This Guy's Awesome

LeBron James is the real deal. If there were any doubts, they went away tonight. LeBron scored 48 points in tonight's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Detroit, 109-107 in double overtime. He scored 29 of the last 30, and the last 25 points of the game for Cleveland. It was a truly awesome performance. At times, it looked like LeBron was taking on the Pistons all by himself. The Cavs have a cast of spares surrounding the great LeBron James.

The Cavs now lead the series, 3 games to 2, with a potential series-clincher Saturday night in Cleveland. The Cavs have never been to the NBA Finals. The city of Cleveland has not had a team play for a championship since 1997, when the Indians lost to the Marlins in the World Series. However, a Cleveland team has not won a championship since 1964, when the Browns won the NFL championship. That was before the Super Bowl came along. It was also before I was born.

Thanks to a guy from Akron, Cleveland has a chance.

Ya gotta look out for CLE...

By the way, what is Chris Webber doing wearing the number 84?

What Could Have Been

Four years ago, the top high school player in America was in the state of Ohio. There was a guy at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron that was filling up gyms wherever he went. He was identified at an early age as "the next Jordan". He had so many agents and shoe companies after him that college was not even an option.

But, just what if this guy had gone to college? He wouldn't have stayed at home to play for the Akron Zips. There's a good chance he would have gone down the road to play for The Ohio State University. Imagine LeBron James in college. Even more farfetched: what if he would have stayed for four years?

Wait a minute, though. LeBron wisely took the money and turned pro. And, TOSU wound up with a stud in Greg Oden, thanks to the NBA, and their new rule requiring players to be 20 years old before they are drafted. So, TOSU is playing for a national championship tonight.

Both parties are better off, after all.