Day 43

#43 Brad Daugherty. Captain on the nice guys finish last team. He was the Cavaliers' Center during the solid if unspectacular run of years in Cleveland basketball lore. He was also involved in one the greatest Dad stories ever. May 7th, 1989. Cavs vs. Bulls. MD, Dad, and I were at the Richfield Coliseum for game 5 of the Eastern Conference first round. This was the best team the Cavs had probably ever had. The game was tight throughout, but the Cavs had control. The Cavs were up two with three minutes left when Scottie Pippen shot a three from the corner and missed. Daugherty went up for the rebound, it fell right into his lap, and 85 year old Bill Cartwright grabbed the ball right over him, put back the missed shot and Daugherty fouled him. Daugherty was always so soft and my Dad couldn't stand him. He stood up and screamed at the top of his lungs "GODDAM IT DAUGHRETY! YOU ARE SO GODDAM SOFT!" Well, sitting two rows in front of us at every game was a quite couple who always glared back at us. The guy and his wife both stood up and turned around. The guy said "Why don't you get off his back asshole!" and his wife says "yeah, he is trying his best." Dad responds "Sit down Baldy! His best isn't getting floored by 85 year old Bill Cartwright in the most important game of his life! He is so soft." MD and I were dying. It was one of the all time classic Dad spaz moments. From that point on, the guy was always referred to in our circle as "Baldy." 2 minutes later, Michael Jordan hit his most famous jumper, "The Shot," and pretty much killed the organization.

The next three days will probably be pretty emotional, so I am saving that for those days. Today, I am talking sports. Some random thoughts on my teams:

1. On my first glimpse of my Jayhawks last night. The sloppy play was beyond frustrating. With 27 turnovers, we wont be able to beat anyone decent. I just have to keep telling myself that this season will be like this and try not to get frustrated. That is what you get when your team is all freshman and sophomores. Arizona played like crap and they exposed us

2. That being said, the fact that we were down 20-5 to start and could have gotten completely blown out, but battled back to tie it in the second half. Everytime we got close, we would turn the ball over. We will get better.

3. Overall I see a very fun and frustrating season where we upset a team like Oklahoma, but lose to a team like Kansas State. The question is who is going to score and what is going to be our identity on offense. We could be scary good if we get it all together by late February. But we have a long way to go.

4. I watched the last 3 quarters of the USC/Fresno State game late Saturday night. Reggie Bush may have put on the single sickest display by a RB that I have EVER seen in a college game. I am so glad I saw it live. This guy is the fastest I've ever seen. A special, once in a lifetime talent.

5. USC will not win the national title. I will load up on Texas in that Rose Bowl. I don't care what the line is. The Fresno State offense went up and down the field at will last night. If Paul Pinegar doesn't throw 4 bad picks, Fresno wins that game. he threw two extremely bad ones in the end zone going in for TD's. Plus, Fresno's RB was literally getting 8 yards a pop. I am not a huge college fan, but Saturday I watched as much college football as I have all year. I watched the 4th quarter of the Texas Tech/Oklahoma game which had an amazing finish. The end of the OSU/UM game, and most of the Fresno St/USC game. All very compelling TV.

6. The Cavaliers are looking real solid, an 8-2 start. To win back to back nights, the second on the road in Philly where we were down 15 in the 4th is sick. Larry Hughes has 37 and Lebron 36 with a triple double? Wow. MD brought up a good point to me. The best we can finish is 4th, assuming the Pistons win the division. But we want to finish 6th. 6th has us playing the winner of the bad atlantic division in round one, and avoiding the Pistons in round two. The Heat are way more beatable. I know this wont be happening until May, but just food for thought.

7. The Browns have been beyond boring this season, but I know it is a process. I still watch all of the games, and of course I skip this past week and they shutout Miami 22-0. I love Reuben Droughns heart and guts, Braylon Edwards' talent, and Andra Davis' toughness. Other than that, there isn't much there. I love the third regime on 8 years. Year 8 of the 4 year plan!

8. This is a big offseason for the Tribe, especially the Dolan Family. I am already hearing grumblings that our best reliever last year, Bob Howry, is being offered $11 million for three years from the Cubs. The Yankees are after him too. Of course this means he is pricing himself right out of town. We need a right handed power bat at either first base or in rightfield. I cannot take another year of Casey Blake as an everyday player. My predictions: Howry and Bob Wickman sign elsewhere. We sign Tom Gordon to close and let our youngsters take over the roles in the pen. We trade for Troy Glaus and play him at first base. We are stuck with Casey Blake in RF for another season. Kevin Millwood also signs elsewhere and we replace him with Paul Byrd. Remember where you heard all of this.

Song of the Day: "What Can I Do"(remix) by Ice Cube