Wartezimmer » where the game kicked off at 22 degrees.ONE

CLEVELAND -- Once again, the Cavaliers are facing a major summer "decision." The last one was hard to accept. This one is difficult to make. And while it doesnt quite stack up with LeBron James infamous announcement that he was bolting from home three years ago and leaving Cleveland heartbroken and short of a title, the Cavs are faced with the challenge of picking another top-flight player to get them back to respectability. For the second time in three years and third time over the past decade, the Cavaliers hold the No. 1 overall draft pick. This year, its both a blessing and burden. With no player emerging as the consensus first choice, the Cavs, who also own the No. 19 pick and two second-round selections (Nos. 31 and 33) have spent the past month doing their due diligence by meeting with players, assessing their needs and weighing their many options. Theyve discussed several trades to rid themselves of the top pick, move down and acquire veterans for one of the leagues youngest teams. The Cavs have kept things close to the vest during the weeks leading into the draft. General manager Chris Grant has not spoken publicly to the media since firing coach Byron Scott after last season, and the Cavs did not open their pre-draft workouts to reporters. As of Tuesday night, Grant and his staff were still working on their draft board and its possible they could go into Thursday with their plan still evolving. Last weekend, owner Dan Gilbert, who made it clear after winning the lottery that he expects his team back in the playoffs next year, even went on Twitter to solicit some feedback. "Ok (at)cavs fans, its Chris Grants call but who do you like .1 & why?" Gilbert posted. "One of the toughest calls in NBA draft history. Lets hear your view." It was so much easier two years ago, when the Cavs took point guard Kyrie Irving, who despite some injury issues -- hes missed 38 games in two seasons -- has developed into an All-Star and is one of the leagues rising stars. That same year, Cleveland used the No. 4 pick on forward Tristan Thompson and then selected shooting guard Dion Waiters fourth overall last year. Both Thompson and Waiters proved to be solid picks, and along with Irving, form the foundation for the Cavs to build upon. Picking the next piece isnt such a given. The Cavs dont view any of the top candidates as immediate game-changers. In fact, they arent certain their top pick will crack the starting lineup as a rookie. Kentucky centre Nerlens Noel, Maryland centre Alex Len, Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr., UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett and Indiana guard Victor Oladipo are all in the mix and under consideration by the Cavs, who went 24-58 last season, finished 25 1-2 games out of first place and havent sniffed the post-season since James left. All six of the top players have their plusses and minuses, and barring a trade, the Cavs will eventually have to settle on one of them. "The Cavs have to take the attitude of, Lets find out what these guys do well instead of obsessing over what they cant do," ESPN draft expert Chad Ford said. "Because if you do that, you disqualify every player in the draft, especially this year." Under normal circumstances, the 6-foot-11 Noel would be a slam-dunk selection. However, the Kentucky defensive standout is still recovering from a torn knee ligament sustained during his freshman season and probably wont be available to play until January. Noel visited the Cavs last week, and while the club is intrigued by his shot-blocking skills, theres concern the 206-pounder will get pushed around underneath by bigger, stronger, more seasoned centres. Also, Noel has an extremely limited offensive game and putting him on the floor at the same time with Anderson Varejao and Thompson doesnt make sense. Len, too, has injury issues. Hes recovering from surgery for a stress fracture in his left ankle, which wasnt diagnosed until after the 7-foot-1 centre left Maryland after his sophomore season. Lens statistics -- 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds -- certainly dont scream No. 1 pick, but theres reason to believe hes only scratched the surface of his potential. The Ukranian has been compared to former Cavs centre Zydrunas Ilguaskas, who overcame serious foot problems to have a solid career and now works in Clevelands front office. McLemores stock took a hit recent amid reports Kansas officials are reviewing allegations that his former AAU coach received $10,000 to steer him to agent Rodney Blackstock. While that may raise questions about McLemores character, the Cavs like that he made 42 per cent of his 3-pointers and could see him in lineups alongside Irving and Waiters. There hasnt been a true shooting guard taken first since 1975, when Atlanta selected David Thompson, who decided to play in the ABA before coming over to the NBA when the leagues merged. McLemore, whose game has been compared to Ray Allens, knows he has a chance to do something special. "I can make history," the 20-year-old said at the scouting combine. "I could see myself as a superstar at the next level. The hard work pays off. Years before this I probably wouldnt think Id be in this position to take care of my family and take care of myself. Its a dream come true." Its up to the Cavs to make it happen. Bill Barber Flyers Jersey .