Cavs sweep away Pistons

With the Cavaliers' two wins this weekend - a 79-68 Game 3 win (highlights) on Friday, and then yesterday's rousing 99-78 victory (highlights) in Game 4 - the Pistons were swept under the rug in stunningly easy fashion. In the four game sweep, the Cavs became just the third team in NBA history to win all four games by double figures. And LeBron became just the third player ever to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists for a playoff series - the other two to accomplish that feat being Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson. Not bad company to keep.

The King owned the Palace in this Round 1 sweep

So with their quick work in Round 1, the rest vs. rust argument now comes into play. With the Hawks/Heat series going to Game 4 tonight, it could be a while before the Cavs take the floor again. Miami/Atlanta is scheduled to go tonight, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. So if it goes the full seven games, Round 2 would probably begin next Tuesday at the Q. I personally think the Heat will end it in 6 games, which would mean Round 2 would start on Sunday. And that's fine by me. The Cavs (namely Z, Big Ben, and Joe Smith) can use the rest they are now enjoying. And would you want to face a really rested LeBron after what he just accomplished in Round 1? The Cavs will be fine with all this rest, and I think it should help in the long run. It will just be tough as a fan to go without them playing for so long. I guess it's time to sit back and study the rest of the playoff teams while we wait for the Cavs' next victim to emerge.

And I can't go without mentioning how satisfying it was to see the Pistons' season end like this. They had an impressive 6-year run atop the Eastern Conference. But you could see the changing of the guard in the East start three years ago when an overmatched Cavs team took the Pistons to 7 games in LBJ's playoff debut. Beating them in 6 games in the ECF the following year was one of my finest Cleveland sports memories. And this year the final nail in the Pistons coffin was really hammered home when they traded Chauncey at the beginning of the year. They still had some decent talent, and I thought maybe some pride would help them snag one game this series. But the Cavs are on a mission that is just starting and it was great to see them never take their foot off the gas. And the pro-Cavs crowd at the Palace on Sunday was something I can't ever remember seeing in an NBA playoff game. I'm just pissed I wasn't there to see it firsthand, but I won't get into that. Go Cavs. Enjoy the rest.

An unlikely sweep... and other thoughts

Well maybe the Indians are finally rounding back into form? Maybe the Rays really are just a fluke and are now crashing back to earth? Or maybe that team meeting before Thursday's game actually woke the Tribe up? We won't really know the answers until the second half of the season starts. But for now, the four-game sweep of Tampa Bay sure was a nice way to cap off an otherwise miserable first half of the 2008 season. And it was definitely unexpected coming on the heels of a horrendous 10-game losing streak.

Friday night's game featured more solid pitching from Cliff Lee, who notched his 12th win on the year with a 5-0 victory. With a 12-2 record and a tidy 2.31 ERA, today Lee did get the nod as the All-Star Game starter on Tuesday night in New York City. Quite a turnaround from his dismal performance in 2007. On Saturday the Indians won 8-4, behind Ryan Garko's career-high 5 RBI night. And yesterday's game featured a very bizarre stat line, one I thought I'd never see again to be perfectly honest. And Jhonny Peralta seems to be finally reaping the benefits of his laser vision correction surgery (7 hits and 2 home runs this weekend). We even had an Andy Marte sighting! And Ben Francisco is playing well again, raising his average by 14 points with a 12-for-19 series. The only bad news I could find after the Tribe's weekend was the fact that they allowed the Red Sox back into first place in the AL East...

A truly backwards weekend: Tribe sweep & a Mastny win!

More Tribe: American League home run leader Grady Sizemore takes his swing up against the short porch in right tonight in New York for the Home Run Derby. And we got a glimpse of the future with new prospect Matt LaPorta on Sunday in the Futures Game. And of course, I will miss seeing this in a Tribe uniform during interleague games. That is a hell of a swing for a pitcher.

Gladiators Update: The fun ride ended on Saturday afternoon as the Philadelphia Soul beat our Gladtiators 70-35 in the National Conference championship game. Early offensive mistakes and a turnover really put them in trouble in the first half and they just were never able to recover. But 2-14 to 9-7 and two playoff wins is nothing to take lightly. Good job by Bernie Kosar, the entire coaching staff, and the players. I'm now a fan and will be looking forward to more indoor football next spring.

Cavs Update: No news yet on the neverending James Posey saga. But Terry Pluto has some thoughts on what is happening behind the scenes in Cavalier-land.