“When will we just change the name of 25 of the 30 teams to the Wasington Generals?”

Good question Dan!  That was what many of us were left wondering when it was announced yesterday that a three-team trade would send Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers.  However, it appears as though 25 of the NBA’s teams will not be changing their names to the “Washington Generals” just yet, as the league -who owns the Hornets – decided to nix the deal due to “basketball reasons,” with Commissioner David Stern stating that New Orleans is “better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade.”

For those of you wondering what the terms of that trade were, here is a recap of what each team was expected to receive:

To Lakers: Chris Paul

To Rockets: Pau Gasol

To Hornets: Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom, Goran Dragic and the Knicks’ 2012 first-round pick (which Houston received in a previous deal)

Fast forward eight years later and we have “The Decision,” the Miami Heat pre-season parade, and LeBron’s promise of “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven (championships).”

Keep this up LeBron and your prediction will be right.  It wont be one, two, or even ten championships for you and the Miami Heat.  It will be zero.

Well don’t tell that to Raptors fans (myself included), who also lost their star to free agency last summer, and have won only one playoff series in team history.  Sure, we had a first overall selection in 2006, but all we got out of that was Andrea Bargnani.  Yes, the Cavs sucked bad last season, but they were championship contenders in their five seasons.

So cry me a river Cavs fans.  One year of futility doesn’t make your team or city the logical feel-good choice for the first overall pick.  I can argue this fact all day, but instead, I’ll turn things over to my animated friends below.

(Warning: The following video contains plenty of NSFW language.)

With less than six minutes remaining and the Cavs up by 11, Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva set a pick on the Ryan Hollins, which included a punch to the groin and a eye gouge.  As you would expect, that was easily enough to earn Villanueva a technical, but upon hearing that he had been ejected from the game, Charlie decided to make a charge for the Cavs bench.

Villanueva was eventually restrained and escorted off the court through the visitors tunnel at the Palace at Auburn Hills, but he wasn’t done there, as reports indicate that following the game he sprinted out of the Pistons locker room and attempted to get at Hollins in the Cavs locker room before being restrained by police.

Here is a look at what took place on the court.

So was this a sign of weakness from James, or a smart tactic to ensure that the Cavaliers fans at the Quicken Loans Arena would not have the satisfaction of booing their former franchise player?

Whatever the case may be, you can bet that following the game James was probably thinking he should have ducked out on that embarrassing 102-90 loss to the Cavs as well.

Check out LeQuitter quitting on the player intros below.

The Cavaliers had no answer for the Magic’s big man in the middle, as he dominated in the paint to the tune of 28 points and 18 rebounds.  He also added four assists, four steals and four blocks in what was a solid all-around performance for the all-star center during the Magic’s 97-86 victory.

Not only does the win up the Magic’s streak to three games, but it also moves them 4.5 games clear of the Atlanta Hawks in their battle for fourth place and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.  The luxury of at least one series with home-court advantage could be a big factor in their post-season run, and the play of Howard will be equally important.  For now, he earns “The Stat Line of the Night” for Monday, March 21, 2011.

Cleveland may not be the most tortured sports city, but they sure do get a lot of press for it: Major League, the Browns, and of course, the Cavs sans-LeBron. Last night’s loss marked the Cavs’ 26th straight loss, tying the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for most consecutive losses by a professional team in North America. But when it comes to humiliating losing streaks, they are not alone.

The killer in these records is the duration. Losing 26 games in a row? That sucks. But losing 18 losing seasons in a row is a long, slow death. So run through these 9 record holders and wonder why they even bothered to keep showing up.

9. Anthony Young – 27 Consecutive Losses as a MLB Pitcher
From May ‘92 to July ‘93, Anthony Young didn’t win a game as a pitcher. That’s pretty crazy, but not nearly as crazy as the fact that he was picked up by another team during the slump. His journey to loserdom started with the Reds, and despite his mounting losses, he was taken on by the Mets, where is bad luck continued. Fans sent him good luck charms to turn the streak around, but can you even consider them good luck charms when they took so long to work?
 
 
8. The Caltech Beavers – 207 Consecutive Losses
The Caltech Beavers men’s basketball team (NCAA Div. III) hold the longest losing streak in NCAA history. Spanning 207 games and 11 years, the team went from 1996 to 2007 without a win. Their in-conference losing streak has lasted even longer. After last night’s loss to Pomona-Pitzer, the team has lost 307 consecutive conference match ups since 1985. It’s worth noting that the school has a strict admissions policy, which explains the lack of talented athletes. That said, why even have a team?
 
 
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 14 Consecutive Losing Seasons (NFL)
While the bucks are close to losing their record for consecutive losses, they can take comfort in the fact that they still hold another infamous record: 14 consecutive losing seasons. And while Detroit might give them a run for their money, I’m pretty sure it will belong to Tampa Bay for a while.
 
