Monday, November 23, 2009

Indiana is Basketball, and Home to the Fieldhouse


(cross-posted from www.numbersdont.com)

First, let me disclose that 'Hoosiers' is one of my all-time favorite movies, and it easily beats out 'Teen Wolf' as my #1 basketball flick. I love both films for entirely different reasons, but I'm here to talk about 'Hoosiers' and Indiana basketball today. There's something about the innocence of the Midwest in the 1950's, the wide open corn fields and farmland that stretch to the edge of the horizon, and the makeshift basketball hoop that can still be seen on nearly every farmhouse in that area of the country even to this day. The awkward kissing scene between Gene Hackman and Barbara Hershey aside (I like to pretend that scene didn't happen), everything about 'Hoosiers' captures the beauty of the game of basketball in that era.

Now I'm no purist, but every once in a while amid the noise and distraction of today's NBA arena, I get a little sad that I didn't have the opportunity to attend a game back in those days. That's not to say I don't love the energy inside Quicken Loans Arena. But honestly, the next time you attend a game at the Q take a look around during a TV timeout and ask yourself if this is what Dr. Naismith envisioned back when he invented this beautiful game. Sometimes it is just a total sensory overload.

One of my favorite things about 'Hoosiers' is when Hickory makes it to the state title game and travels to Indianapolis and Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse. The wide open atmosphere and high curved roof are a signature throwback to those days that provided for a unique basketball experience. I had heard that the Pacers modeled their current venue, Conseco Fieldhouse, after the great Hinkle Fieldhouse. So when scanning the Cavs' road schedule before this season, one game immediately stood out: Cavs @ Pacers, November 20th, 7:00pm. Count me in.

My wife and I decided to make the 4-1/2 hour drive from the southwest suburbs of Cleveland to Indianapolis on Friday morning. Usually we opt to fly on any trip we can't make by car in a couple hours, but this time I'm glad we decided to drive. We lucked out with beautiful sunny weather for almost the entire drive to Indy and back. It may sound corny, but the farmland in southern Ohio and Indiana is strangely calming to see this time of year. And those makeshift hoops were everywhere in Indiana, dotting the landscape all along I-70 once we entered the Hoosier state.

We made it into Indianapolis around 3:00pm on Friday and checked into our hotel, the Omni Severin (secured on Priceline for a mere $60, taxes included). The hotel is right in the heart of the city, sandwiched between Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Colts) and Conseco Fieldhouse. We were able to get dinner and some pre-game drinks at an Irish pub a short walk from our hotel. Everything was reasonably priced and there were plenty of other bars and restaurants to choose from.

The real jewel of this road trip came when we finally entered Conseco Fieldhouse (we snagged $85 tickets on StubHub in Section 119 for $69 apiece - click for a view). The place was even better than we could have expected. It is a perfect blend of old and new. From the curved, high open roof to the brick architecture in the main concourse and inside the arena. There are throwback touches like hand-hung signs showing the Pacers next opponent and an analog clock on the main scoreboard. There are modern conveniences like a Starbucks and a large open team shop (unlike the cramped one at the Q) where you can purchase an authentic Larry Bird Celtics jersey.

The game itself almost seemed secondary for a while, until the Cavs again blew a nice lead and found themselves in a 10-point hole late in the third quarter. That's when the nutty fan Cleveland in me thought that this particular trip would end up being a waste. Luckily the Cavs remembered to play defense in the 4th and cruised to a 105-95 victory, holding the Pacers to just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting in the final period. "MVP" chants for LeBron's 40-point performance could be clearly heard as disappointed Pacers fans filed out. We were completely decked out in Cavs gear but I didn't hear a derogatory comment flung in our direction the entire evening. Overall the atmosphere seemed surprisingly family-oriented and much less alcohol-fueled than Cleveland, but perhaps that was just where we were sitting.

To cap our Conseco experience off, the club-level seats we were in happened to be on the same level as the corporate suites. After the game my wife and I and some random drunk dude from Cincinnati (also a Cavs fan) wandered into one of the empty suites and enjoyed some free beers and food courtesy of "Apparatus," which I'm guessing is some local Indy company. Thanks Apparatus! The only downer on the evening was hitting the downtown bars after leaving Conseco and finding that it is still the 1950's there too - you're allowed to smoke inside. That's one throwback aspect of Indiana that I wasn't particularly fond of.

