NBA Preview - Cleveland Cavs

Cavaliers Roster
2010-11 Roster
NUM PLAYER POS HT WT DOB FROM YRS
8 Christian Eyenga G-F 6-5 210 06/22/1989 Kinshasa, DRC R
1 Daniel Gibson G 6-2 200 02/27/1986 Texas 4
12 Joey Graham F-G 6-7 230 06/11/1982 Oklahoma State 5
6 Manny Harris G 6-5 185 09/21/1989 Michigan R
21 J.J. Hickson F 6-9 242 09/04/1988 North Carolina State 2
5 Ryan Hollins C 7-0 240 10/10/1984 UCLA 4
4 Antawn Jamison F 6-9 235 06/12/1976 North Carolina 12
15 Jamario Moon F 6-8 205 06/13/1980 Meridian CC (MS) 3
18 Anthony Parker G-F 6-6 215 06/19/1975 Bradley 7
44 Leon Powe F 6-8 240 01/22/1984 California 4
24 Samardo Samuels F 6-9 260 01/09/1989 Louisville R
3 Ramon Sessions G 6-3 190 04/11/1986 Nevada-Reno 3
17 Anderson Varejao F-C 6-11 260 09/28/1982 Santa Teresa, Brazil 6
31 Jawad Williams F 6-9 225 02/19/1983 North Carolina 2
2 Mo Williams G 6-1 195 12/19/1982 Alabama 7

HEAD COACH
Byron Scott (College - Arizona State)

ASSISTANT COACH(ES)
Chris Jent (College - Ohio State)
Paul Pressey (College - Tulsa)
Jamahl Mosley (College - Colorado)
Joe Prunty (College - Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)

STRENGTH-AND-CONDITIONING COACH
Stan Kellers (College - Cleveland State)

ATHLETIC TRAINER
Max Benton (College - Colorado)

C - Captain
** - Unsigned Draft Pick
(FA) - Free Agent








Cleveland Cavaliers
An opposing team's scout sizes up the Cavaliers
The Cavs are the worst team in the East. Not having LeBron James means everything to them. I think Mo Williams is going to have to have a huge year, and they'll also need a lot from Antawn Jamison, who has been the best player on a bad team a number of times but may be slowing down now. Even if they get great performances from those two, I don't know how much it will help because nobody else on that team can score.
Williams should be more productive this year because the ball will be in his hands more. He'll be back to playing the same role he had in Milwaukee when he set himself up for his big contract. He'll put up big numbers, but it won't mean much. I hate using the terminology of calling him "not a true point guard" because the league has changed so much that you really can be a scorer and a point guard at the same time. But Williams is somebody who needs to score to be effective. Another description that fits him is "volume shooter." Over the last couple of years LeBron had the ball all of the time and was creating the offense, which put Williams off the ball. Williams can make a shot, he can get to the rim and he's good in the open court. I think he'd be great in a Jamal Crawford-type sixth-man role. Williams isn't as good as Crawford as a scorer, but he's better as a point guard and a defender.
One upgrade over LeBron as a ball-handler is that Williams is better as a pick-and-roll player who can find guys. He's already had two good regular seasons in Cleveland, though they were followed by two bad playoffs. Teams will try to collapse on his drive, but if they collapse too much, he can pull up and make a shot.
The question with Jamison is whether he had so much trouble over the second half of last season with Cleveland because he was declining physically or because he had a hard time fitting in with LeBron. I wonder if a lot of that stuff in Washington hit him and don't know if he ever recovered from the whole Gilbert Arenas gun incident. Guys who know Jamison say the Gilbert stuff really shook him. Then he got to Cleveland and it looked as if he felt the pressure -- he looked like he'd never played basketball before. All of those things maybe got in his head.
This won't be the first time he's been asked to put up a good year with a bad team. If Jamison doesn't respond, the Cavs will really be in trouble. I know he won't mail it in because he's a pro. If he has it, he's going to give it to them.
It's going to be interesting to see what style Byron Scott will wind up playing. I'm guessing he'll go with some of the Princeton offense. Jamison had success playing that style for Eddie Jordan in Washington. Jordan had Jamison diving and flashing inside, and maybe that's another reason why he struggled last year with Cleveland -- they couldn't have him do those things because they needed him to space the floor for LeBron.
I like both Williams and Jamison as leaders. Jamison has been a leader for a long time, and Williams has grown into that role. They have some guys who play hard and that may help them be an overachieving team. But effort can't compensate for lack of talent. None of their other guys are good enough.
Anderson Varejao is among their top three players, but offensively he won't do it for them. In that sense, he's a bit like Ben Wallace during the Pistons' championship days. Defensively, Varejao can be almost that dominant. He will block a shot, though he doesn't change everything like Wallace did, and he doesn't rebound as well. But Varejao's a great one-on-one defender. He takes charges, is a great help defender and plays with enormous effort. Plus, he has great length.
Varejao has improved offensively. He has phenomenal hands, he catches everything. You could pass it to him at his ankles and he's going to get it. But he can't shoot. Even though he's improved his jump shot, it's still ugly. He doesn't have a feel offensively, and he can get pushed off the block pretty easily. You always see guys moving him, and then he can't do anything past five to 10 feet from the basket. He's a bit like Jamison as a diver-cutter because he's pretty good at flashing and catching balls and finishing. The problem for Varejao is, though he can catch, he can't put it on the floor.
Remember last year when it was a big deal that Cleveland didn't want to give up J.J. Hickson in a trade? Now that LeBron is gone, don't expect Hickson to end up carrying the Cavs. The main thing about him is that he's their one developmental guy, which points out the big problem with their roster: They have no one else with upside. When Williams and Jamison are setting a good example, whom are they setting it for? Hickson, and it's not like there is a ton of potential in his game.
Put it this way: I'm sure everybody would like to have Hickson on their team, but he's not a game-changer. The Cavs are going to hope he turns into a guy who can score on the block. But everything else about him is questionable. He's a pretty good rebounder and not a great defender. He's a guy you're going to leave alone when he's away from the block and invite him to shoot it. I'd tell my team to leave him by himself at 15-17 feet.
I remember when Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon were playing the wings for Toronto, and that team didn't go far. Parker especially was a nice pickup when the Cavs had LeBron, but now you can't begin to count on him and Moon to carry your team on the perimeter. Parker is another guy who will come in and work hard. He's above-average defensively and he'll make a three. But he's not good at creating his own shot.
Moon has improved his shooting, but his primary asset is his athleticism. He'll burn you occasionally with the corner three, but for the most part you're going to leave him alone out there. Maybe they should play up-tempo because it fits the style of Moon and so many of their other guys. On the other hand, that's going to be a hard style to keep going because they have an older team.
Leon Powe could be a decent second-unit scorer on the block for them, though he hasn't played regularly for a long time because of his knee injury.
I liked their pickup of Ramon Sessions, who will be one of the better backup point guards in the league. He's more of a true point guard than Williams, and they'll be able to play them together some of the time. Sessions is solid at everything. He can score a little bit, he'll get you into your offense, he defends, he can run. He doesn't do anything tremendously and he makes a bit too much money, but he's reliable.
Every now and then, Daniel Gibson can get hot from the three-point line and surprise you. But he struggled with consistency when he was playing with LeBron, and now consistency is going to be an even bigger issue. He struggles handling the ball, so you can't have him bring it up the floor because everybody pressures him.
Ryan Hollins is an unbelievable athlete for his size, with great length and the ability to block a shot or catch a ball at the rim. But it's all about his athleticism. He doesn't have the skills to do anything else.
Scott is an old-school guy. If the Cavs lose a lot of games early, it's inevitable that things are going to get ugly in the locker room because that's what happens in the NBA. How Scott handles those situations will dictate the course of this season in Cleveland.




NBA Preview
Musings si.com
THE GREAT UNKNOWNS: INJURIES AND TRADES
These two things, especially injuries, make preseason predictions seem almost silly. Two of the Lakers’ five most important players are already dealing with knee injuries. One of those players (Andrew Bynum) played with significant limitations in last year’s postseason — the same postseason that saw Cleveland, Boston, Utah and others deal with season-altering injuries. And we knew that before this Jackie MacMullan piece at ESPNBoston.com this morning revealed Paul Pierce was dealing with turf toe during the playoffs after a season in which his sore knee occasionally squirted out foul “geysers” of fluid.
Injuries are a reality in the NBA. They happen all the time, and they will happen to a key player on at least one title contender in May and June. The Lakers and Celtics seem most susceptible to a potentially crippling injury (remember Kevin Garnett‘s knee in 2009?), but no team is ever immune.
As for trades, I don’t see an obvious one right now that would boost the chances of one of the core contenders. Carmelo Anthony is certainly capable of providing a Pau Gasol-like boost to someone, but no one in the contender group has the assets to get him in anything but an extraordinarily complex and risky deal.

JAMEER NELSON
Kelly Dwyer at Ball Don’t Lie has nailed this before: For all the hand-wringing over Dwight Howard‘s post game and Rashard Lewis‘ contract, Nelson might be the most important player on the Magic, in terms of his ability to swing the team’s ceiling from “possible title contender” to “deserving of co-favorite status.” This is especially so if the Magic are serious about easing Vince Carter‘s pick-and-roll responsibilities and shifting them to Nelson.
Nelson was excellent in 2008-2009, when he shot 50 percent from the floor and 45 percent from three-point range in essentially making himself the most efficient offensive point guard outside the Steve Nash-Deron Williams-Chris Paul trio. He took a step back toward the league average last season, and that won’t be good enough for the Magic to win the title. But the 2008-09 Nelson — or something close to it — is plenty good enough. It’s no coincidence that the two games Orlando won against Boston in the Eastern Conference finals last season were the two in which the Nelson-Howard screen-and-roll was at its most effective.
We know what we’re going to get from Carter and Lewis at this point, and Howard can’t get all that much better on either end. It’s Nelson who can re-raise his game — and his team’s prospects.

GREG ODEN
Oden is an obvious X-factor in some ways, but many fans would dismiss his importance by claiming the Blazers aren’t a true title contender, with or without him. But here’s the thing: Matchups matter in the playoffs, and the Blazers happen to be a team that has matched up quite well with the Lakers over the last few seasons, especially in Portland.
Plus, the Lakers showed they aren’t indestructible in the postseason. They struggled with Oklahoma City and Phoenix last season, and the Rockets took them to seven games in 2009. If Oden is healthy and playing in the spring, the Blazers will be a tough out for anyone.

LUOL DENG
You can scoff at the notion of considering any player on any Eastern team other than Boston, Orlando or Miami an X-factor, but Milwaukee or Chicago could easily scare one of those teams in the playoffs. And a scare can turn into “Holy cow, we’re playing in a decisive seventh game against the sixth seed” pretty easily. Just ask the 2008-09 Celtics.
And if Deng — still just 25, by the way — can return to the near-All-Star form he flashed in 2006-07, the Bulls have the potential to scare one of those three elite teams, either in the first or second round. Deng looked wonderful in the preseason, taking 29 threes in eight games (and hitting 15) and getting to the line a ton. We know Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah will improve. We know what Carlos Boozer is at this point, and we know Tom Thibodeau will make this a tough defensive team. Deng is the one who could transform the Bulls into something special.
Worth noting: Plus/minus stats, both raw and adjusted for quality of teammates and opponents, paint Deng as one of the league’s most productive players last season. So it’s not as if he’s far away from greatness.

