They say that in baseball, the name of the game is pitching.  Certainly, the Cleveland Indians have a lot of questions in this area, particularly the starting rotation, where only Fausto Carmona can be said to be proven.

However, there should be equal concerns about the Tribe’s hitting, because there aren’t a lot of proven hitters adorning the team’s lineup. 

Last week, Baseball Prospectus’ Christina Kahrl wrote that since the Indians are starting Jason Donald at 3B, scoring runs doesn’t seem like a priority for the Tribe.

Using the league average OPS of around 750, it doesn’t look promising for Cleveland when looking at the past history of the hitters involved.

The Indians only have three players expected to play everyday with an OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage) over this mark:  Shin-Soo Choo (885), Carlos Santana (869), and Travis Hafner (824). 

And Santana did this is limited at bats, so it is hoped he will perform at this level in 2011. 

You can add in Austin Kearns (772), who may get a lot of at bats early in the year while Grady Sizemore is out of the lineup.

Out of the rest of the lineup, there isn’t even much of a history of having good offensive seasons.

At 1B, Matt LaPorta had an OPS of 750 in his rookie year in 181 at bats, but last year dipped to 668.  He was coming off surgeries to his hip and foot, so perhaps that’s why his numbers slumped badly.  There is no question he is a large key if the Tribe is going to score runs in 2011.

Orlando Cabrera hasn’t had an OPS over 750 since 2003 when he played for Montreal.  The last season he was close was in ’07 with the Angels (742).  Last year, he was under 700 (657) for the year.

If he stays with his career path thus far, an odd-numbered year means a good year for SS Asdrubal Cabrera.  In his rookie season of 2007 and in 2009, Cabrera had good OPS figures of 775 (’07) and 799 (’09).  Hampered by injuries last season, he dropped to 673.  He provides hope for the offense based on past statistics.

Jason Donald had a 690 OPS last season, but his minor league career is littered with season where he was above 800.  He’s now 26 years old, so he another guy who has to start producing in 2011.

Michael Brantley is another guy whose minor league numbers show good OPS numbers, but so far at the big league level, he sits at 645 in a little over 400 at bats. 

There is no doubt the management is banking on young guys like Brantley, Donald, and La Porta to duplicate their minor league success to have an effective offense. 

You have to remember that there is normally some decline in these numbers going from the minors to the majors.

That is why the other huge key to the Tribe offense is Grady Sizemore.  He has a lifetime OPS of 840 with four season over 800 and one (2006) of 907. 

Even battling through injuries in 2009, Sizemore put up a 788 OPS.  Even at that number, he would be one of the better offensive players on the squad.

If the young guys do not produce, the Cleveland “attack” could be as exciting as watching paint dry. 

And putting more pressure on a young, unproven starting rotation is not the best way to develop arms.  They start to pitch as if they are unable to make a mistake.

In the American League, you have to be able to score runs to win.  The Indians need to have at least two young hitter emerge if they want to be successful in 2011.

KM

Sitting in Cleveland, watching the latest blast of snow melting.  Waiting for March Madness to begin, and baseball season too.  Just wanted to take the time to comment on some stuff going on the world of sports.

Loved Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy’s comments about NBA Commissioner David Stern.  And Stern’s reaction basically proved the Magic coach correct.

Van Gundy said the league doesn’t embrace the notion of free speech, which Stern took offensive to, saying the Orlando head man made it personal.

Then, Stern proved the coach correct saying he was going to talk to Magic management, to tell them to get Van Gundy “under control”. 

The commish does not like hearing any criticism regarding his league, and loves using his network “partners” to put information out there to support the league.  Kind of like, propaganda. 

Let’s just say no one is feeling bad about Stern’s feelings being hurt, particularly people is mid to small markets, who are becoming irrelevant in the commissioner’s league.

Too bad about the Heat.  With all due respect to Dwyane Wade, when you act like you won a title before the season starts with the smoke and party after the signing of free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh, people don’t exactly wish you well.

By the way, the Heat will win fewer games than the Cavs did the past two seasons, and could be eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.  Will critics of the Cavs then say that Pat Riley didn’t put enough talent around James?

