When the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban okayed pulling the trigger on a trade that brought F Caron Butler, G DeShawn Stevenson, and C Brendan Haywood from the Washington Wizards, he engaged in a stare-down with the Los Angeles Lakers. Essentially, Cuban took 20 paces, cocked his cowboy hat, stroked his gun, looked straight in the eyes of Phil Jackson, and said, “Son, this here town ain’t big ‘nugh for the both of us.”

He might be right.

After posting a dud against Oklahoma City in the first game after the NBA’s trade deadline, the Mavericks have been on an absolute roll. Road games in Orlando and Atlanta? No problem. Hosting those dastardly Lakers? A breeze.

All things told, Dallas has run off six straight wins to move to 38-21, 4.5 games clear of the Spurs in the Southwest Division. The Mavs are currently stalking 39-19 Denver for the #2 seed in the Western Conference, and after that, their sights will be set on the defending champs from La La Land.

Historically, this Dallas team is one that puts together a fantastic roster chalk full of players like F Dirk Nowitzki and G Jason Kidd and then ultimately falls on its face at some point during the playoffs. Glitz and glamour is what the Mavs are normally after. However, this time, they’ve gone after grit, determination, and toughness, and that might be the key to the championship.

Yes, that glitz is still there. Nowitzki is still one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA. Look no further than his 37-point effort against the Hawks in Atlanta last night for proof of that. On this winning streak, the German national player is averaging 28.3 points per game, significantly higher than his 25.0 point average for the year.

Kidd is still one of the flashiest point guards in the NBA as well. He’s always been known as the king of the triple-double of this generation, and he had yet another one in Atlanta, scoring 19 points, dishing out 17 assists, and bringing down 16 rebounds. It was his 18th double-double of the year and his first triple-double.

G Jason Terry is as pure of a scorer as it gets. He’s averaging 16.9 points per game, and he’ll surely be a great candidate for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year honors.

When the Mavericks acquired F Shawn Marion in the offseason, it was the beginning of their transformation into a tough team. Marion is a former Defensive Player of the Year award winner, and he’s always doing the little things to keep his team going. His numbers aren’t fantastic (11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game), but he’s the one that Dallas turns to get to step in front of that pass and start the fast break or go diving into the bench to try to save a loose ball.

Even though Dallas knew that it was probably heading towards another division championship and a high seed in the playoffs, Cuban and his front office knew that this team wasn’t tough enough to body with the likes of Kobe, Pau, and Bynum for the Lakers. Something had to be done.

Though everyone will look at the trade during the All-Star Break and call it the “Caron Butler deal,” truth be told, Butler for the departed Josh Howard would’ve been a comparable flip-flop.

The difference-maker has been Haywood. Talk about someone that has played like a man possessed! Since coming over from our nation’s capitol, the new center for the Mavs has recorded at least ten points and at least nine rebounds in all six of his games. He has averaged 11.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in that stretch as well, adding 19 blocked shots to boot.

Haywood’s defensive presence is starting to become contagious. Dallas has only allowed 92.3 points per game in its L/6 overall, and it is starting to play like a legitimate contender.

And if you don’t think that this winning streak can’t continue, just take a look at what’s on tap… New Orleans, Charlotte, Minnesota, Sacramento, Chicago, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, the Clippers, Portland, and Golden State… That’s the next 15 games for this team.

Look out, LA. If you’re not careful, the new sheriffs in town are going to overtake you, and the road to the NBA Championship will be going through Big D.

List of Current Fifa 2010 World Cup Odds Can Be Found Below!

Thirty-two teams will be vying for the biggest prize in soccer this summer when the World Cup heads to South Africa. The competition will run from the middle of June through the middle of July, and Bankroll Sportsbook has the lowdown on the teams in the field that you should be watching out for as well as all the 2010 World Cup odds completely listed below.

We’ll start with the defending champions, Italy (+1200 at Oddsmaker). Everything seemed to go right in the last World Cup for the Azzurri, who finished off the French in the World Cup final by the count of 5-3 in penalty kicks. That game was most known for the head butt that French phenom Zinedine Zidane issued that earned him a red card in his final international match. Italy comes into this tournament ranked #4 in the world right now in the FIFA rankings. They have tasted victory in the World Cup four times before in team history, winning in 1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006. At these odds, the Italians are sure can’t misses.

Keep this in mind when placing your World Cup betting action as well. The only teams to win the World Cup in its history have been Uruguay, Italy, West Germany, Brazil, England, Argentina, and France. So, even though there are appealing prices on some of these lesser-known teams, don’t fall into the trap!

