Cleveland, Ohio – Welcome to today’s edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Branson Wright.

Which team do you think will win the 2012 NBA title. That’s the question in today’s Starting Blocks poll.

Today’s guest on SBTV is Plain Dealer Cavaliers beat writer Tom Reed, who is predicting the Oklahoma City Thunder to prevail over the Miami Heat.

Tom is checking in from this afternoon’s Cavs practice in Berea, and he says the Cavaliers are trying to build a foundation with rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. He says Irving will need to keep working on his defense, and Thompson on his offensive moves. Reed also says the Cavs realize they are going to have to run to get easy baskets until the half-court offense comes around.

He also talks about whether he thinks veteran forward Antawn Jamison will be with the Cavs at season’s end.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

By Sean McClelland,

Staff Writer

Updated 8:19 PM Friday, December 9, 2011

I’ve heard people try to equate the pain felt by St. Louis Cardinals fans over losing Albert Pujols to what Cleveland Cavaliers fans went through in losing LeBron James.

Stop it right now.

Sure, if I’m a St. Louis Cardinals fan, no question I’m disappointed over watching Pujols opt for the free-spending Los Angeles Angels in free agency, but I’m willing to bet it’s nothing like the hurt a Cavaliers fan felt in losing LeBron to the Miami Heat.

The difference, simply, is this:

The Cardinals are World Series champions — twice in the past six years.

Pujols, unlike LeBron, actually got it done before he left. LeBron promised fans he wouldn’t rest until delivering a championship. Then, when it didn’t happen, he washed his hands of the situation and walked away, complete with an ill-advised TV special he now regrets.

Worse, LeBron strung Cavs fans along, leading them to believe ending Cleveland’s championship drought was as important to him as it was to them. Little did anyone know that LeBron actually grew up hating Cleveland and that only his birthplace, Akron, held any relevance in his life.

When LeBron left, with him went any chance for the Cavaliers even to think about contending for a championship — probably for a decade, if not longer.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are no doubt relieved over not having to pay Pujols into his 40s, and they’ll probably find a way to compete because they will spend their savings wisely.

So, in the debate as to who is more devastated, Cleveland sports fans win hands down and yet again. Somebody give them a trophy.

Contact this reporter at 
(937) 225-2408 or smcclelland
@DaytonDailyNews.com

If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top.

LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat talks with Delonte West #13 of the Boston Celtics during Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2011 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena on May 3, 2011 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

Baron Davis(notes) is currently employed by the Cleveland Cavaliers but may become a free agent due to the so-called amnesty clause that may be in the next collective bargaining agreement and allows teams to take a big contract off the books when a player is let loose. If that happens, ESPN reports that folks in Cleveland are thinking that the 32-year-old three-time All-Star would be let go and head to Florida to play with LeBron James(notes) and the Miami Heat.

However, sources tell ESPN that there are at least two other teams that are higher on the list for Davis, a native of L.A.: the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks.

He also could end up with the Charlotte Bobcats, ESPN reports. “Davis … still has a good relationship with the Charlotte community, Bobcats coach Paul Silas and Bobcats assistant coach Stephen Silas, all of which would likewise make the Bobcats an option if Michael Jordan is interested,” ESPN reports. Davis started his career with the Charlotte Hornets, which have since moved to New Orleans.

Find out before your friends. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: ESPN

Related: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

The Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will play together and host  “The South Florida All-Star Classic,” writes Chris Broussard of ESPN.

The game will be held on Oct. 8 at Florida International University, where Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is coach. All proceeds will go toward a charity supporting the educational community of South Florida.

Broussard writes that a number of NBA players are slated to join the Miami trio on the court. There’s a also the possibility that Cleveland Cavaliers first-round picks Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson will also play.

Irving and Thompson are waiting to see if a spot opens up, a source told ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst. Other rookies, the source said, were interested but there’s no room in the game for other first-year players. There’s no interest in 15-player rosters because players want to be able to play in the game and not sit on the bench.

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Read More: nba schedule, 2011-12 cavs schedule, J.J. Hickson (F – SAC), Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers

The NBA released the 2011-12 schedule on Tuesday afternoon with a triple-header of action on opening night – November 1 – that includes the World Champion Dallas Mavericks hosting the Chicago Bulls and the Oklahoma City Thunder traveling to Los Angeles to face the Lakers.

One team NOT included in the opening night festivities are the Miami Heat.  They open the season on Wednesday, November 2 with a trip to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also open their 2011-12 season on the road, heading to Boston to face the Celtics.  Cleveland will take on the Toronto Raptors in the Home Opener at The Q on Friday, November 4.  Cleveland won’t spend long at home, however, taking their first trip to the West Coast starting November 6.  The Wine and Gold will play 3 games in 4 nights against the Los Angeles Clippers(11/6), Denver Nuggets(11/7) and Sacramento Kings(11/9) in the first meeting between the Cavaliers and J.J. Hickson.

What about the Miami Heat, you ask?  

