Well I'm finally wested and wewaxed and roaring to go.  Shocking that a week in Las Vegas can do that for you.

It's a good thing too with the baseball season officially underway and the Cavaliers heading to the playoffs, it could be a very exciting time in for the area - at least for a little bit.

Yes, there's a healthy bit of skepticism in that last statement.  Why?  Because I grew up in Northeast Ohio.  Skepticism is part of being a sports fan in this town.

While in Vegas I camped out at the ESPNZone for a couple of evenings to keep up on Cleveland area sporting events.  It was an excuse to eat things that I have no business eating and down a couple of frosty brews.  We could use an ESPNZone in this area, near the Gateway area as part Downtown Cleveland's revitalization right next to the House of Blues.  Not like I have a spot picked out or anything like that.  But that's another topic for another time.

I was able to see some of the Tribe's action in their "home opener" against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and part of the Cavs' thumping of the New Jersey Nets.  But let's deal with the Cavs first shall we?

Yes, they've looked fantastic during their last couple of outings - especially the other night against the Atlanta Hawks, yet I'm concerned.  Why?  Because unless the Cavs win out and da Bulls drop one of their last two, LeBron James and company will be the No. 5 seed.  What's the difference?  Let's see, who would you rather have in the opening rounds of the playoffs - New Jersey or the defending champion Miami Heat who now have Dwyane Wade back?  Yeah, I thought so.  During the times that I subbed for Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst, the Cavs' lack of fire about losses frustrated.  In interview after interview local beat writers heard "it will work itself out."

Yes, it has.  Into a situation where the Cavs are fighting for a playoff position that they should have had locked up.  I was speaking with another media type guy today and we counted the number of games this team through away to sub-part teams such as the Charlotte Bobcats and New York Knicks.  If they end up in that fifth position they have no one but themselves to blame.

As for the Indians, right now you have to marvel at the fact that they sit atop the American League's Central Division standings. Given snowouts, home games in Milwaukee (where they outdrew the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks) they deserve mad props and so far, in a season where expectations are once again high, they look good.  Ace C.C. Sabathia is 3-0 after last night.  Grady Sizemore looks like an All-Star.  The best part of this?  It's April, the month the team is known for thinking they're still in spring training.  It could be a very fun summer.

So I arrived at The Q tonight and I'm greeted by one of the Cleveland Cavaliers' public relations staff with the news that LeBron James is out with back spasms for this evening's festivities against the Sacramento Kings.  Of course I react with disbelief because James' play has been as close to perfection as you get in recent weeks (33.3 points per game since Feb. 11).  He obviously knows what time of year it is.

Most fans would expect that given play like that the Cavs would fall flat tonight.  Some could have considered it a test.  I considered it more like a quiz.  If the team is indeed in full playoff mode than they should have been able to knock of the Kings who owned a record of 28-34 coming in. 

It's a quiz they passed with ease and left an impression.  Someone needed to step up tonight and instead everyone in the starting line-up did so, as each rang up double figures.  Larry Hughes had 25 points, Sasha Pavlovic dropped a career high 25, Z ripped off 19 and 10 boards for a double-double and Drew Gooden also contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.  But the most impressive job of them all may have come from the guy given the unenviable task of stepping into James' shoes.

Ira Newble, whose named has been associated with the letters D-N-P for much of the season, came up with 12 points (including 3-for-3 shooting on three pointers) and seven rebounds.

Was it a perfect win?  Nope.  The team looked sluggish for much of the first half and they hoisted treys as if they were soon to be banned by the league.  Still, what they accomplished without James bodes well for the continuing run to the playoffs.

Last week LeBron James made the statement that he was getting ready for the playoffs when asked about his production in recent games.

Apparently one statement has never been so true - at least after tonight.  I purposely held off judgment on LBJ and crew until after this particular game.  This game is a benchmark for the second half of the season.  It showed Cavs fans a number of things.

Including:

LeBron James has a switch that shifts to "on" after the All-Star Break.  I'm not suggesting that James has been dogging it for much of the season, but you cannot deny that there's a certain intensity that you see in his eyes that was lacking for much of the season.  Read tonight's stat sheet and you'll find 41 points. Just as importantly, however, look at the intensity in his eyes and in those of his teammates.  That was lacking for much of the season.

Will that guide the Cavaliers deep into the playoffs?  No one knows, but I certainly like what I see of this version of the team than I do the one who played from the beginning of the season until mid-February.

I don't know whether he was slacking or pacing himself, but LeBron James has found a second wind and is ready to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back and carry them into the playoffs.

Consider tonight that LBJ tallied more than 29 points for the eighth game in a row when he dropped 32 on the Houston Rockets.  The difference in his game has been noticeable since just before the All-Star break.  While he settled for jump shots much of the time then, he's being more aggressive going to the hoop more now, yet his the jump shot is still working.  When he's able to drive and hit the J, he's unguardable.  What continues to be troublesome, however, is the inability to hit free throw shots. 