For example, the host nation, South Africa (+12500 at Oddsmaker) has surprisingly long odds considering that they will be playing nothing but home games in this World Cup. However, the likelihood just getting out of the group stage seems slim at best with Mexico, Uruguay, and France all in the Group A mix. Even if South Africa does advance, the likelihood of slipping past Argentina or one of the other Group B teams in the Round of 16 seems slim at best. The most recent host nation to hoist the trophy at tournament’s end was France in 1998.

The United States of America (+8000 at Oddsmaker) have taken a huge step in the international sporting world. Look no further than the way that the Americans performed at these Olympic Games in Vancouver to show just that. If you’re looking for more proof, check out how well the USA played in the ’09 Confederations Cup. They advanced all the way to the finale and took a 2-0 lead on Brazil before succumbing to the #1 team in the world. The USA easily qualified for the World Cup out of the CONCACAF region and is ranked 11th in the world according to FIFA at this point. The stars and stripes probably won’t ultimately win the whole enchilada, but it’s hard to see how they won’t qualify for at least the Round of 16 in this tournament. If the US wins this Group C and Germany wins Group D, a matchup with either Serbia, Australia, or Ghana awaits. At that point, if you’ve got the USA on your ticket, you could have an 80/1 shot having a one in eight chance of cashing for you.

For that same reason, England (+600 at Oddsmaker) has great odds. Even though they notoriously choke on the biggest stages and didn’t qualify for Euro 2008, the Brits are armed with a very dangerous squad that has a great draw to reach the quarterfinals of this tournament. The lines here obviously aren’t as good on England as they are on the USA, but Britain more than likely has a stronger side with a more realistic chance of winning the whole thing.

As always, you’ve got to keep your eyes peeled for the teams like Brazil (+500 at Oddsmaker) and Spain (+450 at Oddsmaker). These two heavy hitters should easily coast into the second round of this tournament, and both have favorable draws to get all the way to the semifinals of the tournament.

Current 2010 Fifa World Cup Odds at Oddsmaker (as of 2/26/10):
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Algeria +30000
Argentina +900
Australia +10000
Brazil +500
Cameroon +8000
Chile +5000
Denmark +10000
England +600
France +1200
Germany +900
Ghana +5000
Greece +12500
Honduras +75000
Italy +1200
Ivory Coast +2500
Japan +30000
Korea +200000
Mexico +8000
Netherlands +1300
New Zealand +150000
Nigeria +10000
Paraguay +6600
Portugal +2200
Serbia +6600
Slovakia +25000
Slovenia +20000
South Africa +10000
Spain +400
Switzerland +20000
Uruguay +8000
USA +8000

List of 2010 World Cup Odds From Bodog Sportsbook (as of 2/26/10):
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Spain 9/2
Brazil 5/1
England 11/2
Argentina 9/1
Italy 11/1
Germany 12/1
Netherlands 12/1
France 14/1
Ivory Coast 25/1
Portugal 28/1
USA 50/1
Chile 50/1
Serbia 50/1
Ghana 50/1
Paraguay 66/1
Mexico 80/1
Cameroon 80/1
South Africa 100/1
Nigeria 100/1
Uruguay 100/1
Denmark 100/1
Australia 100/1
Greece 125/1
Switzerland 200/1
Slovenia 200/1
Slovakia 200/1
Algeria 250/1
Japan 300/1
Korea 300/1
Honduras 500/1
New Zealand 1500/1

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If you’re Bernadette McGlade, you’re really biting your fingernails about Wednesday night on the hardwood. Why, you may ask?

McGlade is the Commissioner of the Atlantic 10, a conference which could still get as much exposure as having seven or eight teams in March Madness, and as little as three.

This could be the day that all of this mess is sorted out…

… Or it could be another day where more madness is made!

Let’s start with the teams that we know are in awfully good shape, shall we?

The Temple Owls have put together a resume that just about any team would be proud to have. They’re 22-5, have 11 wins away from the City of Brotherly Love to their resume, and a dominant 10-2 record against the very difficult A-10. They’re in, and we know it. The only question is how high they’ll end up ranking when it’s all said and done.

Then there are the Richmond Spiders and the Xavier Musketeers, of which are a combined 31-20 against the college basketball spreads on the season. Both have great wins against big conference opponents, and they’re also a combined 21-4 in conference play. Again, they’re both dancing barring a collapse of epic proportions.

