Cavs owner revels in Heat flop

When LeBron James left for the Miami Heat last year, jilted Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert trashed the two-time league Most Valuable Player in a bitter open letter to Cleveland fans.

Despite Gilbert's wish for nearly all things bad to befall James, the Heat are in the NBA Finals.

Well, of course, Gilbert couldn't wait to show his pleasure after Miami's collapse in a 95-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 on Thursday.

"Wow! Wow! And Wow!!" Gilbert tweeted, noting son Nick "almost knocked me out jumping on me at the end."

■ GET A GRIP -- Giants general manager Brian Sabean must be confusing Marlins rookie Scott Cousins for the thugs who beat up a San Francisco fan on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium.

Sabean is rightly upset about losing star catcher Buster Posey for the season, but he's taking out his anger the wrong way. The GM ripped Cousins for the May 25 home plate collision in which Posey suffered a fractured left fibula and three torn ligaments in his left ankle.

"If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy," Sabean said on a radio show Thursday.

When asked later if he was being too hard on Cousins, Sabean replied: "He chose to be a hero, in my mind, and if that's his flash of fame, that's as good as it's going to get, pal. We'll have a long memory. ... You can't be that out-and-out overly aggressive. I'll put it as politically as I can state it: There's no love lost, and there shouldn't be."

Sabean needs to get a grip. Cousins didn't go out of his way to injure Posey.

After the Opening Day beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow, who is still in critical condition, Sabean should know the difference between an intentional violent act and a rough but unfortunate bang-bang play.

Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison said on Sirius XM radio that Cousins is receiving death threats from people in his hometown of San Francisco.

"He's worried about his family and his friends that are there," Morrison said. "And now (Sabean is) going to make comments like that? It's ignorant, it's inappropriate, and he has no idea what the hell he's talking about."

■ POLICE YOUR TEAM -- The Ohio State scandal, which claimed football coach Jim Tressel and threatens to take down the university president and athletic director, has athletic departments across the nation on edge.

Schools are being extra vigilant to avoid NCAA violations. But Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne took things a step further, asking the public, in his weekly email newsletter to fans, to help look for misdeeds.

"We are one bad decision by a coach, employee, student-athlete and/or community member/fan from facing significant challenges that can damage our university and athletic program for many years to come," he wrote. "If you ever know of a situation where a student-athlete is receiving an extra benefit (something that the rest of the student body would not receive), please contact me ... ."

COMPILED BY MARK ANDERSON
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL