See you on the 7th!

I'll be out of the country until September 7th. If anything major happens (JR Smith? Please?) then maybe I'll log a post from a cafe somewhere. But even then, don't count on it.

Here's hoping we don't lose any more key Browns players before the season starts (and if Brady plays great, well, I'm doubly thrilled that I won't be around for that whole mess).

Later, wankers!

Hey Browns fans, temper those epectations

Secondary doesn't look good and both Josh Cribbs and Derek Anderson got hurt:

Anderson was hit by Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora and landed on his head early in the second quarter of Cleveland's 37-34 defeat. The Browns described the injury Monday night as a "possible concussion"; Anderson's condition was later confirmed by a source.

There is still no official word on how much time Anderson might miss. The source says the concussion is not severe and, at the very least, Anderson should be ready for Cleveland's regular-season opener Sept. 7 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Part of me is almost glad this happened. And for a couple reasons.

First of all, it'll remind Browns fans that they're actually cheering for a Cleveland sports franchise. Don't build up those expectations. Lay off the Super Bowl chants (seriously, can't I just watch the Tribe lose without hearing about the Browns heading to the Super Bowl?).

I fully expect the Browns to be a better football team this season, but I'm not entirely sure how that's going to translate into wins and losses. Their schedule is brutal and it's better for everyone involved to get a healthy dose of reality.

Secondly, this 'mild' concussion for DA will give the Browns a reason to play Brady Quinn with the first unit (and against the first unit) without having to worry about wins and losses. Anderson is going to be the starter upon his return and it can't hurt to see how Brady does with/against first stringers (I was concerned about them finding ways to get Quinn some PT with the first unit. I don't think you can go into next offseason without having seen Brady against the top talent).

As for the results on the field, I really don't care at this point. Down 30-3? That sucks, don't get me wrong, but it's a preseason game. It. Doesn't. Matter. Obviously I'd rather have them ahead 30-3, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.

The fact that they played like shit on national TV is probably a good thing. Keeps things in perspective and doesn't let them get ahead of themselves. This season is going to be a ton of work and just because they won 10 games a year ago, doesn't mean they're guaranteed to do it again. Hopefully, Monday night served as a wake up call (to both players and fans) and they'll be able to regroup and refocus because of it.

What's next?

Hmmm....

The rumor mill has been churning after the Williams deal. The Cavs could be talking to the Knicks about a big man.

Veteran shooting guard Michael Finley re-signed with San Antonio, but the Cavs wanted to add him to their crowded backcourt.

A source said the Cavs could have gotten forward/center Dan Gadzuric from the Bucks in the Williams deal, but declined.

The Knicks.... Randolph? Curry? I wouldn't think so.... David Lee? Mayhaps...

I really don't think the Cavs are done. I'm guess there will at least be one more minor deal before training camp officially starts up.

And I fully expect them to make a move the deadline.

Now this is what I'm talking about

Cavs trade for Mo Williams:

Never let it be said that the Cavaliers won't spend money to make sure LeBron James stays put in Cleveland. Danny Ferry went to work with some of his $30 million war chest of expiring contracts, and came out of it with a point guard who should provide a major upgrade for the Cavs' beleaguered offense.

Wednesday's trade for Milwaukee's Mo Williams also sent Joe Smith to Oklahoma City and Damon Jones to Milwaukee and returned Oklahoma City veteran Adrian Griffin; additionally, Luke Ridnour went from Oklahoma City (if he ever bothered moving there) to Milwaukee and Desmond Mason went from Milwaukee to Oklahoma City.

Cleveland takes on the final five years and $44 million of Williams' deal, but that's a small price to pay to make sure King James stays put in 2010. Williams isn't a pure point guard, but with LeBron handling the ball so much, he doesn't need to be.

The Cavs gave up: Joe Smith and Damon Jones. The Cavs received: Mo Williams.

Um... more trades like this, please.

The Cavs only gave up two veteran bench players and they get back a 25 year old point guard who averaged 17 and 6 last season. The Cavs are adding Williams without giving up any of their 'big' assets like Wally Szczerbiak's $15 million expiring contract or Anderson Varejao. Plus, they didn't lose any draft picks either. Just Smith and Jones.

Now, Williams does come with some issues, though I don't think I would consider any of them 'major'. He's a shoot first point guard, he's had some nagging injuries over the years, his contract is a bit hefty and he isn't exactly known for his defense.