Now, the rest of the bunch…

The Rhode Island Rams are the only team in the A-10 of any bubble consequence to be off on Wednesday night. They’re probably sitting right there on the bubble at 20-6 overall, as an 8-5 record in the A-10 and a rather weak out-of-conference schedule aren’t helping their case any.

The teams that really have make-or-break nights are the Charlotte 49ers, the Dayton Fliers, and the St. Louis Billikens.

Charlotte has been going in the wrong direction now for a few weeks, which has taken it from being a sure-fire tourney team to one that is probably just barely hanging on to its position on the bubble. Tonight, the 49ers will look to end their string of three straight losses against a St. Joe’s team that is only 1-10 on the road this season and has lost four straight of its own.

A win probably won’t help Charlotte much, as it is a 9.5-point NCAA basketball betting favorite, but a loss would be devastating and most likely lethal.

Dayton and St. Louis are far different stories. Both teams have identical 18-8 records. The Billikens’ 9-3 A-10 record looks better than the 7-5 mark of the Fliers, but St. Louis doesn’t have OOC wins against Georgia Tech and Old Dominion like Dayton does. The Fliers have a better RPI (43) than do the Billikens (82), but if the Selection Committee is interested in “what have you done for me lately,” St. Louis has won six straight, while Dayton has lost two of its L/3 and is only 5-5 in its L/10.

The resumes are remarkably similar, and both teams are sitting right there in that “last four in” or “last four old” block. Even tonight, these two teams are taking a similar path. Both are 4.5-point underdogs against one of these teams that we’ve already classified as locks for the NCAA Tournament.

Dayton travels to Temple tonight at 6:30 ET, while St. Louis plays host to Xavier with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 ET.
At the end of the day today, a lot of bubble teams floating around the country will either be a heck of a lot happier or under a lot more pressure.

Even though the Commissioner of a conference isn’t supposed to take sides, it’s hard to blame Bernadette McGlade for wearing her Dayton hat, her Charlotte jersey, and her St. Louis sweatpants while she watches these games this evening.

There’s plenty to rant about this week in the sports world. Not only were the Olympics hot and heavy, but the NBA’s trade deadline has come and gone as well. There’s also just a few weeks left until Selection Sunday. Here at Bankroll Sports, we’re ready to take out the trash and call out the stiffs that wrecked the sports world for the week that was.

Rap Sheet Picture of the Week
Phoenix Suns’ F Amare Stoudemire, who has to be wondering why he’s still stuck in the desert for the duration of the season.

Hey, Canadian Ice Hockey Team… What gives? You’re the host nation, you’re playing on your own ice in front of tens of thousands of your fans, and you’ve clearly got one of the best sets of 23 guys ever assembled on the same ice. Why the heck do you need a shootout to get past Switzerland and then do you lose to your arch rivals, the United States Hockey Team? That’s awfully unacceptable, eh? Now, as the #6 seed in the tournament, you’ve got to take out Germany just to earn the right to get into the quarterfinals of this draw, while the US and three other teams that played better than you did during the group stages are resting and watching.

We’ve already done some ranting when we talked about out NBA Trade Deadline Report Card last week, but there’s no way that we can’t continue to rant on the Phoenix Suns for the way that they handled the Amare Stoudemire situation. Phoenix clearly doesn’t want Stoudemire’s contract hanging around any long, and in spite of the fact that he leads the team in scoring, they talked for three weeks about getting rid of him. That angered the big man and took away some effective games from him. And when all was said and done, Phoenix traded him to… oh that’s right. The Suns never did move him. Now, Phoenix has a few more months of Stoudemire’s contract and, assuming that he doesn’t exercise his $17M option for next year, will be left with nothing but some extra cap space for 2011.

**Click Here For The World’s Greatest Basketball Betting System**

What’s up with the Houston Rockets anyway? Wasn’t this team supposed to get a heck of a lot better by getting rid of Tracy McGrady and bringing in a bunch of pieces to the puzzle that were supposed to make this a playoff team? Don’t blame Kevin Martin and Jared Jeffries. Martin’s put up 27 combined points in his two games as a Rocket, and Jeffries was one rebound shy of a double-double on Sunday, but all that was accomplished this week was a dud loss in the Bayou and a smack down at the hands of the Pacers at home. That won’t get Houston to the playoffs. The only thing that that will do is move HC Rick Adelman a lot closer to the unemployment lines.

