How to End a Title Drought?

The Cleveland Cavaliers were trailing 3-1 in their series with the Orlando Magic entering tonight's game in need of three straight wins. They are currently the city of Cleveland's best chance to win a championship for the first time since 1964 when the Jim Brown-led Browns won the NFL Championship, before the Super Bowl-era.


This has been probably the most heartbreaking drought with events like Red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble, The Shot, and The Error. Two years ago, the Cavs were in the NBA Finals and were promptly swept by the Spurs, while the Indians led the Red Sox 3-1 in the ALCS and lost the last three games, including Game 7 when Kenny Lofton was held up by third base Joel Skinner when he would of scored the tying run in the 7th inning. The Red Sox went on to win 11-2 as they scored eight runs in the last two innings and the drought continued. This also includes the Indians forty years missing the playoffs in a row until 1995, the reign of terror by Ted Septien in the early 1980s almost ending the Cavs franchise, the failure of the NHL's Cleveland Barons, the last major sports team to cease operations and the 1995 Browns move to Baltimore by Art Modell.


So with all that baggage to work with, how is it possible for the years of losing to end? The fact is that years of losing create the thought of "curse" in the minds of the team/cities fans psyche. There is always the feeling that the other shoe is about to drop. You can see it anytime a nervous energy takes over a stadium/arena and the team you root for is suffocated by this. It happened to both the Mets and the Cubs last season; same goes for the Vikings in the playoffs. Unfortunately, it seems like that conventional ways to win never work, there needs to be a moment where a team is seemingly "destined" to win.


Most of the recent "curses" that have been foiled had a moment where a collective fan base no longer thinks the worst will happen. It could occur anytime in the playoffs, and usually comes at the lowest point in the season. The best example of this theory is the Boston Red Sox; they reached their low point after Game 3 in the 2004 ALCS against the N.Y. Yankees when they were down 3-0. As any Bill Simmons reader knows, the Dave Roberts steal is considered that turning point for the Red Sox, mainly because the next play, Bill Mueller knocked Roberts in with a single off Mariano Rivera. After that, and a couple of game-winners by David Ortiz, the Red Sox steamrolled their way to breaking the Curse of the Bambino.


A better example on a personal level was the 1994 N.Y. Rangers when Mark Messier guaranteed victory in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Final series with the N.J. Devils. They trailed the series 3-2 and the game 2-0 when Messier assisted on a goal, then scored a hat trick and the Rangers won 4-2. Unlike the Red Sox, the Rangers didn't steamroll their way to the Cup and actually gave Rangers plenty of reasons to believe it wasn't coming. But, they fought through a late-tying goal by the Devils in Game 7 followed by Stephane Matteau's OT winner and the great Howie Rose call put the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Then, the Rangers took a 3-1 series lead, lost the next two games and held off a final charge by the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup after 54 years.


Those aren't the only droughts that needed the perception of a team of destiny for it to be broken. The Chicago White Sox stole Game 2 of the ALCS against the Angels after a controversial when the umpire said Josh Paul dropped a third strike with two outs to A.J. Pierzynski when he actually just threw it back. Joe Crede would win the game on the next at-bat and the White Sox swept their way to the World Series, their first since 1917. The Phillies ended the 25 year Philadelphia championship drought and their moment of destiny was a 4-run 8th inning in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Dodgers when Shane Victorino and Matt Stairs hit two 2-run HR's that turned a 5-3 deficit to a 7-5 win. They also had a bases-loaded infield single in Game 3 of the World Series to further the team of destiny role. The Detroit Red Wings ended a 42 year Cup drought in 1997, plus being labeled chokers for recent flameouts in the playoffs. In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Steve Yzerman scored on a 60-ft shot and the Flyers were done in four games.


The Cavs ended up winning the game to make the series 3 games to 2 in favor of the Magic. LeBron had a part in 32 straight points but that's in my eyes isn't a turning point that makes the Cavs a team of destiny, which means something needs to happen in Game 6 that changes the fortune of this team, whether it's another game-winner from LeBron, a great block or even LeBron announcing he will stay in Cleveland tomorrow. Whatever it is, there needs to be a sign that this drought will end very soon if the Cavs are going to win this championship, or this season will be known forever in Cleveland as The Letdown (unfortunately I can't come up with a better name than that).

MLB Preview

Tomorrow is the 1st game of the baseball season, even though it should be Monday. You should be able to watch the 1st day of baseball, followed by the National Championship, ending with One Shining Moment. But now it's time for the official preview of the upcoming baseball season by me here at The Cycle.

