Number 8: Classic

I’ve always gotten crap for the fact that Latrell Sprewell is my favorite player of all time. “Why do you like a guy that choked another person?” I never said I liked the guy personally and I don’t condone his behavior! Plus, after the accident he stayed out of big trouble. Sure, there were some issues, but people need to stop acting like he’s the only one; the league is full of headache-inducing players. “He said ‘I don’t want a 13 million dollar contract because he has to feed my family,’ what a jerk.” There are players who turn down massive deals and claim they deserve more all the time! Spree was just unfortunate enough to not land another contract. Finally, for all the talk that he cast a bad light on the NBA, he didn’t have any tattoos! If Derrick Rose, a disgusting looking kid covered in tattoos, can be the face of the NBA, so could’ve Spree.

Spree had style. I loved everything about him, from his braids to his thunderous slams. He was the most athletic, aggressive player I have ever seen. His shot was pretty sweet, and his D was insane! I feel like he was one of the most complete players of his time. People forget, he averaged 24 points per game one season. Also, he has the record for most threes in a game without a miss, at nine (video below). I am the basketball player I am because of him, I modeled my play after his.

Spree is the reason why I fell in love with basketball. He and Allen Iverson captivated me with their playing styles. I have forty Latrell Sprewell basketball. I had a Sprewell hat, two jerseys, his awesome spinning rim shoes and a Latrell teddy bear. I lived Sprewell for years, he was the center of my world. I sound like a stalker, but he was my idol. Again, not as a person, but as a basketball player. And since basketball was my life, he was too. I checked Hoopshype.com every day for 3 some odd years just to make sure he was not in any trade rumors. I despised Jason Terry for a couple years just because he was rumored to be involved in a trade for Sprewell. I despised Allan Houston and Wally Szczerbiak because I felt that they stole from Spree’s shine. I was devoted beyond reason. Drawing pictures of him, reading books about him: great memories.

The timberwolves team with Spree, Kevin Garnett, Sam Cassell, Troy Hudson, Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, Fred Hoiberg and Trenton Hassell? One of my favorite teams of all time.

So remember, the next time you are about to give me a hard time about loving Latrell, think twice. I realize he’s bankrupt and I understand his yacht was seized. Nevertheless, I feel like he is a part of who I am.

Video: Sprewell Can’t Miss

I’m not a huge college basketball fan, but I love March Madness. I have never truly had a college team that I love. I always liked Georgetown, Syracuse and UNC. However, with all the excitement surrounding St. John’s and UConn in my tri-state area, I feel the need to ally myself with a local team. Right now, I am officially pledging my allegiance to the Syracuse Orange.* Home state, and my mom got her Master’s there. My all time favorite Orange Men have to be Melo, Gerry McNamera, Hakim Warrick, Eric Devendorf, Terrence Roberts, Paul Harris, Jonny Flynn, Kristof Ongenaet and Wesley Johnson. I’ve actually been to the Carrier Dome during the Warrick years, great experience. 

I’m sorry to Georgetown, specifically Allen Iverson (my second favorite player of all time), Jessie Sapp, Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert and DeJuan Summers, who I have always associated myself with. I feel like a traitor, but if the Orange go down before the Hoyas, G-Town will be my fill in favorite. I have many Georgetown alums in my family, so I’m sure to take some heat. But again, I like Syracuse due to their proximity, not because the school is better. Definitely not.

I have a friend who is a UConn fan, and everybody at my school in CT is a huge fan of the Huskies and the ridiculously insane Kemba Walker. So, this should get interesting.

*My attachment to Syracuse will only last until I go off to college, at which point my love will go to that college’s team.

Fab Melo, Syracuse's 7 Footer

More to follow on college basketball.

