This past week marked the third anniversary (observance in mourning for most) of Isiah Thomas' reign with the Knicks.  Though exciting at times, it has been a painful most of the time as Zeke has taken on huge expiring contracts of "stars" past their prime.  The list is too long for me to write and you to read as the Knicks are paying $62 million to five players not even on the roster anymore.

Since Mr. Dolan has given Isiah through the rest of the season to make progress, the Tank is forced to use reverse psychology to uplift himself and others.  For instance, who could be worse than Isiah?  The Tank thought long and hard and lost lots of sleep.  The nominees are:

(1) Detroit Lions President Matt Millen.  Like Isiah, Matt was a great player but a lousy executive.  Though a different sport, the Lions are even worse than the Knicks.  Is Matt blackmailing Lions ownership into keeping his job?  Is the Lions ownership too cheap to buy out his contract?

(2) Past and current Tampa D-Rays ownership.  While crying that they can't be competitive, past and current owners Vince Namoli and Bruce Sternberg, respectively, are gladly taking the Yankees luxury tax money but NOT reinvesting it in their team.  D-Rays fans like Buffalo Robert and Detroit Dale are furious.

(3) Current Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey H. Loria.  Mr. Loria is a NY art dealer who made a killing when he sold the Expos to MLB and then bought the Marlins to Mr. John Henry who went on to buy the Red.  The Marlins payroll is slightly lower than the D-Rays.  What about the luxury tax money Mr. Loria is pocketing?  Can't Mr. Loria sell anymore art at his NY gallery to pay his players more?

Remember, if you are ever down and out as a sports fan, there is someone worse off than you.

Posted by the Tank in NY.

NBA

Saturday, December 23, 2006 4:03:38 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Watch the video here. Since Google purchased YouTube, they are pulling videos posted by those with footage from ESPN, MSG, etc. by those who don't own the ESPN, MSG, etc. copyrights. However, the SATT footage was shot on the Tank's Canon digital camera-and we own that copyright. :)

If you want to complain about the video not being still, write a letter to Canon.

NBA

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 5:14:24 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Moments after the Knicks-Nuggets Brawl, PermaGuest Jack e-mailed Steve and myself.  His thoughts were so insightful that I asked him to write a guest column.  His comments are as follows:

Now as you may or may not know I'm not a big basketball fan, though Michelle is getting me into College ball.  But that said, I do pay attention in the cursory sense.  But you just don't really need to follow the NBA to be disgusted with this latest fiasco.  To summarize from what I've read and heard in the news, the Knicks were losing pretty badly yet again, and because the Nuggets had their Starters on the court with 1:15 left and a 19-point lead.  So what?  Yeah, maybe that's a bit overkill, but so what?  Should they have sat them and given the Knicks a chance to come back and win?  Um No.  Last I checked, this was not a friendly neighborhood game (though an argument can be made for the lack of those too), but a Professional Game, between two Professional teams who are PAID to win.  Not lose.

What's even more disgusting than the lack of good sportsmanship and professionalism shown by the Knicks was that of their Head Coach, Isiah Thomas.  I quote the comments he said he made to Denver's Carmelo Anthony from the SportsIllustrated.com article I emailed you yesterday.  "I just said to him, 'You know, you're up 20, you're up 19 with a minute and half to go, you and (Marcus) Camby really shouldn't be in the game right now,"'  Thomas said.  "We had surrendered, those guys shouldn't even be in the game at that point in time." 

YOU SURRENDERED?!  At what point?  The half?!  Yeah I know, you feel like you have no chance with that little time left to come back, but you keep going.  I know it's not the same, but this season in my dart league, we got bumped up a division and been losing.  Every Leg (game) counts as 1 point.  And we've played every game with all our heart and tried our best, but we're playing in a tougher division and it's to be expected.  The score doesn't really reflect the overall effort.  And we were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs (first time in 4 seasons!) a couple of weeks ago but we are still playing every single game of every single match like we need it. 

How much do you want to bet this will somehow be tied back to Larry Brown, who is the scapegoat for all the wrong the Knicks have done last season and this.  Oh wait!  He already is being blamed, since he's good friends with Nuggets head coach George Karl!  Honestly what I think it comes down to, is that they had this all planned out.  They brought Larry Brown back and set him up for failure by not putting the full faith of the organization behind him during the past season.  This, in my opinion, was done in order to bring Isiah "The Megalomaniac" Thomas back to the court.  The man is an embarrassment.  Remember the sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims made against him in the past?  How much do you want to bet there was a good deal of truth to it? 

