Cleveland Cavaliers

Injured Reserve. In the promos, he often uttered the now-famous line:. Bench. The team's most notable fan, comedian Drew Carey, poked fun at the rest of baseball while he promoted his new sitcom The Drew Carey Show in 1995. Starters. Jose Mesa is largely blamed by fans for the 1997 loss, and is directly blamed in Omar Vizquel's autobiography. However, the franchise also sees great hope in rising star LeBron James, whom many have compared to basketball-great Michael Jordan. They lost the World Series in both years, however, falling to the Atlanta Braves in 1995 and to the Florida Marlins in 1997 in a dramatic game seven ninth inning loss.

The team will have a pick in the top 14 of the NBA Draft; also, they must look for a new coach. 1995 was a particularly spectacular year for the Indians, as they won a remarkable 100 games out of a strike-shortened season of 144, led Major League Baseball in batting average, and led the American League in ERA. The 2005 offseason brings both hope and despair for the Cavs. The Indians won several division titles in the 1990s, and pennants 1995 and 1997. The Cavs failed to make the playoffs that year, tied with the resurgent New Jersey Nets for the eighth (and final) playoff spot (the Nets owned the tiebreaker over the Cavs). In the 1990s a new owner and new stadium brought a new competitive spirit and success. After a promising start when the team seemed to be locked firmly into the Eastern Conference's 5th playoff spot, the Cavs began a downward spiral that eventually led to the firing of coach Paul Silas and general manager Jim Paxson. Sequels followed in 1994 and 1998.

Despite the loss of Carlos Boozer, James teamed with Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to form the core of the Cavs team. The Indians were the subject of a 1989 movie, Major League, which starred Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger. James blossomed into a superstar, increasing his points average, shooting percentage, assists average, and rebounds average. The child says neither one, they both beat me -- the judge then asks who he does want to live with and the answer is "the Cleveland Indians, they don't beat anybody.". Hope was even greater for the 2004-2005 season. A standard joke of the time had the judge asking a child in parental custody battle which parent he preferred to live with. The 2003-2004 season offered great hope for the future, as James rose to become a dominating player, winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. On June 4, 1974 the Indians hosted "Ten Cent Beer Night", but had to forfeit the game to the Texas Rangers due to drunken and unruly fans.

The Cavs selected high school phenom Lebron James. This was compounded by an unfortuate event. After another disappointing season in 2002-2003, the Cavs landed the number one draft pick in the NBA Lottery. The Indians non-competitiveness was a subject for humor. Those seasons saw the Cavs drop to the bottom of the league, becomming a perennial lottery draft team. However, poor trades and a weak farm system caused the team to slump badly in the 1960s through the 1980s. However, after the Cavs' glory days came several losing seasons. They appeared in the World Series in 1948 and 1954, and were in regular contention for the pennant with the dominant New York Yankees.

The pinnacle of the Cavs' dominance came in the 1991-1992 season, when they compiled a 57-25 record and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, losing to the Chicago Bulls 4-2. The Indians fielded a competitive team through the late 1940s and early 1950s, featuring pitching stars Bob Feller, Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Mike Garcia (also known as the Big Four). These players formed the core of the team that led the Cavs to eight playoff seasons in the next nine years, including three 50-wins plus seasons. (Pluto, 1999). In 1986, under the Gund brothers as owners, the team acquired, either through trades or the draft, Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper, and Larry Nance. The name was meant to be temporary. However, brothers George Gund and Gordon Gund purchased the franchise in the mid 1980s and decided to keep the team in Cleveland. They chose "Indians" as a play on the name of the 1914 Boston Braves, who were known as the "Miracle Boston Braves" after going from last place on July 4 to a sweep in the World Series. This was also a reversion to a name of an earlier National League club.

In the 1980s, new owner Ted Stepien quickly hired and fired a succession of coaches and even threatened to move the franchise to Toronto. Rather, when the Naps needed a new name after Napoleon Lajoie was given to the Philadelphia Athletics after the end of the 1914 season Charles Somers, the team owner, asked the local newspapers to come up with a new name for the team. The Cavs won the series against the Washington Bullets, 4-3. Because of the many heroics and last-second shots, the series became known as the "Miracle of Richfield." However, hampered by injuries, the Cavs proceeded to lose to the Boston Celtics in round two of the NBA playoffs. Contrary to popular belief, the team was not named for Louis Sockalexis when it assumed its current name in 1915. He received the league's Coach of the Year award as the Cavs made their first-ever playoff appearance. They are in the Central Division of the American League. In the 1975-1976 season, with Carr, Bingo Smith, Jim Chones, and Dick Snyder, Fitch led the Cavs, as the team is commonly nicknamed, to a stunning 49-33 record, which was the best record in the Central Division. The Cleveland Indians are a Major League Baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio.

However, the team began to build around the 1971 draft pick, Austin Carr. Burlington Indians. Under the direction of coach Bill Fitch, they compiled a league-worst 15-67 record. Kinston Indians
Lake County Captains
Mahoning Valley Scrappers. The Cavaliers first began play in the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team. Akron Aeros. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a National Basketball Association team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Buffalo Bisons.

Lenny Wilkens (Inducted as both player and coach.). American League
. Wayne Embry (Current team president and first African-American to serve in that role in the NBA; inducted as a contributor.). 57 Carl Willis (pitching). F/C - #47 Scott Williams (North Carolina). 43 Dan Williams (bullpen). G - #2 Dajuan Wagner (Memphis). 6 Robby Thompson (bench/interim).

SF - #33 Luke Jackson (Oregon). 35 Joel Skinner (third base). SF - #44 Jiri Welsch (Czech Republic).  -- Derek Shelton (hitting/interim). PF - #17 Anderson Varejao (Brazil).   4 Luis Isaac (bullpen). SG - #3 Sasha Pavlovič (Montenegro). 96 Ruben Felix (bullpen catcher).

F/C - #32 Robert Traylor (Michigan). 29 Jeff Datz (first base/outfield/base running). SG - #12 Lucious Harris (Long Beach State). Coaches