 
 
 
6. Washington Capitals and San Jose Sharks – 17 Consecutive Losses (NHL)
Not AS humiliating as streaks in other sports, but dropping 17 games is still a bad six-week stretch. Washington had that run in 74-75 and San Jose in 92-93. San Jose was an expansion team in that era, so it’s a bit more tolerable, but the Capitals had no excuse. I could see this record coming down in the next few years. Simple math says this one isn’t strong enough to stand at 17.
 
 
5. Buffalo Bills – 4 Consecutive Super Bowl Losses
What a weird record. You’re good enough to get into the Super Bowl four years in a row, but you’re bad enough to lose all 4 of those matches. How are you supposed to feel? Despite the frustration, I’d be pretty damn excited. Sure, you didn’t win the championship but (and I know this will read as “loser talk”) you get to enjoy the excitement of going to the Super Bowl four years in a row. When your team makes it to the big game, those two weeks before the Super Bowl are heaven. It’s a bad record, but not the worst.

4. Kansas City Chiefs – 7 Consecutive NFL Playoff Losses
You drop 7 in a row in basketball, baseball, or hockey and that’s just a couple seasons of torment. I mean, at least you got to the playoffs, right? Well, in football, 7 consecutive playoff losses means a generation of heartbreak. The kind of heartbreak 7-9 teams never feel. January 16, 1994 was their last win in the playoffs. 17 years without a modicum of validation for their efforts. The fact that KC has some of the best fans must make the situation even more bitter.
 
 
3. Cubs – 103 Year Championship Drought
103 years. Could you imagine going your whole lifetime and never seeing your team win? Well, you could have lived 1.5 lifetimes and still never seen the Cubs celebrate. The Cavs are going through a humiliating streak right now, but this should be agony. The Cubs haven’t even shown up to the World Series since a few weeks after World War II ended. I understand that Cubs fans are happy-go-lucky, but this is ridiculous.
 
 
2. Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions – No Super Bowl Appearances…Ever
This isn’t exactly a losing streak, but it sure is humiliating. These two teams also share this distinction with Houston and Jacksonville, but the latter are fairly new teams, so I’ll leave them out of this. But Cleveland and Detroit? CLEVELAND AND DETROIT? That’s not like Tampa and Seattle. These are hubs of football that haven’t found themselves in a championship in the modern era. Recently, the Super Bowl has probably been the furthest thing from their minds as they fight to stay out of last place. It’s gotta kill both these football towns to be on the sidelines year after year.

1. Pittsburgh Pirates – Most Consecutive Losing MLB Seasons (18)
The baseball playoffs are still probably the hardest to make, just based on numbers. Even so imagine not being able to muster a winning season for 18 years. And from the looks of it, it’s probably not going to end any time soon. Luckily, Pittsburgh has the Steelers to fall back on.

The Utah Jazz mascot, “Bear”, took part in the latter Friday night when his team hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Energy Solutions Arena.  During a break in the action, Bear took a sign that read “I’m A Loser”, and placed it behind a Cavs fan.  Moments later, words were exchanged and an altercation between the two spilled onto the court, where the furry mascot sent his opponent to the ground with a stiff check before security broke things up and escorted the embarrassed Cavs fan off the court.

And in case you were wondering, it was all fake, but still quite entertaining.

Hat Tip – [Deadspin]

I have a God given gift of voice.  I’m an ex-radio announcer who has fallen on hard times.  Please! Any help will be greatly appreciated .  Thank you and God bless.  Happy Holidays.

The Dispatch employee decided to put this sign to the test, driving up to the man and asking him to earn his dollar by saying something with his great radio voice.  Needless to say, the homeless man delivered just that.  In fact, the Dispatch worker became so impressed that he felt the need to pull over and find out more about this mystery man.

As it turns out, the man’s name is Ted Williams.  He has worked in radio before, but alcohol and drugs took over his life and left him without a job or a roof over his head.  He is now two years clean and trying hard to get back into it, and it appears as though this YouTube video, which has gone viral over the past 48 hours, was just the break he needed.

According to several reports, offers have been coming in bunches for Williams’ voice, including one from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have not only offered him a full-time job, but are also willing to give him a house he can call his own.  He has also received a $10,000 offer for his voice from the Ohio Credit Union League.

This is one of those stories that you simply can’t help but smile and feel good about.  Williams has clearly made some mistakes in the past, but he has also been humble enough to admit that much and take responsibility for his actions.  It is not an easy task to turn things around after years of homelessness,  but all Ted was asking for was a little help and a big break.  His “golden voice” would do the rest.

Here is a look at the video that gave Ted Williams the big break he needed.  I wonder how Tucker Carlson feels about this second-chance story?

Hat Tip – [Business Insider]

It all started with Cavs guard Mo Williams, who refused to shake the extended hand of LeBron during the pre-game warm-up, leaving his former teammate in a state of confusion.  And the animosity between “Prince LeBron” and the Cleveland players didn’t stop there.  During the game, James had some choice words for the Cavs bench, but rather than laugh and play along, a member of their coaching staff could bee seen telling LeBron to “Shut the f*&k up.”

Here are videos of both incidents, beginning with the Mo Williams cold shoulder.