Also give some much deserved respect to Larry Hughes, the man brought in to be James' Scottie Pippen.  So far - primarily due to injuries - Hughes has been missing in action.  Apparently not anymore because as go  James, so goes Larry.  And Hughes knocked down 22 points Monday night.

It's tempting to think what could be if James and Hughes, along with help from Andy Varejao, Zadrunas Ilgauskas, Sasha Pavlovic and a benched bolstered by two rookies - Daniel Gibson (though currently injured) and an energized Shannon Brown.   But I'll wait, thanks.  There are six weeks left in the NBA - an eternity and the Cavs' current surge of energy could dissipate as quickly as it arrived.

Yes, I'm chiming in on the John Amaechi and now Tim Hardaway thing late. 

Actually, Amaechi coming out of the closet barely registered on my personal or professional radar - primarily because someone else's sexuality isn't a big deal to me.  I've been around gay folks all my life.  I had a gay babysitter and to dispel a common stereotype, Skeeter didn't molest me.  I had gay friends throughout college and currently in my professional career and - my gosh - they've never hit on me.  This despite the fact that I think I'm a rather dashing fellow.  So when Amaechi dealt with the issue of being in the closet as a professional basketball player, I shrugged.

And I was perfectly content to never deal with the topic.  Then Tim Hardaway, another former NBA player, had to open his mouth and insert his rather substantial foot.  The comments - the essence of which were "I hate gay people" - were hateful, putrid and almost unbelievable in this day and age.  I have little problem with individuals thinking that homosexuality is wrong, such beliefs are usually a matter of religious doctrine and personal moral code.  What upset me is that Hardaway said that gay people shouldn't be allowed on the planet and especially in the United States.

Those comments brought back a feeling I'd not had since my early teen years - I was actually ashamed of being African-American.  No ifs, ands, buts or maybes.  I was ashamed.  Why?  His comments reminded me of a prominent African-American contributor to USA Today who supported a boycott of Walt Disney World and the Walt Disney Co. because they had a day for gays at the world famous theme park. That and Hardaway's comments make me sad as an African-American because it shows that after 400 years of de facto, de jure and perceived oppression that many black people haven't learned a damned thing when it comes to discrimination and bigotry.

Hardaway suggested that if he knew of a gay teammate, said individual should be traded and most definitely he shouldn't be allowed in the lockerroom with all of his muscular, desirous teammates.   Obviously such an individual wouldn't be able to contain himself, so isolation and exclusion is the only answer.

Just like it was when African-Americans were forbidden to drink from the same water fountains as whites in the South.

Just like it was when African-Americans couldn't eat at the same counters as whites in the South.

Just like it was when African-Americans couldn't use the same bathrooms as whites in the South.

Just like it was when blacks and whites who just happened to fall in love couldn't marry one another.

According to news reports, the NBA, for whom Hardaway worked, have stripped him of his duties and banned him from attendance at this weekend's NBA All-Star Game.

To that I say good.  Now he knows what it feels like to be isolated and excluded.

I love it when people blame the media for reporting problems that other people create.  In this case I'm talking about he New York Knicks - Denver Nuggets brawl that took place last Saturday and with the dishing out of fines Monday was set to die.

Then little Stevie Francis of the Knicks has to open his hole and make the asinine statement that this fight's coverage is race-biased.  PLEASE.  I'd sincerely like to know what alternative universe Mr. Francis resides.  Wait, it's one where you have a multi-million dollar salary and you're coddled from the moment someone realizes you're good with a ball until the day you've used up all of those skills.

Francis doesn't get it.  A few players are to blame for the NBA's image woes.  Without mentioning any names (Ron Artest), they single handedly ensured that the any on-court fracas would get maximum coverage when they leaped into the stands to go mano y mano with fans.  While I don't deny there's an element of racial bias in some news reports, sorry this isn't one of them.

It was an ugly sight watching a group of players go after one another (but, hey at least they didn't go after any fans), but it was a story - primarily because the NBA has that thugh image that's perpetrated by a few individuals with questionable character.

I also don't buy into the media race bias because I've seen plenty of hockey fights or muggings end up on ESPN's SportsCenter.  Todd Bertuzzi anyone?  Then there's the numerous bench-clearing brawls that hit the airwaves during baseball season.

Francis' comments go back to that little being coddled thing.  When someone wipes your nose for you for most of your life, you only possess a sense of entitlement and never ever a common sense compass.

Whenever you read ridiculous statements such as that, it always helps when someone else makes sense.  For that, it was good to hear members of the Cavaliers act as a voice of reason on the topic.