In honor of the Michael Jackson, "The King of Pop", passing away at the age of 50 a few days ago, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at a few of his songs, applying them to the current state of the three Cleveland sports teams. Here's what I have for you guys.

10. "Man In The Mirror" - Mark Shapiro

Mark Shapiro is far from blame in this disastrous season for the Indians. While Wedge has gotten the team off to incredibly slow starts and was behind the ousting of Brandon Phillips, Shapiro is responsible for such gems as signing David "Roids" Dellucci to a 3-year contract, not trading Kelly Shoppach at his peak value, and the lack of talent in the Tribe's minor league system just to name a few. Wedge's head will most certainly "roll" for this season, but it's possible that Shapiro is playing with borrowed time as well considering the team's lack of success as an organization overall.

9. "Smooth Criminal" - Fausto Carmona's struggles

For the last two seasons, Carmona has been "struck by" something, whether or not it is a smooth criminal is unknown. After Carmona's 2007 campaign where he finished behind just C.C. Sabathia, Josh Beckett, and John Lackey for the Cy Young Award, he posted a 8-7 record with a 5.44 ERA in 2008. This season, he held a 2-6 record with a horrendous 7.42 ERA before being sent down..... to Goodyear, Arizona to get things straightened out. He has since pitched once at Single-A Lake County where he posted six no-hit innings and finished with 6 1/3 innings of one hit baseball with seven strikeouts and just one walk. Let's hope Fausto can come back and get things straightened out by the end of the year so he can come into the 2010 season with a better outlook. It begs the question, "Fausto, are you okay?"

8. "Scream" - The Pressure on Danny Ferry and Mike Brown

"Somebody please have mercy, cause I just can't take it. Stop pressurin me, just stop pressurin me."

That has to sum up how Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry and head coach Mike Brown have felt since the Cavaliers' premature exit in the playoffs. Between people calling for Mike Brown's job and media pundits criticizing moves made or a lack of moves made by Danny Ferry, there must be a lot of anxiety in the Cavaliers' organization right now. With just one more guaranteed year with LeBron James, the Cavaliers' team motto should probably be "Championship or bust". The trade for Shaquille O'Neal explains that, and we will see what else Ferry does in the next week or two as he would like to add another veteran or two to the Cavalier rotation. If Ferry adds all the apparent pieces to the puzzle, the focus and pressure shifts to Mike Brown and his ability to get the job done on the court.

7. "Wanna Be Startin' Something" - The Eric Mangini Regime

With new head coach Eric Mangini and general manager George Kokinis, the Cleveland Browns are looking for a facelift and just their second playoff appearance since the team was reincarnated in 1999. On their fifth head coach in just their eleven seasons since rejoining the league, the Browns are looking for a tougher, more disciplined team that will be versatile on both sides of the football. Mangini is a far different general than Romeo Crennel, and the Browns are hoping that it will change the culture of losing here with the Brownies.

6. "Will You Be There?" - LeBron James and the dreaded summer of 2010

This song off the Free Willy soundtrack sums it up for nervous Cavaliers' fans.

"In our darkest hour, in my deepest despair, will you still care?, will you be there?"

No one, not even LeBron James most likely, knows what LeBron James will do about a year from now when the time comes to sign a contract as an unrestricted free agent. Dan Gilbert, Danny Ferry, Mike Brown, and the entire organization has shown that they will spare no expense to give LeBron and the Cavaliers the best shot at winning the title. But, it's going to come down to how well LeBron and his teammates perform this season as to whether they can end the championship drought and most likely keep LeBron in Cleveland for longer.

5. "Bad" - Cleveland Browns

In the music video for this song, Wesley Snipes asks Michael Jackson, "Are you bad?". Jackson then spends the rest of the time performing insane dance moves to prove he is, in fact, bad.

My take on this word is a little different than Jackson's. The Cleveland Browns fall into another definition of "bad". The Browns are 54-106 since re-entering the league, a dismal .338 winning percentage. The only player still here from the original squad is kicker Phil Dawson, and other than him, no one has been able to latch on for more than a few years.

