New Kids On The Block

Earlier this week the Cleveland Cavaliers sent guards Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for dynamic point guard Ramon Sessions and 7'0 centre Ryan Hollins. This is the first major roster move by our new GM Chris Grant and the beginning of our new look Cavaliers team. It is not a massive trade by any means, but the Cavs will be better for it.

Sessions is 24 years old and still has his best years ahead of him. He's coming off a poor year in Minnesota where he struggled to adapt to an undefined role on the team and not much playing time. Lets be honest, the T-Wolves as an organisation are a complete mess so it must be a struggle for every one of their players. However, Sessions enjoyed success in his first 2 years in the league with Milwaukee, setting their franchise record for assists with 24 against the Bulls in April 2008. Yes, 24 ASSISTS. In one game. Crazy. Terry Pluto had said that Sessions is "exactly the type of player the Cavs should be adding at this stage of their life without Lebron James." What does he mean? Sessions, partnered with new head coach Byron Scott's up-tempo approach, is going to bring some fun to the Quicken Loans Arena. Ramon will be pushing the break, getting up the court quickly and injecting some excitement into Cleveland basketball. Gone are the days of watching Lebron dribble out the shot clock. Scott and Sessions will make this Cavs side fun to watch at the very least. Again, Pluto sums it up best: "The Cavs have a backcourt jammed with guards who love to fire away from long distance - Anthony Parker, Mo Williams and (Daniel) Gibson. They don't have a pure point guard such as Sessions." Well, now we do.

The coup of this trade is obviously Sessions, but the Cavs also gained depth and height to our understaffed group of centres. 25 Year old 7 footer Ryan Hollins will probably start the new season as a backup, but I expect he will see more minutes in Cleveland than he has at any other stage in his pro career. His height, quickness, and athleticism, plus his ability to pull off spectacular blocks, will ensure he will be given a chance to shine in Byron Scott's new Cavaliers team. At 25 he is still developing and hopefully he can blossom into a force under the basket.

The only negative aspect to this trade is that, like every trade, we always have to say goodbye to someone we used to root for. Delonte West became quite a fan favourite during his time in Cleveland, but he had a troubled season on and off the court last year and it was his time to go. Sebastian Telfair, who shined briefly during his limited stay in town, is again being shipped off to another team in a trade. This will be his second stint with the Timberwolves and I've lost count of how many clubs he has played for during his time in the NBA. I think Telfair could have found a home in this new team - he is the type of PG that Scott could mould into a real floor general, but apparently the front office felt that Sessions would be a better fit and that Telfair would have to be sacrificed to achieve this. I hope Delonte and Sebastian find success in their NBA futures, but I doubt it will be in Minnesota.

So Sessions and Hollins are the new boys in town to help the city of Cleveland recover from "The Defection" and return the Cavs to the top of the East. Its going to take time, longer than we probably expect, but the acquisition of Sessions is a positive step in the right direction.

Thanks for reading.

Running With Bulls In New York City

It's not the biggest piece of news in the world of football post-World Cup, but my favourite football player on the planet has signed for a new club - so its worth a post on here at the very least!

Theirry Henry, the man, the myth, the legend (alright I'll stop with that) has left FC Barcelona and joined the New York Red Bulls in the MLS. Henry's decision to go stateside has probably come at the right time. After France's disastrous time in South Africa and a sub-par season in Spain, this move to NYC is good for Thierry, a fresh start and a new beginning. It's been obvious for all to see that Henry has not been his old self the last couple of years. His blistering pace has diminished, his influence on the game decreased, so its unlikely at 32 years old he can be the same dominant force he was when he was with us, at Arsenal. Nonetheless, in New York he will face new challenges and new foes, but I also sense we may see a return of the old Thierry Henry. The MLS is still a relatively new league and the quality of the football is still not as high as its European and South American brethren. So in this sense I hope Henry can take advantage of this, and we see him toying with defenders like he did in the good old days, then rifling in goal after goal, just like he used to.

Naturally, Thierry is excited about the move: "It is an honour to play for the New York Red Bulls. I am fully aware of the team's history and my sole goal during my time here is to help win the club its first championship." Like Beckham and Ljungberg before him, Henry now takes his talents to the US of A and I wish him all the best, and will be trying my hardest to keep tabs on how he gets on over there. I hope the Red Bulls fans realise how lucky they are to have such a legend play for them. It is one of the things that most annoyed me about Henry's time in Barcelona; from what I read and heard, I felt the majority of the Barca fans never fully appreciated him and were too busy picking at the faults, not just with Thierry, but the entire squad - Barca fans never seem happy with what they have, even when they win! At least they got him when he'd already given his best for the Gunners (ha ha)

I know one thing for sure about Henry going to New York... I really want one of those shirts! I may have to start saving my pennies for one with "Henry" on the back, they are damn nice...