A FOURTH OPTION IN SAN ANTONIO
I believe in the Spurs. I may be one of the last people outside of San Antonio to believe in the Spurs, but I still think if enough goes right for this team, it could be playing in the Finals in June. It’s not likely, but it could happen.
And for it to happen, someone outside San Antonio’s Big Three will have to step up as a legitimate offensive option. It could be George Hill. It could be DeJuan Blair. It could even be Richard Jefferson, who looked rejuvenated in the preseason. It could be Tiago Splitter, though that seems unlikely. It could even be the concept of a transition game, something Gregg Popovich is pressing for now — and something that could help Hill and Jefferson, in particular, emerge as more dangerous scoring threats.
But it has to be something, or someone. And they have to become a threat to create offense and not just stand around the perimeter waiting for open looks.

RAJON RONDO’S JUMP SHOT
Breaking news: Boston fans have found video evidence that Rondo may have improved his jump-shooting form in the offseason. Mind you, this comes a year after Rondo spent part of the summer with Mark Price in an attempt to improve his jump shot. It didn’t work, as Rondo’s shooting percentages from outside 15 feet dipped badly last season.
Rondo is probably never going to be an elite jump shooter. That’s OK. He does so many other things well, and he improved his close-range shooting last season. But if he’s not at least serviceable, teams will continue to sag off him as the Lakers did in the Finals last season, a defensive strategy for which the Celtics have never found a consistent answer.

JAMES HARDEN, SERGE IBAKA
The Thunder are receiving almost — almost – as much hype as the Heat, and many experts have OKC as the sole Western Conference team with a real chance to knock off the Lakers in a seven-gamer. To do that, the Thunder will need more interior production on both ends, and that’s where Ibaka, the team’s most athletic big man and best shot-blocker, must take a step forward. They’ll also need a shooting guard who can provide some of the defense Thabo Sefolosha brings while acting as the offensive threat Sefolosha will never be. Harden should be that guy. If he’s not playing crunch-time minutes in late April, I’ll be disappointed.

DALLAS MAVERICKS
If you’re searching for another team that might be able to rise up against the Lakers (assuming everything goes right), you could do worse than the Mavericks. But “everything goes right” encompasses many more things in Dallas than it does in most places. Outside of Dirk Nowitzki and perhaps Brendan Haywood, everyone is a question mark to some degree. Can Jason Kidd keep doing this? Can Jason Terry, at 33, make last season’s decline a temporary blip instead of the start of a downward trend? Can Tyson Chandler stay healthy? Will Caron Butler stop the ball and jack questionable 20-footers or attack and get to the line? How quickly will Roddy Beaubois recover from a broken foot, and when he does, will Rick Carlisle play him as much as he probably needs to when the games count?
That’s a ton of questions, and we haven’t even mentioned Shawn Marion. There is a load of talent here, but I have no clue how it will play out.

DENVER’S FRONTCOURTI think we all know the Carmelo Anthony issue by now, but Denver will not contend — with or without ‘Melo — if Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen aren’t ready to play big minutes in April. If they are — and if Melo is still around — this team can play with anyone, as it proved in the 2009 Western Conference finals, when Anthony Carter was getting minutes that will now go to Ty Lawson.
If the answers to these questions go the wrong way, Carmelo could be gone and the Nuggets will be in the lottery.
We could continue this last forever. We could mention the chemistry and three-point shooting issues in Miami, the need for someone — anyone — to provide consistent scoring on the wing in Utah, the health of Andrew Bogut and lots of other stuff. Uncertainty is what makes sports fun.



1. The Jerryd Bayless trade. I like the Jerryd Bayless trade. Everybody wins, including the fans. The Hornets get a combo guard who, despite endless criticism of his game, scored nearly 18 points per 36 minutes last season and reduced his turnover rate substantially. That’s the sort of help Chris Paul needs, and Bayless will provide it better than Jannero Pargo ever did.
The Blazers get a first-round pick, with limited protection, in exchange for a player they likely weren’t going to use much this season. Portland will get the pick in 2011 if it’s outside the top seven. If that doesn’t happen, they’ll get the pick in either 2012, 2013 or 2014 if it’s outside the top eight. That’s a nice asset — if an uncertain one, given the variable production level of mid-first-round picks — and one Portland gets to add to an increasingly attractive pile of picks and young players they could use to land a star. Watch out.
And for us? We get another chance to see a player fight the tired stereotype that a “combo guard” usually won’t succeed in the NBA. Bayless is a classic combo guard, and he’s a talented, hard-working one. He should be able to find a consistent role in the NBA.

2. The Magic varying their offense. I like that the Magic are varying their offense, as detailed nicely here by Ben Q. Rock at Orlando Pinstriped Post. Rock crunches the numbers and finds that, in the preseason, we saw more of Rashard Lewis at small forward, more Dwight Howard jumpers (he was 10-of-15!), more Lewis post-ups and lots of other new goodies. Will any of this stick? You would think Stan Van Gundy will keep what works, and whatever that is will make the Magic a more diverse offensive team.

3. Tyreke Evans‘ jump shot. I don’t like Tyreke Evans’ jump shot, which is bad news, because we’re going to see a ton of it this season. Evans loves to flash the mid-range jumper (and, increasingly, the three-pointer), but his form is still inconsistent and the results are iffy. There’s too much leg-kicking and shaky balance, and his shot selection can be poor. There’s enough talent on this team that Evans must be willing to spread things around.

4. Antawn Jamison‘s situation. I don’t like Antawn Jamison’s situation. Doesn’t this story in the Akron Beacon Journal make you sad? Jamison’s championship dreams fell apart in Washington last season, and he handled everything with grace as the team’s sort-of spokesman and trusted veteran. His championship dreams in Cleveland fell apart when the Cavs collapsed against Boston — a collapse, it should be said, in which Jamison played a large role.
And now he’s stuck in a sixth-man role he’s clearly not thrilled about on a team going nowhere. No player “deserves” more than the millions he gets in salary, but it’s always nice that the good guys get a chance to win late in their careers. With more than $28 million due to him over the next two seasons, Jamison may have to wait a while to get that chance.
5. Bizarre lineups in Charlotte. I like the bizarre lineups in Charlotte. I’m with Queen City Hoops: Give me a lineup that includes Tyrus Thomas, Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw and anyone else (Shaun Livingston?) and let the craziness unfold. Diaw and Jackson can both take over ball-handling duties, Wallace will grab every defensive rebound and Thomas will fly around doing Thomas things. They might go entire quarters without attempting a three-point shot.






2010-11 Power Rankings: Preseason
1 (1) Lakers 57-25 The West, even with its usual array of 50-win teams, is starting to feel kinda '80s-like. Which is to say that the Lakers are a Muresan-sized favorite to go back to the Finals no matter how slowly they start because of health issues.
2 (3) Celtics 50-32 The Celts must be feeling even cockier than normal. The East's new darlings in Miami look like the fragile ones and folks leaguewide are asking whether L.A. should copy Boston's laissez-faire approach to the regular season.
3 (4) Magic 59-23 If anything gets me back on the Magic's bandwagon, it won't be those 21 straight preseason wins or that new arena everyone is (justifiably) raving about. It's the possibility they'll make a splash with their trade assets.
4 (2) Heat 47-35 Demoted before they even play a game? A two-slot dip isn't unreasonable after a preseason in which the three SuperFriends shared the court for a whopping 197 seconds and Mike Miller was lost to a major thumb injury.
5 (6) Thunder 50-32 Can the Thunder, shouldering real expectations for the first time, stay as healthy as they did last season? Seemingly impossible. Is Durant as near-perfect as a Face of the Franchise as he seems? Quite possibly.
6 (8) Mavericks 55-27 How much urgency is already bubbling in Big D? The Rangers are just four World Series wins away from leaving the Mavs -- despite those 10 straight 50-win seasons -- as the only franchise in town without a championship.
7 (9) Jazz 53-29 You can turn over much of the roster and expect little dip in the standings with a two-man core of D-Will and Jerry Sloan. And proving it might finally land Sloan that Coach of the Year trophy he insists he can live without.
8 (7) Spurs 50-32 Father Time has wiped out their margin for error, but the Spurs might still be L.A.'s biggest worry out West if A) Parker has the sort of contract year Manu had and B) Splitter and Blair join Duncan as impact players up front.
9 (5) Bulls 41-41 Have to Deng, er, ding the Bulls to some degree after they lost Boozer so early (and so bizarrely) and then took a pounding on the boards for much of the preseason. But none of that will change my Chicago-to-win-Central pick.
10 (10) Bucks 46-36 Latest example that the Bogut-and-Jennings Bucks rank among the league's new darlings now: They've received near-unanimous praise for acquiring Maggette after he was peddled for months by Golden State without success.
11 (11) Trail Blazers 50-32 Even if I ditch the pessimism about its ability to stay healthy, Portland's preseason featured more squawking from B-Roy (who wants the ball more) than Rudy F (who wants to return to Europe). Didn't see that coming.
12 (13) Rockets 42-40 Rockets GM Daryl Morey apparently wasn't too impressed with our comment in the Training Camp Edition of the rankings. Morey via Twitter last week to Bill Simmons: "We don't need a trade, we are going to surprise NBA."
13 (14) Hawks 53-29 The committee goes way back with Larry Drew, so I hope for his sake this is a premature write-off. But I still fear Josh Smith's new commercial that's getting so much run is as good as it gets after a stagnant summer.
14 (15) Nuggets 53-29 October was calmer for the Nuggets than most of us naysayers projected, but common sense says it won't last. The Melo Speculation Machine and the distractions it generates will surely power up once the games start counting.
15 (12) Suns 54-28 Really tried hard not to overreact to the Suns' unsightly preseason ... until I looked at their early schedule. Safe to say that Small Forwards Anonymous, as Professor Hollinger has dubbed them, won't be starting 14-3 again.
16 (20) Grizzlies 40-42 The Griz are about to start their 10th season in Memphis. In other hard-to-fathom Griz news that might or might not tell us a lot: They somehow just went unbeaten in the exhibition season along with Orlando and Utah.
17 (16) Knicks 29-53 The good news: Amare's presence generates playoff hope and puts the Knicks on the radar of stars on Melo's level. The bad news: Here comes another season with as much chatter about players the Knicks don't have.
18 (21) Wizards 26-56 You can revel in the presence of John Wall and the possibility that the Wiz might revert to their Bullets identity ... or you can fret over Arenas' hard-to-trade contract and his disconcerting preseason. We prefer Option 1.
19 (19) Hornets 37-45 For all the understandable interest in CP3's future, let's put the short-term focus on his present, since he can drag the Hornets back to the playoffs almost by himself when healthy but is clearly shaking off injury-related rust.
20 (23) Clippers 29-53 Pretty much everyone has the same two questions when it comes to the Clips: Do we dare believe that the Blake Griffin monster seen in the preseason can stick around all season? And which Baron Davis will we see?
21 (18) Bobcats 44-38 Totally get that MJ's boast about a 100-point game was made in conjunction with promoting the new 2K11 video game, but we still feel compelled to ask why we don't get more proclamations about his Bobcats plans.
22 (17) 76ers 27-55 When Evan Turner followed up a lackluster showing in his first NBA summer league with an equally shaky preseason, Philly said goodbye to the previously popular suggestion that this team is a playoff sleeper in the East.
23 (22) Pacers 32-50 Granger, not surprisingly, insists that the days of playing for ninth in the East are over and that Indy is playoff-bound now that Darren Collison has arrived and Roy Hibbert is blossoming. Our take: Possible but not probable.
24 (27) Cavaliers 61-21 Once more we ask: Does anyone out there dare believe what psychologists would say about Cavs fans needing only 3.5 years -- half as long as their marriage to LeBron James -- to get over LeBron's departure? Us, neither.
25 (24) Warriors 26-56 New coach. New logo. And new owners ... as you might have heard. Questions about rebounding, D and Monta Ellis' long-term future in the Bay Area persist, but I'm irrationally intrigued by the Curry/Lee combo.
26 (30) Timberwolves 15-67 Our snarky side must be kicking in again, because the fear here is that Sota's season might have peaked with that ESPN-televised exhibition victory over the Lakers in London. Hope we're wrong again.
27 (25) Nets 12-70 Coming up near-empty in Mikhail Prokhorov's first free-agent summer is one thing. It's going to be way harder to get over their near-trade for Melo unraveling just as camps were starting. (And what if they never get him?)
28 (29) Kings 25-57 My new non-Casspi-related obsession: If Cousins' big preseason launches him to the ROY trophy, this'll be the first team to field back-to-back ROYs since my Buffalo Braves did it in 1973 (Bob McAdoo) and 1974 (Ernie D).
29 (28) Raptors 40-42 Brace yourself, Canada, for a season's worth of cracks about how the Raps belong more in the Euroleague with a core headlined by Bargnani, Kleiza, Calderon and Barbosa. And many commiserations from this Canada lover.
30 (26) Pistons 27-55 Jonas Jerebko went down early. T-Mac's comeback hasn't even started yet. And the sale of the team is still pending. Add it all up and October ranks as another month that was far too Lions-like for the formerly mighty Pistons.

