Last July, when a certain NBA superstar announced on national TV that he was taking his so-called talents somewhere else, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert responded like so many Cleveland fans did when they heard the news:
He responded with an angry open-letter to the fans, ripping the "Decision-maker" for all the he was, announced that the Cavs would win an NBA title before the Heat did (still technically true; the Heat haven't won anything yet) and predicted that the so-called "Cleveland Curse" would follow LeQuitter with him to Miami and that "better times would be ahead for Cleveland."
Has it? Well, let's take stock:
1. The Indians have the best record in Major League Baseball at the moment, when everyone predicted they'd be the worst, or one of the worst, teams in the American League.
2. The Browns made another coaching change, but one that is along the same line of vision as Browns President Mike Holmgren and GM Tom Heckert and one who's offensive philosophies play into the strength of current quarterback Colt McCoy.
3. The Browns' Peyton Hillis was voted to be on the cover of Madden 12 by a wide-margin in a nationwide contest that spanned a month.
4. The Cavs lost a record 26 consecutive games, but wound up trading waste-of-spaces Mo Williams and Jamario Moon for All-Star point guard Baron Davis and the Clippers' first-round pick, giving them two lottery choices that led to ...
5. The Cavs making out in the NBA Draft Lottery, turning the Clippers' pick into the top-overall selection and having the No. 4 pick of their own. They became the first team since 1983 to have two picks in the top four.
6. The Browns stockpiled draft choices for this year and next year from the Falcons, and acquired mammoth defensive tackle Phil Taylor, pass-rushing defensive end Jabaal Sheard and athletic receiver Greg Little with their top three picks.
7. The Cleveland State Vikings mens basketball team, which featured standout point guard and NBA prospect Norris Cole, ripped off 13 consecutive wins to start the season, just missed out on clinching an NCAA Tourney berth, but hosted two rounds of the NIT, winning one.
8. The Lake Erie Monsters hockey team qualified for the American Hockey League playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They did blow a 3-1 series lead with home-ice advantage (welcome to Cleveland, Monsters), but still ...
9. The Cavs did beat LeQuitter and his Heat at home just before the season concluded, a soul-cleansing win for this city if there ever was one.
10. The Indians swept the Boston Red Sox at home, which may have kick-started their run to glory. Along with that, they seem to recapturing that Jacobs Field magic that was so prevelant back in the 1990s with several late-inning, last at-bat victories.
Now, if the Bulls can dispatch the Heat in the postseason, then we'll really be on to something. However, you can feel it in the air.
There seems to be a better feeling surrounding our sports teams. People are excited about the Browns progress (although, it doesn't take much to be excited about the Browns) and are hopeful the lockout ends soon so they can play some games. There is an optimism surrounding the Cavs that didn't seem to exist when LeQuitter bolted and then came back in December to rub our noses into it with a blowout victory. And, the Indians ... the fans may not be flocking to the Jake (or Progressive, whatever), but people are certainly paying attention to this team, that's for sure.
In recent memory, you'd have to go back to 2007, when the Cavs reached the NBA Finals, the Indians were one game away from an improbable World Series berth, and the Browns won 10 games (the most since 1994) and were an eyelash away from a playoff berth, to find such bubbling optimism surrounding our sports teams.
Sure, those bubbles burst on the Indians and Browns pretty quickly, and the Cavs made it back to playoffs the next three seasons but came up empty each time before you-know-who decided to tuck tail and abandon his home region, so you have to prepare for the worst. This is Cleveland, after all, and history dictates it as such.
But, maybe there is something to what Dan Gilbert alluded to. Maybe, when LeQuitter proclaimed that "karma was a bitch" after the L.A. Lakers beat the Cavs by 55 points at home, that turned the tides for good. Since then, the Cavs rebounded to beat both the Lakers and his beloved Heat, Hillis got the Madden cover, and you know the rest.
And, of course, with the NBA, you always have to smell a bit of a rat. When the Timberwolves' GM made an ill-advised joke about how the league loves good stories, and when the Cavs brought out Gilbert's son Nick, who suffers from a serious disease, to represent them at the lottery, he knew he "was done for," people assumed he was saying the lottery was rigged. Others believe that the NBA gave the Cavs the first and fourth as compensation for the way LeBron humilated them and the league with his "Decision" and to shut Gilbert up on his allegations of LeBron tanking the playoff games and that Pat Riley colluded with all three during the season.
If that's the case, so be it. It's about time Cleveland got some due and some good luck. If it was rigged, so be it. After watching Michael Jordan get breathed on by Cavs defenders and get foul calls, while also walking 6 steps to the basket without a travel call, it's time the NBA tilted the scales in Cleveland's favor.
Do I think it's rigged? Not necessarily, although I've been alleging for years that the NBA has been on the shady side since the 1980s, so it wouldn't surprise me.
Can the Indians keep it up? Will the Tribe make the right trades needed to get over the playoff hump? Will the Cavs improve next season and take the next step toward getting back into contention? Will the perennial rebuilding stop for the Browns with more wins than losses for once? These are questions that still seek answering. However, it appears we can answer these questions with a little more confidence and pride instead of blind optimism.
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
And LeBron, you can take your so-called apology, shine it up real nice, turn it sideways, and stick it straight up your candy-ass (yes, I blatently ripped off The Rock, but it conveyed my feelings the best way possible)! Go Bulls!
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