InternetFM.com

Hand Curated Radio

You are here: Home / Archives for The Move

The Move

Today in Rock History – August 11

by

1966, At a press conference held at The Astor Towers Hotel in Chicago, John Lennon apologized for his remarks that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” Lennon told reporters “Look, I wasn’t saying The Beatles are better than God or Jesus, I said “Beatles” because it’s easy for me to talk about The Beatles. I could have said “TV” or “Cinema,” “Motorcars,” or anything popular and would have got away with it…”

1967, The Small Faces, The Move, Marmalade, Paul Jones, Pink Floyd, Amen Corner, Donovan, Zoot Money, Cream, Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown all appeared at the UK Reading Festival. An advance 3-day ticket cost £2 ($3.00.) Arthur Brown’s trademark flaming helmet burned out of control and organizer Harold Pendleton’s father-in-law had to douse the flames with a pint of beer.

1967, The Who performed at the Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

1968, Canned Heat played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, 350 special guests were invited to see Motown Records new signings The Jackson Five play at The Daisy Club in Beverly Hills.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

1972, Genesis appeared at the opening day of the Reading Festival, along with Curved Air, Jackson Heights, Mungo Jerry, Nazareth, and Steamhammer  The event took place at Little John’s Farm in Reading, England.

1972, The mayor of San Antonio declares Cheech & Chong Day.

1975, ZZ Top played at Ellis Auditorium, Memphis, Tennessee.

1976, Aerosmith appeared at the Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut.

1976, A Who show scheduled for the Miami Baseball Stadium has to be cancelled after Keith Moon goes on a drinking and drug binge. It ended with his arrest for destroying his room at the Fontainebleau Hotel and being found in an incoherent state. Who manager Bill Curbishley bails him out. He has Keith immediately put into Hollywood Memorial Hospital in Hollywood, Florida for “psychiatric evaluation.” With the extra time, the other members of The Who remain in Miami enjoying the sun and some deep-sea fishing before heading back to London.

1978, AC/DC performed at Symphony Hall, Atlanta, Georgia.

1979, The Knack started a five-week run at number one on the album chart with Get The Knack.

1979, Led Zeppelin played their last ever UK show (until the London’s 02 Arena shows in November 26, 2007) when they appeared at Knebworth Park, England. Also on the bill, The New Barbarians, Todd Rundgren, Southside Johnny and the Ashbury Dukes, Chas and Dave, and Fairport Convention.  Zeppelin’s  set list included: The Song Remains The Same, Celebration Day, Black Dog, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Over The Hills And Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, Hot Dog, The Rain Song, White Summer/Black Mountainside, Kashmir, Trampled Under Foot, Sick Again, Achilles’ Last Stand, In The Evening, Stairway To Heaven, Rock And Roll, Whole Lotta Love and Communication Breakdown

1979, Van Halen appears at Convention Hall, Asbury Park, New Jersey.

1980, Van Halen played at the Lee County Civic Center, North Fort Myers, Florida.

1981, Blue Oyster Cult performed at the Paramount Theatre, Portland, Oregon.

1982, The Police appeared at the McGill Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada on their Ghost In The Machine Tour.

1984, Ray Parker, Jr. started a three week run at number one on the singles chart with the theme from the film Ghostbusters. Parker had been a session guitarist for Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. He was accused of plagiarizing the melody from Huey Lewis and the News song “I Want a New Drug.”  As a result, Lewis sued Parker. The parties settled the case out of court in 1985.

1987, The Grateful Dead perform at beautiful, rustic, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, just outside of Denver.

1999, KISS received a star on The Walk Of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard.  The band had released over 30 albums and sold over 80 million records world-wide.

2001, Black Sabbath, Linkin Park, Slipknot and Marilyn Manson all appeared at Ozzfest at PNC Bank Arts Centre, New Jersey.

2002, Bruce Springsteen started a two week run at number one on the US album chart with The Rising, the singer’s fifth US chart topper. It was also number in the UK and Canada.