Just two weeks ago, a lot of college basketball pundits thought that the Villanova Wildcats had a gripe to be the overall #1 seed of the upcoming NCAA Tournament (click here for our latest look at the March Madness odds). Now, losses to Pitt on the road and at home against UConn have them spiraling out of control heading towards the Big East Tournament. It’s bad enough that the Cats would probably be on the #2 line if March Madness started today, but coming up is a roadie at the Carrier Dome. Yikes! Things could get a lot worse before they get better for Villanova.

List of Current Odds to Win The 2010 NCAA Tournament Can Be Found Below!

March Madness odds differ from sportsbook to sportsbook, and when you’re trying to find which team you’d like to place your college basketball betting wagers on, it’s important to find the best numbers possible. Here’s at Bankroll Sports, we’re on top of everything and giving you your free NCAA Tournament picks to cash in on this spring.

**Click Here For The World’s Greatest Basketball Betting System**

Keep an eye on the Kentucky Wildcats. They’ve got one of the most well-rounded teams in the nation and have arguably the country’s most explosive player in G John Wall. Coming into this weekend, Wall is averaging 17.1 points and 6.4 assists per game. HC John Calipari has a great history of leading teams deep into the NCAA Tournament, and this year should be no exception. Fs Patrick Patterson and F DeMarcus Cousins also make up one of the best inside duos in the country as well, and assuming that the Cats ultimately end up with a #1 seed in the dance, they’re going to be a real steal at +300 at BoDog Sportsbook.
If you’re looking for some teams with longer odds to win the whole thing that may have some tremendous value later down the line, how about taking a look at some of these…

New Mexico Lobos +10000 at Oddsmaker (110% Bonus)
BYU Cougars +10000 at Oddsmaker (110% Bonus)
Xavier Musketeers +12500 at Oddsmaker (100% Bonus)
Northern Iowa Panthers +25000 at Oddsmaker (100% Bonus)
Missouri Tigers +20000 at Oddsmaker (110% Bonus)

The logic behind all of these teams are exactly the same. Each of these five teams are certainly going to make the NCAA Tournament. In the event of the Lobos and Cougars, they may be #3 or #4 seeds in the tourney. Xavier, Northern Iowa, and Missouri are probably all going to be favorites in the first round of the dance. All of these squads have the ability to reach the Sweet 16 without any hassles whatsoever, and add 100/1 or better on each, you may be able to put yourself in a position to make a ton of money just by scalping games if any of them do reach the Elite Eight or the Final Four.

On the flip side of things, there are a number of teams that you’re going to want to avoid as well when you’re banking on the NCAA Basketball Tournament Odds. There’s no way that you should invest in the defending national champs, the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Heels have virtually no chance of getting an at-large berth to the tourney, and unless they have a run to the ACC Championship in them, they probably won’t sniff the field. Even if it does get in, Carolina’s 75/1 or so probably isn’t anywhere near worth it. Virtually the same could be said about the Connecticut Huskies (+5000), Louisville Cardinals (+6000), and Memphis Tigers (+10000).

The books will also try to trap you by placing odds on the board on teams that probably aren’t even going to get a chance to lace up their dancing shoes. At least each of those teams listed above has a chance of making it to the Field of 65. BoDog Sportsbook currently has odds available on a number of teams that may not even make the NIT. Be sure to stay away from these at all costs, as there aren’t odds high enough on teams like Alabama and Boston College (both listed at 200-1) to make them worth betting on.

Current Odds to win the 2010 NCAA Tournament @ Oddsmaker (as of 2/20/10):
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Baylor +5000
Butler +7500
BYU +10000
California +7500
Clemson +7500
Connecticut +5000
Dayton +25000
Duke +1500
Florida State +20000
Georgetown +2000
Georgia Tech +10000
Gonzaga +3000
Illinois +7500
Kansas +150
Kansas State +1500
Kentucky +200
Louisville +6000
Marquette +15000
Maryland +5000
Michigan State +1200
Mississippi +7500
Mississippi State +12500
Missouri +20000
New Mexico +7500
Northern Iowa +20000
Old Dominion +25000
Ohio State +800
Oklahoma State +25000
Pittsburgh +4000
Purdue +1000
Rhode Island +20000
San Diego State +20000
Siena +12500
St. Mary’s +15000
Syracuse +300
Temple +12500
Tennessee +4000
Texas +800
Tulsa +25000
UAB +15000
UNLV +20000
UTEP +25000
Utah State +25000
Vanderbilt +12500
Villanova +500
Wake Forest +5000
West Virginia +1500
Wisconsin +4000
Xavier +12500

