Say it Ain't So Joe.....

The Browns overall are getting and staying healthy. DA has seemingly shaken off all the cobwebs from his preseason concussion, Tucker getting back in there will help the O-Line, and Shaun Smith coming back soon will be able to give Shaun Rogers more of a chance to catch his breath. But the one guy NOT coming back that really would've helped this squad tremendously is Cleveland's own, Joe Jurevicious. Could you imagine if the Browns were able to get a healthy Edwards, Stallworth, Jurevicious and Winslow on the field at the same time?

Jurevicious led the Browns in receptions for 1st Downs last year and was 2nd in the NFL. His 50 catches for 600+ yards was good for 3rd on the team. So far, the Browns closest option to a Clutch Receiver has been Steve Heiden, who for some reason has been in Chud's doghouse. If this team is going to make a run this year, they need to find their Go-To Guy on 3rd Down quickly. With the 3 of the next 4 games at home, the Browns are in a prime position to make that run.

Reghi Sounds Right from 3-6

Michael Reghi was on with Mark 'Munch' Bishop today on Munch's show from 3-6, and it left me thinking the same thing I think when I hear Fred McLeod do a Cavs game...why can't Reghi be on the air instead of this guy?

Nothing against Munch as a person...I just can't stand his radio show. I love listening to 850 and get mad when I have to turn the channel, but Munch makes do it. I find his show, sports knowledge, and commentary to be thoroughly awful.

On the flip side, I think Micheal Reghi is on point just about every time he breaks down the Cavs, Browns or Indians. It was awesome when he went off during Browns React earlier this year, and you have to respect a guy that goes to Berea to tell a Kamerion Wimbley why he said the things he said about him on the radio.

While Reghi cannot break down the 1972 St. Joe's Vikings the way that Munch can, he can break down College Football, the NFL, and the Association better than anyone on Cleveland radio. More Reghi seems like a no-brainer to me...I hope to hear more from him soon on 850.

Chuck Doesn't Like the Starting 5

But he does like the Cavs to win the East...suprising pick in that it is from Sir Charles - a perennial Cleveland hater. Barkley doesn't like the Mo Williams and Delonte West Back Court though, but despite the loss last night, I like it. I think the Willams - West backcourt, with LBJ running the wing, brings not only a speed, and a tempo to the floor in the open court, but also a fluidity in the half court that the Cavs have not had in LBJ's tenure. Chuck made mention of his Cavs to win the East pick during the TNT halftime show, and also mentioned that he thought Pavlovic or Sczerbiak should be in the starting line-up over Delonte West. He said that Wally or Sasha would enable the Cavs to spread the floor, and open up more driving lanes for LeBron. Honestly, that is what I thought as well when the Cavs traded for Mo, but after watching last night, I am on the side of Coach Mike Brown in this debate. Wally is a standstill shooter, and Sasha's jumpshot is suspect at best. I like the ability of Mo and Delonte to not only hit from the perimeter, but to also attack the hard close out off the dribble, in attack of the basket. The more the defense moves, the more driving lanes for the King.

LBJ's Not Going To Brooklyn

Brooklyn is coming to him.

Jay Z aka Shawn Carter aka Hova aka Jiggaman aka the Minority Owner of the New Jersey Nets, is performing live in Cleveland on Wednesday night, at a Free Concert Event, hosted by his good friend, LeBron James.

A couple months ago this would have worried me, LeBron and Hov together again. But now, not so much.

I have come to the conclusion - even with the Brooklyn Arena developments and the comments by James a few weeks ago in favor of Clevelanders everywhere aside - that LeBron would never go to play for the Jay Z owned Nets whether they were in Brooklyn, New Jersey or otherwise.

My reason is this...how impressionable would that make LeBron look, to go play for Jay Z's team? People would see a young kid going to team up with his favorite rapper, to hang out with him because he thought he was cool. I don't think LeBron, or his people, would have ever allowed that to happen.

It is for that reason I say, on with the show, as long as the show is in Cleveland.

DA leads Browns to Win over Jags

In the Browns win yesterday against the Jags, Cleveland did just enough to win (thanks for bobbling the winning TD pass Matt Jones, who? Matt Jones).

DA did just enought to win, and I guess, lived to play another day as the Browns head signal caller.

With that said, Shaver Sports' mic'd up department picked up this Fake Conversation between Braylon and Brady - pictured above:

BRAYLON: "You are never going to start bro. Your boy DA just bought himself at least 3 more weeks with the win today."