The Cavaliers and Heat will play four times next season, with the Heat coming to Cleveland on Friday, November 18, a game that will be televised on ESPN.  The Heat will also be at The Q on February 17, 2012 while the Cavaliers will head to South Beach on March 7 and April 6.

The Novemeber 18th matchup is the only time the Cavaliers are scheduled to be on ESPN/ABC or TNT all season.  Cleveland will play 13 games in November, with 6 at home and 7 on the road.

Check out the complete 2011-12 NBA Schedule;  Cavaliers site Fear The Sword talk about the Cavs schedule as well!

That’s all the news for today.

The NBA released the 2011-12 schedule on Tuesday afternoon with a triple-header of action on opening night – November 1 – that includes the World Champion Dallas Mavericks hosting the Chicago Bulls and the Oklahoma City Thunder traveling to Los Angeles to face the Lakers.

One team NOT included in the opening night festivities are the Miami Heat.  They open the season on Wednesday, November 2 with a trip to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks.

The Cleveland Cavaliers also open their 2011-12 season on the road, heading to Boston to face the Celtics.  Cleveland will take on the Toronto Raptors in the Home Opener at The Q on Friday, November 4.  Cleveland won’t spend long at home, however, taking their first trip to the West Coast starting November 6.  The Wine and Gold will play 3 games in 4 nights against the Los Angeles Clippers(11/6), Denver Nuggets(11/7) and Sacramento Kings(11/9) in the first meeting between the Cavaliers and J.J. Hickson.

What about the Miami Heat, you ask?  

The Cavaliers and Heat will play four times next season, with the Heat coming to Cleveland on Friday, November 18, a game that will be televised on ESPN.  The Heat will also be at The Q on February 17, 2012 while the Cavaliers will head to South Beach on March 7 and April 6.

The Novemeber 18th matchup is the only time the Cavaliers are scheduled to be on ESPN/ABC or TNT all season.  Cleveland will play 13 games in November, with 6 at home and 7 on the road.

Check out the complete 2011-12 NBA Schedule;  Cavaliers site Fear The Sword talk about the Cavs schedule as well!

Gotta run!.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — J.J. Hickson had just one word — although it was a long one — when he heard the news that Shaquille O’Neal had announced his retirement on Wednesday afternoon.

“Nooooooooo!!!!” Hickson tweeted in tribute to his former teammate.

Daniel Gibson’s Twitter response was the same word but three times that long and concluded with, “Say it ain’t so Big Homie! Say it ain’t so!”

O’Neal, 39, announced his retirement on the new social media tool Tout, a real-time video messaging service: “We did it. Nineteen years baby. I want to thank you very much, that’s why I’m telling you first, I’m about to retire. Love you, talk to you soon.”

A four-time champion, 15-time All-Star and three-time NBA Finals MVP who was the 2000 NBA MVP and the 1993 Rookie of the Year, O’Neal is fifth on the all-time scoring list with 28,596 points. According to ESPN, he is the only player to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game for 13 seasons.

“Shaq is one of the NBA’s all-time great players and ambassadors,” said Cavs General Manager Chris Grant. “He will truly be missed for not only all he accomplished on the court but also the impact he made in every community in which he played.”

O’Neal, who spent this past season with the Boston Celtics, spent just one season with the Cavaliers — 2009-10 — which ended not as he or his teammates had hoped. The Cavs finished the regular season with a league-best 61-21 record, but lost to the Celtics in six games in the Eastern Conference semifinals, leaving O’Neal far short of the fifth championship ring he sought.

Limited to 53 regular-season games because of injuries, O’Neal averaged just 12 points and 6.7 rebounds in the regular season and 11.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 11 playoff games.

Obtained by the Cavs on June 25, 2009 from Phoenix in exchange for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, a second-round pick in 2010 and cash, O’Neal did a masterful job of toning down his big personality in order to fit into a team he clearly saw as LeBron James’.

From Miami, James tweeted, “What a career for Shaq Diesel!! The most dominating force to ever play the game. Great person to be around as well. Comedy all the time!! He will be missed!!”

O’Neal has called a press conference for Friday at his home in Isleworth, Fla., outside Orlando, but he told ESPNBoston.com’s Jackie MacMullan that a persistent and painful Achilles injury led to his decision. He told MacMullan he had more than five cortisone shots, over the objections of team physician Brian McKeon, in order to try and play against the Miami Heat in the second round of the playoffs last month.

O’Neal said he rejected the notion of surgery, which could require up to nine months to recover, virtually wiping out the second year of his contract with the Celtics.

“I didn’t want to let people down two years in a row,” he told MacMullan. “I didn’t want to hold Boston hostage again.”

As great as his basketball career was, O’Neal also built a second career in entertainment, including music, movies, television shows and commercials, and he also was active in community service and charity work, much of which went unpublicized.

“I tried to make people happy,” he told MacMullan, “and I tried to have fun. I think I did both.”

On Twitter: @pdcavsinsider

Here’s the link to Shaq’s video announcement.

Cinesport video: Shaquille O’Neal retires

For more Cinesport video on cleveland.com, go here.

What are your opinions.