Photo: AP/Darron Cummings

I could only imagine how ticked off Mike Brown had to be after watching the first 24 minutes of basketball tonight. His team had a five point lead heading into the break, but had given up a whopping 61 points, not defending one bit along the way. After a 17-2 Indiana run to start the half, the team seemed to get the message. The Cavaliers gave up just 17 points in the final 17:41 of the game, LeBron hit the fourth quarter takeover button, and the wine and gold notched their ninth win of the season.

Wild Thing back in action: Anderson Varejao returned after missing two straight games with a hip contusion. Varejao had an immediate impact, with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. His defensive effort was fantastic in 28 minutes tonight, and he cut to the basket at exactly the right time as always. Shaquille O'Neal missed his fourth straight game with a shoulder strain, and he'll likely be out tomorrow night as well. Delonte West was active, but he did not play. For the Pacers, Troy Murphy returned to action.

Matchup issues: With Murphy out of the starting lineup, the Pacers have been playing small, with the 6'8" Danny Granger playing power forward and the 6'6" Dahntay Jones playing the small forward spot to go with a T.J. Ford-Brandon Rush backcourt. This caused problems for the Cavaliers on defense as James guarded Granger and J.J. Hickson had to cover Dahntay Jones. Before anyone could blink, Granger had a quick dozen, most of them due to Hickson giving him a cushion to shoot from the outside.

Photo: Harry E. Walker/MCT

Despite a fantastic hot-shooting start for the Cavaliers and a 41-24 lead almost halfway through the second quarter, the team had no staying power as the rival Wizards used Antawn Jamison's season debut and his team-high 31 points to blast the Cavaliers away with a fourth quarter surge and a 17-point victory in probably the Cavaliers' second most dreaded trip of the year, to the Verizon Center.

M.I.A. in DC: For the second straight contest, the wine and gold were without their original starting frontcourt of Anderson Varejao and Shaquille O'Neal. Darnell Jackson saw heavy action for the second straight game as a result, but the Cavaliers were aided once again by Delonte West's presence for the second straight night. One Wizard who the Cavaliers wish had stayed M.I.A. for another game is Antawn Jamison, who saw his first action of the season tonight. Randy Foye and Jamario Moon each gave it a go with ankle injuries, although Foye just played 4 minutes.

Photo: Joshua Gunter/Cleveland.com

Curse Of Cleveland's Cody and I were on location for Monday's lopsided loss at the hands of the Ravens, and after driving over 275 miles, riding the RTA for 20 minutes both ways, and getting home at nearly 4 'o clock in the morning, I can proudly say that it only looked worse in person. Thousands of fans (including us) arrived late, and tens of thousands more had left by the start of the fourth quarter, as the frustration mounts against this horrific offense, the entire organization, and its inept head coach. A spirited chess match for the first 30 minutes devolved into an insurmountable two-score lead thanks in large part to two Quinnterceptions.

Coming and Going: The Browns were without Pro Bowl punter Dave Zastudil, who has since been put on injured-reserve, as they signed former Mangini disciple Reggie Hodges, who got plenty of work. They were also without WR Chansi Stuckey, who still hasn't unpacked from New York. The Ravens were without DT Haloti Ngata.

Photo: John Kuntz/Cleveland.com

The Cavaliers opened a 4 games in 5 nights stretch by hosting the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers facing a lesser opponent had a chance to put this game away early and get some rest, but the Warriors took advantage of the Cavs' turnovers and kept this game competitive until the last minute. Both the Cavaliers and the Warriors were short handed, but that is an understatement for the Warriors. Golden State dressed only 8 players and only 7 were available for action. All 7 Warriors finished in double figures and pushed the Cavaliers to the brink, but it seemed as if the Cavs were toying with the Warriors the entire game. In the end, LeBron, Hickson and Williams were too much for the Warriors, and the Cavaliers beat the depleted Warriors 114 to 108.

Crowded Injury List - The Warriors were without Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azubuike, Andrins Beidris, C.J. Watson all due to injury, and Raja Bell only dressed so the Warriors could fulfill the mandatory 8 players dressed rule. The Cavaliers were also down a couple players as starting center, Shaquille O'Neal continued to sit out due to a sore shoulder, and Anderson Varejao also missed Tuesday's game due to a hip contusion. O'Neal will miss Wednesday's game as he did not even make the trip to Washington, and Andy is considered doubtful at the moment.

Warriors Come Out to Play - Despite having only 7 active bodies, Golden State started this game ready to play. The Warriors made their first five shots and held a 10-4 lead over Cleveland. While going 5-for-5 to start out the game, the Warriors also got baskets from four different starters. Curry, Ellis, Moore and Radmanovic all hit jump shots in the first two and a half minutes.

