Road Warriors

Weekend Roundup:

Cavs

1. You can't say enough about what the Cavs just accomplished. A 3-1 Western road trip against some quality teams without two starters . . . that's awfully good. Nine days, ago after a dismal loss in Chicago, I said the Cavs would be lucky to go 4-3 over their next 7. Well, they're 4-1 and tied for the best record in basketball so I think its fair to say they've been exceeding expectations of late.

2. Mo Williams . . . I just love everything about him. I love that he's a deadly shooter. I love that when he puts the ball on the floor, he knows how to finish in traffic. I love that he always acts like he's been there before no matter what he's just done. John Hammond, thank you. Thank you for being such a stupid jackass and trading a 26 year old borderline all-star point guard for a bag of poop. By the way, if Williams played in Boston, he just might be starting the All-Star game.

3. Remember the end of game 3 of the NBA finals a couple of years ago when Varejao put the ball on the floor in the waning moments and cost the Cavs the game? Remember how horribly uncoordinated he was? Isn't it amazing how far he's come since then? I've gone from being absolutely terrified every time he faces up with the ball to viewing him as a legitimate scoring option on the floor. He makes athletic moves in the paint and actually has a respectable mid-range game. More importantly, he's starting to figure out how to pick his spots and score without disrupting the offense.

4. I'm getting more and more excited about J.J. Hickson. It's not that I think he's ever going to be a star; I just see him being a viable frontcourt player in this league for a good while. Given Cleveland's draft record, and the fact that neither Z nor Wallace will be starting for this team in two years, that's a huge hit at a time when the team couldn't afford another miss.

5. The Cavs are now 7-2 on the second night of back-to-backs this year and 5 of those wins were on the road. It's amazing how much easier it is to win on the second night when you don't have to count on Damon Jones, Shannon Brown, Donyell Marshall, or Ira Newble to play significant minutes.

Browns

1. I'll talk about the Browns briefly and against my better judgment. I'm glad they got Kokinis because he was the only option, I'm somewhat indifferent to Mangini taking down the mural, and I don't care which assistants or front office people get hired or fired. There, that's my Browns coverage. I'm not wasting my time on these assholes when we have a team to support that actually rewards my loyalty.

Indians

1. Checked out Keith Law's prospect rankings this week. I continue to be amazed that our top rated prospect (Carlos Santana) is not the guy we received in exchange for the best pitcher in baseball. Rather, it was one of two guys that were acquired in exchange for a 3 month rental of a nondescript utility player. I know the Dodgers got cash and have Russell Martin but what on earth were they doing?

2. I'm trying my best not to get sucked into the annual "Adam Miller is finally healthy" buzz but you have to admit, it would be exciting to have him coming out of the pen in the 7th or 8th inning to throw gas and bridge the gap to Wood (or Jensen Lewis after Wood inevitably gets hurt).

3. My buddy DC and I were discussing the Indians projected lineup today and decided it reminded us of an empty hot dog bun. Everything looks fine except it's missing the meat in the middle. Maybe my view will always be distorted because I grew up on one of the most talented, roided, intimidating offenses in modern baseball history, but when I look at this lineup, it just looks like something is missing (and yes, I'm well aware of how many runs they scored after the break last year).

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone