If the Atlanta win was exciting and entertaining and amazingly enjoyable to watch … well … what was the Miami win? I'm not big on writing things off TV, but that win showed a lot of guts, heart and moxie on the part of the Cavs. Mo Williams came up with big plays, LeBron James (surprise) came up with big plays, and Anderson Varejao played as good a game as I've seen (though he did get a gift on one of the fourth quarter ‘charges' he drew). This Cavs team is something else. When they lost Ben Wallace, I thought they'd miss him. Varejao has stepped in, J.J. Hickson has contributed and this Cavs have won three in a row without Ben. They'll welcome Joe Smith (or even Drew Gooden) and the help he'll bring, but the Cavs showed the heart and attitude of a champion on this most recent four-game road trip – especially in overcoming an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter in Miami. Room on this bandwagon is fading fast … might be time to reserve a seat.
– Loved the way the Cavs ran at Dwayne Wade when he had the ball. Every time he got it, either LeBron James or Varejao went to double him, and they did it high – at the top of the key. Not sure I've seen that much, because it requires great help behind the double-team given all that floor space. But it worked. Give Mike Brown credit for that, though like any good coach he credited Melvin Hunt for the idea. That was a case where a defensive coach's wrinkle made a huge difference.
– Akron coach Keith Dambrot was at a Cavs game last week, and I sat with him for a while and watched. He marveled when he saw that Brown did not feel the need to go into every huddle, that he let assistants John Kuester, Mike Malone and Chris Jent talk during a lot of timeouts. "You've got to have unbelievable security in yourself and your job to do something like that," Dambrot said. "That's impressive." Most coaches – not Dambrot – are control freak … err … types. So they won't let an assistant do that kind of thing. That Brown does says a great deal for his security, his belief in himself, in the people who work for him and in his team. And it's another great example of the "trust" he talked about from day one of training camp.
– The Cavs had every excuse in the world to play tired Monday night. Their plane did not leave Atlanta until 4 or 5 in the morning and they saw the sun rise as they drove to their hotel in Miami. That leaves time for very little sleep. But they played with great energy and enthusiasm, and that's impressive. I've said it before and I'll say it again, when this team just goes out and plays and doesn't worry about external stuff, it plays much better. When it lives the "no excuses" mantra, it's a much better team.
– Just wondering … why does J.J. Hickson get so many shots blocked?
– It's not terribly bothersome that the Browns have been so quiet in free agency. Their time will come, and perhaps they won't spend zillions of dollars on guys the way the previous regime did. The Orange and Brown Report (browns.scout.com) reports that the Brown are interested in Bills cornerback Jabari Greer. Signing him would be a nice get. The site states that Greer will be in Cleveland tomorrow.
– A very sad sign of the times: The Dodgers advertised for 500 part-time jobs, and 7,000 people showed up.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
While your skills as a writer are above and beyond most everyone in this market, your URLing skills need help.
It's "cle.scout.com".
And thanks, Pat. You know we appreciate the mention, and respect the (bad word) out of the person it's coming from.
Thanks for the insightful comments as usual, Pat.
And, oh John, the link provided by Pat does indeed resolve to the OBR site. You're both right! It's like reading that the link to ESPN is espn.com and complaining that it is incorrect because it resolves to espn.go.com. Six of one… half a dozen of another.
As for Hickson and having his shots blocked, could it have anything to do with him not being accustomed to playing against teams night-in and night-out who have 3 players on the court at all times as tall or taller than him? Perhaps Campy Russell would be kind enough to work with J.J. on developing a fall-away jumper? Campy was one of the best I've ever seen at that.
I read that Joe Smith has the same agent as AV. Having Joe would mean less playing time for Andy, and will hurt his perceived value come free agency. I do hope the Cavs see that Andy is an above average big guy, and is very valuable to this team.
Ferry may decide that it will be better in the long run to bring in the Joe Smiths and other bigs who are nearing the end of their careers, rather than pay a king's ransom for a young, still developing player like AV. Pretty much what the Bulls did, isn't it? Jordan and Pippin, with the older Cartwright and others to fill a need for a limited time. Seemed to work OK, 'eh?
On another note:
One thing I would suggest that newspaper sites do is to include links which would allow readers to donate a few dollars to the paper. They could be quite creative on this.
Maybe a "contest" similar to the old "vote for your favorite bartender by dropping a dollar in the jar" that is sometimes held in party districts (or so I've heard). But the columnists would be the contestants. The paper would announce only the winner, to avoid disrespecting the non-winners. A portion of the proceeds would go to the United Way.
Personally, I'd be happy to pay $25 for a year's access to this website. I'll bet there are others who would also be willing to pay a subscription fee. Doing this would certainly generate more revenues than are being received now. $25 bucks, and then I don't have to think about it for a year.
Back many years ago (1996 or so), I corresponded several times to the fellow who actually started the BJ on the web. His name was Tom (probably still is). This was back when the Beacon was just starting to acknowledge the usefulness of the www. I'm sure that the pioneering work that Tom did to establish the BJ on the web was undervalued, until someone recognized the impact and value and decided to push Tom out of the way in order to further their own career. I still remember Tom, though, and my kudos go mainly to him. The Johnny-come-latelys are not much better than political parasites, in my opinion.
Ok. I'm stepping down off the soapbox now. Just wanted to add these few comments to the mix here.
Hickson should be a college sophomore and probably just needs to improve his footwork and learn some more moves.
Julio, good posts. Agree that subscription is good idea.
there are too many places to go for sports online to pay a subscription fee.
JJ, as most rookie bigs do, have the habit of bringing the ball below their waist. NBA and strong college defenders lick their chops at that, as it gives them more time to adjust to the shooter's arm angle.
That is the FIRST thing that I remember being taught as a player (always played center or forward): keep the ball high. He should know better.
The CAVS have really provided great entertainment all year, but especially lately. My one concern is the same as it has been since losing last year to Boston in the playoffs. WE NEED A 6'10" ATHLETIC-DOMINANTE POWER FORWARD. I'm not sure Joe Smith is the answer, as he we need strength down low, and he is more of a finess player. But don't get me wrong, I love him and if he is all we can muster at this time, I will look for the CAVS to be successful in the playoffs. Winning it all will take a great deal of luck without a power presence underneath. Z is obviously valuable, but slow. Ben is hurt, can't score, and can't be counted on during the final minutes of close games as the oposition will foul him. Anderson needs to develope an 8-10 foot jumper that is consistant as Z. Bottom line: CAVS have bits & pieces underneath the basket, but need a solid dominating power forward to complete the puzzle. Only then will they win it all. I would hate to see the CAVS waste the talent they have now, by being close but no cigar. GO CAVS!
Julio,
No, a subscription model is not a sustainable model for any online newspapers. Since there are so many websites, blogs, and news services where consumers can get their news for free, you'll see the majority of readers head to those sites for their news. Sure, there will be handfuls of loyal readers like yourself who are willing to pay a subscription, but the ABJ (or any other paper) would be better served by getting as many possible eyeballs on the site, so they can make more money off advertising. In fact the industry is moving this way as the NYTimes and WSJ recently have/are in the process of making their content free and available to everyone.
The same is true with actual newspapers. Historically, they didn't make money off subscriptions, they made it off advertisers. As the way people got and digested news changed, newspapers lost readers and in turn received less money from advertisers who weren't willing to pay the same prices for less readers to be exposed to their ads.
Newspapers have to get into the 21st century (and fast) or they'll all be extinct. You see a lot of sites recently trying to do that with blogs like these and outlets for readers to comment and share thoughts. I'd argue that going back to a subscription model is an old, antiquated solve and would do much more long term harm than good.