Cavs on a Roll with Suns on Tap

I'll be the first to say that I am very surprised by the Cavs recent play and surge in the Eastern Conference standings. I attribute the success to myself not criticizing their play in the last month. That and the play of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and of course LeBron James. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I actually saw more than three different offensive plays out of the Cavs last night.

What has taken place during the Cavs 11-2 record over the last 13 games is pretty amazing considering where they were to start the season and at the quarter mark of the season. They are up to 4th in the Eastern Conference standings and completely crushed a Wizards team last night that is current 5th in the standings and who have given Cleveland fits over the last three years.

Varejao is making a difference. His play if much more under control compared to last year and he is quickly getting to a consistent double-double level night in and night out. Big Z may be having the best year of his career. Sure he has scored more in other seasons and even pulled down more boards, but from a flow perspective he is right in stride with what the offense has been trying to accomplish lately.

I'm back on the bandwagon and back in a big way. I'm seeing things that I have always hoped for during Lebron's time in Cleveland. Role players are finally starting to hit wide open shots. That's not to say that Hughes and Gooden don't get out of control still, but when wide open, the guys around Lebron are hitting their shots. Lebron will always draw three guys when the ball is in his hands, leaving at the least two perimeter shot opportunities. Over the last 13 games, the role players are delivering.

The team still has some holes, but like last year's holes, they can still make it to the Championship series the way they are. A point guard would be nice, as would another 3-point shooter, but this team can beat Boston and repeat as Eastern Conference champions. They beat Boston once this year and in the other head-to-head match-up in Boston, Lebron was on the mend.

Tomorrow's game at the Q against the visiting Suns will be a nice test to see where this team truly is at this point in the season. It's been a while since the Cavs topped the Suns and the Suns are a great regular season team coming off a horrible loss last night to the T-Wolves.

Here's an interesting stat on Lebron. He is shooting 48.2% from the field this year. That's better than all but two NBA teams this year. He has yet to shoot 30 times or more in a game this season. Considering Cleveland only shoots 43.5% as a team, would it be all bad if Lebron stepped it up to 35 shots a game?

Swope Blog Logo Design

I've had a few people comment on and ask about the Swope Blog logo since it went up a month or so ago. I wish I could take the credit, but I'm pretty confident that my Illustrator work just isn't up to par with the rest of society's graphic designers.

The logo was actually created by Adam Garcia. Adam is a colleague of mine and professional graphic designer. The image below of the Phoenix Suns' Gorilla mascot is an original illustration of Adam's and recently won a contest promoted by the Suns. This piece will be the cover artwork on a Suns Game Day Program late next month around playoff time.

The 16-Team Playoff System

The one time I think I have an original idea and it takes me only two minutes to realize I'm late to the scene yet again. The college bowl season has ended and BCS talk is still a hot topic, with everyone from coaches, school presidents and athletic directors to the media throwing out their thoughts on what a perfect system would look like.

No matter what objections someone has to a playoff system. Be it the Big Ten & Pac Ten monopoly on the Rose Bowl, the guaranteed money at stake for schools big and small, curriculum schedules for D-1 student-athletes or the million other reasons; everyone seems to agree in it's purest form that a playoff system is what would work the best.

If not, get used to seeing the Buckeyes in the BCS Title Game year in and year out. Even if USC knocks off OSU in week 2 next year, the Buck'os could run the table and benefit from no late season loss. You hate them because they are there every year, but they may turn out to be the one final reason a playoff system is put in place.

We have heard of the Plus-1 plan, the 8-team playoff plan and a few other systems that are being tossed around, but the one that I thought I had my finger on the pulse with is a 16-game playoff system. Turns out Darin Darst on cbssportsline beat me to the punch by about three days a while back. Click the link and have a look at it.

We take the same existing bowls, even leaving the lovely names the same and take what is practically the top 16 teams in the country. But understanding the nature of today's college bowl system and tradition, Darst plugs in some guaranteed bids with big conference winners and leaves plenty of at-large bids for those teams that get bit by a late season loss.

Put a 16-team playoff system in place and the eligible teams will see even more money pour into their schools. Sponsorship opportunities will be endless, loyal fans will follow their team around the country spending even more on tickets than usual and TV ratings will be through the roof. I understand politics usually win out in deals like this, but before I hit the grave, I would love to see just one season where the NCAA gets this thing figured out.

The Media is Out of Control

Quick reminder for the media: Carie Underwood broke it off with Tony Romo because football, yes football, was all he cared about. Underwood said he spent too much time worrying about football and simply didn't have time for her.

