The allergic reaction caused Pavlik's temperature to reach 104 degrees, prompting the 27-year-old boxer to check into the hospital. A specialist at the Cleveland Clinic (which I assume is in Cleveland) informed Pavlik's father, Mike, that the situation was looking pretty grim.

Pavlik says he doesn't remember everything that happened last month, only bits and pieces.

He recalls a doctor telling him that he wasn't going home right away, and that every step he took toward the emergency ward was more difficult than the last. He remembers his skin crawling, his heart feeling like it would jump right out of his chest.

He doesn't remember the steroids doctors gave him to make the reaction subside.

"I don't remember that day, that's how bad it was," Pavlik told The Associated Press. "They told me it was pretty serious. It was the worst form of reaction you could have."

The staph infection, although cleared up, has prompted Pavlik's trainer, Jack Hoew, to cancel Pavlik's December 5th bout against Paul Williams. The fight had already been pushed back, amid contentious negotiations between the two fighters' camps.

Pavlik first noticed something wrong while playing basketball last March, a few weeks after he defeated Marco Antonio Rubio in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.

He was playing basketball on a warm March day when the knuckle split open. After a few minutes, Pavlik looked down to see a colorless ooze where there should have been blood, and a trip to the doctor confirmed the bacteria.

A month went by and antibiotics weren't doing their job, so Pavlik had surgery in Youngstown to clean out the infection. When the stitches were removed, the hole was still there. Further tests revealed MRSA, a sometimes fatal strain of staph that resists broad-spectrum antibiotics.

"I was ready to say right there, chop the hand off," Pavlik said.

Man, that doesn't sound like a very good situation. This recent development involving Pavlik certainly begs the question: what is going on with Cleveland and all of these high profile staph infections? Many of you may recall how six players for the Cleveland Browns have been treated for staph infections since 2003, including Kellen Winslow and Joe Jurevicius, who subsequently sued the Browns organization because of it.

What gives? Is there anybody out there who can shed some light on this perplexing issue?

Pavlik says he nearly died from allergic reaction [Yahoo!]
Another Staph Infection? [Waiting For Next Year]
Joe Jurevicius staph-infection lawsuit highlights growing legal threat to non-health-care facilities [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
(Previously on Deadspin) Okay, Perhaps Kellen Winslow Is A Soldier

We have two Deadcasts this week. First up: a short (or should I say, FUN SIZE!) Deadcast with the great Joe Posnanski, who would like to apologize to Cleveland fans for penning this SI cover story that sealed the Cavs' eventual doom. Actually, I don't really know if Joe is sorry. But I made him read a scripted apology under threat of urineboarding, which seemed to work wonders.

Joe warned me prior to this podcast that's he very boring to talk to in person, so we spend a lot of time talking just what makes him so terribly, painfully dull. Ironically, this topic proved almost kinda not quite that interesting, which was nice. I also read Joe a selection of lesbian-themed haikus. I think it was an important topic to cover. We also talk about Joe's upcoming book on the Big Red Machine, a book Joe Morgan will almost certainly fail to read. And we talk about all the athletes that have threatened to kill Joe. Perhaps because he was boring them.

This first podcast of the week is available for your listening pleasure right here. You can also find the new Deadcast in the iTunes Music Store here. And check out Posnanski's new SI.com column with Bill James here. I'm told it's very baseballey.

Friday's Deadcast guest is actress Justine Bateman. Why? Hey, why the fuck not? Got a question/love letter/restraining order you need read for Justine over the air? Send it to me here.

Special thanks to Liberated Syndication for hosting us. Now sit back, relax, and listen as I waste away twenty perfectly good minutes with the best sportswriter in America.

LeBron James has done just about everything he can in this series—except hitting a running 35-footer to win Game 4 last night—but since he seems to be doing it all on his own, that's not quite enough. After steamrolling the league's regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs, the dream championship year destined to end his city's long and painful drought of winners is about to go up in smoke.

The problem is not with Mo Williams' guarantee, but with the assumption that it was based upon—that Cleveland was simply the better team and time would reveal that. Even after losing two games, blowing giant leads at home, and coming within one miracle three of a sweep, Williams and his team refused to believe that the Magic might be outplaying them; that they might have to adjust, find a new approach, or simply play harder. Because they had not been seriously challenged this season, they never understood how much trouble they were in—and now it's too late. NBA teams with a 3-1 lead in a series are 182-8 since the league was formed.

Meanwhile, if Dwight Howard can manage to not get thrown out of the series he's the one looking like the big superstar in this conference. His ten points in overtime were the difference in Game 4 and the Magic need just one more big performance from him to reach the Finals and crush on a city's dreams. Again.

Go to your happy place, Cleveland. And no, I don't mean Cedar Point.

Cavaliers' fans still faithful — but it's not easy [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Mo guarantee: Cavs guard fails to deliver late [AP]
LeBron's big night undone by key turnovers, Magic [ESPN]
Howard's determination lifts Magic over Cavs [Fox Sports]
Add 'The Choke' to Cleveland's cursed sports lore [CBS Sports]

Subject: Please, stop the madness

I’m begging you, please stop. I’ve already gotten tired of hearing about the “long suffering Philly fans.” 25 years is nothing. I’ve been alive for 25 years. There are Cleveland fans who are approaching 50 that haven’t seen a Cleveland championship in any sport, and we have the three major sports (Honestly, can we stop referring to hockey as a major sport? Major sports don’t have the first two games of their championship series on SpikeTV.)

Every one of these stories about the “25 year drought” is like a dull knife slowly digging into my skin. 25 years isn’t a long time. 1964 was a long time ago, the 80s weren’t.

Chris
Cleveland fan

I feel ya, buddy. (Except for the hockey crack. That was uncalled for, but you're upset, so I'll let it slide.) It's time for someone else to step up and assume the mantle of the plucky, heartsick city that just wants to see its boys bring one home for a change. Minneapolis has gone longer than any town with all four sports, but Buffalo has never seen a title of any kind, and yes, Cleveland is currently the most futile city in America. (124 combined sports seasons without a trophy.) Ease his pain, someone!

So whose 90-year-old grandpas will get to cry the tears of sweet release next? What town will see its eight-year-old children woken up in the middle of the night so that they can experience what their fathers never could—the joy of being a winner. When will the Lions win a freaking playoff game already!?! Sure, we have the Red Wings and Pistons, but those aren't real sports! Come on, you're killing me over here! Gaha;hhaAAA!

• Cities That Deserve Championships [The Arena]

No professional team dominated a sport like the Cleveland Browns between the years of 1946-1955. They played for 10 straight pro football titles over that span, winning seven; four in the All American Football Conference and three in the NFL, and then a fourth in the NFL in 1964. Keep in mind that the AAFC wasn't an inferior league; its teams played against NFL teams during its four years of existence, and when the leagues officially merged in 1950, the Browns continued kicking ass just as before.

Quarterback Otto Graham led the Browns to a 105-17-4 record (.861 winning percentage) over those 10 years. The Browns completed an undefeated season in 1948, going 15-0. They had a kicker named "The Toe." Plus, Hall of Famers Marion Motley and Bill Willis broke the NFL color barrier in 1946, a year before Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. Fans were so impressed with coach Paul Brown that they named the team after him. Could you imagine the New England Belichicks? (The Tampa Bay Grudens would be cool, though).

So step off, Mike & Mike. Just step off, man.

Pro Football's Greatest Dynasty [Cold, Hard Football Facts]