Donald Sloan hit the game winner in the scrimmage.

Just got back from Geneva, Ohio where the Erie BayHawks beat the expansion Canton Charge in an exhibition game at the SPIRE Institute.

First off, the SPIRE Institute is a magnificent facility. Took a tour with the BayHawks there before the scrimmage. Very nice facility.

Now let’s talk hoops.

Erie won, 105-103, but Erie coach Jay Larranaga said, “We got a lot of work to do” afterward.

It’ll be interesting if the BayHawks show improvement in their defense in terms of defending dribble penetration in Saturday’s three-team scrimmage with the Charge and Fort Wayne at Penn State Behrend’s Junker Center.

As far as Wednesday goes, the game was close throughout but three guys came to the front when the game was on the line for the BayHawks.

1. Donald Sloan – Hit the game-winner with 19 seconds left after breaking the defense down with the dribble. This guy can get in the lane, has a nice runner and is automatic from the line.

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Here’s what LeBron  James had to say before tonight’s game between the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

This is the second time James has played in Cleveland for the Heat since he decided to leave the Cavaliers last summer to play in Miami. The Heat beat the Cavaliers, 118-90, Dec. 2 and James had 38 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

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Check out interviews conducted Monday at media day for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who began training camp today at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence, Ohio. Just go to the video section.

For fans of the Erie BayHawks, check out former point guard Cedric Jackson discussing his chances to make the team.

Former Erie BayHawks point guard Cedric Jackson is one of five training camp invites for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who open training camp today at Cleveland Clinic Courts in Independence, Ohio. Jackson played college ball at Cleveland State.

This is a step up for Cedric Jackson.

A year ago, he was a rookie point guard in training camp with the Erie BayHawks in the D-League. Now he’s a camp invite for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who open training camp Monday.

Then again, Jackson has NBA talent and should on an NBA roster already. Last season, he got NBA call ups from three different teams including the Cavs, who are an NBA affiliate of the BayHawks.

Now the last team to call Jackson up was the Washington Wizards, who signed him for the rest of the season in the spring of last year. So you might wonder, well, why isn’t he starting camp with the Wizards.

Well, my man Michael Lee of the Washington Post, let us know what happened earlier this summer on his blog.

The team rescinded a qualifying offer for Cedric Jackson last week, making him an unrestricted free agency.

The question is why did this happen.

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The Cleveland Cavaliers was the sixth and final team to meet with LeBron James last week and they made sure it was memorable with this video presentation.

On the wait to play in the playoffs: “It’s seemed pretty long, but it’s here now. I’m excited. It’s the best time of the year for basketball in this league. It’s an exciting time for myself and our team. … This is what I’ve waited for. I’ve been quoted the last few days. It’s what we play for in the regular season to prepare for this moment. It’s here.”

On finally having a full team: “It’s been a while. We’ve haven’t a full team for a while, honestly. Guys have been in and out of the line ups. Big players have been in and out of the lineup. So it’s great to finally have everybody healthy. This is the right time to have everybody healthy in the playoffs.”

On how Shaquille O’Neal looks basketball-wise: “He’s looked good. We’ve had a few practices and he’s got an opportunity to practice the last week. He looks pretty good an he’s ready to go.”

On expecting Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose to raise their level of play: “I expect everyone to raise the game. It’s the postseason. As far as raise their game, I don’t quite understand the question you’re asking, but it’s the postseason. They have no choice but to raise their game.”

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Georgetown center Greg Monroe was smiling then when getting called for a charge, but it was a sign of frustration. By game's end, the underdog Ohio Bobcats put the Hoyas in a state of shocking defeat.

RIIIIIIIIP! RIIIIIIIIIIIIP!

That’s the sound of (14) Ohio shredding my NCAA Tournament bracket by blasting (3) Georgetown, 97-83, just minutes ago.

Terrible. Where is my vacuum to clean up this mess?

Now I could save face and say I picked (13) Murray State to beat (4) Vanderbilt, but since I forgot to list it when I blogged my initial predictions, who’s going to believe I actually picked that upset.

Regardless, having your national championship pick go down in the first round is depresing.

Oh wait. Kansas is losing to Lehigh. I’m over the Georgetown pick. Got more March Madness to watch.

These things are always entertaining.

LeBron James spoke for about 10 minutes before the game to media. Now you’ve got national media here like ESPN and of course TNT is covering the game so there’s plenty of folks to ask last season’s MVP questions.

Some of them are good. Others are weird. Some made James respond, “Ya’ll want to know every damn thing. man. Damn. I’m just saying, dang. You can’t have no secrets.”

Here’s a few examples:

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LeBron James is officially the NBA’s best player this year.

LeBron James won his first NBA MVP award today. It likely won't be the last in his pro career.

Earlier today, James was named the league’s 2008-09 Most Valuable Player. James had the press conference announcement at his old high school of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.

It is going to be some scene in Cleveland tomorrow when the top-seeded Cavaliers open their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the fourth-seeded Atlanta Hawks at Quicken Loans Arena.

NBA commissioner David Stern will be in town to present James the MVP trophy.

In following James these last four years since I started working in Erie, he always gives off this calm demeanor.

He’ll likely do the same before Tuesday’s game, but trust me, James will have butterflies bigger than sledgehammers in his stomach.

Having that moment in which you’re holding the trophy before your hometown fans and receiving a standing ovation that is sure to last at least five minutes will tingle even the calmest individual.

There’s no way to prepare for that moment.

The thought of it is nice, but don't expect leading NBA MVP candidate LeBron James to show up at the Cleveland Cavaliers' basketball camp in Erie later this year in August.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will have a basketball camp in Erie for the second straight year at Family First Sports Park scheduled from Aug. 3-7.

Now last year, there weren’t too many campers in Erie. Maybe because people didn’t know about it or maybe the $245 camper fee was too much money for parents to pay.

Can’t blame them. That’s pricey. So let’s clear up four things here.

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