Mike Brown statement

“The past 5 years have been an exceptional experience. I have been very fortunate to lead a group of men who I respect and thoroughly enjoyed coaching on a daily basis. At the same time, I was able to work alongside a terrific coaching staff and with Danny Ferry and a basketball operations team, all of whom I have a profound respect for.

We partnered in creating a culture and a standard that I am, and will continue to be, very proud of. None of which would be possible without the dedication and support of Dan Gilbert. I am thankful for the opportunity that he gave to me and my family.

We have a deep appreciation for Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Cavaliers organization, and the people in this community, and have enjoyed making this our home." - Mike Brown

Class (and smart) act. He will be head coach somewhere else very soon.

Albert Ratner - What Cleveland needs to do

Forest City co-chairman Albert Ratner was the keynote speaker at the Cleveland International Hall of Fame inductions. He was very clear on what steps Cleveland needs to take in order to survive.

Watch the video highlights of Al Ratner's keynote.

Cavs Coach Mike Brown fired

It was inevitable

CLEVELAND – The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced that Mike Brown has been relieved of his duties as head coach, Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry announced today from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
“I have truly enjoyed working with Mike Brown. Mike has played a huge role in turning around the Cavs organization,” Ferry said. “Over the past five years, Mike established a work ethic, defensive identity and culture of winning that was not here previously.”
Brown was hired as the 17th coach in franchise history on June 2, 2005. In five seasons with the Cavs, he compiled a record of 272-138 (.663). Brown was named the 2009 NBA Coach of the Year by members of the media.
“Mike Brown is a class act. On behalf of the entire Cavaliers organization, there is only gratitude and appreciation for Mike's accomplishments over the past five years," stated Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert. "I think it is clear that Mike Brown has been instrumental in contributing to the growth and progress we have experienced in recent years. We wish Mike and his family the best of luck in any future challenges that Mike chooses to accept going forward.”
“After a long and deep analysis of all of the factors that led to the disappointing early ends to our playoff runs over the past two seasons, we concluded that it was time for the Cavaliers to move in a different direction," Gilbert added. "The expectations of this organization are very high and, although change always carries an element of risk, there are times when that risk must be taken in an attempt to break through to new, higher levels of accomplishment. This is one of those times.”
Brown compiled a postseason record with the Cavs of 42-29 (.592). He led the team to at least the second round of the postseason in each of his five seasons, including Cleveland’s first trip to the NBA Finals in 2007.

Howard Rheingold at CWRU Collabtech

Howard Rheingold coined the phrase "Virtual Communities" in an article he wrote in 1987 - way before Facebook or MySpace were even dreamed about.

He is now using social media techniques in education with his Social Media Classroom project at Berkeley and Stanford.

For those of us who have been around for awhile, it was good to hear Rheingold pay respect to the Cleveland Freenet. And also to say that the concept of Digital Natives - where young people know all the tech by osmosis - is a myth.

Hear his thoughts on digital natives and social media from a keynote at CWRU's Collabtech Summit 2010.

I love Cleveland in the springtime

I love Cleveland in the springtime - Watch this great video clip from last night's Cleveland International Hall of Fame inductions. Imagine the 300+ people singing along with Hall of Fame inductee Paramjit Singh.

More photos and videoes from the Cleveland International Hall of Fame coming soon

Cleveland International Hall of Fame

We are pysched for the Cleveland International Hall of Fame inductions tonight. The event is Sold Out with 300 people attending with almost 200 more on waiting list.

That's a tribute to both the quality of the inductees and a testament to how ripe Cleveland is for international growth and welcoming.

Details on the Cleveland International Hall of Fame.

There will be a lot of videos and photos posted at ClevelandPeople.Com after the event in the next week or so.

Crazy little cars

I was at both Polish Constitution Day parades last Sunday (Parma and Slavic Village) and one of the most interesting units was the mini cars. As I watched, I wondered what possessed these guys to get into such a hobby.

I have to admit, it looks like a lot of fun.

eBooks, Audio Books, DRM and more

Steve Potash has been working in the eBook space since the mid-1980's. Now OverDrive is one of the world's most important companies in the world of eBooks, audio books and more.

In this podcast/vidcast with Steve Potash, Steve brings us up to date about OverDrive, Digital Rights Management (DRM) and talks about how the Amazon Kindle (and then smartphones, the iPad, etc) have changed things.

And there's something cool in the OverDrive offices that catches the Geek's attention. Onward to Encodia!