Wazopia: The Web Blog of Jim Fisher: March 2005

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Cavs Zip the Clippers: A Photo Flood (19 images)

Drew Gooden pounds the lane for a layup.
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Ouch! Drew makes the best faces!
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Eric Snow breaks down the defense and penetrates the lane. He does what the Cavs need to win.
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Eric Snow gets fouled and will shoot a couple from the line.
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This guy looked lost.
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LeBron James gets to the hole too.
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Zydrunas Ilgaukas had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
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Z goes in for a slam.
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Cory Maggette put up 26 points for the Clippers.
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But LeBron James put the game away in the fourth quarter with several rebounds and two big 3-pointers.
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This is how they do that t-shirt flinging thing.
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Anderson Varejao did his usual high-energy stuff.
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Anderson Varejao takes a charge from Elton Brand.
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Anderson Varejao and LeBron James provide a double-team on defense against the Clippers.
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The game wasn't as much of a nail-biter as Lebron James would have you believe.
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This promotion is so dumb. All you get is a stupid lottery ticket.
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Many fans think Jeff McGinness will be all alone next year.
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Who is this guy? I read the article about Moondog in the PD this morning but I wanted to know who does these great stunts.
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Victory was sweet tonight coming off a road win in New Orleans. Cavs are now 2-0 and may be building some momentum for the playoffs. Let's hope so.
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Saturday, March 26, 2005

Jamestown - Chautauqua NY: A Photo Safari

It was time to take a trip up to Chautaugua NY for a weekend of tromping through the snow and slush and mud. While the region still enjoys a pretty solid tourism economy the Jamestown area is still looking pretty grim. When you cruise around Jamestown you can tell from the fine homes and industrial buildings it had a strong manufacturing base from the 1910's to 1970's. Then like many Midwest communities built on manufacturing economies it began a long, slow decline. Today, the factory buildings are empty and decaying (why aren't the building owners required to tear them down when their useful life is over? I've never understood that.). There are sections of old homes which are quite delapidated. The Main street has some shops open. But overall its a mix of old and new.

Jamestown is trying to draw the tourism crowd from the Chautauqua Lakes area by capitalizing on two of their most famous sons and daughters, Lucille Ball and Roger Tory Peterson. They constructed an Institute to commemorate Peterson's career as a naturalist. It's housed in a beautiful and rustic looking building surrounded by 27 acres of woods. The library inside has a good collection of works on nature and the walls are covered with artwork and photography on the subject. Unfortunately the exhibits are not very appealing. One exhibit on the Rainforest consisted of some OK photos of the rainforest, a few snake and animal skins and pelts on the floor and a stuffed fruit bat. The main exhibit commemorated Peterson with a bunch of grainy and out-of-focus pictures as well as some drawings by the naturalist. It looked like the Institute took all the memorabilia they could find and put them on display just to show they had them. Overall, you don't get a simple picture of Peterson and his contribution to mankind. The nature trail that surrounds the Institute is unimpressive as well. We lumbered down the paths looking for markers which acknowledges different trees in the woods. If you're really into the subject then go, otherwise head back to Bemis and fire up the snowmobile.

On the other hand, the Lucille Ball draw is a much more commercial and coordinated attempt. We spotted a Lucille Ball museum, a little theatre, a gift center and several murals of Lucille and Desi. It's too bad Lucy is not an nostalgic icon for today's 18-25 year-old crowd like Marilyn Monroe. She was probably the greatest female comedian (I still remember Lucy working at the pie factory assembly line). So Lucy is what Jamestown has to work with and they're doing all they can with it. Here's some scenes. Enjoy!

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY.
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A nature walk at the Institute.
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Tree trunks in winter.
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Let's look up for once.
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Bark that is worse than my bite.
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The Library at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute.
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Nate and Lilly check out birds from thw window.
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Dueling snapshots.
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Uneeda Biscuits!!! I saw one of these mural ads in New Orleans.
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The Church of Jesus and Appliance Repair, Jamestown, NY.
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Funny Easter Bunny getting prepared.
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Everyone loves Lucy around here.
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Yes, there is even a Lucy Museum.
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Lucy Lucy everywhere.
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More Lucy.
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Giant Lucy.
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From the porch of the Bemis Point cottage looking down over the lake.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Cavs vs. Pistons: We finally win.

