CAVS.SPACE

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2011.  Like Kenny Lofton four years ago, Jim Thome returns to Cleveland to help the team end a playoff drought. The Cleveland Indians have gone three straight seasons without qualifying for the postseason.  Despite making trades for outfielder Kosuke Fukudome and starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, the Indians now have lost seven of their last ten games.  Borrowing from a tactic they used four years ago, the team is bringing back a team legend: Jim Thome.  Thome returns midseason in a fashion similar to fellow fan favorite Kenny Lofton, with whom he starred over a decade ago.  Cleveland Indians: Championship Contenders 1995-2001 From 1995 to 2001, the Cleveland Indians were regular participants in the pennant race.  Lofton starred as the team’s leadoff hitter and Gold Glove centerfielder.  Meanwhile, Thome emerged as a middle of the order hitter and moved from playing third base to playing first ba...

Currently, the Cleveland Cavaliers have six former players' jersey numbers in the rafters. They are: #7 (Bingo Smith), #22 (Larry Nance), #25 (Mark Price), #34 (Austin Carr), #42 (Nate Thurmond), and #43 (Brad Daugherty). Retiring radio broadcaster Joe Tait's 39 seasons with the team was also honored with the raising of a banner at the end of last season. There is a chance that #23 can be retired to the rafters someday, but that will require either the contrition of one star player or the emergence of another star player who goes on to wear that jersey for the Cavs. As it stands, the two most likely former Cavaliers to have their jerseys retired in the near future are #11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas and #21 World B. Free . In drafting up the idea for this article over the past month and a half, it has since been learned that the team INTENDS to retire Ilgauskas' #11 sometime in the future. The secret was uncovered when it was revealed that #1 draft pick Kyrie Irving's reques...