Getty Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers dominated from the start and never looked back as they thump the streaking Dallas Mavericks, 111-95 at Quicken Loans Arena Saturday night. The Mavericks (12-5) entered the contest winning nine of their last eleven ball games and have beat the defending champion L.A. Lakers at Los Angeles earlier in the year. But the Cavaliers (12-5) looked to shake their lackadaisical performance against the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night. And they did just that.

MO WILLIAMS and LeBRON JAMES lead all scorers with 25 points, including Williams going a perfect 7 for 7 from 3 point range. ANDERSON VAREJAO and JAMARIO MOON provided sparks off the bench, combining for 28 points and 18 rebounds. But the most important stat of the night was the 10 assists by DELONTE WEST, who also chipped in 10 points off the bench. West played the way he performed last year and his ability to penetrate to the basket, opened up slashing teammates for easy baskets. As a whole, the Cavaliers had 33 assists.

Dallas were lead by DIRK NOWITZKI, who had 27 points to go with his 9 rebounds and JASON TERRY kept the game close with 25 points off the bench on 5 3 pointers.

—————

GAME NOTES:
Dallas Mavericks Owner MARK CUBAN was in attendance at ‘The Q’, and did not like what he saw from his team……I did get the chance to speak with Mark’s brother, BRIAN CUBAN before the game, you can listen to the interview here…….ZYDRUNAS ILLGAUSKAS did not play due to coaches decision, he stands tied with DANNY FERRY as the Cavaliers all time leader in games played

—————

But it’s alright Mark, you still have this to cheer you up:

—————

Below are some audio of tonight’s highlights courtesy of The Cavaliers Radio Network.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks square off tonight and with both teams starting off their seasons hot, it should be an entertaining matchup. And what better way to preview tonight’s matchup, than to have BRIAN CUBAN, Attorney for Mark Cuban Companies and the brother of the Mavericks owner on for a quick interview.

You can catch Brian at his website and Twitter page.

Popularity: 5% [?]

“The Dugout Sports Show” made their way out to New York City to cover the 2K Sports Classic : Coaches vs. Cancer tournament at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 19-20, 2009. The video below shows footage of my time in NYC, along with some videos of behind the scenes at MSG. The games played where Ohio State vs. North Carolina, California vs. Syracuse, Ohio State vs. California, and the final between North Carolina vs. Syracuse.
I got to meet Dick Vitale and Bobby Knight, which was an awesome experience. Vitale was very nice and even chatted with me for a few minutes before tip off.

DSS Goes to NYC from Glenn S. Moore on Vimeo.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Here are some random videos from my time at Madison Square Garden covering some college basketball games.

Courtside for OSU/Cal Game 11.20.09 at Madison Square Garden from Glenn S. Moore on Vimeo.

11.20.09 UNC Pregame in Tunnel Before Syracuse Game At Madison Square Garden from Glenn S. Moore on Vimeo.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By: Glenn S. Moore

The Ohio State State Buckeyes mens’ basketball team rebounded from their loss two days ago with a much deserved win over 12th ranked California 76 – 70, in the 2K Sports Classic : Coaches vs. Cancer consolation game at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The 15th ranked Buckeyes were in control from the opening tip and managed to lead the Golden Bears by as much as 24 points. But being one of the nation’s best 3 point shooting teams, Cal crawled their way back into the ball game and played the last 6:39 only down within single digits.

Jon Diebler got the Buckeyes on the right track by knocking down Ohio States first three pointer only two minutes into the ballgame. The night before against North Carolina, Ohio State missed their first nine three pointers and never recovered even though coming within two points of the defending national champions. The Buckeyes shot 46% from 3 point range in the first half, including shooting 48% overall. Consistent defense in the first half was also a big key with Dallas Lauderdale leading the defensive charge with four blocks as Ohio State went into halftime up 38 – 25.

California only shot 35% from the field in the first half, but hitting 5 of 10 3 point shots kept them within striking distance at the half. No lead is safe with the Golden Bears, as they came back in the second half and put some pressure on the Buckeyes.

