I had a blog all wrapped and ready to go Tuesday about LeBron James' decision to pass up what would have been the game-tying shot in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, but I spent all day on the west side of the state (with no Internet access) working on another story and got home too late to post it. It's a little outdated but it boils down to this: I love James' game. He's unselfish, has the best court vision of anyone to enter the league since Magic, but he's got to take that shot. He had a step on Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace was coming from the weak side to help, but James could have powered up for a layup and (potentially) got the Cavs to OT. My gut tells me Cleveland won't come as close to winning a game in Detroit the rest of the series.

Two more nuggets to leave you with for the day. First, former Michigan State star Zach Randolph's days in Portland appear to be numbered now that the Blazers have the No. 1 pick. Portland will draft Greg Oden and pair him with LaMarcus Aldridge in the post for years to come. Randolph's a 20-10 guy, but there's no room for him on the block anymore. Plus, he's a heat-seeker for trouble. Expect him to be gone by mid-July to a team like New Jersey, Indiana or Philly.

Finally, after talking with Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman yesterday, I have every reason to believe a deal will get done with your local cable company to carry the network come fall. There's no rush now mostly because the network doesn't launch until late August, but the bottom line is it's in everyone's best interests - the cable providers and viewers. The only content I see myself watching is the football and basketball games and maybe the nightly sportscast or Friday night tailgating shows. But if you're a parent of an athlete in an Olympic sport that gets less than no coverage, my guess is you'll fall in love with the channel.

By the way, I've got the Pistons winning a little more comfortably tonight than they did Monday before running into some trouble in Cleveland. Call it Pistons 81, Cavs 73.