Daily Rant: 3/8/11

Everything clicked for the Knicks last night against the Jazz, their two superstars went for 65 points and only missed 7 of 31 shots combined. Toney Douglas, filling in for the injured Chauncey Billups scored 20 points and was hitting 3-pointers at will. But, even with the Knicks blowing out the Jazz from beginning to end, one problem seems to still remain. Defending an opposing teams big man. Utah's center, Al Jeffferson scored a season high 36 points and had 12 rebounds in a losing effort. The Knicks started Jared Jeffries alongside Melo and Stoudemire, at center. Which is a good move, since he is the best defender on the team. At 230 pounds and barely 6-11, his slender frame isn't the long term answer for the Knicks at the center position, but for now, due to injuries, he is the only option. The Knicks will not outscore everyone like they did last night, so having good defenders out there will only help them communicate and give them a better chance in closer games. Amare can block some shots and grab rebounds and Melo is a decent rebounder, so with Jeffries calling out the defensive plays, maybe they can put pressure on other teams as a trio. For example, last night, the Knicks went to the zone defense early. Jeffries was active, at the top of the zone a lot and it confused the Jazz, so that could work to their strengths going forward with this starting lineup. The Knicks have won two in a row, in one of the games they allowed only 79 points and in the other, they scored 131 points. Those two wins are at either ends of the spectrum, but they are wins and that's all the matters.

Daily Rant: 3/2/11

Another big test for the Knicks yesterday against the Orlando Magic and it proved once again that talented big men in the NBA are few and far between and are priceless. Dwight Howard dominated every defender that the Knicks threw at him and poured in 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.  The Knicks held a 12 point lead at half time after they were down by 12 early, but the Knicks "big 3" lack size and have not shown that they can defend the paint against the league's top centers. Which begs the question, can the Knicks go far against teams with dominant centers?? There is no doubt that acquiring Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups was the right move for the organization, but in the four games that they have played, Melo has under performed compared to Billups and Melo was the main target of the three team deal. It will take some getting used to for Amare Stoudemire to play alongside his two new teammates, but one thing that will not work itself out is the absence of a true center on the roster. The Knicks did not address their needs for a center when they traded for Melo and Billups. They even gave away the only player they had that could actually play the position, Timofey Mozgov. Not that Mozgov is Dwight Howard, but he is 7-1 and 250 pounds. Which does throw something at opposing centers by way of defense. It wasn't surprising to see the Knicks beat the Miami Heat on Sunday night because they match up well against them. The Heat also lack size and their defense is suspect as well. So for most fans, the big EAST test for the Knicks was really to beat the Magic. Could the Knicks contain the explosive Howard in the paint?? Obviously not. For this year going forward, the Knicks do have a very good chance of making the playoffs and winning some games in the first and second rounds. The Knicks can score as fast and as much as anyone in the Eastern Conference, they don't play a lot of defense, but that won't affect their scoring more then the other team. The problem will be when they face teams like the Magic, who have good, solid centers and a talented supporting cast around them. The Knicks are far from being a complete, balanced team and until they make it a priority to get bigger at the 5-spot, they won't achieve as much as they had hoped for after the Melo trade. The funny thing is, one year ago, the Knicks weren't even relevant in the NBA regular season discussions, let alone playoff talks. So cheers to Donnie Walsh for resurrecting the Garden once again!

Daily Rant: 3/1/11

As the month of March takes it's first steps in 2011, sports fans have begun to show symptoms of baseball fever. This is the beginning; of daily check-ups of the back sports pages covering spring training games and  of fans are watching closely as their favorite teams play split squad scrimmages. They now are also starting to share their NBA attention with baseball and if you watch closely, you might see an episode of Baseball Tonight on at 3pm in the afternoon at bars and in fans' homes. The fun part for all is that the start of baseball always coincides with the start of nice weather and the abandonment of winter funk and clothes. Even if fans know that their baseball team doesn't have much of a chance, the excitement surrounding this time of the year is hard to contain if you like baseball. It's a long, long season and watching spring training scrimmages and games can make it even longer, but as the circle of life continues to spin, inside every baseball fan is a bug that comes back to sicken them with fever, longing and hope that their team will rule the coming summer. Enjoy this time of the year baseball fans, for it might not be long before you are cursing the very same team that gave you this bug.