Thanks for reading.

Nothing More To Be Said

So, by now you obviously know that Lebron James has decided to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at the Miami Heat. This has been covered by every media outlet in the Western world, so I'm not going to say much about it, as there really is not a lot more to say. Cavs fans across Ohio and the rest of the world are still mourning the departure of our dear "King James", but unfortunately Lebron's decision to leave for the sunny beaches in Miami has caused a great deal of anger amongst fans. He was once our leader, but has now become "The Deserter".

Dan Gilbert's merciless letter has already shown that Lebron's decision to leave is more than just bad business for Cleveland, its downright personal. I thought Gilbert came across as petulant and foolish, but you can understand his motivation behind the attack. I understand that Lebron wouldn't return any of Gilbert's attempts to contact him since the end of the Playoffs, so of course the Cavs owner was going to be pissed off. Its definitely going to be interesting when the Heat travel to Quicken Loans Arena for the first time next season. I can't imagine what the reception will be like for Lebron, but I hope its a positive one (I doubt it will be...).

It will be a sad event if Lebron's legacy as a Cavalier is tarnished because of his departure to Miami. He did a lot for Cleveland in his 7 years of service, and fans should remember the good times, the dazzling displays he put on at the Q night after night. The last few years have been particularly special, both of which earned Lebron back-to-back MVP awards. However I feel this latest blow to the Cavs faithful may be too much to take graciously, and the backlash against Lebron will be substantial. I personally wish him all the luck at Miami, and honestly hope he gets the ring his talent deserves. The Heat will certainly be the team to watch from now on, a backcourt of Wade and Lebron will be amazing, and Bosh is the perfect compliment to them. As a Cavs fan the best way to approach the future now is with a sense of optimism. I for one am rather excited about what the future holds in store for the Cavaliers. Yes, there will be the inevitable struggle and losses will occur on a more regular basis. I don't expect us to make the Playoffs every season from now on either, in fact I'm fully prepared for the event that we won't make it into the post-season for a while. As a British fan of the Cavs, it will be nice to meet fans of the team from now on, rather than just fans of Lebron, which always seemed to be the case. But it will be good to see a new team grow and play together, without Lebron running the show for the first time. Byron Scott is set to usher in a new era of basketball in the Forest City, and with a bit of time and the right additions, the Cavs will be back to where they belong as contenders in the East.

A fresh start is in order, and that's just what we've got. Look forward to the future Cavs fan, but don't let recent events ruin all that was good in the past.

Thanks for reading.

Leaving It To Lebron

All bets are in, every question has been asked, all presentations and promises have been made. Now all we can do is wait. Lebron James has finally finished his meetings with the various teams interested in his signature this summer, as well as our beloved Cavaliers. That's right, he might choose to stay with us after all!

I realise the Lebron saga has been written about by practically every sports journalist in North America and beyond, but I felt I should weigh in with my opinion. Obviously I want Lebron to stay in Cleveland. There isn't another player in basketball like him, and he's easily the most gifted athlete to grace the NBA since his Airness Michael Jordan. Not only is he great for Cleveland from a sporting perspective, but he has done tremendous things for the city socially and economically. Losing him would be devastating for Cleveland, as Andrew over at Waiting For Next Year has explained in a brilliant article detailing just how important Lebron truly is.

I have been in a very fortunate position as a Cavaliers fan, as I have only ever experienced the Cavs in the Lebron era. I've been supporting the Wine & Gold since 2004, so I haven't experienced the team's darker days. Lebron and Cleveland together is all I know. The worst example of a Cleveland player leaving town that I have experienced was when V-Mart was shipped to Boston, and that stung for a quite some time. But Lebron leaving... well I don't really want to think about it, and have tried my best to ignore the possibility of him playing for somebody else for nearly 18 months now. I was naive to think it would all blow over, that Lebron would never consider leaving us. Our dismal playoff exit to the Boston Celtics a few months ago only made things worse; Lebron wants a ring, he needs a championship, and with another limp effort in the post-season gone by, it only stimulates the argument for him to leave for new pastures elsewhere. He has always made it clear how much he loves New York, and its widely known he grew up supporting the Bulls, and a certain Mr Jordan (his idol) especially. Don't forget his close friendship with Jay Z, part-owner of the Nets, who I'm sure would LOVE to have Lebron leading the way for his team. So there are plenty of suitors waiting for him to put pen to paper and become the new face of their franchise.

