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We have certainly been put out of our misery with the Cleveland Cavaliers falling short of glory, but one cannot help but think that they are on the verge of something here if the suits that run the front office can get it right.  It all got me thinking about the teams across the three biggest sports landscapes that may be on the verge of big things, and of course, those that are on their way to back to mediocre at best.

Let's start with the NBA since we have already hit it:

THE NBA:

Team on the Verge:

"If the Cavs can land a true Robin to go with the Batman that is Lebron, you can't help but start to utter the words "multiple championships."

The Cleveland Cavaliers- The Chicago Bulls of the early nineties had a once in a generation player dribbling the hopes and dreams of a once starved basketball franchise.  Slowly he developed, and slowly the front office of the Bulls began to build a team around him.  That's right Bill Cartwright was some smooth cat!  I of course am not talking about Mr elbows, but Michael Jordan.  LeBron is not quite at the level of Michael yet, but it is not stretch to start making the comparisons.  The paper pushers that sit in the luxury suites at Quickin Loans arena know that they have a special opportunity.  You have slowly seen them add to the team and tweak it to get the right combination of a championship team.  If the Cavs can land a true Robin to go with Batman that is Lebron, you can't help but start to utter the words "multiple championships."  Of course, if things get flubbed up, and the president and GM of the Cavs go after an aging superhero, this window of destiny may close.

Other teams to keep an eye on: Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers (Duh)

Team on the Decline:

The Boston Celtics- The Celtics put this team together just in time to get a championship.  They are still good, but they are beginning to age and look it.  Younger teams and players are starting to gel, while the Cetlics injuries and lack of stamina are starting to show.  Don't put it past Danny Ainge to make a few nice additions here and there, but every team has its moment of decline.  I am no fan of the Celtics anyhow, but one gets the feeling that the their equivalent of the mid-life crisis hit last year.  They will still be a good team, but not a championship team.

Others nearing retirement: San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns

NFL:

Team on the Verge:

In this era of the NFL, it is so hard to continue momentum when revovling door of players swinging from team to team because of the salary cap.  That being said there is one team that sticks out.

The Arizona Cardinals- Was it lightning in a bottle during last year's playoffs, or was the Cardinal machine just starting to warm up.  You can argue all you want about Kurt Warner's ability to lead a team to a championship at his age, but he is back and tends to do much better in the warm climate of Arizona (just call him a snow bird).  Arizona's defense has been more than formidable over the past couple of seasons, and they finally got something cooking with the offense last year.  All of that was done with virtually no running game.  Now, enter stage left, Chris "Beanie" Wells.  There are many scouts that would tell you that Mr. Wells was the most talented, NFL ready back in the draft last year.  The only reason that he fell so low was due to the history of injuries in College, despite the fact that he played through them.  WIth a potent passing game, solid defese, and Beanie reaching his promise, the road to the Super Bowl could go through the Desert next year.

Other teams to keep an eye on:  Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers

 Team on the Decline:  I really think the Patriots are about to come back to Earth.  There is plenty of reason to believe that Brady is going to come back and pick right up where he left off, but I tend to fall on the other side of the spectrum.  Rarely do you see a player of any caliber come back from a torn ACL and play at the same level as before.  Most anyone doctor of sports physiologist will tell you that it takes at least two years to get it all back.  Add that equation of trying to plug in fresher, younger faces into an aging defense and you might just see the Mighty Pats struggle to get to deep into the playoffs.  There are several teams that would love to just get into the playoffs, but for the Patriots, that is simply not enough.

Other Teams Nearing the Senior Citizen Discount:  Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles

 Major League Baseball

Team on the Verge: 

The Florida Marlins- Folks they are at it again.  It seems as though nobody does a better job of rebuilding a team from the ground up than the Marlins.  Here's the cooking directions straight out of the Better Stadiums and Grass:  Stockpile good young arms and formidable position players, let them mature and rise, win a championship, sell off the pieces for more young arms and formidable poisiton players, repeat.  In case you haven't noticed, the Marlins have an outstanding young core of arms yet again.  They have surrounded them with pretty decent position players and are poised to mature soon.  This will not be there year, but look out either next year, or the following.

Other Teams to Look out for:  Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals

Team on the Decline:

The St. Louis Cardinals- This may be a bit contreversal since the Cardinals always seem to put a winner out there, but at some point the loss of key front office personnel (see Cincinnati Reds), cagey veteran pitchers, and a stagnant coaching staff is going to catch up with one of the best baseball towns out there.  The Cardinals have the best player in baseball in Albert Pujols, but outside of Chris Carpenter (can't last forever), the starting pitching is just adequate.  The Cardinals do better than anyone at getting the most out of their team, it is just unfortunate that they level of talent is such that there is only so much that they can get. 

Other Teams ready to head to Club Med:  Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians

Ahh, the cycle of life (somewhere Elton John would be proud).  Today's enviornment of sports is moving more and more towards a cyclicle approach rather than anything resembling a dynasty.  If the teams mentioned above don't do the right things, the window could either close, or the door shut on them and open for another.

Tags: cleveland cavaliers, lists