All I can say is that these "professionals" and I use this term loosely, have disgraced themselves.  Their respective organizations and the sport.  This could all segue right into a whole other topic.  The "Thug Attitude" which is prevalent in the NBA and to an extent the NFL (wanna talk about T.O. spitting on Falcons Cornerback DeAngelo Hall?).  The NBA has way too many High Schoolers given HUGE Monetary contracts acting like babies.  I think the penalties should be very heavy.

Written by PermaGuest Jack and Posted by the Tank in NY.

NBA

Monday, December 18, 2006 5:38:08 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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The Tank had prepared a post for Saturday night's Knicks-Nuggets game.  However, the fight at the end of the game changed everything. 

Though the Knicks lost, the game wasn't all fisticuffs and had some bright spots and I wanted to share them with you.
                                      
As my friend PG and I walked into the Garden, we saw two young ladies buying jerseys including a Stephon Marbury.  The Tank asked PG: "Who would buy a Stephon Marbury jersey?  Is this young person being setup for a life of disappointment?  Should the Tank intervene and advise her to
buy another jersey of someone who plays hard every night like Nate Robinson or Derek Lee?"
                                                      
PG replied: "She probably a tourist."
                     
The Tank: "OK, let's get our tickets."

I walk up to the Will Call line and the attendant asks, "Annie or the Knicks?".  Annie is playing at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden.
                
The Tank: "The Knicks."

Attendant: "You have to go to the other line."
                
The Tank: "Ugh, darn it!"
                                  
Anyway, why are there so many people in the Will Call lines?  The Knicks were just routed the night before by the Pacers.  It didn't make any sense.  The Tank asked the next attendant "Why did so many people walkup?"

Attendant: "Tourists."
                     
PG was right.  The Tank won't tell the tourists that he bought the $60.50 tickets online for $20 each through a special offer (i.e. the Knicks were desperate for fans at any price) on Saturday morning as to not provoke an international incident.                               
              
Time for the starting line-ups and tip-off.  The Tank went to grab something to eat and walked by the season ticket table.  The first man gave me some schedules and card.  The second man encouraged me to bring a group.  The Tank thought about organizing a Church group for a charity
event.  Maybe our group prayers would help the Knicks; the way the season is going, it couldn't hurt.  If the Knicks continue to go down the tubes, we'll at least have a priest to serve the Last Rites. 
                                            
PG and The Tank sat in front a young family.  The 10 and 12 year old kids were brutal.  They were heckling the referees and players.  No one escaped their wrath.  "Marbury's a bum!".  "Nate sucks!".  "Fire Isiah!".  "The ref is blind!".  Other comments are unprintable.
                                   
Though sarcastic, the Tank is afraid for the future of our fellow young fans.  So young, so jaded and they are not even teenagers yet. 

The Knicks actually started decently.  However, Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets took over and had a 26 point lead before the Knicks.  The crowd booed.  The Knicks then went on a 15-3 run and the crowd started to rally behind the Knicks.  Carmelo and the Nuggets buried the Knicks.
                                          
Too little, too late.  In the words of the great Paul Harvey, "you know the rest of the story." 
            
Where Do We Go From Here: I am not crazy about Isiah as Knicks Coach.  Unless there is a change of ownership, we don't have much choice given Mr. Dolan's vote of confidence in Isiah earlier this week.  This is highly unlikely as the Garden is a printing press and I don't see the Dolans giving it up.                     

You're comments are welcome.  Until then, please light a candle for the Knicks.
                
If you do watch a Knicks game, the action in between the basketball and brawls is entertaining as the Knicks City Dancers, the City Kids, and the Extreme Team performed well.    

Posted by the Tank in NY.

NBA

Sunday, December 17, 2006 11:42:22 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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"All Ten Players Have Been Ejected!" mysteriously came out over the Garden Public Address system with a little over a minute in the Nuggets rout of the Knicks.
                                        
What happened?  In all of the nearly 30 years that I have been following basketball going back to the great 1977-1978 Washington Bullets (my favorite team in addition to the 1980s Showtime Lakers), I have never seen all ten players ejected at same the time.
                                                
My friend Prashanth (AKA PG), the rest of the Garden faithful, and myself were almost sent home with another depressing loss.  However, with about two minutes left, PG asked why are Marcus Camby, Carmelo Anthony, and other Nuggets starters still on the floor.  I yelled out with about
1:33 "George, take Carmelo out of the game!".  PG and other witnesses can corroborate this.  George would have none of it as he played for Larry Brown at North Carolina and just MAYBE wanted to rub it into to Isiah and Mr. Dolan who was critical of Larry Brown earlier this week.  Furthermore, Carmelo played for Larry Brown in the Olympics.  Small World, eh?  
                                              
This unfortunately was very presicent as a few seconds later, the Nuggets J.R. Smith has the ball appears to be going in for a layup when the Knicks Mardy Rollins intentionally fouls him by pulling him down by the shoulders.  The Tank went on instinct, grabbed my camera, and ran down the aisle to take the following photo and video for you.  I apologize in advance for the shakiness of the camera as I was running down the stairs and then almost tripped over a lady's pocketbook who left it out in the aisle and fell down the stairs.  What I do for you, my loyal readers.

