Another season ends without a title...

It's days like Sunday that remind me what it means to be a Cleveland fan. Not that I expected the Cavaliers to run away with an NBA title this year - I didn't. But it's easy to get caught up in a playoff run, especially with a unique talent like LeBron on your roster. And after the Cavs lost Game 7 yesterday I realized I wasn't quite ready for this year's run to end. After he dropped 45 on the Celtics I fully expected to walk away from there with an improbable win. But it wasn't meant to be - I should have realized this when Ben Wallace deflected a pass and it landed perfectly in the hands of Paul Pierce who drilled a three. Or when Kevin Garnett drove wildly to the hoop, lost control of the ball and is crashed hard off the backboard, somehow dropping right through the hoop. Or when the Cavaliers forced a jump ball late in the game and the tap from Z somehow squirted loose, Pierce fell on the ball with two Cavaliers and the refs somehow awarded Boston a timeout. Or really, when 87-year-old PJ Brown just couldn't miss a shot.

There were a lot of signs that the sports gods just were ready to piss on another season for me, but I had my Cleveland sports blinders on again I guess. I started to believe after Game 6 on Friday night that the Cavaliers would do the improbable, but I'm still proud of the heart most of them showed yesterday (and yes, I've gotten way too used to saying that over the years). As my buddy Niro painfully reminded me last year - we're in our early 30's now, and if we're extremely lucky we might have another 50 years on this earth at best. That leaves about 150 more chances at best to see the Cavs, Tribe, or Browns win a championship. Make that 149 at best now.

Keep fighting LBJ, you are so close

And to add insult to injury, the Tribe decided that 3 games over .500 wasn't fun and were swept by the lowly Reds in Cincinnati over the weekend. The focus shift squarely back on them tomorrow night. I think I'll use today to just mourn and hope for a big offseason for the Cavs.

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