Q: It must be tough for even you to be positive at this point, isn't it?
A: It's never tough. Not as long as the Cavaliers have the best Basketball player on planet Earth. And I can feel the momentum shifting our way. There's no putting the genie back in the bottle now. Q: What are some of your tricks for staying positive?
A: Tony Robbins and I walk across hot coals.
Q: Any advice for Cleveland fans, who tend to be pessimistic?
A: When it finally happens for us, when the Cavaliers - or Browns or Tribe - finally win a championship, do you want to say you opened up your heart and enjoyed every minute of the ride? That you believed and your belief was rewarded? Or do you want to sit in the corner with your arms folded until the parade rolls down Euclid?
Q: You nominated Stan Van Gundy for your All-Optimist Second Team, but have since rescinded it. Why?
A: Well, for starters, he hurt Ben Wallace's feelings. Plus, at first I kind of dug his sweet playoff mustache and brazen flaunting of the NBA coaching dress code. Now I just see him as a whiner who doesn't like long sleeves or a collar. I'm going back to Doc Rivers.
Q: Favorite moment this season?
A: During the regular season, strangely enough, it was in a loss. It was Daniel Gibson's 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds to play on the last night of the season - Fan Appreciation Night - against the Sixers. Five regulars didn't play, including Mo [Williams], Big Z [Zydrunas Ilgauskas] and TheBron [LeBron James], but the guys who did were really busting their butts to tie the '86 Celtics home record. In the postseason, it would obviously be TheBron's buzzer-beater in Game 2 against Orlando. But that could change after The Finals.
Q: Wow. You are optimistic. Who's the most optimistic Cav?
A: TheBron - all day. After the Cavaliers lost Tuesday's heartbreaker in Orlando to fall to 1-3, someone asked him how he'd deal with the deficit. He said, "I'm up for the challenge." He has been, every night for six years.