Photo: John Kuntz/Cleveland.com

For most of the game, LeBron James was content with sitting in the passenger seat of the Cavaliers offense. However, with traffic getting heavy in the fourth quarter, King James took charge, jumping back into the driver's seat and giving his short-handed team the late push over the short-handed Utah Jazz at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers improve to 7-3, they have won 7 of 8, and their win streak stands at four.

Parking the Diesel: The Cavalier coaching staff chose to sit Shaquille O'Neal for the first time this season. The official reason was a shoulder strain, but it was most likely a precautionary measure to ensure O'Neal's long-lasting health. The Cavaliers have had a fair share of back-to-backs already, and O'Neal has never been one to hit the 80 game benchmark anyway. Besides, the Cavaliers have one of the most capable backup centers in the league in Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who got the start in Shaq's place. In increasingly less breaking news, Delonte West missed his third straight game. The Jazz were shorthanded as well, with Deron Williams missing the game due to a personal matter. In all, the Jazz dressed just nine and played eight.

Photo: ESPN.com

For the first time in 13 years, Ohio State is going to Pasadena to compete in the Rose Bowl. In a thrilling afternoon game in the 'Shoe, the Buckeyes came away with a sensational overtime victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Not only will the win send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl, but it also clinches the Big Ten title for the fifth straight season. Make no mistake, Iowa battled hard and had their fair share of chances to earn a victory, but the Buckeyes ultimately came out on top thanks to a 39-yard field goal by kicker Devin Barclay.

The fans erupted in passionate excitement after the game as they stormed the field to congratulate their Buckeyes on Senior Day in Columbus. In the first start of his collegiate career, Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg played his heart out as he very nearly led his injury-battled Hawkeyes to a victory in front of more than 105,000 screaming fans. The 2009 season has not been marked by very many 'nail-biting' games (aside from Southern Cal) for the Buckeyes, which made tonight's victory even sweeter. Here are my thoughts on this afternoon's hard fought victory:

Stuffing the Run

The Ohio State defense held Iowa to a mere 67 yards rushing on the game. It is no secret that the staple of our 2009 defense is our defensive line. They have made big plays all year long and seem to improve each week in defending the run. It should be noted that Iowa was utilizing their fourth string (freshman) halfback due to injuries, but holding any team, especially one with an offensive line as talented as Iowa's, to under 70 yards on the ground is quite an achievement. I know I'm not exactly 'going out on a limb' here, but judging by the way this season has gone so far, we are in store for a couple more big plays from this defense that will have a large impact on our next two games.

Photo: AP/Lynee Sladky

If things go as planned for the Cavaliers next year, Cleveland tailors are going to be incredibly busy. In the presence of Michael Jordan tonight in the American Airlines Arena, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade put on quite a show in-between all-too-frequent whistles, but the take-away media story from all this is not the typical 2010 talk, it's a potential number change... for King James.

Milk carton mainstay: Delonte West missed his second straight game tonight, and the long, strange saga of Delonte West continues. As time goes on, you can see the team making the appropriate adjustments and building chemistry... often without Delonte. I have no doubt that Delonte can step in and contribute in an important way if he can handle the off-the-court issues (which is a tall order). However, seeing West as a starter and the player he was last year is looking like a longer shot day by day.

Do you want the 8x10 or wallets?: With 3:56 to go in the first quarter, Dwyane Wade forever immortalized Anderson Varejao with a posterizing dunk that shook the rim and sent shock waves throughout the NBA itself. After LeBron James missed a potential highlight-reel dunk on one end, Wade took it to the hole with a giant exclamation point. It was probably the best dunk I've ever seen live action, and one of the best of the past few years. LeBron said afterward that it could be a Top 10 all-time dunk, but I'm not willing to go quite that far. Wherever you rank it, Varejao didn't take too kindly to it, and him and Wade got into it a couple of plays later when Wade swatted at the ball after Andy grabbed a rebound. Varejao glared at Wade, and the two exchanged some pleasantries, then Andy continued yapping with Jermaine O'Neal after he and Wade were hit with technicals. I feel for Wild Thing, but after being embarrassed like that, the best thing to do is shut your mouth and keep playing.

Photo: AP/John Raoux

If you were waiting to see why Danny Ferry made the particular moves he did this offseason, tonight was your resounding and emphatic answer. Yes, the Orlando Magic were on a back-to-back, without their top two power forwards (All-Star Rashard Lewis and Ryan Anderson), and the Cavaliers were fresh off four days rest, but you cannot deny the fact that the Cavaliers went into Amway Arena tonight and beat a 6-2 Magic team, something that was all too difficult in last year's Eastern Conference Finals.