Heisman Watch - Cavs Update - OSU Football

Good Luck Reds!!! Moss to Vikings, Heck Yes!





Heisman Watch
Tracking the CandidatesOct. 5, 2010
1 Denard RobinsonQB | MichiganNext Game: 10/9 vs. MSU
He's writing his name into the Michigan record books with alarming speed. Robinson recorded his second game with 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing in the Wolverines' win over Indiana, joining exclusive company shared only by Texas' Vince Young. The road only gets tougher for Michigan, with a visit from in-state rival and fellow Big Ten unbeaten Michigan State on Saturday.
WEEK 5 AT INDIANA
PASSING
RAT YDS TD INT CMP%
269.8 277 3 0 62.5
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
217 2 11.4
2010 SEASON
PASSING
RAT YDS TD INT CMP%
180.0 1008 7 1 69.8
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
905 8 9.2


2 Kellen MooreQB | Boise StateNext Game: 10/9 vs. TOL
You'd be forgiven for thinking Moore wasn't playing this weekend, but the Broncos were indeed in action; it was just on the road at New Mexico State. Moore tossed three touchdown passes in limited action as the Broncos steamrolled to a 59-0 win.
WEEK 5 AT NEW MEXICO STATE
PASSING
RAT YDS TD INT CMP%
218.7 196 3 0 72.2
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
0 0 0.0
2010 SEASON
PASSING
RAT YDS TD INT CMP%
176.2 1069 11 1 66.4
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
-21 0 -3.5


3 LaMichael JamesRB | OregonNext Game: 10/9 at WSU
Stanford tried, without much luck, to capture lightning in a bottle in the form of Oregon's diminutive playmaker. James was never tackled behind the line of scrimmage and rushed for a career-high 257 yards and three TDs in the Ducks' 52-31 win over the Cardinal. The win established the Ducks as the Pac-10's decisive favorites and saw them leapfrog Boise State in the AP Top 25 poll.
WEEK 5 VS. STANFORD
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
257 3 8.3
RECEIVING
REC YDS YPR TD
0 0 0.0 0
2010 SEASON
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
712 7 8.0
RECEIVING
REC YDS YPR TD
1 9 9.0 0


4 Terrelle PryorQB | Ohio StateNext Game: 10/9 vs. IND
It was a scary -- if brief -- moment for Ohio State fans when Pryor momentarily left the game in a 24-13 win over Illinois. But he returned to complete the Buckeyes' Big Ten-opening win, tossing two touchdown passes and turning in his third 100-yard rushing performance of the season.
WEEK 5 AT ILLINOIS
PASSING
RAT YDS TD INT CMP%
124.9 76 2 1 56.3
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
104 0 9.5
2010 SEASON
PASSING
RAT YDS TD INT CMP%
161.7 1015 12 3 65.0
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
373 3 6.9


5 Mark IngramRB | AlabamaNext Game: 10/9 at SCAR
Judging Ingram's individual performance in the context of the Heisman race is tricky. He only rushed for 47 yards on 12 carries but scored Alabama's first two TDs. Less difficult, however, is judging the comprehensive nature of the Crimson Tide's dominant win over Florida. It was an impressive team performance for the nation's top-ranked team, and the road doesn't get much easier with a visit to South Carolina pending.
WEEK 5 VS. FLORIDA
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
47 2 3.9
RECEIVING
REC YDS YPR TD
3 19 6.3 0
2010 SEASON
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
355 6 7.9
RECEIVING
REC YDS YPR TD
5 46 9.2 0


6 Cameron NewtonQB | AuburnNext Game: 10/9 at UK
He's second in the nation in passing efficiency and was leading the SEC in rushing until this week, when he played sparingly and had only one rushing attempt in Auburn's rout of Louisiana-Monroe. Newton has been a revelation on the Plains, and opportunities abound to strengthen his candidacy. Most important will be keeping the Tigers from falling victim to a late-season swoon similar to last year's.
WEEK 5 VS. LOUISIANA-MONROE
PASSING
RAT YDS TD INT CMP%
223.6 245 3 1 73.7
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
-11 0 -11.0
2010 SEASON
PASSING
RAT YDS TD INT CMP%
191.4 928 12 4 65.5
RUSHING
YDS TD YPC
474 5 6.2




Larry Bird rebuffed Cavaliers' interest
Byron Scott will coach the Cleveland Cavaliers formally for the first time Tuesday night when the Cavs launch the post-LeBron era with an exhibition game at home against Charlotte.
Scott, however, was not the only prominent alumnus of the storied Lakers-Celtics rivalry of the 1980s whom the Cavaliers approached. They also reached out to Larry Bird, ESPN.com has learned.
The Cavs' unsuccessful run at Michigan State's Tom Izzo -- at the behest of Cavs owner and Michigan State alumnus Dan Gilbert -- has been well-chronicled. At the same time, though, they also scoured the coaching map in search of players-turned-coaches of the highest stature to impress LeBron James, hoping that kind of hire could boost their chances of keeping him in free agency.
Sources close to the situation have confirmed that, before naming Scott as their new coach July 2, Cleveland officials thus contacted Bird to see if they could convince the Indiana Pacers' team president to consider returning to coaching.
Bird did take the call, sources said, but quickly informed the Cavs that he had no interest in coaching again. Sources said Bird, 53, let Cleveland know that he wants to continue in his front-office work with the Pacers and that he has all but ruled out coaching again because of health and family reasons.
The Cavaliers are known to have drawn up a long list of candidates when they brainstormed for possible replacements for Mike Brown. In an offseason interview with the News-Herald newspaper in northern Ohio, Cavs general manager Chris Grant declined to offer specifics beyond saying that he spoke to "less than 10" prospective coaches.
Bird has earned lukewarm reviews as the Pacers' top decision-maker since the departure of Donnie Walsh to the New York Knicks in April 2008. But he was wildly successful as Indiana's coach from 1997-98 to 1999-2000, posting a record of 147-67 and achieving a level of respect among players that explains Cleveland's interest, given that James had made it known in the wake of Brown's departure that having a successful ex-player in charge was important to him.
Flanked by two well-regarded assistants to offset his lack of experience -- current Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and defensive guru Dick Harter -- Bird was in charge for Indiana's run to the NBA Finals in 2000. Then he abruptly left the bench, living up to his vow to coach for only three seasons.
Bird remains the only figure in league history to win the league's MVP and coach of the year awards and was routinely lauded by key players such as Reggie Miller and Mark Jackson for his sideline demeanor and influence.
It appears, however, that the Cavs' conversations with Bird never got far enough to describe him as a full-fledged candidate to replace Brown. Scott, by contrast, was one of the first candidates Cleveland targeted and interviewed and commanded support within the Cavaliers' organization throughout the search process and the drawn-out pursuit of Izzo.
Strong recommendations from New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul (arguably James' closest friend in the league) and Mavericks guard Jason Kidd (after some friction between Scott and Kidd in New Jersey) all but sealed Scott's selection over Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw.
Scott won three rings as a player, took New Jersey to the NBA Finals as a coach in 2002 and 2003 and won coach of the year honors in New Orleans in 2008. He's already won admirers in Cleveland for his persistent optimism and confidence in the face of James' devastating departure.
"I think I'm the perfect guy for the job," Scott said shortly after his appointment, seemingly unruffled by the knowledge that the Cavs got deep into negotiations with Izzo and clearly spoke to others.


Gene Smith could earn $1.2M annually
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith could earn as much as $1.2 million annually -- making him one of the highest-paid ADs in the country -- after signing a contract addendum this summer.
Now in his 27th year in athletic administration, and after five years at Ohio State, he said he never could have foreseen the day when an AD made a seven-figure paycheck.
"Yeah, if I came back to my time when I started in this profession, I'm shocked at how fast it's grown," he said Thursday. "But at the same time, we have a lot of risk and responsibility. So I understand how it's gotten to be where it is today."
The 54-year-old Smith had his base salary boosted to $800,000 and also will receive $200,000 for media and public relations duties. The changes approved by the university in June also include bonus performance incentives that could bring his annual pay to $1.2 million.
The pay raise was not voted on by the school's board of trustees because it was an addendum and not a contract. It was first reported by The Columbus Dispatch.
The base salary is the same as that of Ohio State President Gordon Gee. Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressel makes around $3.5 million a year.
The $1.2 million would put Smith in the same pay bracket as Florida AD Jeremy Foley.
A meeting between Smith and Gee set the wheels in motion on Smith's salary bump.
"Gordon and I had a great conversation this summer and he values what I'm able to provide to the team," said Smith, a Notre Dame grad who played defensive end on the Fighting Irish's national championship team in 1973. He also has had stints at Eastern Michigan, Iowa State and Arizona State.
He said that his salary seems to be commensurate with any CEO in charge of a corporation with a $120-million budget. Ohio State has 36 intercollegiate sports, the most of any athletic department in the nation.
"You look at the national market," he said. "And you look at the fact that we have the most comprehensive, the largest [athletic department] in the country."
In his tenure at Ohio State, Smith has not had to hire any head coaches in the only money-making sports at the school, football and men's basketball. He inherited new or reconstructed facilities in almost every sport. The university has upped ticket prices in football and basketball in recent years because of shortfalls due to the economy and because of debt service created by the building boom under Smith's predecessor, Andy Geiger.
The length of Smith's contract was not extended. It expires on June 30, 2016.
Smith said he was unsure of whether this would be his final contract with Ohio State.
"The years were a part of my last contract, so I really wasn't interested in adding more years," he said. "I don't know what I'm going to do next. I'm only 54 and I've got a lot in me."




