Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Conversation

Emails Exchanged Between WWOD? and an Eagles fan on Monday, About Sunday

FredEx4Life: Bittersweet Sunday. Happy for Chad or pissed about the Jets? I'm obviously happy the Eagles are in but not so much about the fact that the Andy & Donovan show will back for at least another year.

WWOD?: I am happy for Chad. For what it's worth. At the very least, that win further solidifies everything that was great about him when he was a Jet. Three playoff appearances and consistency. I'd take it now. That's for sure. By the second half, we knew the Jets weren't going to the playoffs and I think the worst thing that could have happened would have been a meaningless fourth quarter score to send the game to OT and then a win. Which would have ended the Dolphins' season and sent the Pats to the playoffs. That would have been terrible.

And, honestly, hold onto Andy and Donovan while you can. They may not be best-ever great but this team has been good to very good for a long time. They may make way too many mistakes to ever get too confident and they may have missed their best chances to win it all but you've been able to watch a lot of Eagles playoff games. Mostly because of those two guys. That is something.

Of course, this is coming from a Knicks/Jets/Mets fan who has never had a team win a championship since he's been old enough to know the difference. So, maybe my sights are set a little low.

You Don't Know What You Chad, 'Til It's Favre


I've been moonlighting over at a Jets blog. So stop by there to check out my thoughts on the denouement of the 2008 season.

Monday, December 29, 2008

A Thousand Words

Postcards of the Hanging

























Thursday, December 25, 2008

Past Visits From Jolly Ol' St. Knick

It's a white Christmas at my parents' house in northern New Jersey. It's ice not snow. But it's white. My mom is psyched about this. But, I was dreaming of a blue and orange Christmas, just like the ones I used to know. But instead I've got a green and purple Christmas and I almost broke my neck slipping on all the ice in my parents' driveway.

2008-2009 is the 61st season of the National Basketball Assocation. During that time the league has scheduled games on Christmas day in each season save one (the strike-shortened 1998-1999 campaign), and the Knicks played on Christmas in 38 of the first 40 seasons, and in 45 overall. In fact, the Knicks playing at the Garden on the 25th was about as dependable an occurence as a run on milk and cookies late on the 24th. The New York Knickerbockers tipped off against opponents in New York City on 38 of those 45 games. Although the home team didn't fare exceedingly well in those contests they were overwhelmingly tightly contested games, with 23 of them being decided by 6 points or fewer. And the opponents were generally among the league's best at the time, even when the Knicks were struggling.

The Garden was the marquee venue in the NBA and all eyes were there on Christmas day. For Knicks fans the highlights are the double-overtime victory over the defending champion Celtics in Patrick Ewing's rookie season, Bernard King's 61-point outburst the year before and the 136-135 win over Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia Warriors in 1961. The Knicks tradition of home games on Christmas was broken up when NBC began broadcasting NBA games in 1990. Although they did provide us with a phenomenal theme song they did take away our local tradition, even sending the Knicks on the road for three out of the four games they did schedule for the Knicks on the 25th.