Last night was a disgrace. The Knicks got crushed by the Mavs, despite making some small comebacks. The closest we came was a deficit of 11 points, and that was such an exhausting achievement that we had no energy to continue the streak. We HAVE to play defense, or we WILL NOT WIN GAMES AGAINST TOP TEAMS. We will always be able to beat the Pacers, for example, because we can just destroy their defenses. But what happens when we play some teams with savvy veterans and defensive minded players like the Mavs and Spurs? The Mavs are for real this year. They’ve been good every year, but this year is different because they play D. Corey Brewer, DeShawn Stevenson, Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood are all lock down defensive players in their own rights. Dirk Nowitzki is still a maestro on the offensive end, playing inside-out. He will post you up, and if you push him out of the paint, the seven-footer will hit threes right in your face. The Knicks were remarkably effective against him. However, the same cannot be said for the oft-forgotten Jason Terry, an underrated guard who can just light it up on both ends of the floor. I always knew he was good, but every time I see him I appreciate him even more.

I was thinking about guys who would be back next year for my Knicks. Kevin McHale (who has a terrible TV voice, as seen last night on TNT), said that the Knicks would not go far this year but had a great foundation. Fair enough, but who do I have to watch leave after the season; I love every Knick in some capacity. I’ve decided that our proper of starting 5 of Chauncey Billups, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Ronny Turiaf will remain intact. On the bench, only Toney Douglas and Shawne Williams will remain. GM Donnie Walsh has said he will definitely resign Williams, and Douglas has the potential to be a very good PG/SG in the NBA, there is no reason why we would trade him away. Derrick Brown, Sheldon Williams, Bill Walker, Jared Jeffries, Roger Mason, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman and Andy Rautins will all be gone, whether due to an expired contract or trade. 

• Most valuble is Walker, who will undoubtedly get a solid contract with another team. It’s just that he is yet another small forward on a team full of undersized bigs. I like his three point shot, his athleticism, and his defense/rebounding. He could average 20 points per game if he was given the minutes. He did, actually, at the end of last season when he was getting big minutes following his arrival from Boston.
• Jeffries is an overrated defensive player. He often gets caught in mismatches against smaller, quicker guards that he can’t keep up with in isolations. 
• Roger Mason is a wonderful shooter and a good defensive player, but we have Shawne Williams, who might just be the best three point shooter in the league, no exaggeration. Therefore Mason is an unnecessary contract. I just think it’s disgraceful how under-used he was this year, he could have been a great option all season. He may have been struggling, but he would have gotten it back if given some decent minutes. D’Antoni is so stubborn and rarely tries new things. Our rotation is too short already for Mason to be sitting at the end of the bench all season long.
• Carter is a durable veteran who I’ve always liked, but again, an unnecessary contract. Douglas and Billups are plenty.
• Balkman is an expendable hustle player.  I have a bit of an emotional attachment because he was a Knicks during the days of the struggle, but then again, every player I loved has been traded away, how much could one more hurt? We should try to package him with Brown, Sheldon Williams, Jeffries in a trade for a legitimate center. That reminds me, why do we have all of these useless “bigs” in the first place? Denver: all of those guys for Nene? Fat chance.
• Love Andy Rautins’s shot, but we have Shawne Williams and Andy’s minuscule amount of playing time this year makes me think he’ll never get a shot.

Next year will be great, we’ll have a true identity unlike now. Now we are a bunch of 6’5″-6’10” guys who can’t guard Dwight Howard but can’t keep up with Jameer Nelson (can you tell that I fear the Magic?). Next year, we will have that clear cut shooter in Williams that every championship teams needs (like Boston with Eddie House in ’08), the Big Three, a dirty worker in Landry Fields, and some decent size. That’s without mention of the continued growth of Toney Douglas. It’s funny, Douglas shows some true potential, but there’s something annoying about him. He’s damn selfish for a point guard, not sure if he’ll every be a playmaker. Plus, I hate his weird side burns and smile. Still, I’m psyched about the Knicks this year, as long as we learn to play some semblance of defense. My feeling is that we will.

GO KNICKS!

• The Knicks waived Corey Brewer and Kelenna Azubuike the other day. Azubuike averaged 15 points per game once! We could have used him. People say Corey Brewer is the next Bruce Bowen (unbelievable defensive player) with an offensive game. He just had an unpleasant contract and we’re trying to clear space for Chris Paul.