BRADY: I am well aware Bray...if you had just dropped a couple more balls...

BRAYLON: I was dropping 'em for you BQ, but if I dropped 2 more today, I would have dropped as many as I did all of last year (12)

BRADY: You only dropped (10) balls coming into today? Seems like more. I had you charted for (10) drops against the Skins.

BRAYLON: Naw, I only had (4) drops against Washington.

BRADY: Oh, gotcha, my bad.

BRAYLON: No prob...Brady, why do you think Savage traded a first rounder for you bro, seeing as how he is not planning on playing you?

BRADY: Not sure, usually first rounders get in the game...I am just wanting him to pull the trigger on one of these trades I keep hearing about.

BRAYLON: Maybe they will package you with Kellen for a linebacker with speed, when they unload him.

BRADY: Yeah thanks dude,I just hope he trades me to somewhere warm.

Herby Out Picks the King

LeBron took OSU over Penn State yesterday on ESPN's Gameday, and I was right with him. Not just as a Bucks fan, I just thought Tressel's troops were gonna get 'em last night. Oh well, I guess they can't beat Penn State every year they play forever.

The Bucks game aside, LeBron went 5-4 on his Gameday picks, picking head to head against Kirk Herbsteit.

His winners included Texas, Texas Tech, Bama, Notre Dame, and Florida State. He lost on his Michigan, LSU, and Georgia Tech selections. He also lost on his upset special pick of Zona over the Trojans (17-10 Final).

On the flip side, Herbsteit went 8-1...he is the best TV guy I have ever seen at picking games by the way on a weekly basis. The game Herby lost was Georgia Tech, who nobody thought would lose to the Virgina yesterday, for good reason.

For complete scores click here College Football Scoreboard

LeBron Picks Buckeyes On GameDay

LeBron James was at College GameDay this morning, and jumped on the set to break today's action down. LeBron told Fowler and the fellas that if he had gone to college he would have donned the Scarlet and Gray.

He also broke down today's college action on the set, and Shaver Sports will be posting later to break down The Chosen One's choices.

LeBron's Picks are as follows:

Michigan over Michigan State
Florida State over Virginia Tech
Georgia Tech over Virginia
Notre Dame over Washington
Arizona over USC
LSU over Georgia
Alabama over Tennessee
Texas Tech over Kansas
Texas over Oklahoma State

Kirk Herbsteit differed with King on 3 of the 9 games.

Herby had MSU, Georgia and USC as winners.

Oh and LeBron took the Bucks to roll over Penn State.

Herbsteit could not pick the game because he is calling it tonight at 8pm on ABC, but he did say the key to tonight's game is the QB play of Daryl Clark and Terrelle Pryor..."which QB makes the most mistakes could decide the game," he said.

Corso's picks aren't really worth traking, but the mascot of the show did put on the Buckeye Head...The Herbstreit Kids Came out to close the show wearing Terrele Pryor Jerseys...Go Bucks...should be a big night.

Cavalier Fantasy Values

On ESPN's website Bill Simmons' Fantasy Preview was posted along with an ESPN Consesus panel ranking of ESPN's Top 190 Fantasy Basketball players - for those of us who, in week 8 of the NFL season, have lost all hope in their fantasy football's chances for glory, and are shifting their focus to the 82 regular season games that make up NBA Basketball season. But I digress.



The rankings have LBJ ranked number 1.

Respeck.

Thank you Forest City Fanatics for correcting my spelling of this word on previous posts.

I would pick LBJ number 1, but it is just nice to see him at the top over the likes of Kobe, Chris Paul, D-Wade, etc.

Here is the way the rest of the Cavaliers rated out:


Mo Williams was the next highest Cav at (53).

If for the sake of arguement, Fantasy Rankings for PG's are any indication of how good a PG is, Mo Williams is rated higher than the likes of Tony Parker (62), Mike Bibby (64), Raymond Felton (77), Gilbert Arenas (81), and Rajon Rando (85). The only PGs in the East that were rated higher than Mo were Jose Calderon (33), Chauncey Billups (34), Andre Miller (50), and Devin Harris (51). Maybe Mo Williams can be an Eastern Conference All Star this Year.

Also Ranked in the Fantasy Basketball top 190 for this upcoming season:

Zydrunas Ilgauskas (89) Andy Varejeo (164) Wally Sczerbiak (185)

To be Continued...