Born on August 11: Mike Hugg, drummer, keyboards, Manfred Mann (1942); Denis Payton, sax, Dave Clark Five (1943); Jim Kale, bass, Guess Who (1943); Eric Carmen (1949); Erik Brann, guitar, Iron Butterfly (1950); Bob Mothersbaugh, guitar, Devo (1952); Joe Jackson (1954); Richie Ramone, drums, Ramones (1957); Jah Wobble, bass, Public Image Ltd, The Damage Manual (1958); Ben Gibbard, singer, Death Cab for Cutie (1976)

Get more Today in Rock History

Today in Rock History – May 10

by

1966, A year after returning to her home state of Texas from San Francisco, Janis Joplin heads west again. She was summoned by Chet Helms, a friend who is now managing Big Brother & the Holding Company. He dispatches Travis Rivers, an old acquaintance of Janis’ from her Port Arthur, Texas days to convince the singer to join Big Brother. Joplin had even considered becoming a member of 13th Floor Elevators.

1967, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards appeared at Chichester Crown Court, Sussex, charged with being in possession of drugs, they elect to go to trial pleading not guilty and were both granted £100 bail.

1968, Jimi Hendrix performed at the Fillmore East in New York.

1968, Jim Morrison incites a riot at a Doors gig in Chicago.

1969, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, The Move, Status Quo, Tremeloes, Marmalade, Love Sculpture, Van Der Graaf Generator all appeared at Nottingham’s Pop & Blues Festival, held at the Notts County Football Ground, Nottingham, England. Presented by John Peel, tickets 22/6 at the gate. Floyd closed the day’s events, playing in the pouring rain.

1969, The Who played at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.

1969, The Moody Blues started a two-week run at number one on the album chart with On The Threshold Of A Dream. It was their first number one album.

1969, The Turtles gave a special performance at the White House as guests of Trica Nixon. Stories circulate concerning members of the group allegedly snorted cocaine on Abraham Lincoln’s desk.

1969, Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way” made the British Top ten for the first time. Over the next three years it re-entered the Top 50 singles chart on eight different occasions. Paul Anka re-wrote the original French song for Sinatra, after he told Anka he was quitting the music business. Anka changed the melodic structure and lyrics to the song with Sinatra in mind.

1969, Led Zeppelin made their first appearance on the album chart when the bands debut album charted at number six, going on to spend 71 weeks on the UK album chart. It entered the US chart the following week at number ten. Now considered one of the most important debuts in rock, creating an entirely new interpretation of the rock and roll genre because of the groundbreaking music and recording techniques. The album was recorded in thirty-six hours.

1969, The Who played the first of three nights at the Grande Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan on their North American Tommy tour.

1970, The Allman Brothers Band performed at the Sports Arena, Atlanta, Georgia.

1970, David Bowie was awarded an Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Song “Space Oddity,” which he performed that night accompanied by the Les Reed Orchestra. The event was transmitted live via satellite to venues in America, France, Spain, Australia, Holland and Venezuela. Bowie would later revisit his Major Tom character in the songs “Ashes to Ashes” and “Hallo Spaceboy.”

1971, Yes appeared at Teatro Lirico, Milan, Italy.

1972, Hawkwind played at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1974, The Who sold out Madison Square Gardens in New York City for four nights selling 80,000 tickets.

1974, Queen appeared at the Uris Theater, New York.

1974, Eric Clapton records “I Shot the Sheriff.”

1974, A party to celebrate the launch of Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label at Los Angeles’ Bel Air Hotel ends with the guests tossing food and chinaware at one another.

1975, Stevie Wonder played in front of 125,000 fans at a free concert near the Washington Monument to celebrate Human Kindness Day.

1976, Aerosmith played at Madison Square Garden, New York.

1976, The Rolling Stones kicked off a 12-date UK tour at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow.

1977, Rush appeared at the Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1979, Roxy Music played at City Hall, Newcastle, England.

1980, Pete Townshend’s solo album Empty Glass is released in the U.S. John Rockwell in The New York Times says, “it a success that sounds like The Who of a decade before,” while Jon Parales in Mademoiselle says it shows “Pete has risen to the challenge set forth by punk rock.”

1980, Bob Dylan performed at City Hall, Portland, Maine.

1984, David Gilmour played at the Forum in Montreal.

1986, Falco was at number one on the UK singles chart with “Rock Me Amadeus.” Falco became the first-ever Austrian act to score a UK and US number one hit single and the first German speaking artist to achieve a US chart topper. Falco died of severe injuries received on  February 6, 1998, when his sports car collided with a bus in the Dominican Republic. It was later determined that the bus driver was speeding, for which the driver served three years in prison.

1997, The Hillsborough Benefit gig took place at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium with The Beautiful South, Manic Street Preachers, Dodgy, Space, Stereophonics and The Lightning Seeds.

