Cleveland Sports Roundup: 10/23
Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE
“I was saearching for basketball rhythm,” Gibson said. “Going hard on one end then coming down on the other end and making a shot. You can’t get that running up hills or in offseason work. You have to get on the floor and play. It took a couple games to get a feeling to that NBA pace again. I know where my shot is coming and where I’m going to find them.”
He partially tore a tendon in his foot. He was injured trying to defend New Jersey’s Deron Williams on March 19.
From morningjournal.com
“I’m going against everything I’ve done in the past,” said Scott, who traditionally has had his starters and rotation down by the last two preseason games. “I still want to see some different lineups, so I’m going to change the lineup a little bit and play some different guys and see how that works.”
With as many as four or five players competing for the last two roster spots, it’s possible several players at the end of the bench will get a look. Again, traditionally only Scott’s starters and top rotation players see action in the final preseason games.
“All that goes out the window,” Scott said. “As we all are trying every single day to get better, I want to see if this lineup can be a little better than the lineup I’ve had the last three preseason games. That lineup … has gone the last three or four days of practice together, too. I want to see how they play together. Then I’ll make my final decision of who’s going to start and all that stuff next week.”
From www.cleveland.com
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving, last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, had terrible stage fright growing up in New Jersey.
Then, while a senior at St. Patrick High School, Irving threw caution to the wind and tried out for his school’s rendition of “Disney’s High School Musical.”
“I had no problems playing basketball games on national TV but that wasn’t the same as standing on a stage remembering lines and acting,” said Irving, who was born in Australia but lived mostly in New Jersey. “I decided during that senior year to face my fears. I was singing! I even had a solo!”
On Monday, Irving guest stars on Disney’s XD’s hit show “Kickin’ It.”
In the episode “Sole Brothers,” Jack (“Leo Howard”) and Jerry (“Mateo Arias”) get jobs at the shoe store in the mall just in time for Irving’s visit to promote his new shoe line. When two thugs try to steal an allotment of Irving’s shoes, Jack, Jerry and Kyrie stop them.
From espn.go.com
-GM Chris Antonetti and Francona are still interviewing candidates for the coaching staff. It’s believed Brad Mills and Sandy Alomar are on the staff. Mills has been on Francona’s coaching staffs in Philadelphia and Boston. Alomar will be on the staff if he isn’t hired as a manager. It’s being speculated he’s a candidate to replace John Farrell as Toronto’s manager.
-Francona said the staff might not be complete until early November. He says it will be a mix of coaches from inside and outside the organization.
From www.cleveland.com
“In my years of covering Terry and now the one season we shared as teammates at ESPN, I have a great appreciation and respect for Terry’s ability to connect with people. He brings such a human touch and a willingness to “let you into his world” that you immediately feel like he’s with you and your with him. This is a wonderful and necessary trait for successful managers in today’s clubhouse environment. The Indians have got themselves a very smart baseball man with the touch required to relate to today’s player.”
-Karl Ravech, host of “ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight”
Some fans thought a coaching change could happen because new owner Jimmy Haslam was caught at Sunday 17-13 loss in Indianapolis on camera looking disgusted. That was when Josh Gordon dropped a fourth-quarter touchdown pass, and then the Browns decided to punt on fourth-and-1 on the Colts’ 41.
I’ve talked to some people who know Haslam reasonably well. They said he feels and acts like most fans during games — his emotions bubble over. But that doesn’t mean he wants to banish the coaching staff to the North Pole the next day, hoping they will be eaten by polar bears. Haslam has said several times that he will wait until the end of the season to make decisions on key football people such as General Manager Tom Heckert and coach Pat Shurmur. We should accept that as fact, because it just makes sense.
From www.cleveland.com
“I’ll go back to what I said last night. Against the Bengals, we made enough plays to win as a team. Yesterday, of course, we didn’t’ make enough plays across the board and things happened to us that we did to ourselves. It was a team loss, like a week ago it was a team victory. I don’t think it points to any trends. I think we’re back to work. The players were great today in the meetings. They’re finishing up the corrections from the tape, and then we’re moving on to the Chargers. That’s where it is. That’s what it is. We’re moving forward. I think that’s the mindset and get ready play the Chargers.”
From www.cleveland.com