The NY Knicks

I was going to post this in rant, but now that there's a new home for sports discussion I think I'll be one of the first to use it

I'm sure plenty of you have heard about the NBA's latest embarassment. If you haven't you can click here to check it out.

In the mid 90s I was a huge Knicks fan and went to more games than I can even begin to count. Am I the only one who feels that the Knicks, and many other NBA teams for that matter, have lost the concept of the game?

I know it sounds very cheesy, but athletes ARE role models for children. Period. That has been a fact of life since the turn of the last century. It began with baseball but spread quickly to all sports.

Now look at this performance from the Knicks... the coach threatens an opposing player to stay away from the basket, the other team goes and scores anyways, and on the next play a guy gets chokeslammed to the ground! What the heck is going on here? This is basketball, not wrestling.

To top it all off, after the foul (which was UGLY) another Knick gets in the victims face and is upset at him for being mad about getting hammered.

When I used to go to Knick games and Pat Riley was the coach, you'd see the players arriving in suits, well dressed at the press conferences, well mannered etc... now I see a bunch of guys who probably are just happy getting the paycheck rather than being interested in teamwork, with more tattoos than Tommy Lee picking fights and hitting people, and being led into battle by their coach!!!!!!!

I'm embarassed of the Knicks. Their record is pathetic (not that I'd leave them for that) but their lack of sportsmanship is appalling. I'm so disgusted that I don't think I have any interest in watching and certainly not attending any games until Isaiah Thomas is fired.

Anyone else feeling the same thing here?

[edit on 12/19/2006 by Djarums]

Well, if Thomas doesn't get fired, regardless of if he has a better record than last year, then Knicks management and ownership is extremely unqualified. There really aren't too many people that like Thomas in the first place, and I'm talking just as a person and not a sports celebrity. What the owner sees him bringing to the Knicks is beyond me.

That being said, the Knicks are going to be the laughing stock until Marbury and Francis' contracts are up. In the NBA it's just too hard to get rid of selfish players with huge contracts. At least they have a building block in the middle with Eddie Curry, that's a definite positive.

Peace

The Knicks were doomed the minute they brought in Isiah Thomas.

As to the NBA in general, David Stern has built the entire NBA around marketing individual stars, which worked pretty good as long as you had likeable stars. Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, David Robinson, and many others were great, and likeable, stars.

Now you've got a group of superstars running the league (Alan Iverson, anyone? No, didn't think so) that aren't particularly likeable, with a couple of exceptions. But when you think NBA, I'll bet you think of individual players before teams.

Contrast that with the NFL which has traditionally been marketed with a team concept. When you think NFL, I'll bet teams come to mind before individual players. The Cincinnati Bengals have had 9 guys arrested this year, but I'll bet few people outside Cincinnati could name any of them. The Bears' starting nose tackle got in trouble (again) this weekend, when he was present when a friend of his was shot and killed at a bar. But it's still "Da Bears", and no big deal overall to the NFL's image.

Stern's created a monster in the NBA which worked very well, as long as he had a group of likeable stars. Now he doesn't.

Until this latest debacle, I had convinced myself the Knicks had folded.

If you read Sports Illustrated, you would of read Rick Reilly's latest article. He talks about the NBA and their image. Rick Barry was probably the greatest free throw shooter of all-time. His style was unorthodox, but it was effecient. Reilly discusses how often Rick has attempted to lend a hand to current NBA players, who all repeatedly turn down his help. Guys that are shooting less than 50% at the line, refuse to accept his help. The guy shot over 90% for his career.

Here is a picture of Barry shooting a free throw.

The article concluded with Reilly saying how players can more about their image than they do the game. Looking good is more important than the 8, 9, or 10 points a game extra they would be padding for their team. The difference in a win or a loss, ignored time and time again by players who desperately need the help.

Image is everything. (Right?)

This is all too true with the Knicks. The whole "Our House" routine is one that's been over used too many times. Their house? They've been embarrassed in their own "barn" countless times in recent history. Thomas coming to the rescue is just an indication of how ridiculous the front office is.

Someone please give Carmello Anthony the key to New York City. Because as much bad press as the Knicks are getting these days, it would be much worse if Anthony had not thrown that sucker shot.

[edit on 20-12-2006 by chissler]

I read this the other day, but now I can't find it. :bnghd: -

Tiger Woods' winning percentage in tournaments this year is higher than Shaq's free throw percentage.

Think about that. It's more likely Tiger wins a golf tournament than it is Shaq hits a free throw.

Tiger competed in 19 tournaments this year. He won 11 times.

Shaq could only dream of a percentage like that.