Knicks on Christmas
12/25/1946 No game n/a
12/25/1947 Providence Steamrollers 89-75
12/25/1948 Chicago Stags 64-70
12/25/1949No gamen/a
12/25/1950 @ Philadelphia Warriors 86-84
12/25/1951Fort Wayne Pistons72-65
12/25/1952Boston Celtics80-75
12/25/1953Syracuse Nationals89-80
12/25/1954Syracuse Nationals109-101
12/25/1955@ Fort Wayne Pistons87-92
12/25/1956St. Louis Hawks105-107
12/25/1957@ Syracuse Nationals130-134
12/25/1958Boston Celtics120-129
12/25/1959Boston Celtics119-123
12/25/1960@ Syracuse Nationals100-162
12/25/1961Philadelphia Warriors136-135
12/25/1962Los Angeles Lakers126-134
12/25/1963Los Angeles Lakers126-134
12/25/1964Baltimore Bullets108-114
12/25/1965St. Louis Hawks111-131
12/25/1966Chicago Bulls133-132
12/25/1967Boston Celtics124-134
12/25/1968Philadelphia 76ers110-109
12/25/1969Detroit Pistons112-111
12/25/1970Buffalo Braves115-102
12/25/1971Golden State Warriors114-89
12/25/1972Detroit Pistons112-111
12/25/1973Capitol Bullets100-102
12/25/1974Philadelphia 76ers97-104
12/25/1975Philadelphia 76ers111-103
12/25/1976Philadelphia 76ers104-105
12/25/1977Philadelphia 76ers113-110
12/25/1978Philadelphia 76ers94-109
12/25/1979New Jersey Nets131-102
12/25/1980Boston Celtics108-117
12/25/1981New Jersey Nets95-96
12/25/1982New Jersey Nets110-112
12/25/1983New Jersey Nets112-110
12/25/1984New Jersey Nets114-120
12/25/1985Boston Celtics113-104
12/25/1986Chicago Bulls86-85
12/25/1987Detroit Pistons87-91
12/25/1988No gamen/a
12/25/1989No gamen/a
12/25/1990No gamen/a
12/25/1991No gamen/a>
12/25/1992@ Chicago Bulls77-89
12/25/1993No gamen/a
12/25/1994@ Chicago Bulls104-107
12/25/1995No gamen/a
12/25/1996No gamen/a
12/25/1997No gamen/a
STRIKE-SHORTENED SEASON
12/25/1999@ Indiana Pacers90-101
12/25/2000No gamen/a
12/25/2001Toronto Raptors102-94
12/25/2002No gamen/a
12/25/2003No gamen/a
12/25/2004No gamen/a
12/25/2005No gamen/a
12/25/2006No gamen/a
12/25/2007No gamen/a
12/25/2008No gamen/a

Christmas 1985


Christmas 1984


Christmas 1992

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Twas Two Years Before Knicksmas

Twas two years before Knicksmas, when all through MSG
Not a hoops fan was stirring, not even Spike Lee.
Retired numbers were hung from the rafters with care,
In hopes that King James soon would be there.

The Knicks players were nestled all snug in bunk beds,
While visions of Laker Girls danced in their heads.
Walsh stroked D'Antoni's 'stache, and Dolan his paid lady friend,
This three had resolved to wait two seasons 'til two thousand and ten.

When out on the avenue there arose such a clatter,
They sprang forth to Seventh to see what was the matter.
Away down the stairs they flew like Chris Paul,
Tore open the doors and bounded past the booths for will call.

The gray pavement-hued slush on the cars' breasts of yellow
Gave the pallor of death to passing Knicks fans, a lady and fellow.
When, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But a souped-up sleigh, and eight Knicks legends held dear.

With a tall, slender driver, with a hat brimmed wide,
Coach D knew in a moment it must be St. Clyde.
More rapid than showtime his courtiers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!"Now Patrick! now, Willis! now, on Pearl and Mason!
On, Bradley! On, Oakley! on, DeBusschere and Clifton!
To the top of the East! to the top of them all!
Now dash to! Dash fro! Dash after the ball!"

As Nash's Suns, before Shaq, used to fly,
With quickness they ran, walking like Kenny through sky.
So up to the Garden roof St. Clyde flew,
With the sleigh full of future free agents, and LBJ too.And then, in a twinkling, Walsh heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each size-21 hoof.
As D'Antoni drew in his head, and Dolan turned 'round,
Down the chimney Walt Frazier came with a bound.

He was dressed in purple fur, from his toe to his hair,
And his clothes were tailored and all without compare.
A bundle of players he had flung on his back,
And he looked like Boras, just opening his pack.

