CAVS.SPACE

The year 2007 has been a great year for Cleveland sports. Regardless of whether or not the Browns make the playoffs today, all three teams of the ‘Big Three’—Cavaliers, Indians, and Browns—have put together winning seasons. One thing that has always fascinated me about sports is seeing parallels between sports and life, and as fans of these Cleveland teams we can definitely carry their winning attitudes into our own lives (whether on or off the field/court) as we turn the calendar to 2008. In Cleveland sports, we have seen our shares of mishaps and disappointments, including times when players or team officials themselves surrendered too early and never gave winning a chance. As fans, most of us at one point or another have written off certain players, coaches, teams, etc. because we did not believe that they could win, whether the reason was internal to the team or external. Regardless, we have come to expect little out of our teams yet still endlessly criticize them w

On a day that belonged to the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked lackadaisical and unprepared. Although the final score showed only a nine-point deficit, the Cavaliers appeared to have given up on last night's game during the first quarter. Unlike the 'never give up' Browns, several of the Cavs players showed little interest in last night's basketball game. It is true that, despite a championship run, the Cavs currently find themselves in the shadows of the beloved Browns and the exciting Cleveland Indians team. However, the overshadowing successes of the Cavaliers' peers was not a valid excuse for the team basically not showing up for last night's game. Coach Mike Brown has become more vocal, yet at this point in the season some of the players remain stubborn and selfish. Perhaps Brown needs to turn his attention away from just Drew Gooden and Shannon Brown and bench other guys here and there. Thankfully, Z, Devin Brown, and Ira Newble alw

Despite doubts that Anderson Varejao would return this season, he has indeed come back. It is obvious he still brings energy and vigor off the bench. Yet, the Cavaliers keep losing and have dropped 9 of their last 11. Both the offense and the defense remain inconsistent. While the offense remains focused on putting up jumpers, the defense does not seem to be focused on anything at times. Drew Gooden, who had a solid start to the year, is resembling his former self, as he seems to characterize the aforementioned perimeter-shooting and lack of defensive concentration. Meanwhile, Shannon Brown is looking a bit like the injury-riddled Dajuan Wagner as he scores lots of points in Cavalier losses. As Daniel Gibson is starting to feel the sophomore blues, Zydrunas Ilgauskas finds himself confusingly getting written out of the script. Last night, the losing rerun continued as the team got blown out badly by the New York Knicks, who appear to be more of a team of desperation than a tea

When LeBron James went down during the Detroit game, Shannon Brown joined fellow second-year pro Daniel Gibson in having to shoulder some of the load running the Cavalier offense. Each one has done their job in terms of producing individual points. However, the inside game has suffered greatly since James hurt his hand at Detroit. To start the season, the Cavs countered the other injuries and contract issues by leaning on their starting frontcourt, with Gibson being the fourth leading scorer. In each game without James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas has not scored his season average and has only gotten to take at least 10 Field Goal Attempts in one of those games. Drew Gooden, meanwhile, has been right around his season average in the absence of the leading scorer. While Gibson and Brown are showing improvements in their individual abilities, they need to continue to learn how to help run the offense. Early in games, they have managed to push the tempo and score on fast breaks. But once t

The talk around the league's media and fans has been the Boston Celtics, who with their new Big 3 are 10-0 at home. Keep in mind that San Antonio, with Tim Duncan injured the past couple games, has improved its home record to 12-0. It is still early, but the Orlando Magic continue to win. After making the playoffs with a sub-.500 record last season, they stand at 16-5. The New Orleans Hornets have also put together a strong showing. After leaving Charlotte and the East, the Hornets were placed in a very tough division with the three Texas teams and a growing Memphis team. Yet, while the Texas teams all stand at over .500 at the moment, so do the Hornets at 13-7. The Sixers went ahead and let go of GM Billy King and replaced him with Ed Stefanski. It is true that the team has struggled the past couple years and are now in rebuilding mode. However, there is also that team in New York that still looks like it is going nowhere, yet changes have not been made there. The scores o