Daily Rant: 2/22/11

It's done! 3 teams, 12 players, and some drafts picks and Carmelo Anthony is back home, traded to the NY Knicks. Wasn't that the plan the whole time? A lot of Knicks' fans have been uneasy about the players that the Knicks gave up for the All-Star. As this season played out, the players who were involved in the trade from NY were having a good season, they are young, meshed well and the Knicks had finally moved past mediocrity and were showing some serious life. But did fans believe that without another superstar (along with Amare Stoudemire) the Knicks would really compete with the other Eastern power houses? This deal had to be done and the Knicks and the fans have to forget about the first half of this season. The future is now and with this trade, two big time, young NBA players are teaming up in NY to hopefully bring back the winning. This will also seriously impact the next couple of seasons of free agency. Who wouldn't want to play on a team with Anthony and Stoudemire, in NYC?? It's clear that the NBA has changed, no more do players want the competition amongst each other, they would rather join forces and create All-Star teams to dominate the rest. It happened in Boston, it happened in Miami, in LA and now it's begun in NYC. Unfortunately for the smaller market teams, this will seriously impact them as well, but not in the positive sense, which will only leave more for the owners to work out when they meet to discuss the new collective bargaining agreements. No matter what, this will be marked as the season of change for the Knicks. Not since Patrick Ewing, have the Knicks had a starter on the All-Star team, they did with Stoudemire. Now, instead of the pressure being on his shoulders, he will have a bonafide co-star in Carmelo and things can shape up to be one heck of a ride at MSG.

Daily Rant: 2/17/11

Make the trade! The Denver Nuggets want Danilo Galinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton and Eddy Curry (and his expiring contract), the Minnesota Timberwolves want Anthony Randolph and a first round draft pick and the New York Knicks...well they just want respect (and Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups). What's wrong with this deal?

Starting lineup for the Knicks if they make this happen before next week's trade deadline; Chauncey Billups, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Timofey Mozgov.

If this deal gets made, the Knicks not only will lock down their playoff spot this year, they will actually have a better chance to go farther and deeper into the playoffs for years to come. Also, having Carmelo and Amare on one team, in NYC, will surely entice this summer's free agents (Chris Paul and Deron Williams) to sign with the Knicks next year. And if the Knicks have a threesome of Amare, Carmelo and either Paul or Williams? There will be a power shift in the East. There is no doubt, with those players, the Heat, Celtics and Magic will have to go through NYC to get to the Eastern Conference finals. The Western teams will also have to deal with a much stronger and more youthful East. The Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks have great teams, but their average age is 35.

Even though most Knick fans have come to love Galinari and Chandler, they will have to sacrifice that for the good of the future and for the respect the Knicks will get back with Carmelo wearing the blue and orange. This is not a popularity contest, nor is it personal, the NBA is a business. Emotions and feelings are to be left for the fans, not to the people who make the business transactions. For if this deal is made, in a few weeks, no one will be complaining about seeing Carmelo Anthony playing for his home team alongside Amare Stoudemire.

Daily Rant: 2/15/11

They say that youth is lost on the young. The problem is that "they", who are saying that, are usually old. In sports however, youth is not wasted, it is coveted. With the NBA trade deadline looming (2/24), teams are starting to get tired of losing and are looking to dump their older, expensive talent and get younger for next year or for the playoffs. The Lakers, whom most believe are one of the elite teams in the NBA, are beginning to show some of their age lately, as well. They have a superstar in Kobe Bryant who, surprisingly, has been in the NBA for 15 years. Kobe is still at the top of his game, but those surrounding him in LA can't seem to hide their wrinkles recently. Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom might not have enough in their tanks to secure another championship for LA. So what are the rumors about in LA?? No, not that Lindsay Lohan is applying for a Laker-Girl position, it's that the team is looking to trade for youth (Carmelo Anthony). There is no substitution for talent, but, the combination of talent and youth will win championships 9 out of 10 times. It looks like "Melo" will either stay in Denver or end up in NY via trade, but the fact that LA, a team at the top of the NBA, is still looking to make moves just goes to show that youth is never a waste when it comes to securing more wins then the others. The teams who aren't making any trades, but are out of the playoff hunt, have been displaying their youth night in and night out and are filling their arenas. Fans will watch young, athletic players that have potential, even if their team has a losing record. It is the hope of the future that will always draw attention. No one will watch a bunch of older, washed up players go at it and lose. Milwaukee, the Clippers, Washington and even the Nets, have drawn bigger crowds because of their rookies and younger players that are all just that much fun to watch. Mixing talent, experience and youth will always be the recipe for success in sports, it's going to come down to which ingredients in the pot stir up a tasty victory.

