As almost everyone has heard today, the Browns have traded star but troubled wideout Braylon Edwards to the New York Jets. They got WR Chansi Stuckey, LB,ST ace Jason Trusnik, and two draft picks (3,5) in return. Some may say the Jets got the better end of the deal, bringing in a wideout with great talent and a deep-threat the Jets much needed. Some say the Browns won getting rid of a troubled reciever. Some say it was half and half. Whatever it is, they trade maybe didn't happen because of the Browns wanting a switch. Maybe, it happened because of Cleveland Cavaliers star player LeBron James. Edwards was caught at a nightclub early Monday morning punching a friend of LeBron's. LeBron said that Edwards was "childish" in punching the friend. He said, "My friend is like 130 pounds. It's like hitting one of my kids, seriously." Apparently, he threw the punch because he was jealous of LeBron's friend. Seriously Braylon?!?! You see a guy at a nightclub who happens to be a friend of LeBron James. It is a little bit acceptable that he was jealous of him. But Braylon could probably have hung out with LeBron whenever. He could easily pull a few strings and get that done. But to punch his friend? That is unacceptable. Braylon really is childish on this one.

Also, here may be another point of view. What two teams are the Cavs most worried about LeBron leaving to? The Knicks and Nets. Where do the Knicks and Nets play? New York. Where does Braylon now play? New York. Maybe the Browns traded him to New York because they thought that LeBron wouldn't want to play in the same city as Braylon. Maybe LeBron would decide "I don't want to have anything to do with Braylon Edwards, I'm not going to New York no matter what." That would greatly increase the Cavs chances to keep LeBron past this upcoming year.

Those are just a few thoughts, I'd love comments.

After getting only 1 person to vote here, plus two in person, plus myself, only 4 votes for matchups were placed. I hope more come for this week. For rules, check the last two blogs. Here are the results from last week plus the matchups to vote on for this week:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

North Region

3 Boise State beat 6 Missouri
4 Oklahoma State beat 5 Oregon
This Week:
1 Oklahoma vs. 4 Oklhoma State
2 USC vs. 3 Boise State

East Region

3 Ohio State beat 6 Ball State
5 Michigan State beat 4 Georgia Tech
This Week:
1 Florida vs. 5 Michigan State
2 Utah vs. 3 Ohio State

South Region

3 TCU beat 6 Northwestern
4 Georgia beat 5 Virginia Tech
This Week:
1 Texas vs. 4 Georgia
2 Texas Tech vs. 3 TCU

West Region

3 Cincinnati beat 6 Boston College
4 BYU beat 5 Pittsburgh
This Week:
1 Alabama vs. 4 BYU
2 Penn State vs. 3 Cincinnati

Hope more of ya vote

I have been very busy over the past month, and I am sorry about not posting anything. I just wanted to discuss what will happen with this tournament. There will be 24 teams, with the top 8 getting a bye. There will be 4 regions (East, South, North, West) that teams will be placed in. It does not matter where the location of the team is. For example, Texas can be in the North, and USC can be in the East. The top two teams in each region will get a bye. I will not say how I am picking each region until my post next week. I have 2 ideas set up, and will chose one depending on the BCS Standings. After all of that, you will vote on who you think would win each matchup on a neutral field. The winner will move on, and that is how the tournament will go on until the Championship Round, which should end before any BCS Games are played. Voting for each round will last for 6 days or a week. If they do go into the BCS games, vote as you would before the BCS was played. Not all teams in the tournament will play in the BCS, so the same rules apply for those games. Any more questions, just ask me before the tournament starts.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

That was before the finsl BCS standings came out. Now, the college football tourny begins. Again, you vote for the winners of each matchup. Let's get right to it.

North Region
1 seed - Oklahoma (Week 1 bye)
2 seed - USC (Week 1 bye)
3 - Boise State vs. 6 - Missouri
4 - Oklahoma State vs. 5 - Oregon

East Region
1 - Florida (Week 1 bye)
2 - Utah (Week 1 bye)
3 - Ohio State vs. 6 - Ball State
4 - Georgia Tech vs. 5 - Michigan State

South Region
1 - Texas (Week 1 bye)
2 - Texas Tech (Week 1 bye)
3 - TCU vs. 6 - Northwestern
4 - Georgia vs. 5 - Virginia Tech

West Region
1 - Alabama (Week 1 bye)
2 - Penn State (Week 1 bye)
3 - Cincinnati vs. 6 - Boston College
4 - BYU vs. 5 - Pittsburgh

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

These are the week 1 matchups. Do not make any vote at all for the teams that have the bye week this week. What you should do to vote on the matchup by putting the matchups for each region separate, and just bold or italicize the team you would think that would win the matchup. Voting will be open until next Sunday. I hope to see many votes for this, and see you all soon. If you have any questions about this, after reading all of this, just put it on your messege or PM me. Thanks

