3rd & Long: It's July Already?

Welcome to the first installment of 3rd & Long, a new weekly series that will feature the "big 3" Cleveland teams. This is where we will focus on the high's and low's for the Cavs, Browns and Indians all in one spot.

Let's start with the Cavs, since they are the biggest news makers in this town.

Ryan: Danny Ferry should have Charlie Villanueva's phone number on speed dial by now as Free Agent Season 2009 opened last night. In a surprise move, the Bucks decided not to submit an offer for Charlie V's services making him an Unrestriced Free Agent. What does this mean for the Cavs? Well, it all depends on how bad CV wants to play here and how much he's willing to accept. The Cavs could offer him their Mid Level Exception, which maxes out at about $5.8 million. To put that into perspective, CV made about $3 million last year. Will a 1 year deal with a hefty raise and a chance to win a championship playing with LeBron and Shaq be enough to make that happen? It probably will if Danny Ferry decides to go that route. I hope he does.

Ben: Free agency has begun and i'm curious to see what Ferry does. It's obvious we need to sign a PF that can strech the court and a SG or SF with a little bit of size to match up with other teams bigger players. I'd really like to see Matt Barnes in a Cavaliers uniform but i'm not as high on Villanueva as most people are. Barnes defense is suspect, but in his defense he's played for Phoenix and Golden State the last three years and neither of those teams play very much defense. I like the Shaq trade, we got him for nothing so even if he doesn't play as well as we'd all like, i'll gurantee he'll do more for this team than Ben Wallace or Sasha would of. My dark horse pick up is a sign and trade for Artest!

Ryan: I'm starting to get excited for football season again and I have no idea why. Well, I know why - because it's the Browns and they haven't lost a game in months, but there are so many questions heading into this season that I have no idea what to expect. I'm looking at this time as the calm before the QB storm. Pretty soon the media will be engulfed in the Browns QB battle between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. I have no doubt that Quinn will easily win the starting job as Derek Anderson has been horrible in the pre season every year - he couldn't even beat out Charlie Frye in 2007. If the season gets closer and the Browns get a decent offer for Anderson, I would pull the trigger. Mangini got his backup QB in Brett Ratliff. This is Quinn's team, finally. On defense, I have no idea what to expect but if we at least TRY to pressure the QB once in a while I will be happy.

Ben: I hate the Steelers! I'm ready for football season to start. It's amazing how much i look forward to Cleveland football when i know how terrible we've been in the past. Every year i think it will get better and i'm usually let down, but once again i haven't learned my lesson. I'm excited about our defense going into next year. We picked up a lot of good role players and i think Rob Ryan will get the best out of our guys and run a more aggresive defense than we've seen lately.

Ryan: This team is lost and I'm not sure if they can be found at this point. It's hard to be a baseball fan in a small market when your team is struggling like this. The Indians have been built in such a way that the franchise's success has become completely dependent on young, inexperienced players overachieving. When that happens, you get the 2007 Indians. It's 2009 and this team needs a massive overhaul in the front office.

Ben: I have a feeling that Cliff Lee will be gone pretty soon, and i don't agree with it. There is no reason to trade our best players just because this season is done. Fire Wedge! If that doesn't work next year then go ahead and rebuild, AGAIN. We've got to give this team a chance, i think there is a lot of talent here, give Cliff, Victor, Grady and Travis a shot with a real coach and see what they can do. Is Mike Hargrove ready to come out of retirement?