12/4: Lots to cover...

First off... Check out the football previews (look to the right toolbar) for full breakdowns.... Secondly? My apologies for going MIA yesterday... work will do that to you on occasion... Anyway, Here's a quick overview of what's gone down...

• Alright... Here's my quick Lebron/Cleveland thoughts... 1) That's the best Lebron has played this year... 2) The crowd was insane for a regular season game (first half) but actually not as crazy as I'd envisioned... 3) I'm glad nothing too crazy went down... 4) Cleveland's basketball team isn't very good... I'm not sure what else to say? It was a huge story in the moment simply because it became a "I have to see if anything crazy happens" thing... but that was really it...
• Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox? Buster Olney and others reporting that the deal is done and they are working on a giant contract extension for him... pretty big news... one of the best 1B's in the game (he plays defense too) and a lefty hitter to stick in that lineup... no-brainer for them... and Youkilis gives them so much versatility that they can just stick him at 3rd full time
• If you missed it, Arizona State and Arizona played an insane game on Thursday night... the gist of it? Arizona missed an extra point (blocked) to win the game with 10 seconds left... and then missed ANOTHER one (blocked) to tie the game in OT... how does that happen?
• Philadelphia is better than Houston... that's all I got on the NFL game... Vick won't go away as an MVP candidate either...
• The Hawks won last night without Joe Johnson... despite being down 20 at one point, the Hawks fought back behind Marvin Williams and Al Horford... it's become a definite trend to see how much better Williams plays (22 last night) without Joe Johnson... I distinctly remember him ripping off 4 straight 20-point games the last time Johnson was out for an extended time... and smartly, LD ran the offense through Horford for the majority of the game... it works..
• NBA Box Score Check - The Blazers went down in Washington... now 8-11 (4-8 road) and they did this one with Roy in the lineup... cause of concern?... Boston is still the team to beat in the East... 102-94 over Chicago, and while the Bulls looked much better in game #2 with Boozer, they still got beat up when he was on the floor, and Derrick Rose didn't play well.. oh yeah, and KG (20 and 17) ate Boozer up...New Orleans takes their 2nd home loss, this one at the mercy of NY... Amare was great (34 and 10) and exposed David West... It was nice to see Houston put up 127 points led by Kyle Lowry (my boy) with 28 and 12... Starting to think I was right with Dallas at #2 in the West preseason... a 12-point road win in Utah (brutal place to play) and they've won 8 straight.. and finally... San Antonio uses a 36-15 4th quarter to come back and beat Minny... Duncan had 22 and 10 and despite Love's 25 and 18 (jeez, he's good), they managed to put them away...

What to watch for (Football listings on the CFB Preview) -

• Hawks @ Heat - 7:30 SportSouth - The next team to get a crack at Lebron and company? The lowly Hawks without Joe Johnson... the only way they'll hang around here is pounding them inside with Horford and Smith... has to be the game plan
• Butler @ Duke - ESPN 3:15 - Butler has disappointed this year, but this is worth watching just to see the rematch...
• Illinois @ Gonzaga - ESPN 5:15 - The Zags are getting Elias Harris healthy, and both teams have significant talent...
• Kentucky @ UNC - CBS 12:30 - Gus Johnson is calling the game...

Enjoy it...