I have been very busy over the past month, and I am sorry about not posting anything. I just wanted to discuss what will happen with this tournament. There will be 24 teams, with the top 8 getting a bye. There will be 4 regions (East, South, North, West) that teams will be placed in. It does not matter where the location of the team is. For example, Texas can be in the North, and USC can be in the East. The top two teams in each region will get a bye. I will not say how I am picking each region until my post next week. I have 2 ideas set up, and will chose one depending on the BCS Standings. After all of that, you will vote on who you think would win each matchup on a neutral field. The winner will move on, and that is how the tournament will go on until the Championship Round, which should end before any BCS Games are played. Voting for each round will last for 6 days or a week. If they do go into the BCS games, vote as you would before the BCS was played. Not all teams in the tournament will play in the BCS, so the same rules apply for those games. Any more questions, just ask me before the tournament starts

On my first blog, I said that if I didn't get the job for official Cavs team blogger (which I didn't) that I would do things like a college football tournament. Well, now that the regular season is almost over, I am going to start talking about this now.

1. There will be 32 teams in the tournament. It will be the top 32 in either the coach's poll or BCS average (most likely BCS average). For example, if Alabama stays number 1 in the BCS the rest of the regular season, they would be the number 1 team in the tournament. They would play the 32 seed in the tournament in the first round, and so on if they keep winning.
2. You pick the winners of each matchup. You will vote for a winner of each matchup on this blog. Don't say why you think each team will win each matchup (unless it is like a line only. Thats ok, but nothing more than that.) So, if in the first round Ohio State plays North Carolina (just an example), than you would vote for who you think would win the game if it was played on a nuetral field.

That really is it, any more questions before I start the blog, probably November 23, the day after the regular season ends. Since there are going to be 5 rounds, I want to have each round be a week, and then have the whole thing finished before the bowl games start. So if you have any questions, feel free to ask them before the real thing starts about November 23.

October 16, 2007. The Cleveland Indians are in game 4 of the ALCS, hosting the Boston Red Sox. I was at that game to cheer on my Indians. After watching that game (the Indians won that game, to take a commanding 3-1 series lead, but lost the next three games, letting the Red Sox into the World Series to beat the Rockies), who would've thought that a year later the Indians would trade away 3 key pieces to the puzzle from last year to get minor leaguers. To get better for the future, not the year they were playing. Those players were C.C. Sabathia (traded to the Brewers, who made the postseason in 2008), Paul Byrd (traded to Boston, making it one game within the World Series), and Caset Blake (to the Dodgers, also coming close to the Fall Clasic). All of those players were key pieces to thier teams, especially Sabathia.

Fast forward to late October/early November, when MLB's free agency starts. The Indians have many question marks on that roster, but some of the biggest ones are:

• Starting Pitching - Losing C.C. Sabathia and Paul Byrd obviously badly hurt the Indians pitching rotation. There are some great starting pitchers out there this year, including Sabathia, John Lackey, Ben Sheets, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, Ryan Dempster, Jamie Moyer, Mike Mussina, Oliver Perez, and Andy Pettitte, just to name the top guys. I do not expect the Indians to sign any of those players, but it would be nice to get one of them. A player such as Brad Penny or Greg Maddux (if he doesn't retire) whould probably be the type of player that the Indians will be able to sign. The Indians would love Sabathia back, but it most likely won't happen.
  Also, don't forget Jake Peavy is out there. He probably would block a trade to the Indians if one went through, which the Indians probably could not get.
  Bottom Line: Don't be surprised if the Indians get completely ignored by big name pitchers, but don't be surprised if they sign one, either. This is a huge need for the Tribe, who will sign a pitcher to pitch in the majors for next year. Its just a question of who.
• Relief/Closing Pitching - If starting pitching is a must-need for the Indians, than I might need to invent a new word on how much the Indians need relief pitching and a closer. There are great closers out there, and the Indians should be able to sign one. Some of those names include: Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, Jason Isringhausen, Eric Gagne, Trevor Hoffman, Brandon Lyon, and Salomon Torres. There are more quality closers in the market than teams in need of a closer. That normally equalls all teams in need of one getting one. For regular relievers, however, not as many quality guys are availible, and the Indians need that a lot more than anything else on their roster. Quality guys out there are Damaso Marte and Joe Beimel. Those are some players the Indians should be able to sign.
  Bottom Line: The Indians need these positions so badly, that I can guarantee you the Indians miss the playoffs if they can't get at least a good reliever and a good closer.
• A "Big Swing" Hitter (At least until Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley are in the majors) - Yes, I know, the Indians have Grady Sizemore. They have Victor Martinez. Most other guys in the Indians starting lineup gets their fair share of home runs. But the Indians don't have one guys that can hit a home run anytime they are at bat. When the Indians traded away C.C. Sabathia, it isn't like they didn't get anyone good. Matt LaPorta was the main piece to the puzzle in the C.C. trade, who fits the description of that. A hiiter who can hit a home run anytime he is at bat. He is a lot like Ryan Braun. Then, the Indians also got a speedster named Michael Brantley. He will not hit many home runs, but since he is so fast, and has all the qualities of a leadoff hitter, Brantley should allow Sizemore to drop to third in the order. But let's face it. Those players won't be everyday players at all this season (unless they do exceptionally well in the minors). The Indians still need another player in their lineup that can hit. Free agents that include that description are 1B Mark Teixeira, LFs Manny Ramirez, Raul Ibanez, Patt Burrell, and Adam Dunn, DH Jason Giambi, and RF Bobby Abreu. The Indians are in major need of a slugger like Teixeira, even though that won't happen. Our best chance is a player like Casey Blake, Milton Bradley, Jeff Kent, or Ken Griffey Jr.
  Bottom Line: Until LaProta and Brantley are everyday players, this is a must for the Tribe.

