Current State of Affairs

Sometimes all these thoughts just pile up in my head and after a while, I just forget a lot of them. These days, I’ve been having a lot of thoughts and I can’t afford to forget them, so I thought it would be a great idea if I just threw everything out there. About everything. So here are my thoughts on the current state of affairs… in sports.

 

First, lets start with baseball. I’m starting with baseball simply because thats the hottest topic that matters. So with the trade deadline 24 hours away (I’ll be back tomorrow if the Mets make a move) there’s been a few intriguing moves and a lot more talk. No one had really answered Milwaukee and Chicago’s trades to get Sabathia and Harden up until a few days ago. Granted, some of the moves weren’t as flashy but they certainly made an impact. The Yankees trading away prospects to get Xavier Nady helped pave the way for them to deal Kyle Farnsworth for Pudge Rodriguez. Obviously, Posada’s injury had a lot to do with it too. I don’t know about a lot of other people, but I like this move. Pudge is a good defensive catcher and he might not put up the kind of numbers he did in Texas and Florida but he can still hit. And as for Detroit, certain people (cough Ed cough) thought they were the team to beat after bringing in Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. I think this pretty much seals the deal for them.

Another big story surrounding baseball is Manny Ramirez and his desire to just be himself. Boston doesn’t want Manny being Manny. At least not Manny with 20 homers and 70 or so rbi. They want Manny being Manny with a .330 avg, 45 homers and 130 rbi. So what should they do? Trade him for prospects, platoon left field, have no protection in the lineup for Ortiz and not pursue the playoffs? Or should they keep him for the next few months, hope he shows up in time for their parade through Bahstin Yahd? Personally, I could care less. I hate that city. And as a Mets fan, I saw they trade him to the Mets for a single-A prospect with no potential at all. What better way for Theo Upstein to show him ManRam than to trade him for basically nothing? And then the Mets get an angry Manny hellbent on showing Boston what they lost. The other night I heard someone on WFAN say the Mets should trade Beltran for Ellsbury and Manny. Clearly, this person wasn’t thinking hard enough.

Why is it that every year at the trade deadline, small market teams get rid of their good players? I know they want to get some value for the guy they won’t re-sign anyway, but some teams do it every year and it never helps. Look at Oakland. Every season, it seems like they’re dumping salary and playing what Billy Beane calls Money Ball. And sure, they’re usually in contention but why not hang on to your guys and see what happens? Imagine if the A’s had Mulder, Zito, Hudson, Harden, and Duchsherer. And then you’d look at the bullpen with guys like Dana Eveland, Joe Blanton, Huston Street, etc. Thats the best pitching team in baseball easily. How does that team NOT win the World Series. Hell, they could trade off some of those guys if they want for some hitting. The best example of what to do is Tampa Bay. Ten years ago, the DEVIL Rays put together the “Hit Show” with Fred McGriff, Jose Canseco, Wade Boggs, and a lot of other guys that were past their prime. Now they’re leading the AL East. Thats right, the same AL East with the Yankees and the Red Sox. Now, I don’t think they’re going to win the division, but they’ve got a shot, which is more than I can say for Oakland.

So I guess thats it on baseball… for now.

I know its been gone over and reviewed and talked about, but is Brett Favre serious right now? Is he serious? An itch? Come on. He’s what? 38 years old? He’s got almost every statistical career record for a quarterback. He’s the Cal Ripken of football. He’s beloved. And now he wants to pull a Joe Montana and show up in a different uniform? I can understand both sides, but at the same time, both sides are wrong. The Packers were wrong for announcing Aaron Rodgers would be the starter. Now they don’t want to look stupid. Favre was wrong for retiring so early without being 100% sure. Now he wants to play and he’s putting Green Bay is a tough spot. There are only two ways to solve this. Either Green Bay brings in Brett and he starts, thereby throwing the finishing blow to Aaron Rodgers and the slim confidence he’s got left… or they release him and let him play somewhere else. Anywhere else. How many people really remember Joe Montana in Kansas City? Unless Brett Favre breaks the single season records for passing yards and touchdowns, leads his team (whichever team it might be) to an undefeated record and a Super Bowl win, Favre will always be a Packer… or in some cases a Falcon… or in even less cases, a Jet. Hmm. Browning Nagle or Brett Favre? Tough choice.

In less Brett Favre-related news, I can’t wait for the season to start so I can finally start making picks and being absolutely right about more than half of them.

