Tag Archives: Knicks

Beaches, Mountains or Concrete

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It seems I’ve recently come to a fork in the road. Using past experience this should come as no surprise. Let’s go back about 18 years to take a look at said history. In late 1994, at the ripe old age of 18, I left the comfy confines of Long Island to go to college in Pennsylvania. Four years later, after finishing college, I promptly moved to Washington, DC.  I ended up moving back to Long Island just two and a half years later. I only spent a year and a half back home before leaving for mile high country, Denver, CO. In what might go down as a personal record, it took six years to leave Denver for sunny Southern California. And here I am today, almost 4 years later, living in the Marina del Rey / Venice Beach area. For how long is the big question as I’m having thoughts of making a change (again).

The fork that I’ve come to seams to split in three prominent directions. The first road goes straight, leaving me in Southern California. This may involve moving to a different location. That location may be with a different employer or it may be closer to my current employer.

The second fork takes me slightly north and to a much higher altitude… Denver, CO. I haven’t forgotten what a great place Denver is to live. Add the fact that I already own a home there, so the transition would be quite smooth. There’s something to be said about being able to walk out of the front door, hop on the bicycle, and go for a long ride without having to worry about getting hit by a car… all with beautiful scenery.

The last fork would take me close to where this all got started… New York. It occurred to me recently that, although I’m from New York, I didn’t really get to experience it as an adult. I’ve seen the Knicks play in Washington (DC), Denver, and Minneapolis since leaving NY, but have never seen them play in Madison Square Garden. I’ve seen the Mets play in Denver, Los Angeles, and San Diego, but not in their new confines at Citi Field. I’ve never seen the Jets play in person… at any stadium. Beyond sports, it would be nice to be able to walk around Central Park and be closer to family and friends from my younger days. Even being closer to my parents to help them out as they get a little older.

So there you have it – 1 fork, 3 directions. Sandy beaches, rocky mountains, or concrete?

Eggs or Omelets

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It’s not often that I find myself with the time or energy to discuss current topics in sports here, but I’m feeling good today and boy was there some exciting news to discuss. During the morning hours I’ve become a fan of listening to Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio and ESPN News. I think it was yesterday that he said something about eating the omelet, not making the egg. His way with words is pretty funny. He was getting at the fact that he does not make the news, he opines on the news that has already been made. That’s what I’m going to do here.

Albert Pujols to Angels for 10 Years / $250 Million: All I can say is wow. When Alex Rodriguez signed a 10 year contract back in 2000 he was 25 years old. At that point he was an accomplished player about to hit his prime. His best years were ahead of him. When Rodriguez opted out of that contract and negotiated a new 10 year contract after the 2007 season he was 32, which is what Pujols will be in another month or so. Rodriguez plays a skill position, 3rd base. Pujols plays at one of the easiest positions, 1st base. Rodriguez, although not fleet of foot anymore, can still get around the bases. Pujols, well, not so much. Both players will be pushing 42 when their contracts are up. Why do I bring all of this up. Well, I think the Rodriguez deal was a bad decision for the Yankees. I think this one is worse. 10 years is too long for any player. With performance enhancing drugs no longer an option, the 2nd half of their contracts are going to become dead weight for the teams they play for. Now, the Yankees have been known to either accept having dead weight on the bench or trading/paying dead weight to play on another team. This happens because they can afford it. I’m not so sure the Angels will be able to do the same. At least it wasn’t the Mets making this decision. They have their own problems to deal with.

The NBA is Back: Not many of my friends are basketball fans. And the ones that are tend to stick to college basketball. It’s worked out for the best during the past decade because there wasn’t a whole lot to be excited about as a Knicks fan. Then the Summer of Lebron happened, bringing excitement during the 2010 offseason, only to find out he was taking his talents to South Beach. The decision was made on my birthday of all days… it wasn’t much of a birthday present. Then the Carmelo drama played out during the 2010-2011 season, bringing more attention to the Knicks for what was happening off the court, not on it. This was annoying for the sole reason that the Knicks young core was turning in an above average season. But this time the Knicks got their man as Carmelo became a Knick at the trade deadline. The Knicks gave up too much for Anthony, but that’s a forgone story now. And why am I writing all of this? Well, from what I understand, the Knicks were going to play wait and see until after next season in order to make a play for Chris Paul. And all I kept thinking was why? I’d rather put a couple of above average players next to Amer’e and Carmelo than be limited to the scrap heap for years to come. The NBA continues to have a soft salary cap, but it’s less soft than it was in year’s past. Then came news today of the Knicks making a play for Tyson Chandler. This couldn’t have made me happier. Not because of what I think Chandler will bring to the Knicks – I do think he’s a solid player and a good compliment to the Amer’e / Carmelo combo – but it sends a message that the Knicks are in it for today, this season. There’s no more waiting for this player or that player, they want to put a team together now to contend for a championship. That doesn’t mean they have to go overboard, but a 29 year old center in his prime is a good player to sign for 4 years. And that length of a contract isn’t going to kill them for too many years if things don’t work out.