Daily Rant: 2/4/11

How's this for a scenario?? It's April 1st, opening day for the NY Mets and Angel Pagan is playing center field, Jason Bay is in left field and Carlos Beltran is in right field?? Well, that's not much of a dramatic situation, but for Mets fans it is an attempt to move forward and try to make due with what they have. Giving Angel Pagan a chance to control the outfield and discontinue his role as a "platoon" guy is very important.  Beltran, unfortunately, has fallen into the "post-injury-big-contract-hope-to-play-a-full-season" category. He is joined by many other current Mets players, such as Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, Jason Bay and Jose Reyes. Reliance on these players is a scary thing when it is combined with the absence of any significant free agent signings this off-season. If the Mets do come to terms with their current situation and work with what talent they have, things might not be so bad for them. In the past, when the Mets ignored the back ups and reserves and were just relying heavily on the big names they had, failure was one injury away from being a reality. Role players are as important, if not more than, as the starters and the star names. Because of the financial situation of the Mets, this season, it has become much more apparent that the team will need to get a lot from their unrecognizable players. This season will also be the first time, in a long time, that the team is not having a news conference to introduce a new, big name guy to the public. It might just benefit the Mets to not have all of the extra media attention. Falling under the radar is foreign to the Mets. It's also impossible being in NYC, but with the Yankees failing to upgrade their team as well, the back page will be an easy and welcoming concession for the Mets. It will no longer be a battle for bragging rights anymore in the local NY sports sections. Neither team wants to have the spotlight when both have huge question marks leading up to spring training. The Mets will hopefully just be a blurb on the bottom of the back page of the newspapers, underneath all of the possible Yankeee quotes that we'll see... "Calling for Girardi's Head", "Cashman's Job in Jeopardy", "Jeter Traded to Boston", "NO MO MO RIVERA", etc., etc., etc......

Daily Rant: 2/3/11 (Super Bowl Decisions)

When Big Ben Roethlisberger sent a 14 yard pass to Antonio Brown for a first down against the NY Jets in the last minute of the AFC Championship, he also sent his Pittsburgh Steelers to yet another Super Bowl appearance. But besides those living in the "Steel" city or surrounding areas, who is that happy to see him in the Super Bowl?? Two totally different stories are meeting up in the biggest game in American sports this Sunday, one told about Big Ben and the other one about Aaron Rodgers.

Ben Roethlisberger started out as the likable, unknown, underdog, who took his licks and hits and got right back up. He came out of a smaller conference school, Miami of Ohio, and is now in his third Super Bowl with the Steelers. But unless you bleed gold and black, rooting for him is really hard to do this year. Ben's off the field issues from his past have gotten him in some trouble, he was accused of sexually assaulting two different women in two different states and he nearly killed himself when he crashed his motorcycle in 2006. Even though the allegations against him never became convictions, he was still suspended by the league for four games this past season.

Aaron Rodgers has also been in and out of the spotlight off the field, but for completely different reasons. Unlike Big Ben, Rodgers had no control nor did he partake in the attention he got from the media outside of his athletic performance. Rodgers just happen to be the backup to the one time golden boy, three time retiree, Brett Favre. Each time Rodgers was about embark on his own journey as the starting QB for the Green Bay Packers, good old Favre would interrupt it by either coming out of retirement and playing somewhere else or by sending sexually explicit text messages to Jets cheerleaders. Each time Rodgers and the Packers tried to move past the Favre issue, Mr. Wrangler Jeans would do something that the media had to cover and Rodgers would sit in his shadow for a little bit longer. This year however, the distractions were put to rest and Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have written a new book, with a prologue that includes Lombardi, Starr, Holmgren and Favre, but it's first chapter is titled "Super Bowl XLV: the post-Favre road to victory".  

