Sorry for the break in blogging but made a family trip to Denver last weekend.

What a beautiful part of the country. We saw the four seasons in four days. Friday, 60s with more sun; Saturday 80 and sun; Sunday 30s with 4 inches of snow. Monday back in the 50s with sun. Did you know that Denver averages more than 300 days of sun per year. I am not sure if we average more than 300 hours of sun here with all the clouds rolling off Lake Erie.

Also did some interesting reading on the Rockies (hard not to like), Nuggets (easy to hate with Iverson and Anthony), Broncos (a .500 team in the making) and Avalanche (Cup-worthy?).

Back to sports …

– I leave for the weekend and the Indians go from being a game from the World Series to at least another season away. What a meltdown!

It seems to me that the suddenly scared pitching staff and the overpaid DH in Travis Hafner did in the Tribe. Hafner finished the season as he started it. Not hitting, at all.

I still think that any chance of the Indians signing C.C. Sabathia ended the day Hafner signed his deal. Now neither was good in the postseason, but C.C. got the Tribe there.

– The Browns could be tied for first place Monday. Who would have thought that sentence would be written this season?

– Ohio State is still the inside favorite to make the BCS title game. Another sentence I didn't expect to write this season, especially in October.

– The Cavaliers are in trouble. I agree with GM Danny Ferry not spending the Cavs into oblivion, but if he sticks to his priorities and doesn't overspend on Pavlovic or Varejao, then he needs to make a deal to support the starting five.

– Rockies in 7. Not sure why. Just a feeling.

– Rick Reilly from Sports Illustrated to ESPN. In his place at SI will be Dan Patrick, formerly of ESPN. Well, that is like trading Tom Brady for Ken Dorsey. Advantage, ESPN.

By the way, Reilly gets $10 million for five years to write one column per week (one week in the magazine, the next for the .com) plus some TV duties. Hopefully SI doesn't continue Patrick's Q/A interviews that used to be on the back page of ESPN Magazine.

The Cavaliers are doing the right thing. They should not give into the demands of Anderson Varejao or Sasha Pavlovic. … The Indians bullpen is the reason they are where they are, and it will be what decides if they win the World Series or not. … Jamal Lewis being healthy is the difference between 8 wins and 5 or 6 wins for the Browns.

Will any team be undefeated in college football come November? … The Big Ten Network has been a dud. … By the way, that will be the only way to watch the OSU-Kent State game Saturday. … I don't think you will miss much.

Roger Clemens, Cooperstown is calling. It is time to trigger your five-year wait. … Dan O'Dowd of the Rockies and Josh Byrnes of the Diamondbacks; both GMs, also both former members of the Tribe front office. … No wonder the Pirates hired Neal Huntington as GM; the Tribe knows how to grow great front office folks.

Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon? I am pulling for Gordon. … Mike Tirico is everywhere.

Sheldon Ocker reported today that the Indians are investigating national companies' interests in buying the naming rights to Jacobs Field.

Dick Jacobs' contract ran out at the end of last season. According to the report, the Indians have been underwhelmed with local companies' offers.

Do fans really care about what the name is on the stadium? The Houston Astros have had numerous names on their stadium — Enron Field, Astros Park, Minute Maid Park. So have the San Francisco Giants: Pac Bell Park and AT&T Park.

Any ideas of companies you all would be interested in putting their name on the stadium. I am surprised local companies with national reaches have been slow to move. Smuckers Stadium? Goodyear Park? Firestone Field? National City Park?

What about Dan Gilbert's Palace? Wait, that should be the name of the Cavs practice facility.

… The Browns offense finds its groove and destroys the Bengals defense.

The Bengals offense continues to expose the Browns defense.

It added up to a surprising win for the Browns. It also adds up to another season where high expectations will meet an early ending to a season for the Bengals. Everyone falls in love with offense but defense is the key. The Bengals remind me of the Chargers of the 80s. Lots of Hall of Fame offensive players but no rings to show for it.

… Clint Bowyer wins his first race of the season and is in fourth place in the Race for the Nextel Cup. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are tied for first. This will be a battle of attrition.

… Maybe this time O.J. Simpson is guilty.

… Then again …

… Is it better for the Indians to have the Tigers in the playoffs or the Yankees or does it matter. If the Tigers make the playoffs then the Indians will play the Angels in the first round. Otherwise, they are going to Boston or hosting the Yankees. I like their chances better against the Angels.

… Ohio State looks in good shape to play a New Year's Day bowl but I am still not sure if they will win the Big Ten. Penn State and Wisconsin are interesting, and Michigan can't be counted out.

… So will Charlie Weis get the same treatment as Ty Willingham and get fired after what is going to be a horrible third season? Probably not. But it is a valid point.

… I have to like Kent State over Akron in the game at the Rubber Bowl on Saturday. The Zips just seem to lack a strong enough defense to slow down the Flashes. If KSU does win, they are setting up a season that could end in a bowl game.

… Brady who?

