Dale Earnhardt Jr. being a free agent goes beyond sports.

Junior brings along a huge fan base, and two major sponsors in Chevy and Budweiser.

His market ability is on par with Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan if not greater.

He is going to make a lot of money for himself and for whichever owner is lucky enough to land him.

Just imagine if he could win more races.

As for DEI, I can't see that race team staying anywhere near the top of the business. It was a second-tier team with Junior. Martin Truex Jr. can't be the headliner for any team.

More talk of what LeBron James brings and means to the NBA.

New York Times talks more of the Nets' struggles and the success of the Pistons and Cavs.

Here is a link to the New York Times story on the series.

Ian Thomsen of SI wrote about Vince Carter's struggles.

The Newark Star Ledger had this and this.

ESPN had this information through Elias Sports Bureau:
• LeBron James had 36 points and 12 assists for Cleveland in its win over the Nets. Only one other player in Cavaliers' history had 35 or more points and at least 10 assists in a playoff game, and he also did it in a home game against the Nets: Mark Price (35 points, 10 assists) on April 23, 1992.

• The Cavaliers outrebounded the Nets by 14 in Game 1 (51-37) and by 17 in Game 2 (49-32). They're the first team to have 14 or more rebounds than their opponent in each of the first two games of a playoff series since Sacramento did it against Seattle in 1996 (plus-15 and plus-17).

• Cleveland has won each of its first six games of the 2007 NBA playoffs, joining Detroit as the only two teams to start these playoffs with six straight wins. From 1994 to 2006 six teams started the playoffs with a winning streak of at least six games, only one of those teams made it to the NBA Finals that year. The Lakers won their first 11 games of the 2001 playoffs on their way to the NBA championship. The five teams that failed to reach the Finals: Orlando in 1996 (won first six), Indiana in 1999 (seven), San Antonio in 2004 (six), Indiana in 2004 (six) and Miami in 2005 (eight).

Jinx or not, Grady Sizemore will be selling a lot of copies of Sports Illustrated. He is on the cover and Tom Verducci does an outstanding article on the Indians' center fielder.

LeBron James scored 36 points, but it is the continued strong play of the frontline that has the Cavs on a 6-game playoff winning streak.

Game 3 is Saturday in New Jersey.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao have been stellar.

What has surprised me is that Jason Kidd hasn't run over Larry Hughes. It is Kidd's ability to get to the basket that I thought would give the Nets a chance to win this series. So far, Hughes and Eric Snow have been doing well as has the entire defense.

Liz Robbins of the New York Times wrote about the change this season in Sasha Pavlovic.

Ian Thomsen has an interesting story on the Cavs' failed attempt to land Mike Bibby at the trade deadline for those of you who forgot about that opportunity.

I have told you all before the I was born, grew up and went to college in Pittsburgh, so when I say I know how you feel when the Browns can't seem to make any decisions correctly, remember that I have the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Buccos haven't had a winning season since Barry Bonds bolted for San Francisco after his weak throw and an error by Jose Lind allowed the Atlanta Braves to go to the World Series in October 1992.

Just to drive that point home, here is a column today in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Major League Baseball will have its draft on TV for the first time, ESPN.com reported.

Anyone going to watch?

The Cavs have a plan, and they followed it perfectly in Game 1. It is amazing when you have a plan and stick to it how far it can take you. Now to win a title, I think the offense might need to get a little better. But there is nothing saying that that can't happen this year.

The Browns drew media from all over to cover Brady Quinn's presence at minicamp. I will say it again. Phil Savage was desperate when he made the move for Quinn, and now he is going to be under more scrutiny than every before.

We often talk about windows of opportunity in sports. Well, the Indians' window is wide open, and they need to follow C.C. Sabathia right through it this year. C.C. is on track for his first Cy Young and probably will become the first $20 million per season pitcher in history after completing his deal next season. The Tribe's window might be just this season because all of the talk next season will center on C.C. and his contract status.

Jimmie Johnson and Tiger Woods won again. No surprises with either. Again, having a plan and following through. It does work, if you have the right plan.