She Cried Mo, Mo, Mo.....

What a huge win for the Cavs tonight versus the Miami Heat. The Cavs ended their recent roadtrip with a 3-1 record. The Cavs started off with a horrible loss to the Houston Rockets in which we lost Ben Wallace to a broken leg. We had our worst shooting night of the year that game. We picked it up with a win versus a injury depleted San Antonio Spurs squad, and a nail biter last night versus the Atlanta Hawks. Tonights win to me though was one of the best wins of the year. We were down 11 in the fourth, and the Cavs did not fold their tent. This team showed how it could overcome adversity at the end of games, and fight their way through a game. The Cavs flight into Miami was delayed numerous hours because of the snow storms in Atlanta, and the team did not get into the hotels in Miami until 7:00 AM. This team just has a different flare and swagger than teams in the past. In this game, Mo hit big shots in the last two victories, Andy drew charges, and LeBron had a huge dunk at the end of the game. This all came against one of the best players in the league in Dwyane Wade. Kudos to Mike Brown for shifting the defensive strategy in the fourth quarter by double teaming Wade with LeBron. Wade was held to 2-8 shooting in the 4th quarter. Remember, Wade scored a total of 41 points in this game. Brown forced the rest of the Heat to beat us, and the Heat had not seen this all game. I ussually don't interject my opinions of non-Cleveland players, but I think Wade is one of the best players in the league. I don't like when people compare LeBron to MJ because he is not the same player. To me, LeBron is more of a Magic Johnson with much more scoring. LeBron facilitates, rebounds, and is just a freak of nature when it comes to his size and speed. Wade is more like MJ in that he can shoot, he is consistently bringing pressure on defense, and he is an amazing finisher. LeBron, Kobe, and Wade are without a doubt the 3 best players in the game. I am glad to see Wade back in healthy form.

Back to the victory, this puts us 1 game ahead of the Celtics for the #1 seed. This is huge for us because if we get homecourt advantage I honestly believe we can go to the Finals. This victory shows us that we are a much better team than we were last year, and this game is definitely a confidence builder. Also, the addition of Joe Smith will only help this team. Chemistry really won't be affected because he played with us last year, and he brings a great veteran presence. He purposely got a buy out so he could come back here, and get a ring. We now have a solid big man off the bench, and this will allow Andy, and Z to get some rest. He is a good jump shooter, he rebounds well, and he is good at drawing offensive charges. When Ben Wallace comes back, we will have 4 solid bigmen, along with Hickson and Jackson. Its crazy to think that we traded Damon Jones for Mo Williams......

I want to write some quick scribbles about the Browns. This past Friday, the team traded TE Kellen Winslow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 2nd round pick this year, and a 5th round pick next year. I think this was a trade that needed to be made. Winslow is a difficult character guy, who wanted a new contract. The Browns paid this man $11.6 million in the 2 years he was hurt. The Browns made him the highest paid TE in the league before he took a snap in the NFL. He had one great season, and he wanted a new contract. He has bad shoulders, 4 knee surgeries, ankle problems, and 2 staph infections. He can no longer block as a TE, his speed decreased this past year, and he was flagged for 7 offensive pass interference penalties last year. He said the organization treated him like "a piece of meat".
There are two reasons why K2 was so vocal about the organization and his contract demands. One, he has been pampered and told that he is the greatest his whole life. His father was a TE for the San Diego Chargers, and Winslow once compared himself to a soldier. After the first touchdown he scored in the endzone his junior year at Miami, he did the Heisman pose. If he doesn't get what he wants, he whines. Second, K2 obviously knows that he is not 100% in terms of health, and he probably will never be. He once said that he will probably be at 90% the rest of his career, but him at 90% is "better than any TE in the league" (ego issues?). He wants to make as much money possible because he knows his body won't stay healthy for much longer. Did you notice that his contract demands came right after his first Pro Bowl year? Maximizing ones own value? He played in only 10 games last year and was hurt for most of it. Lately, he was unable to practice at full speed because of his health problems. Now, don't get me wrong, K2 is one of my favorite players on the Browns. He plays with a lot of heart, and he has great hands, but he is just way too much to handle. What made me love him so much (his swagger, great plays as a receiver), also made me cope with the trade. His contract demands, coupled with his large ego probably did not bode well with the new staff. Our new staff is not like Romeo where they will just let players do what they want. Also, a positive from the trade is that we saved saved about $3.6 million for the cap. I was sad to see K2 get traded, but the Browns are in need of picks, and he was just too much. Here are some other quick notes about the Browns:

-Speaking of cap space, the Browns have about $25 million free.
-Kokinis and Mangini have been looking at players that will fit into their system. They are not going for "big name" signings. Some guys that might be brought in for visits are S Jim Leonard, and CB Jabari Greer.
-Shaun Rogers is unhappy because Phil Savage promised him numerous things when he was signed. The new regime did not get that memo, and he is unhappy. Also, Rogers is unhappy that Mangini did not speak to him when he was first hired. Again, like K2, Rogers is a pro athlete who will get upset when someone does not speak to him. There are worst things in the world Shaun. Also, seeing Albert Haynesworth get a $100 million contract does not help.
-Josh Cribbs met with Mangini and Kokinis and Cribbs came away very impressed. Notice how last year Cribbs and Jamal Lewis called out the team for quitting, and you didn't hear a word out of Braylon, K2, or Rogers? How many times did we see Braylon drop a pass and him saying that the game was his fault? I remember Willie McGinest said the Pittsburgh loss last year was on him because of a missed tackle...
-The insiders on the Orange and Brown report said that the Browns front office will meet with Braylon. If he is open and receptive to a new contract and team philosophy, then they will look to lock him up, as he is in the last year of his contract. If he does not seem inclined with the visit, then look for the Browns to trade him....
-There is nothing new to report on the DA/Brady Quinn situation.
-The Matt Cassell trade to the Chiefs basically insures that they will draft LB Aaron Curry. The Browns can either draft DE/LB Brian Orakpo from Texas, or trade down to draft USC LB Rey Mealuga.

Well folks, sorry about the information overload. I am on Spring Break, and I thought I would update the blog. I have to watch a few Indians games, and I will hopefully write about them. Also, the CSU Vikings Basketball team is playing in the Horizon League Tournament this week, so I hope to have some good things to write about. All in all, thank you, and go Cleveland!

-Raz