This past year, the Cavs wore these various uniforms:

Full-time rotation

2008/2009 Alternates

via www.sportslogos.net

Over the last few years, they've worn the creamcicle Orange alts and the yellow throwbacks that have the similar checkered pattern up the side as the blue modern alts.

Ultimately, the Cavs have very few throwbacks to chose from going forward.  They have obviously the alternate colors of ones they've worn already (going with wine instead of gold) or they have the horizontal striped uniforms that haven't been used at all.

I doubt they want the 90's-2000 era black and blue garbage.

Does anyone know what their plans are for throwbacks/alts this year?

Chris Duncan has been traded to the Boston Red Sox for the charred remains of Julio Lugo.  No links yet.

Lugo was a disliked player in Boston because of his inability to perform at the level he did in Tampa Bay.  He will likely go onto the bench or may even replace the futile Brendan Ryan at SS, but Lord..I hope not.  He also has the opportunity to go into a platoon with Skip vs LHP as Lugo hits them at a pretty good clip this season.

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mclain                                   hoot

31-6, 1.96                          22-9, 1.12

the defending champion cardinals are looking to become the first back-to-back champions since the '61 and '62 yankees.  the 1967 team returned almost fully intact, this year however, with a healthy gibson for the full season.

in a year loaded with amazing starting pitching, gibson stood above the rest. hoot mowed down opposing batters at an alarming rate. gibson went 22-9, but in his 9 losses posted a 2.14 ERA. he threw 28 complete games, 13 of which were shutouts. of the 6 games gibby didn’t complete, all 6 were his removal for a pinch hitter.

to put this staggering number into a visual picture for you, NEVER in the 1968 season did  red schoendienst come to the mound to get the ball from gibson. he was that good. he posted a 1.12 ERA, the lowest ever for a pitcher that threw over 300 innings in a season. gibson pitched in 10 more games in ’68 than in ’67, but gave up 20 fewer runs.

this is also not gibson's first dance, either.  gibson goes into the '68 series with a 5-1 lifetime record in the world series with a 1.00 era.

if gibby was dominant this season, mclain was consistent.  starting the most games in the major leagues this season, mclain logged equally the most innings.  with that, he was able to win 31 games and post a sub-2.00 era.  being prone to the longball, it is unclear whether that is a factor of playing in tiger stadium or if mclain has a tendency to be gopher happy.  each of the last 3 seasons, he has led the league.

the only cardinals hitter with any real experience vs mclain is maris.  maris has faced him 25 times with 6 hits (3 doubles and a triple) and 2 walks/2 strikeouts.

for the Tigers, their offense was ranked first in baseball in OPS+, tied with the reds.  for comparisions sake, gibby was 2-0 vs the reds with his 2nd highest strikeout/9 ratio of the season.  the highest was against the 2nd best offense in the national league, the pittsburgh pirates. both pittsburgh and cincinnati were below league average in strikeouts, while detroit was slightly above. detroit led the league in homeruns, which lends credence to tiger stadium being behind mclain's gopheritis. if gibby can establish his command early, he may be able to use busch stadiums expansive space to keep the tigers in the yard.

for the cardinals, despite winning fewer games than the tigers, the pressure is on them to win again this season.  they have the best pitcher in the league and the highest payroll in the league.  a win in this series and they would have undeniable rights to being the team of the decade, knocking off the yankees (2-2 in the 60's) and the dodgers (2-1 in the 60's).

first pitch @ 8:00 pm est on mlb network, pregame with bob costas interviews at 7:00.

Ben, by this fan's eyes, was the best post defender we had in the Orlando series and it will sad to see the 'Fro go.

But pragmatically, when I saw this story I automatically thought about his $14 M salary next year and how that money could be used elsewhere to get a legit post scorer to go with Lebron and Mo.

What Ben has to say on the issue:

If Wallace chooses to retire, he will almost certainly seek a buyout since retiring outright would cost him next season's salary. But he said money will not be the determining factor in his decision.

"I think I deserve [a buyout]," Wallace said. "But if I don't get one and I've just got to give it up, that's what I'll do."

From a business standpoint where that buyout ends up could be big for the Cavs.  Even saving $7 M would be a step in the right direction.

With Andy likely to ask for a ridiculous amount of money (over $10 M a year), having extra money from Ben's contract to maybe take someone else's big man contract would help this team build to get past the only team that really beat them this year, Orlando.