Right from the tip-off this was a game the Cavaliers decided they were going to win.
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The Cavs defense smothered Detroit in the second half.
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But that didn't stop Rasheed Wallace from breaking to the hoop for several spectacular dunks.
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Even Chauncey Billips made his points in the lane. But the Cavs perimeter defense made a big difference in this game.
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You can't say enough about Anderson Varejao. His energy, blocks and two incredible fly down the floor dunks turned the game to the Cavs.
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Varejao challenged and pestered Wallace up and down the floor. When Wallace starting challenging him back Varejao didn't back down.
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New coach Brendan Malone will try to guide the Cavs to the playoffs. Usually a team that just fired its coach will win the next game. But overall I don't think the Cavs have what it takes to go anywhere in the playoffs.
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Former Cavs guard Steve Kerr takes in the action courtside as a commentator for TNT. What's he thinking about the Cavs now?
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Craig Sagars of TNT roamed the sidelines. The Cavs were once the NBA media up-and-comers. Now how will we play in the NBA's boardroom?
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As long as the Cavaliers have this guy the cameras will come.
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LeBron is all over the court tonight. Fortunately for the Cavs Richard Hamilton was out.
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Moondog joins in the head-spinning action during timeouts.
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More on Varejao with his Sideshow Bob haircut and Latino fire.
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LeBron James makes a twisting move.
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New Cavs owner Dan Gilbert (in red shirt) likes what he sees tonight.
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But it still comes down to Lebron James.
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Monday, March 21, 2005

We can't fire the players so let's fire the coach.

by Jim Fisher

Lenny Wilkens tried every which way under heaven to get the all-star team of Price, Daugherty, Nance and Williams to take it to another level in the playoffs. Unfortunately, they lost every time in the first round. The excuse was "Michael Jordan" but Chicago never won a championship with Jordan until his 8th year on the team. Chicago was beatable but the Cavaliers didn't switch from being a speed-down-the-court team to a hard-nosed defensive squad. Lenny finally just said forget it. He used every motivating tactic he could but he couldn't get them going.

Now it looks like Jim Paxson had won over the ear of new owner Dan Gilbert. Maybe Gilbert won't notice all the awful drafts by Paxson over the last six years or the six head coaches the team has had in the last six years. Paxson only successful draft picks were two no-brainers, Lebron James and Carlos Boozer. Anyone in the country could have made those picks. He made some great moves in getting Eric Snow, Drew Gooden and Anderson Varajeo but are they championship caliber players or somebody to make us forget losing Boozer? Basketball championship teams require two superstars and four good supporting players. Jordan didn't get any farther than the old Cavaliers teams until Dennis Rodman came along. We have one superstar (LeBron), one good supporter (Z) and lots of question marks.

As a season-ticket holder it's plain to me what's happening to the team. On offense, no one can stick the long-range jumper. Dajuan can't (hospitalized), Luke can't (rehab), Lucious can't (needs a brain) and Jiri can't (needs a heart). Those are Paxson's guys. No one penetrates the lane because they get surrounded by three defenders who dare them to pass back to the arc. They know no one can hit a three to save their life. So everyone stands around waiting for LeBron to do something.

On defense, the very opposite happens. Last Friday against Philly was a perfect example. Allen Iverson cut through the lane time after time and either kick out to the arc for an easy jumper or took it up himself for a bucket and a foul. Jeff McGinness cannot guard anyone anymore.

So that's how it stands right now. Gilbert, if you are listening, dump Paxson now and get someone who can get some real players for LeBron and Z.

Also, tell Usher to sit down. People want to see the game. This is not his stage.

