Winter Weather Advisory Issued for Snow & Rain
It's the calm before the storm in Northeast Ohio.
Congress to Press Military About ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers this week will press the military's top uniformed officers for the first time on whether they think repealing "don't ask, don't tell" makes sense or would be too disruptive.
Meningitis death at Ohio U. is 7th case in a year – Dayton Daily News
DAYTON — The death of an Ohio University student on Wednesday, Feb. 17, from complications from bacterial meningitis “really hit me,” said Mary Crane of Bellbrook. Andrea Robinson, 18, an Ohio freshman from Cleveland Heights, died Wednesday at ...
Traficant Won’t Say If He’ll Run For Congress In Ohio – Huffingtonpost.com
CLEVELAND — Democrats in northeast Ohio are watching to see if a former congressman who spent seven years in federal prison for corruption will try to stage an unprecedented political comeback. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. James Traficant, who once ...
Cleveland deemed most miserable city in USA – Reuters
The Ohio city on the Cuyahoga River has high unemployment, dismal weather, hefty taxes, corruption and mediocre sports teams, all of which have propelled it to the No 1 position in the Forbes.com list. "Cleveland nabbed the top spot as a result of ...
Mistress denies infatuation with Ohio doctor charged in wife’s cyanide … – Cleveland News – Fox 8
CLEVELAND (AP) — The second woman in an Ohio love triangle says her affair with a doctor charged in his wife's cyanide death was casual, not an infatuation. The testimony in Cleveland by Margarita Montanez (MAHN'-tuh-nehz) came Friday as the ...
Cavs 75, Magic 74 after 3Q: Windhorst Beat Blog
Cavaliers look to break two-game losing slide in rematch of Superman Shaq vs. Superman Howard
Shaquille O'Neal looks to show Dwight Howard who the real Superman is today in Orlando. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Updates from Amway Arena:
Third Quarter:
* Mike Brown started Antawn Jamison in the second half and it instantly seemed to free him offensively. He scored eight quick points that, essentially, wiped out everything in the first half and made it a new game. Perhaps this will be a reason for Mike to alter the starting lineup because it was easy to see that Jamison felt more comfortable starting than coming off the bench.
* Dwight Howard continues to be a load. It is not a good trend for the Cavs that Vince Carter isn't involved and Howard is on almost every possession. As a result. Shaq, Anthony Parker (who has been coming on help defense) and Jamison are in foul trouble. Andy Varejao is in better shape, but he's had a lot of trouble today with Howard.
* This has the potential to be a great finish. LeBron is playing great with 30 points, Howard playing great with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Shaq hasn't missed a shot yet and the trash talking is increasing settle in.
Halftime: Magic 49, Cavs 43
* First, the Magic are playing fantastically. The Cavs are having their problems and many of them are because they still don't seem very comfortable together right now. But the Magic are responsible for a lot of it as well. Orlando's defensive execution is the best I've personally seen it this season.
Thanks to LeBron, who has 21points on efficient offense, the Cavs are still in the game. Two things should be very concerning for the Cavs in the second half. One is that Vince Carter hasn't done anything yet. Second, is Orlando hasn't had they 3-point binge yet. One of the two will happen. If both do, it's a blowout.
* The Cavs are struggling offensively, again much of it is because the Magic are doing a great job with their assignments so far, but they are not getting help from Mo Williams. Not unlike in the playoffs last year, he is not helping when things breakdown or are shut down in the halfcourt. Though there are times when Mo is effective when plays are run for him, he helps the team most when he plays off LeBron and creates his own shot off plays. He's 0-of-4 and hurting the cause so far.
* Don't think Dwight Howard is taking this game personally? He played the most minutes of any player in the first half and he was upset when Stan Van Gundy took him out of the game. He's been dominant with his left hand, spinning over his right shoulder to score all game. Shaq was able to get good offensive production, he's 6-of-6 and has 13 points. He also has three fouls, but at least two of them came from guarding Howard defensively.
* Jamison isn't playing well. He's just 2-of-5 shooting. It seems the Cavs are determined to run plays for him. It would seem that he'd be better playing off LeBron, Mo and Shaq and looking for holes in the defense when they do their thing. This is part of the process of figuring out how everyone fits and works.
First Quarter: Magic 25, Cavs 18
* Magic are playing much better defense than the last time these two met in Cleveland. They movement and rotations have been excellent. The Cavs are running offense, they just aren't getting many open shots. The ones they are getting they aren't knocking down. The Magic, meanwhile, are getting inside on the Cavs. Much of it has been Dwight Howard, but Orlando had 20 points in the paint in the quarter. Unsustainable for the Cavs. They didn't even need their 3-pointers to get lead and they will make their 3-pointers at some point. Orlando is shooting 60 percent.
* You can see where the Cavs miss Zydrunas Ilgauskas in this matchup. Though the Cavs rolled out their first look with Antawn Jamison at small forward and LeBron at shooting guard, they had to have Andy Varejao check Howard when Shaq rested. Howard scored on him easily three times and drew a foul when Jamison had to come help. Big difference. Howard has 11 points and three rebounds.