All in all, our first Cavs road trip was a sparkling success. Conseco Fieldhouse is basically a shrine to all things that are Indiana basketball and a trip there makes it easy to see why it is consistently rated as the #1 venue in the NBA. The Cavs return there again on Friday, January 29th... if you're looking for a relatively inexpensive, hassle-free, and enjoyable sports experience, do yourself a favor and make it a road trip too. You won't be disappointed.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Monday thoughts

  • Enjoyed my first Cavs game of the year, even if it was a little late (5 home games into the season already?). Boozer was his typical a-hole self (25 points, 12 rebounds) but left the Q a loser again, 0-6 in his career in Cleveland since signing a 6-year deal with Utah.
  • I'm pumped for this weekend... my wife and I bought some nice tickets for Friday night's game at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy. It will be our first road Cavs game ever. Looking forward to it.
  • Sounds like Stephen Jackson is (or soon will be) a member of the Charlotte Bobcats. That one kinda came out of left field. I thought the Warriors would wait a bit longer, but obviously they wanted him out of there ASAP. Gotta say I'm a little disappointed, yet a little relieved at the same time. Jackson's talent is undoubtable, but I'm still not ready to give up on Delonte. I thought the recent talk of putting Wally Szczerbiak's corpse into the mix with a sign-and-trade deal could work, but Delonte would have likely been packaged in the deal. Still hoping we see Red back on the court for us again soon with a healthy mind, but I may be dreaming with that one.
  • I was glad to see Shaq get some rest on Saturday night with the made-up shoulder strain. The Cavs play their second four-games-in-five-nights stretch (Already? Thanks NBA schedule maker) this week and I expect to see him sit out a game or two in there as well. The big fella needs to be there for us this spring, so any time off will serve us well toward that ultimate goal.
  • The Browns play the Ravens on MNF tonight in what is sure to be a game unwatched by large portions of football fans around the country. The 1-7 Browns vs. the 4-4 Ravens! I had to laugh when seeing the promos for the game over the weekend. I predict something like Baltimore 34, Cleveland 6... but I hope for Quinn to give us something to get excited about. Ten years in and we're still just hoping not to get embarrassed on national TV. Ladies and gentlemen, your Cleveland Browns!

Friday, November 13, 2009

He's Still BOO-zer to Me

(cross-posted from my new gig on www.numbersdont.com)

All seems to be righting itself nicely in Cavalier land after a trip through Florida that saw the Wine and Gold beat the Magic and Heat in a tough back-to-back set. We found out that Shaq can be effective in neutralizing the dominance of Dwight Howard in the paint. We found out that Delonte West still cannot be counted on to be part of the rotation, but that other guys (Jamario Moon) can step up when needed. We were reminded of how entertaining the LeBron vs. Wade matchups always seem to be. We witnessed how much better the offense looks when Mo is aggressive and hitting shots. And we saw that this JJ Hickson kid can play when Mike Brown's leash is lengthened a bit. The two solid Florida wins have the Cavs now sitting at 6-3 and a strong 4-1 away from the Q.

The team will return home to face the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. And as we ponder things here on this Friday the 13th I'm reminded of a form of evil that will be visiting along the Jazz this weekend. Of course I'm referring to the one and only Carlos Boozer, and for some reason my hate for him is like Jason Voorhees. No matter what, it just won't seem to die. Old wounds never really heal for us in Cleveland and I'd like to think that Boozer will never truly be forgiven for what he did to this franchise, short of a far-fetched scenario like him rejoining that Cavs and helping to win a title.

I know it's childish and petty to still hold such a grudge more than five years after the man took the money and ran to Utah. I know the Cavs have moved on and had great success without Boozer here. But I can't help thinking what could have been had Boozer decided to stay here. He was loved by fans for his blue collar work ethic he displayed as a second-round pick. He was pretty much the lone bright spot in the pre-LeBron season of 2002-03 when the Cavs mustered just 17 wins (yes, I'm denying that the Ricky Davis era ever happened). Then we saw a resurgence and a reason for hope again the next season when the team climbed to 35 wins and it looked like LeBron and Boozer could be the NBA's next great young star pairing. But Boozer wouldn't let that happen.

I hope those of you that will also be in attendance tomorrow night at the Q will join me in giving Boozer a warm Cleveland welcome. Don't let him forget what he did to this frachise. He stabbed a blind guy in the back. He turned his back on a city that embraced him and a chance to team up with a once-in-a-lifetime star. All for some more money and a mountain view. To that I say "BOOOOOOOOO" and I will say it loud and often, every time time he puts his money-grubbing hands on the ball tomorrow night. This is Cleveland and we hold grudges. Besides, it makes an otherwise ho-hum November game in a long 82-game season a little more fun, right?

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Switching gears

Before tomorrow night's interesting barometer game between the Cavs and Magic in Orlando, I'm gonna switch gears for a second and talk Browns. It's a subject I've avoided like the plague this season, frankly because there never seems to be anything good to talk about and attempting to just turns me into a negative Browns basher. I've been cynical of the ManKok regime since day one, and it seemed further justified when Kokinis was let go last week. Now we've seen various reports this week ranging from Mangini's head also being on the chopping block, Mike Holmgren sightings in Berea, and even Bill Parcells himself looking for another franchise to re-shape. Wow. Sometimes the Browns make my head want to explode.