… Tiger Woods wins FedExCup. No surprise.

… My guess is that the Bill Belichick video scandal isn't over yet.

… Less than a month until Cavs open training camp.

Does losing Anderson Varejao and replacing him with Morris Peterson seem like a plus, minus or an even situation?

Also some reports say that the Cavs tried to trade Eric Snow and Larry Hughes around the time of the NBA Draft and that if the Blazers buy out Steve Francis' contract that the Cavs would be interested.

GM Danny Ferry seems to be exploring options but it is time for a move or two. The Cavs made the Finals but I don't think the main rotation players are strong enough. So changes are necessary and maybe losing Varejao will cause a ripple effect of moves.

Remember how the surprising loss of Carlos Boozer caused the Cavs to be proactive. They were able to add Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao in a trade.

The NBA Draft didn't seem to increase the chances of any Eastern Conference team dethroning King James and the Cavaliers.

Now what should GM Danny Ferry do?

I think he needs to address the point guard problem. Chauncey Billups is a free agent but his cost is prohibitive. There are other options, and remember, this guy needs to be a defender first but someone who can hit the occassional jump shot. Steve Blake seems to me to be the best player for that role.

Also, don't be surprised to see Anderson Varejao on another team. The Cavs will pay Varejao the going rate for a sixth man, but if another team offers him a starter's contract, don't expect the Cavs to match it. Look for some type of sign-and-trade deal.

What to do about Larry Hughes? If Ferry can get something for him, good luck, but it seems to me Mike Brown is going to have to figure out a way to keep Hughes in the flow of the game but coming off the bench. At $12 million, that is a luxury the Cavaliers probably can't afford.

A look back at the weekend and what is ahead:

The Indians can't seem to get their hitting machine rolling. It is now the end of June and Travis Hafner still is not hitting. That is the bad news. The good news is the Tigers are only 2 games ahead and the Indians lead the wild-card race.

Juan Pablo Montoya won the Nextel Cup race in Sonoma, Calif. It was his first win, but more important for NASCAR, it was a minority driver who won the race. With Lewis Hamilton, a black man, winning twice in Formula One, NASCAR has been getting more questions about its minority program. Montoya's win shows NASCAR is making progress.

Does anybody really care to hear about Kobe Bryant every day? Enough already ESPN.

All indications are that Brady Quinn is going to need a lot of work to be of any good to the Browns this season. Now we see why most didn't think he was a high first-round prospect.

The Cavaliers have a lot of value with veteran contracts that are going to expire after next season. In today's NBA, those can be more valuable than gaining a real player.

Ohio State football is being talked about as being the fourth best team in the Big Ten this season behind Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State. I just don't see Penn State being better than the Buckeyes. The other two should be, but the Badgers will be like the Buckeyes, going with an inexperienced quarterback.

Greg Oden and Kevin Durant or should I say Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. I think Oden will go first, but the NBA, despite the players being on the West Coast, has to be happy that these two will be playing against each other in the same division for years to come.

As for the draft, I think the Cavs will pass on trading into the proceedings.

Paul Tracy, the Canadian driver, continues to race well in Cleveland. Kudos to Tracy.

Wimbledon gets started today …. wake me when it's over. Speaking of Wimbledon, when it was great in the 80s and 90s, we couldn't watch the early rounds because it was on HBO. Now that it is on ESPN, I see no reason to watch.

It doesn't register on most sports fans' radars, but it was good to see the United States win the Gold Cup this weekend, beating Mexico 2-1. It bodes well for Bob Bradley's plan for the National Team.

I have pointed out how inept the NBA is on TV and the lack of folks interested in it, even with LeBron James on center stage.

Well here is more proof from Peter King of SI:

There are approximately 113 million television households in the United States, and the average rating for the NBA Championship Series showed that 6.9 million households watched the series between Cleveland and San Antonio.

We all know football is king in this country, but if the best the NBA has to offer gets trounced by the worst the NFL has to offer … well, the NBA is in more than a little trouble.

The TV ratings aren't out for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, but don't expect them to be good.

The surprising number to me is that in the first two games more folks are watching the finals in San Antonio than Cleveland. The ratings for the Cavs in Cleveland still don't touch what a regular-season game for the Browns gets. That for title starved Northeast Ohio is shocking.

No one outside Cleveland and San Antonio is watching the NBA Finals.

Nearly everyone outside of Cleveland that is watching is saying the Cavaliers are the worst team to ever make the NBA Finals.

LeBron James hasn't played anywhere near a good game, let alone a great one.

It has taken four days for nearly all of the good feelings about this season to get wiped away.

Where is this leading?

The Cavs have to win one game in this series. They need something to build on this offseason, something to build on for next season, something to think about in the playoffs next year.

Brian Windhorst, the Beacon Journal's Cavs beat writer, started this postseason with a column about the intermediate steps that teams have taken on their path to eventually winning a title. And he is right.

But the Cavs can't afford to trip over their feet at home this week.