Official Indiana Game Depth Chart
Changes from last week are in Bold
Imagine that, the same RB depth chart! Changes in the DB's and Saine sucks!!!!!
Offense Defense
Pos. Num. Name Ht., Wt., Cl. Pos. Num. Name Ht., Wt., Cl.

QB 2 Terrelle Pryor (6-6, 233, Jr.) DE 43 Nathan Williams (6-3, 260, Jr.)
14 Joe Bauserman (6-1, 233, Jr.) 98 Solomon Thomas (6-5, 255, Jr.)

FB 44 Zach Boren (6-0, 252, So.) DT 72 Dexter Larimore (6-2, 310, Sr.)
49 Adam Homan (6-2, 238, So.) 52 Johnathan Hankins (6-3, 335, Fr.)

TB 3 Brandon Saine OR (6-1, 219, Sr.)
DT 54 John Simon (6-2, 270, So.)
1 Dan Herron (5-10, 202, Jr.) 93 Adam Bellamy (6-4, 295, RFr.)

TE 11 Jake Stoneburner (6-5, 245, So.)
DE 97 Cameron Heyward (6-5, 288, Sr.)
88 Reid Fragel (6-8, 260, So.) 53 Garrett Goebel (6-3, 281, So.)

WR 12 Dane Sanzenbacher (5-11, 180, Sr.) WLB 51 Ross Homan (6-0, 227, Sr.)
80 Chris Fields OR (6-0, 185, RFr.) 11 Dorian Bell (6-1, 225, RFr.)
10 Corey Brown (5-11, 170, Fr.)

MLB 36 Brian Rolle (5-11, 218, Sr.)
WR 8 DeVier Posey (6-2, 213, Jr.) 32 Storm Klein (6-2, 230, So.)
5 Taurian Washington OR (6-1, 181, Sr.)
17 Grant Schwartz (6-0, 210, Sr.) SLB 42 Andrew Sweat (6-2, 238, Jr.)
55 Jon Newsome (6-3, 219, So.)
LT 75 Mike Adams (6-8, 300, Jr.)
55 Andrew Miller (6-6, 288, Sr.) CB 5 Chimdi Chekwa (6-0, 190, Sr.)
3 Corey Brown (6-0, 189, RFr.)
LG 65 Justin Boren (6-3, 320, Sr.)
77 Connor Smith (6-4, 313, Sr.) FS 7 Jermale Hines (6-1, 216, Sr.)
21 Jamie Wood (6-1, 198, RFr.)
C 50 Mike Brewster (6-5, 293, Jr.) Jamie Wood now backing up Jermale Hines.
71 Corey Linsley (6-2, 298, RFr.) SS 19 Orhian Johnson (6-2, 203, So.)
8 Aaron Gant (6-0, 206, Sr.)
RG 70 Bryant Browning (6-4, 313, Sr.)
74 Jack Mewhort (6-6, 288, RFr.) CB 10 Devon Torrence (6-1, 200, Sr.)
18 Travis Howard (6-0, 190, So.)
RT 76 J.B. Shugarts (6-7, 297, Jr.)
78 Andrew Norwell (6-5, 308, Fr.) Star 2 Christian Bryant (5-9, 178, Fr.)

20 Nate Oliver (6-0, 215, Jr.)
Christian Bryan replaces the injured Tyler
Moeller at Star. Oliver moves to #2 Star.


Specialists
Pos. Num. Name Ht., Wt., Cl.

K 23 Devin Barclay (5-10, 204, Sr.)
24 Drew Basil (6-1, 200, Fr.)

KO 24 Drew Basil (6-1, 200, Fr.)
23 Devin Barclay (5-10, 204, Sr.)

P 17 Ben Buchanan (6-0, 195, So.)
39 Derek Erwin (5-10, 203, So.)

LS 96 Jake McQuaide (6-3, 234, Sr.)
56 George Makridis (5-11, 236, RFr.)

H 14 Joe Bauserman (6-1, 233, Jr.)
39 Derek Erwin (5-10, 203, So.)

PR 7 Jordan Hall (5-9, 195, So.)
10 Corey Brown (5-11, 170, Fr.)
8 DeVier Posey (6-2, 213, Jr.)

KR 7 Jordan Hall (5-9, 195, So.)
4 Jaamal Berry (5-10, 200, RFr.)
3 Brandon Saine (6-1, 219, Sr.)
1 Dan Herron (5-10, 202, Jr.)

Cavs Moving On - Buckeye Football EMU Recap

10 Things We Learned From Tressel’s Highest-Scoring Game
By Brandon Castel
Brandon's always right on with his articles. If you get a chance head over to theozone.net and read all of his work. Simply fantastic!
1.73 is a lot of points. Rarely has Tressel been accused of running up the score. In fact, his Ohio State teams had only topped the 50-point mark four times in over nine seasons before their 73-point outburst Saturday. They scored 15 more points than any other Tressel-coached OSU team, and became just the third OSU team in the last 60 years to score more than 70 points. The last time it was done was 1996 when the Buckeyes had David Boston, Orlando Pace, Pepe Pearson and a defense that allowed 131 points all season. It takes a lot of scoring to get to 70 points, and the Buckeyes only got three the cheap way. They had one Devin Barclay field goal and 10 offensive touchdowns, including six by Pryor.

2. Tressel wants this team to feel good. There are some years when it seems like Tressel is intentionally trying to hold his team back from busting the flood gates. He doesn’t seem to go for the jugular against lesser opponents because he seemingly doesn’t want his team to think too highly of itself. This is not one of those seasons. This team is good. Very good. Tressel knows it and he wants his players to know it. It reminds me of the 2006 season the way they are rolling over teams with no regard. That ’06 was a confident bunch, and they needed the confidence to beat Michigan 42-39 in the “Game of the Century,” but by the bowl game they were too confident.



3. Terrelle Pryor is going to re-write the record books. Don’t look now, but Pryor is shooting up the record books in just about every conceivable category. With his four touchdown passes Saturday, he moved past Greg Frey (37) for fifth place on the all-time list with 40. He needs 18 more to break Bobby Hoying’s all-time school record. He could break that this season, and by next year he could set the mark so high that no one will touch it for another 50-100 years.
More impressively, he passed Joe Germaine and Pete Johnson (56) for fourth on the all-time touchdowns list with 58. Assuming he stays for his senior season, which he has said he plans to do, Pryor would have 22 more games in a Buckeye uniform, including two assumed bowl games. By the time it’s all said and done, he might be at the top of the list in just about everything. He will likely pass Craig Krenzel for 9th on the all-time passing yards list next week. It won’t be long before he cruises past Troy Smith and he could be as high as fifth on the all-time list by season’s end. It might be a long-shot for him to catch Art Schlichter for the all-time record, but second place is within reach.
But that’s not all. His 3,089 career rushing yards rank seventh in school history, ahead of guys like Carlos Snow, Michael Wiley and Raymont Harris. By the end of the 2010 season, it’s possible that only Archie Griffin and Eddie George will have more career rushing yards than Pryor. If he somehow manages to rush for 1,000 yards this season, Pryor would pass Eddie for second-place on the all time list.


4. The OSU defense is not invincible. Despite the fact they allowed a late touchdown against the Hurricanes, Ohio State’s defense had been nearly perfect in the first three weeks. When they weren’t turning teams over, they were forcing three-and-outs or even scoring points of their own. It looked like this OSU defense might go down as one of the best in school history, but Saturday definitely poked holes in the armor.
Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said after the game that it was good to have some teaching points because they haven’t had many as of late, but there’s no way anyone on the team can be happy allowing three long touchdown drives to a team that has lost 16 games in a row. Someone close to the team said before the game that the coaching staff felt EMU had a better offense than Ohio, and they proved it. Quarterback Alex Gillett did a great job selling the play-fake and OSU couldn’t rotate their defense fast enough to make him pay for throwing the ball down field.
The Buckeyes still won the game by 53 points, but they had to score 10 touchdowns to get there.


5. Secondary is a major concern. If there’s one area of the defense that draws special attention after this game it has to be the secondary. Starting corner Devon Torrence suffered a hip pointer against Ohio and barely practiced this week. Then Chimdi Chekwa left the game with back spasms and the Buckeyes almost gave up a long touchdown on the very next series. The No. 3 corner, Travis Howard is out with a shoulder injury and Donnie Evege could miss the rest of the season with a dislocate elbow.
Redshirt freshman Corey Brown looks like he has a bright future, but he and Dominic Clarke got picked on a little bit today while Chekwa was out; enough so that they put Chekwa back in the game in the fourth quarter. Making matters worse, Orhian Johnson seemed lost on a few plays and didn’t rotate to help over the top the way C.J. Barnett had been doing before he went down with a knee injury.
Chekwa’s health has to be a major concern right now. He has had issues with his hips, his hamstrings and now his back. If he can’t stay healthy, the Buckeyes could have major issues in the secondary.


6. Dane Sanzenbacher is underappreciated. There will be some surprised people around the country tonight when they watch highlights of the Ohio State game and hear that a guy named Dane Sanzenbacher caught four touchdown passes. He wasn’t highly thought of coming out of high school, but you can bet he is highly thought of around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
“I think that guy might be the most impressive guy on the team, in my mind,” center Michael Brewster said.
All of about 5-foot-10 and 185 pounds, Sanzenbacher always seems to be where he is supposed to be, and more importantly, where Pryor needs him to be.



7. The word is out on Berry and Hall. There is no way anyone can deny what Jordan Hall and Jaamal Berry can bring to this football team. What used to be rumor and speculation has now been seen with our own two eyes and the product is good. If the Buckeyes want to stick with the horses they rode in on (Saine and Herron), that’s fine because both of them bring something to the table, but they better find a way to get Hall and Berry some action as well. They are both big plays waiting to happen, and they don’t need perfect blocking to get it done. Ultimately the grind of the Big Ten season will probably thrust one of them into the rotation, but these guys are too good to wait on an injury.

8. Stoneburner or no Stoneburner, tight end is part of the offense. Would you believe that three tight ends caught passes Saturday and not one of them was named Jake Stoneburner? Ohio State’s starting tight end left the game in the first half after rolling his ankle, but his backups caught four passes for 36 yards. Although he is 6-foot-8, Red Fragel is not nearly the same kind of weapon that Stoneburner is, but it’s clear that Pryor feels comfortable throwing the ball to the tight ends, something he did very little of before the Rose Bowl.