Now, onto the NBA. With the Olympics starting soon, its nice to see that USA Basketball is beginning to take these games seriously and may just be able to get past teams countries like Lithuania. Its no secret that basketball has become widely globalized, but is the globalization of basketball come back to bite the United States? If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m highly upset that a few of our good players are going overseas to play in Europe. I can understand Juan Carlos Navarro, an All-Rookie Second Team player, going to play in Barcelona. He’s from Spain. Or Bostjan Nachbar going to play in Russia. But Josh Childress going to play in Greece? Thats right. Josh Childress. 6th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He was on the cover of College Hoops 2k5, dammit? How could the Hawks… how could the NBA let this happen? The fact that bench warmers or guys that couldn’t land a team go overseas is understood. These guys get an opportunity to play and get paid. Trajan Langdon was a star at Duke, played for Cleveland, and most recently he was named MVP of the Euroleague Finals. But how can we allow decent role players to leave? Maybe if bums like Jerome James weren’t tying up so much salary cap space, guys like Childress could get more money. Why are NBA salaries guaranteed anyway? Why aren’t there more incentive based contracts? And if you think this isn’t going to have a huge impact, whats going to happen when higher caliber players decide they can get more money in Europe? Don’t think it’ll happen? Well, Ben Gordon is currently considering going overseas. That could be just the beginning.

And it doesnt end there. Brandon Jennings is going to play in Italy because his SAT scores weren’t high enough for him to qualify and play at Arizona. So, rather than study a little harder and score higher on the test… or maybe try to attend a college with slightly lower academic standards, he chose to play professionally in Italy until he’s eligible to enter the NBA draft. Mark my words, Jennings is playing with fire right now. He won’t be the last high school player to do this. Guys that coast through high school are going to opt out of going to college so that they can go play in Europe for a year. This is going to ruin the college game, and there are going to be a lot of high school guys going to Europe to make some money before becoming eligible for the draft.

Which brings me back to an idea I’ve had for some time now. Why doesn’t the NBA do what Major League Baseball does? If a player decides to enter the NBA draft out of high school, let him. But if he goes to college, he has to stay for at least three seasons. The college game doesn’t suffer, NBA teams get a better idea of what kind of prospect they’re seeing, and I think it makes for a more efficient system.

So thats the current state of affairs as of right now. With the way things are going with Brett Favre, Manny Ramirez, and the NBA, its hard to see when there might be any change.

Elton, A 76er?

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that Brand has informed the Sixers that he will accept a five-year deal worth an estimated $82 million

Earlier they made a deal today that opened cap room to sign him, so it was not a huge surprise that he signed to the 76ers. Sending Rodney Carney and a 1st round draft pick to Minnesota for  space.

Last year, they were 7th in the east . Now i could put them as high as 3rd seed in the eastern conference. With the two Andres in the back court and thaddeus young, brand and Dalembert at the front court, who knows the possibility of how far they can go.

Lets Look..Outside Analysis

Lets Look at one of the greatest matches in sports history, Nadal V. Federer. Many people think it was just another match between two tennis great. What people failed to realize is that whoever won this match is going to be looked as one of the greatest players ever in the history of tennis. Nadal’s 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7 victory took 4 hours and 48 minutes of actual playing time was amazing. Both weren’t tired and kept going until that person won.
Now, in his third straight Wimbledon final, and having come so close last year, Nadal can also lay claim to fame on grass. Federer’s 65-match winning streak on the surface is over. You can’t say Federer was not warned, though. Everyone told him that Nadal was closing in on him. Analysts even said that Djonivic (excuse if I spell his name wrong) had a strong chance of beating Federer.

Nadal will now be looked as a tennis great, up there Bjorn. Federer still may be able to come back next year and win it but hey who knows what will happen between now and then

B.T.W. Venus did very well against her younger sister who she has lost to every time they play in the finals. Serena may be a little upset but its your sister what are you gonna do.

Mid-year assessment… or is it?

So we’ve hit the midpoint of the year and what do we have to show for it? I’d say a lot. As a sports fan, I’m not completely satisfied with my teams, but I’m as happy as I can be considering where they could be. As I think back to the past few months, overall this has been as good of a first half of the year for sports as I’ve ever remembered.

