Cleveland Cavaliers

Injured Reserve.
. Bench.
. Starters. The streak, encompassing 24 games (also an NFL record) came to an end on September 12, 2004, when the Lions defeated the Bears 20-16 at Soldier Field in Chicago. However, the franchise also sees great hope in rising star LeBron James, whom many have compared to basketball-great Michael Jordan. The team has had considerable difficulty remaining competitive in recent years, going the entire 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons without a road victory, thus becoming the only team in NFL history not to win on the road for three consecutive entire seasons.

The team will have a pick in the top 14 of the NBA Draft; also, they must look for a new coach. This was the first time a team that had been shut out in its opener had reached the conference title round, and would remain the only such occasion until both the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots did likewise in 2003 (with New England going on to win the Super Bowl). The 2005 offseason brings both hope and despair for the Cavs. In 1991, the Lions reached the NFC championship game after having been shut out 45-0 by the Washington Redskins on opening day; they also lost to the Redskins in the NFC championship game that year by a score of 41-10. 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). Led by Sims, the team got off to a promising start that year and attracted considerable media attention when they adopted "Another One Bites The Dust," popularized by glam rock band Queen, as an unofficial team song. 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. In 1980, the Lions drafted running back Billy Sims with the first overall pick in the NFL draft.

Despite the loss of Carlos Boozer, James teamed with Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to form the core of the Cavs team. He remained friends with a number of the players, particularly Mel Farr and Lem Barney, who appear on his 1971 classic single "What's Going On.". James blossomed into a superstar, increasing his points average, shooting percentage, assists average, and rebounds average. He gained weight and trained for his tryout in 1970, but was cut early on. Hope was even greater for the 2004-2005 season. Motown soul singer Marvin Gaye made plans, after the death of duet partner Tammi Terrell, to join the Lions and go into football. 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. This was the basic material for his book Paper Lion, later made into a film.

The Cavs selected high school phenom Lebron James. In the mid-1960s, the Lions served as the backdrop for the humorous sports literature of George Plimpton, who spent time in the Lions training camp masquerading as a player. After another disappointing season in 2002-2003, the Cavs landed the number one draft pick in the NBA Lottery. On January 7, 1961, the Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns 17-16 in the first-ever Playoff Bowl matching the runners-up from the two conferences into which the NFL was divided at the time (the Lions also appeared in the game in both of the next two years pursuant to their having finished second to the Green Bay Packers in the Western Conference in all three seasons; the Playoff Bowl was abolished in 1970 when the merger of the NFL and AFL went into full effect). Those seasons saw the Cavs drop to the bottom of the league, becomming a perennial lottery draft team. They won the league championship in 1952, 1953, and 1957. However, after the Cavs' glory days came several losing seasons. Detroit enjoyed its greatest success in the 1950s, led by QB Bobby Layne.

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. In 1943, the Lions and the New York Giants played to a 0-0 tie at Detroit - the last time an NFL game has ended with that score. 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. Under quarterback Dutch Clark, Detroit won its first NFL championship in 1935. 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. That season, Detroit hosted its first ever Thanksgiving Day game, a tradition continued to this day. However, brothers George Gund and Gordon Gund purchased the franchise in the mid 1980s and decided to keep the team in Cleveland. Poor revenues led to the team's move from Portsmouth, Ohio to Detroit in 1934.

In the 1980s, new owner Ted Stepien quickly hired and fired a succession of coaches and even threatened to move the franchise to Toronto. The Bears won the game, 9-0, and the resulting interest led to the establishment of Eastern and Western conferences and a regular championship game beginning in 1933. 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. The Spartans-Bears game was played because both teams ended the regular season with the same won-lost percentage (the Spartans finished at 6-1-4 while the Bears were 6-1-6; ties were not reckoned as part of the percentage in the NFL until 1972). He received the league's Coach of the Year award as the Cavs made their first-ever playoff appearance. As the Portsmouth Spartans, the franchise played in an unscheduled NFL championship game against the Chicago Bears in 1932. 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 Detroit Lions are a National Football League team based in Detroit, Michigan.

However, the team began to build around the 1971 draft pick, Austin Carr. Portsmouth Spartans Historical Society (http://www.portsmouthspartans.org/). Under the direction of coach Bill Fitch, they compiled a league-worst 15-67 record. Detroit Lions official web site (http://www.detroitlions.com/)
. The Cavaliers first began play in the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team. Wayne Walker. The Cleveland Cavaliers are a National Basketball Association team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Pat Swilling.

Lenny Wilkens (Inducted as both player and coach.). Chris Spielman. Wayne Embry (Current team president and first African-American to serve in that role in the NBA; inducted as a contributor.). Billy Sims. F/C - #47 Scott Williams (North Carolina). Glenn Presnell. G - #2 Dajuan Wagner (Memphis). Robert Porcher.

SF - #33 Luke Jackson (Oregon). Milt Plum. SF - #44 Jiri Welsch (Czech Republic). Rodney Peete. PF - #17 Anderson Varejao (Brazil). Herman Moore. SG - #3 Sasha Pavlovič (Montenegro). Dick LeBeau.

F/C - #32 Robert Traylor (Michigan). Greg Landry. SG - #12 Lucious Harris (Long Beach State). Alex Karras. C - #52 DeSagana Diop (Senegal). Mel Farr. Mary's HS, Akron, Ohio). Jeff Chadwick.

Vincent-St. Roger Brown. SF - #23 LeBron James (St. Lomas Brown. PF - #90 Drew Gooden (Kansas). Jerry Ball. C - #11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Lithuania). Billy Sims (20).

SG - #14 Ira Newble (Miami, OH). Barry Sanders (20). PG - #0 Jeff McInnis (North Carolina). Lem Barney (20). 43 Brad Daugherty. Chuck Hughes (85). 42 Nate Thurmond. Joe Schmidt (56).

34 Austin Carr. Doak Walker (37). 25 Mark Price. Bobby Layne (22). 22 Larry Nance. Dutch Clark (7). 7 Bingo Smith. Dan Wilkinson, DT.

Hot Rod Williams. Fernando Bryant, CB. Campy Russell. Marcus Pollard, TE. Shawn Kemp. Teddy Lehman, LB. Free. Charles Rogers, WR.

World B. Boss Bailey, LB. Jim Chones. Kennoy Kennedy, SS. Terrell Brandon. Mike Williams, WR. Carlos Boozer. Roy Williams, WR.

Lenny Wilkens (Inducted as both player and coach.). Shaun Rogers, DT. Nate Thurmond. Kevin Jones, RB. Joey Harrington, QB. Jeff Garcia QB.

Eddie Drummond, WR. Dre' Bly, CB. Barry Sanders, RB (2004). Lou Creekmur, G, T (1996).

Lem Barney, DB (1992). Doak Walker, HB (1986). Yale Lary, DB, P (1979). Dick "Night Train" Lane, DB (1974).

Joe Schmidt, LB (1973). Jack Christiansen, DB (1970). Alex Wojciechowicz, C, LB (1968). Bobby Layne, QB (1967).

Bill Dudley, HB (1966). Earl "Dutch" Clark, QB (1963).