SI Equally Distributes Whammy

I probably should have realized that Sports Illustrated publishes regional covers, but when I opened my mailbox yesterday all I could think about was that Indian Summer with Cory Snyder. I was shook up until I looked online and found that the whammy was placed on, not only the Chosen One, but The Mamba, The Big Ticket, Superman, and eh - Elton Brand. Not only does Brand not have a nickname, but he didn't even play last year...suprising cover.







One Guy I think that has received enough bad luck is former Buckeye Greg Oden, and I hope he comes out okay after being the only mainstay amongst the covers nationally.

Inside, Sports Illustrated has the Cavs winning the Central, and going on to lose to Boston in the Eastern Conference Semis. This prediction has the Cavs on the higher end of preseaosn power rankings, where Shaver Sports previoulsy polled a number of online prognosticators and found the Average Preseason Power Rankings to be 7.5.

Phil, You're Costing My Team Points

You are killing my Fantasy Team.

You give my Tight End Staph Infection, then you suspend him for it. All the while, my Fantasy Team has gone from the Browns' bye week until now with Anthony Fasano, who I picked up because Nate Zegura told me too. I have now gone (3) weeks in a row with Anthony "I caught 3 balls for 4 yards in 3 weeks" Fasano. Oh I could have played him Sunday? Sorry I didnt know because he was Questionable until Friday, and I was hearing some CRAZY rumors about him on the internet so I scratched him. Not to mention the fact that Winslow did sit for the only week of offense the Browns have had all year due to an undis- Staph Infection. Thank you Phil.

If you really wanted to suspend someone suspend your QB for being awful. DEREK ANDERSON IS THE 32nd RANKED QB in the NFL ACCORDING TO HIS PASSER RATING OF 62.9. And if you don't want to suspend DA for being awful, suspend your Coach for not benching him. DA's Passer Rating is better than Matt Hasselbeck, and Tyler Thigpen - THAT'S IT. I don't care if you back up quaterback is Jesse Palmer - PUT HIM IN!

But Actually, your QB is not Jesse Palmer, he is actually a guy you traded a 1st Round Pick to get. You told us Brady Quinn was good and the numbers say DA is not. Put in Brady. And if you don't want to put him in because of that, put him in because I spent my last pick of my Fantasy Draft on Quinn thinking he would be starting by now. Because then, if Quinn started, maybe Braylon Edwards the guy I picked 3rd overall, might start scoring me the type of points he was supposed too.

A Message From a Delonte West Fan

I have been a fan of Delonte West's since he was running with Jameer Nelson in Philly. I thought he warranted the 1st Round Pick the Celtics spent on him after he left St. Joe's as a junior. It made sense to me when Seattle traded for him. It made more sense when Cleveland did. I was happy when the Cavaliers landed Delonte West last season. I was happier when the Cavs resigned him this summer. Delonte West can ball.

After his remarks this weekend, I am still a Delonte West fan, and still happy he's here.

I think the therapy Delonte is currently undergoing for depression is going to make him a better player, as well as a better person. Delonte has spent his whole NBA career battling an opponent he could not get by off the dribble. An opponent that he could not get by - by himself. Sometimes you have to reach out and ask for help. What if Adam Jones asked for help when he needed it before spiraling out of control?

Delonte West, though, is no Pac Man. In the words of Mike Brown, "Delonte is a good guy." He is good for the NBA, he is good for the Cavaliers, and he is good for Cleveland. Delonte is also good for people who are battling similar demons. He will reach someone, somewhere, and his story will be a positive impact on someone that could use it. Look for a big year this year from West, as he plays free of the bitter rival he battled all these years in the dark.

Browns Have Staff Infection

Not Staph like the illness Browns Players Catch every time they get a toothache. The Browns Staff is Infected from Randy Lerner, to Phil Savage, to Romeo Crenel with inability to string three good decisions together, in a row.

The Staff's Infection was on display when they decided to tell Kellen Winslow to keep his Staph Infection a secret, and they would release that he had an undisclosed illness...that was until Kellen told Mary Kay Cabot the Browns Brass are a bunch of liars.

The Browns Staff Infection was also on display when Lawrence Vickers 'McFlied' DA upside his grill - in the middle of the field - on Sunday. How many times have you seen a FULLBACK upstage a QB in the middle of the field before? Oh your right, never, because half the teams DON'T EVEN CARRY a Fullback!