Saturday, March 19, 2005

Cavs vs. Philly: Tale of two stars

LeBron and Iverson. These two were the featured attractions tonight. One showed up to play the other didn't.
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Philly's defense suffocated LeBron all night.
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The few times he penetrated the lane he found double and triple-teaming.
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Drew Gooden tries a hook in the lane.
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Sasha Pavlovic tries to pierce the lane but Philly continue to smother the Cavs offense inside.
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This was more entertaining than the Cavs offense. LeBron was 3-20 shooting.
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Usher made some new friends courtside at the Gund. He may have made a few enemies too because he stood for most of the fourth quarter in front of everyone.
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Well, Allen Iverson was the show tonight. He scored 31 as he repeatedly broke down the Cavs defense by penetrating the lane.
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Jeff McGinness just cannot guard Iverson.
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Allen Iverson flips in a lay-up versus Cleveland.
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Again and again Iverson slips into the lane beating the Cavs defenders. It was like a clinic.
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Chris Webber gets into the act too as Iverson dumped the ball off to him inside the lane.
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Usher signed autographs for some new young Gund patrons.
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Back to Iverson, Eric Snow gave it a whirl guarding his former Philly teammate.
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It didn't help much as Iverson goes up for a jumper over Eric Snow.
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Philly set good picks to free up Iverson.
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Down the lane again for Iverson for a layup against Cleveland.
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Kyle Korver looks pleased as he does his Elvis pose.
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Andrew Varejao leaps for a rebound.
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Robert "Tractor" Traylor is surprised at the referree's call.
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Sasha Pavolvik and Zydrunas Ilgauskas try to slam the door on Chris Webber.
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To make things worse a bunch of fat guys came out to dance at a timeout.
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Usher liked it but I bet he can't wait to revamp the time-out entertainment.
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LeBron might have wished he could hide from his performance tonight.
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Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Cavs Vs. Jazz: Boozer goes AWOL

Everyone came looking for blood but Carlos Boozer was a no-show. But that didn't stop many Cavs fans with big chips on their shoulders. They relentless booed and heckled the Jazz players who showed obvious fickleness both on and off the court.

Special treat for me tonight. My seats were right behind the Jazz bench. This meant a new view of the court for my camera but also a constant view of the back of Utah coach Jerry Sloan for most of the game. I focused mostly on getting candids of LeBron and Andrew Varejao the teams most popular players.

Drew Gooden glides in for a lay-up.
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LeBron James looks for a pass.
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LeBron James eyes a free throw.
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All eyes are on LeBron when he has the ball.
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LeBron James calls out a play.
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Anderson Varejao looks for the outlet pass.
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Utah Jazz's Kris Humphries misses an easy dunk.
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Anderson Varejao plays defense agains the Utah Jazz.
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LeBron James directs the Cleveland Cavaliers defense.
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Anderson Varejao and Kris Humphries fight for the rebound.
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Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan tries to work a play.
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All-star Andre Kirilenko fires up a free throw.
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LeBron James took this game over from the beginning scoring 28 points by the half.
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If I followed-up my Photojournalism degree from college I probably would have been sitting here with these guys today. Oh well.
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Chants of MVP! MVP! were heard throughout the evening.
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The fans approve a great victory but too bad Carlos Boozer missed it.
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Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Cavaliers vs. Orlando: Photo Flood (20 images)

It was one of those nights where you could tell this was going to be a Cavaliers victory. They got on it,--tough defense and good passing, right from the start. LeBron James got his points early instead of waiting for his teammates to get their game going. The rest of the game was smooth sailing. What a difference since the effortless performance against Miami. So now they're only five games behind the second spot in the playoffs.