The Cavs front office, including new head coach Byron Scott, have made their final pitch to Lebron to stay with us, to keep striving for that illusive NBA title. I read that the presentation was short and to the point, and apparently the talks went well. The bit about Lebron being shown a Family Guy-like cartoon depicting himself and the city of Cleveland struck me as being a bit strange, but its supposed to be well known that number 23 is a big fan of cartoons, so I suppose this light hearted approach would appeal to him - if anybody in Cleveland knows Lebron well, surely its the organisation he works for. Lets just hope its worked, and Lebron realises that his best chance to win a much sought after championship is not in Miami, New York, New Jersey or Chicago, but right at home in Cleveland. If Lebron goes to any of those other cities, it'll take a considerable amount of time for those organisations to build a title contending team around him. Now he's still relatively young, only 25 years old, but he is coming off 2 straight MVP seasons and is in the prime of his career. How much longer is he willing to wait until he finally achieves his goal? If he stays with the Cavs, he has a significantly better chance of winning a ring than anywhere else, at least any of those teams that can afford him. Even if he does move to Chicago, who do have the talented Derrick Rose, Lebron wouldn't really be in a better position with the Bulls than he already is with the Cavaliers. Realistically only New York appear to be able to afford two of these premier free agents this summer, but then there is still the difficulty of promising Lebron and Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh/ Joe Johnson etc, that the other has signed and committed. Even with two of them, its still not enough to make the Knicks a contender, not with the shambles that is their current roster.

Anyway, its out of our hands now. Actually, when was it ever in our hands? Its Lebron's decision to make, we just have to be patient and hope he chooses to stay in the city where he is worshipped, the place he calls home. There's nothing special in New York anyway... right?

Thanks for reading.

No Defence For Poor England

England's dreams of lifting the World Cup in South Africa 2010 have come to an end, as they were crushed 4-1 by Germany this afternoon in the round of 16 knockout stage. In what has been a terrible tournament for Fabio Capello's men, England's "golden generation" limp out of another major international competition. And we thought it couldn't get any worse than failing to qualify for Euro 2008...

I am not blaming Capello for the mess that is the England football team, not entirely. Sure he is stuck in his ways and seems reluctant to alter anything, but you can see on his face how passionate he is about his job; the guy is a winner, as his CV will show you. I honestly don't think he could have gotten any more out of the players than he did, but I do have issues with his squad selection and substitution choices. For a manager who constantly reiterated that he would only take players who were fit and on form, what on earth was he doing selecting King, Heskey, Carragher and Upson? The prime example of Fabio's failure here is Darren Bent, who had a very good season at Sunderland and was in the form of his life in the run up to this World Cup. Bent has 25 goals in all competitions this season, in 40 appearances for the Mackems. Yet poor Darren is left out of the final 23 man squad and Emile Heskey is taken instead. Now I have to give credit where it is due, and Heskey had a fine first half against the USA in the first game - but that was it. When Emile Heskey, the striker who doesn't score, is chosen over real centre forwards like Darren Bent, then you know England have problems. Fabio's odd decision to take off Defoe this afternoon in exchange for Heskey most likely bewildered every Englishman in the world. I don't understand Capello's thought process just after Germany broke away and scored a very simple but crucial third goal, why not bring Crouch on instead, who typically plays well for England and who does his job - scores goals - unlike Heskey.

I know most of the press and many fans will focus on Lampard's goal that was but wasn't. However this view completely ignores England's fundamental problem that they simply were not good enough. Germany were technically superior in every way, and their football is actually fun to watch, and effective too. When was the last time you said you had "fun" watching England? If Lampard's goal had been given, the game would definitely have swung in England's favour. At 2-2 the Three Lions would no doubt have carried that momentum on and pushed Germany right to the edge. Even when they got over the fact the goal wouldn't stand, England still bossed the last few minutes of the first half and looked very dangerous in attack. So it is easy to blame the linesmen for England's defeat, and there is no doubt tonnes of Facebook and Twitter updates have cried out WE WUZ ROBBED! But the reality is that Germany were better, a lot better, and probably would still have won even if the score was 2-2 at the beginning of the second half. England's poor defence would have ensured that. Johnson, Terry, Upson and Cole were torn to shreds by Germany's blitzkrieg attack, as Ozil, Schweinsteiger, Podolski and co had their way with England. I know Terry is good in the air, and gets his fair share of goals from set-pieces, but to leave just Ashley Cole in defence was suicidal, and the Germans made us pay dearly, as Bayern's wonderkid Thomas Muller put the game to bed with a brace with twenty minutes to go.

