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The Coco Crisp trade rumors have reached a boiling point, apparently set to flame by the Boston Red Sox. In a report on Cleveland.com, a Boston reporter suggested the Red Sox leaked the conversations to the media in order to force the Indians hand.

The proposed deal sends Crisp to the Red Sox for pitcher Guillermo Mota and third baseman Andy Marte. Another variation includes David Riske and Josh Bard for pitching prospect Manny Delcarmen.

The Indians are in an awkward position. This trade, in the short-term, provides little to improve the team in 2006. By trading Crisp, a hole in left field needs filled. Current rumors have the Indians trading Mota or another bullpen arm such as Arthur Rhodes or David Riske to the Phillies for center fielder Jason Michaels. Without knowing much about Michaels, its hard to suggest he’s on the verge of stardom like Crisp.

Marte, however, is the right-handed power hitter Shapiro has been unable to land in the free agent market. With Boone a question mark at third (Boone and the Indians hold a mutual option for 2007), Marte fits in nicely with long-term plans.

The trade talks leave the Indians in a public relations neverland - not quite completely committed to making a run at the World Series in 2006 but also unwilling to sacrifice the future for a fleeting swing at the title. Also at play, though, is the Red Sox’s very obvious desire to land Crisp. Perhaps Indians’ GM Mark Shapiro feels he can the Beantowners to overpay.

Shapiro stands close to the precipice on this deal. Indians fans could easily see the move as another example of owner Larry Dolan unwilling to pony up the cash to keep a talented fan favorite. And with the White Sox outclassing the Indians in the offseason market, perhaps Tribe management sees a better opportunity in 2007.

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The criticism has been almost deafening — LeBron James can’t deliver in the clutch.

With the game on the line, James can’t hit the big shot or make the big play.

He defers too much to his teammates.

His free throw shooting is erratic.

With everything coming so easy, he can’t handle adversity.

Saturday night in Salt Lake City, James quietly hushed his critics for at least one day, scoring 51 points in a 108-90 win over the host Utah Jazz. The win ended a six-game slide and prevented the Cavaliers from returning to Cleveland winless on the six-game West Coast trip.

One night after struggling with his shooting enroute to a season-low 14 points, James connected on 19-of-35 shots to earn his third career 50-point game and the first in a Cavaliers victory. James, a game-time decision, almost sat out with a sore knee after colliding with the Warriors Mike Dunleavy the night before.

Check clutch performance. Check adversity.

Cleveland pulled away in the second half outscoring the Jazz 63-43 in the final two qaurters. Showing resolve and strength not typically seen at the end of a long road trip on the second night of a back-to-back set, James pushed the Cavaliers past Utah on their own floor by taking the ball to the basket and finding the open shooters. On this night, his teammates responded.

Donyell Marshall added 24 points for the Cavaliers, matching James from behind the arc with 4-of-8 from three-point range. The Cavs as a team finished 10-of-22 from three-point territory.
Mehmet Okur led the Jazz with 20 points.

Notes: James become the youngest player in NBA history to score 5,000 career points at 21 years, 22 days…The win was Cleveland’s fourth in a row against the Jazz and completes a season sweep…The Cavaliers return home on Tuesday night to face the Indiana Pacers…

Popularity: 9% [?]

LeBron James’ football-sized shoulders could easily carry the burden of Cleveland’s current six-game losing streak, but Friday night’s 99-79 loss to the Golden State Warriors showed that without help from the rest of the Cavaliers, the team’s recent struggles remain a collective effort.

James struggled all evening from the floor connecting on only 5-of-22 shots from the field. Unfortunately, his teammates followed suit, combining with James to shoot only 38 percent from the field (33-of-86). Drew Gooden led the Cavaliers with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Warriors, without starting point guard Baron Davis, received 22 points from both Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy. Dunleavy played tough defense on James all night, forcing James into a number of poor shots.

Once again the Cavaliers were unable to take advantage of Zydrunas Ilgauskas’s advantage over the opposing center. Ilgauskas scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but the Cleveland’s poor outside shooting - 2-of-17 from behind the three-point arc - allowed the Warriors defense to collapse on Ilgauskas and clog the middle against LeBron’s drives to the basket.

Unlike some of the other losses on this road trip, Cleveland never had a chance after the first quarter. The Cavs combined to score only 29 points in both the second and third quarters, trailing 75-55 going into the final 12 minutes. Hoping to salvage at least one win on the journey away from home, Cleveland takes their 6-12 road record into Salt Lake City to face the Utah Jazz Saturday night.

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The final 90 seconds of Cleveland’s 99-98 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers revealed a narrow gap between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant’s respective places in the NBA superstar pecking order. As Bryant delivered clutch jumpers down the stretch, James missed a game-tying free throw and game-winning jumper in the final 5.2 seconds. And while James edged Bryant in the scoring duel by one, Bryant delivered a complete game on both ends of the floor revealing a defensive maturity yet to be seen from the 21-year-old James.

Bryant finished the game with 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting, snapping a five-game streak in which the guard has scored 40 or more points. But with the score tied at 93 with 1:30 remaining, Bryant rattled off three consecutive jumpers on three consecutive Lakers possessions to seal the victory.

The Cavs answered the first two jumpers with baskets from Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden, but the Cavs couldn’t find a way to close out the game as James missed the free throw and subsequent jumper as time expired. Ilgauskas led all scorers with 29 points, but other than James’s 28 points and Gooden’s 15, the Cavs didn’t get much scoring help from anyone else. Damon Jones, Mike Wilks, Ira Newble, and Sasha Pavlovic combined to play 47 minutes without scoring a point.

The Lakers, meanwhile, moved the ball efficiently on offense and found ways to score without Bryant on the floor. Lamar Odom narrowly missed out on a triple-double, scoring 20 points, while collecting 10 rebounds and dishing nine assists. Chris Mihm and Smush Parker, both former Cavs, kicked in 15 and 12 points respectively.

While the game provided no definitive conclusions as to whether Bryant or James is the heir apparent (as no single game could) to Michael Jordan’s legacy as the NBA’s greatest player, Bryant’s career arc tracks a much different path than that of James and Jordan. Bryant’s game has evolved within playoff-caliber organization - only now does Bryant enjoy the individual accolades and statistics. His understanding of what the Lakers needed defensively on James shows he knows how to win big games.

James and Jordan, on the other hand, focused on individual performance early on their careers. Bryant’s playoff pedigree showed last night - and provided James a glimpse of what could be in the very near future.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Have you noticed a trend in sports when it comes to trade rumors? Rescue an up-and-coming star from woebegone locales such as Cleveland and Detroit for the bright lights and big city life of Boston, New York and/or Los Angeles. Trade your stars and in return, we’ll send back a payroll flexible almost-ready Major League prospect. Really…do them and yourself favor ? Manage your small-time budget and give your players what they really want — the love, adulation, and constant scrutiny that comes with playing in the ‘big leagues’.

The standing rumor has outfielder Coco Crisp packing his bags for Boston. In return, the Indians will receive third-base prospect Andy Marte or a pitching prospect.

Popularity: 10% [?]