Dawgbeat 05/19/2007
THE DOMINO EFFECT
By Eric Brown
The Cavaliers started it, the Indians have grasped it, and let's keep our hopes up that the Browns finish it. While no championships have been won at this point, we have a reason to hold our heads high as a city as our sports franchises seemingly have turned the corner. The momentum has fallen upon our beloved sports teams and we must keep the optimism constant. Forget about all the bad things that has befallen our teams in the past (to keep in the spirit of the article I won't even mention them), it is a new era and the time to win is now.
As I watched the 2006-2007 Cavaliers season and now the post-season, I couldn't help but feel like the team was always holding something back, saving it for something more important down the road. Just when things were not looking so good, and the Cavs might have a tough road to hoe in the playoffs, they won their final four games, and Chicago lost their final game to catapult the Cavs to the number two seed. Amen, the wine, gold, and blue turned it on when they needed to. The Cavs needed to sweep Washington as Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards best ballplayer went down with an injury with several weeks remaining in the season. The Cavs did just that and moved on to play the New Jersey Nets. After taking a commanding 3-1 series lead the Cavs faltered on their home court on the night they could have sealed the deal. I started to think, well, what we probably all thought, "here we go again". But in the opponents city, on a night where the momentum favored the Nets, the Cavs ripped it (the momentum) right away storming out to a fifteen point halftime lead. New Jersey made a valiant comeback and cut the lead back to one point, but in typical 2007 Cavaliers fashion, they seized the moment and took the game back into their hands and finished off the weaker opponent.
Now, come the Detroit Pistons, a team that in the 2006 playoffs Cleveland had on the ropes, down 3-2. The Cavs lost that series and did not finish the job. I believe the Cavs learned from that series and if in the same position in these playoffs, will do what they have learned so diligently and beat the Pistons.
The Indians, with several young but experienced, talented, and unselfish ballplayers rounding out their core have blown out to a 25-14 start. C.C. Sabathia, who in his final start of spring training was hit on the wrist by a line drive, has led the rotation with a 6-1 record, again turning the tide of luck and momentum in Cleveland's favor. The Tribe must continue to grasp and seize their good fortune and play hard every inning if they are to stay in the lead in the toughest division in Major League Baseball. In closing, my thought to Indians general manager Mark Shapiro and Mr. Dolan. You have preached about winning baseball with pitching and defense, please go to Sabathia and get a long-term deal done. He is still very young and has logged seven successful seasons with the Indians. That type of experience at such a young age is invaluable and he is the face of the pitching staff. Sure, we have Fausto Carmona, and Adam Miller, and Jeremy Sowers but Sabathia is the heart of this team and needs to be taken care of. I understand Travis Hafner, also a potential free agent, is one hell of a ballplayer too, but at 29 years old, has been slightly injury ridden, and definitely streaky. There are several hitting prospects in the organization and they can be found a dime a dozen, maybe not of Hafner's calibur, but potentially not far behind.
So that brings us to this city's crown jewel, The Cleveland Browns. They, on draft day certainly seized the momentum that the rest of the city's sports teams had grasped, and made a huge splash. The team grabbed two of the drafts top five players in Joe Thomas, and Brady Quinn. They also grabbed a cornerback that many teams would have rated first had it not been for an arrest in college. The Browns, theoretically, grabbed three first round players. Not bad for a franchise and a general manager who told the fans not to expect to fill all our holes in one draft. Phil Savage has done an excellent job since taking over the reigns of this once storied franchise. Only time will tell as these players have not played a down in the NFL so far, but things are sure looking shiny for the Browns these days.
Let the dominoes of momentum, good spirits, and good luck fall upon our adored sports franchises. Let good feelings flow among the fans. Here's to happy rides on the RTA transit back to Green Road, and in our vehicles back safely to our homes, the Cavs, Indians, and Browns won again.