When Hedo Turkoglu hit the jumper to put the Orlando Magic up 95-93 with 1.0 seconds left in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, it appeared that the Cleveland Cavaliers would hit the road down 2-0. But the MVP proved he was worthy. LeBron James nailed a 3-pointer with 1 second left to send the fans home happy and breathe life into the #1 seeded Cavs. The oft-criticized King James, most recently criticized for giving the ball up at the end of Game 1, should now have silenced the fiercest critics, Skip Bayless & Charles Barkley included.

With the series tied at 1-1, the Cavaliers will face the Magic in Game 3 on Sunday at 8:30 pm ET on TNT.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers did not appear to feel the effects of another 9-day layoff between NBA playoff games, the end result was not what the fans in Cleveland were expecting. Cleveland jumped out to a 16-point 1st Quarter lead and led by 15 at the half thanks to a 60+ foot shot by Mo Williams at the halftime buzzer. But the 3rd Quarter was key as the Magic fought back and Rashard Lewis hit a 3-point shot that proved to be the game-winner with just under 15 seconds remaining. The superstars had interesting games as LeBron James fought off leg cramps to score 49 points and Dwight Howard fouled out, but in the end the Magic’s team depth proved superior on this night as they easily dominated the Cavs’ bench players.

With the win the Magic lead the Eastern Conference Finals 1-0 and have “stolen” home court advantage and have handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Nonetheless, Cleveland Cavs apparel & merchandise continues to fly off the shelves as they look to even things up on Friday night in Cleveland.

NBA fans and the media expected it, and today the rumors and expectations became a reality as LeBron James was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. James received 109 of 121 possible 1st place votes as he wins his first MVP award in his 6th season in the NBA. During the 2008-2009 regular eason LeBron James averaged 28.4 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks.

The Cavaliers won their 1st round series 4 games to none over #8 seed Detroit and set their sites on #4 seed Atlanta. As always, fans can find the best Cavaliers playoffs apparel & hats online from DFN Sports sites.

It was a slow day for Ohio sports teams as only the Cincinnati Reds were in action on Monday, April 20th. The Reds were looking to take 3 of 4 @ Houston and improve to 7-5 on the season and jumped out to a early 2-0 lead. But Bronson Arroyo was unable to hold the lead as the Astros took a 3-2 lead in the 6th, but a Joey Votto 2-run double put the Reds ahead for good and Francisco Cordero preserved Arroyo’s win with the save. The Reds now head to Chicago to face the Cubs in a 3-game series after winning 5 of 7 on the road trip so far.

Cleveland Cavaliers - The Cavs prepare for Tuesday night’s Game 2 of their First Round series against the #8 Detroit Pistons. Meanwhile, Mike Brown was named the Coach of the Yearin the NBA on Monday.

Columbus Blue Jackets - Columbus looks to get back into their series wit hthe #2 seed Detroit Red Wings as they host the Wings in Game 3 @ Columbus on Tuesday night.

Cleveland Indians - The Indians begin a 9-game homestand on Tuesday as the Kansas City Royals come to town.

Cleveland Browns & Cincinnati Bengals - The Browns & Bengals continue to prepare for Saturday’s 2009 NFL Draft. The 2009 NFL team schedules were released last week.

2009 NCAA Tournament - Midwest Region - Miami, FL
No. 12 Arizona (21-13) 71, No. 13 Cleveland State (26-11) 57
Key Moment: Arizona point guard Nic Wise scored seven points midway through the second half to help the Wildcats maintain control.
High Point Scorers: Arizona — Wise 21  Cleveland State — Norris Cole 17
Analysis: The last will be first? Well, if it’s true the Wildcats were the last team in the tournament, the committee certainly looks smart. But consider the ballclub is really good and plays very good defense. The Vikings made only three of 23 3-point attempts. Again, the big three of Wise, Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill were key as they combined for 52 of the the Wildcats’ 71 points. As they go, so goes Arizona.
What’s Next: Arizona makes its 12th appearance in the Sweet 16 since 1988 and will meet No. 1 Louisville, which held off No. 9 Siena, 79-72. If you had looked at the brackets, Arizona would have likely appeared to reach this round. But now that the Wildcats are here, they are playing with house money. Should be a fun matchup in the low post between Louisville’s Earl Clark and Hill.