The Browns Staff Infection was also on display when Brady didn't get a series in the second half of Sunday's game. You are not helping 'em you are hurting 'em Rome. DA was like 1 for 19 going into halftime for about 8 yards. Give the guy a breather! He stunk yesterday and when a guy stinks, you give him a break. The Browns Brass is over thinking this whole thing. Any team in the world, from Pop Warner to the Pros would have given their back-up a series on Sunday to try to get a spark. Any Spark at all would have won the game going away. But the Browns didn't do that, and the Russel Branyan of Football couldn't string enough plays together to score 15 points.

As a result of this Staff Infection, I find myself in the tumultuous position of for some reason, still believing they can beat the Ravens at home on November 2nd, get to 4-4 and make a season of it. I don't know why I even think that, but I hope its true.

Cavalier Player Rankings...Continued

After reading a number of NBA Player Power Rankings with Chris Paul or Kobe atop the list, its nice to read someone who got it right. Thanks Tom Ziller. His NBA Fanhouse Top 50 culminated Thursday, with the Chosen One, chosen, number one. In the words of Ali G, "Respect."

However, while LBJ took the top spot, there was not another Cavalier to be found in the Fanhouse Top 50. Nor did any other Cav make mention in the Top 50 as seen by CBS Sportsline.

Overall, CBS Sports Player Power Rankings ranked LeBron #2, behind Kobe Bryant. LeBron did grade out as the top Small Forward, and CBS did rank three Cavaliers in the Top 20 at their position...I am not sure if that is really good or not but here is how it broke out according to CBS:

Small Forwards: LBJ #1
Centers: Zydrunas #12
Power Forwards: Ben Wallace #20
(Drew Gooden was #18)
Shooting Guards: Dajau - Trajan Lan - Luke Jac - Nobody
Point Guards: Mo Williams #12

While its not a surprise that no other Cav joined James in any of these Top 50s, you gotta think that even with LeBron you are going to need another Top 50 Player to emerge if you are going to win the title. Maybe that player is Mo Williams...I think #12 is too low for Mo, and I think he could be that Top 50 Player to emerge.

Ghost To Bring Haunted End To Hopkins' Career

Expect Kelly 'The Ghost' Pavlik to beat Bernard Hopkins right out of Boxing tonight, in the same way Balboa did Creed back in the '80s. The only difference here is, Jack Loew is not going to let Hopkins join 'Team Pavlik' the same way Rocky let Apollo after he retired.
Hopkins has never been knocked out in his career. We here at Shaver Sports don't pretend to be pundits of pugilism, but we do expect to see Pavlik knock Hopkins out for the first time, and knock him right out of boxing in the process. Despite moving up from the Middle Weight division, to the Light Heavyweight Division, the Youngstown product is obviously still favored to win in Vegas by those that are experts against the aging Hopkins.

Look forward to watching Kelly do what he always does tonight in Atlantic City when he defends Youngstown, and represents Northeast Ohio like no other athlete in all of Professional Sports.

Pavlik knocks him out in 5.

Stony and Wojo: Michigan, No Chance Saturday

Today on the Stony and Wojo Show, AM 1130 WDFN the Fan on Detroit Radio, Wojo asked the question that Michigan fans didn't want to answer.

"Michigan fans, is this Saturday's match-up against Penn State at Happy Valley the first time in your life, that you actually believed the Michigan Wolverines had No chance to win going into the game?"

Let's just say enough Maize and Blue faithful answered yes to the question, to make the question relevant. If that didn't, I think the loss to Toledo, coupled with the fact that Michigan is a TWENTY FOUR POINT UNDERDOG, also makes the question relevant.

As an OSU fan, besides the fact that you can find enjoyment this weekend in the fact that Michigan fans are freely admitting that they have no chance to win, it is also kind of funny that men of 40, 50 or 60 have never thought that Michigan had no chance to win before...especially considering how many times Tressel has beat them.

The Detroit Fan hosts also predicted Michigan State would upset the OSU Buckeyes 20-17, as the Big Ten Match-up of Top 20 teams collide on Saturday.

Cavaliers: Roster Preview

In Brian Windhort's latest article on ESPN.com he talks about LBJ's approval of the way the Cavaliers are currently comprised.

LBJ is quoted as saying:

"There are no excuses for us now," James said. "We should be able to go out and dominate."

LeBron likes the roster, and really, that is all that matters. But for the sake of mindless blogging Shaver Sports will be taking a look at what various prognosticators think about the roster of your - Cleveland Cavaliers.

First up, ESPN's Player Efficiency Ratings. These ratings rank players on a basis of overall production per minute.

ESPN's John Hollinger ranked players from #1 thru #321 along these lines.