The Buckeyes continued their momentum into the second half by taking a 24 point lead with a William Buford dunk at the 15:40 mark. Even though the Golden Bears were outshot percentage wise, 55% to 41% in the second half, they still managed to cut the big lead down and outscore the Buckeyes in the second half, 45 – 38. Cal’s Jerome Randle led the charge with 20 of his 26 points coming in the second half.

The most important stat of the night for the Buckeyes was Evan Turner only turning the ball over 4 times. Against North Carolina, he turned it over 10 times. He led the Buckeyes with 26 points, including 14 rebounds. He has managed to have a double-double in each of the Buckeyes first four games this year.

Both these teams combined for 41 3 point attempts in their first game respectively on Thursday. The trend continued last night as they combined for 48 attempts. Dieblers 9 of his 14 points came on the three ball and helped the Buckeyes stretch their lead throughout the game. Randle for Cal had six of the Golden Bears 10 3 pointers.

The Buckeyes leave New York City on a good note against one of the toughest teams in the nation
and also the favorite to win the Pac-10 in Cal. The loss to North Carolina hurt but the comeback they had against the Tar Heels carried over to their win over Cal. Next up, the Buckeyes play at home on Tuesday against Lipscomb.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By: Glenn S. Moore

It could have been the bright lights of New York City. It could have been the history of Madison Square Garden. Or it could have been just the fact that the Ohio State Buckeyes were outplayed, outhustled, and outshot by the defending NCAA National Champions, North Carolina Tar Heels in their 2K Sports Classic: Coaches vs. Cancer semifinal matchup. At least for the first 38 minutes. The 15th ranked Buckeyes, shooting just 29% from 3 point range, lost to the 6th ranked Tar Heels, 77 - 73 and will play the Golden Bears of California tonight in the consolation game.

The Buckeyes didn’t seem to be comfortable from the start, trailing by 10 early on. In both teams’ first test of the season, Ohio State didn’t score their first bucket until four minutes into the ball game on a Dallas Lauderdale dunk. North Carolina didn’t start on fire as well, but used mini spurts here and there to eventually take a 38-24 lead at the half.

At the half, North Carolina had shot 48% from the floor, while the Buckeyes struggled, shooting a lowly 29%. Going one for ten from three point land didn’t help that percentage as well.

Everytime it seemed that Ohio State was gaining momentum, North Carolina would answer with their own run. The Buckeyes never got the Tar Heels lead to single digits. That is, until the final minutes of the ballgame.

The outside shots Ohio State was missing during the game were finally falling in towards the end and they came within two points after being down by nineteen at the 10:23 mark. Jon Diebler, David Lightly, and William Buford all hit 3s down the stretch to get the Buckeyes back in the game. But Larry Drew II of North Carolina, who missed four of his previous six free throws in the final minute, then made two from the stripe with 11 seconds left for the final score.

Diebler had 17 points for Ohio State, including 3 of 10 from 3-point range, which didn’t help their overall team total of 6 of 21 from downtown. Evan Turner had a triple-double he would like to forget about. It included 23 points and 11 rebounds but also 10 of the 16 Ohio State turnovers.

“It was a rough night, obviously,” Turner said. “I’m bumped and bruised and I’ll be back tomorrow.”

But after a dismal first half, the Buckeyes can hope to build off the last 2 minutes of the game. They not only had a chance to win the game against the defending champions, but did it after being down in double digits for most of the ballgame.

“We obviously made a great comeback,” Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. “I thought the first half we couldn’t get the ball in the basket. We had some decent looks, the shots weren’t falling for us…Hopefully we learned a lesson there getting ourselves ready to go right from the start.”

The Buckeyes time in New York City and playing at Madison Square Garden doesn’t get any easier, as they will face Pac-10 favorite and 12th ranked California, who lost to Syracuse in the first game of the nights doubleheader.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By: PRESS RELEASE

The Cleveland Indians and Manager MANNY ACTA today announced the hiring of SANDY ALOMAR, JR. as First Base Coach.