1999, American singer, songwriter poet, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children’s books Shel Silverstein died of a heart attack aged 57. He penned “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash, which earned Silverstein won a Grammy for in 197o. He also authored many songs for Dr Hook including “Sylvia’s Mother” and “The Cover of the Rolling Stone.”

2010, New York City’s Apollo Theatre began installing bronze plaques on the sidewalk outside the building of legends who had close ties to the theater. Among the first to be honored were James Brown, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson and Ella Fitzgerald.

Born on this day –  Dave Mason, Donovan, and Graham Gouldman, 10cc (1946); Jay Ferguson, Spirit (1947); Sid Vicious (1957); and Bono (1960)

Get more Today in Rock History

Song Of The Day – “Message From The Country” by The Move

by

moveFormed in the mid-1960s by Roy Wood, The Move was a quintessentially British rock band, and as a result had trouble crossing over to these shores with any commercial impact.  Yet, at home they scored such hits as “Blackberry Way,” “I Can Hear The Grass Grow,” “Flowers In The Rain,” “Fire Brigade” and “Do Ya.”

They were a band whose personnel was constantly in flux, and this incarnation of The Move features members Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan.

Shortly after the release of this song from their final album, Wood, Lynne and Bevan formed Electric Light Orchestra. After one record together, Wood departed their ranks to form Roy Wood’s Wizzo…of course, ELO went on to become superstars of the 1970s.

Original post:  3/1/11

Black Sabbath – Rock History – February 5

by

beatles-penny-lane1966, The Who, with support acts Screamin’ Lord Sutch & the Savages, the Merseys, the Fortunes, and the Graham Bond Organization, perform at the Odeon Cinema in Southend-on-Sea, England.

1967, The Beatles filmed part of the promo clip for “Penny Lane” around the Royal Theatre, Stratford, London and walking up and down Angel Lane.

1967, The News Of The World reported that Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, and Ginger Baker had taken LSD at The Moody Blues’ home in the UK. Jagger sued the paper for libel in an on-going feud between the News Of The World and The Stones.

1969, The Move were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Blackberry Way,” the group’s only UK chart topper.

1970, David Bowie recorded four songs at the BBC Paris Cinema, London, for the John Peel Sunday Concert radio show. This was guitarists Mick Ronson’s first appearance with Bowie.

1971, Little Richard, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Chambers Brothers were scheduled to appear at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Little Richard didn’t play, but disrupted ABB’s set, complaining that the promoter wouldn’t pay him.

1971, Black Sabbath started recording what would be their third album, Master Of Reality at Island Studios in London, England. Released in July, it is sometimes noted as the first stoner rock album. Guitarist Tony Iommi, decided to down tune his guitar down three semi-tones, Geezer Butler also down tuned his bass guitar to match Iommi. The result was a noticeably darker sound that almost two decades later would prove hugely influential on at least three of the biggest grunge bands, namely Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, and Nirvana.

1972, Pink Floyd played at Colston Hall in Bristol, England.

1972, T Rex were at number one on the UK singles chart with “Telegram Sam,” the group’s third UK number one which was taken from their album The Slider. The song is also known for bringing the term “main man” into popular culture.

1972, Paul Simon released his first new song without Art Garfunkel, “Mother and Child Reunion,” which peaked at number four in the US.

1974, Genesis appeared at the Palaeur, Rome, Italy.

1974, KISS played at North Alberta Tech, Edmonton, Alberta.

1976, David Bowie appeared at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California.

1977, Queen performed at Madison Square Garden, New York

1978, The Grateful Dead performed at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

1980, Blue Oyster Cult played at the Onondaga County War Memorial, Syracuse, New York.

1980, Bob Dylan appeared at the Civic Auditorium, Knoxville, Tennessee.

Def-Leppard-Pyromania1983, Def Leppard’s album Pyromania started a 92-week run on the charts. It never reached number one, but sold over 6 million copies in the US alone.

1983, Toto went to number one on the US singles chart with “Africa,” a top three hit in the UK.

1989, The Grateful Dead played at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland California.

1992, Nirvana appeared at the ANU Bar in Canberra, Australia, during their one and only tour of Australia and New Zealand.

2006, The Rolling Stones played three songs during the half-time show of The Super Bowl in Detroit. After the event, the Stones expressed their displeasure over having Mick Jagger’s microphone turned down during the song “Start Me Up.” The line “you make a dead man come” was cut short and a barnyard reference to “cocks” in the new song “Rough Justice” also disappeared.