This is where your Cavaliers ranked going into the upcoming season:

ESPN's PER Rankings

LeBron James: #2
Mo Williams: #59
Zydrunas Ilgauskas: #80
Wally Szerbiak: #155
Delonte West: #177
Anderson Varejeo: #180
Daneiel Gibson: #188
Ben Wallace: #210
Sasha Pavlovic: #306

ESPN Ranked 321 Players.

The Cavaliers ESPN PER Ranking Average is: 150.78

Wilbon is Talking Playoffs For Browns

On Pardon the Interruption Tuesday Michael Wilbon said the Browns are now a Playoff Contender. When asked by Kornheiser, did the Browns give you a reason to believe, Wilbon responded with the following:

"Yes, yes. A year ago I was driving the Browns Band Wagon...after watching last night, why wouldn't you think they (Browns) could be in contention for a Playoff Spot...maybe not the division...but they could be in contention for a wild card spot"

Wilbon went on to say that like the Green Bay Packers, it is good for the NFL when the Cleveland Browns are good. I don't know how much Football Wilbon actually knows, but I hope he is right, and agree with his last statement for sure.

Wright On Primetime

Eric Wright was on the Really Big Show, ESPN 850 WKNR, today and he discussed the Browns win on Monday, the pick six he took to the house, as well as the off season tutelage he received from Deion Sanders, and his continued relationship with Primetime.

"I texted Deion [Sanders] before the game yesterday and told him to get the balloons out, and get ready for my coming out party...my last interception I gave back to them [E.Wright fumbled his int. vs Cinci during the return] and I vowed at that point that my next int I would take to the house."

And that's exactly where he took it. It was awesome. Wright went on to talk about the fact that he worked with Sanders in the off season and stays in touch with him regularly.

Beyond teaching Eric some of the finer points of the craft, it is also obvious that Deion taught him the finer points of the Primetime Shuffle. And that thing was sweet when Wright broke it out last night. In my opinion, that was the best celebration any Brown has done in the endzone in the last 10 years, hands down.

Monday Night in Cleveland

Like a Battered Wife on Cops...I am glad we stayed together thru all of the abuse. Even if it was only one night, what a night it was!

I have to admit, I was predicting a blood-bath. I thought it was all over. I thought the Browns would be loosing by (5) TDs at half time, and Romeo was going to get fired on the spot - like when he got interviewed by Michelle Tafoya, Phil Savage was going to tap him on the shoulder. I thought Brady would start the second half. I thought DA was punch drunk and finished. I was wrong. The crow tastes terrific.

As a Football Fan it doesn't get much better than last night. Sixty Degree Weather. Seventy Yard Bombs. Pick Sixes punctuated with a Primetime Shuffle. Monday Night Football. Routing the Super Bowl Champs at Home. Believing again, if just for a night, that we could be on top one day.

To all the fans down there last night, at the muni-lot, in the stands by the lake, and to all the players on the field, good game last night Cleveland. Good game.

Super Bowl Odds Don't Look Good

In May, ESPN had the Browns slated at 9th in their Power Rankings. They are not 9th anymore, and I am not even going to check. I did check the latest odds on the Browns to win the Super Bowl, what with the Super Bowl Champs coming in to town tonight. So, if the Browns do beat the Giants, turn the 2008 campaign around, and head towards that Super Bowl everyone was talking about 2 months ago, the Sportsmakers do agree that the Browns have a chance to still win it all.

According to Bo Dog Sports, the Browns have a 100/1 chance to win the AFC, and a 200/1 chance to win the Super Bowl. The Browns share the 200/1 chance of a Super Bowl win, leading into week 6 of the NFL Season, with the Rams, Texans, and Bengals. There are two NFL teams given a lesser chance to win the Super Bowl, those are the Lions and the Chiefs, both at 500/1 odds. There is always next year. For what its worth, the Browns are getting 8 points on tonight, at home, against the defending champs. So I guess the Browns Power Ranking would now be somewhere around...well far away from 9th. With all that said, Go Browns.

Cavaliers Consesus Power Ranking: 7.5

As I scrolled through the Internet to see where various publications and sites had the Cavaliers ranked with respect to their 2008-2009 Pre Season Power Rankings, I felt it necessary to post the various Power Rankings Below, average them together, and Post the Cavaliers Consensus Ranking for the upcoming 2008-2009 Season.

For what it is worth, the Cavaliers Average Preseason Power Ranking per the sites listed below, in October, is 7.5. So I guess that means the Cavs are better than 7 full teams, and the Knicks.