Also, the people saying the Cavs’ roster was terrible (ESPN people) are wrong.  While there were no perennial all-stars on the team, the wine and gold roster was deep, going nine or ten deep. 

After James, Wade, and Bosh, the Heat roster is basically awful.  That’s why they struggle against good teams, their bench gets hammered by deeper rosters.  There is no Anderson Varejao there, no Delonte West, no effective Zydrunas Ilgauskas. 

That’s what happens in a salary cap sport.  You can have three all-star players, but you likely can’t afford anything else. 

The NCAA Tournament.  This will sound like a campaign for Cleveland State, but the belief here is that if you don’t win half the games in your conference, you don’t belong in the big dance, no matter how tough your league is.  You can play the toughest schedule on earth, but if you don’t beat anybody, what difference does it make?

Give the mid majors who have successful seasons a shot. No matter that the Vikings lost to Butler three times, and didn’t have a “signature” win, they were 26-8!  That’s a ton of victories, no matter who you play, especially in a top ten league like the Horizon.  Do we really need to see some Big East team that went 7-11 within the conference and 19-13 overall get in? 

The tournament was expanded to 68 squads this year supposedly to give more mid majors a shot.  The guess here is those spots will be given to BCS conference teams.  Gary Waters’ team will wind up beating more than a couple of squads that got it the field of 68, they deserve to get there as well.

As for the people at WKNR who diss the Vikes, let us remind them that the two teams in their beloved Mid American Conference finals, Akron and Kent State, were both beaten by CSU this season. That’s not to denigrate the MAC, which usually gets screwed by the selection committee at this time of year too.

MW

The news that Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel lied to the NCAA regarding when he knew his players sold memorabilia in exchange for free tattoos changes everything.

No longer is Tressel above reproach.  He now falls into the same category as other head coaches at the football factories throughout the country. 

That’s the shame of it all.  And the coach knew better than to cover it up.

However, save the moral indignation regarding whether or not Tressel should keep his job.  Of course he should.  It was not a recruiting violation, and it certainly doesn’t compare to the mess involving Cam Newton.

But it does stink.

Look, if Tressel had finished 8-4 the last three years, the choice he made to hold back evidence in this situation would have been enough to fire him.  If you aren’t winning, the administration can come up with a ton of reasons to get rid of you.

Remember when Iowa State basketball coach Larry Eustachy was shown drinking with coeds and lost his job in 2003?  The incident occured after records of 12-19 and 17-14.  If the same thing had happened in 2001 after seasons of 32-5 and 25-6, the first year being an Elite Eight appearance, would the coach have been canned? 

For all of the things that went on at USC (allegedly), remember that Pete Carroll resigned.  He didn’t get fired.  That’s reality.

People put Tressel on a pedestal.  They didn’t think he was the typical football coach who cared only about winning.  He cared about his players.

It turns out that he cares about them because they can help him gain victories.

The Ohio State administration should have made the correct decision back in December and suspended the players involved, including QB Terrelle Pryor, for the Sugar Bowl.

It would have shown everyone that integrity was more important than winning football games.  That would have made Ohio State different.

The BCS bowl folks probably put pressure on the university to play the players involved, but the school should have done what seemed right at the time.  The five players should have been held out of the game against Arkansas.

Had Tressel come forward with the information he received in April, Pryor and the rest would likely have missed games last season, a season the Bucks thought they could contend for a national title. 

Winning got in the way.

That’s why the feeling here is more disappointment than anger.  We thought Tressel was a throw back to the teacher in high school, who just happened to coach football on the side. 

This shows that this perception isn’t true, he’s the same as every other football coach at perennial top ten programs.  Buckeye fans feel betrayal toward the man who wears the sweater vest.

The NCAA will likely add to the sanctions the university put on Tressel and the football program.  The players received a five game suspension, while the coach received a two game penalty with a $250,000 fine.

That’s not going to fly, especially since the Buckeyes first two games are against Akron and Toledo.  The NCAA may make the suspension be for the first two Big Ten games or even longer.

It’s a sad situation at Ohio State.  The college football fans of the state of Ohio expected more from the coach.  However, it doesn’t mean he should lose his job. 

As for vacating wins, that’s the dumbest thing the NCAA does.  We all know Michigan’s Fab Five went to two basketball title games, and we know Ohio State won the Sugar Bowl.  Everyone saw these things happen, no governing body can take that away.

Tressel screwed up.  One mistake is okay.  Any further errors will cost him his job. 

MW

Baseball’s exhibition season is a little over a week old, and the Cleveland Indians have a phenom in 3B Lonnie Chisenhall.

If the Tribe was to have a rookie break the starting lineup in Arizona, it figured to be Cord Phelps at 2B since he spent most of last season in Columbus, hitting over .300 there.

Meanwhile, Chisenhall, the team’s first round draft pick in 2008, spent last year in Akron, hitting .278 with 17 HR and 84 RBI with an 801 OPS.  He is ranked by Baseball America as the 25th best prospect in baseball.

In 15 at bats this spring, Chisenhall has 7 hits (.467 average) with 2 doubles and two homers.  Also, the Tribe doesn’t really have Mike Schmidt playing the hot corner either.

Now it is very early in the spring, but supposedly the 22-year-old has been told he will not make the opening day roster because he’s never played at the AAA level.

The real reason is the Indians do not want to start the service clock on Chisenhall on Opening Day because if they keep him in the minors long enough, he won’t be eligible for arbitration until after his third big league season.

Just like they handled Carlos Santana last season, and he should have been the Tribe catcher to start the 2010 campaign.

What the Indians should do is allow Chisenhall to force himself onto the 25 man roster come April 1st when the team opens the season against Chicago.

Orlando Cabrera will play 2B, and if Jason Donald continues to play well, he can be the utility man, and can play third against tough southpaws to protect the rookie.

When you are coming off consecutive 90 loss seasons, nothing should be etched in stone for young, rising players when it comes to making the team.

Too often, the current regime takes the safe route when it comes to their top prospects, either to “protect” the player from possible failure, or more likely, to control the player’s service time.

Scouts love Chisenhall’s left-handed swing and his minor league numbers suggest he is not prone to striking out.  His minor league high in whiffs is 96 in 480 at-bats in his first full year of organized ball.

He fanned just 77 times in 460 at bats at Akron last season.

With no established 3B on the roster, why not give the kid a full shot, giving him regular playing time to see if he can handle big league pitching. 

By the end of the month, more teams will be pitching major league guys deeper and deeper into games, so the hurlers who have no chance to be in the majors will be weeded out.  Then, you can get a truer look at how Chisenhall will perform.

If he keeps hitting at this pace, why not let him be on the Opening Day roster? 

The front office will try to present to you that if the youngster is called up too soon and fails, he will be scarred for the rest of his career.  If he’s that fragile, then he probably will not be a successful big league player. 

Baseball players all fail.  That’s why a guy who gets hits 3 out of ten times goes to the Hall of Fame.

And other players have gone right from Class AA to the majors and been successful.  The Braves’ Jason Heyward, who made the All Star team last year, had just 13 at bats in AAA before opening last season with the big team.

Chisenhall might go 0 for his next 20 and make this a moot point.  However, if he keeps hitting, the Indians should not limit themselves and let him play in Cleveland.

All we are saying is…Give Chiz a chance!

KM

After the mass exodus from the Cleveland Cavaliers organization this summer, as the coach, the general manager, and the star player all left, many fans wondered about the future of the team. 

What will happen around here without Mike Brown, Danny Ferry, and LeBron James?  It has taken a little while, but there is hope based on what new GM Chris Grant did around the trading deadline. 

Grant didn’t do much immediately after taking the job, but he did make one trade before the season started, picking up Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins from Minnesota for Delonte West, who was released shortly thereafter by the Timberwolves.  The Cavs were not going to renew West’s deal anyway, so essentially Grant got the two players for nothing.