Current 2010 March Madness Odds @ Bodog Sportsbook (as of 2/20/10):
(10% Signup Bonus with no restrictions at Bodog Sportsbook When You Click Here)

Baylor 55/1
Butler 40/1
BYU 50/1
California 60/1
Cincinnati 100/1
Clemson 75/1
Connecticut 40/1
Dayton 100/1
Duke 15/1
Florida 100/1
Florida State 100/1
Georgetown 30/1
Georgia Tech 75/1
Gonzaga 50/1
Illinois 55/1
Kansas 2/1
Kansas State 28/1
Kentucky 4/1
Louisville 60/1
Marquette 100/1
Maryland 75/1
Memphis 100/1
Michigan 150/1
Michigan State 15/1
Minnesota 75/1
Mississippi 100/1
Mississippi State 60/1
Missouri 100/1
North Carolina 75/1
Notre Dame 75/1
Ohio State 15/1
Oklahoma State 80/1
Pittsburgh 50/1
Purdue 15/1
Siena 100/1
Syracuse 6/1
Tennessee 40/1
Texas 10/1
Texas A&M 100/1
Villanova 13/2
Virginia Tech 100/1
Wake Forest 60/1
Washington 60/1
West Virginia 20/1
Wisconsin 45/1
Xavier 60/1

Oddsmaker is offering a 100% Signup Bonus For Bankroll Sports Visitors; Click Here!
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Even though the 2010 NBA trade deadline wasn’t as active as some might’ve thought, there is still plenty of room for discussion. Here at Bankroll Sports, we’re issuing our grades for how teams did under the pressure of Thursday’s deadline.

New York Knicks: A+: There weren’t any teams that did a better job at the deadline than the Knicks. New York knew that it wasn’t competing for a championship this year, but it did successfully dump the salaries of Jordan Hill, Jordan Jeffries, Larry Hughes, Nate Robinson, and Darko Milicic in exchange for a couple first rounders and having to deal with Tracy McGrady’s garbage for the next couple months. Add G Sergio Rodriguez to the mix from Sacramento, and New York knows that these prudent deals can set it up nicely for a run at both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in the offseason.

Houston Rockets: A: The Rockets really answered the trade by the Mavericks by adding a host of talent from the Knicks and Kings in that three-way deal. Plus, they’re rid of Tracy McGrady now as well and will pick up a couple of picks from New York in the future. The biggest question for HC Rick Adelman is whether he’ll be able to find roles for all of his new starts.

Dallas Mavericks: B+: Any time you can pick up an All-Star, you tend to pull out the stops, but did the Mavs give up a little too much by dealing Josh Howard and Drew Gooden to DC? Caron Butler had better push Dallas into the playoffs an give F Dirk Nowitzki a good counterpart, or Mark Cuban may be regretting this move. All in all though, the Mavericks are probably a better team now than they were before the All-Star Break.

Cleveland Cavaliers: B: The question here isn’t whether GM Danny Ferry would’ve preferred Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire coming to town or not. The question is whether LeBron James would’ve rather have Stoudemire over Antawn Jamison. Still, as we suggested in our article a couple days ago, Cleveland needed to do something to make sure that The King stayed happy, and this move only made things a heck of a lot harder for the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference. If the Cavs don’t win the East now, they should be ashamed of themselves.

Utah Jazz: B-: The Jazz get a decent grade for not making a move that they might’ve regretted. Utah is probably going to make the playoffs, and had it dealt Carlos Boozer, that might not have ultimately been the case.

Miami Heat: C: Kudos to the Heat for not giving up too much to get either Amare Stoudemire, Antawn Jamison, or Carlos Boozer. Miami just needs to convince Dwyane Wade that it is really in it to win him another championship, and it might take a big free agent signing to do just that.

Sacramento Kings: D: Who knows what the Kings were thinking by trading away Kevin Martin and Sergio Rodriguez. There wasn’t a heck of a lot that came back Sacramento’s way. It’s pretty clear that the Kings came out as the butt of that three-team deal with the Rockets and Knicks.

Washington Wizards: D-: If you’re a Washington fan, what reasons do you have to show up to the games anymore? No more Gilbert Arenas, no more Antawn Jamison, and no more Caron Butler. The only good news is that this team couldn’t get much worse than it already was, so it may as well try to start over again.