* As expected, the Magic didn't cover JJ Hickson and double-teamed Shaq early with Rashard Lewis. Hickson was afforded a couple good looks but wasn't very effective. The Cavs went down seven points. Then Jamison came into the game and Shaq was able to get single coverage, The problem was the Cavs couldn't take advantage of it and, in fact, didn't run any sets to make the Magic chose to double team or not.
Projected starting lineups:
Cavs: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, JJ Hickson, Shaquille O'Neal
Magic: Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard
Officials
Joe DeRosa, Tony Brown, Gary Zielinski
* Should be some interesting signs in the crowd aimed at Shaq, who will probably get booed in his hometown. Shaq's decision to attack Howard with the "Superman" slap two weeks ago is a little like playing with fire. There is one school of thought within the league that suggests Howard will back down from confrontation or that it will take him out of the game. I'm not so sure about that. I feel like the Magic's biggest flaw is when they don't focus on Howard enough (Vince Carter often feeds this issue, which is why I felt trading for him was a mistake in my opinion and I felt that way last summer).
Because of what Shaq said and that personal challenge offered last time around, I suspect the Magic will attempt to force it down Shaq's throat on their home floor in this one. Let's see how this plays out. Not exactly what the Cavs want, I don't think, when they are in full struggle mode as they are at the moment.
* Antawn Jamison has a history of playing well against the Magic and especially Rashard Lewis. That was another reason the Cavs were interested in him. This season, in two games, he's averaged 18.5 points and 10 rebounds against Orlando. He was pretty shaken by that performance on Friday. Don't know enough about him to know how he responds to adversity like that. Pretty sure, as a veteran All-Star, that he'll bounce back. But when the Cavs traded for him he was in the middle of a shooting slump. He's had a poor February after an excellent January.
Not sure if it is a slump, his shoulder that is bothering him (though the Cavs just put him through a physical that included an MRI on the shoulder), or he was so downtrodden by the situation in D.C. that it got to him. Guess we'll see.
* Let's go over the game plan once again when playing the Magic. They put high pressure on the defense by sending the ball or Howard or running pick-and-rolls with Carter and Nelson. the idea is to find single coverage they can exploit or force double teams and kick the ball to the shooters. In general, when the Magic shooters are going from the outside they are very hard to beat, especially at home. Sometimes when they are hot, you just take your licking and head home. However, in Cleveland two weeks ago the Magic shot the ball well and the Cavs survived because LeBron was fantastic. Cavs have a little more margin for error, oops there's that reference again, against Orlando than they did last season.
* Without Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Shaq cannot use his fouls on anyone else besides Howard. In the last meeting, only two of his five fouls came defending him. The alternative is Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson, neither are as good of options as Z because sometimes Z's length can bother Howard finishing at rim. Expect the Magic to pound the ball into Howard to get Shaq in foul trouble early and often.
* In the last meeting, the Magic didn't even look at Hickson or Varejao. Their defense didn't include worrying about the power forward spot and instead focused on double-teaming Shaq (which drew Shaq's ire). Suspect the Magic will not approach it that way this time around with Antawn Jamison in fold. Could be more single coverage for Shaq or double teams coming from perimeter, which will free up shooters like Mo Williams.
Russian Evgeny Ustyugov wins men’s 15K mass start biathlon
Russian Evgeny Ustyugov finally earned a medal at the Vancouver Games, winning the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race.
Associated PressBiathletes at the shooting range during the men's 15 km biathlon mass start at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010.
ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer
WHISTLER, British Columbia -- Russian Evgeny Ustyugov finally earned a medal at the Vancouver Games, winning the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race.
The World Cup leader shot cleanly to finish in 35 minutes, 35.7 seconds, beating Martin Fourcade of France by 10.5 seconds Sunday.
Pavol Hurajt of Slovakia won the bronze, finishing 16.6 seconds behind Ustyugov.
Loved Ones Remember Toddler at Candlelight Vigil
CLEVELAND -- The death of a two-year-old girl has shaken people, especially in one Cleveland neighborhood.
FBI Investigating Woman’s Death on Cruise Ship
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — The FBI is investigating the death of a 32-year-old woman found in her room on a cruise ship.
Report Says ‘Avandia’ Maker Knew of Heart Attack Risks
NEW YORK (AP) — A Senate report said Saturday that drug maker GlaxoSmithKline knew of possible heart attack risks tied to Avandia, its diabetes medication, years before such evidence became public.
Dalai Lama Addresses Tiger Woods Scandal
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The Dalai Lama commented on Tiger Woods' sex scandals Saturday, saying self-discipline is among Buddhism's highest values, one day after Woods said he had strayed from his Buddhist faith.
Stink at Your Own Risk: Smelly Passenger Booted From Plane
People make headlines all the time for getting kicked off of an airplane; unruly behavior, drunkenness or as Hollywood director, Kevin Smith claimed -- being overweight. But there is a new one to add to the pre-flight boot list...bad body odor.
Winter Storm Watch: More Snow on the Way?
A winter storm watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for Ottawa and Lucas counties. The watch will be in effect from Sunday evening through
Monday evening.
