I'm pulling for Cleveland because of its young superstar

I'm sure I'm like a lot of people who don't give Cleveland much of a chance against San Antonio in the NBA finals, which started Thursday with the host Spurs winning Game 1, 85-76.

But I must say that I'm rooting for an upset by the Cavaliers, mainly because I am so taken by their young superstar, LeBron James.

It's not just James' talent, which is prodigious to say the least, although he certainly struggled Thursday against the Spurs' stingy defense, scoring just 14 points on 4-for-16 shooting.

What's really neat about James is that, on top of his amazing skills, he appears by all accounts to be about as fine a young man as the NBA has to offer. There is nary a hint of the chip-on-the-shoulder mentality that so many young athletes seem to possess these days.

But enough about his character. It's still somewhat hard to believe just how good this 22-year-old is on a basketball court.

Even though it's been over a week now, I still marvel at the show James put on during the crucial Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit.

Simply put, it was a performance for the ages as James scored 48 points -- including the Cavaliers' last 25 points, and 29 of their final 30 -- during Cleveland's thrilling double-overtime victory.

Just about every shot James hit was needed to keep the Cavaliers in the game. And many of his baskets bordered on the spectacular, often with multiple defenders hanging all over him.

The national media has been calling James' performance among the best in NBA playoff history. I don't know how any sane person can disagree.

For the series, which was won by Cleveland in six games, James averaged 25.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.5 assists -- numbers only matched in a conference finals by Oscar Robertson (1963), John Havlicek (1968) and Larry Bird (1986). That's impressive company.

In the playoffs as a whole, prior to Thursday, James was averaging 25.8 ppg, 8.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists.

Of course, James had plenty of help in closing out the Pistons as rookie guard Daniel Gibson scored a season-high 31 points, 19 coming in the fourth quarter.

But make no mistake about it: James is the show in Cleveland, as he has led a team that otherwise does not appear all that strong into the NBA finals for the first time in franchise history.

And you can bet James will have to continue to be the show if the Cavaliers are to have any chance at upsetting the Spurs.

I don't see it happening -- but I'll be rooting for it just the same.

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One more NBA thought: Even though he was a great player at Illinois and a high draft pick, I had no idea that Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams would turn out to be this good.

Williams had a dazzling playoff run after the second-year pro had a strong regular season. He'll certainly continue to be fun to watch in the future.

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Most people figured it was just a matter of time before Southeast Missouri State and Southern Illinois renewed their men's basketball series.

That is apparently the case as the schools have verbally agreed to begin playing each other again starting with the 2008-09 season.

For whatever reason, the Redhawks and Salukis have not met since the 2004-05 campaign, and they again won't play this year.

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Maybe it's something in the water, but local products who had been playing professional baseball have been hanging up their spikes in what seems like droves lately.

As had previously been mentioned, three players who had been in Class AAA either last season or to start this year -- Southeast product Kerry Robinson, Cape Girardeau native Talley Haines and Charleston native Matt Whiteside -- have all retired.

Robinson and Whiteside both compiled several years of major league service, while Haines had success in Class AAA but never quite got to the "Show."

Now add another to the list, as I recently spoke with Southeast product Todd Pennington and he told me he has also decided to get on with life after baseball.

Pennington, who at Southeast in 2001 was the national ERA leader, spent five seasons in the Cleveland Indians organization -- reaching as high as Class AA -- before being released.

After ending last year pitching for an independent league team in Lancaster, Pa., Pennington was released by that squad prior to this season and then decided to retire.

Pennington said he will continue working with Haines at the Prospects Sports Academy near Fruitland -- he had been doing that since the facility opened -- while also returning to Southeast to finish up his studies.

Good luck with life after baseball to all the area products.

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Edgar Jones, who earned Division I-AA all-American honors as the defensive star of last season's Southeast football team, signed a free-agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens the night the NFL draft ended in mid-April.

Another top defensive player from the 2006 Redhawks will try to join Jones in making the NFL this summer.