Alomar, 43, spent eleven (11) seasons catching with the Cleveland Indians from 1990-2000 where he was a six-time All-Star selection and last summer was the 33^rd player to be inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame.  During his tenure with the Indians, Alomar hit .277 (944-3409) with 194 doubles, 92 home runs and 453 RBI in 985 games and was the Tribe’s field leader behind the plate on club’s that won five (5) American League Central Division titles and two (2) American League Pennants.

One of the most popular players in club history, Alomar’s best season came during the Tribe’s run to the 1997 World Series when he hit .324 (146-451) with 37 2B, 21HR and 83 RBI in 125 games, earning All-Star Game MVP honors and finishing 14^th in the AL MVP voting.  His 950 games caught are the third highest total in the 109-year history of the Indians organization.  Sandy concluded his 20-year Major League playing career with the New York Mets in 2007 and finished with a career average of .273 (1236-4530) with 249 2B, 112HR & 588RBI in 1377 games.  He was the 1990 American League Rookie of the Year and the Rawlings Gold Glove Award recipient that same season.

Alomar spent the last two seasons as the New York Mets Major League Catching Instructor.   Additionally, Alomar will mentor and instruct Indians catchers as well.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By: PRESS RELEASE

The Cleveland Indians & Manager MANNY ACTA today announced the hiring of TIM TOLMAN as Major League Bench Coach, SCOTT RADINSKY as Major League Bullpen Coach and STEVE SMITH as Major League Infield & Third Base Coach.

Tolman, 53, has recent ties to the Indians organization, serving as the club’s Minor League Field Coordinator over four (4) seasons from 2003-06 before joining Acta on the Washington Nationals Major League coaching staff (3^rd Base Coach) in 2007 and 2008.  He was the Seattle Mariners Minor League Coordinator of Instruction this past season.

The Oro Valley, Arizona resident played parts of seven (7) seasons and 132 games at the big league level for Houston and Detroit from 1981-87 and overall enjoyed a 12-year professional career from 1978-89.  He was a minor league manager of Manny Acta and Acta also served on his coaching staff during parts of his fourteen (14) years working in the Houston Astros player development system from 1989-2002 before joining the Indians organization in 2003.

Radinsky, 41, has been a Pitching Coach in the Cleveland Indians Player Development System for each of the last six (6) seasons since joining the organization in 2004.  He has spent the last three (3) seasons since 2007 as the Pitching Coach for the club’s Triple-A affiliates in Buffalo and Columbus.

Radinsky made 557 relief appearances over eleven (11) Major League seasons with four teams from 1990-2001.  He was 42-25 with 52 saves and a 3.44 ERA (481.2IP, 461H, 184ER, 358SO) and recorded an ERA under 3.00 in five (5) of those seasons. His 554 relief appearances during the decade of the 1990’s were the 9^th most in MLB over that span.  Radinsky spent the 2001 season between AA Akron, AAA Buffalo & Cleveland in the Indians organization rehabbing from 2000 reconstructive left elbow surgery and retired the following year.

Smith, 57, has been an Infield and Third Base coach at the Major League level for eleven (11) seasons with the Seattle Mariners (1996-99), Texas Rangers (2000-06) and Philadelphia Phillies (2007-08) and has 33 seasons of professional baseball experience under his belt since beginning his playing career in 1976.  Under his tutelage as Infield Coach MARK TEIXEIRA, ALEX RODRIGUEZ & JIMMY ROLLINS earned a total of six (6) Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. He played for seven seasons at the minor league level from 1976-82 and has also been a manager at the minor league level for over eleven (11) seasons. He was born in Canton, Ohio.

Manny Acta’s Major League Coaching Staff now consists of TIM BELCHER (Pitching Coach), TIM TOLMAN (Bench Coach), SCOTT RADINSKY (Bullpen Coach) & STEVE SMITH (Infield & Third Base).

Popularity: 1% [?]

Cleveland Cavaliers center, Shaquille O’Neal speaks to the media about tonight’s Magic/Cavs matchup.

Popularity: 1% [?]