9. Special teams not fixed. Anyone who thought what they saw out there Saturday meant the special teams worries were a thing of the past should re-watch the game as soon as they finish reading this column. Just because the Buckeyes did not have a kick blocked or allow a big return touchdown doesn’t mean they have things under control. They might be headed in the right direction, but there were a few times where Eastern Michigan had a lane. Corey Welch averaged over 20 yards on seven kick returns and Ryan Downard took his punt back 27 yards. If that’s not enough, Drew Basil had to make two tackles on kick coverage and Ben Buchanan had to make one on his only punt of the game.


10. Basil does have the leg. Yes, Brian Rolle blocked an extra point, but the best thing to happen for OSU on special teams this week was kick offs. Basil still had a few ducks that were caught around the 10 yard line, but he also had three touchbacks. Right now, the freshman is inconsistent, and that is probably how it’s going to be for a bulk of the season. The good news, however, is that we know now that Basil has the leg to boot the ball to the back of the end zone. Once he learns how to do it consistently, it’s going to be a tremendous weapon for the Buckeyes.




Mo Williams puts LeBron James in Past

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Surrounded by cameras and familiar faces Mo Williams hadn't seen in months, Cleveland's guard looked up, stretched his arms out to both sides and announced what the world has known about the Cavaliers since a fateful decision this summer.
"There is no LeBron in this building," Williams said Monday, his voice carrying across the practice floor of Cleveland Clinic Courts. "Whether we believe it or not, he's not coming back. This is who we've got. I don't see the big TNT trailers, the ESPN trailers.
"This is what we've got. This is the hand we're dealt, and we have to play the best we can."
Like it or not, the Cavaliers are moving on without LeBron James.
For the first time in eight seasons, James, who revived the Cavs and carried them closer than they've ever been to an NBA title, was not at media day Monday as the Cavaliers embarked on a new -- and daunting -- era minus their homegrown superstar.
James was in Miami, where the two-time MVP's talents will be on display this season with Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
His departure rocked Cleveland, the Cavaliers' franchise and their fans, who are still struggling with the separation.
Williams was particularly troubled by James' decision to leave. Teammates for two seasons, Williams was so hurt that he reportedly considered retirement.
In an interview with Yahoo! Williams said he lost some of his love for the game and thought about walking away from it.
"That's how bad it got," Williams said in the story. "I contemplated it. I really sat down and envisioned life after basketball. I really saw myself not playing."
In his first comments since the article was published, the 27-year-old Williams, who has three years and $26 million left on his contract, backtracked on talk of quitting anytime soon.
"At some point, you have to think about what you're going to do after you play," he said. "It makes no sense for me with three years left on my deal to give money I've felt I've earned back. It don't make sense, and the article wasn't even about me retiring. It kind of got blown out of proportion."
Williams explained that he had posted a comment on his Twitter account that may have been taken out of context, complicating matters. What is perfectly clear is that Williams was deeply affected by James' decision and experienced the same sense of loss and betrayal as any fan.
"I felt the same exact pain," said Williams, who will be limited in training camp by a groin injury. "I feel the same love for this organization and this team as they do. So yes, it was a time where I felt their same pain. But at the same time, when you get here and get around this organization and the new team and the new coaches, you feel excited. You get to turn things around and start something new."
New was in abundance as the Cavaliers convened for the first time since losing to Boston in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Summer of LeBron changed everything.
Coach Mike Brown was fired and replaced by Byron Scott, who has turned teams far less talented than the one he inherited in Cleveland into winners and is excited about the Cavs' upside. General manager Danny Ferry decided not to renew his contract, and assistant GM Lance Blanks left for Phoenix's front office.
Center Shaquille O'Neal left after one season for Boston and guard Delonte West, whose off-the-court problems hindered the Cavaliers more than they will acknowledge publicly, is also wearing Celtics green.
These Cavs are not the same Cavs, and GM Chris Grant said any perceived post-LeBron hangover is unfounded.
"We're looking forward to moving forward," he said.
Maybe, but there's no escaping a look back in the rearview mirror.
Shortly after James announced his decision during a now infamous hourlong TV special, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert accused the 25-year-old of quitting on his teammates.
Williams was asked if James quit.
"No," he said. "This game is too competitive to quit. We ain't playing checkers. This is basketball. You play this game long enough and anybody who's competitive understands no matter what's going on with you, people don't just quit. I don't care who you are."
Although their national profile has lessened in the aftermath of James's exit, the Cavs believe they still can compete at a playoff level. For months, they've read the unflattering predictions they're about to slide back among the league's also-rans.
Scott finds the negative talk inspiring.
"I kind of love that," he said. "I've been an underdog my whole life. In my conversations with guys this summer, they felt the same way and that's a good thing. So hopefully we can bring that into training camp and it's going to carry over into the season.
"We're going forward. We're moving on. It's a new era."



OSU's Terrelle Pryor Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week
From Big Ten Press Release

Pryor accounted for six touchdowns to help lead Ohio State to 73 points against Eastern Michigan, the most points for the Buckeyes since 1950.
The junior quarterback completed 20 of 26 passes (76.9 percent) for 224 yards and four touchdowns, rushed seven times for 104 yards (14.9 yards per carry) and another touchdown and also hauled in a 20-yard scoring toss. He matched a career high with four scoring strikes and all four went to wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, just the second time in school history two Buckeyes have hooked up on four scoring tosses in a single game.
Ohio State’s 73 points rank ninth in school annals and are the most for the Buckeyes since tallying 83 points against Iowa in 1950. Pryor earns his first weekly offensive accolade.

LAST OSU OFFENSIVE POW: RB Chris “Beanie” Wells on Nov. 10, 2008.

Prince Lebron James Disses Cleveland in GQ Article

Lebron you just need to shut up. You are the only one talking besides all of the other true nba greats that think you are an idiot. You are making Cleveland look better and better each time you open your mouth, so SHUT UP!

LeBron Prince James Runs his Mouth Again About Cleveland

Since "The Decision" really all we've heard or seen from LeBron is him being heckled or booed at an appearance. He didn't speak during the Nike World Basketball Festival and for the most part, has just kept a low profile.

Finally, we have some fodder. J.R. Moehringer of GQ had the opportunity to spend three weeks with LeBron in the lead-up to the decision and also spoke to James about a number of different things.

In the interview that drops in full Aug. 24, LeBron actually says he could see himself returning to Cleveland one day as well. "If there was an opportunity for me to return," he says, "and those fans welcome me back, that'd be a great story." But then again, he also talks about how as a kid, he hated Cleveland, italics used for added emphasis on hated.

A few of the other highlights:

LeBron on how those close to him view his decision: “They’re happy to see me happy. That’s what they can see in my face. They say: ‘It’s been a while since we’ve seen you look like that.’”

On Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert: “I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron. My mother always told me: ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character.’ Me and my family have seen the character of that man.”
 
On how a kid could from Akron, located only thirty minutes from Cleveland, could grow up rooting for Chicago and Jordan: "It's not far, but it is far. And Clevelanders, because they were the bigger-city kids when we were growing up, looked down on us.… So we didn't actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There's a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day."

On how growing up helped him learn about facing adversity and staying humble: “That’s what keeps me humble, because I know my background, know what my mother went through. I never get too high on my stardom or what I can do. My mom always says, and my friends say, ‘You’re just a very low-maintenance guy.’"

Moehringer also describes in detail what it was like hanging with LeBron's crew. One of the more interesting points is how LeBron is surrounded at all times. Whether it be with friends, managers, agents or family, LeBron doesn't spend a lot of time by himself. Moehringer writes: "But as with anything, all that comfort comes at a cost, and I think that his fear of being alone keeps him at times from walking through the fire that we all have to walk through. Maybe sitting alone in a room and thinking might have helped him realize that an hour-long special devoted to his decision was ill advised. My suspicion from watching him surrounded by people wherever he goes is that he's not spending a lot of time alone in a room thinking through things."

There's also something in the article talking about how James is potentially trying to re-create his high school experience, something he calls his favorite time of his life, by going and playing with friends in Miami. It's interesting because James spurned his local predominantly African-American high school but instead enrolled at predominantly white St. Vincent-St. Mary to play with friends and build a superteam. He was called a traitor, a cop-out and pretty much all the things he's being called now. And as Moehringer points out, in LeBron's memoir, the chapter talking about his choice to play at the catholic prep school is entitled "The Decision."

I remember Brian Windhorst, who covered LeBron even in high school, tweeting in the build-up to the one-hour announcement special that this new media savvy, image conscious LeBron was not someone he knew. LeBron refers to himself in the third-person constantly, talks about hating Cleveland his entire life and is so enveloped in his own happiness that he surrounds himself with people that only tell him how happy he is. That doesn't sound a whole lot like the guy that was all about winning and teammates a few years ago with the Cavs.

But honestly, after this inside look, maybe LeBron never changed. Maybe he's the exact same guy he's always been.

Cavs to Change Uniforms

-- Austin Carr fondly remembers his glory days playing guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1970s.

Under coach Bill Fitch, they didn't have as much talent as many other teams, but those wine-and-gold expansion Cavs had something special.

 
The Cavs present their new look, which is actually a throwback to their early years in the NBA. (AP)   "We were 12 men deep," Carr said as he helped the Cavs unveil new uniforms for 2010-11. "You knew every night we were going to play 100 percent. Nobody was going to quit."
Realizing he had taken a shot at former Cavaliers' star LeBron James, Carr raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

At this point, what else can be said?

Long before James announced he was leaving as a free agent for Miami, the Cavs planned to wear new uniforms next season and Tuesday they presented their "updated" look, a throwback to their early years in the NBA.

The uniforms include a "deeper" wine and "brighter" gold hue than the team's previous uniforms. They also include the word "Cleveland" written in a block-style lettering as opposed to the script of the past.

On Monday, owner Dan Gilbert said jokingly that the new uniforms would include the Comic Sans font. It's the style he used in his infamous letter to Cleveland fans on July 8 after James announced he was leaving Cleveland.

The Cavs insist they are trying to move on, but James was again in the news being quoted in an upcoming GQ interview that he feels Gilbert never cared about him and his hatred for Cleveland dates back to his days as a kid growing up in Akron.

Carr, who was the league's No. 1 overall draft pick in 1971 and Cleveland's first bona fide hoops star, remains disappointed in James' departure. The two-time MVP announced his decision in a prime-time TV special, breaking the hearts of his biggest fans.

"As an ex-player, I might have left myself," said Carr, a color analyst for the team. "So I don't begrudge him for that. But the way he did it was unprofessional and uncalled for."

After James announced his decision, Gilbert fired off his impassioned letter ripping James for being "narcissistic" and predicting the Cavs would win a championship before "the self-titled former king." Later, he told the Associated Press that he felt the superstar quit in this year's playoffs.

Although it seems the Cavs are trying to move on, James' magazine interview has reopened the issue. He's the one who can't seem to let things go.

