What a Great Sports Weekend

 

A great hoops weekend hit Cleveland this weekend.  From the Cavaliers battling to hold their position in the NBA playoff hunt, to Ohio State trying to win its first NCAA men’s basketball title since 1960, to the NCAA Women’s Final Four being held in our own town, the focus in this football city is on roundball.  Here is our take on all of the happenings:

 

Cavaliers.  The wine and gold picked up a huge win Saturday afternoon in Chicago, defeating the Bulls in overtime.  LeBron James once again put the team on his back, particularly in the extra period.  The victory gave the Cavs a 1-1/2 game lead over Chicago in the Eastern Conference standings, which keeps them in the #2 position for playoff seeding.  Anderson Varajao and Drew Gooden made key defensive plays down the stretch, including a great block of Kirk Heinrich’s shot by Gooden in the overtime session. 

 

However, the ground they gained was given back with a loss to the lowly Celtics on Sunday.  The team gave James the day off (you don’t believe the knee tendonitis, do you?) to rest, figuring they could beat Boston anyway, but the Cavs didn’t start playing until the fourth quarter and lost in the closing seconds when Jim Clark (one of the NBA’s "look at me" refs) called a foul on Varajao when the replay showing Delonte West slipped.  Fans were also treated to a Scot Pollard sighting.  Pollard made a big contribution to the late rally, but Mike Brown may have left him in a bit too long, and Pollard missed a point blank lay up down the stretch.

 

So now the lead over Chicago is back to just a 1/2 game.  With eight games remaining for the Cavs, including games this week against Miami and Detroit, if James could have played yesterday, he should have.  Yesterday’s loss may be the one that has the team opening the playoffs on the road against Miami, Washington, or Toronto. 

 

Ohio State.  It’s a good thing the Buckeyes learned to play without Greg Oden early this season when the big man was out with his wrist surgery, because the officials called two ticky-tack fouls which put him on the bench for most of the first half.  However, even though Oden will be the first pick in the NBA draft this June, Mike Conley Jr. is the Buckeyes’ most important player.  When Georgetown’s Roy Hibbard went out in the first half with foul troubles of his own, Conley took over the game. 

 

Tonight is a double rematch.  The Gators hammered both the basketball and football Buckeyes earlier this year, and Billy Donovan’s guys can see the back to back titles that they came back for clearly.  However, Ohio State is a much better team than the one that lost by 26 points in December.  Oden was just starting to get into game shape, and Conley is playing like a seasoned veteran.  Also, David Lighty continues to improve with every game.  Florida is the favorite based on the fact they won last year, but Ohio State has a good chance to pull the upset.

 

The Final Four is here!  The women’s basketball world is centered in Cleveland this weekend as the NCAA Final Four was played at the "Q" last night, with the championship game tomorrow night.  Tennessee will try to win Pat Summitt her 7th title against Rutgers in the title game.  Since the men’s championship is only held in domes these days, this is it for NCAA basketball Final Four’s in our city.  Hopefully, every thing will go well, and the event will come back soon.

 

Also, perhaps Cleveland could be in line for a men’s regional as well down the road.  Anyway, it’s great that so many visitors and national media types are in town for these games.  Good luck to both teams tomorrow night!

 

KM