LeBron James zips in for an easy lay-up.
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Zydrunas Ilgaukas goes left for a hook.
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Eric Snow lays one in.
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Usher, making his first appearance as Cleveland Cavaliers minority owner, gets the crowd into it.
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The crowd gives their response to Usher. It was freaky. All of sudden we have Grammy Award winners sitting courtside at Cleveland Cavaliers games. After a monster dunk, LeBron James zipped back up the court and high-fived Usher along the way.
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LeBron James pops a jumper over Orlando.
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The Cavs Girls get it going too.
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Steve Francis was a major thorn to the Cavs tonight.
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Steve Francis leaps over LeBron James for a score.
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Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgaukas usually make the best faces on the court.
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Drew Gooden takes a swat at Hedo Turkoglu's jumper.
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LeBron James zips past Orlando's defenders for another lay-up.
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Steve Francis yanks down a rebound.
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Drew Gooden goes up for a dunk.
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Drew Gooden dunks with emphasis!
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Anderson Varejeo makes his return to the Cavs floor.
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Zydrunas Ilgaukas goes up for a jump ball.
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LeBron James snatches a loose ball.
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Another great Drew Gooden face as he eyes another rebound.
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Can it get any tougher under the boards in the NBA?
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Saturday, March 05, 2005

"Got to be some changes made"

So sang blues guitarist Albert King.

Cleveland is the poorest city in the country. Does it get any worse than that? Let's not kid ourselves. We have sunk to a new low. Many of us have escaped to the suburbs but can all the lawyers, doctors, CEO's and managers who work downtown or at University Circle miss what's going on?

Let's take a journey through Cleveland's Industrial Wasteland. After spending some time down in the steel mill area, an area that is somewhat alive with activity, you understand why Cleveland ain't ever going to be what it used to be. That's why it's time to forge a new vision of Cleveland.

The fact that ISG got steelmaking going and profitable again in Cleveland is amazing. The key was to get it to profitability so it could compete. Unless we want to completely socialize our economy, businesses that aren't efficient need to either improve or move on.

Lots of tracks, rail cars and buildings with smoke stacks are not the future of Cleveland. It belongs to a time long ago. Cleveland served a purpose in the Industrial Age and benefitted from it. No need for higher education. Just get a job at the plant that your family worked at. Support the union and retire early. Times were easy then.

You could have a decent living working in the industrial backyard of Cleveland. The unions got their fair share of the revenue when the times were good, when the South had no factories, and when the thought of Asians and South Americans producing and importing quality products was an absurdity. There is nothing wrong with unions but they need to evolve. The union mentality of the 1950's is now an irrelevant nuissance today.

Piles of raw materials moved in and out of Cleveland through giant ore boats. Huge vehicles pushed it around. Everything was big, raw and tough.

The times changed and Clevelanders didn't change with it. Now we are left needing a massive overhaul. Drive the streets of Cleveland sometime. Not downtown which is just a pleasing front covering a huge wreck. Drive down Broadway, Union, Cedar, East 55th and see the old plants and factories shuttered down. Go along St. Clair or Lorain or Superior and you'll see the boarded-up shells of times past. These wrecks stretch block upon block. Even more pitiable are the homes, now shabby, decaying, beyond repair.

The doors were once new and shiny. Now they are just reminders of what was. Clevelanders live in the past too much and don't spend enough time envisioning their future.

Like a tree with blight, the equipment rusts, the windows get boarded up and the doors close. It's not our fault that these factories of yesterday are now crumbling hulks. They served their purpose and now it's time to move on. Clevelanders wonder what happened to its economy but a new one is there waiting to be discovered.

All it takes to renew our city is vision. It means looking to the future and believing in it rather than trying to resusitate and sustain the past.

This building is emblematic of the type of thinking of our political leaders in Northeast Ohio. They would prefer to keep the old power structure in place rather than change. It keeps them elected by catering to unions, civil servants, and bureaucratic interests. But all they are are little kings fighting over a crumbling hulk of neglect.

Do we need more innovations like this?

It's time to start taking the wrecking ball of progress and innovation to our past in order to clear the way for a new Cleveland.

1. Stop living in the past.

2. Reform or replace the existing power structures.

3. Envision what a new Cleveland can be and start building it.

Wazopia: The Web Blog of Jim Fisher