One Practice. One Play. One Game. One Fan. One Crowd. One Voice. One Mission. One Passion. One Energy. One Vision. One Family. One Team. One Spirit.

All for one.  One for all.

Cavaliers First Round Playoff Schedule vs. Detroit Pistons
Game 1: Saturday, April 18^th, 3:00 p.m. in Cleveland on ABC TV (exclusive) / WTAM radio
Game 2: Tuesday, April 21^st, 8:00 p.m. in Cleveland on TNT & FS Ohio TV / WTAM radio
Game 3: Friday, April 24^th, 7:00 p.m. in Detroit on ESPN & FS Ohio TV / WTAM radio\
Game 4: Sunday, April 26^th, 3:30 p.m. in Detroit on ABC TV (exclusive) / WTAM radio

If necessary:
Game 5: Wednesday, April 29^th in Cleveland with Time and TV broadcast TBD / WTAM radio
Game 6: Friday, May 1^st in Detroit with Time and TV broadcast TBD / WTAM radio
Game 7: Sunday, May 3^rd in Cleveland with Time and TV broadcast TBD / WTAM radio  

The season isn't over yet.  Yeah, we got the #1 seed in the Playoffs and home court throughout the Finals...big whoop...wanna fight about it?  But let's not forget the one night that you, our fans, wait for with bated breath this entire season...FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT!

For those of you lucky enough to have a ticket to the game, you will not be disappointed.  Aside from closing the season with a win moving us to 40-1 at The Q for the season (sorry Willie...I do hope that YOU have a good game) and tying the NBA record for most home wins in a season set by the "C"-word in 1985-86 (Celtics is now a curse word here in the office), we will be thanking the fans in attendance a Million times over...literally.  With over $1 Million in prizes that will be given away, everyone is going to leave with something who are in attendance.  Not only can you win the shirts and shoes that the players wear during the game (bring some Fabreze), but we are giving away a ton of other stuff like a trip for 4 to sunny Florida, a Kia Soul, gift cards, tickets to local events, a digital entertainment system including installation courtesy of hh gregg...you get the idea...it's gonna be BIG.  But for those of you not in attendance, we got some stuff for you too.

If you are a Cavs Insider, you are automatically entertained to win from a batch of prizes like a digital camera, Shearers' chips for year (sans the pepperoni pizza...that's my delivery fee that I shall keep), a Garmin, watches, a Hoover vacuum, a Cub Cadet "weed wacker", autographed items and much, much more.  But wait....there's still more.  Tune in to FSOhio for the game tomorrow as they hold their Viewer Appreciation where they will award fans with Cavs prize packs and tickets to Playoffs...yeah, THIS year's Playoffs.  With all this appreciation, I just don't know what to do.

But the best gift of all has been what the team has done this season.  There is no other gift that can compare...but I would still take it if you are lucky enough to win something.  Enjoy the finale and get ready for the encore...

Look, we are all taking this season 1 game at a time.  However, it is impossible to ignore the obvious greatness and domination our Wine and Gold Warriors have been demonstrating this season.  They have been "laying the smacketh down" since opening day and haven't looked back. 

Podes, our illustrious illustrator of all things graphics for the Cavaliers Operating Company whose name you might recognize as a recurring reference in The Optimist's prognostications and is pictured here in his normal work attire for a Thursday, has been talking about the 'magic number' since October 30th.  Now it actually means something so we are paying attention to him.  The Cavs 'magic number' is 3 to secure #1 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and 6 to secure the overall #1 and home court advantage should we make it to the NBA Finals.

You might be asking yourself, "Self, what is a 'magic number'?"  I'll tell you what it's not, and when I do, you will understand why I can never go back to Sea World. You see, Self, a 'magic number' is the number that indicated how close a front-running team is to securing a certain goal such as a division title, playoff spot, etc.  According to the all-knowing and all-truthful, Wikipedia, "it represents the total of additional wins by the front-running team or additional losses by the rival team after which it is mathematically impossible for the rival team to capture the title in the remaining games."  It is calculated by taking the total number of games left in the season (G), adding 1 to take into account tie breakers, subtracting the total number of wins by Team A (the Cavaliers - W:C) as well as subtracting the total number of losses by Team B (Celtics, Magic, or Lakers - L:CML).  It looks like this for all of you "Big Bang Theory" fans:

G + 1 - W:C - L:CML

However, good ol' Uncle Dave and the NBA use a more complicated formula for breaking ties, using several other statistics of merit besides overall win/loss record; however the first tiebreaker between two teams is their head-to-head record; if the frontrunning team has already clinched the better head-to-head record, then the +1 is unnecessary.  And as Dewey Finn said in The School of Rock, "and that's the magic number!"  (Told you I would reference it Schaef.)

Ok, I'll admit it...I'm a sneaker shoe junky.  The 20 some odd pairs of sneakers that I have (not including the ones that I have in boxes, unopened) are a hobby of mine.  If I like a shoe enough, I'll buy one to wear and one to keep...OK, it's more of an addiction than a hobby.  M&M thinks I'm crazy but she still loves me because THAT'S what love is, Foreigner.

Some people start their morning by going to check their email or CNN.com or USA Today.  Me?  I go to SneakerNews.com, NikeTalk.com, PickYourShoes.com and NikeLebron.net, the ONLY site that I trust when it comes to LeBron's shoes and releases.  Recently, while taking a break from strategically marketing stuff, I discovered the newest addition to LeBron's shoe arsenal that he will release at this year's Playoffs - the Nike LeBron Zoom Soldier III (I wish I had four names and a Roman Numeral after my name).  They are real and they are spectacular.  One of my boys in basketball communciations saw LeBron wearing them at practice and he said they are even better up close.  There are few things in life that I say I have to do; purchasing these when they come out is DEFINITELY one of them.

Here are some pics but, if you want to see more, go to NikeLebron.net. 

I have to say that the 72 different hand-shakes (I've counted) that Cavs players now have to do before they are either introduced or actually play may be getting a little out of control (we can all thank Manny Ramirez, who started this trend, but after all, it was just Manny being Manny).  I mean, how can you even remember which hand-shake you have to do with each different person.  I am, however, guilty of doing the same thing.  I have a different handshake with Olivier, Zambo with QTV, Joe G, Podes, The Optimist and even Moondog.  But LeBron and Co. have taken their pre-game rituals to a whole new level and it is AWESOME.

If you haven't seen it, before the starters take the floor, LeBron pretends to grab cameras from several of his team mates as they pose for different photo shots like a group of high school students on their Senior Trip to Washington DC or Toronto.  I LOVE IT!  I mean, how can you not love the different poses, especially DJ holding Delonte...priceless.  It is comical but in a way it is like they are creating a memory each and every time they take the court (how's that for a hidden meaning).  Anyway, check it out during pregame tomorrow night.  FSOhio shows it constantly.  I think you'll agree with me that it is truly "where amazing happens."