Perhaps foremost, I am a basketball and an NBA fan.
I happen to be a Knicks fan for a few reasons. I am from Indiana and I love the Pacers rain or shine. Not too much shine lately. But this is what happens when you love the Pacers. This is why we have college basketball. Somebody will win from week to week, or have championship hopes come spring, representing the Hoosier state.
So why the Knickerbockers?
Well, non-Hoosiers, who make up the rest of the country minus maybe 6-8 million Hoosier born or graduated, there are some Indiana connections there in the City that Never Sleeps, plus I root for a lot of NBA underdogs.
I like Isaih Thomas, which puts me in a smaller minority around these parts than George Bush 43 fans at an anti-war rally. Or Hillary Clinton fans at a NASCAR race.
Anyway, I don’t know if the accusations against his sexual harassment suits are true or not. I would like to believe Zeke. This is unfortunate.
As for the actual team, they did get off to a very rough start this season. But they play in the Eastern Conference. Other than Boston and Detroit, and maybe now Toronto, Cleveland and Orlando are the established contenders. The last three spots remain to be seen. I say the Knicks make a run.
After getting to the first round in the Eastern Conference in 2008, ( as I have re-gathered the confidence or audacity to predict, despite their horrendous December following an ugly November), you never know. But perhaps the Knicks have a foundation.
The key is to continue to gel as a TEAM, as all teams attempt to do.
The former Hoosier and Bloomington native Jared Jeffries has to be utilized better and, to wit, perform better. Zach Randolph, the Indianapolis high school via Michigan State college player, must assert himself with Chicago native Curry. Crawford and Lee and then others, including Super Nate Man Child must play killer ball. Quinton Richardson? Be a solid alternative to Crawford. And what of that Marbury character?
All this may work out sometime.
I’m not predicting, I’m just saying…
And then: who knows? Can the Knicks do something the great Pat Ewing never achieved? Or will Lebron and Howard and Bosh be too much to overcome in the next 10 years?
Time will tell.
And finally, about Gotham. Very sad that Heath's last moments were in NYC, and his last film was all about the Gotham of Batman fame.
Our thoughts and prayers to the bereaved, including his child.
Well there's another Knicks/Indiana story brewing that will only serve to weigh heavy on Isiah even more. His son Joshua Thomas, a student at Indiana University, was arrested last night on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, illegal consumption of alcohol and being a minor in a tavern, according to the New York Daily News. He was released from the Monroe County Jail on $500 bail. While drinking on a fake I.D. is somewhat a ritual in college, it's fodder for the haters in NYC.
about heath??? it just shows money, fame, fortune aint everything folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! reminds me of the late FRED PRINZE YEARS AGO had everything folks , fame , fortune!!!! what did he do??? pulled a trigger on himselve!!!!!Your on top of world flying high as a jet plane!!! then the next thing you know...your looking up and seeing the grass above you!!!!!! apparently he wasnt satisfied with his life?? and now!!!! hope its another RED FLAGGG thrownup to up, and coming super stars!!!!!!! i know this not a place for news like this but had to respond on this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by kellyscott on January 26th at 10:36 PM.
Well, where do I start? I am from Indiana. I am a Pacer fan. I also like the Hoosiers, the Boilermakers, and the Irish of Notre Dame. Somewhere, along the line, Thomas made a wrong turn. If you want to know why the Knicks are having problems, ask the Toronto Raptors, the CBA(oops, defunct), or the Indiana Pacers. Get the hint? Thomas is a virus, that permeates every pore, of every organization, he comes in contact with. Is there hope for the Knicks? YES, the day they FIRE THOMAS! Sorry............
edclinch
If he can't coach or even motivate these players to play with some emotion. Then they're doomed for the rest of the season. Isaiah may well wear his heart on his sleeve. But at this juncture he looks like the King who's got no new clothes. He's void of all ideas, nuances and anything sembling the knowledge as to how to coach a team. And therein lies his real problem. Some people are born to coach and some are just born to play. In the case of Thomas it was the former. Larry Bird also found that out too.
Yes of course there is. However change is needed with the Knicks and in my humble opinion it starts at the top.
Isiah Thomas was a great player but appears to be at best a mediocre manager. He remains the manager because of owner James Dolan.
Dolan may not care as deeply as some of us fans. He seems to have tons of money coming in not just from the Knicks but other sports teams and MSG.
I don't know what he pays Isiah but its probably a lot especially when the team pays players like Marbury 20 plus mil a year.
You can't blame Isiah or the players for taking the money but Dolan may have so many irons in the fire that he can afford to let the Knicks muddle along because his overall organization is making money.
A change has to take place with Dolan. He has to get more involved with the Knicks. Does he attend Knick games? Does he converse with Isiah on a regular basis? Does he interact with any of the Knick fans?
For some reason I don't like George Steinbrenner but always felt he was desperate for his team to win ... sometimes at all costs. Do you think Dolan has the same attitude about the Knicks? Maybe they should have lunch together!
I'm a little guy with just an opinion and don't know the answers but during the recent sex harassment case Dolan came off as an arrogant leader.
If he could try to be more like ordinary Knick fans ... if he would get really involved ... if he would seek the advice of other NBA leaders ... is he would be willing to change ... we all might find a closer knit Knick
edclinch
I don't think that Bird was all that great a coach though many would allude to that fact. But were it not for Carlisle the Pacers wouldn't have been that successful. He's the one who had the basketball mind and acumen when Bird was said to be in charge. And now as a GM Bird is still somewhat learning the ropes. I bet he can't wait to get rid of Jermaine O'Neal ? He's about as useful to the team as the bubonic plague would be welcomed in New Delhi.
See my piece on the Baylor basketball team and let me know what you think ? It's titled If It Feels Good Then It's Got To Be Good !
I have lived in a few different sports areas and I am faithful to these places and their passions, give or take. I was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana (1970-1989). Bob Knight was a central figure. I then lived in Chile for two years, where soccer became more of a presence on my global map. After returning to the Hoosier state one year, 1992, I became more aware of college football for a five year stint in Provo, Utah (1993-1997). BYU Cougar football! I made another return to Indiana from 1997 to 1999, and then spent the last six years in southern California, minus the last six months of 2005, in southern Chile again. And I got back yesterday, UPDATE:Now in Loudoun Cty, Northern VA! I am in the South! I love sports enough to think that they matter...Some how.
