Really, Cavs?

I have a sports rule- I can root for a bad team, but not a stupid team.  Bad teams get better; stupid teams waste your time.  Unfortunately, the Cleveland Cavaliers just jumped from the former to the latter.

Starting out 0-5, losing to Atlanta and Brooklyn?  That's a bad team.

Firing your head coach five games into the season?  That's a stupid team.

Smart organizations do not fire their coaches in mid-season.  If you fire your coach, do it in the off season, to allow the coach to mold the team in his image before the season starts.  

I have no idea how good or bad of a coach Tyronn Lue is.  The players liked him.  He won a NBA title, but with the caveat that this was a team dominated by LeBron James.  

When James left, there was an argument to blow up the team and start over.  I thought the team had enough talent to compete for the playoffs- but if the organization had gone in that direction, I would have supported them.

Instead, they signed Kevin Love to a four year extension.  I like Kevin Love- but if you're rebuilding, you don't sign a 30 year old player to an extension.  Not in today's NBA.

I still think the Cleveland Cavaliers have talent- but it's a weird mix of talent.  They have veterans (Love, JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson).  They have young guys (Cedi Osman, Colin Sexton).  They lose their next draft pick to the Hawks unless the Cavs are one of the worst 10 teams in the NBA (right now, that's likely- but again, it's FIVE GAMES into the season).  

If your argument was that you didn't think Ty Lue was the right coach for this team, then fire him so you can find the right guy.  But do that in the offseason and admit you're rebuilding.

Instead, it's the worst of all worlds- the team stinks, and anyone they bring in will have no time to mold the team.  As an added bonus, your organization looks like you are in complete disarray.

It's the move of a stupid organization- and I don't want to waste my time thinking about them anymore.

WWE Evolution Predictions

* Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Natalya vs The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, and Ruby Riott)
My Crazy Dream Booking: Clean win for the faces.  As much as I like the Riott Squad, for my major storyline idea (see below), I need Sasha Banks and Bayley to be strong.  I would have an extended sequence between Natalya and Ruby Riott, each trying to one-up the other.  Morgan and Logan I keep as a tag team for the woman’s tag titles
What Should Happen: Clean win for the faces
What Will Happen: Clean win for the faces
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Riott Squad wins when Sasha Banks turns heel on Bayley
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Riott Squad wins when Bayley turns heel on Sasha Banks

* Women’s Battle Royal       Battle royal for a women's championship match
My Crazy Dream Booking: Asuka wins cleanly.  At the end of the match, as she celebrate, music comes on- and Meiko Satomura comes down to stare down Asuka and set up a Wrestlemania match between the two 
What Should Happen: Asuka wins cleanly to challenge the winner of Charlotte-Becky Lynch  (Note:  If Molly Holly wins, I will gladly put that under this category)
What Will Happen: Ember Moon wins to challenge Rhonda Rousey
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Tamina wins to challenge Rhonda Rousey
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Michelle McCool wins to challenge for both titles

* Trish Stratus and Lita vs Alexa Bliss and Mickie James
My Crazy Dream Booking: Alexa Bliss and Mickie James wins;  afterwards, Alexa starts on a campaign to destroy the ‘old has-beens’;  she goes after Ivory, after Molly Holly, after all of the female stars from the past- including her own partner, Mickie James- before setting her sights on the big target:  Stephanie McMahon, for Wrestlemania

(I like Alexa, and I want to give her a main event program.  But for my major storyline idea, she’s on the outside looking in.  I figure Alexa might be the only female wrestler able to heel it up enough for Stephanie McMahon to be a face at Wrestlemania)

 
What Should Happen: Lita and Trish Stratus win to set up a ‘Classic Female Wrestlers’ vs. ‘Modern female Wrestlers’ elimination match, possibly at Survivor Series (Lita, Trish, Natalya, Kaitlyn, and Molly Holly vs. Alexa, Mickie, and the Riott Squad)?

What Will Happen: Lita and Trish win
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Lita and Trish can’t go anymore- they still win, but it’s a bad match
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Mickie James turns on Alexa and they try a face turn with Alexa

* Mae Young Classic Finals:  Toni Storm vs Io Shirai
My Crazy Dream Booking:  Toni Storm wins- and afterwards, Mercedes Martinez comes out to challenge her.  Meanwhile, Io Shirai goes after the NXT title

 
What Should Happen: Toni Storm wins, and is attacked by Rhea Ripley afterwards to set up the main feud for the NXT UK woman’s title.  Io Shirai goes after the NXT title in a battle of the air with Kairi Sane

What Will Happen: Toni Storm wins
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Io wins- and Storm turns heel afterwards
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Io still isn’t used to the WWE rings, misses on the moonsault, and the crowd turns on her and the match

* NXT UK Women’s Title:  Rhea Ripley (c) vs Kaitlyn
My Crazy Dream Booking: Ripley retains and is booked as a strong heel champion for Toni Storm to challenge
What Should Happen: Ripley retains
What Will Happen: Ripley retains
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Kaitlyn wins the title
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Kaitlyn wins with the help of (still on crutches) Tegan Nox

* NXT Women’s Title:  Kairi Sane (c) vs Shayna Baszler
My Crazy Dream Booking: Part 1 of my major storyline:  Kairi Sane wins when she pins Baszler while Baszler’s foot is under the rope.  Sane is decalred the winner- and Baszler snaps.  From the audience, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir (two of the other MMA Four Horsewomen, who have been training and having matches in NXT) come out and join Baszler in stomping out Sane, along with Candace LaRae and any other NXT female face who tries to save Sane.  Finally, Rhonda Rousey comes out and calms the other three Horsewomen down.  It’s announced that Baszler has been suspended from NXT