2007, Producer Phil Spector won $900,000 (£459,000) after settling an embezzlement claim. Spector said former assistant Michelle Blaine removed $425,000 (£216,000) from his pension and did not repay a $635,000 (£324,000) loan. Ms. Blaine claimed the loan was a gift, and the pension funds were for a film aimed at improving Spector’s image. As part of the settlement, she dropped a counter-claim of sexual harassment.

2015, INXS guitarist Tim Farriss said he may never play the guitar properly again after severing his finger in a boating accident. Farriss caught his left hand while operating a winch on his boat in Sydney, severing his ring finger. He had undergone surgery twice to try to reattach the finger but had been left with permanent hand damage

Born on February 5: Hal Blaine, the Wrecking Crew (1929); Alex Harvey (1935); Corey Wells, Three Dog Night (1942); J.R. Cobb,  Atlanta Rhythm Section (1944); Al Kooper (1944); David Denny, Steve Miller Band (1948); Cliff Martinez, drums, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1954); Duff McKagan, bass, Guns N’ Roses (1964); Keith Mosley, bass, String Cheese Incident (1965); and Bobby Brown (1969)

Link to Today in Rock history archive for more Black Sabbath history.

Today in Rock History – September 2

by

1965, The Doors recorded their first demo’s at World Pacific Jazz Studios in Los Angeles, California, where they cut six Jim Morrison songs.

1966, The Who played at Locarno Ballroom in Basildon, Essex, England.

1967, Pink Floyd, The Move, Soft Machine, Fairport Convention, The Nack, and Denny Lane performed at the UFO Festival held at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London.

1970, The Rolling Stones played at Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland.

1971, Grateful Dead’s former manager was arrested after disappearing with over $70,000 of the band’s money.

1972, Rod Stewart was at number one on the UK singles chart with “You Wear It Well,” the singers second chart topper. It was taken from his album Never A Dull Moment. In America, Gilbert O’Sullivan claimed the top spot with “Alone Againn (Naturally).

1972, The Erie Canal Soda Pop Festival was held over three days on Bull Island, near Griffin, Indiana. The Promoters expected over 50,000 music fans. More than 200,000 attended the festival. Many bands pulled out as the festival drifted steadily into anarchy. Bands that did appear included Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids, Black Oak Arkansas, Cheech and Chong, Foghat, Albert King, Brownsville Station, Canned heat, Flash, Ravi Shankar, Rory Gallagher, Lee Michaels and Frosty, The Eagles, The Amboy Dukes, and Gentle Giant. Three concert goers drowned in the Wabash River and as the festival ended, and the remnants of the crowd burned down the music stand.

1974, David Bowie played the first of seven sold-out nights on his Diamond Dogs Tour at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles, California.

1978, George Harrison married Olivia Arias at Henley-on-Thames register office.

1978, Teddy Pendergrass, the former lead singer of Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes, set out to promote his latest album Life Is A Song Worth Singing by performing a concert for women only.

1979, The Grateful Dead played at the  Civic Center in Augusta, Maine.

1984, U2 played the second of two nights at the Logan Cambell Centre, Auckland, New Zealand during their Unforgettable Fire world tour.

1988, The Human Rights Now! world tour kicked off at Wembley Stadium London with Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman and Youssu n’Dour. Taking in five continents and claiming to be the most ambitious rock tour in history.

1995, Michael Jackson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with a song written by R. Kelly “You Are Not Alone.” It holds a Guinness World Record as the first song in the 37 year history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at No.1.

2001, American saxophonist Jay Migliori died of cancer aged 70. As a session musician he recorded with The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa and was the founding member of Supersax, a tribute band to Charlie Parker.

2006, Lead singer of the Isley Brothers, Ronald Isley was sentenced to three years in a US prison for multiple counts of tax fraud. The 64-year-old, was also ordered to pay more than $3.1m (£1.62m) to the Internal Revenue Service for “pathological” evasion. The court heard he cashed royalty checks belonging to his brother O’Kelly, who died in 1996, and also spent millions of dollars made from undeclared performances on a yacht and two homes.