The Giants were double digit underdogs and held the most prolific offense in the history of the game to 14 en route to a remarkable Super Bowl win. We watched as a hobbled Tiger Woods pushed his body to the limit and won the US Open. We saw Sid the Kid become a man in the playoffs, and were treated to a Celtics win that meant vindication for one man- Kevin Garnett. Personally, I got to see the Knicks gamble with the franchise by taking an international star. The Kansas Jayhawks provided us with a amazing national championship win. Even this past weekend, we watched the Williams’ sisters battle for what eventually became Venus’ fifth Wimbledon title, and Rafael Nadal’s first. I’m sure winning his first Wimbledon title over Roger Federer the way he did makes it even better.

Don’t be fooled, however. This isn’t just about the year that was. There are several things on my mind right now and what better place to air out these issues?

Lets start with the NFL. Why are the Packers even letting Brett Favre push them around like this? I’m not saying that Favre is doing this intentionally but at some point he has to realize that this “i’m want to come back” drama isn’t helping the locker room. For the past three years, the Packers have had to deal with this “will he or won’t he” stuff. At this rate, Aaron Rodgers is going to have to move on to another team so that he can get some playing time. I can understand Favre having “the itch” to come back but at his age, what else can he contribute? He had his shot last season. He led his team to a 13-3 record and took them to the NFC Championship game. Its not exactly retiring on top but its as close as anyone’s going to get. And besides, lets look at the big picture here. Imagine a Hall of Fame class in 2013 with Brett Favre, Warren Sapp, and Michael Strahan all being on the ballot. Brett, if you happen to be browsing the internet and come across this… heed my words. Stop thinking about yourself. You’re a legend in Wisconsin and Mississippi. Stop being so selfish. Think about the big picture. You, Mike, and Warren all going into the Hall together. Thats the stuff movies are made of.

Now, onto some baseball. It took a little while but the Mets are above .500 again. Now, they’re only two and a half games out in the division and have to play the Giants and the Rockies before the All-Star break. If they can win four of their next six games, they can take a a lead in the division as well as some confidence. Johan Santana has always been a better pitcher in the second half of the season. All he needs is some run support and the Mets should be alright down the stretch.

How about those Tampa Bay Rays? Not only do they have the best home record in the majors, they have the best record altogether. Their pitching has been stellar, they play great defense, they have an amazing rookie in Evan Longoria. Judging by the way they swept the Red Sox last week, I’d say these guys are ready to finally get some respect. It wasn’t too long ago that they were the laughingstock of the American League. Now they’ve put it all together and could make a run for the division. With Ortiz still hurting, and the Yankees so far back, who’s going to stop them?

Last thing on baseball. The All-Star Committee or whoever it is that decides on who makes it to the All-Star Game really messed up this year.Why isn’t Jermaine Dye on the team. Not only should he be on the team, he should be starting. Why is Jason Varitek or David Ortiz on the team. Ortiz started off the season batting .070. And then he got hurt. Why is he in the game over a guy like Jason Giambi… who happens to be happens a monster season. Varitek is batting .219 and he’s in the game over a guy like AJ Pierzynski, who’s batting .296. Maybe the American League roster is crowded. But there are guys who deserve to be on the roster like Evan Longoria. And there are guys who don’t deserve to be there like Joe Crede. As far as the National League roster goes, why is Kosuke Fukodome starting over a guy like Nate McLouth? And they got the wrong guy to represent the Mets. They should have picked David Wright, not Billy Wagner. Wagner has been blowing saves left and right… and he almost blew another tonight against the Phillies. I hope Wright gets voted in. He’s one of the few that actually deserves it. To be honest, I hope the fact that Beltran, Delgado, Reyes, and the rest realize that they’ve been snubbed because they’ve been playing sub-par ball all season. Maybe this will light a fire underneath them and they’ll start playing up to their potential.

Next up, basketball. I think it should be fairly obvious how I feel about the hype over a summer league game between the Bulls and the Heat. There are rumors that the Sixers want Elton Brand. In order to create cap space, they’re willing to trade away Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth. Now, maybe I’m bitter but didn’t I suggest a trade between the Knicks and the Sixers that would bring Carney and Booth or Carney and Andre Miller for Zach Randolph? The Sixers would get the low post presence they want that could complement Sammy Dalembert. I hate being right all the time. By the way, kudos to the Knicks for signing Chris Duhon. Thats the kind of smart acquisition that could turn the team around. He works hard and plays defense. Thats all you could ask for.

And kudos to both the Celtics and Corey Maggette. If they work out a deal, its perfect for both sides. Maggette is willing to take a cut in minutes and money to play for Doc Rivers. All I have to say is Umbutu.

So here are a few things I’ve been thinking about lately.