I learned just the other day that Kyle Hunt recently signed a free-agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hunt was, like Jones, a defensive end for the Redhawks last season, but the Eagles signed him as a tight end, the position where he earned all-conference honors in junior college before coming to Southeast.

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It's always fun following baseball's annual amateur draft, which took place Thursday and Friday.

There were a few angles this year that local college baseball fans might find particularly interesting.

First, Missouri State had its highest-ever selection as pitcher Ross Detwiler was taken sixth overall by the Nationals.

And the Bears had another hurler go in the third round as Scott Carroll was nabbed by the Reds with the No. 104 overall pick.

Second, it was a banner draft for the OVC, which had 10 players selected in the 50-round event, including six players from rounds 12 through 20.

Austin Peay, the OVC regular-season and tournament champion, had four players picked, led by conference pitcher of the year Shawn Kelley in the 13th round by the Mariners.

Also taken from the Govs were pitcher Matt Reynolds (20th round, Rockies), first baseman Jake Lane (32nd, Royals) and pitcher Ben Wilshire (40th, Giants).

Eastern Illinois first baseman Erik Huber was the highest OVC draftee, going to the Pirates in the 12th round.

Other OVC draft choices were Jacksonville State pitcher Donovan Hand (14th, Braves), Eastern Kentucky third baseman Lucas Waters (14th, Marlins), Morehead State pitcher Henry Mabee (19th, White Sox), Jacksonville State outfielder Garrett Bass (42nd, Nationals) and Samford pitcher Joseph Edens (44th, Giants).

Southern Illinois had two pitchers drafted, Kyle Catto (27th, Mets) and Jordan Powell (35th, Astros).

Southeast had no draft picks, which did not come as a major surprise, although a few Redhawks were under consideration.

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Austin Peay had a solid NCAA regional baseball showing last weekend, losing to Vanderbilt -- at the time the nation's No. 1 team -- 2-1 in 11 innings, then beating Memphis 18-7 before losing to Vanderbilt 11-5.

Not only did Austin Peay win its first-ever NCAA tournament game, it also became the first OVC squad to win an NCAA tournament game since 2002 -- a streak of nine straight defeats.

By the way, Southeast had been the last OVC team to post an NCAA victory. The Redhawks beat host Alabama during their most recent postseason appearance.

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One more college baseball note: Talk about a tough way to lose your job.

Tennessee coach Rod Delmonico was recently fired after 18 seasons despite a 699-396 overall record and the fact he ranked fourth on the Southeastern Conference's all-time coaching wins list.

Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton cited a lack of consistency in regular-season and postseason play in announcing the firing. Delmonico had a 263-255 mark in regular-season SEC play.

You might have to look long and hard to find another coach in any sport with a 699-396 record who was fired solely for his on-field performance.

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That was quite a gesture by Plaza Tire Service, buying the air time to have the remainder of the Capahas' home games, plus their games at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan., broadcast live on ESPN 1220 AM.

It should do nothing but promote even more interest in what is already a great product.

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A few spots are still available for the Capahas' annual summer baseball camp Monday (8 a.m. to noon) and Tuesday (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.) at Capaha Field.

The camp, for boys and girls ages 8 through 17, will be divided into age brackets and skill levels. Instructors will include Capahas manager Jess Bolen and his players, along with local college and high school coaches.

The cost is $65, which includes a Capahas T-shirt and lunch Tuesday. For information, call 335-6644.

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It's nice to see the Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons American Legion baseball team off to a strong start as the squad was 8-1 prior to Saturday night's game against Festus.

Ford & Sons looks like it might have the type of team to be a serious postseason contender.

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The Cardinals have recently shown glimpses that they might have a chance to turn their season around, but even if this ends up being a bad year, fans really don't have all that much to complain about.

To have been top contenders and regular playoff participants for such a consistent period of time, well, supporters of most other major league teams would kill for that.

In fact, many other franchises would kill for a winning season or two.

So Cardinals fans, who have been treated to such solid baseball for so long, really need to keep things in perspective no matter how 2007 turns out.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.