Some players the Indians might try to trade for include: Brian Roberts, Garrett Atkins, and Huston Street
Some other players the Indians might sign in free agency are: Mark Grudzielanek, Freddy Garcia, and Jeremy Affeldt

If I were Indians GM Mark Shapiro, first, I would offer all the big name players that were at positions needed (such as C.C., Teixeira, and K-Rod) If any of those guys guys sign with the Indians, than that position is off the needs list.
Then, go for the guys that aren't really needed, but are great quality players (such as Manny who is always being Manny and Adam Dunn).
Then, go for the lower qualitly players at positions needed, such as Rafael Furcal and some of the players above
If none of those work, then trading should be done a lot.

If the Indians can fill the pitching situations, and LaPorta and/or Branley are ready to play in the majors early in the season, then this season should be a great one for the Tribe. If not, it will be much like last season 

I was at this game last night. I had myself a lot of fun. And I even got the autographs of C.C. Sabathia and Jake Westbrook, and saw Ludacris there. It was a very fun game to go to.

But about the Cavs, they are playing great basketball right now. When you go up against a team like this, you have virtually no chance of winning. The Bulls proved that statement right, and they were blown out by the Cavaliers, 107-93. LeBron James led the way for Cleveland with 41 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Ben Wallace didn't score or get any dimes, but did snag in 14 rebounds. Mo Williams didn't do much, getting only 13 points and 4 assists, with no rebounds. But he didn't need to do that. The Cavs rolled over the Bulls, who should be pretty embarrassed with this loss after coming 3 points within beating the Orlando Magic a few nights ago. But guys like Ben Gordon and rookie Derrick Rose had great nights for the Bulls. Gordon had 31 points, while Rose had 20 points and seven assists. At the beginning of the game, Rose looked like he was going to drop a hundred on the Cavs.

And away from the Bulls, and to the Cavs playing so far, they arguably played the two best teams in the NBA already in the Hornets and Celtics. The Cavs were leading in both of those games, but lost in each of them. But both were on the road. Those were the only two games the Cavs lost. In the three games the Cavs won, they won by 17, 19, and 14 points respectively against the Bobcats, Mavericks, and now Bulls.

Back to the Bulls game now. The Bulls got to it early, with Derrick Rose getting the first 4 points of the game. But the Cavs answered right back, scoring the next 4. They never looked back. In the game, LeBron rolled his ankle twice, resulting in only 36 minutes played, less than Delonte West. The Cavs did very well in this game overall, with scoring and defense, and that is why they got the win.

Like M1ghty Mouse did already (I was planning it before he did, so don't say I copied him), I will do a roster breakdown. It will probably be tomorrow or Saturday.

Wow. That is what I kpet repeating while watching the Cavaliers completely destroy the Mavericks last night. LeBron James played great basketball, like always. Mo Williams played great as well, and he was unstoppable in the 4th quarter. Wally Szczerbiak played well, especially for him. Everyone else did their job, and that gave the Cavs an easy win in big D. Anderson Varejao and Ben Wallace played great defense on Dirk Nowitzki. Wallace didn't score, but got 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. Varejao had great husstle plays, even late in the game when the win was locked up. He got a steal then threw a lob pass to LeBron who took a dribble and then made an easy layup. The Mavericks should be embarrassed by this loss, and the Cavs should play like this all year if they want any chance at the division crown.