Last I looked it is a certain holiday, right?

And J.A. Adande states: ".. from a basketball perspective, Artest's choice reaffirms the final theme of this season: Shaq was then, Kobe's now, LeBron's next. At the moment, nothing matters in the NBA world as much as what the Lakers are up to."

Well, let's go down the list of the possible free agent signees for the Cavs.

Charlie Villanueva — to Detroit.

Ron Artest — to the Lakers.

Trevor Ariza — to Houston.

How's that? None of thes guys wanted to play with Shaq and LeBron?

Further insult: Artest and Ariza signed with other teams for the same money the Cavs were offering, the now-famous $5.8 million mid-level exception.

This is not the way things were supposed to go.

In order …

Villanueva signed with Detroit before the Cavs could even get a sniff at him. The Pistons offered more money, which proves the axiom that the athlete will go to the money. That being said, Cleveland did not seem to be in Charlie V's plans.

Artest was reportedly wooed by Cleveland, but Artest told CBSports.com that talks with Cleveland "never got that far'" and said of Cleveland's extreme interest: "I don't know how extreme." Artest has a home in LA, and he made it clear that's where he wants to play. If Artest does what he did a year ago, this signing seems to keep the Lakers right at the top of the pack. In fact, if Lamar Odom returns, the Lakers have to be considered the premier team in the NBA. By far.

Ariza for some reason chose Houston over the Cavs. Perhaps it was the years — Ariza reportedly will sign for five years. Ariza would have looked great in a Cavs uniform. He'll wear Houston's.

So the Cavs move on to the next batch of free agents, which includes Rasheed Wallace (being wooed heavily — very heavily — by Boston and San Antonio) and Antonio McDyess (a guy I've always liked, but a guy who didn't look too good in the playoffs).

It's not really possible to paint any of this as positive. The Cavs celebrated the introduction of Shaquille O'Neal on Thursday, but lost on the main players who would solve their other issues — front-court depth, and some players with height.

Too, Anderson Varejao is no longer on the team. Re-signing him seems to have taken on a much higher priority.

There's a lot of rumors the Cavs now will pursue Anthony Parker of Toronto, a 34-year-old, 6-foot-6 swing guy. He can play defense, but he shot 42.6 percent last season. This does not seem like the kind of player who will excite the masses.

Oh yeah, Marcin Gortat, the big guy in Orlando … he's going to Dallas.

And Zach Randolph was traded to the Grizzlies, effectively taking Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby off the trade market.

Teams are not made or broken with free agency, but there were guys out there who could have helped the Cavs. It seemed that the lure of playing on the same team as Shaq and LeBron might have enticed them.

It didn't.

Which makes the first two days of free agency more than a wee bit disappointing.

Guess who is a co-favorite to win the 2010 NBA title? Right now. Without Ron Artest, without Rasheed Wallace, without Antonio McDyess, without Trevor Ariza?

Couple quick thoughts on NBA free agency before I head to the Shaq press conference:

The Cavs have interest in Trevor Ariza, according to numerous national reports. Hmm … this would seem to be a great move. He's young, tall (or as they say these days, "long") and can shoot. He did a great job for the Lakers in the playoffs. My question, though, is how will this happen. Ariza is reportedly unhappy with an offer from the Lakers that averages $5.6 million per years. He wants $7 to $8 million per year (Varejao money). The Cavs can offer their mid-level ranch exception, or about $5.8 million per year. If Ariza is angry enough with the Lakers to take the Cavs mid-level, it'd be great. But this seems like a shot that is pretty long.

The Cavs have interest in Ron Artest, according to numerous national reports (must credit Brian Windhorst of the Plain Dealer for breaking this one). This potential signing is pretty shocking. And it shows how far the Cavs will go to win this season. Artest is well-known for his infamous brawl at the Palace, when Mike Brown (then an assistant coach with Indiana) was front and center in trying to break it up. Artest was suspended for almost an entire season for his actions, but has come back and played some pretty good basketball since. He can guard anyone, he's tough, can shoot … he'd be an excellent addition as well. But a year ago the Cavs barely glanced Artest's way when he was a free agent. This year they're interested in him. How things change.

Off to listen to Shaq …

I wonder if Wimbledon will be looking for a new spokesman in the near future.

News that Brandon Webb probably has a torn labrum reminds me of the time Butch Davis described a Browns injury by saying a player had "a torn labia in his shoulder."

Leon Powe's story shows why players have agents and ridiculous talent-show judges ask for hundreds of millions of dollars. You just never know what will happen. (As for Simon Cowell … if this blog drew $900,000,000 for the paper, I would not ask for a penny over $143 million. What the heck you gonna do with that last million anyway?)

Attorney David Cornwell released this statement about Donte Stallworth:

"Evidence leaked or released over the coming days and weeks will reflect exculpatory statements and acts by Donte', the presence of marijuana in his blood, and it will highlight the critical issue of causation.  Miami law enforcement personnel, the prosecution, the defense, and the Court were fully aware of all of the evidence when the plea agreement was reached.  We will continue to address these matters candidly and privately with the NFL.

"The NFL's substance abuse policy addresses the specific discipline that may be imposed for use of illegal substances.  We are confident that Commissioner Goodell will respect existing League polices and consider all of the evidence when making his disciplinary assessment."

I keep hearing that there is strong evidence Stallworth could have been acquitted of DUI murder becuase the individual killed did, as Stallworth said, walk right in front of his car. Stallworth saw him coming on the side of the road and flashed his lights, but the individual still stepped into the road. A video shows that, so I'm told.

But that doesn't change the fact Stallworth was legally drunk, and, by the admisison of his attorney, tested positive for marijuana. I don't think we'll see him in the NFL this season.