His words how they twinkled! his vocabulary how varied!
His game was like roses, lesser teammates he carried!
His play-by-play calling came with the tightest flow,
And Just For Men kept his beard from being white as the snow.The proof of his life shone when he smiled bright with his teeth,
And his winning aura encircled his fedora like a wreath.
He had an angled face and the just slightest bulge of a belly,
But foes still shook when he slashed, he turned ankles to jelly!

He was fit for his age, his handle top shelf,
Yet D'Antoni laughed when he saw him, in spite of himelf!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave the coach know he had nothing to dread.

He talked of posting and toasting as he undid Isiah's work,
And put new Knicks in hightops, calling Dolan a jerk.
After brushing aside bad contracts, bringing in all-pros
And giving a hat tip, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, ready to fix a new mess,
And away they all flew, gone in seven seconds or less.
But New York heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Knickmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

What Sports-Gifts You Might Be Unwrapping This Week

Somewhere in wilds of Strong Island a well-meaning aunt or grandmother is walking into a discount clothing store like a TJ Maxx and is scrambling to find the gift for her sports-loving relation. She doesn't really even need to go to the effort because you surely still don't think you are grown up enough (even though 30 candles is closer than 20) to have to buy her anything. But, she likes giving gifts and wants you to think well of her as you embark on your adult life. Perusing the marked-down designer slacks and Cosby sweaters she finds a rack with modestly priced Jets jerseys. She knows that you're a big football fan and is sure you like the team that practices at Hofstra and not the Giants like her father did. Besides, even she knows that these jerseys are usually very expensive. It must be some last-minute sale. And, this is surely her lucky day as you would never know that she got such a great deal. So she grabs the $30 jersey and heads up the cash register happy with the "cool" gift she got you. Even though she spent more on others, this may be the gift that she is most proud of. She hopes that maybe you'll even wear it while watching Sunday's Jets game...This has to be happening somewhere. Right?

Friday, December 19, 2008

The Dennis Northcutt All-Stars

Like many of you, I play in too many fantasy football leagues. I've got my "main" league with my high school buddies. I've got the league that belongs to one of my best friend's DC crowd. There's also the league of my co-worker's friends. And, of course, there's the two Yahoo public leagues that I play in. Oh, and I sort of ghost-managed my girlfriend's team for a while as well (but ultimately stopped when I realized I was managing a middling club in an all-girls league). It's enough to drive a man to drink. Or to invent wild and unnecessarily complex gambling schemes Or, at the very least, to wild binges of time wasting at the work place.

But, the overindulgence has taught me one thing. There are several archetypal fantasy football teams. For starters, there are the Eucatastrophy Teams from whom everything breaks right from the beginning, where every waiver pick turns out to a breakout player. If this is your team then you drafted Drew Brees in the middle rounds (or didn't but snagged Kurt Warner off the waiver wire after Week 1), drafted the Purple Jesus with your top pick (rather than LT), snagged Michael Turner with your second, lucked out with a discounted (because of that suspension Steve Smith), took a chance on Roddy White and then nabbed Michael Forte off of waivers in the early going. That, or something like it, happened for lots of people. I even had one team like that this year. It scored the third-most points in a 12-team league and was the only squad that didn't dip under a 100 points (we have a lot of scoring categories) in any single week. I was absolutely stacked. And, of course, I finished tied for LAST PLACE, with a 4-10 record. Because fantasy football is a godless game which rewards the auto-drafters and not-changing-guys-out-for-bye-week mouth breathers. But, I digress. Most of these squads are playing for the championship of their respective leagues right now. I'm up against one of them myself.