By Kevin Lonnquist

2009 NCAA Tournament - Midwest Region - Minneapolis, MN
No. 3 Kansas (27-7) 60, No. 11 Dayton (27-8) 43
Key Moment: Dayton’s shooting throughout the day — 22 percent
High Point Scorer: Kansas — Sherron Collins 25  Dayton — Chris Wright 10
Analysis: While Dayton absolutely deserved to be in the tournament, the Flyers absolutely had no idea how to handle KU center Cole Aldrich who registered the third triple-double in tournament history. He had 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. The Jayhawks have found motivation from the early exit in the Big 12 tournament. And credit Collins who has played like a senior. He has scored 57 points in the first two tournament games.
What’s Next: The Jayhawks advance to the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis where they will meet No. 2 seed Michigan State which held off No. 10 USC, 74-69. This is a rematch of the Jan. 10 meeting East Lansing that Michigan State won, 75-62. But the Jayhawks are a much different team now than they were then. Expect a great matchup at the guard position between Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas and KU’s Sherron Collins. The game will decided on the backboards.

By Kevin Lonnquist

With more teams than any other state in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, you would think the state of Ohio would get a little respect. Apparently now. By some odd bit of bad luck (or an Ohio State grad working in programming for CBS) the Xavier vs. Wisconsin game starts at 2:20 pm, the Dayton vs. Kansas game starts at 2:30 pm and the Cleveland State vs. Arizona game starts at 2:40 pm today. As a result, for the 99.9% of us who do not have DirecTV’s special NCAA Tournament package, we will only see one of these three games featuring Ohio teams.

Meanwhile, in the 2009 women’s NCAA Tournament, #3 seed Ohio State defeated #14 Sacred Heart 77-63 on Saturday. The Buckeye women will now face #11 Mississippi State in the 2nd round.

2009 NCAA Tournament - Midwest Region - Miami
No. 13 Cleveland State (26-10) 84 No. 4 Wake Forest (26-7) 69
Key Moment: The first three minutes of the game set the tone when Vikings jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back.
High Scorers: Cleveland State — Norris Cole 22  Wake Forest — James Johnson 22
Analysis: Wake Forest’s talent is young and impressive and some out there thought it was good enough to get to the Final Four. But it’s also experienced a lot of upheaval after beginning 16-0. Things just haven’t gone well for the Demon Deacons. Their suspect defense bit them again as Cleveland State shot 48 percent from the floor. Although Wake Forest shot 52 percent, the Demon Deacons squeezed off only 50 shots to Cleveland State’s 65
What’s Next: The Vikings advance to the Sunday’s second round and will play No. 12 Arizona, which knocked off No. 5 Utah, 84-71. The Vikings got great cames from Cole, J’Nathan Bullock (21) and Cedric Jackson (19). If they play like that against the Wildcats, you have to give them their due. Remember, this program played giant killer in 1986 when as a 14 seed it knocked off 3 seed Indiana in the first round.

By Kevin Lonnquist
DFN Sports Staff Write

The #11 Dayton Flyers deserved a shot at the NCAA Tournament last year but had to settle for the NIT. In 2009, they made sure that their resume was even stronger, and after receiving a #11 seed in the Midwest the Flyers were not content with just making the Big Dance, they wanted to make a statement as well. Dayton led #6 West Virginia 33-28 at the half and added to their lead in the 2nd half to defeat the favored WVU Mountaineers 68-60 and advance in the 2009 NCAA Tournament earlier today. Chris Wright’s 27 points paced the Flyers as he also added 10 rebounds.

Next up for the Flyers will be the #3 seed Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday in the 2nd round. In the meantime, fans can find a nice selection of Dayton Flyers hats & merchandise online through College Sports Fans while they follow the entire NCAA Tournament.

No. 4 Wake Forest (24-6) vs. No. 13 Cleveland State (25-10)

Time/Site: 9:40 EDT/Miami
The winner gets: The winner of Utah-Arizona
Summary: The Demon Deacons finished in a tie for second with Duke in the ACC and lost to Maryland in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Cleveland State finished a tie for third in the Horizon League regular season and won the conference tournament to earn the automatic bid.
Key Players: Wake Forest – Jeff Teague (19.1 ppg), F; James Johnson (14.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg)  Cleveland State – J’Nathan Bullock (15.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg), F; Cedric Jackson (5.4 apg), G
Key stat: Wake Forest – Since beginning the season at 16-0 and being ranked No.1  in the country, the Demons are 8-6 in their last 14 games. Cleveland State – The Vikings are back in the tournament for the first time since 1986 .
Wake Forest will win: Because their talent is young but among the best in the nation. Teague is a great one-on-one scorer. Johnson is a physical presence.
Cleveland State will win: If it can find the magic from 1986. That team, a No. 14 seed, knocked off No. 3 seed Indiana. This won’t be easy for Wake Forest. Cleveland State won at Syracuse in December
Prediction: Wake Forest 78, Cleveland State 68

By Kevin Lonnquist