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May 13, 2008 - By John Hnat
There are pieces we run on this site that withstand the test of time, and are so good, we'll rerun them. This is one of those pieces. Our Cavs beat writer John Hnat, a fantastic wordsmith, is a helluva guy that I've gotten a chance to get to know alot better over the last couple years. In addition to his work for us, John is a distance runner who is trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. And this pursuit got even more difficult this year due to some unexpected changes in his personal life. This is his story, at least Part I of it. Parts II will run Thursday and Saturday we'll run an afterword to this piece from John. A great, great read.
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May 13, 2008 - By Steve Buffum
Talk about a strange doubleheader. Asdrubal Cabrera records only the 14th unassisted triple play in baseball history. And Fausto Carmona and Cliff Lee both shut the Blue Jays out through nine innings, yet the good guys can only come away with a split. In today's B-List, Buff looks back at the twinbill, breaks down the performances of Fausto and Cliffie, hits on the triple play, and talks about the display of offensive ineptitude displayed last night at The Prog.
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May 13, 2008 - By John Hnat
What a basketball game. And just like that Cavs fans, this series is deadlocked. King James and the bench bunch led the Cavaliers to a 88-77 game four win over the Celtics ... in a game much closer than the final score indicated. If you're a fan of defensive basketball, this one was enough to bring a tear to your eye last night, and predictably, John "The Anti-Branson" Hnat is seriously jacked up about this win. And he writes about it for us in his latest. Game five, Wednesday night in Beantown.
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May 13, 2008 - By Tony Lastoria
Super piece here from Tony that has been in the workd for some time now. In it, our Consigliere offers up an expose on the release process in the minor leagues. Tony contacted a handful of minor league players, all of whom we kept anonymous, and all of whom have been released over the last two years in spring training or the offseason. The interviews provide great insight into what happens to the vast majority of minor league players that don't make it to the bigs. And how the Indians organization handles breaking the news to these players.
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May 12, 2008 - By Steve Buffum
Despite interference from Mother Nature on Sunday, it was a good weekend to be an Indians fan. The Tribe offense sprang to life, erupting for a six run seventh inning on Friday night to beat Roy Halladay, then came back and scored six more in the first inning on Saturday to spearhead a 12-0 win for Aaron Laffey, who looked excellent once again. As he does each Monday, Buff recaps the weekend of action from the Indians ... and gets us ready for today's twinbill.
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May 12, 2008 - By Brian McPeek
Friday night, Cavs fans were talking about a potential sweep and what players the team may target this summer in the off-season. 24 hours later, the discussions revolved around tying this series with the Celtics and making this thing a best of three. In the Weekend Wrap, Peeks hits on the Cavs huge game three win, the must win game ahead of us tonight, the emergence of Ben Francisco and Aaron Laffey for the Tribe, and a big Monday in CTown with a doubleheader with the Jays and Cavs/Celtics game four on the lakefront.
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May 12, 2008 - By Jesse Lamovsky
As we get ready for tonight's monumental game four clash between the Cavs and the Celtics, it's time to take a quick look back at last year's magical playoff run for the wine a gold, a run that ended with the franchise's first ever appearance in the NBA Finals. In Jesse's latest, he recalls the signature games, plays, and moments of that run ... starting with the chain reaction on the last night of the regular season, and ending with Boobie Gibson's barrage of three balls to advance the Cavs to the Finals.
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May 11, 2008 - By Mitch Cyrus
The first big budget film of the 2008 blockbuster season has arrived. The Wachowski Brothers', they of The Matrix triolgy and also the excellent "V For Vendetta", take on "Speed Racer", the mega popular Japanese anime cartoon from the 60's. There was a lot of fan fair surrounding this film, and Mitch has a very strong opinion on it after trekking out to the theaters to see it for us this weekend. Did he love it or hate it? Find out in his latest movie review for us ...
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May 11, 2008 - By Brian McPeek
Check that patient doctor. I swear he’s breathing. The Boston Celtics, continuing to clamp down and minimize the effectiveness of LeBron James on the offensive side of the court, were outdone and dominated by a much maligned and thought to be gasping for life Cavalier supporting cast in a Cavs 108-84 blowout win at ‘The Q’ Saturday night. It was all Cavs from start to finish, and we're back in this series baby. Peeks recaps the game three win.
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May 11, 2008 - By Hiko
One of our most popular writers, Hiko is back in the groove, and back to weekly installments of "Moot Points", the hysterical stream of conciousness column that took northeast Ohio by storm a couple of years ago. This week, Hiko hits on Cleveland's 44 year drought without a pro sports title, dreams he's been having, his daughters' latest school project, and what he's been watching on DVD.
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May 11, 2008 - By Mansfield Lucas
If you've been reading Mansfield Lucas here at TCF these last couple years, you know that fans don't come anymore diehard than this cat. And today, he gets loose on the frontrunning Clevelanders that show up at games to cheer against the home team, and for the flavor of the month teams that visit. The Yankees fans at The Prog, the chumps that we'll see in Garnett jerseys this weekend at The Q. You know the lot. Good stuff from Mansfield ...
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May 10, 2008 - By Gary Benz
When things are going well, you never expect it to last, especially in Cleveland. When things are going poorly, you never think it will end, especially in Cleveland. In Gary's latest, he examines the offensive woes of the Indians and the Cavaliers and the cynical nature of Cleveland fans as we watch the teams we love endure these struggles.
