Michael Jordan or Grant Hill?

My barber is a sports genius. Just ask him. He will tell you anything you want to know about Cleveland sports. What is working well? What needs to change? What coaching decisions should have been made? But seriously, my barber knows a ton, and he talks about it all day and night. It is a great place to talk sports and get my hair cut.

Something he said this week, though, caught my attention and got me thinking BS.

We were talking about Cleveland sports, and I made a back-handed comment about how Lebron James will probably break his leg soon, ending all hopes of a playoff team in Cleveland in the near future.

Tommy started to tell me how it was an impossibility.

"Guys like Lebron don't break their legs. They are too good of athletes to get hurt too seriously. Lebron is one of those guys. It won't happen. You watch."

Tommy might be right, but considering the timing and the fact that Lebron has spent some time in the hospital over the last few days with mystery pains in his chest region, I am going to say that nobody is impervious. It doesn't matter if it is Michael Jordan.

Jordan wasn't impervious to injury. He just happens to not have been injured that much in his career. He was lucky enough to become "Michael Jordan the player who doesn't get injured and does nothing but win championships with the Chicago Bulls."

He very easily could have gone the other way and just been "Michael Jordan, that guy who could have been so great if he didn't happen to injure himself every time he stepped on the court."

And if you don't believe me, you can ask Seattle Mariners fans about "Ken Griffey Jr. who will become the greatest player in the history of the game over the next decade" vs. "Ken Griffey Jr. who can't seem to shake the injury bug and has been traded to the Cincinnati Reds for a bag of balls and a shiny silver dollar."

Trust, me I am hoping that we get all the Lebron that Lebron can be, but it is always possible that your "lock" for superstar of the millennium can just as easily become the would-a could-a should-a footnote with tons of career stats sheets with partial seasons like Grant Hill.

So, while I would love to believe the my barber's theory, and he is generally a smart, observant fan, I am going to have to call Bravo Sierra...

And maybe start praying...

NFL Power Rankings 10/12/2005

The Cleveland Browns jumped six spots from number 27 to number 21 after their late-game heroics against the Bears secured a victory.

The Bears on the other hand dropped from 22 into the Browns' old 27 spot.

Other moves of note:

The Browns' next opponent, The Ravens dropped to number 30 after a horrific performance last week with their now infamous 21 penalties.

The Browns have a very winnable game this week in Baltimore, but we will get into that later.

Cavs Beat Celtics in Pre-season Game

Lebron James didn't play due to a mild chest strain. Hopefully this just means James was sore and didn't feel like going tonight. After playing the minutes he played last season (42.4 minutes per game average) he reserves the right to determine some amount of his playing time.

But the Cavs took out the Celtics anyway. Luke Jackson guarded Paul Pierce as he started in place of Lebron. That is no easy task and Jackson did ok, allowing Pierce to score 18 points. We have seen what Paul Pierce can do, and in that context 18 points really isn't that terrifying. The other part of the Jackson story is that he had 14 points, two steals and two blocked shots. After spending all of last season out with a back injury, it is nice to see what kind of draft pick Luke Jackson really is.

Hopefully he can keep the effort up and become a solid threat off the bench this year. It sure would be nice if Lebron could lower that per game average from 42.4 minutes per game. Maybe Luke Jackson can help him do that.

Lee Suggs Injured (again)

I am not sure how he does it, but Lee Suggs has found a way to become injured again. This time he has a broken thumb. He had to have surgery and a couple screws inserted. Not that the Browns are really going to miss him because he hasn't really played yet, but it sure would be nice to see some action from the guy who the Browns had rated as the number one guy out of training camp.

Maybe that is too much to ask, though.

Jesus Hates the Yankees

I wouldn't buy this shirt, but I definitely think it is hilarious.

If you would like to buy this shirt it is available from Busted Tees.

How Does That Taste?

I know it doesn't change the fact that the Cleveland Indians imploded in the last week and a half of the season. I know it doesn't make that failure any easier. I know that we Cleveland still hasn't won a world series since the 1940's.

But doesn't it feel good to see both the Yankees and Red Sox eat it in the first round of the playoffs?

The Yanks with almost $206 million in payroll

The Red Sox with over $121 million in payroll

Oh, and a message to all those out there who hate the Yankees but not the Red Sox, they might as well be the same team in my mind. In fact, you should probably hate the Red Sox more because the Yankees never stole any of our players.

Why do I think you should dislike the Red Sox even more than the Yankees? First of all, the Yankees didn't steal Manny Ramirez from us. Secondly, the Red Sox have even less home-grown talent as far as I can tell. Ortiz was from Minnesota. Ramirez from Cleveland. Damon from Oakland/KC. Schilling from Arizona.

You get the point. The Red Sox, although they want to be seen as something so much different than the Yankees, are really just the Evil Empire with less money.

Cavs Pre-season Begins Tonight

The Cavs open their pre-season schedule tonight against the Washington Wizards. Not that pre-season games are big or anything, but this is the start of a process for the Cavs. They made a lot of moves in the off-season and it is going to be important for the team to develop the chemistry necessary to be successful. At this point guys like Larry Hughes and Donyell Marshall are good additions, but if they can't all play a cohesive team game, then it doesn't matter how many skills each of those guys brings to the table.

This will also be our first chance to see Mike Brown's coaching abilities. I felt that Brown was an interesting choice given the fact that you usually see star coaches matched with star players, and Lebron is officially a star in this league now. But, there haven't been any problems so far, so we will see if this guy is part of the improvement process for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Other notes:
On WTAM this morning, I heard Eric Snow will be going in as the starting point guard. That will be a battle, but I expect him to lose that starting position to Damon Jones before the regular season begins.

"A million dollars in pennies is still a million dollars"

These were the words of Antonio Bryant after yesterday's 20-10 Browns victory over the Chicago Bears. While Romeo Crennel and Trent Dilfer were making sure to let everyone know that they weren't happy with every aspect of the game and how the team looked through the first 3 quarters, this is understandably the stance of many players and many fans. A win is a win is a win is a win, especially in the NFL and especially in Cleveland at home in Cleveland Browns Stadium, where the Browns had lost 6 straight home games until yesterday.

Demonstrating poise and perseverance, the Browns collected themselves in time to grab a win they needed to have to ensure their growth chart continued on the upswing. They evened their season record to 2-2 with their first home win in 357 days.

Dilfer was intercepted twice and struggled for 57 of the game's 60 minutes before connecting with Bryant for touchdowns of 33 and 28 yards just 38 seconds apart late in the fourth quarter.

Crennel's defense was sliced up for 137 yards rushing by Thomas Jones, but it cranked up the heat on Chicago rookie quarterback Kyle Orton when the game was put in his hands.

Chris Crocker had a career day with 10 tackles, 1 sack and 2 forced fumbles. That was really the difference in the game. The Browns defense didn't have a particularly good game, except when it mattered most, in their own half of the field. They gave up only 10 points despite giving up 176 rushing yards to the Bears.

So the Browns go to 500 for the first time this season and face a tough a division game against the Baltimore Ravens next week. The Ravens are hobbled, but given the Browns' lack of run defense, it should be interesting to see what historical Browns killer Jamal Lewis has in store for the good guys.

I will also be keeping an eye on the Power Rankings on ESPN. Going into this week, the Browns were ranked 27th, but the Bears were ranked 22nd, so it should hopefully push them up a couple slots.