The bizarro version of the stacked Eucatastrophy Team is the Skin-of-the-Teeth Teams. These are the teams with mediocre but solid players who squeak out wins almost every week. Generally no one has a monster game but everyone chips in something and there is a rarely and 0fer to be seen. This formula works fine during the regular season only to fall short in the playoffs when a team's lack of game-breaking talent is exposed. Such teams may have featured Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch and TJ Houshmandzadeh. There are also the Hodge-Podge Teams, making deep runs featuring boom-busts guys and leftovers like Phil Rivers and Isaac Bruce. There's also the Auto-draft Automaton Clubs relying heavily on Peyton Manning, the Ravens defense and Terrell Owens. But these three types are who we thought they were. They're good but not great and likely facing an uphill battle beating the fully loaded squads that they must be up against at this point. Should they just plug in the Average Joes or guys in doomed matchups that they've got on the roster and start planning on how to spend their second-place money? Nope. And, why not? Because, really, the best part of playing fantasy sports (aside from potentially winning the money of your friends, family members and coworkers) is the smug feeling of being righter than everyone else.

And the best way to do that at this point is to manage a squad like The Dennis Northcutt All-Stars. This strategy is not for everyone. Be Warned: If you are pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant then steer clear of this team. Do not even handle broken pieces of this team. Seriously, your babies will be deformed. You also don't need to adhere to this if you are running out a Eucatastrophy Team this weekend; in that case you best dance with those ladies that brought you. But, if you're the manager of a Skin-of-the-Teeth Squad, a Hodge-Podge Team or any other variety of entrant on the wrong side of the betting odds then this is your big chance. Don't blow the big check and the fabulous prizes by listening to the fantasy experts who still want you to start LaDainian Tomlinson over Sammy Morris.

Fantasy league managers can be a lot like reality league managers, they will often do the safe thing that protects them from ridicule even if it also insulates them from victory. They'll sign the retread manager rather than go with the unproven commodity. They will take the safe path that doesn't draw attention rather than the bold one that might. Just yesterday I found a perfect example of this while reading the transcript of a chat that Matthew Berry (ESPN.com's fantasy sports ringleader, whose work I do read regularly) conducted with readers. In response to a query about starting 49ers running back DeShaun Foster (presuming first-stringer Frank Gore is inactive) over Clinton Portis, Berry responded thusly:
I know. But I think Zorn is coaching to save his job here and what if you lose? You're gonna look back and go... what was I thnking? I benched Clinton Portis for DeShaun Foster.....
Now, what he really meant was, "I totally follow the logic of your suggestion but I cannot condone it because if you play Portis and lose then nobody will consider you foolish whereas if you play Foster and lose then you may be open to criticism from others who will second guess your non-conservative choice."

I couldn't disagree more with this logic. This is not how you win a one-game playoff. You can't be worried about feeling foolish when you lose. No one cares how you feel when you lose anyway. Because you are loser. This is about trying to win. Be bold. Be proactive. If Foster gets the start (and Gore considers himself 50-50 for the game) then he is the smartest play this week. He's going up against a woeful rush defense on speedy turf and won't be splitting carries. There is no doubt that Clinton Portis is the better football player and far more accomplished sartorially but that has little to do with Week 16. In Week 16, Foster is the play. You sit Portis in that situation because he has been injured, feuding with his coach and is facing a good team. Given a better one-week alternative, you sit LT (general suckiness), Chris Johnson (brutal matchup), Kurt Warner (supposedly bad weather an no need to win with playoffs clinched) and a ton of other "must-start" guys.

Without further ado, here's a list of potential members of The Dennis Northcutt All-Stars who may be able to help you pull of the shock win this week in your fantasy football league. I'll be starting these guys provided they are available in lieu of banged-up All Pros (Portis and LT) or studs with tougher matchups (Chris Johson vs. Pitt and Kurt Warner vs. The East Coast). And you should too.
QB: Shaun Hill, San Francisco 49ers
It's very possible that Hill has made a few starts in your league already but he's worth a look. Especially because he may have been dropped after last week's no touchdown performance against the Dolphins (who haven't allowed a TD in a while). Hill is taking the pass-happy 49ers into St. Louis to face the woeful Rams defense. While Brett Favre is battling the march of time and the rain in Seattle, Hill will be throwing free and easy in a dome and running plays called by an offensive coordinator, Mike Martz, who probably wants to hang 50 points on his old team. Before last week's no touchdown day against the Dolphins (although he still played well, completing 30 passes) he'd produced two scores in 4 of the 6 games that he'd played in. The Niners are going to score 3 to 5 touchdowns against the Rams and Hill is likely to get credit for a few of them. He's likely to get you at least two scores here and could explode against the pathetic Rams defense.