Born on September 2: Hugo Montenegro, composer (1925); Rosalind Ashford, The Vandellas, Ashford and Simpson (1943); Billy Preston (1946) and Steve Porcaro, Toto (1957)

Get more Today in Rock History

Cleveland Sports Misery: This Is a New One

by

To understand a Cleveland fan, or just the sports landscape of the city itself, out-of-town and national writers must feel obligated to offer up the preamble.  Before any success can be achieved or any praise be given, we must be reminded of the failure, or is it failures?  It seems like either could work, and we’ve reached the point where we’ve got a preamble to the preamble.

It starts along the lines of, “Cleveland fans don’t want to see this, but…”  Then, we’re reminded of our history.  It’s just the bad stuff, but that’s really only because all of the bad stuff prevented any of the good stuff from happening.  Such is life, with the 2015 NBA Finals, or so it would seem, but first, let’s get everyone caught up on what we’re talking about.

Sometimes, it starts in 1954, in Game 1 of the World Series, and sometimes they don’t go further back than 1980, when Brian Sipe called the dreaded Red Right 88 play in the huddle.  There are some legitimate takedowns, by legends of the game, and there are some really messed up things mixed in, the type of messed up things that only happen to Cleveland.

The Catch

Vic Wertz batted .500 in the 1954 World Series, and went 4-for-5 in Game 1, a home run shy of the cycle.  His first inning triple plated the only two runs the Tribe would score against the New York Giants, but the focus is always more about the one time he was retired in the game.  In the top of the eighth with runners on first and second in a tie game, he belted one to the deepest part of the Polo Grounds, high over the head of Willie Mays.

Of course, Mays made a historical defensive play.  Nobody scored in the inning, and Dusty Rhodes knocked a Bob Lemon pitch over the right field wall for a 5-2 Giants win.  They went on to get swept in the best-of-seven series, and the franchise would not make another postseason appearance for 41 years.

That was “The Catch”.

Red Right 88

I can’t really tell you the story of the 1980 Cleveland Browns, champions of the AFC Central Division.  Their quarterback, Brian Sipe, was the league MVP, and the team’s insistence of playing (and winning) close games earned them the nickname “The Kardiac Kids”.  In the coldest game ever played at Cleveland Stadium, the Browns trailed the Oakland Raiders 14-12 in the divisional round of the playoffs with under a minute remaining.

“Kick the field goal,” the hindsight advice of fans old enough to have lived it, for Sam Rutligliano, the Browns head coach at the time.  It wasn’t quite that simple though.  The Browns were a mess kicking the football; they’d left as many as ten points off the scoreboard that day, between missed kicks, a block, and a botched snap.  On the 13 yard-line they had time.  Legend has it the play, Red Right 88, was called with a specific stipulation that if Ozzie Newsome was not wide open, Sipe was to throw the ball into Lake Erie.

He didn’t throw it into the lake.  He threw it to Mike Davis, who unfortunately played for the Raiders.  Game over, and the Raiders went on to win the Super Bowl

The Drive, The Fumble

I’ll be brief.  John Elway versus the Browns, with a trip to the Super Bowl hanging in the balance.  The first one was in Cleveland, in January 1987.  Bernie Kosar hit Brian Brennan for six, and the Browns led 20-13 with less than six minutes to play.  The Broncos fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Elway had to operate, starting at his own 2.  It took them 15 plays, and there were 39 seconds on the clock when he hit Mark Jackson from 5 yards out to set up the inevitable game-tying extra point.  They faced third down just three times, Elway scrambled twice for 20 of the 98 yards they had to cover, and though he was actually sacked by Dave Puzzuoli on the drive, he hit Jackson for 20 yards on the next play.  It was 3rd and 18 at that point, it was that kind of drive.

We know the pill as “the pill”.  This was “The Drive”.

A year later, the venue changed.  The Browns were in Denver with the same stakes, one year later.  The Broncos seemed well in control of this one, through the first 30 minutes of play, leading 21-3.  It didn’t look as though this game was destined for the type of dramatic finish we’d seen the year before.  However, Bernie Kosar, Earnest Byner, and the Browns came to life in the second half.  Byner accounted for 187 yards of total offense, and scored two of the team’s four second half touchdowns.