What Should Happen: Sane wins to feud with Io Shirai/  Baszler moves onto the main roster
What Will Happen: Sane wins.  Baszler moves onto the main roster
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Baszler wins, and the feud continues until Wrestlemania (I like both, but both could use a fresher feud)
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Sane wins by submission

* RAW Women’s Title:  Ronda Rousey (c) vs Nikki Bella
My Crazy Dream Booking: Part 2 of my major storyline:  This is the second to last match.  Rousey spends most of the match killing Bella- but Brie shows up and distracts her, allowing Nikki to take control.  Rousey fights back, and the twins pull Twin Magic, substituting Brie for Nikki, and Brie takes control.  Rousey starts to fight back- and they pull Twin Magic again.

Out come Baszler, Duke and Shafir- and they start beating the crap out of Brie (now back outside).  It should walk the line between “Brie is getting what she deserves” and “Man, this is a brutal beatdown- should we be cheering this?”  Nikki is so worried that Rousey catches her and makes her tap out.  As WWE officials finally pull the other Horsewomen off, Rousey and the others celebrate- but Rousey seems a little concerned about her fellow Horsewomen.

What Should Happen: Rousey wins cleanly- if we can’t have my major storyline, Baszler might be her next contender, or Ember Moon, or Asuka
What Will Happen: Rousey wins
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Nikki Bella wins
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Nikki Bella wins and holds onto the title through Wrestlemania

* Smackdown Women’s Title, last woman standing:  Becky Lynch (c) vs Charlotte Flair
My Crazy Dream Booking: Part 3 of my major storyline:  Back and forth match, with both Lynch and Flair beating the hell out of each other.  Several close calls.  The crowd starts out booing Flair and cheering Lynch… but as the match continues, the boos turns into “THIS IS AWESOME” chants.  This should be almost double the time of any other match on the card, and finally wins when Lynch hits a superplex through a table to get the win.

As the referee announces the winner, both Lynch and Flair, barely able to stand- Charlotte hands Lynch the title.  They shake hands- then hug.  Sasha Banks and Bayley come out, group hug, the four standing tall.

Baszler, Duke and Shafir come out and jump the group- with Lynch and Flair already beaten down, they quickly get the upper hand.  From the locker room, Rhonda Rousey comes out, stops the attack… and slams the RAW title belt onto the head of Becky Lynch.  All four of the MMA Horsewomen lock in submission holds on the WWE Four Horsewomen and the WWE official have to swarm in to pull them apart.

For the next year, the major feud, across both brands, will be the MMA Four Horsewomen vs. the WWE Four Horsewomen.  You’ve got a dozen different combinations, especially if tag belts also get involved- and yes, I think Duke and Shafir can hold their own.  Rousey’s awesome- but I think she even works better as the heel champion.

What Should Happen: Lynch wins, and set up a feud with Asuka.  Charlotte wins the Roya Rumble and challenges Rousey
What Will Happen: Charlotte regains the belt.
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Charlotte regains the belt, and Becky Lynch is forgotten
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Carmella finds a MITB briefcase and pins the winner to take home the title.

NBA Predictions: 2018-2019

Eastern Conference:

1.       Boston

2.       Indiana

3.       Philadelphia

4.       Toronto

5.       Milwaukee

6.       Washington

7.       Cleveland

8.       Miami

9.       Charlotte

10.     Detroit

11.     New York

12.     Brooklyn

13.     Chicago

14.     Orlando

15.     Atlanta

Playoffs:

·         Boston over Miami, Indiana over Cleveland, Philadelphia over Washington, Milwaukee over Toronto

·         Boston over Milwaukee, Indiana over Philadelphia

·         Boston over Indiana

Western Conference:

1.       Golden State

2.       Utah

3.       Oklahoma City

4.       Houston

5.       LA Lakers

6.       Denver

7.       San Antonio

8.       Portland

9.       New Orleans

10.     Minnesota

11.     Dallas   

12.     Sacramento

13.     Memphis

14.     LA Clippers

15.     Phoenix

Playoffs:

·         Golden State over Portland, Utah over San Antonio, OKC over Denver, LA Lakers over Houston

·         Golden State over LA Lakers, Utah over OKC

·         Golden State over OKC

More notes:

·         I really want to put Indiana in the Finals; I think the team is great, and I think Myles Turner is going to step up.  But Boston did so well with so many injuries last year- and they have plenty of assets to trade if they want to.  While I still don't know if Kyrie can stay healthy, I have a hard time believing they'll lose him AND Hayward for the playoffs.  

·         The X-Factor?  If New Orleans falls apart early, I could see the scenario where they trade Anthony Davis to either Boston or the Lakers.  If they happens, New Orleans falls to a bottom 5 team and the team that gets him goes into the finals

·         MVP?  I think this one of those years where 5-6 candidates have a good case… I will give it to Steph Curry

·         ROY?  Collin Sexton (though Ayton looks outstanding)

·         Finals?  I wonder if Golden State play five finals in a row without having a string of bad luck injury-wise.... But I can't pull the trigger.  Golden State continues the Dynasty, winning 4 games to 1