QB: Dan Orlovsky, Detroit Lions
Here me out. Aside from bringing us the best NFL blooper in recent years, Orlovsky could be the key to toppling a heavily-favored foe in the money game of your fantasy league. Forgetting that fact that I think the Lions could actually defeat the Saints in Detroit this weekend (New Orleans is 1-6 on the road and has nothing to play for), I don't think anyone would be shocked if the Saints won this game 38-24, with Calvin Johnson terrorizing the Saints secondary for three scores in the loss. That's totally plausible. Right? And, that means that lil' Danny from UConn tossed himself three TDs and probably almost leveled up stud-QB Drew Brees (who I'm facing in two championship games), who should probably surrender a few scores to Pierre Thomas. Just think about this before starting Tyler Thigpen against a Dolphins defense fighting for a playoff berth that hasn't given up a touchdown in a month.

WR: Dennis Northcutt, Jacksonville Jaguars
I know that this name would have been far more useful to you yesterday. Timeliness is not my strong suit. But this is the sort of situation to look for. Due to a teammate's suspension, Northcutt emerged last week (over 100 yards receiving, team-high 5 receptions and 1 TD) as his club's top option in the passing game. He's not nearly as talented or long-term reliable as many of his peers but this week he was a lock for a ton of looks from his quarterback. And that's all that should matter.

WR: Deion Branch, Seattle SuperHawks
You've actually heard of this guy. He's been good. He was even the Super Bowl MVP one time. But a conspiracy between injuries and Seneca Wallace may mean he's available in your league. Go check. If he is then pick him up and play him. Branch faces a leaky Jets secondary this weekend (29th against the pass) and all the subplot factors point towards a big day. He's a former Patriot and probably dislikes the Jets. The Jets are terrible on the West Coast (zero wins in three tries). The Seahawks should be fired up for Mike Holmgren's last home game. And, Branch has actually been playing pretty well with Wallace for the past two weeks (9 catches and 2 TDs). His 2008 season was an injury-marred abortion but he could still be the MVP of your fantasy squad.

WR: Jason Avant, Philadelphia Eagles
Cut from the same cheesecloth as Northcutt, Avant very recently emerged as the Iggles' sort-of No. 1a option, having caught a team-high (tied with Desean Jackson) 5 balls for 101 yards. Reggie Brown was on the bench and Avant was caught 3 balls on 3rd down from McNabb. The 25-year-old wide receiver out of Michigan is owned in just 3% of ESPN leagues and is worth a flier if you're a big underdog.

RB: DeShaun Foster, San Francisco 49ers
See Above. This post could easily be entitled The DeShaun Foster All-Stars as his sudden, undeserved opportunity and perfect matchup are exactly what this strategy thrives on.

More players coming...

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Money For Nothin' and Tickets For Free...Full Price


Marbury Pays To Watch Knicks in LA

Let me preface all that is to follow by saying that I do think Stephon Marbury is a pair of pants that never came with an Inspected By.. sticker and needs to be removed from the Knicks roster.

Stephon Marbury who has been banished by the Knicks - meaning that he is barred from attending practices or games as a member of the team - turned up courtside in Los Angeles last night as the Knicks took on the Lakers. He bought his own ticket for the game. And, I thought it was a shrewd and funny move. In fact, I am totally for him showing up at last night's @Lakers game in plainclothes and buying a ticket along celebrity row (near the Lakers Girls) at the Staples Center. Good for him. Marbury, who has been out on the Left Coast working out and getting himself into shape for his eventual acquisition by another team, has fallen from the back pages since Plaxico shot himself in the leg and both football teams went into parallel tailspins.