This may be a little late in posting, but after seeing the hundredth wise crack from a reporter about the pit bulled face Jessica Simpson distracting Tony Romo by being at the game Sunday, I just couldn't take it any more.

Let me set the record straight! From the time the ball was kicked off to start Sunday's game until the final whistle, there was not one time during the game that Tony Romo gave a thought to Jessica Simpson being in the stands. Sorry, luxury suite.

If this was the case, then how do any of the players make it through a game with their wives, girlfriends, family and friends in the stands? Again, take a look at the photo above. He was too addicted to football is what the girl in the upper right said. You know, the one with a career of her own. The biggest country music singer going right now. The one that every American Idol fan worships. The pit bull on the left and the one that was such a distraction from about a half mile away Sunday, is considered to be about the dumbest female alive in the court of public opinion. Sure, she might be a nice late night distraction for Tony, but that's where the distractions stop.

So how does it make sense that Jessica Simpson was a distraction to Tony Romo against the Eagles on Sunday? It doesn't! The guy is as focused on football as Payton Manning, Tom Brady and every other quarterback in the league. Amazing how Brady can fly across the country, during a week leading up to a game, to be there for the birth of his child to an ex-Hollywood actress girlfriend and it doesn't garnish much media attention at all.

And I hate the Cowboys. But, I hate the media more. It's boring. Report that Romo is actually the father of Jamie Lynn Spears' baby...then I'd call that news.

Cavs in Tough Position - Sign Varejao

With the Charlotte Bobcats and Anderson Varejao coming to terms on a 3-year deal that is reportedly in the $17MM range, I am going against my previous posts and saying it is now time for the Cavs to sign Varejao.

After watching the Cavs play the Nets tonight, it is very apparent that this team needs all the help they can get at this point. I understand that Lebron was on the bench hurt, but Vince Carter was on the bench for most of the game as well. What was the difference in the Nets embarrassing the Cavs on their home court tonight? They had Jason Kidd & Richard Jefferson to fall back on. The Cavs have no one to fall back to after Lebron, so it is going to take a collaborative effort of a group as a whole to back up Lebron this season.

Separate from the fact that they need all the help they can get, it's actually not the worst deal ever for the Cavs. As Chad Ford of ESPN puts it, if the Cavs were willing to offer Varejao 5-years at $32MM, why wouldn't they match an offer of 3-years at $17MM. That actually probably is the going rate for a 7 point - 7 rebound guy anyway. Let's hope though, that Varejao can be a 10 and 10 player for this much money.

The Cavs have one week now to match the offer and it looks like it might happen regardless of the ill will between the Cavs front office and Varejao. The Cavs are riddled with horrible contracts that don't expire for another 2-3 years anyway, making it virtually impossible to sign major free agents and impossible to trade away a lot of these average players with star-money contracts. Varejao would have an opt-out-option, which he would probably exercise, after 2 years. This means this deal would expire right about the same time they can unload some of the other dead weight they are carrying.

Coincidentally, that will be at the same time as when the Cavs will be offering Lebron James more money than Bill Gates takes home in a year. Over the next two years, this team needs to do anything possible to please one person - Lebron. Matching the Bobcats offer for Varejao may not mean 20 points or 10 rebounds a game, but strategically it shows Lebron that the team is making every effort in their current situation to improve and win a championship now, not later.

The Cavs have looked so bad lately, that it was even nice seeing Eric Snow on the court tonight. This is no different than last year's frustrations, so let's shoot for a middle seed in the playoffs and hand Lebron the ball on every play come playoff time. With Varejao flopping all over the place in the playoffs and Lebron averaging a triple-double, this team can still make a run at a title.

BCS Blows Chance to Shine

For the first time since the creation of the BCS, the BCS Selection Show had it's time to shine and blew it in a quick, uneventful half-hour show full of commercials and zero commentary.

Unlike past years; fans, the media, football insiders and more, truly had no idea how the BCS game schedule was going to look heading into the BCS show Sunday. Sure we had an idea of what two teams would land in the big game based on rankings released earlier in the day, but the complete 5 game line-up was definitely up in the air.

Knowing they would have their biggest audience ever for the show, Fox completely dropped the ball. It was very frustrating to watch as a viewer, as they seemed to be confused about what to announce, how to announce it and when to announce it. Fox announced one team in one game, then went another 15 minutes with commercials before announcing another team in a different game. They seemed out of sync the entire 30 minutes.