Near the end of regulation, Byner’s 15th carry of the day was a draw play from the Denver 8 yard-line.  He went left, where Webster Slaughter should have paved the path for Byner to get his third score of the day, but Slaughter decided to be an observer, instead of a blocker, giving Jeremiah Castille the chance to make a great play.  He stripped the ball, and if you weren’t pulling for the Browns, there was probably something poetic about Elway and the Broncos at their own 2, the spot on the field where history began the year prior.

byner-e1425050929473

So, that’s “The Fumble”, but maybe not the ultimate fumble.  People in Philly might recall a game involving Herm Edwards at The Meadowlands.  The Browns and Broncos also met in the 1990 AFC Championship, but that particular Browns season-ending disappointment didn’t have a defining moment, not one worthy of a well-known nickname anyway.

In most of these cases, the blame falls on a player that Cleveland wouldn’t have been there without.  Okay, nobody is blaming Vic Wertz for Mays making that miraculous catch, but that was the only time the Giants kept him off base all day.  He even hit a leadoff double in the top of the tenth, but they couldn’t get him home.  The Browns’ Dawg Pound defense had held Elway and Company to 216 yards, a number matching Cleveland’s primary area code, before yielding 158 yards between “The Drive” and overtime.  We’ve detailed Byner’s great game; it’s a shame that it’s always forgotten.

The Shot

File this one under “Made out to be a bigger deal than it actually is”.  The year was 1989; the Cavs were the 3 seed in the East, facing 6th-seeded Chicago.  Craig Ehlo had 24 points, but his final points came on a lay-up with 3 seconds left, which put the Cavs on top of the Bulls 100-99 in a decisive Game 5 (of the opening round).

Michael Jordan split through Larry Nance and Ehlo to receive the inbound pass from Brad Sellers on the right wing.  Ron Harper gave chase, but his momentum carried him towards the sideline, so it was up to Ehlo to stay with Jordan.  Jordan dribbles twice to his left, double-clutches, and hits from the top of the key.  Bulls win, 101-100.

Now, Jordan absolutely terrorized the Cavaliers his entire career, and I’ve seen enough Nike and Gatorade commercials to understand that was a defining moment for Mike, but for the Cavs?  Not really.  Chicago would defeat New York in the conference semifinals, but couldn’t get past Detroit.

Now, I’m one to get upset at anyone that automatically dismissed any chance the Browns would have been able to beat Parcells and the Giants in Super Bowl XXI, if not for the drive, but those Cavs weren’t beating the Knicks or Pistons.  No way.  That was “The Shot”, positively devastating in the moment, and obviously a great moment in Jordan’s career, but some perspective should remind us, this was an opening round loss.  It would be many years in the future before the Cavs would directly or indirectly stick the dagger in the heart of the Cleveland fan.

Jose Mesa

In Game 7 of the 1997 World Series, Indians manager Mike Hargrove needed Jose Mesa to get three outs, to protect a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth in Miami. The Marlins plated the tying run, before Mesa could get the third out. He got the hook in the tenth, and then Edgar Renteria singled off Charles Nagy in the 11th, scoring Craig Counsell, and giving Florida their first World Championship in baseball.

The Move, The Decision

For four years, Cleveland connected Art Modell and Lebron James, as the names sat as 1 and 1a on the list of public enemies on the North Coast.  Modell took the one thing that Cleveland has always loved the most, their beloved Browns, to Baltimore in 1996, after a struggle with the city of Cleveland over stadium renovations.  James left the Cavs in Cleveland, but took his talents to South Beach, and he did it in a tasteless matter on ESPN.

Modell passed a few years ago, with a Super Bowl ring, but the clock ran out on any thought of redemption from the city where he spent 35 years of his life.  He was exiled from the area, when rumors of “The Move” began in November of 1995.

Photo credit: Cavs:The Blog

On July 11, 2014, in a very classy manner, Lebron told the world he was returning to Cleveland.  He didn’t promise a championship, something he did in first go-round with the team, and didn’t deliver.  When he left for Miami, he was called a quitter, both for his performance in Game 5 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals and for leaving before making good on his stated goal.  When he announced his return, he charmed even the cynics who didn’t claimed they didn’t want him back.

Whatever This Is

So, he’s back, back in the good graces of the fans and back in the NBA Finals.  This is his fifth straight year in the Association’s championship series.  He didn’t do it alone, something that can certainly be said about the island he was on in his first seven years with the Cavs.  He replaced, perhaps even upgraded, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.  Of course, David Griffin should earn some credit for convincing James that a team could be built for him, but it’s very likely that nothing, except maybe the Irving extension, happens without Lebron coming home.

