OK, so I read this in my hometown newspaper this morning, opposite the headline, Twins blast Tribe, 11-0 (but we won’t discuss that today). From Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press:

Philadelphia sports fans, it is said, would boo a cancer patient. They threw snowballs at Santa Claus during a game in 1968. They cheered when the Dallas Cowboys’ Michael Irvin injured his neck and had to be carried off the field in 1999. They behaved so badly that a courtroom was set up at old Veterans Stadium to handle arrests.

But the City of Brotherly Love is where [quarterback Michael] Vick will make his comeback attempt.

Now fiends. Everybody knows that Michael Vick did a very bad thing. He did his time, he’s paying his debts, and hopefully he has learned something about compassion for animals. However, I still maintain that compared to some other athletes, he got an unusually harsh sentence. Would that mere humans received as much aggressive defense as dogs. (If you like, refer to a past rant on that subject.)

So, I ax you: Does Vick deserve a second chance? Or is it fitting that the mighty should fall once in awhile? I covet your articulate and compendious responses.

I think he’s going to get, if nothing else, a huge lesson in “I can’t let them get me down.” Still, if he doesn’t produce for the Eagles, everybody’s gonna look bad.

Fink out.

Maybe next year. Man, that sounds familiar, don’t it, Cleveland fans? And the 50-year drought continues.

I can hear LeBron in Mike Brown’s office tomorrow: You have GOT to get me some help out there.

I read in the Plain Dealer this morning that James, for the first time in his NBA career, refused to talk to reporters after a game. He also didn’t shake hands with a single Orlando player at the end. I didn’t see that particular scene because I couldn’t bear to watch the last 3 minutes.

NBA.com called it “a dream deferred.” I call it a nightmare which will continue until and unless the Cavaliers either get LBJ some support, or watch him sign with another team — which he might do anyway, regardless of the “I’m not looking to go anywhere else” catch-all, non-committal, meaningless statement.

Blah. Depressing. But hey, why get all sad-faced about the Cavs when I can talk about the Indians and their stellar season thus far?

Mercy.

Happy Sunday, fiends.

Fink, sore loser

Photo credit: Getty Images

Not mine (although I seem to be doing that as well, but that’s another kettle of fish). Rather, I’m talking about the Eastern Conference Finals.

After blowing a 20-point lead (again), it looked like the same old same-old. I was just a little sleepy, so I gave up after the 3rd quarter, when the lead was bouncing back and forth and the Cavs appeared poised to do what they always do.

Imagine my surprise this morning…

Of course, the question on every Cavs fan’s mind is, “Can they win in Orlando tomorrow night?” My question is, not surprisingly: “By how many points will they lose this time: one, two or ten?”

Cynical? Who, me?

Remember, motor mouth (but admittedly funny guy) Charles Barkley picked the Magic to win the Finals. There are people who’d like nothing more than to prove him — and everyone else with eyes and a brain — wrong. My guess right now? Barkley’s right. Orlando is the better team. All but two of the Cavs’ losses in the regular season were on the road, so tomorrow’s game in Orlando might be painful.

I know, I know, basketball fiends. History doesn’t matter in the playoffs. Well, I beg to differ. But…we’ll see about all that tomorrow night, now won’t we.

Graduation this weekend, then singing at a memorial service on Monday night. (BFF Kay lost her dad on Memorial Day. He was a sweet guy; I loved him.)

So, TGIF, I guess. Meh.

Photo credits: cavs.com, Getty Images

…it’s amazing.

Yeah, those annoying AutoTune-laced Kanye lyrics are still playing in my head. And for once, I am glad. I cannot stop thinking about the last-second (literally, there was one second left in the game) shocker from last night’s Cavs game. And even though LeBron is ever so slightly full of himself, I think that after the hat trick he pulled last night, he’s entitled.

The above article mentions the silence of 20,000+ fans at Quicken Loans Arena, when Mo Williams got set to inbound the pass for a desperation shot that surely wouldn’t go in, leaving the Cavs down 0-2 in the series. Well the silence (and resignation) was in full force in a lot of living rooms as well. I remember it like it was yesterday…er…OK, it was yesterday, whatever. I was sitting on my sofa, with the remote pointed, ready to angrily turn off the TV when the Cavs’ last-ditch effort didn’t pan out. I mean, we needed a 3-pointer to win, with one second left on the clock. I was just praying for a jumpshot to maybe tie the game and send it into overtime.

And then, this.

Heh. So amazing.

Happy Saturday!