"That's his problem," said Carr, who cried unashamedly the night the Cavs won the NBA draft lottery and the rights to draft James. "Not ours."

Carr was joined by former teammate Campy Russell at a launch party for the new uniforms. Both players laughed at the length of the shorts compared to the tight-fitting ones they wore.

"We wore Daisy Dukes," Carr said.

Lebron James Latest News and Cavs Updates

Top 20 NBA Free Agents
si.com
Before the 2009-10 season even began, teams were salivating over the thought of acquiring LeBron James, the 25-year-old with unearthly athleticism and skill who managed to turn the ever-struggling Cavaliers into contenders.
His impending free agency was the story of the year, and now, his future could reside with any team with an open wallet.
But James isn't the only star who could find a new home this summer. This year holds one of deepest free-agent classes in history, with the likes of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire all eligible to test the market. Here's a look at the top 40 prospective free agents, some of whom could ultimately decline free agency and remain with their current teams by exercising player options or rejecting early termination options.

Note: Free-agent negotiations begin July 1 and players can begin signing contracts July 8. Check back for updates to this best available list throughout free agency.

1 LeBron James
Age: 25 | 2009-10 Team: Cavaliers | Position: SF
'09-10 Stats: 29.7 ppg, 50.3% FG, 7.3 rpg, 8.6 apg, 1.6 spg
Status: Unrestricted -- player option for $17.1 million
The two-time MVP is at the top of every team's wish list, with the unique ability to turn middling franchises (such as the Knicks and Clippers) into instant contenders. Few players have ever possessed the blend of size, skill and speed of James, who still could be a few years away from reaching his prime. Wooing James will be complicated -- a hefty contract and perhaps signing some of his free-agent buddies to fill out the roster are among the requisites -- but if a team has the money, it will make the sacrifices.

2 Dwyane Wade
Age: 28 | 2009-10 Team: Heat | Position: SG
'09-10 Stats: 26.6 ppg, 47.6% FG, 4.8 rpg, 6.5 apg, 1.8 spg
Status: Unrestricted -- player option for $17.1 million
Wade's place on this list may be only nominal, with few GMs believing he's eager to leave Miami. Indeed, Wade has said he prefers to remain on South Beach -- so long as the Heat use their near-$24 million in estimated cap space to sign or deal for another high-level star. Signing Wade does come with risks: Wade's injury history and relentless attacking style make it likely he will miss significant time at some point while under his next contract. Still, Wade is a legitimate franchise player and the top shooting guard on the market.

3 Chris Bosh
Age: 26 | 2009-10 Team: Raptors | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 24.0 ppg, 51.8% FG, 10.8 rpg
Status: Unrestricted -- player option for $17.1 million
There are some questions as to whether Bosh is capable of carrying a team. Fortunately, only one team that's after the five-time All-Star wants him to do so. Houston would love to pair Bosh next to Yao Ming, Chicago envisions a Bosh/Joakim Noah frontcourt (with Derrick Rose running the show) and Miami will recruit Bosh to be Wade's sidekick. Only the Raptors want Bosh to be the face of the franchise. But in a secondary role, Bosh, who averaged career highs in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage last season, should thrive.

4 Amar'e Stoudemire
Age: 27 | 2009-10 Team: Suns | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 23.1 ppg, 55.7% FG, 8.9 rpg
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $17.7 million)
Stoudemire's stock went up after a superb postseason stretch in which he keyed Phoenix's surprising run to the conference finals. Questions about Stoudemire's surgically repaired knees and eye injury have been answered; he is poised to command a max-level, five- or six-year contract. His ability to play two positions will also increase his value with teams with a hole at either power forward or center.

5 Dirk Nowitzki
Age: 32 | 2009-10 Team: Mavericks | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 25.0 ppg, 48.1% FG, 42.1% 3PT, 7.7 rpg
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $21.5 million)
Don't blame Dirk for the Mavs' first-round flameout: He averaged 26.7 points on 54.7 percent shooting against San Antonio. Nowitzki is the Mavericks, and if he looks elsewhere, he will likely take a pay cut. Dallas can offer Nowitzki a four-year maximum contract worth $96.2 million and a no-trade clause. Like Wade with Miami, Nowitzki may want to see what moves the Mavericks make (particularly with Erick Dampier's non-guaranteed $13 million contract) before re-signing.

6 Joe Johnson
Age: 29 | 2009-10 Team: Hawks | Position: SG
'09-10 Stats: 21.3 ppg, 45.8% FG, 36.9% 3PT, 4.6 rpg, 4.9 apg
Status: Unrestricted
Johnson and Bosh are co-leaders in the most-likely-to-move category. Johnson blossomed into a bona fide superstar in Atlanta, but the Hawks' uncertain future -- can Larry Drew coach? Will ownership open its wallet for free-agent help? -- will have the four-time All-Star's eye wandering. Wade is the marquee shooting guard on the market, but Johnson's exceptional inside-out game and durability -- he played 82 games for five of his nine seasons in the league and appeared in no fewer than 76 games in each of his last three seasons -- make him a solid second choice.

7 Yao Ming
Age: 29 | 2009-10 Team: Rockets | Position: C
'09-10 Stats: Did not play because of injury
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $17.7 million)
Yao is unlikely to opt out after missing the season while recovering from foot surgery, but he will at least consider it to try to take advantage of the salary guidelines of the current collective bargaining agreement. (The CBA expires after next season and owners are expected to attempt to reduce player salaries in the new agreement.) A healthy Yao would be a sought-after commodity in a league devoid of many true pivots. An unhealthy Yao? Not so much.

8 Carlos Boozer
Age: 28 | 2009-10 Team: Jazz | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 19.5 ppg, 56.2% FG, 11.2 rpg, 3.2 apg
Status: Unrestricted
A year ago, Boozer was coming off an injury-plagued and inconsistent season and staring at an uncertain future. But after proving himself to be both durable (78 games last season) and productive, Boozer is suddenly a hot name again. Utah's big financial commitment to fellow power forward Paul Millsap (three years left on his four-year, $32 million deal) might preclude a substantial offer, but Boozer will be a solid fallback for teams (New York, Chicago, Miami) that lose out on the LeBron/Wade/Bosh/Johnson sweepstakes. The Knicks, who run a heavy pick-and-roll offense, look like a natural fit.

9 Rudy Gay
Age: 23 | 2009-10 Team: Grizzlies | Position: SF
'09-10 Stats: 19.6 ppg, 46.6% FG, 5.9 rpg
Status: Restricted -- $4.4 million qualifying offer
Like Boozer, Gay's current team may not be willing to break the bank to keep him. Gay is a prolific scorer who has only scratched the surface of his potential. The question is, How much will a team be willing to pay a player who has proved he can score but not much else? Gay will be looking for max-level money and there may be teams willing to give it to him: the Clippers and Nets. The Clippers have a gaping hole at small forward while New Jersey will be looking to make a big splash under new owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

10 Paul Pierce
Age: 32 | 2009-10 Team: Celtics | Position: SF
'09-10 Stats: 18.3 ppg, 47.2% FG, 41.4% 3PT, 4.4 rpg, 3.1 apg
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $21.5 million)
Pierce is another player who may be looking to cash in before the collective bargaining agreement expires. His status with the Celtics -- expect his number to be the next one raised to the rafters -- will put pressure on them to keep him. Pierce isn't as explosive offensively as he once was, but he is still a capable scorer who gets to the line frequently.

11 Ray Allen
Age: 34 | 2009-10 Team: Celtics | Position: SG
'09-10 Stats: 16.3 ppg, 47.7% FG, 36.3% 3PT
Status: Unrestricted
One GM believes Allen will be looking for a five-year, $75 million deal. The 34-year-old likely won't find that type of offer, but his super conditioning, professionalism and shooting ability will have teams lining up. A return to Boston is the best fit, but don't count out New York or Miami should either team have cap space left over after making a run at one of the big-name free agents.

12 David Lee
Age: 27 | 2009-10 Team: Knicks | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 20.2 ppg, 54.5% FG, 11.7 rpg, 3.6 apg
Status: Unrestricted
Last summer, Lee struggled to create a market, with most teams thinking the Knicks would match any offer for the restricted free agent. The Knicks no longer have that leverage. Lee's jump shot has improved over the last two seasons and he is one of the most active rebounders in the league. Teams will be a little wary, though, about committing top dollar to anyone who played in Mike D'Antoni's offense-happy system, and Lee's preference to play in a big market limits his options.

13 Luis Scola
Age: 30 | 2009-10 Team: Rockets | Position: F-C
'09-10 Stats: 16.2 ppg, 51.4% FG, 8.6 rpg
Status: Restricted -- $4.1 million qualifying offer
With Yao out, Scola was featured more in the Rockets' offense. And he delivered. A polished post game and soft touch from the perimeter make Scola a valuable commodity for the right price. Expect Houston -- which will try to work its way into the mix for Bosh -- to dangle Scola in sign-and-trade scenarios.

14 John Salmons
Age: 30 | 2009-10 Team: Bulls/Bucks | Position: SG
'09-10 Stats: 15.4 ppg, 44.1% FG, 38.2% 3PT
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $5.8 million)
Salmons is the ultimate mercenary. Two seasons ago, he averaged 18.3 points for Chicago and helped it make the playoffs after being acquired from Sacramento at the trade deadline. In 2010, he was dealt again, this time to Milwaukee, where his scoring average spiked more than seven points (12.7 to 19.9) during the Bucks' playoff push. Salmons is a pure scorer but one better served playing for a team with an established No. 1 option.

15 Brendan Haywood
Age: 30 | 2009-10 Team: Wizards/Mavericks | Position: C
'09-10 Stats: 9.1 ppg, 56.2% FG, 9.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg
Status: Unrestricted
Haywood is a rare in-his-prime pure center who is a consistent double-double threat. His mediocre postseason (6.0 points, 6.2 rebounds) won't help his résumé, but if the Mavericks unload Dampier, they might be inclined to spend on a pivot they know fits well into their system.

16 Josh Childress
Age: 27 | 2009-10 Team: Olympiakos (Greece) | Position: SF
'09-10 Euroleage Stats: 15.2 ppg, 52.3% FG, 4.8 rpg
Status: Restricted (Hawks) -- $4.8 million qualifying offer
Olympiakos' financial issues, likely changes in Greek tax laws and one-too-many unruly fans have Childress primed for a return to the U.S. (his deadline to opt out is July 15). Lots of teams will be in the market for a versatile swingman who can defend and provide instant energy off the bench. The Hawks, who have retained Childress' rights, are one of them. Atlanta could bring back Childress in a reserve role or sign him to potentially replace Joe Johnson.

17 Tyrus Thomas
Age: 23 | 2009-10 Team: Bulls/Bobcats | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 9.4 ppg, 46.2% FG, 6.2 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Status: Restricted -- $6.2 million qualifying offer
Thomas was solid for Charlotte after coming over from Chicago in a deadline deal, and his superior athleticism makes him a prototypical power forward in Larry Brown's system. A full season away from the Bulls -- where the atmosphere had become poisonous for both sides -- should help Thomas to continue to develop, likely for the 'Cats.