When Plax shot himself he didn't only derail the Giants run to the Super Bowl. He also derailed the buyout process for Steph. With unlicensed firearms far more alluring then any team's "new direction" or healthy but unwanted players, the buyout drama was lost deep inside the tabloids. The Knicks banished Steph, Plax forever changed a well-worn metaphor and all of sudden no one was clamoring for a resolution. Marbury was out of sight and out of mind.

Well, that's not fair and not helpful for anyone involved. We need to get this buyout done. Steph needs to be allowed to play elsewhere and the Knicks need to be allowed to turn the page. Frustratingly, the Knicks are dragging their feet and haggling over money when they have already ceded the high ground. Which is a near impossible thing to do when you're fighting a land war against Starbury. I believe Vizini said that. But the Knicks managed to pull it off. Which is nice.

Looking back, it's clear that Walsh and D'Antoni (and Dolan) should have cut their ties with him before training camp opened. Because since then he's done everything right and made them look like reactionary hacks. And to top it off, they decided to add "cheap" to the list of adjectives used to describe them. Marbury was willing to hand back $1 million if they bought him out but the club balked. They said that he needed to hand back $3 million. And, for what? For being healthy and eager and not shot? They want him gone so they need to eat the money. He showed on Opening Night ready to play and they decided that they weren't going to play him. Ever. This is actually fairly simple.

And, still the Knicks did their best to ignore this fact. They want to make it shady and complicated. Last night the MSG network
never even sent anyone over to interview Marbury (on the radio Gus Johnson did relay bits of his pregame conversation with Steph). MSG showed images of the scrum of reporters (featuring a very Grimace-like Marc Berman) around Marbury during hafltime but didn't think it was important enough to get one of their guys/gals over their to ask a question or get a soundbite.

My desire for this to be over soonest rather than later is not based in any deep-seated sympathy for the Coney Island product. I don't feel great about him getting all of this money for nothing while most people I know are struggling. But the contract is signed and he didn't draw it up. So, I just want the Knicks to free up that roster spot, which seems destined for Patrick Ewing Jr. (presuming that Mobley's spot goes to a shooting guard). Although I do enjoy D'Antoni's Seven Players Or Less philosophy I would like to get some more live bodies on the bench. If the team is going to stay close to .500 through the winter then they're going to need bodies warmer than Anthony Roberson and Jerome James.

Until this buyout gets done I hope that Steph just keeps showing up at every road game. Maybe that will force the hand that feeds him to send him packing. We know Steph can afford the tickets.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Lebron Adds Insult to Injury

Last night during the MSG telecast of the Knicks @ Cavs game viewers were treated to some video of an interview with Lebron

Asked if all of the hype surrounding his (not so soonly) impending free agency was a distraction for his team, Lebron responded:
"No. Not for us. It's a distraction for the Knicks. It's not a distraction for us. We're good! It could be a distraction for those players but for us? We're good. We're straight."
At this point, after the laughter in the locker room subsided, Lebron was asked why the Knicks would be distracted. His responded thusly:
"[Be]cause they gotta... Players on that team don't want to hear about Lebron James or Chris Bosh coming to the team. At this point its a year and a half away. They got better things to do. For us, we're all right."
And, it's all true every word. The Cavs are trying to win a championship this season whereas the Knicks are bad. They either know they are gone by 2010 (Q-Rich, Tim Thomas, Anthony Roberson, Malik Rose, Jerome James) or realize that every night is an audition to be kept around (Nate Robinson, David Lee, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon). If anyone would be distracted it would be the Knicks. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the second-most important Lebronalier, is in his eleventh season; all he wants from Lebron are two more years because that's all he's got. If LBJ wins a title in 2014 that doesn't do much for Big Z. He's not distracted by 2010. In fact, he's probably motivated. The Knicks on the other hand, are just biding time. One way or the other.