Starting in the NL East, we have probably the most competitive division in the NL. Once again, the Mets and Phillies are the favorites and I see both teams making the playoffs. The additions of K-Rod and JJ Putz fix one of the worst bullpens in baseball and the Mets should be in. I also think the Phillies did good by adding Raul Ibanez to replace Pat Burrell. The Braves and Marlins will be in the race, but ultimately are lacking a true contender since the Braves still have a weak bullpen and a lesser rotation, while the Marlins have a poor defense and I think still depend on the long ball a little too much, especially for a young team. No need to discuss Washington.

The NL Central is the Cubs title to lose; they are clearly the class of that division. They are better on offense and have the best pitching, certainly in the Central, maybe in the league. I think Kevin Gregg will prove to be a good replacement over Kerry Wood, the rotation is better than what the Phillies and Mets can offer and their lineup, overall, is better than the West can provide. As for the rest of the division, the Cardinals are always better than you think because of La Russa and Pujols, the Brewers can still hit, so they should be above .500. The Reds are the sleeper in the division that everyone's talking about with good reason; they have good young talent in both the lineup and the pitching staff. Houston should come back to the pack and the Pirates are the Pirates; one of these years they have to win, though.

The NL West should go to the Dodgers if they continue to get great play from Manny. They also have a lineup that pretty good for that division, once you start looking at the DBacks and Giants. Both teams are pitcher-heavy and are better in that aspect than the Dodgers. The Giants rotation is slightly better than Arizona's now that Randy Johnson moved there, along with last year's Cy Young Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. If San Fran can get anything from there lineup, they can beat the Dodgers. Colorado and San Diego are non-factors in the race.

Moving to the AL East, the toughest division in baseball. The Yankees, Red Sox and Rays are the three best teams and unfortunately one will miss the playoffs entirely. The questions surrounding the three are as follows: Are the Yankees too old and how does A-Rod's early absence and subsequent return effect them? The Red Sox have to worry about whether or not David Ortiz and Mike Lowell can comeback and if they can get anything out of Brad Penny and John Smoltz. The Rays need to avoid the post-Series hangover and a lesser bullpen. I think the Rays are here to stay and I'm a little more concerned with the Yankees, mainly because their offense was the problem and I think that they will be the team left out. And if you think this is in the words of Bill Simmons a reverse jinx, well... Blue Jays are cursed to be in the AL East, because they are better than .500 but might end up trading Halladay. The Orioles have a good lineup and need the pitching to continue improvement.

The toughest division to pick a winner is the AL Central because any of the 5 teams could win. I don't think the White Sox will be one of them. The Tigers could bounce back, but I think they also will make some trades to lower payroll (Cabrera/Ordonez to the Red Sox?). The Royals I think will be good this year and finish over .500, but they will fall short of the title. So it comes down to Cleveland and Minnesota. The Twins always play well, solid pitching and timely hitting. But they will miss Joe Mauer in the beginning and I think the Indians will bounce back. They were kind of unlucky last year and hopefully bounce back years by Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, another strong year by Cliff Lee and a better bullpen with Kerry Wood and they will win the Central.

The AL West could be interesting if the Angels start slow. Once again, they have injuries to the rotation with John Lackey and Ervin Santana missing time. They also lost more than anyone with Mark Teixeria, Frankie Rodriguez and Jon Garland leaving. But they still should win a weak division with Bobby Abreu providing insurance in the lineup, Brian Fuentes and Jose Arredondo the strength of the bullpen and an early return for both starters. The Rangers have the same story, different year: plenty of hitting, no pitching. The A's could put it all together if Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi can hit, Eric Chavez plays a full year and the young pitching comes of age. If not, expect them to sell by the deadline. The Mariners will be better than last year's putrid effort, but they aren't a .500 team.

Award winners:
MVP's: Albert Pujols (NL), B.J. Upton (AL)
Cy Young: Johan Santana (NL), Roy Halladay (AL)
ROY: Jason Motte, Stl (NL), Matt Wieters, Bal (AL)
Manager: Dusty Baker, Cin (NL), Eric Wedge, Cle (AL)

Playoff predictions
DS: Red Sox over Angels, Rays over Indians
Cubs over Mets, Phillies over Dodgers
LCS: Rays over Red Sox, Cubs over Philles
WS: Cubs over Rays