18 Shaquille O'Neal
Age: 38 | 2009-10 Team: Cavaliers | Position: C
'09-10 Stats: 12.0 ppg, 56.6% FG, 6.7 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Status: Unrestricted
The Big Mercenary has a big decision: Does he latch on to another contender and hope to pick up one more ring, or does he go for the biggest paycheck out there, even if it means toiling with a struggling team at the end of his career? O'Neal has said he would like to play for three more years, but no team is likely to offer him that kind of guarantee. Would Boston take a flier on him? Would Chicago? Maybe Dallas, where O'Neal would finally be united with Mark Cuban?

19 Raymond Felton
Age: 26 | 2009-10 Team: Bobcats | Position: PG
'09-10 Stats: 12.1 ppg, 45.9% FG, 38.5% 3PG, 5.6 apg
Status: Unrestricted
Felton, who averaged career highs in field-goal and three-point percentages, has leverage with the Bobcats, who are reluctant to hand the team over to D.J. Augustin. Felton is one of a handful of established starting playmakers on the market, but with a likely salary demand of more than $6 million per year, he may price himself out of Charlotte.

20 J.J. Redick
Age: 26 | 2009-10 Team: Magic | Position: SG
'09-'10 Stats: 9.6 ppg, 43.9% FG, 40.5% 3PT, 86.0% FT
Status: Restricted -- $3.9 million qualifying offer
Redick is fresh off the most productive season of his four-year career, having firmly established himself in Orlando's rotation. As Vince Carter and Matt Barnes struggled during the postseason, Redick was frequently on the floor for the Magic in the fourth quarter. Redick could be in line for a deal that starts at more than his qualifying offer.






The 'Big O' key in courting the King
marc stein espn.com
It's the reason the New Jersey Nets, fresh off a 12-win season, are getting the first opportunity to sit down with the most coveted free agent in the history of American sport.
It's the reason the Miami Heat, for all the questions about LeBron James and Dwyane Wade successfully sharing one ball if they ever end up on the same team, have been mentioned all season as a top contender in the LeBron Sweepstakes.
It's the reason the Dallas Mavericks, without even a hint of salary-cap space, seem certain to make the short list of teams that get an invite to James' northeast Ohio base to make their recruiting pitch.
It's also a big reason you've gradually heard less and less about the New York Knicks stealing James away from his hometown team … and it's why the Los Angeles Clippers' pitch is ultimately doomed no matter how many surprisingly good things they can say about the setup in Clipperland … and why the Chicago Bulls can't yet allow themselves to believe all the chatter circulating leaguewide about a LeBron-and-Chris Bosh "done deal."
It's the "O" variable in James' decision of a lifetime.
Ownership.
Or in the broader sense: Organizations.
As lifelong LeBron-watcher Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer expertly conveyed in the latest edition of the Free Agency Dime, James' choice to either re-sign with the Cavaliers or leave the Cavs after seven ringless seasons will essentially be made by a committee of one. History says James will weigh all the input from his various advisers, including William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley and best friend/business manager Maverick Carter, and then head in the direction he's picked out.
And then let all of us know that he was in total control.
But what is LeBron looking for?
That's where the O factor comes in.
History also says that LeBron, from his years studying uber-successful mentors Warren Buffett and Jay-Z, is big on the word "partnership." Sources with a pipeline to his inner circle say that James has been schooled to approach his long-awaited foray into free agency as a search for a business partner who can help cement the legacy of the LeBron brand as opposed to a strict hunt for the on-the-court sidekicks who can help him win the multiple championships he needs to get anywhere near Global Icon status.
Trite as this stuff might sound, those who know James best say that it's not just marketing blather he splashes on the company website. Not to him, anyway. LeBron truly believes in his business mantra. He's known for frequently saying that he wants to be partner, not a mere vendor.
Example: LeBron was offered more money from Reebok and lavish promises from adidas back when he was a sneaker free agent, which might be the closest applicable comparison to the situation he's in now. Yet he wound up signing with Nike largely because of Nike's proven closeness with star endorser Michael Jordan and the vibe he got from Nike basketball chief Lynn Merritt.
So …
Should he apply the same logic to his NBA future, as you'd expect, owners and/or organizations rank as an oft-overlooked but undeniably huge factor in James' thinking.
If history is a trusty guide, James won't be fixated on the Nets' glamourless image or the two looming seasons in Newark before the team finally moves to Brooklyn during Thursday's opening face-to-face. The appeal of New Jersey, beyond going to a team that has quality building blocks at point guard (Devin Harris) and center (Brook Lopez), is the allure of teaming up with mysterious, new billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who happens to count the aforementioned Jay-Z as a handy/legendary minority owner.
Miami's big hook to supplement the enticing prospect of making James' Team USA partnership with Wade full-time also starts in the ownership suite, but for different reasons. Heat majority owner Micky Arison's willingness to consistently provide the resources to contend while staying in the background gives title-tested (and famously persuasive) team president Pat Riley uncommon freedom to run the show.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, were always going to get on LeBron's radar -- with or without cap space -- because of Mark Cuban. Sources close to the situation say that the Mavs' player-friendly owner is well-respected by James' gang. It also doesn't hurt that Jerry Jones, owner of LeBron's favorite football team, is an unofficial Mavs partner.
James relishes interaction with the likes of Jones and is known to have made it a point to get to know several owners from around the NBA in recent years. Two more examples: LeBron has a long-standing friendship with the Maloof brothers in Sacramento and met a handful of owners in 2009 at a major media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.
The same principle, then, is likely to work in reverse with the owners who don't have good reputations.
Which is why the steady stream of LeBron-to-New York rumblings we've heard since the arrival of Donnie Walsh as team president and Mike D'Antoni as the Knicks' LeBron-endorsed coach have been drowned out by more persistent rumblings that James -- on top of concerns about the Knicks' thin roster and unwelcome smothering from the New York tabloid media -- does not want to attach himself to habitually unsmooth Knicks owner James Dolan. No matter how much cash Dolan has splashed around in his tenure.
The Clippers? Doesn't matter how good they might look on paper to James, with a foursome of quality teammates (Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and Baron Davis) ready to surround him. Proximity to off-the-court business opportunities only Hollywood can provide, as sexy as that sounds, just isn't going to persuade James to put his legacy in the hands of bumbling Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who has presided over two winning seasons in a 26-season run in Los Angeles. Not unless Sterling, as detailed here a few weeks back, violates his own decades-old vow to never sell anything and cedes majority control of the franchise to entertainment mogul David Geffen.
The O factor is also what the Bulls presumably can blame if the impressive complementary core they've assembled (Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah) and all the cap space they've cleared (to go after Bosh or Joe Johnson in addition to James) ultimately fail -- amid all this "done deal" talk -- to lure James to the Cavs' most hated rival.
The Bulls were routinely bashed from an organizational standpoint even when they were winning championships, thanks to Jordan's openly dim view of then-GM Jerry Krause. This season, though, criticism of Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and his front-office tag team of John Paxson and Gar Forman reached new levels, prompted by Chicago's mistreatment of since-fired coach Vinny Del Negro and most recently disseminated in a well-publicized critique from Wade about how Chicago treats ex-Bulls.
Even if Wade's criticism was a thinly veiled attempt to enhance the Heat's case in free agency, Chicago knows it has some image issues. Reinsdorf's reputation as a reluctant spender? Another issue.
Maybe none of that will matter in the end, because the Bulls are otherwise set up so well. It's also true that Wesley has maintained a good working relationship with Reinsdorf for years and is believed to be lobbying hardest for the Bulls, which is where much of the LeBron-and-Bosh-to-Chicago chatter originates. Yet you still hear well-connected folks around the league asking -- louder than the many questions Jordan's longtime agent David Falk has raised about James going to the Bulls in recent interviews with Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports -- whether LeBron is indeed prepared to commit to Reinsdorf.
Ditto for Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and the increasingly nerve-shredding campaign to persuade James to stay right where he is. LeBron associates continue to say that for all the grandiose visions of what might be in Chicago and Miami, turning his back on his sports-tortured home state will be tougher for a proud Ohioan than outsiders will ever realize. The humbling manner of Cleveland's second-round exit only made it tougher, too, because leaving the Cavs now is the one outcome that will keep that surreal playoff unraveling on James' résumé forever.
But staying with the Cavs -- when they lack the cap flexibility or the trade assets to significantly remake a roster badly in need of upgrades -- would be the ultimate show of faith in Cavs ownership. Although it's true that Gilbert has shown an unmatched willingness to take on extra payroll in today's cost-conscious NBA and cater to LeBron's every whim from a nonroster standpoint, there's also no escaping what Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told The New York Times earlier this month: "I think you do have to have two players that have extraordinary abilities at this stage of the season -- I really do."
Does LeBron have faith that Gilbert can quickly manufacture an extraordinary No. 2 when so many LeBron suitors can do that so easily this summer? Or has he lost faith in Gilbert, as was routinely whispered during Cleveland's unsuccessful bid to pry Tom Izzo away from Michigan State?
The reality is that he's not going to win anything that gets him to the Global Icon zip code unless he's flanked by the right teammates, so all of the above is only one clue to help us forecast the outcome of this Summer of LeBron. But know this: It's a biggie.
The prediction here is that ownership will be cited as one of the major reasons James cites when he has that historic news conference to explain why he chose what he chose.
The O factor.
The Big O, if you will.









Lakers assistant Shaw meets with Cavs about coaching vacancy
CLEVELAND -- The Cavaliers could be getting close to a major signing.
No, not that one.
The team's 5-week-old coaching search took another turn on Tuesday as Los Angeles Lakers assistant Brian Shaw met in Cleveland with owner Dan Gilbert and front-office members about the Cavaliers' coaching vacancy.
The visit comes just a few days before free agency opens with the Cavs hoping they can convince superstar LeBron James to re-sign and come back for an eighth season - and more. Cleveland would like to have a coach in place by July 1 to settle what has so far been a tumultuous offseason.
It is not yet known if the club has offered its coaching position to Shaw, who is also expected to be in town on Tuesday.
The 43-year-old Shaw has spent five seasons on Phil Jackson's staff in Los Angeles. A 14-year NBA veteran, he has no head coaching experience but is considered a strong candidate to replace Jackson if the 11-time champion retires. Jackson, who has health concerns, is expected to announce his plans later this week.
The Cavaliers have been looking for a coach since firing Mike Brown on May 24 in the aftermath of their second-round playoff loss to Boston. The team was previously turned down by Tom Izzo, who rejected a reported $30 million offer to stay at Michigan State.
Former New Orleans coach Byron Scott is still believed to be the Cavs' preferred choice to replace Brown. Scott, though, is presumed to be an option for the Lakers if Jackson steps down and may want to wait until the situation is clarified in L.A. before making a move.
Scott has had several talks with the Cavs and met with Gilbert, general manager Chris Grant and other members of Cleveland's ownership group on Father's Day in Michigan. However, he was not offered the job as the meeting was mostly a get-to-know-you affair.
Gilbert has said it would be ideal to have a coach in place by the opening of free agency, but Grant, who took over when Danny Ferry resigned, said last week that the team would not speed up its process.
The team has also had talks with Milwaukee assistant Kelvin Sampson and former Atlanta coach Mike Woodson.
Drafted by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1988 draft, Shaw retired as a player in 2003. He won three league titles as a guard with the Lakers (2000-02) before becoming the team's assistant scouting director.
The Cavs have said they would prefer a defensive-minded coach. However, the club is intrigued by Shaw's knowledge of Jackson's triangle offense, a system that could entice James to stay with Cleveland.