While Hollins has shown to be a journeyman backup center in the league who can’t rebound, Sessions has averaged 12.7 points and 5.5 assists per game while starting most of the season due to injuries.  Sessions is viewed as one of the players the “new” Cavaliers can build around, as he is at least a very good backup point guard.

Sessions is aggressive, always looking to go to the basket, as evidenced by his five free throw attempts per game in an average of just 27 minutes per night.

Prior to getting Sessions, Grant signed restricted free agent point guard Kyle Lowry to an offer sheet, even though Lowry averaged just 9 points and 4.5 assists per night. 

This year, Lowry has flourished, boosting his averages to 12.3 points and 6.5 assists per game in taking over the Rockets starting spot. 

The point here is that Grant appears to be a pretty good judge of talent.  This is also in evidence looking at two undrafted players the team picked as free agents over the summer.

No one is saying that Manny Harris or Samardo Samuels will ever be all-stars, but the fact is they can play in this league in some role. 

Harris, a 6’5″ guard is averaging 6.7 points and 3 rebounds per game in 39 contests.  He has four 20 point nights in his rookie year, and is another player who has shown enough to be part of the future here. 

Samuels, a 6’9″ post player is scoring 6.5 points per night and grabbing 3.6 boards in 25 games.  However, his performance in back-to-back starts the last two games has to get fans interested.  He scored 38 points and notched 16 caroms against San Antonio and New York, and drew two charges from Carmelo Anthony in the last two minutes on March 4th to help Cleveland upset the Knicks.

Add in the two deals at the deadline which netted a probable top ten pick in this year’s NBA draft, two young big guys in Semih Erden and Luke Harangody, and a veteran point guard in Baron Davis, and it’s clear that Grant is a pretty good judge of talent. 

This is not to suggest that all the players mentioned will go on to be to be starters or even contributors on a good NBA team.  However, it is clear that all of the players have talent. 

Now, Grant needs to take the three picks the team will have in the first 31 selections in June’s draft and find some more good players.  Grant has said there are 12-15 good players every year.  It’s his job to find them.

There is no question fans have to feel better about the future of this team than they did at the beginning of the season.  The moves made by Grant since he took over as GM show he has an eye for who can play in the Association. 

That’s a comfort for those worried about a guy in that spot for the first time.

MW

For the Cleveland Brows, this is a bad time for the NFL to have a work stoppage. 

With a new head coach/offensive coordinator in Pat Shurmur, a second year quarterback in Colt McCoy, and a new defensive coordinator in Dick Jauron, the Browns need all the classroom work it can get.

Not to mention all of the mini-camps and OTA’s that will be missed. 

The organization has been warned not to do any coaching on the sly during any lockout as well. 

If there is a lockout, this is absolutely the worst time for the brown and orange. 

It also makes you wonder if the owners are really as smart as people think.

Owning an NFL franchise is like a having a license to print money.  The amount of cash that comes in from the league’s television deals and merchandising makes it almost impossible to lose money owning a team.

Almost impossible, right Art Modell?

Plus there is a salary cap, so there is no threat for a George Steinbrenner type owner to drive up the salaries so a smaller market team cannot compete.

Witness the current Super Bowl champion…Green Bay Packers.

The NFL has also stolen a page from baseball’s hot stove league in becoming a sport that carries interest all year around.

Immediately after the Super Bowl, you have talk about the draft and the NFL Draft Combine, where players eligible for selection run, jump, lift weights, and are interviewed by team officials and the media. 

Afterwards, players are moved up and down various rating lists based on their time at the Combine. 

Then you have mini-camps which take you into June, just six weeks away from training camp, and it starts all over again with exhibition pre-season games.

This is one of the sticking points of the negotiations.

For some reason, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has it in his head that the fans want less preseason games and more regular season games.  However, what the fans really want is not to pay full price for the games that do not count. 

Exhibition football is fine.  It’s an opportunity to see the players just drafted as well as a bunch of guys chasing a dream of playing in the NFL.  It can be entertaining.  Just not at the same price as a regular season game. 