I'm not worried about the shoot first issue, as the Cavs need someone else to put the ball in the basket and I'd imagine Williams will defer to James in the right spots. I don't mind his contract to much (5 years left for a total of $44 mil) because Williams is A) 25 and B) playing with LeBron. He'll be making roughly $8-9 mil per year, but he's young and if he works out, it could help keep LeBron here.

The injuries kinda worry me (Williams has only cracked the 70 game mark once, in 04-05 where he appeared in 80 games), but not to the extent that I'd be questioning the deal. And the defense? Williams is showing up to a team coached by Mike Brown. He'll play defense.

I like this move. Williams gives the Cavs their first legitimate point guard since Andre Miller, he'll move Delonte West to the bench (where I think he'll shine) and he gives the Cavs another scoring option. This should make LeBron's life easier and it'll take away any of Mike Brown's excuses for the crappy offense (you now have a PG, Mike).

To me, the best part of this deal is what the Cavs didn't give up. They got Williams, but they didn't blow their wad doing it. They're still in a great spot to make a major acquisition at the trading deadline. They still have Wally! $15 million in expiring deals. They could still add someone like Vince Carter very easily.

I think you gotta give Ferry credit, he upgraded the team without giving up anyone of real significance. You gotta like that, no?

I love Dan Gilbert

Thank you:

Dan Gilbert's kids returned from camp Friday and immediately asked their father: Is LeBron James going to Europe?

The Cavs' owner took a step back, said LeBron wasn't going anywhere and asked where they heard that. Everyone, they told him, was talking about it.

This did not exactly thrill Gilbert. He has more or less shrugged off as offseason gossip the rumors of a Greek team paying James $50 million a year in 2010.

''The reason this thing is where it's at,'' Gilbert said, ''is that we've got a bunch of bored, East Coast sports writers who have nothing to do because the offseason is a few months away and the Olympics [hadn't] started yet.''

The story of Olympiakos making plans to land LeBron became the subject of much chatter last week. On Friday, the members of the ''Redeem Team'' discussed the possibility in China.

Naturally, they said they'd have to consider an offer like that.

But Gilbert pointed out that James is not a free agent, he has never told the Cavs he does not want to stay in Cleveland and he can't be a free agent for two years.

Gilbert also said he felt Cleveland and James were being focused on unnecessarily.

''The undertone to the whole thing that I wonder is, why him?'' Gilbert said. ''Why not Dwyane Wade? Why not Chris Bosh? Why not whoever else is coming due?

''The only thing you can come up with is there are certain writers, or people who live on the East or West Coast, who think that Cleveland, Ohio, is not a good enough place for a superstar of LeBron's caliber to spend his career.

''Despite the quality of the franchise, the quality of life in the Midwest, the fans — it's a complete slap in the face from people who do not live in Cleveland, Ohio, to Cleveland, Ohio.

''That's probably my biggest problem with the whole thing.''

He continued.

''If he were playing for the Lakers or the Knicks or the Nets or Miami, what they consider glamour teams, I don't think there would be any of this talk. And the proof of it is there. Because there's not talk of any of these other stars.''

Michael Wilbon was on PTI calling the argument "bogus" because he said Gilbert deliberately didn't mention Kobe Bryant (who has also gotten some of the Europe rumors directed his way). Which, of course, is bullshit. How many "Kobe to NYC" stories have we seen? How articles have we seen about Kobe's (or D.Wade's, or Melo's) favorite cities/burroughs/sports teams?

Now, I don't know why Gilbert didn't mention Bryant, but I think it's fairly obvious to anyone with a brain that he's not just talking about the Europe speculation, he's talking about all the various "LeBron to NYC" rumors we've seen since LBJ's rookie year. Now, maybe he's not allowed to comment on other teams or what not, or maybe it was just an off the cuff rant that wasn't planned out (ie: he didn't deliberatly forget to mention Kobe), but he has a point.

I'm just glad someone who isn't a jackass blogger actually made it.

Done

I turned in my last project yesterday night. I'm (almost) officially done with grad school.

So, in a perfect world, this blog should be updated on a somewhat regular basis in the near future.

But not for long though, I'll be out of the country for two weeks starting August 22nd.

But after that, we should return to regularly scheduled programing.

I Hate You

At this point, they're simply taunting us:

"Speed and quickness are our best assets, and it'll be a question of can we do our best things better than they can do theirs? That'll be the story of all our games," said coach Mike Krzyzewski, who sat alongside James at the post-game news conference. (We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that James wore a red-brimmed New York Yankees hat to the press conference, placing it on the table in front of him before the questions began. "I got it in New York City," he told ESPN.com.)

dammit.