The Power Rankings with respect to the Cavaliers are listed below:

ESPN Power Rankings

ESPN: 6th

USA Today Power Rankings

USA Today: 9th

Bleacher Report Power Rankings

Bleacher Report: 7th

MVN Power Rankings

MVN: 4th

Inside Hoops Power Rankings

Inside Hoops: 13

HoopsWorld

HoopsWorld: 6

The supporting math for all of you that cheated in junior high is as follows: 6+9+7+4+13+6 = 45 / 6 = 7.5

Browns Have More Problems Than Politics

Romeo Crennel doesn't want politics to enter the Browns' locker room, and cause division amongst the players. He really means it, his quote is all over the net, here on FANHOUSE, and Mike and Mike discussed it this morning...Romeo's stance is pretty clear.

I first have to say that I agree with Romeo Crennel on the general principle that a team should not allow politics to divide a locker room. With that out of the way, I then have to laugh at the idea that Crennel is making the assumption that, said locker room, is somehow UNIFIED, politics withstanding. The assumption that the Browns were all on the same page at one point, and then these politics, came in and divided them, is hilarious really.

Don't worry about the fact that Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn were at the McCain rally, and that Willie McGinest is supporting Obama. Worry about the fact that you are 1-3 AND COREY WILLIAMS is TALKING SMACK to the GIANTS! Worry about the fact that your team is split down party lines on who should be your QB. Worry about the fact that it does not appear as if Braylon Edwards supports DA. Worry about the fact that it looks like Kellen mouthed the words 'get ready' to Brady Quinn after a DA interception against Cincy. Worry about the fact that if you don't figure out what plays you want to run, who you want to run them, or when you want to call timeout, because if you dont, then you wont have a locker room in the midst of political turmoil that you will be forced to manage...because you wont have a team to coach.

Rays vs Red Sox

Tonight at 8am the Rays vs Red Sox, to me, is as close to the underdog story that we can get in Professional sports. While Baseball is ridiculed for its unfair pay structure, in cases like tonight, I think it is to the MLB's credit. What other Professional Leauge can pitt a professional version of David, against a mega million dollared Goliath. The NFL can't...and neither can the NBA...

Tonight's ALDS is the professional version of George Mason vs. North Carolina, or Boise St. vs. Oklahoma, or even Little Mac going all the way through the best contenders that Nintendo could offer on his way to knocking out Iron Mike. The Rays Team makes less than the left side of the Yankees infield - and they beat out the Yankees and the Sox, to get Boston at home tonight. So, with the Indians on the golf course, this match-up gives me a reason to watch...even though I will be jealous of whoever wins.

Ex - Indian's Update: ManRam went deep and taunted Brett Myers from the dugout afterwards, Casey Blake has one hit tonight and nearly left the yard for a 2-run bomb, however Jimmy Rollins brought it back, Coco Crisp tonight should be at the center of the storm tonight again as the Rays tried to jack him in the grill last time en route to a bench clearing brawl, and Paul Byrd is currently on the active roster not slated to start, and coming out of the pen for tonight's game.

Mo Will Be an All Star for Cavaliers

I am predicting that Mo Williams will be an All Star this season for the Cavaliers. Three Reasons Below:

1. Numbers: He will put up All Star Numbers. He will score over 15 points a game and be near 10 dimes as well. I predict 17.9 pts, and 8.4 assists per game...Mark that down.

2. The Cavs Will be a Good Team: Maybe not great at the All Star Break, but they will be a good. While the Cavs might not be in 1st or 2nd in the East at the break, they will be in 3rd, 4th or 5th for sure. Besides that, voters are going to see Mo Williams regularly. With LBJ, the Cavs are going to be on National TV more than the NHL, which is light years away from Sports Time Milwaukee Every Night.

3. All the best PGs are in the West: Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Deron Williams, Baron Davis, Allen Iverson, Brandon Roy, Jay Kidd...they will all be splitting votes every which way in the Western Conference. Mo Williams will have to beat out Chauncey Billups, Gilbert Arenas, TJ Ford, Jose Calderon, Rajon Rando, Andre Miller, and Steph Ma----- just kidding. Its certainly possible, and I say it happens.