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May 10, 2008 - By Tony Lastoria
A 4th round pick out of high school in the 2004 Draft, Chuck Lofgren has generally been regarded as the second best pitching prospect (behind Adam Miller) in the Indians farm system for the last two to three seasons. Lofgren got off to a very slow start to the 2008 season, but has rebounded big time. Should he keep this up, Lofgren will soon be in AAA Buffalo, and could be a guy the Indians look to when the rosters exoand in September. Tony had a chance to speak with Lofgren when he was out to visit AA Akron, and their conversation is detailed in this piece.
May 9, 2008 - By Erik Cassano
Game 3 of the Celtics-Cavaliers series will tip at just after 8 p.m. tonight. Obviously, this game and Monday's game are must-wins for the Cavs to even have a shot. Go down 3-0 or 3-1, and the offseason will arrive on Cleveland's doorstep. As we all get geared up for tonights big game, Papa Cass chimes in with some last minute random thoughts on tonights tilt, Mike Brown, and the face of the Eastern Conference next season. GO CAVS!
May 9, 2008 - By Brian McPeek
Down two games to none, with two poor performances from LeBron James in the books. Sound familiar? It should, because that's exactly how the Eastern Conference Finals started against Detroit last year. The Cavs came home, held serve, then LeBron put on a performance from the ages in Game 5 before Boobie Gibson rained down threes in game six for four straight for the Cavs. Can they pull it off again this season? Peeks previews tonights game three.
May 9, 2008 - By Paul Cousineau
As frustrating as the Indians' offense has been and as many teeth have been gnashed and walls damaged watching the Indians' hitters flail away, let's sit back and appreciate what we're watching from the Indians' pitching staff - which, as a baseball fan, is a truly amazing thing to witness from night to night. In his latest, Paulie hits on just how good the Indians pitching has been throughout this tumultous start to the 2008 season.
May 9, 2008 - By Mitch Cyrus
Iron Man 2, David Chase from the Sopranos new film, the latest project from Oliver Stone. Mitch addresses all of these new endeavors that are coming down the pike in this week's Crystal Ball. At the theaters, "Speed Racer" and "What Happens In Vegas" are the big releases this weekend, and there's also a couple intriguing films coming to DVD. The summer blockbuster season looms. Mitch hits on it all in The Crystal Ball.
May 9, 2008 - By Steve Buffum
Paul Byrd's performance against the ... wait, there goes a homer ... Yankees was not particularly sharp ... wait, there goes another homer ... but Buff can still find things in yesterday's loss ... wait, there goes another homer ... to write about, including some nice offense from improbable sources, an update ... wait, there goes another homer ... on the bullpen, and a categorization of Mike Mussina's new pitching arsenal. The B-List recaps the game ... oops, false alarm ... while wondering if the upcoming 4-game set against Toronto will feature double-digit runs ... by either team ... all together.
May 9, 2008 - By Tony Lastoria
You know the drill by now. Tony Lastoria spends each baseball season visiting all the Indians minor league affiliates, talking to players and coaches and watching ball games. He then cranks out Minor Happenings for us each week, by far the most comprehensive compilation of information on the Cleveland Indians farm system, and a huge asset to this website. This week, Tony hits on the great starts to the season for Jeremy Sowers and Chuck Lofgren and talks about the guy he sees as the Indians future third baseman.
May 9, 2008 - By Jesse Lamovsky
The Cavaliers played about a half-quarter of outstanding basketball on Thursday night. The other three-and-a-half were a pit of relentless suck, a pit as deep as the 0-2 hole they’re in as they go back to Cleveland, having absorbed an 89-73 thumping at the hands of the Celtics. It was another horrific night for LeBron James, the second leg of probably the worst back-to-back performance of his career. Will things improve at the Q? They’d better. Or this series will be over, quickly.
May 8, 2008 - By Steve Buffum
Buff does not do justice to Cliff Lee in today's B-List, because no one can. However, he does discuss how the Indians can actually score runs, how relief pitchers named Raffy are handy, and addresses a topic no man should have to: Travis Hafner and the Worst Plate Appearance in the World. The Indians go for the sweep today in the Battle of the Old: go Tribe!
May 8, 2008 - By Jesse Lamovsky
When it comes to Tuesday's game one heartbreaking loss to the Celtics, some fans have taken the optimistic view, some the pessimistic. But the bottom line remains ... if we lose tonight, we need to win four out of five against the winningest team in basketball this season to avoid going home. It's a big game this evening Cavs fans. 7 PM on ESPN. And Jesse Lamovsky previews tonights tilt for us in this excellent column. GO CAVS!
May 7, 2008 - By Erik Cassano
Never let it be said that professional sports has no bearing on real life. LeBron James, through persistent tormenting of the Washington Wizards and their fans, scored you a nearly-free Thursday dinner. LeBron's response to the Papa John's crybaby t-shirts? 27, 13, and 13 in leading the Cavs to a rout over the Wizards in their own crib to finish them off in game six. Now, coming off a 2-18, 10 turnover performance ... can the King respond again?
May 7, 2008 - By Bob Fergus
The Pittsburgh Steelers surrendered the sixth most sacks in football last year, and lost seven time Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca to free agency. Coach Mike Tomlin was on record heading into the 2008 NFL Draft with one clear goal: improve the offensive and defensive lines. That's not what happened though. Rashard Mendenhall and Limas Sweed slipped to their slots in the 1st and 2nd round, jumbling their draft strategy. Will it pay off? Bob Fergus takes a look at the Steelers draft.