On a day when NFL and non-NFL fans will all be watching, as well as billions of dollars flowing through the ads shown during the Super Bowl, is Big Ben the guy you want to have triumph over Aaron Rodgers?? It is really a character assessment of sorts, because both QBs have enormous talent, but rooting for one or the other is a hard decision when you're not a true fan of either team. Big Ben has won two titles already, but his actions away from football have tainted his legacy a bit. Is a guy who assaults women, someone that people are going to root for to win?? Maybe... because Americans don't seem to care too much about what athletes do off the field anymore, as long as they win on the field. There is though, a feel good story surrounding the Packers this year. They overcame a slew of injuries, including Rodgers himself and the hangover from Brett Favre is over now, thanks to his geriatric performance he gave playing in Minnesota and the clear decision he will make to finally retire. Either way, it will all be decided on the field in Dallas this Sunday, who will raise the trophy named after the iconic, Green Bay coach from NYC, Vince Lombardi. What won't be decided, is who really deserves it?

Daily Rant: 2/2/11

With all of the recent success achieved by most of the NY area sports teams, more then ever comes severe scrutiny of the Mets. Consecutive losing seasons and a 5+ year absence from the playoffs have left their brand new stadium empty and their fans questioning every decision made concerning the team. The Mets losing ways have become normalcy and more of a joke then anything. It's also been very difficult for them to keep up with the changing trends of Major League Baseball when the Mets are paying out bloated  contracts to injured or old or retired players. The ownership is also dealing with the fallout from the Bernie Madoff ponzie scandal, which has in turn made the team cash poor. There aren't many deals out there for the Mets to make that will have an impact on their next two seasons, because without any room on payroll and with a depleted farm system, the front office is handcuffed when it comes to free agency or trades. They don't have a lot of young talent currently on their roster, they don't have much of a pitching staff, they have holes in their outfield and infield and their coaching staff is inexperienced. Couple all of that with having to play in a very competitive National League East, with arguably one of the best teams in all of baseball (Philadelphia), it's hard to say when the Mets will be significant again. For this team to get past all of the negativity, changes in the culture surrounding how they conduct themselves is a MUST. Fans have had enough and are fed up with the mediocrity. If this new GM, Sandy Alderson, doesn't make any headway concerning the Mets' future success, then the team really is a lost cause. This is a delicate situation , the owners, the Wilpon family, are searching for investors to help ease the financial burden and eventually that could mean another NY franchise moving west....

Daily Rant: 1/4/11

For the first time, a team with a losing record in the NFL will not only make the playoffs but will win it's division and get a home playoff game. The Seattle Seahawks finished with a 7-9 record, in the worst division in all of football, where mediocrity was the norm. Teams in the NFC, like the 10-6, NY Giants, will have to watch the playoffs from home. Now, the Giants might be a bad example because they had their opportunity to get into the playoffs, not once, but twice and they blew it. But if it were a record based playoffs system, obviously the G-Men would have made it, as would the Tampa Bay Bucs. Those two teams were in divisions with other good teams and they just fell short by a game or two. Having said all that, how about a record based playoff system? It will never happen in the NFL, but it's interesting to think about how it might have looked:

#1-New England (14-2) FIRST ROUND BYE
#2-Atlanta (13-3) FIRST ROUND BYE
#3-Pittsburgh (12-4) FIRST ROUND BYE
#4-Baltimore (12-4) FIRST ROUND BYE
#5-Chicago (11-5) HOST KC
#6-New Orleans (11-5) HOST NYG
#7-New York Jets (11-5) HOST INDY
#8-Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) HOST GB
#9-Green Bay (10-6)
#10-Indianapolis Colts (10-6)
#11-New York Giants (10-6)
#12-Kansas City (10-6)

This scenario would never work and there are too many problems with the NFC/AFC balance, but it's fun to see just how it would be if records meant more then the divisions. One more point, this scenario is not an excuse for bad play either, some of the teams above that are/are not in the playoffs, lost some big games that would have secured them spots weeks ago.

Looking forward to actual NFL playoffs, there are some fun match-ups with teams that are hot and ones that are not. New England, unfortunately, looks unstoppable. Atlanta has a first round bye and then all home games leading into the Super Bowl as well and they don't lose at the Georgia Dome. Hopefully, it won't be a top seeded Super Bowl, especially since parity is the main adjective describing the NFL these days.