Well, there you have it, my opinion after eating the omelet. Trust me, it made sense when Colin brought it up.

Hard Rock Cafe Minneapolis

Knicks vs. Timberwolves

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This past Friday I had the (dis)pleasure of getting to see the NY Knicks live as they played the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis. This would become the 3rd arena I’ve seen the Knicks play in, none of which include Madison Square Garden, the MCI/Verizon Center (Washington Bullets/Wizards) and Pepsi Center (Denver Nuggets) being the other arenas. The game started off great for the Knicks as they built a 14 point lead at the half and extended it to a 21 point lead early in the 3rd quarter. The half filled arena was quiet. I was almost bored watching the game. But that’s when things turned for the worse. The Knicks started missing a few three pointers, and then a few more. I turned to my co-worker, who joined me to watch the game, and told him it’ll be a close game soon enough as the Knicks don’t know how to stop shooting 3′s, even if they’re not going in. Well, it was a close game for a split second as the Wolves just kept going right past the Knicks on the floor and scoreboard. It was ugly to say the least. I didn’t even realize during the game that I was watching a player for the Wolves do something that hasn’t been accomplished by an NBA player in over 25 years. Kevin Love had over 30 points and 30 rebounds in the same game, a majority of which he got in the 2nd half as the Wolves ran right past the Knicks. Every season I hope things will get better for the Knicks, but they don’t seem to be getting better. It’s rather disappointing considering how big a fan I am of the Knicks. As a result of that loss the Knicks were 3-6, now 3-7 after losing to the Houston Rockets on Sunday. Maybe even 3-8 after playing tonight against the Denver Nuggets. It’s been so long since the Knicks were good, I’m longing for the 90′s Knicks that may not have played an aesthetically pleasing game, but they found a way to win more often than not.

The outing wasn’t all bad though. I got to walk the Minneapolis Skyways, which are enclosed walking paths/bridges that connect building above the streets, allowing people to walk through most of downtown without having to go outside. A big bonus considering how cold it can get here in Minneapolis during the winter. Although it was dark, I got an outside look at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, while walking the Skyways. We also had dinner before the game at the Hard Rock Minneapolis across the street from the Target Center.  It turned out to be a fun night out nonetheless.

Next up, Minnesota Wild hockey in the other Twin City of St. Paul… maybe.

Does Joker36 have a twin?

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Being a big NY sports fan and not having easy access to the NY sports on TV – unless I pay for the Directv Sports package and season passes for baseball, basketball, and football – I spend a lot of time reading the NY papers online.  Lately, I’ve been spending time each morning reading Alan Hahn’s Knicks blog on Newsday.  The last few days I’ve noticed something interesting going on over there, outside of having a boat load of comments since before the NBA draft, apparently the site had over 40,000 hits in a single day last week.  For comparison, the most hits this site has ever received in a single day is a measly 49.  Anyway, I digress.  There are apparently 2 people that comment using the handles “K” and “Joker36” on the Knicks blog.  Now, I’ve posted a few times on the blog, but not recently, I just like to read the comments on the site since there’s a limited number of haters there.  And it’s not so farfetched that there’s someone else out there using that handle considering a lot of names start with the letter K.  But, as far as I know, Joker36 – from this blog – isn’t much of a basketball fan.  At least not enough to add comments to the Knicks Fix on Newsday.  Am I missing something, is there some sort of background to the Joker36 reference that I’m missing?  How is it that 2 people that may or may not know each other – or be the same person – post using the same off the wall handle.  Joker, where you at, enlighten me!

