First, let’s deal with the two-ton elephant in this cyber room if you will. I ain’t Brian Windhorst. Although he and I possess the same physique, I’ve got about 13 years on him and I have a much better tan – much better. I’d like to say he’s a friend. He’s taught me a few things about hoops and the Cavs in particular, but he and I are different people. So, by all means, feel free to bash me in different ways. That being said, let’s take a look at what’s happening with the Cavaliers in the NBA and a couple of things fans may want t
o check out:
First stop John Hollinger at espn.com and his look at the Cavaliers and their prospects for the season. I’ve never been one for trying to predict how sports teams will perform in any given season. Why? Look at the Cleveland Browns right now. Nor can you ever account for X factors such as team chemistry.
No one knows what effect that the addition of Mo Williams will have on the Cavs. Judging from just one performance Saturday, the upside will have fans salivating. Williams brings a dimension that the team’s not seen since Andre Miller wore the wine and …err…orange and blue. Hollinger in his preview expects the Cavs to be a five seed for the playoffs. Yours truly can only say: we shall see. He may have something with this thought, however:
Filling out the rotation is Pavlovic, who has had four absolutely horrible pro seasons and one halfway decent one. Anybody want to take odds on how this season turns out?
Looking for just a little insight into who Mo Wiliams is? Take a look at this piece from the Cleveland Free Time’s Vince Grzegorek – a little over a month in town and Williams is already enjoying a local delicacy – pierogies. Yes, there’s more to it than the fact that Williams enjoys ethnic foods. After the debacle that was Larry Hughes, it’s refreshing to hear someone brought here to help LeBron James talk about playing as part of a team.
There’s been a lot of speculation – LOTS – about LeBron Jamesleaving the Cavs for pastures that may not necessarily be greener, but more in the spotlight. Holding court on Media Day last week, James, the Akron native tried to end speculation. Will those words suffice? Some would say that you handle politicians and athletes the same way – you take what they say with a healthy dose of skepticism. But since signing his contract, James consistently has said he’s happy here.
It’s quite evident they have an owner in Dan Gilbert, for whom money is no object (the team has one of the highest payrolls in the NBA) and when James’ contract is up in 2010, the team will have a pile of cash under the salary camp. Realistically speaking, however, the speculation won’t end until James re-signs or leaves.
Gilbert knows this, but still his remarks related to James’ leaving made a bit of news nationally. So much so that it set off the snark-o-meter of Lang Whitaker on his Slam Magazine blog. Yes, the next two years will be tons of fun.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Glad to see the blog back up in operation. Is Brian gone from the Beacon Journal for good?
BW is now the Cav’s beat writer for the PD.
Thanks for the info – maybe the Beacon Journal could make that clear here.
I’ve always liked your writing, Geroge. Glad to see that you’re taking over the Cavs beat.
Did not even know Brian left. Just read an article from him on Oct 4th Beacon. That sure did happen quickly.
George, I like your writing style and looking forward to reading your Cavs info!
George, welcome to our home. The Akron beacon Journal sports page has always had a special place here. I’ve enjoyed your articles in the past. I will miss Brian, but I’m sure you will fill his place in our home.
Glad to see you’re getting a pleasant reception, George.
It’s refreshing to read an article where the writer doesn’t insist on trying to answer all questions. So thanks for that…it gets people thinking.
Good teams treat the regular season almost like the preseason anyway: stay healthy, continue to grow as a team, and play well enough to get into the playoffs when the real season begins.
Why should we care about preseason or in-season rankings? With Lebron on our team, won’t we always be better in the playoffs anyway?
Hi George,
For years, the ABJ sports page was my absolute favorite (NYTimes would rather do sociology pieces on sports than sports pieces, Globe has a number of writers who would rather say something shocking than something sensible, similarly for the Plain Dealer, etc.). Very sorry to see Terry & Brian gone. This said, I’ve always like your thinking & writing about sports & look forward to reading you more often!
Best Wishes,
T
I noticed Hollinger lost his day job when the New York Sun went down the toilet this past Friday. That guy is kinda kooky with his obsession with stats which equate to nothing in the real NBA basketball world.
By the way, if George keeps this up and actually posts more than his usual biannual self, once right before he comes out of hibernation, and once right after he comes out of hibernation, I can see myself liking George’s Cavs beat writing a heckuva lot better than I liked Windhorst’s, whether it’s here or in the paper. Any black guy who starts out by makes tanning jokes is OK by me.
Kinda stinks, Windhorst jumping ship, with his Beacon Journal buyout money in hand, and then stealing Wright’s Cavs beat. Those are two guys who won’t be having dinner together anytime soon. Whatever you need to do to advance your career, I guess.
By the way, let’s not fool ourselves that money is no object with Gilbert, George. He kinda got stuck with those horrible contracts before his primary business started tanking. Things are so bad, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s told his wife to start re-using the bathroom Q-tips.
The Cavaliers’ payroll is primarily the result of past dealings, not because he likes tossing money around now. Besides, Snow’s salary is going because of the knee and insurance paying the salary, the white guy with the really thick eyebrows is going to have his bloated salary unloaded, and Sideshow Bob will be gone by the trade deadline. In turn, they’ll acquire somebody with a very short-term contract and save money on payroll.
Also, people seem to ignore, or just don’t realize, that they actually saved about $2 million this year on the Mo Williams deal. It’s no coincidence that there’s really nothing substantial on the payroll signed after 2009-2010. Assuming LeBron goes, I can easily see Williams eventually being the highest paid guy on the entire team, and the Cavs being amongst the lowest payrolls in the entire league.
Speaking of George and hibernation, I think this should be George’s photo, both here and in the paper. Seriously. Compare it to the photo they’ve got in the paper now. Tell me with a straight face it doesn’t look exactly like George. Face, head, body, the whole kit and kaboodle.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/satoyama/hibernation_01.html
5 seed r u a moron i think will be better than that at least top 3
Mr Thomas, do you work for the BJ or the PD? Also, who does Windhorst work for?
R M Kraus
Akron
rmkraus@sbcglobal.net
Alan T….Branson Wright was relieved of his Cav duties shortly after the end of the regular season. Wright was double dipping. He was in Washington covering the Cavs/Wizards and wrote stories in the Washington paper while on the PD’s dime. Mary Schmidt Boyer has been covering the Cavs in the meantime.
Really? Are you sure Wright was “double-dipping,” or were these merely syndicated pieces that ended up in a Washington paper. He couldn’t possibly be that dumb, and if he really was double-dipping, I doubt he’d still be employed by the Plain Dealer, let alone still be in their sports department, as Wright still is. Hell, even Paul Hoynes’ stuff is finding its way into Columbus’ newspaper these days. He’s not double-dipping, it’s just that importing other writers’ stuff saves money for the Columbus Dispatch.
I know Wright wasn’t on the Cavs beat during the summer, and Mary Schmidt Boyer has shared some of Wright’s duties for years. Sorry, but I’ve had three sinus surgeries in my lifetime, and the last one worked. There still is an odor here. But then again, with the Plain Dealer’s latest round of layoffs, the writing is on the wall for everybody. Both James and Brian “I Love Z” Windhorst will be taking their acts someplace else within the next two to three years anyway.
Here’s hoping Big George knows what he’s doing and is willing to put upper management and ownership in the line of fire, if necessary. That’s something that’s been completely absent from Akron’s newspaper since 1982.
This brings me to an idea:…
And if anybody will ask me of the right price of crude oil that will encourage investment, I think $140 per barrel will be appropriate. ,