Have we been wrong about this guy?

I honestly have no idea what's going to happen regarding the next GM/coach/football czar. But I do know this - after reading this one-one-one interview today between CBS's Clark Judge and Eric Mangini, I actually have some optimism about the much-maligned head coach and his philosophy for this franchise. I feel for what he is going through this year. Maybe I read this on the wrong day and I'm feeling just a little too compassionate. But maybe we were wrong about this guy. Maybe we shouldn't be so knee-jerk about the dismal season we're forced to endure. Maybe it's time to exercise a little patience and try to breathe some stability back into this volatile organization. Maybe he deserves the chance to turn this thing around. Just do me a favor - if you still consider yourself a Browns fan, read that interview. I'll open up the comments section below to get your thoughts.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Complete lack of effort

What else can you say about last night's one-point loss to the Bulls? Forget the foul/no foul argument on the last play... forget the fact that the Cavs missed 8 free throws... even forget the fact that Z and Mo combined to shoot 4-for-22 from the field. All those things aside, the Cavs still should have won that game going away. It should have never come down to that final possession. It was as if the team felt they could just show up on the court and the Bulls would roll over for them. And that method of thinking has already earned them as many home losses through 6 games as they had all of last season.

I'm still not hitting the panic button yet, but I'm inching closer to it. Something is off. The effort isn't there and that is disturbing. This is far too talented a group of players to keep playing like this. Last night should be a wake-up call. It's time for this team to stop patting themselves on the back for 66 wins last year. If they don't show up ready to play tonight in New York then I will be panicking. I'm already annoyed enough with the media circus that will be there to cover LeBron's only trip to NYC this year. Let's go guys - get it together.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

I just want one of your 27

When it's been 16,384 days since any of your favorite teams have won a championship and you've only existed for 12,368 days, you tend to build up a lot of venom towards other franchises. There is an ebb and flow to that hatred usually based on how much success these other franchises experience, or what they have done to your teams directly. So forgive me if I don't rejoice at the thought of the Yankees collecting their 27th world championship last night. The thought of it actually makes me want to vomit.

I'm not sure why I even bothered to watch the end of the game last night - I guess because I like seeing the moment when a team reaches its ultimate goal. But watching the celebration of the Yankees and their arrogant fans - who had been expecting that moment since missing the playoffs last season... the whole seen was just nauseating. Again, I'll sit here and hope for a lockout someday when the owners get the balls to fix this sport. Until then we can hope for the little guys with the script I on their caps to overcome all odds and win it all... a scenario that seems completely unlikely in my lifetime given the way the sport is currently constructed. Ugh.


And on a night when the Cavs didn't play I was also following the scores around the NBA, hoping for a few other teams I dislike to chalk one up in the loss column. No such luck - the Lakers, Celtics, and Magic all prevailed last night. I hate sports nights like that, hoping for the failures of other teams for my own satisfaction and they all end up winning. I much prefer just watching my team win - like tonight when the Cavs hit the court at the Q again to take on the Bulls. I guess at least LeBron can happy that his Yankees won. And should we be happy for CC? I guess so, but then it reminds me of how ordinary he pitched in 2007 when we absolutely needed him. Just give me one title in my lifetime. Just one. Please.

Update: This guy gives a better view of the state of baseball than I ever could. Great read > http://www.bugsandcranks.com/davidchalk/baseball/yes-im-really-retiring/.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Quality win

The first quarter of Tuesday night's game vs. the Wizards was not a thing of beauty. The Cavs found themselves down 31-17, missing 10 of their last 11 shots in the opening period. Washington was running all over the place, putting on an offensive clinic against a team that prides itself on playing defense first. Good thing a basketball game is not decided by just one quarter alone.

The Cavaliers decided to show up for the final three quarters and easily dusted off their wanna-be rivals from the nation's capital 102-90 (highlights) for their third straight win. They erased what had balloned to an18-point deficit early in the 2nd quarter by outscoring the Wiz 85-59 down the stretch. And they finally did it with the big man heavily involved. Shaq ended up with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 from the line. This was the Shaq I'd been waiting to see - taking advantage of his size and not rushing his shots. He was consistent on both ends of the floor and punished the Wizards front court from the 2nd quarter on. The Cavs also shot 11-of-26 from beyond the arc, led by Mo (3/4) and Boobie (4/5).