Interesting NBA free agency takes from Marc Stein of ESPN:

If the Cavs are interested in Charlie Villanueva (and why wouldn't they be?) it'll be difficult. Detroit has entered the fray and has actual salary cap room to make Villanueva a better offer. Money does talk, after all.

UPDATE: According to Yahoo, Villanueva and Ben Gordon are in Detroit, and both could sign there.

Boston is interested in Rasheed Wallace.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey actually posted on his Twitter page that he was going to meet with Orlando's Marcin Gortat, and asked fans to recruit him by writing to a team-generated e-mail address. A GM on Twitter, shortly after midnight. Is the NFL watching?

Bottom line: When free agency approaches, it always looks promising for the team you follow. This guy will come here, so will that one. Boom, bang, the team is better. In reality it's always a lot more difficult. Especially with a guy like Villanueva. Some teams have actual salary cap space and money to spend. The Cavs have contract exceptions, something called mid-level and bi-annual (who comes up with these terms?). It's jut not going to be simple.

A pretty in-depth study of the Indians blames the team's woes this season on poor pitching and high draft picks that missed. Then it states: "The (Mark) Shapiro-(Chris) Antonetti tandem gets more love from national media outlets than, say, White Sox GM Kenny Williams, who is perceived as arrogant and overly blunt. Is it because the Cleveland guys are media favorites? Perhaps. But their front office peers also regard Shapiro and Antonetti as extremely bright, people-oriented, innovative thinkers."

Like this … this kind of makes me want to barf. I guess a man has every right to earn a living, and the price of gas is going up … But really, now. We are talking major upchuck city. (Geez, do I have too much time today or what?)

No jokes on the outtake photos, please.

From SI's Jon Heyman: "Even if the Indians are to concede this season, they don't want to concede next year, too."

The Kiwis have it!

From SI.com: "My wife said this is the first time she's seen a great team get a great player and not lose any players. But I'm going to take it one game. Anybody can say [they're going to win a title, but now you've got to get there. Anytime you're in the Finals, they want you to do the promo pics with the gold ball, but I won't do it. 'Just take the picture.' No, I won't do it. It's just one picture, but I'm not jinxing myself."

Wonder if the Cavs are one of the teams that called about Ricky Rubio. His quote aside (and geez, folks, since when can people on this blog not take a joke?), Rubio is one heck of a player.

Another great old Jackson Five tune:

Strikeouts are on the rise in baseball, and it's not necessarily viewed as such a bad thing for a hitter to strike out 180 times a year. Go figure.

Bernie Kosar's home (right) in Florida is on the market. Asking price: $3.5 million. The home includes a bizarre-looking sleeping arrangement (below) that seems right out of Thomas Jefferson and Monticello - our third president slept on the first floor in an alcove in the middle of the house (below as well), so he could jump out of bed and immediately spring into action to make wine, grow plants, write something brilliant or design a University. Jefferson did all that and I have trouble with the snooze button. (Don't worry … Sally Hemmings had a secret room.) As for Kosar, here's the details (thanks to Vince Grzegorek and the Cleveland Scene for pointing this one out).

Here's Bernie's bedroom:

And Jefferson's:

Me? I'd rather have this island (right). In fact, this might be the ideal place to retire. Your own island in the Keys. No one around to bother you. Warm weather - intensely invigorating warm weather in the summer - and an afternoon visit to The Afterdecks behind Louie's Backyard in Key West (left) at the ready. The Afterdecks, by the way, might be the finest damn bar you'll ever visit. You might decide to find the finest damn bar in the world, and settle on the Afterdecks.  So I'm buying this island - with borrowed money from the Browns - so I can go to the Afterdecks whenever I want.

In case you were wondering, the view from The Afterdecks on a typical day is below. Like I said, you might set out on an epic journey to find the finest damn bar in the world. You could visit five continents, several islands and a few glaciers, and there's a very good chance you'd wind up sitting here all day listening to great music, sipping something appropriate, wearing sunglasses, sandals, shorts and a T-shirt and thinking: "This might be the finest damn bar in the world." This is why I'm buying that island.

Good take here on Don Fehr, a guy whose smarts and fight I always respected. Though he lost me quite a bit on the steroids thing.

Did anyone besides me notice Ricky Rubio's answer when asked at the draft what NBA player he is most like (asked because few have seen him play since he played in Spain). His answer: "I'm Ricky Rubio." Glad he cleared that up. With that statement, it became official: We have another snot-nosed kid walking around in love with himself.

Ian Thomsen clears up the mystery about DeJuan Blair of Pitt, and why he didn't go until the second round in the draft. According to Thomsen, Blair underwent ACL surgery on both knees in high school, and many teams said his long-term prognosis was not good. Thomsen finds some disagreement on Blair's long-term health, though. (At this story's end, Thomsen picks the Cavs to win the title next season.)

SI.com's Ross Tucker points out that the Green Bay Packers, the small market Green Bay Packers, the market that lacks the sponsorship and marketing wherewithal of every other NFL city, made a profit of $20 million last season. That's profit. "If a franchise in a miniscule market can turn a profit during a historically down economy, what does that say about big money owners like Dan Snyder and Robert Kraft?" he wrote. This was the league that laid people off, if you recall. Oh … the salary cap also went up by $1 million per team, which means revenues went up overall. Tucker wonders if the league's layoffs were merely an attempt to cry poverty with a re-do of the Collective Bargaining Agreement on the horizon. "Telling an employee with three kids they no longer have health benefits because the owner still wants to rake in $30 million is just bad karma, even if it can be justified as good business," he wrote.