Tag: nba champions

2016: Memories Of A Winning Year in NE Ohio.

It is easy to be upbeat about sports in the city of Cleveland and throughout northeast Ohio these days, a contrast from, oh, let’s say the last half century.

That’s what a professional sports championship does for an area.  Instead of talking and writing about what a team needs to do to win, we can celebrate and bask in the glow of having that feeling a fan can have when the squad they follow has already won.

That’s why June 19, 2016 will forever be a special date to a Cleveland sports fan.  It’s the date 52 years of waiting for a winner ended.

And to think, just 4-1/2 months later, we almost got to experience that kind of joy again, when Rajai Davis tied Game 7 of the World Series with a home run.  Unfortunately, a rain delay got in the way of the Indians attempt to copy the Cavaliers’ title, and they fell one inning short of winning the World Series.

That’s what 2016 was all about in a nutshell.

We doubt that 20 years from now, we will remember the Browns going 1-15 (maybe).  But we will forever remember Kyrie Irving’s three pointer to give the wine and gold the lead they would never relinquish.

We will not forget the Golden State shot missing and LeBron James and Kevin Love looking at each other under the basket, realizing they were NBA Champions.

It still gives us a chill when we hear the words “NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers”.

For many years to come, James, Irving, Love and the rest of the Cavs will be heroes in this area.  And when they are all retired and they come back in 2026 for the 10th anniversary of the title, they will still get a standing ovation.

And it was very cool when the newly crowned Cavs jumped on board the Tribe train throughout the playoffs and World Series, showing a bunch of younger sports fans that the Indians can be cool too.  If LeBron and the Cavs thought so, then it was alright.

The Tribe started developing their own heroes too.  People started recognizing the play of the city’s next superstar in Francisco Lindor and fell in love with Jose Ramirez.  And don’t forget the impact Adam Miller had either.

Suddenly, folks started realizing that the only name they knew on the local baseball team wasn’t the manager.  Although, Tito has one name status along the shores of Lake Erie.

After the Cavs victory, the area was in party mode all week.  We finally had a victory parade downtown and many people who grew up here returned for that event, something they thought might never happen in their lifetime.

The Lake Erie Monsters won the AHL Calder Cup for the first time since 1964.  Stipe Miocic won the UFC heavyweight championship and defended his title for the first time right here in Cleveland.

LeBron James was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year for 2016, and is also AP’s Male Athlete of the Year.

The Indians signed a big, big time free agent in slugger Edwin Encarnacion, arguably the best power hitter in baseball over the last five years.

And although the Browns’ season was forgettable, with just one victory to date (and hopefully no more), they may emerge with the chance to have the first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Hopefully, we will never experience this kind of drought when in comes to winning again.  52 years is way too long.

Let’s hope this is the beginning of a new era in Cleveland sports.  One where we win a bunch of times.  We can all get used to that feeling.

MW

 

 

Champions At Last. Ain’t It Sweet?

It still hasn’t sunk in that the Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA Champions.  Just the words, “World Champion Cavaliers” are enough to bring a tear to our collective eyes.

But it’s true.  The 52 years of sports suffering are over.  The city will have a parade Wednesday to celebrate our champions.  Yep, the best team in basketball resides right here in Cleveland, Ohio.

The game itself was funny because there was no opportunity to celebrate early because of the closeness of the game.

The game was tied with just over a minute ago, then Kyrie Irving hit the shot heard ’round northeast Ohio, drilling a three over Stephen Curry to put the good guys in the lead with less than a minute to go.

The defense had to take control, and when the Warriors missed and the Cavs got the rebound, we thought maybe, just maybe, the wine and gold were going to pull this off.

And after LeBron split his free throws after his hellacious dunk attempt giving Cleveland a four point lead with ten seconds remaining and a foul to give?  It was in the bag and we could start to celebrate as a city.

June 19, 2016 will be a date northeast Ohio will remember forever.

Now “The Shot” will have a different meaning here.  It will refer to Irving’s huge three to give the Cavs the lead they would never relinquish.

“The Block” will mean James’ incredible chase down rejection of Andre Iguodala’s lay up attempt to keep the contest even.  James said after the game that he had it covered no matter if Iguodala used his left or right hand to shoot.

“The Change” will refer to GM David Griffin’s gutsy and second guessed decision (even by us) to replace David Blatt with Tyronn Lue.  Lue had the right voice to lead this team to a title.

We said at the time the move put a huge amount of pressure on Griffin and James, but they were up to the challenge.

We also feel good for Kevin Love, the whipping boy by media and fans alike whenever anything went wrong for this team.  Love only scored 9 points, but grabbed 14 rebounds, had the highest +/- on the squad last night, and played remarkable defense on Curry, no less, forcing him into a bad shot down the stretch.

Love is a starter on championship team.  Doesn’t that alone mean that he fits in with this squad?  Shouldn’t that put to rest talk that the Cavs are looking to trade him?

The guy is an all-star who sacrificed his scoring because that’s what the team needed him to do.  And he’s a decent defender.  Yes, he has problems with quicker players when isolated, but so does everyone else.

He gets the last laugh though, because he’s getting a ring.

Lastly, what a performance by James.  Does anyone doubt who the best player in the league and the world is now?  Basketball isn’t all about shooting, and James contributes in every part of the game, that’s why he’s the premier player.

It is telling that Curry had more turnovers than assists in the series, and his ill-fated behind the back pass late in the fourth quarter was huge.

James fulfilled the promise made upon his return, and he showed to all doubters that he was a true leader.  Once again, thank you for coming back to the Cavaliers.

The celebration will likely go on all summer, culminating with a banner being raised to the rafters on Opening Night, and the players getting their rings.

Moreover, these players will always, always, own a special place in the hearts of every fan in the area.  They brought home a title and ended the so called curse.

JK