Shaq was too much for the Wiz on Tuesday night

Aside from overcoming the early large deficit, the thing that impressed me most about this win was the fact that the Wizards went to the line 14 more times than the Cavs (41 attempts to 27) and outrebounded the Cavs (48 to 42), yet the wine and gold still seemed to cruise to victory. The team is still not firing on all cylinders, but Tuesday night's final three quarters were by far the best they've looked thus far in this young season. Things are starting to finally click and that could mean the victories will start piling up, much like after last year's slow start. And after the remaining games this week (CHI and @NY) the schedule gets a little more dicey (@ORL, @MIA, UTA). Let's hope what we saw after yesterday's first quarter jump starts this team to a nice long stretch of dominant play.

Delonte Update: Apparently the DA assigned to Delonte's case is going for additional weapons charges. This may end up getting even worse then we originally thought. I consider myself an anti-gun person and even I hope they take into consideration Delonte's mental state at the time this all went down. And that's not the Cavs fan in me talking, that's the human side of me that has experience dealing with someone with bipolar disorder. Someone in a manic state, likely where Delonte's head was when this occurred, just can't think clearly or rationally. He deserves to be punished for his dangerous actions, but jail time will not help at all. Just my two cents.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

More weirdness in Berea

Just another day in the life of the Browns: George Kokinis fired as GM just eight games into his first season after being hand-picked to be the man by head coach Eric Mangini. Then finally some good news to report, as old friend Ernie Accorsi seemed to be in as the new GM! But of course that was way too good to be true, and those reports proved to be false. Accorsi emphatically stated, "I am not taking any GM job anywhere. Period." I'd probably proclaim the same if my name was attached (even if only a rumor) to the Browns too.

What next for the orange and brown? Owner Randy Lerner will apparently meet today with two fans who came up with the idea of the kickoff protest for the MNF game vs. the Ravens. Honestly, doesn't Lerner have bigger things on his plate right now? The silliness around this organization keeps growing by the day. At least we won't be forced to watch them play again this weekend, although I did see the bye week is favored by 6.5 on Sunday. Sounds like a safe cover to me. Go Cavs.

Monday, November 2, 2009

One week in

OK, so it's been nearly a week since the Cavs started their season. It's been sort of a roller coaster with the opening losses to the Celtics and Raptors, the ensuing panic from everyone in northeast Ohio, and then the nice bounce back wins against the Timberwolves and Bobcats. The team now sits at 2-2, the identical record of last year's squad through the season's first four games.

While there were some alarming things that took place in the first two games (complete defensive collapses at times, suspect shot selection, turnovers, tentative play), I'm willing to chalk that up to early season kinks due to a lack of preseason preparation. The good news is that LeBron is still LeBron, Mo seems to be back on track offensively (20 and 24 points his last two games), Anthony Parker appears to be settling into his role, and Andy hasn't let the contract get to his head and still exhibits all-out hustle. Oh, and DELONTE IS BACK!!! I can't express how great it was to see him return to the floor on Saturday night and put together a very solid game on both ends of the floor. The Cavs are just an entirely different team with Red in the mix. Who knows how long things can last with him in such a fragile mental state, but here's to hoping for the best.

Delonte returned to the court on Halloween night

I'm still anxious to see how Shaq and Z are going to mesh. It's been mildly shocking to see how willing Mike Brown has been to play the plodding twin towers on the court together at the same time. He's apparently still tinkering with his big man rotation, brought on by the fact that JJ Hickson still cannot be counted on for big minutes. Shaq definitely brings a defensive presence that the team has never had with Z. But I prefer Z's spot up shots from mid-range as opposed to Shaq's backboard-rattling shots from six feet that have almost no chance of going in. Hopefully it's just a case of Shaq trying to do too much for his new team and rushing things a bit. But I've been a little put off by his close-range misses when he has great position under the basket, where he is almost unguardable. And of course his free throw shooting will be a concern as long as he is still playing in the NBA.

Overall there is no reason to panic after the slow start. We as Cavs fans need to remember that this is still very much a work in progress. And we need to look for this team to peak in March/April/May/June, not October/November. Another tricky week lies ahead with the Wizards and the Bulls visiting the Q on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by the media circus event of LeBron and the Cavs visiting NYC on Friday night. I'm taking everything one game at a time.

Random Browns Note: This is seriously worse than 1999. How has it gotten this bad? Now we have Randy Lerner finally showing some emotion? Whether his frustration is genuine or PR-related, the fact remains that Lerner has allowed all this to come to pass. This is exactly why I refused to pony up for season tix again this season. There will surely be many more once-loyal fans that will give up on financing this mess going into next season. Hopefully all the empty orange seats will finally send a message that we are tired of this. This bye week couldn't have come fast enough. It almost makes me wonder why I wanted the Browns back in the league so badly when we didn't have them around. Is this what we were waiting for?