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Travis Sanheim Flyers Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. http://www.nhlflyersproauthentic.com/shayne-gostisbehere-hockey-jersey/ . What general manager Dave Nonis called "short and productive" negotiations ended with Kessel signing a US$64-million, eight-year contract on Tuesday. Bobby Clarke Flyers Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Brian Propp Jersey .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. TORONTO -- As homecomings go, the MLS Cup final is going to be hard to beat for Seattles Stefan Frei.Frei made critical saves in regulation and then again in the penalty-kick shootout to help the Sounders win their first championship with a 5-4 victory in the tiebreaker against Toronto FC on Saturday night.The Swiss goalkeeper, who was drafted by Toronto in 2009 and spent five seasons with the club until he was traded in 2013, earned the games MVP honors.This is what you want to be a part of, he said. Weve made Sounders history and for me it could have happened anywhere, I dont care as long as Im with my team and my teammates.Roman Torres scored in the sixth round of penalty kicks to clinch the trophy after 120 scoreless minutes. It was the first MLS Cup final to fail to produce a goal in regulation, setting the stage for a dramatic tiebreaker.While Torontos Michael Bradley and Alvaro Fernandez for Seattle had both seen their shots saved, the game went to sudden-death spot kicks. Torontos Justin Morrow could only clatter his shot off the crossbar, setting the stage for Torres to win it with a high shot down the middle of the goal.You need a little bit of luck, Frei said. Lets face it, PKs are not the prettiest thing to decide a game, and actually Roman missed a penalty in training yesterday. Im glad he missed yesterday and not today.Seattle became the first team in MLS Cup final history to fail to produce a shot on target throughout the game. Additionally, the Sounders three shots overall were the fewest in an MLS title game, the first to feature two expansion franchises. Toronto was the first Canadian MLS Cup finalist.That meant little to Bradley, who was understandably dejected after seeing his team become just the second to lose at home since MLS switched from having the final at a neutral location to the home stadium of the finalist with the most regular-season points in 2012. The Portland Timbers became the first when they won the championship in Columbus against the Crew last year.Every guy gave everything they had, every guy walked off the field having pored their hearts into the game and we didnt get rewarded tonight, Bradley said. Thats sports, thats life.With the game on the line, Toronto coach Greg Vanney removed former MLS most valuable player Sebastian Giovinco in the 103rd minute in favor of Tosaint Ricketts. While Vanney said that an exxhausted Giovinco couldnt move, after the game, the gutsy call almost paid off.ddddddddddddollowing Ricketts cross five minutes after coming on, it looked as if Jozy Altidore was going to give Toronto the lead in the 108th minute with a looping header, but an athletic save from Frei kept it scoreless. Leaping to his left, he scooped the ball off the line with his left hand, allowing his defense to clear the ball to safety.Obviously Frei makes a couple big saves that keep them in it, Vanney said. But congratulations to them.For Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer, who took over from Sigi Schmid on July 26 with Seattle in ninth place in the Western Conference, the turnaround was complete. Posting an 8-2-4 record since then, Seattle became the first team in MLS history to make the playoffs after having 20 or fewer points through the seasons first 20 matches.Some people say defense wins championships, he said. You couple Romans performance with Stefan Frei, who came up massive with that one save and then in the penalty-kick shootout made the save that he needed to make.ONE COLD NIGHTThe temperature at kickoff was 28 degrees, making it the second-coldest MLS Cup on record. That honor goes to the 2013 edition at Sporting Park in Kansas City, where the game kicked off at 22 degrees.ONE HOT TICKETWhile the remaining tickets for Saturdays final sold out in three minutes after going on sale to the general public last Monday, there were still 90 or so tickets available on StubHub 10 minutes prior to kickoff. Prices ranged from $147 up to $2,500 for a ticket that retailed between $55 and $555 at face value.THE POWER OF CHANGESchmetzer became the first coach in MLS history to take charge of a team midway through the season and lead it to a championship. Schmid (Los Angeles Galaxy) and Steve Nicol (New England Revolution) took their teams to the title match, but both came up short.THE PRICE IS RIGHTI hope we get to do this every year; its pretty fun. If we dont win the championship every year I hope everyone has to go through us to get to the championship every year and when they get here theyre bloody and bruised and can barely play. -- Seattle Sounders part-owner, and host of the Price is Right, Drew Carey, in the locker room after the game. ' ' '