Kyrie Irving should continue to blossom in Rio -- Bud Shaw's Spinoffs

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Kyrie Irving‘s magical year continues at the Olympics in Rio.

Irving would be credited as the author of “The Shot” if we didn’t already associate the title with a far less happy time and place.

You felt watching Game 7 grind to a conclusion that Irving could be the difference – or at least I did. He was the one player on the court who seemed easily capable of getting a shot off to his liking.

His work around the glass was a beautiful blend of geometry and art.

Now, he goes to summer camp with Team USA where he gets reunited with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. It’s a chance for Irving’s growth to continue. That growth was on full display in the playoffs.

Almost makes you forget that time when some top NBA point guards got the best of him.

Bed bugs, too.

• A “Welcome to Hell” banner greets visitors to Rio, site of the 2016 Summer Olympics, at the city’s main airport.

The rest of the banner: “Police and firefighters don’t get paid. Whoever comes to Rio de Janeiro won’t be safe.”

My wife leaves for Rio in July.

And I must say I could be more excited for her.

• The NFLPA wants to know what evidence the NFL is using to support an investigation into PED use.

Other than the obvious eye test.

• Wanting to make sure players as big as houses who are running faster than Porsches have come by their size and speed naturally, I can’t think of another reason.

Beyond safeguarding the integrity of the sport and deterring PED use for health reasons.

• Tiger Woods wearing red and dressing like a golfer in the booth Sunday while serving as a commentator at his tournament, the Congressional, was strange. Even more so because he sounded as if he might sit out all of 2016.

The upside: If he ever invites you to church and you arrive late, he won’t be hard to find.

• Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant are playing on Team USA.

That gives Anthony even more time to lobby Durant, a free agent, to join the Knicks who recently traded for Derrick Rose.

“You know, for me, it’s more just about just laying it all out for him,” Anthony told ESPN, “giving him the real.”

 Let’s just say if Durant turns his back on Oklahoma City, and doesn’t sign with Miami or Golden State, I’d be real, real surprised.

• Yahoo headline: “Anthony Bennett Reminds Everyone Why He Was The #1 Pick With This Devastating Dunk.”

As for the rest of his game, he reminds no one.

• Sacramento Kings star DeMarcus Cousins, whose team raised eyebrows when it traded down from No. 8 in the draft to No. 13 and took big man Giorgios Pappagiannis, Tweeted this about an hour later:

Lord give me the strength 🙏🏿

— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) June 24, 2016

Cousins explained he didn’t mean that about what the Kings did on draft night. He called his Tweet bad timing.

“It sounds ridiculous, but I was in a hot sculpting class,” he clarified.

I mean “clarified.”

• Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher is giving his Seminoles “state championship” rings for beating both Florida and Miami during the 2015 season.

Yay?

• Florida State supporters say the goal is still national championships and ACC titles, that giving rings for beating its in-state rivals doesn’t mean the school isn’t keeping its eye on the prize.

(Insert Cracker Jack joke here).

• James Harrison said he would gladly agree to league interview about PED use if commissioner Roger Goodell wants to come to his house at a time friendly to Harrison.

The linebacker has previously said of Goodell, “I hate him and will never respect him.”

I guess that will work in lieu of a “Welcome” mat.

• Suddenly I feel the need to apologize to LeBron James for ever calling him passive-aggressive.

• The Cavs parade might’ve dragged on too long. It might have been disorganized. Some of the “celebrity” participants on the floats might’ve invited chants of “Who are you? Who are you?”

But it passed the test.

My definition of that: when the fans are better behaved than the players.

• Sports radio host Jim Rome tore up the Browns past and present for participating in a parade that had nothing to do with them.

The Cavs invited Bernie Kosar, Earnest Byner and Joe Haden for three.

And if anyone in Cleveland found that appalling, I’ve yet to hear from them.

• The Cavs victory wasn’t about a team finally overcoming The Shot and The Decision.

It was an all-encompassing reward for anyone who grew up here or adopted this city and its sports misfortunes.

 Kosar, Byner and Haden qualify.

And if anyone thinks Haden will get the benefit of the doubt come football season because of his Cleveland sports allegiances, I think the other 99 percent of us know better.

He won’t be criticized until he allows his first completion.

• Australian golfer Jason Day is the latest to confirm he won’t participate in the Rio Olympics.

Day cited concerns about the zika virus.

I’d be more concerned if there were no firefighters and police in hell (see previous Rio mention) than no bug spray.

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Kyrie Irving should continue to blossom in Rio -- Bud Shaw"s Spinoffs