Game 6 Anticipation

As I sit here and think about Game 6 tonight, there are a lot of thoughts swimming in my head:

• Can we hold serve at home, or will the pressure of 20-1 in the second round for the home teams destroy us?
• Can we survive the loss of Boobie tonight, and possibly the rest of the playoffs?
• Will Mike Brown peel Damon Jones off the bench tonight? And if so, will it play out like I envision (where he is on fire from downtown and torches the Celts)?
• Will the Celtics fold under the immense pressure of winning a road game in a hostile environment?
• How will the Cavs respond to their first elimination game since Game 4 of last year's Finals?
• Will linking to this oldie-but-goodie inspire the Cavaliers to beat the Celtics, a la the '92 playoffs?
  

I guess we will know the answers to all of these questions soon enough. But for what it's worth, I had a dream last night that I was talking to LBJ about Game 6. He reassured me that they Cavs are bringing it tonight and wouldn't let us down at home. It's pathetic that I did actually have that dream, I know, but it actually made me feel better when I woke up. My wife sort of rolled her eyes when I told her about it this morning, as I would expect any female to do when their husband tells them such a thing. TMI coming out in the blog today so let's move onto something else...

Can DJ be more than a cheerleader tonight in Game 6?

Tribe Update:
Aaron Laffey gave the Tribe another superb start yesterday, even if the scoreless streak from the starters was ended. I can't complain about the one unearned run he did allow in the Tribe's 4-2 win. It was concerning to see Rafael Betancourt have to be yanked in favor of Masa Kobayashi to get out of the ninth, but a win's a win's a win as they say. The Tribe is now a full 1.5 games in first and 3 games over .500 for the first time all year. And the Tigers keep sinking deeper into the abyss. As Borat would say: "Niiiiiiiiice!"

Small Browns Update:
With OTA's currently going on for the Browns, we got this small bit of information about Josh Cribbs' more expanded role in the 2008 Browns offense. Any time you can get the ball in this guy's hands, good things are bound to happen. Can't wait for September!

The Return of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

I was hoping the Cavaliers were past these types of performances on the road. You know, when they jump out to a big lead, look confident and aggressive, and then blow it in a matter of minutes? Well apparently they just can't shake it because they did it again last night. The actually held a 14-point lead midway through the second quarter and were looking good. I made the mistake of thinking ahead to how awesome the atmosphere would be at the Q on Friday night for a closeout Game 6. Maybe that upset the sports gods.

In a matter of minutes, the Cavaliers' 14-point lead had been cut to just 4 at halftime. A pair of Rajon Rondo three-pointers were prominently featured in the Celtics' run, just to illustrate how mad the sports gods were at Cleveland again. But that wasn't even the worst part. The Cavaliers then opened up the third quarter with three consecutive turnovers and they were the team shrinking under pressure. The only hope I really got from this game happened late when the Celtics had the game in the bag and mystifyingly let the Cavs back in it, at one point cutting the lead to 4 late. I never made the mistake of thinking the Cavs would actually win it, but maybe, just MAYBE they got some hope for a potential Game 7 on Sunday in the same arena. But first things first - Game 6 on Friday night. It's desperate times like this where I like to call on a quote from the Shawshank Redemption for some hope, modified to fit the Cavaliers' current predicament:

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a Cavalier fan can feel, a Cavalier fan at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope we can win Game 6. I hope to see LeBron dominate, and dunk again on that a-hole KG. I hope Game 7 is satisfying as it has been in my dreams. I hope. "

Tribe Update: Back in first place where we belong after a 2-0 win over the A's. Now 2 games over .500. And the Tribe starters' shutout streak now sits at 49+ innings as I am typing. They are winning 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth in the dreaded day "getaway" game at the Prog. CC was great again last night. Our entire staff has just looked incredible. I'm actually running out of adjectives. I'd trade it all for a Cavs series win over Boston but I don't think it works that way...

Tribe starters continue to roll, CC pitching the latest gem

3 Times is a Charm

Who's laughing now? LeBron took the high road during his postgame interview session, but you can bet this one tasted good as the Cavs closed out the Wizards' season for a third straight year, winning 105-88 in Game 6 in front of the D.C. faithful. After all the booing and the "overrated" nonsense, you know LeBron enjoyed this one. He was incredible tonight, posting his third career playoff triple double with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists.

Keys to the game from my view:

• Wally Szczerbiak came out hot and didn't stop firing. He finished with 26 points, going 6-13(!) from behind the arc.
• Boobie Gibson was also hot tonight, chipping in 22 points of his own.
• LeBron was an animal on both ends of the court tonight. He willed his team to this win with his leadership by example.
• Overall the team was much more focused and prepared for this one, compared to Game 5. Hopefully this great performance can carry over into Round 2. I think Mike Brown deserves some credit for the team really being ready to play tonight.

On a personal note, this night worked out perfectly for me. My wife and I decided to skip going to the Tribe game and stay home to watch Game 6. Luckily for us, the game was rained out so we didn't miss a thing. We got to see the Cavs lay a beatdown on Washington and we still get to go to the make-up game later this summer. And to cap things off, the Atlanta Hawks stunned the Boston Celtics in their Game 6 to force a Game 7 on Sunday. Now, instead of the Cavs having to fly to Boston for a game on Sunday, they can rest up until Tuesday when their next series starts. Maybe the sports gods really don't hate Cleveland sports... ehhh, what am I saying? It's been 44 years of pain and agony. But with LeBron, there's always a chance to end the pain... stay tuned.

Have a nice summer jackass...

...this man officially owns you.