You can go to an Indians’ game in Goodyear for $10 and get a good seat.  The NFL shouldn’t make season ticket holders purchase the pre-season tickets.  Discount the ticket prices and open it up to people who don’t have the chance to see games in person on a regular basis.

Outside of the scheduling issue, this possible work stoppage is all about the owners, who should all be doing well in the current system, wanting a bigger piece of the pie. 

Here’s a reminder for professional sports owners:  No one goes to the game to see you, they go to see the players. 

This isn’t the NBA situation where the players are making smaller markets non-competitive.  Just the opposite.  The pro football model resulted in the freaking Green Bay Packers, the smallest market in professional sports, winning the Super Bowl.

The NFL needs to get this situation resolved.  They can only hurt themselves by having labor problems with the popularity of the sport at an all time high.

It’s akin to killing the proverbial goose who lays the golden eggs.

JD

One of the things that has come out of the NFL draft phenomenon is the proliferation on so called “draft experts”.  Basically, everyone can be one, because all it takes is an opinion.

And as we all know, opinions are like noses, everybody has one.

Now, any local sports talk station has its staff expert, usually a guy who probably knows no more than you or me about who can play in the NFL or who can’t.  But he has a microphone, which listeners do not have.

The draft talk has intensified with the combine in Indianapolis, in which hundreds of scouts and “draft experts” get together and watch most of the players eligible for selection run around and lift weights. 

There’s no actual football being played.  Just a bunch of guys in shorts and t-shirts being poked and prodded by scouts.  Yet, someone will emerge as having a great combine and will sky rocket up many draft boards.

If this is such an exact science, there wouldn’t be undrafted free agents who become all pros.  There wouldn’t be guys like Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith.  The production of players would coincide with where they were slotted in the selection process.

We all know this isn’t true.

Let’s go back to 2008, when the experts were shocked that Brady Quinn, who was projected to be one of the top five or ten picks in the draft slid all the way to the 22nd pick, taken by the Cleveland Browns.

Based on Quinn’s play in the league, the experts were wrong.  Quinn wasn’t as good as they thought.

On the flip side, Aaron Rodgers was projected the first quarterback selected when he came out of the University of California, a certain top ten pick.  He dropped to late in the first round when Green Bay selected him, and they are very glad other teams passed.

Alex Smith was the first QB picked that season, in fact he was the first overall selection.  How has he worked out?

The buzz this year surrounds Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton of Auburn.  Newton is a physical specimen, measuring at 6’6″ and 250 pounds.  He ran a 4.59 40 yard dash in Indianapolis. 

Unfortunately, having great speed is not the primary thing people look for in quarterbacks.

To me, the most important attributes a QB can have are leadership and accuracy.  That’s why Quinn didn’t make it and Rodgers did.  The playoffs demonstrated for one and all how pinpoint the Green Bay quarterback was with his throws.

According to reports from the combine, Newton was found wanting in this area. 

The ability to read defenses is another great skill to have.  For example, look at Bernie Kosar.  Kosar knew what the opponents were going to do when he got under center. 

It was said that Newton was found wanting in this area as well. 

Therefore, if you are Browns’ GM Tom Heckert, who makes his living evaluating talent, not talking on the radio, would you take Cam Newton with the 6th pick in the draft come April? 

If the Heisman Award winner is there, he will be under some pressure to do so. 

Newton will probably be taken ahead of that pick, most likely going to Buffalo with the third selection, so Heckert will be spared.

The guess here is that the Browns are looking at defense anyway since there is a lot of talent supposedly available, and that is a great area of need for this football team.

Thankfully, a pro is making that pick for Cleveland and not some radio guy wowed by someone’s 40 yard dash time.

JD

The Cleveland Indians have an identity problem, and not only do they confuse their fans, they seem to be perplexed themselves.

They claim to be in rebuilding mode, yet they continue to add marginal veterans to compete for big league roster spots.  They also seem to be kidding themselves when it comes to the availability of some players.

First, they signed veteran SS Orlando Cabrera to compete for a regular position at 2B.  Besides being forced to play out of position, Cabrera is impeding the progress of youngsters like Cord Phelps, who spent most of the year at Class AAA Columbus, and Jason Kipnis, arguably the organization’s best position player prospect.