I didn't want to spend too long talking about this horror show of a game, so I'll leave it there. But rest assured England have a lot of work to do and I think it all starts at the lowest foundations of the English game: we simply do not produce the technically gifted players our opponents do. We have no playmakers like Xavi, Iniesta, Forlan, Ozil, Schweinsteiger, Kaka and Messi. Don't even get me started on the enigma that is Wayne Rooney. I already wasted far too much time on him in my last post. Argentina play Mexico tonight in which is surely going to be an entertaining game, so I'll continue enjoying the World Cup and start to forget dismal England. Be honest, you knew they wouldn't go far, so there's little surprise to see them exit so early. They'll be no tears from me this year, not for England's under-performers.

Thanks for reading.

English Football... Pure Shit!

Well Fabio Capello's men have just completed their second game of this World Cup campaign and lets just say it hasn't exactly been a bundle of laughs. The 1-1 draw last Saturday against the USA was disappointing, but not a complete waste of time. We all knew America were going to be no pushovers, and despite Rob Green's nightmare moment, the game wasn't too bad. However, after tonight's depressing match against Algeria, I am downright annoyed and only French football fans could possibly feel any worse. Oh, and not forgetting the England fans that are actually in South Africa, having paid hundreds of pounds to watch that crap.

Tonight was the chance for England to make a statement of intent to the rest of the competition; to show the world that we are legitimate contenders. Algeria came into the game in pretty poor form, having lost 5 of their last 6 games and only scoring 1 goal, which was a penalty, so nobody expected them to give England much trouble. But Algeria obviously didn't get the memo as they ran rings around England throughout most of the first 45 minutes. The Algerians were dangerous, they looked creative and had pace and flair in abundance. Obviously their lack of skill and talent showed, as they consistently made mistakes over the course of the game, but at least they were trying to get the ball down and attack. England had nothing, absolutely nothing. Apart from a 5-10 minute spell towards the end of the first half, where we managed to fashion a few decent chances, England were toothless in attack and couldn't keep hold of the ball at all. The second half wasn't much better, it was in fact arguably a lot worse! As the England team made their way onto the pitch after half time, you knew Capello had given them a roasting in the locker room; they had to play much better, but of course they did not.

Throughout the second half it looked more and more likely that the game would end in a draw, or worse, Algeria would steal a goal on the break or from a set-piece. England kept giving the ball away, were slow in their build up, and the Algerian pressure disrupted any decent moves the English side could create. To be fair the referee did not help matters, as he constantly disrupted the flow of play with his need to blow the whistle for the smallest of fouls. However England can have no excuses at all. They were terrible tonight and deserved to be booed off at the final whistle.

Gerrard looked very poor in midfield, a shadow of the player he was against the USA where he looked sharp and similar to how he plays for Liverpool. Lampard was equally ineffective, and never really looked a threat, even when he had a chance to score towards the end of the first half. Gareth Barry was alright, if not a bit rusty which was to be expected really considering the time he's missed. Aaron Lennon was useless, as was SWP, both of the wingers never receiving much of the ball and normally fell over when they did. Terry was shaky all night and nearly gifted Algeria a goal with a shocking back-pass to David James (who was easily the best England player on the pitch - not that he had much to do!). Heskey didn't enjoy the success he experienced against the USA, and was his usual mediocre self which most fans expect when they see "Emile Heskey" on the team sheet. I still don't understand why he was even taken to South Africa, especially when Capello said he chooses players based on their form. Darren Bent (who I'm not really a fan of) would have been the natural choice in this case, having had a great season with Sunderland, yet Capello leaves him out of the squad and takes Heskey instead. Which leads me onto Wayne Rooney...

