This story is part of ESPN The Magazines Oct. 31 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!Cleveland CavaliersOverall:?13 Title track: T19 Ownership: 38 Coaching: 39 Players: 21 Fan relations: 16 Affordability: 41 Stadium experience: 29 Bang for the buck: 12 Change from last year: +31The Cavaliers broke their citys 50-plus year championship curse to rise in the rankings to ... No. 13?! There always has to be something unlucky about Cleveland, doesnt there? Triskaidekaphobia aside, LeBron James & Co.s epic comeback against the Golden State Warriors to capture the Larry OBrien Trophy rightfully has this group up 31 spots in our standings, knocking on the door for consideration as a top-10 franchise in sports.Whats goodNow that the titleless drought has been lifted in Cleveland, its not so incomprehensible for the Cavs to have the gumption to do it in back-to-back years. They jumped up 32 spots from a season ago in title track, tying with James favorite baseball team in the New York Yankees for No. 19. And make no mistake -- James himself has plenty to do with the Cavs No. 21 ranking in players, up 94 spots from two years ago. The Cavs also rocketed up the charts in bang for the buck, moving up 36 spots to No. 12 overall. It seems like the chance to see a play like James chase-down block in Game 7 of the NBA Finals live always makes the price of admission worth it.Whats badHeres a first: Theres not much to complain about as a Cleveland fan. The Cavs lowest ranking came in affordability, though, at 41st. Its still in the top third of teams. And their average ticket price -- of $48.12, seven bucks below the league average -- is lower than 17 teams who arent NBA champs. Best of all? At Quicken Loans Arena, you can fill up on league-low beers, at just $4 a pop for 12 ounces, and $3 hot dogs (also a league-low).Whats newNobody who voted in these rankings is missing David Blatt: Tyronn Lues promotion from associate head coach to the top dog represented the biggest improvement in any category for Cleveland, as its coaching rank jumped 51 spots to No. 39. Lue became the first midseason replacement ever to guide his team to the title and started off his first-ever postseason 10-0, besting Pat Rileys previous mark. Curiously, the Cavs remained No. 7 in the NBA in the players ranking, while lesser teams like Boston, Memphis and Portland all moved up ahead of them.Next: Memphis Grizzlies?| Full rankings Fake Football Jerseys . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Fake Hockey Jerseys . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. https://www.fakejerseys.us.com/ . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. Fake NFL Jerseys . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Fake Basketball Jerseys . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. (STATS) -- Nearing the halfway point of the conference slate, Southern Utah is in the mix to defend its Big Sky title. Slightly concerning, however, is its league wins have come at home over a pair of struggling programs while it was blown out on the road in its only matchup with a STATS Top 25 team.The Thunderbirds again find themselves on the road against a ranked team Saturday when they face No. 22 North Dakota, which is looking to win five straight games for the first time since moving to Division I in 2008.A defense led by NFL-bound James Cowser, Miles Killebrew and LeShaun Sims carried Southern Utah to its first Big Sky title a year ago. The Thunderbirds offense was no slouch, either, averaging 35.4 points and 445 yards. This season, under first-year coach Demario Warren -- the defensive coordinator from the past two seasons -- the defense is again leading the way but the offense has been a major liability.Southern Utah (3-2, 2-1) is last in the Big Sky in yards (338.8 per game) and second-to-last in scoring (23.4), and behind JUCO-transfer QB Patrick Tyler, the offense just isnt able to find any rhythm or sustain long drives. It is converting 24.6 percent of its third downs, ninth-worst out of the 125 FCS schools, and its average of 25:20 in time of possession is fifth-worst.Tyler, who is completing 54.3 percent of his passes, is averaging 195 passing yards in four starts -- a pretty substantial dropoff in production from a year ago when Ammon Olsen averaged 278.7 yards passing.We feel confident that Patrick is the guy that can help us win games, Warren said.The run game, however, is still thriving behind senior Malik Brown, who is second in the Big Sky in rushing (540 yards) and average (6.3 per attempt) among those with at least 50 carries.Brown and the rest of the offense, however, didnt get much going against overmatched UC Davis last weekend. The Thunderbirds gained 260 yards -- their fewest in a conference game since 2013 -- but scored TDs on both first-half trips inside the red zone and didnt turn the ball over in 24-3 winOur offense did their part in those areas and there are some other areas we want to improve at for sure, Warren said. But as long as were great at situational football, well give ourselves a chance to win at the end of the game.The Thunderbirds twwo Big Sky victories have come against teams that are a combined 3-9 while their conference loss came at then-No.dddddddddddd 11 Montana on Oct. 1.Southern Utahs scuffling offense will face its greatest test of the season when it visits the Alerus Center, where the Fighting Hawks (4-2, 3-0) have won four in a row and are 10-3 under coach Bubba Schweigert.North Dakota, which defeated then-No. 16 Cal Poly in its last home game on Oct. 1, is 3-0 in conference play for the first time since joining the Big Sky in 2012 and coming off its most emphatic victory of the season. The Fighting Hawks racked up 625 yards, including 422 on the ground, while holding Sacramento State to 272 in a 40-7 win -- the programs largest margin of victory against a Big Sky foe.All five of UNDs touchdowns came on the ground and the team had three 100-yard rushers, with Brady Oliveira gaining 111, Austin Gordon at 102 and quarterback Keaton Studsrud with 100. John Santiago, named to the 2015 STATS All-American second team, was cleared to play just before kickoff after injuring his leg on the games second play against Cal Poly, and ran for 76 yards on just eight attempts.The Fighting Hawks are third in the league in rushing, averaging 216 yards, and are just as strong against the run. They rank second in the Big Sky, allowing an average of 125.3 yards and 3.3 per rush.I really like the plan our defensive staff puts together. Our guys understand the plan and weve been able to limit big plays, Schweigert said. A big key to our defensive effort has been our offense being able to control the football and thats really helped us.Powered by its stellar ground game, North Dakota leads the Big Sky in time of possession at 32:54.With Santiago a little banged-up, Oliveira has stepped up, totaling 409 yards rushing with a 6.8 yard average in the last three games. Oliveira ranks sixth in the league in rushing yards per game at 84.8 and Santiago is eighth at 73.8, giving the Fighting Hawks the only pair of teammates in the Big Sky that are in the top 10.Weve been pleased with our tailbacks, Schweigert said. The big challenge for us is how do we get them into space and get them some room to run. ' ' '