NY Sports News

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Another update to the site, one that I’m pretty excited about. It took a lot of research and time to put into place, so I hope it’s worth it when all is said and done. There’s a specific website I go to for news regarding the Knicks called ultimateknicks.com. It pulls news feeds from various media outlets and updates the site, making it an easy place to go for Knicks news. I was hoping to do something similar not just for the Knicks, but for the other NY teams I follow – the Mets and Jets. As I kept going, I decided to create a news feed for the Yankees and Giants thinking my brother might get some use out of it too.

The result is an all in one source for NY Sports News. A link to the page can be found using the tab at the top of the page. At the top of the NY Sports News page are links to the team specific pages.

The overall NY Sports feed includes news from the NY Times, NY Newsday, NY Post, and LoHud News. There are also a couple of football and basketball feeds that didn’t fit into the team specific pages, but I thought would provide good information. The individual team feeds include news and blogs from NY Newsday, NY Post, LoHud News, and their specific NFL/NBA/MLB team page. I’ve specifically left the NY Daily News from the feeds as I find their news equal to the magazines found at the supermarket checkout lines.

The service is provided by feed.informer.com (formerly feeddigest.com). I’m limited to 6 feed digests, each with 12 feed sources, and 25 feeds per digest, for free. Hence, I decided to exclude pages specific to the Islanders and Rangers, sorry Vinny. I’m hoping to get some feedback on other news sites that might be worthy of inclusion as there are a few open sources available.

I'm at ease now

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This should have been included at the end of the last post, but somehow I forgot. Maybe I’ll add it to my tag line. So here goes… I reserve the right to change my mind regarding any opinions made on this blog, or in general. After a few days of reading on-line articles and listening to sports analysts on TV, I’ve come to the conclusion that some of my opinions were made in haste yesterday. To start, I’m still going to root for the Knicks through their bad management, coach, and all.

Although I don’t condone fighting in basketball, baseball, or any other team sport, there is something that’s bugging me about the fall-out on the Knicks. What happened to the good old days when protecting the basket wasn’t a passive activity, but something that players took pride in? What happened to the good old days when committing a hard foul was not only common, but expected on occasion? I’m disappointed that Isiah Thomas actually had to bring it up to his players to commit a hard foul to protect the basket. I’m sure Charles Oakely, Anthony Mason, John Starks and Patrick Ewing would have done so. Now, Collins still needs to learn how to commit a hard foul without going for a players head, but he had the right idea. If Nate Robinson didn’t suffer from a Napolean complex, the whole thing probably wouldn’t have escalated to an all out fight. He got what he deserves in a 10 game suspension. I even would have been ok with Carmelo getting a lesser suspension than the 15 games he got only because he looked so stupid running away after throwing a punch at Collins. He might as well have been wearing a skirt.

And my change of opinion has anything to do with the fact the Knicks won an exciting overtime game today. Well, maybe a little.

At my wits end…

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Usually, the number 7 is considered a lucky number, but back in June I wrote a post noting 7 Reasons I Hate the NBA. I wrote the article, not because I truly hate the NBA, but because I used to love it. For the most part, I enjoy watching both college and professional basketball as well as playing the pickup variety. Well, last night, my 7 seven reasons didn’t get any better. By no means did anyone think the Knicks would be a good team this year. Hell, I’ll win a bet with a friend if the Knicks win 35 games this year, that would result in a record of 6 games under .500, which doesn’t really allow for bragging rights.

Well, under the bright lights of MSG and the Knicks losing to the Nuggets by 19 with under 1:30 to go in the game, Mardy Collins took down JR Smith on his way to the basket. Was it a hard foul? Yes. Do we need to teach Collins how to commit a hard foul without grabbing the player around the neck? Yes. But this is where things got ugly. After Smith gets up face-to-face with Collins, Nate Robinson starts putting up his dukes and starts bobbing and weaving in front of Smith, ready to go to blows. What an idiot! He wasn’t even involved with the foul, why the hell was he getting involved? And why was he acting like a 4 year old?! So, Nate and JR find themselves pushing and shoving into the front row. That’s when things got interesting. All of a sudden, Jared Jeffries is rushing at Carmelo Anthony. The folks on Altitude Network here in Denver are commenting on Jeffries and his antics. Even after that game ended, the Altitude Network was commenting on how ridiculous is was for Jeffries to go after Carmelo. Well, this just tells you how “homer” these people are about their teams in Denver. They totally left out the part when Carmelo threw a punch at Collins, when Collins had his head turned around and wasn’t even looking. I have some choice words for Carmelo, who backpedaled after the punch as fast as he could. Stand up you freakin’ punk, don’t throw a punch then run away with your tail between your legs. In the end, all 10 players on the court for both teams were ejected. The game finally ended and the garden crowd erupted in applause for the Knicks. So much for smart fans, this would have been the perfect time to actually boo the home team.

