt like I was truly watching LeBron James. If anything was injured it was his head.

Now for the remainder of this I will address LeBron James directly.

Dear LeBron,

I know you fancy yourself the greatest basketball player of all time. A couple of weeks ago I might have agreed with you. I also thought you were mature beyond your years. Now after this Celtics series you have not only let your team down but the entire city of Cleveland. I would not be this virulent if you ever appeared to care, but frankly you didn’t.

Let’s examine your idol, Michael Jordan. In situations such as this he went out and left it all on the court. If he died out there he wouldn’t have cared, so long as he helped his team win. The same can be said of Kobe Bryant, or countless other players throughout this league. But apparently the same cannot be said of you.

Neither Bryant nor Jordan nor anyone else would display the behavior you have shown us in the last week. You go out there and make terrible plays and passes leading to turnovers, and start mouthing off to your teammates. Learn how to take responsibility. You apparently haven’t yet. You will no doubt use this blame you put on the rest of your team in your decision this summer as to where you will play. Run off to New York, Chicago, or wherever. Just know that I have serious doubts that the man I saw playing these past few games will ever amount to anything truly great in the history of this league. To win this league consistently not only takes skill, but maturity and work ethic. You seem to have a lot of work to do. I think the people of Cleveland deserve better.

Sincerely,
Matt

P.S. – I now notice Drew has posted something already, so it may seem redundant. Sorry about that.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Only in Cleveland

Only in Cleveland.

Only in Cleveland does the team with the best regular-season record in the NBA the past two seasons fail to even make the NBA Finals in each season.

Only in Cleveland would professional sports teams be on the infamous side of several dramatic sports moments, including The Catch, Red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, and Renteria’s Single.

Could anything else go wrong for Cleveland at this point? The answer to that is yes, even with the so-called “Chosen One” still searching for a title after seven years.

But can't that be as bad as it gets? Ha I’m afraid not.

The departure appears to be the next devastating moment lurking to blacken the Cleveland sports world this side of the Indians’ meltdown in the 2007 ALCS to the Red Sox. And if he really does leave – he whose name I will not speak of – I think we will look back on his escape as the darkest moment in Cleveland sports history.

THE darkest moment. Why? Well, it’s not like the King doesn’t have an opportunity to win his first crown in Cleveland. It’s not like the whole city of Cleveland, let alone the whole state of Ohio, isn’t looking to him to end the draught – because they are. And if he leaves – well, you can be guaranteed that Cleveland won’t win a title for at least 10 more years the way the Indians and the Browns have been playing as of late.

But enough of speculating about things because the only thing that’s really on my mind right now is the number “46.”

Here’s why: Forty-six years of devastation. Forty-six years of finishing just short. Forty-six years it's been since the city of Cleveland has witnessed one of its professional sports franchises hoist a championship trophy.

That’s nauseating for me to type. In fact, it sickens me to even think about it because year after year, season after season, one thing remains constant – Cleveland teams still have their fans clinging onto “next year.”

But I’ve had it with all this “next year” nonsense because every other Cleveland sports fan and I is sick of excuses, bad performances in the playoffs and monumental errors at the worst possible time.

So where do we go from here? Only God knows. The only thing to do at this point is wait – wait for the next Cleveland sports team to start its season and wait to see if the King will relocate his throne.

Baseball Buckeyes rejuvenated

A two-game winning streak isn't much, but try saying that to the Ohio State baseball team. The Buckeyes finished off their six-game home stand with consecutive victories after dropping their first four at the friendly confines of Bill Davis Stadium. But despite winning its last two games, OSU has still lost 10 of its last 15. If the Buckeyes keep hitting the ball and producing runs like they have been, though, they should have no trouble winning another regular season Big Ten crown. The Buckeyes have scored 16 runs and have scattered 27 hits across the field in their last two games and also have gotten good timely pitching from their bullpen. Throw OSU ace Alex Wimmers into that mix, if his hamstring cooperates, and suddenly we have a new frontrunner to win the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes have two three-game weekend series left to their 2010 Big Ten season, at Iowa this weekend and home against Minnesota the next, so they have enough time to make a run, especially since they are only one game out of first. Can OSU give coach Bob Todd his eighth crown in his 23rd and final season at the helm? The three games that will be played this weekend in Iowa City will go a long way to determining that.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Goodbye To The Voice Of The Turtle

"For lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone;
the flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."
I don’t know what turtles sound like, but I have always imagined that they sounded like Ernie Harwell. When Ernie would come on the air on a cold March Michigan afternoon, wish everyone a “Happy New Year,” and say that “the voice of the turtle is heard in our land,” I always assumed that he was referring to himself.
Ernie saying that “winter is past” would give hope that the long Michigan winter was coming to an end, even if there was six inches of snow on the ground. Hearing Ernie brought memories of those summer evenings up north at the cottage that seemed so far off. Ernie would bring hope with the first spring training game each year that the warm Florida sun would soon be headed north.
Summers with Ernie ended in 2002, Ernie’s last season as the Tigers’ broadcaster. But Ernie was still around doing interviews and ads. You always hoped that he might pop back in the both for a few innings just to talk and you did not want to miss it when he did.
But now Ernie is gone, he is not coming back and baseball will never sound the same.
For Ernie what had to be the longest winter of his life has finally past. Ernie was given only a few months to live last summer and had originally said that he hoped to make it to Christmas and his January 25th birthday. Ernie did that and made it to another baseball season, something that he did not expect to see.
Everyone knew that the news of Ernie’s death was coming, every once in a while you might think about him and wonder how he was holding on for so long.
Then the news came and you were still surprised and you were not ready.
Ernie was beloved within the State of Michigan, but it extended beyond that. Ernie’s Tigers broadcasts on WJR could be heard throughout the Midwest and eastern North America. He was the voice of baseball for so many and loved by them all.
There is a broadcast booth named for Ernie not only in Detroit, but in Cleveland. The place where he called his first regular season Tigers game from the bleachers.
Ernie never seemed concerned about what he was going through, but rather he was content with it. Ernie had more faith then anyone you will ever meet. He put his trust in Christ and knew that a heavenly reward awaited him.
Ernie’s speech last September was an amazing sight; think about if you were dying, would you be able to talk so openly about it? I know I wouldn’t.
Our loss is heavens gain. Today I suspect Ernie is in a broadcast both calling a game for the millions of Tigers’ fans who have gone before him. The stadium resembles the one that once stood on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. The Bird is on the mound with Detroit’s original Georgia Peach in center field and there is a foul ball being caught by “a women from Jackson.”
The voice of the turtle is still heard, just no longer in our land.

Other articles about Ernie:

Ernie Harwell: Gone now but never forgotten, Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press

A voice for radio, a heart for all humanity, RON DZWONKOWSKI, Detroit Free Press

Ernie Harwell had great optimism, humor, Drew Sharp, Detroit Free Press