Top Sports News Stories

Cavaliers fire Brown as coach
www.si.com
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Of the many reasons the Cleveland Cavaliers had for firing coach Mike Brown after five seasons without an NBA title, one mattered most.
They can't lose LeBron James.
Less than two weeks after their stunning, second-round loss to Boston in the playoffs, the Cavaliers fired Brown on Monday, an expected move that perhaps indicates the team believes it can re-sign James, the two-time MVP and free agent-in-waiting.
Brown was the most successful coach in franchise history. In five seasons, he led the Cavs to the playoffs every year, to the finals in 2007 and to 127 wins in the past two seasons. But Brown failed to win a championship, and after Cleveland's second straight early exodus from the postseason -- a collapse that included two blowout losses at home and dissension in the Cavs' locker room -- and with James about to explore free agency, owner Dan Gilbert decided to make a change.
"After a long and deep analysis of all of the factors that led to the disappointing early ends to our playoff runs over the past two seasons, we concluded that it was time for the Cavaliers to move in a different direction," Gilbert said in a statement. "The expectations of this organization are very high and, although change always carries an element of risk, there are times when that risk must be taken in an attempt to break through to new, higher levels of accomplishment.
"This is one of those times."
The Cavs did not hold a news conference to explain their decision to relieve Brown, who went 314-177 and was the league's coach of the year in 2009.
Brown was not immediately available for comment. No one answered the door at his home in Westlake, Ohio.
A James family publicist said the superstar is out of town on vacation and would not be available to comment on Brown's dismissal.
Boston's Doc Rivers and Orlando's Stan Van Gundy, the coaches who knocked Brown and the Cavs from the playoffs the past two years, expressed disappointment in Cleveland's decision.
"Obviously, I was not thrilled to see it," Rivers said before Game 4 in Boston. "I wonder what you have to do to keep your job -- back-to-back 60-win seasons. Our profession is tough."
Said Van Gundy: "Franchises have the right to make any decisions they want. You can't do a hell of a lot better. There's not a coach in the league that has done better than Mike Brown."
The Cavaliers were under a deadline to dismiss Brown. If they had waited beyond 10 days after the season, they would have had to pay the 40-year-old coach his salary for next season. Cleveland's assistant coaches remain under contract for 2010-11.
The team now faces an even more pressing deadline. James can become a free agent on July 1, when he'll head a free-agent class unlike any other in league history. He will hit the market with fellow superstars Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and others, and while the expected bidding wars are weeks away, the speculation and suspense are hanging over the NBA playoffs.
James has said winning will be the most important factor in choosing a team. In building around him, the Cavs have already shown their commitment to giving the 25-year-old James the tools he needs to win multiple titles.
Now, by firing Brown, who won more than 66 percent of his games, the Cavs have again demonstrated a willingness to go beyond the norm to make James happy. While the All-Star forward did not call for Brown's head, it was clear during the Boston series that James and his coach were not on the same page.
The Cavs, though, are in a bind as complex as any defense they saw in the playoffs.
James will likely keep his options open until free agency begins, and without an agreement from him, it will be almost impossible for the team to land a high-profile coach since any prospective coach can't be assured he'll have James.
Beyond that, general manager Danny Ferry's contract expires next month and there's no guarantee he wants to stay around.
If Ferry isn't re-signed, the Cavs face the prospect of preparing for the NBA college draft and free agency without a coach or GM -- hardly the position they thought they'd be in after winning 61 regular-season games and dispatching Chicago in the first playoff round.
It gets even trickier. Gilbert will undoubtedly try to make a big splash to convince James to stay, but to do so he'll likely have to land a high-profile coach. There's no indication Gilbert has reached out to anyone yet but the top-tier candidate list would include people like Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Michigan State's Tom Izzo or Kentucky's John Calipari, a close friend of James, whose seat near Cleveland's bench added awkward drama to the Cavs' loss in Game 5 to the Celtics.
Jackson's contract with the Lakers expires after this season. The 10-time champion has talked about retirement and recently said he can't imagine himself coaching anywhere else, but that may not stop Gilbert from making him a strong pitch -- especially if James is part of the package.
Krzyzewski and James formed a strong bond in three seasons together on the U.S. Olympic team, winning a gold medal in Beijing two years ago. Krzyzewski came close to leaving Duke for the Lakers in 2004, and if he's ever going to test his mettle in the pro game, the opportunity to coach James could be enough to pry him from campus.
Also, assuming he stays, Ferry is close with Krzyzewski, whom he played for in college and still calls "coach."
"The NBA rumors have been addressed several times in recent years by coach Krzyzewski," Duke spokesman Jon Jackson said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "He has repeatedly stated that he will be the Duke head coach for the remainder of his career."
Gilbert has always been impressed with Izzo, who fits the tough-minded defensive profile the owner was looking for when he hired Brown in 2005. Also, Gilbert is a Michigan State graduate. Izzo has turned down previous NBA overtures, but maybe none as big as what Gilbert might offer.
And then there's Calipari, who has insisted he'll stay at Kentucky. But that's not likely to stop the Cavs from reaching out to Calipari to gauge his interest in coming to Cleveland, a move that could keep James home.
Brown, meanwhile, did everything in his five seasons with the Cavs -- everything but win a title. In the end, that meant Gilbert had little choice but to let him go.
The Cavs owner can't let James walk away as easily.


Michigan's Self-Imposed Punishment for Ncaa Violations
www.espn.com
The University of Michigan on Tuesday admitted to a series of violations in its storied football program, but insisted the problems related to practice time and the activities of graduate assistants were not enough to warrant major punishment from the NCAA.
Michigan released details of self-imposed sanctions it hopes will satisfy the NCAA, whose staff will hold a hearing on the case in August. A final decision on NCAA penalties could take months.

Michigan's self-imposed penalties
Penalties self-imposed by the Michigan football program Tuesday:

• Cut back practice and training time by 130 hours over the next two years, starting this summer.

• Cut number of assistants from five to three and banned them from practices, games or coaching meetings for the rest of 2010.

• Recommendation for two years of probation. The school said it should not be tagged as a repeat offender despite a 2003 scandal in the basketball program.

• Letters of reprimand issued to seven people -- including head coach Rich Rodriguez.

• Acknowledged for first time that staffer Alex Herron was fired after his claim of not being present during some activities was discredited by players.

Michigan said it will cut back practice and training time by 130 hours over the next two years, starting this summer. It also trimmed the number of assistants -- the so-called quality control staff -- from five to three and banned them from practices, games or coaching meetings for the rest of 2010.
"I'm glad to get that over with," coach Rich Rodriguez said Monday night in Midland at the Michigan AP Sports Editors Meeting. "But that is just part of the process."
The self-imposed sanctions included a recommendation for two years of probation for the NCAA's winningest football program, which is 8-16 in two seasons under Rodriguez. The school said it should not be tagged as a repeat offender despite a 2003 scandal in the basketball program.
"We're imposing on ourselves what we believe is corrective actions," athletic director David Brandon said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Ultimately, the NCAA will decide what the appropriate sanctions and penalties are."
The violations came to light last fall during a second straight losing season for Rodriguez, who will return for his third season at Michigan this fall. Anonymous players told the Detroit Free Press that they were exceeding NCAA limits on practice and training time, prompting school and NCAA investigations.
The NCAA has outlined five potentially major rules violations, all related to practices and workouts. It accused Rodriguez of failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance in his program -- a charge Michigan vehemently denied even as it acknowledged an overall failure by the athletic department.
"We think that is overly harsh," Brandon said. "We do believe that there were things he could've done better and Rich would be the first to agree that details he delegated shouldn't have been in retrospect."
Brandon said the school decided not to take away scholarships or eliminate coaching positions.
"That's usually a result of something deemed to be an offense that created a competitive advantage," Brandon said. "Those kind of sanctions are also typically related to academic fraud, gambling, recruiting violations and extra benefits."
Michigan told the NCAA that letters of reprimand were issued to seven people -- including Rodriguez -- who shared responsibility for the violations. One staffer who worked under Rodriguez at West Virginia before joining him at Michigan, Alex Herron, was fired after his claim of not being present during some activities was discredited by players.
The school said two main problems -- too many people acting as coaches and too many hours being put into football by the players -- occurred in part because of "inattention by the football staff."
"The university agrees that it failed as a whole to adequately monitor its football program to assure compliance regarding the limitations upon the number, duties and activities of countabale football coaches and the time limits" for practice," it said. "The university also agrees that Rodriguez failed to satisfy the monitoring responsibilities required of head coaches."
After his hire from West Virginia, Rodriguez filled all five quality control positions in the program -- essentially assistants to assistants who were paid $17 per hour to "run errands for the coaches, check on student-athlete class attendance and academic issues, and chart plays."
The school said the staff "crossed the line in specific situations and engaged in 'coaching activities" as defined by the NCAA.
Rodriguez also told school investigators he didn't know about forms used at Michigan to track athletes' activities until last summer, 18 months after he was hired, and he said no one ever told him those forms were not being filed with compliance officials by his program.
Rodriguez's response was submitted by his attorney, Scott Tompsett. He said the coach was "very disappointed that his administrators failed to provide the job descriptions on multiple occasions and he is disappointed that the compliance staff never brought their failure to his attention. Rodriguez has always had an open-door policy for anyone to bring matters to his attention."
The school said it had discovered the paperwork problem and was working on it when the story broke. The bigger issue was the lack of communication. The school said the football program didn't provide requested information to the compliance office, which failed to alert Rodriguez -- who "should have paid closer attention to his subordinates."
Rodriguez regretted that he didn't adequately monitor certain aspects of his program, but added in his response that following NCAA bylaws was not a "one-man job."
"We're not happy to be in this process, but we're handling it in a professional and transparent manner before we move on," Brandon said. "The NCAA will hear our case in August, then will deliberate as long as is needed -- and that could be weeks -- before making a decision that we can agree with or choose to appeal."


Tressel's wife has heart surgery
CLEVELAND -- The wife of Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is recovering from surgery to repair a heart valve.
Norma Watson, Tressel's mother-in-law, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that her daughter, 56-year-old Ellen Tressel, had the operation at the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday in hopes of improving blood flow through the heart.
Watson says the procedure went well and her daughter is likely to leave the hospital this weekend. She says the coach plans to stay with his wife for the duration. He's missing the Big Ten's league meetings in Chicago.
Ellen Tressel's mother says doctors detected a problem when she was tested for a heart condition (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) that runs in the family. She wasn't ill but had noticed shortness of breath.