They just keep talking

I know at this point I shouldn't be surprised that the Wizards are still talking - but I am. And annoying as it is, I'm actually glad they just can't seem to shut up. Any thoughts of the Cavaliers being unmotivated for Game 5 have gone out the window as Brenda Haywood and Gilbert Arenas keep flapping their gums.

Here are my favorites from Monday:

(Brenda on LeBron) "Awww," Haywood said, in a whiny, high-pitched voice to mock James. "They are trying to hurt me. I mean come on man, this is the playoffs," Haywood said following Monday's practice. "He wears 23, he wants to be Michael Jordan, I can respect that, he's a great player. You saw what Mike went through. Mike got fouled way worse than this. No one is trying to hurt him, everybody is trying to play basketball, trying to play tough. Play basketball and leave it alone."

(Gilbert Arenas on the series) "It's never over until it's over," said Gilbert Arenas, playing with a bone bruise in his knee. "They said there are eight teams that have done it [come back from 3-1]. We are going to be the ninth."

Now I really can't wait for Game 5. Time for these guys to start their summer vacation, courtesy of the Cavaliers. It should be a rowdy crowd down at the Q to welcome these clowns back into town. The only downer is that the geniuses in the league office decided to make this a 6:00 pm start to accommodate the Hawks/Celtics at 8:00 pm. And by the way, nice job by the Celtics last night. I guess those 65 wins during the regular season aren't helping much now. I would love nothing more than for them to lose to the Hawks (a 37-win team), but for selfish reasons I want the Cavaliers to oust them from the postseason.

"If you can't beat 'em, just keep talkin' trash"

Cavalier Off-Day Updates

Not much new to report on the Cavalier front as we wait for Game 3 tomorrow night. I did just read some good news about the broadcast - the game will be shown in HD on FSN Ohio so we can listen to our favorite homers Austin and Fred instead of the TNT crew.

As for the Wizards, they just keep talking. Now apparently Brenda is upset with Mike Brown:

"You know, any time LeBron gets touched, Mike runs out there like LeBron got shot or something. Calm down Mike. It's not that serious. We're not trying to take him out. It's all within the confines of the game,'' Haywood told reporters in Washington. ''I don't see how coaches should be running out on the court like that anyway. Isn't there a coach's box? Since we're talking about the confines of the league rules, he shouldn't be out of the box.''

I guess when you're down 2-0 you can find lots of things to complain about. And no Wizards update would be complete without catching up on the idiotic ramblings of a deranged lunatic (also known as Tom Knott's daily Wizards report for the Washington Times). I wonder if he actually believes the stuff he's writing, or is he looking to start a career as a fiction writer?

Tune out TNT and listen to your favorite homers on FSN

No Suspension for Brenda (and Ben called up!)

It's been a busy sports information afternoon here on the shores of Lake Erie. First, apparently Brenda Haywood will not be suspended for his flagrant foul on LeBron in Game 2. I've made my thoughts on this known below so I won't delve into it anymore.

Also, the Tribe made a roster move today. Jake Westbrook was placed on the 15-day DL with a ribcage muscle injury (specifically a "left intercostal strain"). So Ben Francisco was called up from AAA Buffalo to take his place on the roster. This will likely only be for a couple days until Westbrook's turn in the rotation, when I expect Aaron Laffey or Jeremy Sowers to get the call. But maybe if we all work together in unison in positive thinking, we can persuade Eric Wedge to give Ben a couple starts in left field to show what he can do. The Jason Michaels/David Dellucci experiment has already taken at least a month off my life.

Welcome back Ben - hope you can stay for a while

Suspension Looming?

The more times I see the replay of that cheapshot from Brenda (not Brendan) Haywood on LBJ, the more I think a Game 3 suspension is in order. This is not because he is some great piece to the puzzle for the Wiz (he's definitely not) and I want him out of their lineup. It's simply because that was a thug tactic. He made absolutely no attempt at the ball, and pushed LeBron when he was at his most vulnerable point in midair. If LBJ doesn't partially get his foot down to soften the landing, we might be talking about a season-ending injury and an early end to this playoff run. Add the fact that LeBron is a superstar and the league has to take action in my opinion. I guess we'll see what happens before Game 3.

And not surprisingly, our good friend Tom Knott from the Washington Times does not agree with me (shocker, I know). I really think this guy is delusional.

Thank the sports gods that LBJ was able to get his foot down before hitting the ground

Also of note, I guess DeShawn "Soulja Boy" Stevenson just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. The latest idiotic quote from him:

Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson on whether there is a difference between a foul and a ''LeBron foul,'' as James said this week: ''He's going to cry about calls; that's what he do.''

And (drumroll please) here are the stats from Mr. Stevenson in 18 games against the Cavs over the last two years: 39 of 129 from the field (a whopping 22.4%) for 6.9 ppg. But thanks for the extra motivation for Game 3!

Finally, regarding our other team - as painful as it has been over the last few weeks to talk about our beloved Tribe, they are back in action tonight against the Royals. The hefty lefty will get another shot to get his first win of the year and lower his ERA from it's current abysmal number (13.50). Let's hope he can get himself back on track.

Game 2: A Massacre at the Q

What a great Monday in Cleveland. My good luck began today with a power failure at work that allowed me to go home at noon. And the good times rolled on into the night inside the Q as the Cavaliers just hammered the Wizards 116-86 to go up 2-0 in the series. This marks the 8th straight playoff win over the team that talks but just can't seem to back any of it up.

Tonight had a little bit of everything. Hard fouls? Check. Intense crowd? Check. The Wizards losing their cool and getting blown out? Check. The fun really started when Brendan Haywood made absolutely no attempt at the ball and shoved a flying LeBron James out of bounds on a layup attempt. The officials correctly gave him a flagrant 2 foul and an automatic ejection. LeBron went on to make both free throws and then Delonte West nailed a three on the ensuing possession to basically put the game away. That was a microcosm of how things went tonight. LeBron missed a triple-double by one rebound and got plenty of rest down the stretch, along with the rest of our rotation.

Highlights of the night for me (in no particular order):

• Ben Wallace bringing some much needed energy early tonight. We needed it and he looked great.
• LeBron's relentless attack of the rim, in spite of all the hard fouling. As he said, he's not the only one feeling the contact on those fouls. 30 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds. Outstanding as usual.
  
• Wally Sczcerbiak's great shooting night. He really brought a lot to the team tonight and even played some decent defense. I think this was the best he's looked in a Cavalier uniform.
• Gilbert Arenas' pathetic shooting night. I know he has the built-in excuse of the limp wrist, or whatever injury he's claiming now. But he looked awful out there and appeared to be about to burst into tears at any moment. High entertainment.
• DeShawn Stevenson breaking out that idiotic hand-waving in his own face after hitting a three to cut the Cavaliers' lead down to 16 (!). Nice job moron.
• Damon Jones busting out his own mock version of the hand-waving when he hit a three in the waning seconds to give the Cavs the final 30-point margin of victory. Now that was outstanding.

We'll see what happens in Game 3 (it's always an adventure when these Cavaliers leave the cozy confines of the Q). But I think this Wizards team is about to implode. Too bad we have to wait until Thursday night for the next game. But we will be plenty rested. In the meantime I'll keep tabs on what the pathetic Washington writers have to say about this one. I'm sure there will be plenty of excuses after this massacre.

LBJ was not to be denied on this drive, or at any other time tonight