• The Heat waived Carlos Arroyo and will likely pick up Bibby, who was bought out by the Wizards. This is definitely an upgrade; Mario Chalmers was not going to lead them to the Finals, but savvy veteran Bibby might be able to. This year, a lot of teams made trades for players that they immediately bought out. This phenomena is largely due to the fact that the free agency class of 2012 is exceptional and everyone wants to clear contracts in preparation for a big signing.

• The Knicks signed Derrick Brown, a high energy post player who is not afraid to do the dirty work. He played for Bobcats for a while and is said to have potential to be a Charles Oakley type guy. TheKnicksBlog.com pointed out that between him, Renaldo Balkman, Sheldon Williams and  Jared Jeffries (glad to have him back), we’re becoming a bit redundant with all these high energy “big men.” They are not going to help us against the Dwight Howards and LaMarcus Aldriges come playoff time.

• Speaking of Dwight Howard, the Knicks lost to his overrated Magic the other night, despite leading by a good ten points the whole night. Our big three combined for 85 points and we lost…disgraceful! This shows that a) we need other guys to step up and b) we need to play D. Granted, Jameer Nelson got loose and could absolutely not miss.

•  Below is a great article about why the Knicks shoudln’t have traded Wilson Chandler; his value will continue to rise.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/620799-denver-nuggets-why-wilson-chandlers-stock-will-continue-to-rise-with-new-team

The biggest news in sports right now has to be that Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets is looking to leave Denver. There is talk about him going to the New Jersey Nets, but I’m not worried; even if he does go to Jersey he won’t resign with them when his contract expires at the end of the season! He wants to play in New York, and I have no doubt that he will be a Knick by the end of this summer. I personally don’t want the Knicks to trade for Anthony. Why give up valuable pieces of our team when we don’t need him right now? The Knicks obviously aren’t winning a championship this season, because even if we got ‘Melo, the team wouldn’t have time to gel before the playoffs. Save your talent, New York, and the this summer you can spend some of that money you’ve spent the past three years accumulating.

The rumor is that if the Knicks do trade for Anthony, the deal would involve Danilo Gallinari and Landry Fields. If we HAVE to make a trade, do this deal! Just don’t include Wilson Chandler! We can afford to get rid of Gallinari, he’s virtually a less dynamic version of Wilson Chandler. They’re the same size, and despite popular belief that Gallinari is a better three point shooter, they are comparable (Chandler’s three point percentage is 36%, Gallinari’s is 37%). Even though Gallinari is an All-Star nominee, Chandler is and will be a more important part of the team. Luckily, GM Donnie Walsh has basically said that Chandler is untouchable, a Knick for many years to come. As far as the hustle player Landry Fields, I would hate to see him go, but c’mon, it’s Carmelo. For now, the Knicks should focus on getting their groove back after this current rough patch and on the return of Danilo Gallinary from knee injury.

Gambling has always played a large role in professional sports, but recently it’s in the news with regularity. On January 5^th, OJ Mayo and Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies were involved in an altercation on the team plane. According to team sources, things started to get testy when after a game of poker, Allen simply told Mayo to pay up. Allen left for the bathroom and when he came back, Mayo got in his face and a fight broke out. As a result, the Grizzlies coach has banned gambling on the team plane. Not only did these two players ruin the trips for all of their teammates, but they represent a pattern in the past year. Last year Gilbert Arenas, guard of the Orlando Magic, was in a similar situation with a teammate, but the situation escalated and guns were brought into their locker room. These are not even the biggest cases; in 2008, Charles Barkley admitted to having lost over $10 million while gambling! The problem is that most of these players come from nothing! They get a ton of money and don’t know how to protect it! As a result, there are dozens of broke players who are in thousands of dollars in debt.

Now, league commissioners in almost every sport are contemplating the prudency of allowing players to gamble. One school of thought is that athletes are extremely competitive people, and allowing them to play cards on flights is playing with fire. Others say that these games are stimulants for team bonding, and as long as it doesn’t affect their athletics they have that right. If gambling is banned, there is no doubt that commissioners will be hearing from the players’ unions. The NBA is expected to go into a lockout next year! Nothing could be worse than if the players were given further incentive to strike.

People are killed over money all the time. Athletes serve as role models to millions of kids. No athletes have died of gambling disputes as far as I know, but the recent events suggest that a catastrophe is not out of the question.