What was enjoyable though, was the three hour BCS Bowl show from the College Game Day crew on ESPN Sunday evening. Another great reason to love sports on the West Coast. If I lived back on the East Coast, I would have definitely been in bed. Instead, I was entertained by Corso, Fowler, Holtz, Howard, Herbstreit and even the Buckeye hater May. This group never disappoints. They are insightful, speak their minds and are fun to watch. They have great chemistry, which is a far cry from what the Selection Show on Fox had to offer.

BCS - Not If You Lose, It's When You Lose

With the many, many flaws of the BCS scoring system, the one that really sticks out to me is how much the human element is taken into account with the polling formula. And, as we see year after year, when it comes to human rankings, it does not matter if you lose a game, it matters when you lose a game.

If Ohio State had lost to Washington early in the year and then ran the table and finished with the same 11-1 ranking, they would easily be ranked #3 in the nation in all polls. LSU would probably still get the nod at the #1 spot because of the timing of their loss and there is no denying that an undefeated Kansas deserves a #2 spot.

Ohio State deserves to be the #3 team in the nation just as much as West Virginia and Missouri, but because Ohio State lost late in the season, they immediately dropped the standard 5-7 spots in the polls. Once you fall, you can climb your way back up with losses ahead of you, because, they like you, will fall 5-7 spots. Lose early in the season though and you’re all set for a championship run. Lose late and you’re doomed.

This is reason for a playoff system alone. Regardless if it’s Ohio State that gets burned or Arizona State for losing late in the season or the many teams that have felt Ohio State’s pain in years past.

Additionally, Ohio State takes a pounding about their schedule, but is it really about their schedule or the simple fact that they happened to lose a game last year. I’m amazed at how many people are still in shock that Ohio State lost to Florida last year and because of this one loss, they are determined to point all fingers at the Big Ten schedule as the reason for the high rankings and continued winning ways.

Why doesn't West Virginia get this same treatment? Who have they beaten of any significance this year? Check out their mighty schedule and tell me it’s stronger than Ohio State’s. You can’t! As of today, West Virginia has beaten no currently ranked teams.

Kansas is undefeated and I can’t argue with that, regardless of how weak their Big 12 schedule has been. It has been a cake walk for Kansas though. Not one team of significance on the schedule. A couple Iowa / Purdue types, but a non-conference schedule that makes Akron and Kent State look like national powers on Ohio State's schedule.

Being from the same conference, Missouri’s schedule was also no stronger than Ohio State’s. They did play Oklahoma though and got beat.

I’m excited about this weekend and next weekend’s games, as it will be interesting. But I’ll continue to be unsatisfied with this system, like everyone it seems, until there is a playoff in place. And of all conferences to blame, the Big Ten is definitely most to blame for no playoff system. That’s the conference with The Big Ten Network, correct? Bad decision after bad decision and the fans (where the money comes from) are the ones that suffer.

Cavs Win Friday On & Off Court

I'm not one to root for a player to get injured or one to applaud an injury when it happens. But, with the news Friday that Larry Hughes will be out of the Cavs line-up for at least four weeks, I had to crack a smile.

The injury comes as no surprise. A hang nail would put Larry on the shelf for two months. It's way past time for Danny Ferry to trade him for anything, even a draft pick in the 2010 season would work for me. Larry Legend he is not. The team plays 100% better when he is not on the court. I'm not sure where the Larry Hughes has gone that once played for Washington, but he has yet to show up in Cleveland.

He has never shot over 40% for the Cavs and this season is shooting a miserable 29%. It's not like he contributes in other areas either. No assists, no rebounding, no defense and the most selfish player on the court. He could be shooting 1 for 11 in a game and will continue to keep on gunning.

The Cavs front office had better get their act together and very soon. It's a shame to see the numbers that Lebron puts up without the victories to go along with it.

Makes some trades to unload pure crap, to free up some money and please do not sign Anderson Varejao. Sure he makes the crowd cheer every so often, but he isn't worth a dime when it comes to wins & loses - the only thing that counts.

AZ Republic Wipes Out This Morning

Congratulations to the Arizona Republic newspaper this morning. The two biggest sports events in the state, Arizona Wildcats hosting the #2 Oregon Ducks and Phoenix Suns hosting the Chicago Bulls, had zero coverage in the paper this morning because the games finished too late.

How does two games in your own market finish too late for news coverage? How does the Arizona Republic not save space for one of only 3 D-1 football programs in the state playing the #2 team in the country? I'm sure no one wanted to wake up and read about how the Cats put a whooping' on Oregon and crushed their National Title hopes. That's not big news, is it?