The funny thing is, no matter what, Cleveland is a football town. If the Cavaliers and Indians were as bad as the Browns have been, no one would give a damn about them. But, as it is, the Browns still sellout games and have an incredible following because of their past glory. If they became relevant again, it would bring about a kind of intensity that I have not seen in my lifetime as a Browns fan.

4. "Thriller" - The Tribe bullpen

This one is too easy. You've all seen the Thriller video, a classic. As truly creepy as a large portion of that music video is, it's nothing compared to the nightmare that the Tribe bullpen has been this season.

The only mainstay has been Kerry Wood, who hasn't been used enough to have any consistency. Both Rafael Betancourt and Joe Smith have spent a significant amount of time on the DL. Masa Kobayashi, Zach Jackson, and Jensen Lewis all started the season in Cleveland and are currently in Triple-A Columbus. Kobayashi was only sent there after clearing waivers. Rafael Perez had an extended stay in Columbus before returning to the club. And finally, the list goes on with the likes of Rich Rundles, Vinnie Chulk, Greg Aquino, and others who have come and gone back down to the minors.

With a bullpen ERA at just over 5.00, things just aren't working out. Part of it is due to the depleted starting rotation which has seen serious injuries to Jake Westbrook (from last year), Anthony Reyes, Scott Lewis, and Aaron Laffey. On top of Carmona's demotion, it has left the team with just Cliff Lee and Carl Pavano from the original starting rotation. As a result, Tomo Ohka, David Huff, and Jeremy Sowers just haven't cut it in giving the team solid, lengthy starts. Instead, the bullpen's middle relief has been exposed time and again.

The opening lines to the song paint the picture quite well for the Tribe pen.

"It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes
You're paralyzed"

3. "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" - Eric Mangini Acquiring Former Jets

This offseason, Eric Mangini spent a lot of time recruiting his former players from New York to join him with the Browns. The count stands at seven with LB Eric Barton, LB David Bowens, DE Kenyon Coleman, QB Brett Ratliff, DB Abe Elam, DB Hank Poteat, and DE C.J. Mosley joining the team along with several coaches. Mangini believes that it is important to have someone in each group on the defense (defensive line, linebackers, and defensive backs) that is familiar with his system to speed the learning process for the other players. We will see this season how well the Cleveland ex-Jets perform and help the other players.

2. "Beat It" - Eric Wedge

The title says it all: it's time for Tribe manager Eric Wedge to go. I know I'm beating a dead horse here, and I did the same thing with former Browns coach Romeo Crennel, but the fact remains that the Tribe is spinning their wheels much like the Browns were at the end of last season with a lameduck leader.

Wedge has tried all he can, tweaking lineups repeatedly, calling out his players, leaving pitchers in to fight their battles, yanking them early to protect them, but nothing has seemed to work. Whatever Wedge has done this season just hasn't seemed to work out. The thing that really seals the deal for me is the horrible start once again. His teams have never gotten off to a good start, and that will likely be the main thing that seals his fate. MJ sums it up.

"Don't Wanna See Your Face, You Better Disappear
The Fire's In Their Eyes And Their Words Are Really Clear
So Beat It, Just Beat It"

1. "You Are Not Alone" - LeBron James and his supporting cast

With the blockbuster trade last week that brought the 15-time All-Star and 4-time MVP Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland, the organization made a statement to LeBron that he would not be left holding the reins alone like he was for much of the Orlando series. With Shaq, the Cavaliers have a legitimate low post game that can be used for extended stretches. They also gain a defender who can go toe-to-toe with Dwight Howard and the Laker big men 1-on-1. I tire of hearing people saying that Shaq is out of gas at 37. This guy is an anomaly; I believe he can do much of the same that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did at age 40 and 41 and help his team win a ring. In those two seasons, Abdul-Jabbar averaged 17.5 and 14.6 points and 6.7 and 6.0 rebounds respectively. Shaq won't be the main option, but he doesn't have to be. With the offseason still young and the MLE and BAE still available, LeBron will, most certainly, not be alone next year.

"You are not alone."

Kirk