Second Thoughts: These Cavs don’t look like last year’s Cavs


Knucklehead of the Week

Keith Appling, a former basketball star at Michigan State who is kicking around in the NBA D-League, was arrested a week ago after he allegedly was spotted with a gun outside a Detroit strip club. According to authorities, police were called after a security guard spotted a man taking a gun out of his trunk in the club’s parking lot. Appling was driving a royal blue Dodge Challenger but said police told him they were looking for a black Charger. So his lawyers are challenging the search because, well, someone didn’t know the difference between a Challenger and a Charger.

I ate dinner at Buckeye Jake’s in West Alexandria on Friday night with my Jake. We knew we were in the right place when we saw a big smoker near the spacious deck. My hungry teen made fast work of the pulled pork and beef brisket, then inhaled some homemade cheesecake. Great place.

The Cavaliers appear serious about winning an NBA title. Cleveland is up 3-0 on Atlanta after erasing a deficit with a dominating fourth quarter Friday night. Last year's Cavs would have wilted, but this bunch looked confident, moved the basketball and played tough defense. Perhaps even more impressive than the Cavs' 3-point barrage in Game 2 is this: They've hit 100 points in all seven of their playoff games. The Warriors can't say that. Finishing off a sweep today would guarantee that the Cavs would be fresh for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco is scheduled for shoulder surgery and likely will miss the rest of the season. He's had one good year as a pro, when he hit 25 home runs to go with 80 RBIs in 2014. But he played only 114 games that season, a career high. I thought it was strange when the Reds drafted catcher Tyler Stephenson in the first round last year. Now that strategy doesn't look so nutty. The injury-prone Mesoraco needs to learn how to play left field, a move that might allow him to be a productive, everyday player.

Love the intensity of Giants pitcherJeff Samardzija. The big right-hander picked up a win against the Reds last week, but he wasn't content to just throw the baseball. After striking out in the eighth inning, Samardzija promptly broke his bat over his knee. Giants manager Bruce Bochy later said, "The way that thing broke off, he looked like Herman Munster." Samardzija is one tough dude. He was a wide receiver at Notre Dame, catching a total of 155 passes in his junior and senior seasons.

Trending up: Monica Abbott, Billy Donlon, American Pharoah. Abbott became the first woman in U.S. team sports to sign a contract worth $1 million. She's a pitcher for a pro softball team in Houston. Gotta admit I've never heard of National Pro Fastpitch, which has a team in Akron. Abbott is a 6-foot-3 lefty whose fastball tops out at 77 mph. From 43 feet away, that's downright nasty.

Trending down: Josh Ravin, Jaleel Cousins, Teresa Earnhardt. Ravin, a former Dragons pitcher now with the Dodgers, was suspended 80 games after testing positive for a PED. He had a 7-22 record with Dayton (2008-2010), so I can see why he might have been tempted to take a banned substance. Ravin started this season on the DL after breaking his forearm in a car accident.

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