And newspapers wonder why they are losing readers!!!

These games didn't even go past midnight. We are not on the East Coast where it's understandable if a West Coast box score doesn't make the paper. This is the AZ Republic's market! There is no excuse for these games not having coverage.

Men and some women, in general, who actually still get print news wraps, wake up, hit the toilet and quick read as much as possible in the ultimate in multi-tasking. There isn't time to waste surfing the web for 15 minutes to catch the highlights of the previous night's games. We have to get to work. And once we are in the car and on our way to work, we have the radio to fill us in on the latest news from the current and previous night. Newspapers have, at most, about a 20 minute window to catch the attention of working readers. Once that opportunity is missed, their is no need for the fish wrap.

But hey, the AZ Republic had plenty of stories on Barry Bonds indictment to read. It's not like I hadn't heard all about that the entire day yesterday. Way to report on old news and miss the boat on the two biggest games taking place locally, with one being a huge, huge, huge win for a football program trying to become a power.

If I want this kind of coverage, I'll simply make the switch to the USA Today, which has better news all around. It does land on the doorstep at the same time as the Republic, since it is the AZ Republic that prints and delivers them.

Even D'Antoni Not Happy with Suns Fans

I take a lot of flack for my constant abuse of Arizona sports fans and finally I have a qualified, recognizable name that is in agreement with me. Phoenix Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni came out strong against Suns fans for their lack of enthusiasm at home games following the Suns victory last night over the Knicks.

Now, although I am a fan of Cleveland sports through and through, I support all of the area's teams as my NL or Western Conference favorites. And I have fun doing so. Phoenix sports are at an all-time high with every team playing at a great level and with each having gorgeous facilities.

My constant abuse is not because of hatred for the teams, but to serve as a wake up call to the millions of locals in this market. Yes locals! The city has been around long enough for locals to have great-grandparents, so it's about time to stop using the transplant fan excuse. There are millions of locals who are from here and live here.

I'll stop writing now, as I could go on forever on this subject. Instead, I'll let Coach D'Antoni do the griping. Click the link below for the full story:
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1114sunsnb1115.html

"They boo us; we'll boo them." - Mike D'Antoni

Grapefruit League No More by 2020

The city of Sarasota, Florida recently voted down a measure that would have brought much needed renovations to the home of the Cincinnati Reds Spring Training facility. With the outcome of this vote, look for the inevitable to happen, a Red move to always sunny Arizona and the Cactus League.

With 12 teams already located within 1.5 hours of each other in Arizona and the Dodgers and Indians on the way in the next couple years, baseball is seeing a major shift in spring baseball and Arizona is happy to accommodate.

Goodyear, Arizona could use a new team to partner with the Indians. A nice Ohio connection of the Tribe and Reds in the same park would be entertaining and convenient for fans. Surprise, Arizona has a facility that was built to accommodate three MLB teams. Casa Grand recently pushed hard for a team and with the growth of the outlining cities around Phoenix, it is not a stretch of the imagination to see every Major League team with an Arizona home by 2020. I could see Queen Creek, North Phoenix, Gilbert, West Mesa, North Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, Avondale, Anthem, Chandler and many others easily being able to accommodate teams.

And how about Tucson? Just 1.5 hours from Phoenix and able to currently house 4 teams. The Tucson area could easily host another 6 teams with new growth.

And why not? Barring a freak of nature, it doesn't rain in Arizona and it's absolutely beautiful during March. This happens to be a great benefit to big league baseball teams in trying to get every single day of work-outs completed before the season begins. Florida is the rainy, hot and humid state, with numerous wash out games and days in the spring. Every day counts in spring training and one day of lost work certainly sets a team back.

Plus, you have the dreaded travel that the Grapefruit League teams have to contend with. A simple trip from Ft. Myers to Brevard County is a good 5 hours long. Big league players love 5 hour bus rides, don't they? In the Phoenix area, it's a hop, skip and a jump to the next park, with the longest trek being only 1.5 hours to Tucson.

The Grapefruit League does have some nice parks, so please don't get me wrong about the accommodations. Palm Beach and Clearwater have beautiful facilities. But these same parks could easily be built with new money in the desert.

If it's a matter of convenience and the convenience that not only players want, but that organizations want, the Cactus League just makes better sense. For the weather, expenses that would be saved and for the ease of finding every possible entertainment element in the world to do, Arizona almost seems like a no-brain er for teams.