If tomorrow you woke up and found a blank, already signed Presidential Executive Order laying in the street by your house (you know the government, very wasteful...can't keep track of anything) which way would you fill it out?

Option 1:

A completely healthy and ready to roll Chris Carpenter.  Chis comes with a guarantee that he will not face any more physical problems for the duration of his current contract.

Option 2:

Dan Haren.

Discuss.

On KTRS last week, Bill DeWitt Jr. said the organization was kicking around the idea of replacing the 'CARDINALS' on the road uniforms and changing it to  'St. LOUIS' under the Birds on the Bats.

I'm kind of a sentimental guy when it comes to stuff like this, so it probably strikes my ire more than most.  The only reason teams generally change their uniforms is a) to create a pseudo new era that differentiates from an older one or, in most cases b) to make more money.  People by a grey Pujols jersey in 2004 and they have no need for a new one as long as he is with the team.  Change the uniform and they have to get the newest incarnation.

Now, as to the change itself.  The Birds on the Bat with Cardinals on it has appeared on the chest uninterupted since 1933, sans one season.  That season was 1956.  In 1956, the Cardinals unveiled a new uniform that featured only the Cardinals script across the chest with a 'Batting Bird' on the sleeve.

This uniform was so widely rejected that the man who designed it was fired and the Cardinals returned to tradition the next year.

There have been modest changes to the uniform over the years. 

• 1951: Yellow bat added.
• 1957: Piping removed from uniform
• 1956: Red bill removed from blue hats.
• 1962: Uniform number moved to front of uniform.
• 1964: Red hat added to home uniform
• 1965: Red hat used exclusively
• 1971: Pullovers with red/white/blue sleeve stripes added
• 1976: Pillbox hat.
• 1976: Powder blue road uniform
• 1979: Uniform number moved from front to sleeve
• 1981: Uniform number moved back to front.
• 1985: Grey road uniforms return.
• 1992: Pullover uniforms replaced by button up uniforms.
• 1992: Blue hat returns on the road.

That's it.  Sans adding the Sunday alternate hat, the uniforms have remained the same since 1992.  Not only that, but the chest wordmark has been the same (other than a tad modernization) since 1951.

Sixty years of tradition.  The Cardinals refuse to wear BP jerseys during spring training because of tradition.  They don't have a third uniform because of tradition.

I know to some, this will be exciting.  "Hey, NEW UNIFORM!" but for me, it's a bit sad.  Marketing is the only reason you do this.  The Cardinals already have the STL on the ballcap, it's not like people are confused as to where the team hails from.

I hope this doesn't happen.  In the case of someone like Baltimore, the city name returned to the chest where it had been prior to Peter Angelos buying the team.  This, however, would return the city name to the front of the uniform for the first time since 1933.

As we get into the final dozen games of the NBA Season, the Cavs who started the season on a record breaking pace find themselves still within reach of pretty prestigious company.

First, let's breakdown the schedule:

Home Games:

• New Jersey
• Minnesota
• Dallas
• Detroit
• San Antonio
• Washington
• Boston
• Philadelphia

Road Games:

• Washington
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• Indiana

Not easy, not in the least.  We've got playoff teams in Dallas, Detroit, San Antonio, Boston, Philadelphia, Orlando and fierce rivals in Washington (who have both beat the Cavs and sans a majestic meltdown would have blemished the home record)

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I did this last year, I figured I would do it again this year.

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1

Group ID #188657

Password: izturisstillsux

Fill out your brackets by noon tomorrow (I think).  The more the merrier.  I think we had somewhere near 100 people in it last year.  If you win, you get nothing.  Most of us won't even remember you won (I don't remember who did last year). 

Have fun.

I'm sorry if this isn't the type of thing that belongs in a Fanpost but it is something that has been a problem for me for most of the season: Finding these shorts to buy.

Until recently, I hadn't seen them for sale ANYWHERE but through a Google search I finally found these children's version on the cavsteamshop website:

via www.cavaliersteamshop.com

Now, these aren't Authentic (which I'd prefer to have) but at this point I'd take the cheaper made Swingman shorts if anyone knows a seller that has them out there.  Are they available at the arena?

These are as hard to find as Mo Williams jerseys.  I can't believe that a guy who was an All-Star had so few jerseys made to be sold.