It’s a rare occasion when I agree with a New York sports writer, most of whom usually write anything negative they can find, but this post on Newsday.com seems to get some of it right. Anyway, as I noted in the headline, I’m at my wits end. Not sure if I can be a fan of the Knicks anymore. I can usually handle being a fan of a bad team, most NY teams outside of the Yankees have gone through rough stretches at one point or another. But when stuff like this happens, I have trouble rooting for them. Oh well.

7 Reasons I Hate the NBA…

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Well, the NBA season has come to an end with the Miami Heat beating the Mavericks in 6 games. Each year, it seams, I grow more and more frustrated with the entertainment factor of NBA games. For some reason, though, I continue to watch. This time, I decided to write down why the game has become so frustrating (for me, at least):

  1. Players talking and/or complaining to the refs. Just shut up and play!
  2. Continuation. If a player gets fouled, takes 2 steps, then has a clear shot at the basket, it shouldn’t qualify as “the act of shooting.” Make the players earn their points the hard way.
  3. Fouls, fouls, fouls! I know, I’m a hypocrite, if the refs are going to call a bad game, the players should be allowed to complain. Well, not really, just shut up and play!
  4. Fouls, fouls, fouls! (Part 2) Give me a break with some of these foul calls. Player drives uncontrolled to the basket, trips over another players foot, throws up a prayer on his way down to the floor, and gets bailed out by a foul call. Again, make the players earn their points the hard way.
  5. Travelling violations, or, lack thereof. ‘Nuff said.
  6. Longest 2 minutes in sports. We all know the most famous “greatest 2 minutes in sports” in reference to the Kentucky Derby. Well, basketball is quite the opposite. During the 4th quarter of game 5 the final 8 minutes of the game lasted over 30 minutes. That’s just ridiculous! Trust me, I was clock watching. Cut down the amount of time outs availabe to each team and cut down the amount of commercials during the game. Again, make teams earn their wins the hard way.
  7. Knicks Suck! Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge Knicks fan, but the soap opera has to end. Get rid of Dolan, Thomas, and Brown and move on.

I’d like to be able to provide an even 10 reasons, but I’m not a big fan of adding reasons for the sake of adding them. However, I will add a comment if one comes to me. Come October and November I’ll probably be excited about basketball again and will be willing to offer up some reasons I will watch next season. What can I say, I have a short memory. Until then, did anyone see game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Wow, now that was entertainment!

Go Knicks!

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Welcome to my blog on sports rumblings. I’ll start today with my excitement over the start of the basketball season. With the Jets getting off to a rough start, it’s nice to have other options to keep up with. That’s not to say I’ve given up on the Jets, just like having options.

My excitement for the basketball season is somewhat lessened by the slow start by the Knickerbockers. They’re now 0-2 to start the season after losing to the Washington Wizards. I mean, come on, these are the Bullets. Living out here in Denver, CO, I read a lot of the NY papers like www.nynewsday.com and www.nypost.com for my fill of NY sports. So, I’ve been doing my reading and most reporters note that Larry Brown teams usually have a tough time getting started in year 1. Getting to watch the game today I realize why there is excitement in NY over the Knicks. With Marbury at the point and Curry manning the paint, and some good young talent, we have a good combination. The question is how long will it take for them to mesh and will it be too late to make the playoffs? That seams to be the popular question out there. What I will say is, if the Knicks jell and make the playoffs, they have the talent to do some damage. Ok, maybe I’m a little confident in the Knicks. Then again, why shouldn’t I be, isn’t that what sports is about?!

Well, I’m off. Until next time, keep watching.