Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown was in Erie on Friday night checking out his son, Elijah, who plays for St. Edward./Photo by Robert Frank

Interstate 90 East was clear Friday night, but Mike Brown would have made the trek from Cleveland to Erie to see his son play regardless of whether the road was or wasn’t.

“The roads were clear, but even if the roads were not clear, I would be here,” he proudly said.

The former Cleveland Cavaliers coach watched his son Elijah, a 6-2 lefty sophomore, score nine points, but St. Edward fell to Penn Wood, 57-55, in the Burger King Basketball Classic semifinals at Gannon University’s Hammermill Center.

At halftime of the game, I talked to Coach Brown about his son, not coaching, what happened with the Cavs, the current state of the Cavs and the two-time NBA MVP he coached – LeBron James.

Brown came to the game right before it began wearing a green St. Edwards fleece jacket. Once he went to the upper deck, Brown got comfortable, took off the jacket and was sporting a green St. Edward polo shirt.

Once the game began, he got into it. Started clapping right away and then pulled the video camcorder to film the action.  From afar, I couldn’t see how anxious it is for him to watch his son play.

At halftime, I found out.

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When you're standing next to NBA commissioner David Stern (center), you're going to smile no matter what.

The Erie BayHawks made history this week.

They became the second D-League team to have the logo of a sponsor on its jerseys. The WNBA has had teams do so before Erie and Rio Grande Valley did so heading into this upcoming season.

LECOM has been the major sponsor of the BayHawks since they came to Erie before the 2008-09 season. LECOM provides the team quite a bit like a state-of-the-art training facility.

Now I’m from the old school of not having that kind of stuff on jerseys or uniforms. Remember in Rocky when Rocky Balboa sported the rob from the meat packing plant?

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Here’s the first of three parts of the Cleveland Cavaliers introducing Chris Grant as their new general manager. Grant is replacing Danny Ferry, who officially resigned Friday.

In this first segment, Grant talked about how they’re talking to candidates (Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo seems to be atop the list) and said the Cavs have a “plan” to resign LeBron James.

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Mike Brown was the 2009 NBA Coach of the Year and won 272 regular-season games in five seasons with the Clevleand Cavaliers.

Here’s a statement Mike Brown released two days after the Cleveland Cavaliers announced his firing Monday.

“The past 5 years have been an exceptional experience.  I have been very fortunate to lead a group of men who I respect and thoroughly enjoyed coaching on a daily basis.  At the same time, I was able to work alongside a terrific coaching staff and with Danny Ferry and a basketball operations team, all of whom I have a profound respect for. We partnered in creating a culture and a standard that I am, and will continue to be, very proud of.  None of which would be possible without the dedication and support of Dan Gilbert.  I am thankful for the opportunity that he gave to me and my family.  We have a deep appreciation for Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Cavaliers organization, and the people in this community, and have enjoyed making this our home.” – Mike Brown

He released the statement through the Cavaliers. I haven’t seen first hand how the Cavaliers fire a coach, so this release may be what  they typically do. However, this just seems so weird to me.

In the mean time, this firing will affect the Erie BayHawks as well.

The Cavaliers are an NBA affiliate of the BayHawks as are the Toronto Raptors. Brown opened the door to Erie coach John Treloar and him at practices.

Treloar sat in coaches meeting as well, attended games and offered insight from what he observed.

Now Ferry had something to do with that because he hand picked Treloar to coach the BayHawks, but you still have to have a head coach open to the idea of having a D-League coach there.

LeBron James may have played his final game for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Thursday's Game 6 loss in Boston.

It’s over.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are done for this season and if LeBron James decides to bounce and join another game, they will be done for much longer.

Just for the record, as much as I thought Cleveland had the team to win it all this season, I predicted before the season began it wouldn’t even make it to the NBA Finals.

Who did I pick: The Los Angeles Lakers to win back-to-back and beat the Orlando Magic again. They’re both still alive. Who would have thunk it?

As for the Cavaliers, they won 60-plus games in consecutive regular seasons, James won back-to-back NBA MVPs and didn’t make to the finals last season or this season.

Something is wrong with that picture?

Who is to blame?

Well, let’s start at the top. Or near the top.

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Mike Gansey averaged 18.4 poinst and 8.2 boards in 27 games with Erie this season.

4:45 a.m. Wednesday.

That’s what time Erie BayHawks guard Mike Gansey’s first of two plane fights exits the runway en route to China as he will play with fellow D-League players and former NBA stars Robert Horry and Chris Mullin, a member of the 1992 Dream Team that won gold in the 1992 Summer Olympics, in two charity basketball games.

Before he headed out,  Gansey did a lengthy phone interview with me about China, the BayHawks and if his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, were going to win an NBA title this season.

From nearby Olmsted Falls, Ohio, Gansey, as expected, picked the Cavaliers to win it all. Here’s what else he had to say Tuesday afternoon.

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As a senior at North Carolina, Manuel won a national championship in 2005.

The players and coaches in tonight’s game between the Erie BayHawks and the Austin Toros will follow the NCAA Tournament for more than just the sheer madness of it.

Many of them either played for or coached at schools that are in this year’s field of 65.

Check out how Jackie Manuel, Ivan Harris and  Coach John Treloar of Erie and Marcus Williams, DeMarcus Nelson and Coach Quin Snyder of Austin think their schools will fare.

As a bonus, I also talked to Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Darnell Jackson, who was sent down to play for the BayHawks just for today’s game, about how his Kansas Jayhawks will do in defending the 2008 national title he helped them win.

Erie SF Jackie Manuel
College: North Carolina (2001-05). The Tar Heels (28-4) are a No. 1 seed in the South Regional and will open tournament play Thursday against No. 16-seeded Radford (21-11) in Greensboro, N.C.

How will his Tar Heels do in this year’s tournament? “I think they definitely have a great chance of winning it all. Definitely making it to the Final Four. I definitely think they have a great chance.”

What about junior point guard Ty Lawson’s injury? The Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year missed the ACC Tournament with a toe injury and is questionable for Thursday’s game.

“I think he’ll be alright. With Ty being from D.C., he’s pretty tough. Any injury he’s having or he’s had, I’m pretty sure he’ll suck it up and play. He knows what’s at stake.”

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