Cabrera has been somewhat of a good luck charm lately, showing up in the playoffs on a regular basis, but he’s 36 years old.  Is that the type of guy a rebuilding team should be signing?

With all of the options this team has at second base among Phelps, Kipnis, Jason Donald, and even Luis Valbuena, why bring in a veteran whose better days are behind him? 

Now, it has been reported that the team signed Chad Durbin, a 33-year-old reliever who has a lifetime ERA in the American League of 5.69.  He actually spent parts of 2003-04 with the Tribe, compiling a record of 5-7 with a 6.75 ERA in 60 innings.

Instead of signing a mediocre veteran, why not look closely at rookies like Josh Judy, 25, who went 3-0 with a 2.94 ERA at Columbus and Akron, with 57 strikeouts and 14 walks in 49 innings last season?

Or Vinnie Pestano, 26, who had a 1.55 ERA at Columbus last year with 59 K’s and 14 walks in 46-1/3 frames last year.

Or Bryce Stowell, 24, who gets it up there around 100 MPH, and struck out 102 hitters in 67 innings combined last year at Kinston, Akron, and Columbus.

The point here is we aren’t talking about a closer here, the Tribe has Chris Perez to do that.  We aren’t even talking about the set up men to get to Perez.  We are likely talking about the last man in the bullpen.  So, why not give that spot to a young kid and see if he can succeed in some low pressure situations and maybe he’ll be a contributor.

That’s what a rebuilding team should be doing.  Didn’t the front office learn anything from the Jamey Wright experiment last year?

Getting Austin Kearns back is another puzzler, and now even more so because it looks like the Tribe will shift Grady Sizemore to LF when he is healthy, which now may not be until the middle of May.

If the move is made, when or where will Kearns get at bats?  Certainly not in left.  He’s a solid defensive outfielder, but you really don’t want him in CF in place of Michael Brantley.  And in right, Shin-Soo Choo is the best player on the team.

This is not to denigrate Kearns, who’s a solid professional, but is superfluous on a team such as the 2011 Cleveland Indians.  He’s just taking at bats away from players who will be here when the Indians are ready to be contenders once again.  And if Kearns is a guy getting 400 at bats on your big league team, you are more than likely not a contender.

Guys on your bench need to have a dominating skill, like a right-handed hitter who bashes southpaws.  Shelley Duncan fits that profile more than Austin Kearns.  And as a backup CF, Trevor Crowe and Ezequiel Carrera would seem to be better fits.

When you have depth in your farm system you need to use it.  If they are truly in rebuilding mode, then they need to start giving young guys chances.  Most of the youth mentioned aren’t 20 or 21 years old.  They are 23, 24, or 25.  They need to get a chance now.  Right now, the Cleveland Indians are going with the low risk, low reward plan.

KM

The first shot has been fired in the rebuilding process for the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

The team has reportedly dealt Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Los Angeles Clippers for Baron Davis and a 2011 1st round draft pick, which figures to be a top ten pick this June.

The benefit for LA was they rid themselves of Davis’ bloated salary, after all the guard is 32 years old.  They gave the Cavs the pick to take the salary off their hands.

As for the wine and gold, Williams has been injured all season and is a defensive liability.  He was brought here to be a second scorer to LeBron James, and he did that, averaging 17.8 points per night in his first year, but that number has declined to 15.8 in ’09-’10, and then to 13.3 this season.

However, his game changed from his days in Milwaukee, which is why the Cavs traded for him.  He was a slasher, a guy who went to the basket to score with the Bucks.  In Cleveland, he became another guy who stood around the three-point arc like many others in former coach Mike Brown’s offense.

Moon is a 30-year-old role player who never received a good opportunity last season with Brown, and fell in Scott’s doghouse this season.

Davis probably doesn’t have a good term future here, and may even be traded again today before the deadline.  He’s battled conditioning issues and injuries in the past, but when healthy and in shape was a very good player in the league.

He’s averaged over 20 points per game three times in his career, including 22.9 a night in 2003 with New Orleans. 

