WHY THE NEW YORK KNICKS STINK
Why are the New York Knicks so bad and unworthy of playing in what still is the mecca (Madison Square Garden) of the basketball capital of the world?
1—Owner James Dolan.
2—President Phil Jackson.
3—A lousy roster of players who don’t mesh.
Dolan is a classic example of a rich kid who inherited an expensive toy from his harder-working and smarter father. James Dolan could be the worst owner in pro sports. The team has declined under his watch and all he appears to do well is rake in enormous profits from frustrated fans who continue to fill Madison Square Garden and immense TV revenues from viewers who remember the team’s good old days and have remained loyal.
Jackson is the 11-time NBA champion who was blessed to coach Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Phil’s pet Triangle offense worked great when he had the best players. It wasn’t his fault that Dolan offered him a five-year deal worth $60 million in 2014 to clean up the basketball mess at MSG. He took the money and hasn’t run yet.
At this point, most Knicks fan are hoping Dolan will offer Jackson a buyout he couldn’t refuse. They’d like to see Dolan leave, too. That’s far more unlikely.
The Knicks started 14-10 this season. They obviously were playing above their heads. They’re 8-22 in their last 30 games and probably won’t make the playoffs – again.
The roster assembled by Jackson leaves much to be desired, partly because he has been unable to attract top-shelf free agents.
Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah have seen better days.
Kristaps Porzingis, considered the future of the franchise, is 7-foot-3 but plays shorter. He needs to put on more pounds and muscle. Like nearly everyone else on the roster, he is a defensive liability.
The rest of the roster is an uninspiring parade of guys who be at the end of the bench on good NBA teams: Courtney Lee, Brandon Jennings, Justin Holiday, Kyle O’Quinn, Willy Hernangomez, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Ron Baker and Lance Thomas.
At least the Knicks are better than the Brooklyn Nets. But not by a lot.
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: USA OR DOMICAN REPUBLIC?
The fourth World Baseball Classic will be played next month. The 16-nation tournament looks like a two-team showdown between the United States and the defending champion Dominican Republic.
Team USA has been a huge disappointment in the first three editions of the WBC –not that all that many Americans watched or cared – with a best-finish of fourth in 2009.
The current Team USA roster is loaded. It includes:
Pitchers – Andrew Miller…Chris Archer…Marcus Stroman…Danny Duffy…Tyler Clippard...Mychal Givens…Nate Jones…Jake McGee…David Robertson…Pat Neshek.
Catchers – Buster Posey…Jonathan Lucroy.
Infielders – Paul Goldschmidt…Daniel Murphy…Ian Kinsler…Nolan Arenado…Matt Carpenter… Brandon Crawford.
Outfielders – Andrew McCutchen…Adam Jones…Giancarlo Stanton…Christian Yelich.
Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout and Max Scherzer opted not to play in this WBC, but Team USA still is a powerhouse. Manager Jim Leyland is taking this very seriously.
Las Vegas this week released odds on winning the 2017 WBC this week: USA 2-to-1…Dominican Republic 5-to-2…2006 and 2009 WBC champion Japan 3-to-1…Venezuela 9-to-1…Puerto Rico and South Korea each 10-to-1…Cuba 15-to-1…Mexico and Netherlands each 25-to-1…Canada 66-to-1…Chinese Taipei 80-to-1…Australia, China, Colombia and Italy (including Chris Colabello) each 150-to-1…Israel 200-to-1.
Games involving USA vs. Dominican Republic would be worth checking out. The Dominican Republic’s roster includes Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano, Jose Bautista, Manny Machado, Carlos Santana, Hanley Ramirez, Sterling Marte, Gregory Polanco, Jose Reyes, Johnny Cueto, Carlos Martinez, Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova, Luis Severino, Edinson Volquez, Dellin Betances, Jeurys Familia and Fernando Rodney.
JAMES HARDEN IS MY CLEAR FRONTRUNNER FOR NBA MVP
Many of the NBA analysts/broadcasters seem to think the NBA Most Valuable Player race entering next week’s All-Star Game is a two-man battle between James Harden (Houston) and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City).