Now being an Arsenal fan, I am no admirer of young Wayne. In fact, most of the year I despise the hairy scouse Shrek lookalike. However, after the season he has just had for United, where he was simply unstoppable, I begrudgingly accepted that Rooney had finally realised his potential and become the best striker in the world not named Messi. Naturally, England's hopes of winning the World Cup pretty much rested on his shoulders, and he finally looked the player to lead us to victory, as surely he would tear apart the meagre defences of Algeria, Slovenia and the United States. But this has not been the case. Not even close. Against the USA, Wayne was quiet and ineffectual, never getting into the game and was left out of most of England's promising moves. Tonight he was downright awful, probably one of the worst performances in an England shirt I have ever had the displeasure to witness. Rooney struggled to control the ball for the entire match and constantly made the wrong move and decision when he actually could get it under his control. He looked uninspired, miserable, and never even close to threatening the Algerian defence, who coped with him throughout the 90 minutes with alarming ease. Apparently when he left the pitch, reporters heard him say it was "nice to see your own fans booing you". Well you didn't really give them anything to cheer for did you Wayne?

So Slovenia are our next opponents, who looked very good today against the the USA, and really should have won that game, before the US made a terrific comeback. After tonight's letdown Capello has a lot of work to do, and some hard decisions to make ahead of the must win game on Wednesday. In my opinion its about time he used Joe Cole, as there was really no point in taking him and giving him the number 11 shirt if Capello has no intention of playing him. I think a more attacking team needs to be chosen for the Slovenia match, and after his shocker tonight I would even consider dropping Rooney in favour of a Crouch and Defoe partnership up front, who have played together at club level for some time now, at Portsmouth and Spurs.

Whatever Capello decides, England fans expect a lot better than what we received tonight and we must salvage something from what has been a pretty dour tournament so far. I'll be watching on Wednesday, hoping for a win of course. If we lose, well I might consider moving to Slovenia and supporting a proper football team. We'll just have to wait until then...

Thanks for reading.

"Smooth"

No, not that guitarist Carlos Santana and his 1999 number 1 US hit. This is much more important...

The messiah is finally here. Carlos Santana made his much anticipated debut for the Indians last night in a 7-2 victory over the Washington Nationals. With Santana's arrival, Cleveland fans are hoping the highly rated prospect can usher in a new era of Indians baseball, one of success and triumph.

As most fans already know, the Indians acquired Santana from the Dodgers in the trade for Casey Blake in July 2008 - obviously one of the better deals Mark Shapiro has executed in his time. Since then Carlos has set fire to the minor leagues and quickly became the most talented prospect in the majors (forgetting Strasburg and Heyward). He had a fantastic season with Akron in 2009 and so far in AAA Colombus this year he was batting a .316 average with 13 HRs and 51 RBIs, along with 45 walks and even 6 stolen bases (for a catcher too!). There is no doubting the power and quality of his bat, but many in the media felt Santana was not called up sooner because the Indians felt he needed more time to develop his defensive tools, particularly throwing out potential base runners.

Well it was only a matter of time before Santana got the call, and he acted quickly to put any doubts to rest about his ability to throw out would-be base stealers. The Nationals tested Santana in the very first inning after the speedy Nyjer Morgan had reached base on a single off of Westbrook. Morgan got a good jump but Santana was quick to his feet and made a close play to get him out, a play which proved to be very important as Westbrook was struggling early on and really needed the help to get out of that inning without too much damage done. As for Santana's offensive performance in his debut, he didn't have a great night but nobody can expect the guy to produce the goods straight away; gotta give him a few days to get used to his job as a major league player. Manny Acta surprised most fans by opting to place Carlos in the heart of the lineup right away, instead of putting him towards the bottom of the order as many expected. Unfortunately he couldn't record his first hit, but he did reach base and get across the plate for his first run, and managed to record his first walk later on as well.

It is unlikely Santana will play again tonight against the Nationals, as Carmona prefers to have Mike Redmond as his personal catcher, so we're set to see Strasburg vs Santana on Sunday, the battle of the prospects. I'm sure Santana will continue to develop well this year - I also have him in my fantasy team so I too have promoted him into my lineup and hope he'll quickly start producing the goods if I am to maintain my challenge for the title. With Santana finally arriving in Cleveland, hopefully this puts an end to the pain many fans still feel towards the loss of Victor Martinez last year. We now have a new number 41 to cheer for.

Thanks for reading.

Oh yeah, England play the USA tonight in the World Cup (like you didn't know that anyway). So apologies to any of my readers from across the pond, but COME ON ENGLAND!