Phoenix Suns: F: No one deserves a worse grade than the Suns at the trade deadline. How on earth can you sit there and shop Amare Stoudemire for weeks and weeks and ultimately do nothing? Take a box of basketballs for him for crying out loud! Now, their leading scorer is disgruntled and probably will be for the rest of the year. Phoenix may not make the postseason, and if that’s the case, heads should role in the desert.

The day was December 27th, 1964. The Cleveland Browns beat the Baltimore Colts that day 27-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium to win the NFL Championship Game.

Forty-six years and 51 days later, the city of Cleveland continues to wait. The Browns haven’t won anything since then and don’t have any reason to believe that they can win a title any time in the near future. The Indians had their moments, but have since watched a pair of Cy Young Award winners get traded in back-to-back years as the rest of the teams in the AL Central just flew past them. The Cavaliers have sniffed a shot at a championship, only to be squashed by the Spurs in four games.

As the popular saying goes, “Cleveland Rocks.” But let’s face the truth here…

Cleveland Sucks.

The only thing that is keeping the pulse of the Cleveland sports world together is watching #23 do his thing night in and night out for their beloved Cavs. The city of Cleveland hasn’t had anything to be this happy about since the moment that another #23 ripped their hearts out and made a poster out of Craig Ehlo.

It’s rare that there is one specific moment in time in the sports world that can change an entire city. Normally speaking, like in the Super Bowl with the city of New Orleans, those moments happen on the field, the court, or the ice when they do happen.

But the city of Cleveland has embarked on its biggest moment in decades, and that moment won’t happen at Progressive Field, Cleveland Browns Stadium, or Quicken Loans Arena. It’s going to happen in the office of GM Danny Ferry.

The NBA’s trade deadline is just mere hours away. With every passing second that the Cavaliers don’t make a move, the prospects of doom and gloom are coming.

It doesn’t matter what Ferry does, as long as he pulls the trigger on SOMETHING. Will it be Washington’s Antawn Jamison? Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire?

Someone. Anyone… as long as he is fit for The King.

Make no bones about it: If the Cavaliers don’t win an NBA Championship this season and they don’t make some sort of a move to bring a legitimate superstar to Cleveland for the long haul, the best thing that has come to town since Elvis entered the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame is, for all intents and purposes, leaving the building.

LeBron James, a free agent to be assuming that the Cavs don’t resign him before the end of the season, wants nothing more than to be a winner. He transformed a team that was god awful into one that was on the verge of a championship in just a few years. He’s the hometown boy and the chosen one. With every thunderous dunk, every eye-popping pass, every crossover dribble, and every swish, LeBron captures the hearts of his fans and has Cleveland prepared for another triumph.

He has scored 14,608 points, brought in 3,083 rebounds, and dished out 3,607 assists in his career to date, all at the ripe age of 26. But if these last few years have proven nothing else, it’s that the league’s most talented player, possibly ever in the history of the sport, can’t do it by himself.

Cleveland is riding a 13-game winning streak and easily has the best record in the NBA at 43-11 coming off of the All-Star Break. Still, it doesn’t quite certainly separate the Cavs from the Magic… or the Celtics… or the Lakers… or anyone else in the Western Conference for that matter.

Normally speaking, Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis’ motto would be correct: “Just Win, Baby.” But for once, winning isn’t the most important thing for the Cavaliers. Keeping James happy is.

Ferry and the rest of the brass of the Cavs are worried about blowing up team chemistry, as a squad that is built on defense might be harmed by the acquisition of either Jamison or Stoudemire, neither of which are exactly proficient on the defensive end of the court. And it’s true that Stoudemire could up and leave town right after the season is over with a championship ring or not on his finger.

None of that matters, though. Ferry has to think about the future, even if it does destroy the present. The Cavaliers could have ten more years of selling #23 jerseys and all sorts of memorabilia that says, “J-A-M-E-S” on it. Ten more years of flashbulbs, “Ooh”s , “Aah”s, and screams of joy for quite possibly the greatest player of all-time.

The clock is ticking though, Cleveland. The time for a championship might not be now, but the time to save yourselves is here. Keep LeBron happy. If he wants Stoudemire, go get him. If he wants Jamison, go get him, too. Whatever you have to do to convince The King to stick around in your city.

… Because if you ultimately do nothing and don’t turn up with a golden trophy on your mantle this year, LeBron will be gone, and on March 30th, 2056, I’ll be writing another article on how the city of Cleveland has gone another 46 years and 51 days without a championship.