Over the summer, the Knicks got Amar’e Stoudemire and bolstered their already potent supporting cast. Last night, we lost to the Timberwolves! Three nights ago, we lost to the Warriors after coming back from a 15 point deficit! Coach Mike D’Antoni, who at one point said how excited about this team he is, is now hedging and calling the Knicks a work in progress. We had all summer to prepare so I don’t want to hear that, nor do I want to hear any “The Timberwolves are an improved team.” Cut the crap, the Knicks should beat Minnesota nine out of ten times! We really showed no toughness last night, even if Ronny Turiaf was out. Kevin Love had over 30 points and 30 rebounds, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1982! Yet another record broken against the Knicks…

Back to the Warriors game. The Warriors are a solid team but the Knicks proved to be their same old selves, climbing back into the game just to fall short. Our decision making down the stretch is abysmal. We didn’t need a three! We had two minutes down by two, and Gallinari and crew decide its time to shoot up some off-balance prayers and be the hero. I’m so sick of hearing about how great Danilo Gallinari is. When we didn’t need threes he heaved them u and in the last twenty seconds when we do, he’s nowhere to be found. “Gallo” is a nice player, but he’ll never be an All-Star and the Knicks will never be his team. By the way, I’m really proud of the point guard play. Toney Douglas works hard and it’s paying off. Also, Raymond Felton’s numbers may be boosted by the D’Antoni scheme but he is nevertheless playing very well.

The Knicks’ record is decieving; the Boston, Portland and Golden State games were all ours for the taking. We got Amar’e Stoudemire to close out games because thats what superstars do. He does everything he can; he DRAINED threes in the last minute against the Celtics and the Warriors. However, at some point everyone needs to understand that he is not always open. Amar’e will inevitably be double teamed, giving someone else a golden opportunity to close out the game. Toney Douglas? Wilson Chandler? Figure it out NYK…

Notes from the first 10 Knicks games:

Landry Fields: What a gem! Who knew? When we picked him I booed; never pick someone with an IQ above 100, much less a Stanford degree. He seems to have that uncanny instinct of where to be and makes good decisions, reminds me of David Lee in that sense.

Wilson Chandler: My favorite Knick. He gets no credit but he’s a spectacular player. Did anyone see hs dunk against the Wizards (posted below)? Wow. That being said, he looked pretty homely after getting his tooth knocked out the other day. I just have to laugh; with his grizzly beard and tattoos that look like a skin disease has overtaken his body, he looked pretty hilarious.

Ronny Turiaf: Best beard in the world (pictured below), brings a lot to the table defensively that I hadn’t speculated.

Chandler over Wizards

…And so am I.

I think it’s fair to say that New York has the best sports teams overall. We may not be the best at everything but what other city dominates across the board like we do? The Giants have the best record in the NFC, the Jets are a serious threat for the title. The Yankees didn’t have it down the stretch. It wasn’t the roster, or the manager, we just got our backsides handed to us by a really strong Rangers team. I still contend that our roster was and is still the best in the league. Plus, talk has already started that the Yanks will land Cliff Lee this summer, which would put us over the top. Finally, the Knicks are going to make the playoffs this year. What more could I ask for?

I don’t care how good LT’s blockers are, he is back! He is really explosive and hits the holes really hard. His stiff arm is still one of the best too. I loved seeing the Jets pummel the dreaded Brett Favre last night; it was nice to see him suffer. The Jets look strong all around; I wish they played the Giants this season because that would be a great game. However, although they are filled with potential, the Jets have a few weaknesses.

Mark Sanchez will be a great quarterback in a couple years, but right now he looks very tentative. Last night he was unwilling to throw the ball downfield. Instead, he would throw short bullets and thus fail to get first downs. The Ravens made Sanchez look silly week one- I think the Jets will struggle against defenses that apply pressure to the QB.

I think the Jets’ constant blitzes will come back to haunt them in the future. The constant blitzes are a result of Rex Ryan’s bravado and it was obvious that that Favre adjusted to them in the second half last night. He saw them coming and was able to make accurate passes to receivers who were consequently wide open.