LeBron James will start his fourth straight All-Star game in New Orleans. Boston’s Kevin Garnett was the leading vote getter with 2,399,148 votes. James and Garnett will be joined by Orlando’s Dwight Howard, Miami’s Dwayne Wade and New Jersey’s Jason Kidd.
Is the Status Quo Really So Bad for the Cavs?
Even though LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance last season, it has become popular among fans and so-called experts alike to disparage both the team and that accomplishment.
Supposedly, James is surrounded by a bunch of stiffs and the Cavaliers only made it to the Finals because they faced favorable playoff matchups. We will look at the composition of the roster momentarily but let’s first dispel the notion that the Cavs were “lucky†to win the East.
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Pavlovic Out Six to Eight Weeks
Sasha Pavlovic will miss the next six to eight weeks with a left mid-foot sprain.
Pavlovic suffered the injury in the third quarter of Wednesday’s 121-85 win over the Washington Wizards. An MRI on Thursday confirmed the sprain.
Cavs Pound Wizards
The Cleveland Cavaliers played one of their best overall games and came away with a resounding victory over the Wizards 121-85.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas was 10 for 10, the first time since 1973 that a player has not missed a field goal with at least 10 attempts. Drew Gooden was 8 of 11 and Andy 3 of 4 resulting in the largest margin of victory since 1994.
“For some odd reason, we get to the point where we just say it’s time t o play great basketball,†James said. “We talked abut going for the jugular,†Gooden said, about the third quarter. “We didn’t want to let up even when they took their starters out and put their reserves in. We wanted to keep pounding the ball down low and get right into them.â€
Up next:Â Phoenix Suns
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Cleveland Cavaliers pound Washington Wizards 121 to 85
National Media Reaction
Ira Newble to receive Humanitarian Award
The 100 Black Men of Greater Cleveland Inc., a chapter affiliate of The 100 Black Men of America, will present a special humanitarian award to Ira Newble on Feb. 9 at the Marriott Key Center.
Newble is among five recipients who will receive awards “for their unique levels of achievement, leadership and community involvement.”
Newble will receive his award because of his support in the fight against the genocide in Dafur, Sudan. The award humbled Newble
“I’ve never received an award like this, and I’m honored that the 100 Black Men would choose me,” Newble said. “I just really started getting involved with these type of things, and I haven’t done as much as I want to do. It’s definitely an honor that the city of Cleveland will recognize me being active in the community.”
Before Monday’s game in Miami, the Cavaliers and Heat honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an inspiration to Newble.
“His life was a tremendous inspiration,” Newble said. “Men like him made a stand for equality and peace for everyone. We honor him [Monday], and we have to continue to make significant strides so everyone can enjoy the fruits of this country.”
The 100 Black Men Of America is a men’s civic organization whose stated goal is to educate and empower black children and teens. There are about 110 chapters throughout the country. The members are volunteers and include teachers, principals, engineers and health professionals. Former New York Mayor David Dinkins and former Brooklyn Dodgers star Jackie Robinson, who integrated Major League Baseball in 1947, were two of the early members.
Source:Â Cleveland.Com
Playoff Hopefulls?
Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald gives us his opinion.
As the midway point of the season approaches, the picture has become clearer. The haze of hope is fading into the reassurance of reality.
With the majority of the NBA’s teams either closing in on or — or having already passed — the 40-game mark, it is time to start the process of separating fact from fiction, the teams truly deserving of the hype from those that are here-for-now, the lucky from the legit.
Barring catastrophic injuries — or historic collapses — Boston, Detroit, Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio are essentially postseason locks.And unless Kevin Garnett gets traded to his former team, Shaquille O’Neal channels his former self, Michael Jordan dons his former uniform or Elvis drops another album, Minnesota, Miami, Chicago, Memphis and Seattle can get a jump on reservations for the draft lottery.
That basically leaves 20 teams in the mix for 11 playoff spots, with three months left to fight for position in a race where not much separates the hoaxes from the serious hopefuls.
We take a look at eight playoff-caliber teams — four from each conference — that have had surprisingly good or stunningly disappointing starts, and determine if they are pretenders or contenders.
 
Cleveland: The Cavs entered the weekend having won eight of 10 to overcome a rocky start marred by holdouts, injuries and an inactive offseason.
LeBron James has yet to get the roster help he needs, but he has responded by doing even more to prove last year’s run to the Finals was no fluke. No one else on the team scares you, but they do just enough to stay in games and give James a chance to deliver the knockout blow.
• Status: Contender
To see the rest of Michael Wallace’s picks click HERE
Source:Â Miami Herald.Com
Clear Fork’s Students Learn Cleveland Cavaliers offer more than just Basketball Jobs
Students from Clear Fork’s Tech Team, multimedia class, and the Future Career and Community Leaders of America learned recently there’s more to the Cleveland Cavaliers than LeBron James.
The local students took part in the Cleveland Cavs Career Day on Dec. 11. They saw behind-the-scenes moments at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs’ home court.
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“It gave me a new perspective on how they sell the game,” said Sarah Beal, a senior in the multimedia and FCCLA classes. “The reality is (the game’s) an event and a job.”
Multimedia teacher Tami Vaughn and FCCLA teacher Jennifer Klaus took 41 students and chaperones to the career day. The event included talks and presentations from Mike Ondrejko, vice president of sales and service; Campy Russell, director of alumni relations; David Poirier, executive chef; Tracy Marek, senior vice president of marketing; Amanda Greco, director of game presentation; and Tad Carper, senior vice president for communications.
“Each of these people discussed career options in their areas,” Vaughn said. “The importance of writing and communication skills was stressed. Students were also encouraged to read. They suggested by having these skills, it makes a person more employable.”
Garrett Shaffnei, a senior in the FCCLA class, attended his first Cavs game after career day. He watched the Cavs beat the Indiana Pacers.
“It was a great experience. It was more than I expected,” the 17-year-old said. “They had an awesome light show at the beginning of the game, and it was good to see the Cavs in person.”
Shaffnei said it’s important for schools to have career days.
“I just now decided that I am going to MedCentral College of Nursing after I graduate,” he said. “If I hadn’t decided already, then maybe I would have went into a different field. (The career day) really helps out.”
Keith Chapman, a senior in the FCCLA class, said he learned a lot from the preparation that goes into a game.
“There’s so much that you don’t see,” he said. “The chef’s job was neat. They have to cook a lot of food for a lot of people. They also have to be ready for a lot of people or not a lot of people.”
Klaus said this is the second year the Cavs have had a career day. She plans to go in future years because of the positive response by students.
“The presentations grabbed the students’ attention,” she said.
Chapman, 18, said the class got to shoot a free throw on the court where James plays. He described the shot as “really intense.
Source:Â The News Journal
Cavs Top Spurs
Boobie Gibson nailed a 3 pointer with less than a minute left to give the Cavs a two point lead as the Cavaliers beat the defending NBA champs 90-88. Some Cleveland fans had a scare in the 3rd as LeBron came down on the foot of Parker and limped off the floor. But LeBron was back after a timeout and finished the night with 27 points.
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Cavaliers win finals rematch with San Antonio 90-88
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