There are some leases ending soon and talks are already in the works for more teams to head West, but it will take some time for my entire prediction to come true. A few staples in the Grapefruit League might fight the movement to the end. Clearwater and the Phillies are in a brand new park and I can already picture the Yankees as the last team sticking to it's Florida roots, vowing to never leave the Tampa area. Steinbrenner would probably fly his players to games out West before giving up on his Florida empire.

Buckeyes Deserved the Booing Today

Congratulations to Ron Zook and Illinois. Out coached, outplayed and Ohio State goes and proves everyone outside of Ohio correct. Ohio State's defense got pushed around more than Bonnie Bernstein during the post game raucous.

Illinois was giving Ohio State the ball, giving it to them by punting on 4th and 1 with seven minutes left and what does Ohio State do? They call time-out because they don't have the right personnel on the field. Who in the world cares what personnel you have on the field during a punt? You need all the time-outs you can get and they are kicking the ball to you. The ball will be in your hands. You get the ball! Play with 5 guys on the field for Pete's sake. Just let the ball die and it's up to your offense to drive to victory. Horrible coaching.

The Buckeyes defense had all the chances in the world to make a stand in the second half. But not one 3rd down or 4th down stop at all. The number one defense in the country was just getting pushed around. Whatever happened to learning from the past? How many times does a team have to run a QB draw on 3rd down for a defense to figure out their is no chance the ball is going in the air? Evidently the Buckeyes defense and coaching staff is still trying to figure it out.

This is one of the most frustrating loses I have ever had to go through with Ohio State. Not because of the #1 ranking, being undefeated or because the other team was that great. It was just stupid decision after stupid decision all night long. Very poor management of time-outs on defense - one here, one there, another one here and now your all out.

Why throw the ball deep on the last interception? No need at all. Run, run, run, run, run, run! The running game was clicking full steam just as it has done all year in the second half of games. Get down and pound a defense to victory. But not today.

The season is far from over though. Ohio State should beat a weaker Michigan team on the road. They should roll them and with that, the Buckeyes will be in the Rose Bowl in a big time BCS game against a big-time opponent, possibly USC if Oregon goes on to the National Championship game. Would make for an interesting game and set-up for the home and home the Buckeyes have with the Trojans in 2008 & 2009.

I hate, hate, hate when my teams lose. No different than anyone else I guess. I'm going to bed. Yes, it's 4:40 in the afternoon.

10 Random Hump Day Sports Thoughts

1. ESPN2 will lead all cable channels in sports ratings tonight. Why? Akron U football is center stage.

2. America's number one sports channel could use a better college football analyst than The Bachelor.

3. I'm eating my words #1 - The Cavs are hurting and need some help. I love the win at Golden State last night, but tonight's game at Utah can tell a lot. Back-to-back road west coast games. Tough way to start season.

4. I'm eating my words #2 - Shannon Brown is disappointing and probably gone next year. Devin Brown is underachieving to date as well. Key to Cavs going all the way is with a Brown though - Coach Mike Brown. Get rid of him and this team has a chance.

5. I'm eating my words #3 - The Celtics are good, real good. The Nuggets are no pushover, but you wouldn't know that tonight. Not sure how Doc Rivers is doing it, but things are looking bright in Bean Town.

6. America hates Ohio State and Red Sox fans. Not so much because the teams have been pretty darn good lately, but because fans of both are the most arrogant there is about their winning ways. Go Bucks!

7. Thad Matta has created an NBA factory with Ohio State hoops and I support it 100%. Better it be O-H-I-O that figured it out, than that team up North.

8. The Sporting News reported a couple weeks ago on who may be the #1 pick in the NBA Draft next season. Yep, another Buckeye - Kosta Koufos. Best 7 foot offensive center in hoops and only a freshman.

9. The rich get richer. No, not the fact that the Patriots have the 49ers first round pick next year. How that happens, I don't know, but because Ohio State hoops have top five rated recruiting classes for 2008, 2009 & 2010. If Koufos goes #1, the Buckeyes could break unprecedented ground with five straight #1 freshman picks in the NBA Draft: 2007 - Greg Oden, 2008 - Kosta Koufos, 2009 - B.J. Mullens, 2010 - work in progress, 2011 - either DeShaun Thomas, Jared Sullinger or Trae Golden (all top 10 recruits). Could this actually happen, no. Am I an idiot, yes. Go Bucks!

10. How does a fantasy football team lose a game by the score of 126.56 to 126.52? Yes, how does a fantasy football team lose by .04 points in head to head play? Shoot me a line and I'll let you know.