Cleveland Squares Off at QB

No not Derek v Brady. Ricky v Brian. While Cleveland football fans toil midst a QB controversy over who should start for an awful pro team, two Cleveland products squared off this past weekend in Big Ten play when Iowa played Michigan State. Brian Hoyer, the QB from MSU is a St. Ignatius grad, and Ricky Stanzi, the Sophomore Starter for the Hawkeyes is a former Lake Catholic Cougar. Hoyer's Spartans got the win, 16-13, despite the fact that Stanzi brought Iowa down to the 20 with 2 minutes to go. On a 4th and 2 from the 20, Kirk Ferenz decided to call a timeout and run a deep handoff play that snuffed out from the start. Should have let Stanzi throw it Kirk. Anyways, I watched the game at the bar in Madison WI, and it was a nice reprieve from the grind that is rooting for Cleveland pro teams, to see Cleveland represented on the gridiron well, and then to witness the Bucks walk out of Camp Randall with the win...makes me think that despite the fact that the Browns play here, we still have good football in this town.

Indian Bloodlines in Post Season: A Follow Up

As a follow up to the previous blog post (October 2nd) that detailed, amongst my bitterness towards the Indians collapse of '07 and their subsequent 2008 fall to mediocrity, the ex-Indians players that are playing in the 2008 Post Season, I have now updated below the stats of said players, thru the first round of October action.

The First, is CC. Milwaukee, have fun washing these numbers down with your Beast Light Ice:Not even Bob Ueker could help this time.


Sabathia's 2008 Post Season ERA is 12.27. In 2007 CC's was not much better, but after (3) starts last post season, his ERA was 8.80. On one hand this makes me feel better as a Cleveland Fan, and on the other hand it makes me think that the fact that this makes me feel better, means simply that I have some real issues that I need to talk about.

Casey Blake's Post Season has been slightly better than last years. This year he is hitting through the first series, .273, with a couple of Runs and a couple of RBIs. In 2007 he hit .256 through (11) games.

Paul Byrd has not seen any action.

As for the Ex-Inidans not on the 2007 Post Season Team, their numbers are as follows:

Coco Crisp: 1 for 4 with (2) runs score, (1) base on balls, and (1) SB, .250 avg

Alex Cora: 1 for 4 with a walk, .250 BA

Jim Thome: 2 for 16 with an RBI and a walk, for a BA of .125

ManRam: 5 for 10, 4 BB, hit .500 with 3 RBI, 2 HRs

Jeff Kent, 0 for 1 in 1 AB

Guilermo Mota: ERA 5.40

Bob Howry did not have an appearance.

The above Stats are According to MLB.com

Bucks Put it 'On Wisconsin'

I made the trek for the game this weekend, along with a large contingent of fellow Buckeye Fans. I walked into a bar this weekend and they were singing a song to the tune of Steve Miller Band Swingtown...the chorus went 'Ohhhhhhh - SU Sucks F&@K You Eat S@^T'...I couldn't help but think I like these guys, this is gonna be a great game - and it was...A standing tradition for the students at Camp Randal is to come in late to the game, taking a little extra time to polish off a couple more Leinekeugels...but when they got there Saturday night they picked up the slack for the band that was serving a one game suspension. When House of Pain comes on over the loud speakers, the student body goes nuts jumping around as a tradition...when I knew the Bucks came alive was when during that song, the Buckeye sidelines went berserk, jumping around and pointing to the UW stands like the song was played to pump them up...The Wisconsin student paper the Daily Cardinal picked the Badgers to win, and cited the last time the two teams hooked up for a night game at Camp Randall, 2003 when the Badgers beat the Bucks on a last second pass to Lee Evans...However this time around there was no Lee Evans, and the Buckeyes two headed monster of Terrell Pryor and Beanine Wells seemed to come alive, and of age in the big stage that was Saturday night at Camp Randall...The Bucks beat number 18 Wisconsin, and will have crack at number 5 Penn State, with a new look that is breathing new life into a Buckeye squad that is going to be hanging around at the years end, once again.

Browns Bye Week Leaves Fork in Road

The Browns have a bye this week and so I caught myself looking at the two things, and I don't know which one I should be looking at. The '08 standings, or the '09 Big Board. On the one hand, Steelers are 3-1. The Ravens are 2-1. The Steelers play the Jaguars at Jacksonville...they could lose that game to the 2-2 Jags. The Ravens play a Titans team that is 4-0...Baltimore could loose that game. What I am about to say is crazy, but if they both loose, which they could, Pittsburgh is 3-2, and the Ravens are 2-2. The Browns will go into the New York Game 1-3...if they win...I don't know...Thats why the other side of me says forget this year, focus on the Draft. Like every other year, just wait until next year. The Browns need help everywhere, but defense especially, and specifically at Linebacker...Mel's got (5) LBs on Kiper's Big Board but I guess they could use a lineman, a DB, or a RB as well...For now, I guess its just good they have a Bye.