Perhaps his career can be revitalized under Scott, who has had great success with point guards, but more than likely Davis will be moved before next season.

There is no question that the prize of the deal is an unprotected 1st rounder from the Clips.  The only negative here is this is supposedly a weak draft, with few impact players coming out this summer. 

Still, the wine and gold could still get two young players to help them going forward.

The other great thing about this transaction is that GM Chris Grant did not have to surrender the trade exemption picked up from Miami last summer.  So, that trade chip is still available to the team either later today, or this summer prior to the draft.

So, in addition to the exemption, Grant will be armed with Antawn Jamison’s contract which will expire after next season. 

Grant had to do something, even if it wasn’t something impactful for the future, because to do nothing in this horrible season would have been a public relations nightmare for the organization.

It’s the icing on the cake that the move he made was excellent.  The only thing is cost the team was the additional salary of Davis, who makes more than Williams and Moon combined.

It would not be surprising to see another move this afternoon before the 3 PM deadline.  Most likely, Anthony Parker will move to a contender for either another draft pick or a big body.

Also, the Cavs will probably buy out Leon Powe’s contract and therefore will have two roster spots open.  Grant will be looking for big men from the D-League to fill that spot.

The Cavaliers needed to accelerate the rebuilding process, and they did so with this trade.  It’s a good first step back to respectability.

JK

With both the NFL and NBA ending their existing collective bargaining agreements this year, many people have speculated where either league will have a work stoppage before the next season commences.  One league will and there will be football this fall.

In football, the system is working well for all teams and there is certainly enough money to spread around to all involved.  There should be a rookie wage scale and the resulting extra money should go to veteran players who have proven they can play professional football.

In basketball, the owner’s need to get their league back. 

Look, there is no question the players are the show.  It’s who the fans go to see.  No one goes to a Cavalier game because Dan Gilbert owns the team.  However, the owners’ put up a great deal of cash to run the individual franchises and they are losing that right in the current system.

Basically, the owners take all the risks.

However, right now the players and their agents are calling shots about who plays where and although commissioner David Stern can sugar coat it all he wants, he has to be concerned, and the people who own NBA franchises have to be dismayed over what has happened since last season ended.

And we know that the players are great at playing the game, but do not have a good grasp on what is good for the sport and what isn’t. 

There is no question that Denver owner Stan Kroenke saw what happened in Cleveland last summer and didn’t want to get simply draft picks for his all-star forward Carmelo Anthony.  So, he dealt Anthony to the New York Knicks, with the player holding Denver hostage because he would only sign a contract extension with New York, for a bunch of good to average players.

And at the All-Star break, Utah guard Deron Williams expressed interest in playing with Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire when he becomes a free agent after the 2012 season. 

So, the new NBA will be Miami, New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and a bunch of teams that no one will care about. 

How many new pro basketball fans will be springing up in the midwest, northwest, and southwest in the next generation? 

Think about how many people in Cleveland became fans of the game in the seven years that LeBron James wore the wine and gold of the Cavaliers?  Also, consider what poor sports fans reside in at least two of the cities mentioned previously.  LA fans are notorious for showing up late and leaving sporting events early, and people in south Florida are not exactly known for their passion for professional sports.

Yet, that is where the players want to be, and in the current system, the owners are powerless to stop it.

Stern says everything is good because he never says anything is wrong with his league.  He even downplayed the criticism of “The Decision” even though most people thought it was the worst idea since new Coke.

Stern is probably the most powerful czar in professional sports, but even he has to realize that people like “super” agents Leon Rose, and the infamous “World Wide Wes” have designs on his power. 

In a league where arguably one team (2004 Pistons) has won a title without an all time great player since 1980, the unwillingness of the great players of today to stay in markets like Cleveland, Denver, Toronto, and Utah doom those cities to basketball irrelevance.  That is simply not good for the sport.

Owners of professional sports franchises can only sell two things:  A great team or hope.  The way the NBA is headed, 80% of the league’s teams will be unable to sell either. 

And that’s bad for business.

MW