It stings a little. I can feel it. Right in my neck. But everything Lebron said is true. At least, I hope so. Especially that part about him and Bosh coming to the team....

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Final Thoughts on Zach Randolph

Watching the Knicks/StolenSonics game not too long ago I was mesmerized by Zach Randolph. At the time I described his play as reminding me of "the Halloween episode of the Simpsons when Homer has all the clones to help him around the house and office. There were baby-faced and baby-fatted Zach Randolphs everywhere." Z-Bo scored 29 points and grabbed 19 rebounds that night.

I was planning on unraveling this Z-Bo mystery over the course of the season. But, Randolph's been traded. And, he's still inscrutably effective, scoring 27 points and hauling in 10 rebounds last night for the Clippers.

After much deliberation, I don't think that modern science can yet explain Zach Randolph. He is the basketball equivalent of dark matter. We have observational evidence that allows us to infer what each is capable of but we can't really, really bottle it up or explain what/why it is the way it is. I've spent entire games just watching him and it's uncanny (and bizarre on my part). He manages to be everywhere important on the floor without ever appearing to move with urgency or purpose. Each single act of his looks lumbering and aimless but taken together they somehow add up to Voltron. In spite of the way he moves and all empirical evidence, Randolph is somehow more likely than almost anyone else in the Association right now (other than, maybe, Amare, Garnett, Al Jefferson and Dwight Howard) to end up with 26 and 17 on any given night.

I'm utterly confounded and now he's gone. I guess I'll have to turn my attention to the way in which Cutino Mobley's enlarged heart combines with Tim Thomas's lack of heart to balance them both out and keep them alive. It was no coincidence that they were traded together...

[Ed note: many of these thoughts are culled from my answers to questions posed by Sean Meagher, who blogs about the Blazers.]

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

So, Let Me Get This Right...


The New York Football Giants welcomed Plaxico back to their facilities today in order to continue healing his hamstring injury (and one must assume another, different leg injury) even though he shot himself at a nightclub in Midtown Manhattan with an unlicensed (and very illegal) concealed weapon that he was carrying in the waistband of his pants on Friday night after repeatedly flouting team rules throughout the season while Stephon Marbury has finally been banished from the Knickerbockers altogether (after being relegated to the sidelines to start the season) even though he reported to training camp on time, in peak condition and said all the right things about coming off the bench?

Is that what these headlines over at ESPN.com really mean?

That the Giants are sticking by their player as the season turns towards the playoffs even though he faces serious jail time for a crime with strict mandatory sentencing laws while the Walsh/D'Antoni regime preemptively benched the best player on the roster to start the season in spite of him doing everything they asked leading up to the opening game and not being a person of interest to local law enforcement? And, nobody is saying this is a ridiculous double standard?

And, let me say it plain, I don't think the Knicks can or should welcome Marbury back at this point. He needs to be bought out of his contract sooner than possible and all parties need to move on. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't think the double standard in the way that NBA players are treated in the media is completely unfair as compared to their colleagues in the NFL. The NFL regularly gets a pass on steroids and criminal activity from the same people who will gladly tear apart other pro circuits for identical transgressions.

In fact, they'll tear apart NBA players for far less.

Marbury's time in New York will not be remembered fondly, no doubt about that. But his biggest crime is being overpaid the same as most ballplayers are overpaid and more associated with Isiah Thomas than his teammates. In other words, his crime is not an actual crime. He didn't carry an unlicensed gun into a nightclub. He didn't take ill-gotten performance enhancing drugs to cheat the record books. In fact, off the court Steph was taking a stand against high-priced shoes and the gun crime they cause among kids while making face time for those less fortunate without having to have a NBA Cares television crew filming his every move.

Yet today he is banished. While Plaxico was welcomed back to the Giants facility. And, let me get this right...we're all OK with this being the way things are? We're all OK with the fact that just a few minutes of talk radio will make clear that Steph is as least as much of a pariah as Plax in this town?