New faces in so many places: LeBron James, Mo Williams, and Dwight Howard were the only three starters in tonight's game that started in last summer's Eastern Conference Finals series. Rafer Alston, Courtney Lee, and Hedo Turkoglu have departed for other teams, Rashard Lewis is serving a suspension, and Anderson Varejao, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Delonte West are now coming off of the bench. West missed tonight's game after reportedly missing the team's flight to Orlando, and Brian Windhorst revealed that Delonte has battled a fear of flying at times. Fortunately, the Cavaliers were fine without Delonte tonight, but he may return to action tomorrow night in Miami.

Superman vs. Superman: The battle of the men of steel lived up to the billing at the outset. Both teams entered the ball to their respective big men in the hopes of getting the other into foul trouble. The Cavaliers lucked out with a cheap foul on Dwight Howard that was followed up by a hard foul that sent Howard to the bench just over two minutes into the game. Both fouls were drawn by Shaq, and the big fella showed a calculated patience in attacking the game's best big man. O'Neal had just three first quarter points, but he did his job as Howard was forced to sit for nearly ten minutes. Dwight picked up his third foul while hip checking Mo Williams in the corner, but "The Master of Panic", Stan Van Gundy, chose to leave him out on the floor. That led to some questionable officiating, but Howard still failed to make a huge impact. O'Neal picked up his third foul on a questionable illegal screen call in the second quarter, then was forced to sit just three and a half minutes into the second half after a poor choice of fouling Howard directly underneath the bucket. The battle fizzled out in the second half as the Cavaliers stretched their lead, the Magic continued to chuck up outside shots, and O'Neal sat due to foul trouble, but the message was sent. Dwight Howard is going to have to work much harder against the Cavaliers this season, and the Cavaliers with O'Neal now have a fighting chance to break close to even in that battle, which is all they are looking for in the grand scheme of things. In 32 minutes, Howard managed just three shots, making them all while shooting 5-of-12 from the foul line. He finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block. Shaq was limited to 20 minutes, but battled for 10 points on 4-of-8 from the floor, adding 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Photo: Bucknuts.com

Sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor was all smiles after leading his Buckeyes to a resounding victory over the rival Nittany Lions of Penn State. Ohio State now holds an 8-2 (5-1) record on the year. The Buckeye defense proved itself as one of the best in the nation as they held the dangerous Penn State offense to just 201 total yards on the day. Though not necessarily reflected in the 17-point margin of victory, it was clear to anyone watching the game that the Buckeyes were the better team on both sides of the ball. Terrelle played one of his best games of the season and it seems as though the coaches may be finally figuring out what works best for this team. Here are my thoughts on the victory over Penn State:

Poised Pryor

For the first time all season, Terrelle Pryor finished a game without making any glaring mistakes or poor decisions. Pryor finished the game with 125 yards on 8 of 17 passing and 50 yards rushing on 5 carries. He accounted for three touchdowns on the day: two through the air and one on the ground. Though you may think 175 total yards is far from a stellar performance, I must emphasize the fact that Terrelle Pryor managed this game extremely well. He completed passes when we needed them. He scrambled for positive yardage when we needed it. And, most importantly, he refrained from throwing interceptions, fumbling the football, and allowing the defense to record a sack.

Photo: AP/Kathy Kmonicek

LeBron James was the centerpiece of this game, and he did not disappoint, but the most important thing is the Cavaliers stopped the bleeding after last night's disappointing home loss to the Bulls. They came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, James in particular, and never looked back despite some serious turnover issues in the second half.

Starting lineup shakeup: Wow, if you could have seen the look on my face when I saw the introductions tonight and J.J. Hickson came trotting out instead of Anderson Varejao. My first thought was, "Is Andy hurt? Sick? Missing? Kidnapped?" All of that was due to the fact that Hickson played the worst game of his career in three short minutes last night, and I wrote a few short hours ago that MB had most likely locked Hickson in the doghouse. Instead, Brown rewarded J.J. with the starting nod in what I'm terming "Ginobili-ing the bench". In other words, Mike Brown is trying to create a stronger bench by putting a proven bench performer like Varejao back in what was his niche for so many years. The result was mainly positive as Hickson looked a bit more comfortable being on the floor with LeBron rather than the bench bunch, and Varejao provided a high-energy performance off the pine. Hickson saw 13 minutes of action, shooting 3-of-4 from the field for 6 points. Andy posted a strong game with 35 minutes of action and 8 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Andy was asked after the game if he had a problem with coming off the bench and he said that he was fine with whatever is best for the team. Well, Andy, you might have to get used to it, because it is best for the team in a couple of ways. First, it reunites Andy and Z off the bench, who were so effective together during the 66-win season last year. Next, it pairs J.J. with LeBron, creating more open looks for J.J. to boost his confidence and ease the pressure on him. As long as it doesn't affect Andy's standard minutes (30-35), then I see no problem with this continuing if successful. It will be interesting to see if Mike Brown sticks with his postgame statement in keeping this current starting lineup for the near future against the likes of Orlando and Miami next week.