They had their rough patches, but were able to recover and land the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.  Then, it began in Game 4, with a tug on Kevin Love’s left arm.  Love, out for the remainder of the playoffs.  He was big in that Boston series; they might not have swept that series, against a really dismal Celtics team, if not for his contribution.

kevin-love-0-of-the-cleveland-cavaliers

As the playoffs went on, a lot of the regulars got banged up.  Iman Shumpert’s shoulder was a problem. James hurt just about everywhere, but promised there was no chance of him missing time in this postseason. Kyrie Irving had a foot injury, then a knew injury.  He was able to sit for a few games in the Eastern Conference Finals, as Atlanta posed no threat to beat Cleveland, even without Irving on the floor.

Head coach David Blatt gave Irving some minutes in Game 4 of the Conference Finals, where he logged 22 points in a 118-88 series clinching win over the Hawks, before an 8-day layoff, leading up to Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

In an Opening Night loss to the Knicks, the Cavs started James, Anderson Varejao, Love, Irving, and Dion Waiters.  James will play in Game 2 of the Finals.  Dion Waiters was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the middle of the season, and the other three will likely be in street clothes due to injury for the remainder of the series.

In Kevin Smith’s clerks, our main character tells anyone that will listen that he’s not even supposed to be here to day, and that’s how Cleveland has to feel after what went down in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors.  It was a game of runs, pretty much what you’ve come to expect from a couple of championship-caliber teams, but the Cavs had a golden opportunity with 24 seconds left and the game tied at 98.  With Lebron James on your side and an opportunity to score as time ran out, you had to like Cleveland’s chances.  Lebron had 42 at that point.

It was a bad possession.  James found himself pinned against the sidelines on the left wing, and took an ill-advised jumper with 3 seconds left.  Shumpert grabbed the rebound and heaved the rock at the rim, and we’ll tell you, it almost went in!  In reality, it missed and we got 5 minutes of bonus basketball in Oakland.

The extra period belonged to the home team.  They outscored the Cavs 12-2, basically shutting them out until a meaningless lay-up from James in the final minute.  Yes, Cleveland played a poor five minutes of basketball, but losing the game may not have been the top story, and that’s saying a lot for a championship series.  For a while now, Irving has been playing bent, but not broken.  Maybe he was broken, but just not broken enough to be a spectator, this deep into the playoffs.  Early in the overtime period on Thursday, he left the floor, in what can only be described as visually unbearable pain.  On Friday, it was announced that Irving was not only out for the series, that he’ll require surgery, and will be out for four months.

Down 1-0 in this series, a lot of people are looking at Game 1 as a blown opportunity, and without Kyrie Irving, many are ready to hand Golden State the Larry O’Brien Trophy already.  Man, if only that Shumpert heave would have found the bottom of the net!  In Cleveland, they’re already trying to figure what to call this episode of the Cleveland Sports Misery tale.

Done in by unworldly performances on the other side of the field, made to regret some gaffes that professional athletes just shouldn’t make, and slighted by damning personal and business decisions, that’s what fills up the misery montage in the present tense.  This is different, this is new.  You’d almost think it was funny, if it wasn’t so damn sad.

Never have I seen injuries derail a Cleveland team quite like this, and I can’t recall a contending team in any sport lose two of their three best players in a single postseason.  Vince Coleman’s tarp accident during the 1985 National League Championship Series comes to mind, but that comparison might be a stretch.  There might even be others, but we cannot recall anything as bad as whatever you might label the unfortunate events that have plagued these 2014-2015 Cleveland Cavaliers during these playoffs.

There are a lot of reasons for Cleveland to very pessimistic about all of this, but they should remember #23 is still going to fight.  They should remember those years of rooting against him in Miami, and how upset we were when he inevitably got it done for the Heat.  He’s still the best, and might be able to will this squad to four wins.  To definitively say that will or won’t happen would be a mistake, but it’s hard to bet against Lebron.

It would be foolish to say it isn’t a possibility.  He lost twice in Miami, and he’s lost plenty in Cleveland.  We’ll tell you something else that is inevitable, we’re going to see a wincing Kevin Love and a limping Kyrie Irving in that montage, if Cleveland and Lebron can’t find a way.

If not, that montage is getting longer, and we already feel it’s too long.  Then, you know someone is going to name this latest fiasco.  Of course, the alternative is winning, and then we probably won’t see the Cleveland Sports Misery montage at all.  That’s a dream 51 years in the making.