Mark May: Big Stage is Tonight...Tune In at 8

Mark May is a professional hater. ESPN pays him to sit on TV all Saturday, and hate on college kids. He says he is not impressed with Terrel Pryor. And Mark, so you know, Terrel is not impressed with you either.






"People like Mark May, he said 'let's see how he plays on the big stage,' " Pryor said, clearly unhappy with any suggestion of doubt about his big-stage ability. "And we're going to see next week."

"The media, ESPN people, sit there and talk stuff on our team and say we're dead," Pryor said after a separate question. "We'll find out this week coming up who's dead. We're out to show the world something, and we're going to."

As a Buckeye fan, three things on that and I will let you go.

1. You gotta like the swagger of an 18 year old kid calling out Mark May, ESPN, and the media as a whole in one shot.

2. You gotta be excited to watch the most exciting player since Ted Ginn Jr take the field tonight, on that big stage, against a top twenty opponent in the Badgers.

3. You gotta like that while Ginn touched the ball 10-12 times a game, Pryor is going touch it every play from Scrimmage.

Go Bucks. OH -

If LBJ Likes the Cavaliers' Chances, So Do I

I have liked the trade for Mo Williams since it happened, but I have always wondered if LeBron liked it. From what we have heard and seen out of LBJ and the Cavs this week, it looks like he does. For me, its not even about being worried he's gonna leave, even though I'd cry if he did. Its more about figuring out what pieces fit best around the King, because for as great as he is, there has never been another superstar that plays quite like he plays. There is no model to go off of. He is not just a scoring wing, not just a post up big, not just a ball handler, he is all of that, and more. Whether Danny Ferry know what those pieces are, time will tell. Mo seems like he could be a piece that fits. In my mind, so does Delonte. LBJ seems to agree, because he is talking title on day one, and that is a good thing to be talking about. Because if he thinks they can win it, so do I. Click here for LBJ's interview on media day. The line-up he referred to there of a Delonte, Mo Williams, LBJ, Big Ben and Andy could be an explosive unit that would be fun to watch get up and down the floor at the Q this year.

Indian Bloodlines in 2008 Playoffs

My bitterness towards the Indians' 81 and 81 performance this year, coupled with the collapse in last years' playoffs chronicled yesterday, has lead me to compile a list of Ex-Indians in the 2008 Playoffs.

Below is a list of Ex-Indian Big Leaguers, playing for 2008 playoff teams, according to the active rosters on MLB.com:

Cubs: Bob Howry

Dodgers: Casey Blake, Jeff Kent, Manny Ramirez

Brewers: C.C. Sabathia, Guillermo Mota

Boston: Paul Byrd, Sean Casey, Alex Cora, Coco Crisp

White Sox: Jim Thome

The Rays, Angels, and Phillies do not have any ex-tribesman on their active roster from what I can tell.

Shaversports will be paying special attention to Casey Blake, CC, and Paul Byrd in posts to follow as the playoffs unfold, comparing their performance in this postseason, with the number that they put up in 2007 while they were playing for Cleveland. On thing is for sure, Paul Byrd at least won't get named in any congressional investigations on the day of a pivotal game like he did last year.

MLB Playoffs Will Be A Tough Watch

I can still hear Dane Cook telling me its October. In my mind its still the 2007 playoffs and Frank Caliendo is telling me over and over again for the first time that he has a new show coming out on TBS. The 2008 MLB Playoffs start tonight, yet I can still remember thinking Asdrubal Cabrera might be the next Omar Vizquel, Garko could mash, and the fact that I believed there was no stopping the Indians. I thought Byrd was crafty, not a 'roider. I thought Hafner was going to get it finally going...not deteriorate even farther. I thought CC was going to be unhittable...not...completely hittable. I guess I just have to admit that I was 100% sure the Indians were going to beat Boston...at home, and then win the World Series, we would dance in the street, we would drink till morning...and then we lost, again. Its going to be hard to watch the playoffs this year for me, real hard. And to add insult to injury, I gotta watch two ex-Indians, take on the roles of being the hottest Pitcher, and hottest hitter in all of baseball, as Manny and CC lead the way for Milwaukee and LA. CC has been on a hot streak not seen since Orel Hersheisher did it in 1988 - before he was an INDIAN also...On second thought I may not watch at all.