I don’t agree. I believe Harden is the clear frontrunner. Harden and Westbrook both dominate the ball, but Harden leads the league in assists and is a much more accurate shooter than Westbrook. His Rockets entered Friday night with a considerably better record (39-17) than Westbrook’s Thunder (31-23).
Here is my as-of-the-moment list of NBA MVP contenders: Harden…Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio)…Westbrook…LeBron James (Cleveland)…Isaiah Thomas (Boston)…Kevin Durant (Golden State)…Stephen Curry (Golden State)…John Wall (Washington)…DeMar DeRozan (Toronto)…Anthony Davis (New Orleans). Honorable mention: Demarcus Cousins (Sacramento)…Gordon Hayward (Utah)…Paul Millsap (Atlanta)…Draymond Green (Golden State).
ANOTHER VERSION OF NFL’S ALL-TIME QUARTERBACKS
One of the great sports debates: “Who is the all-time greatest NFL quarterback”?
SportsDrop.com is among the latest versions. This was posted in January, before Super Bowl LI:
1-Tom Brady…2-Peyton Manning…3-Joe Montana…4-Brett Favre…5-John Elway…6-Johnny Unitas…7-Dan Marino…8-Fran Tarkenton…9-Roger Staubach…10-Drew Brees…Honorable mention-Aaron Rodgers.
SHORT SHOTS
The Pro Football Hall of Fame list of 2018 first-time eligible is loaded: WR Randy Moss, LB Ray Lewis, LB Brian Urlacher, OG Steve Hutchinson, DE Richard Seymour and CB Ronde Barber all seem like future selections to me.
I’m all in favor of MLB experimenting in two rookie leagues this summer with a new rule to reduce the length of extra-inning games: Put a runner on second base to start every half-inning beyond the regulation nine innings. Long extra-inning games in long-empty stadiums are bad for baseball (in my opinion). Fans like to see a winner and a loser before they leave.
Will the Rochester RazorSharks (6-0 record with wins by 53, 63, 25, 70, 51 and 38 points) be undefeated this season? We should find out soon. They’ll play the second-best team in the Premier Basketball League – the Kentucky Mavericks (5-1 record) – Saturday night in Owensboro, Ky., and Monday, Feb. 20, 2 p.m., at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO…
Friday, February 10 –Bobby Portis (22)… Max Kepler (24)…Travis d’Arnaud (28)…Liam Hendriks (28)…Paul Millsap (32)…Alex Gordon (33)…Zaza Pachulia (33)…Justin Gatlin (35)…Cesar Izturis (37)…Lance Berkman (41)…Ty Law (43)…Wayne Gandy (46)…Daryl Johnston (51)…Lenny Dykstra (54)…John Calipari (58)…Greg Norman (62)…Mark Spitz (67).
Saturday, February 11 – Dansby Swanson (23)…Nikola Mirotic (26)…Mike Richards (32)…Jaroslav Spacek (43)…Kelly Slater (45)…John Bock (46)…Derek King (50)…Ben Oglivie (68)…James Silas (68). Jennifer Anniston (48), Sarah Palin (53), Sheryl Crow (55), Jeb Bush (64) and Burt Reynolds (81) are invited to the birthday party.
Sunday, February 12 – Alex Galchenyuk (23)…Robert Griffin III (27)…DeMarco Murray (29)…David Cooper (30)…Todd Frazier (31)…Brad Keselowski (33)…Tim Redding (39)…Curtis Brown (41)…Seth Payne (42)…Owen Nolan (45)…Linco9ln Kennedy (46)…Michel Petit (53)…Larry Nance (58)…Bobby Smith (59)…Chet Leon (62)…Mike Robitaille (69)…Bill Russell (83). Josh Brolin (49) and Arsenio Hall (61) are invited to the birthday party. Abraham Lincoln was born on this date 208 years ago (1809) and died in 1865 at age 65. Al Cervi was born on this date 100 years ago (1917) and died in 2009 at age 92.