Let's get the following straight.  I am a huge Carmelo Anthony fan as he played for my beloved Syracuse Orangemen.  As a scrappy teenager, my high school classmate Jim and I were on the winning 1985 Jim Boeheim Basketball Camp Championship team.  We were a hustling group of overachievers who won the championship on the same floor in the Carrier Dome that the Orangemen play on to this day.
                                                 
Over 21 years later, the Tank wanted to see Carmelo Anthony play and thank him for bringing me basketball closure by winning the 2003.  (We should have won in 1987 but Keith Smart sunk the winning fade away jumper to seal the win for the Indiana Hoosiers.)

However, after the fight broke out, it calmed down, and then erupted again when Anthony threw a punch at Rollins.  This was the ugliest incident since the brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills between the Pistons and Pacers in November 2004.

Anthony should be punished for this.  The referees covened for several minutes and reviewed the tape.  (Is anyone in MLB paying attention?)

Nuggets Coach George Karl, who I have always admired as a coach and analyst, should have NEVER EVER had Carmelo Anthony, Marcus Camby, and other Nuggets starters on the floor with a 20 point lead and only two minutes.  Karl is an old pro and screwed up here.  You don't want to risk injury (hurt hand) and probable suspension as Knicks Coach Isiah Thomas had pulled Stephon Marbury who played great with 31 points.  
         
The referees finally decided to throw out all ten players.  Therefore, since the Knicks "had surrendered", Stephon Marbury had to come back into the game.  The Knicks ended up losing 123-100.

What does this mean for the Knicks?  This maybe the turning of the corner for the Knicks as the City can rally around them.  Do I think they will replicate the Red Sox championship after the fight between A-Rod and Jason Varitek galvanized the 2004 team?  Highly unlikely but the Knicks are only 1.5 games out of the Eastern division lead and the 8th playoff seed so you never know what can happen.

Let's see what happens.  Until next time, Go Knicks!

Posted by the Tank in NY.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry 

NBA

Saturday, December 16, 2006 11:18:52 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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The Red Sox avoided shaming themselves with the Japanese people by coming to terms with World Baseball Classic MVP Daisuke Matsuzaka.  This would not have been the first time as they snatched Kevin Millar back from Japan a few years ago according to AOL Sports Blogers Live (SBL).  However, Matsuzaka is a native son and hero and NOT signing him would have shamed the Japanese and hampered Red Sox efforts to expand into Japan as the Yankees have with Hideki Matsui. 

The key factor was none other than super-agent Scott Boras, Matsuzaka's agent.  Driving a hard bargain is an understatement, Boras was still negotiating on the plane back to Boston on Wednesday.  It was the 11th hour as the 30 day window to sign Matsuzaka was closing the next day.

If you are a Yankees or Mets fan, why should you care about what I have just written.  The reasons are as follows:
                        
(1) Bad: The Mets were the second highest bidder for Matzusaka and obviously out bid by the Red Sox. 
      
(2) Worse: The Yankees are hurt by the fact that they'll have to face an all-world pitcher several times a year. 
     
(3) Worst: The price for the Mets to get Barry Zito just got much higher.  In addition to the $51.1 million right to negotiate with Matsuzaka, Boras wanted a $100 million contract for Matsuzaka.  Boras "only" got $52 million (plus incentives to $60 million).  If you Barry Zito, you are going to need to pay around $100 or more million.
                                                                
Is Zito worth it?  How much is a World Series worth?  I have written and stated during the past season that the Mets needed to get Zito in return for Lastings Milledge but did not.  If the Mets had Zito, I would bet my part of the farm on the Mets to win the 2006 World Series.  Look at what the Mets did without Zito.  Think what they would have done with Zito.  It's that simple.
                     
My fellow Dominican Omar Minaya has to make this deal.  He will be competing with the Texas Rangers who desperately need pitching and there is no state tax in Texas versus 11 percent (7 percent state and 4 percent city) in New York. 

If Omar is not going to return my calls for setting up a date with Mets fan Julia Stiles, he better sign Zito or I will really be upset.

Posted by an anxious Tank in NY.

MLB

Friday, December 15, 2006 10:05:55 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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