- I was watching Mars Attacks! the other night, and I had completely forgotten that Ray J was in it. And he was really young. I almost spilled my beer… oops, I mean my iced tea when he yells, “What are you guys gawking at?? Get the President outta here!!” Yes, people… that guy had sex with Kim Kardashian.

- Why is everyone so concerned about A-Rod’s marriage? I never really got a great look at his wife anyway. How hot can she possibly be?

Okay fine. I guess she’s pretty hot. Jesus. A-Rod’s hands are huge. Those things are like oven mitts.

- I’m actually surprised that Forrest Griffin beat Quentin “Rampage” Jackson. In my opinion, Chuck Liddell is awesome, and the Iceman could take out Griffin. So if Jackson can beat Liddell, I figured he’d have no problem with Griffin. Guess I was wrong.

Yeah, he’s the lightheavyweight champ now… but with a face like that, who’s the real winner here?

- Floyd Mayweather Jr came out and said that HBO is racially biased. He says that HBO praises Kelly Pavlik and Manny Pacquiao, but none of the black fighters like himself. To be honest, I can’t speak for HBO, but I dont praise Mayweather because he talks too much and he’s too cocky.

- CC Sabathia just got traded to the Brewers for some minor leaguers. Everyone on ESPN is now drinking the Milwaukee Kool-Aid. I’m not. One extra pitcher won’t make the difference for them this year. The Brewers would not only have to catch the Cardinals, but the Cubs as well. Does this mean either one of those teams is going to try to get Rich Harden or AJ Burnett? (Personally, I’d like the Mets to try to make a move for those guys… as long as they don’t give up any good prospects.) If I’m the Brewers, why would I give up prospects to get CC when I know I can’t afford to sign him at the end of the season? Maybe they’re desperate to win a World Series since they know Ben Sheets isn’t coming back either.

Questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com

Rosters Announced For The 2008 E.I.S. (Everyone Is Special) Baseball All-Star Game

It’s that time again America where you pick who will misrepresent each league during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium. I honestly don’t know what is the worst part about this selection process is it the fact that any jacka** that knows nothing about baseball can vote or that the game must have an equal representation from every team (yes even the Nationals) to be displayed in front of nation wide audience on July 15th.       The game also once again has its intriguing (sarcasim) stipulation of for whatever team that wins the game will have home field throughout the World Series for their perspective league. In case you were not thrilled enough with “the best players in the world” you will be excited by the over extensive coverage of FOX as they will give you pre game epic stories about Yankee Stadium as if we did not already know many of these stories (The YES Network does that every day). I’m already anxious to see the various camera shots of fans,players and blimps in between every pitch, hell you can even bring out the damn robots from the NFL broadcasts. In closing my rant was fueled by the failed attempts baseball has had with trying to both make the game more exciting and fair. In my opinion the idea of being successful with both ideas is stupid and the league should just pick one and stand sternly by it like the other leagues do without seeming so open to change at everyone’s mood. People will change their minds every year about something just to whine about something else and if you don’t believe that Bud Selig is soft and insecure just stay tuned this august for instant replay (so much for the past time and tradition). * All Rosters as of 7/7/08 AMERICAN LEAGUE ROSTER STARTERS
POS	PLAYER	TEAM	ALL-STAR APPEARANCES
C	Joe Mauer	Minnesota	2
1B	Kevin Youkilis	Boston	1
2B	Dustin Pedroia	Boston	1
3B	Alex Rodriguez	New York	12
SS	Derek Jeter	New York	9
OF	Josh Hamilton	Texas	1
OF	Manny Ramirez	Boston	12
OF	Ichiro Suzuki	Seattle	8
DH	# David Ortiz	Boston	5
PITCHERS
POS	PLAYER	TEAM	ALL-STAR APPEARANCES
RHP	@Justin Duchscherer	Oakland	2
RHP	Roy Halladay	Toronto	5
LHP	Scott Kazmir	Tampa Bay	2
LHP	Cliff Lee	Cleveland	1
RHP	@Joe Nathan	Minnesota	3
RHP	Jonathan Papelbon	Boston	3
RHP	Mariano Rivera	New York	9
RHP	Francisco Rodriguez	Los Angeles	3
RHP	Ervin Santana	Los Angeles	1
LHP	Joe Saunders	Los Angeles	1
LHP	@George Sherrill	Baltimore	1
RHP	@Joakim Soria	Kansas City	1
RESERVES
POS	PLAYER	TEAM	ALL-STAR APPEARANCES
C	@Dioner Navarro	Tampa Bay	1
C	Jason Varitek	Boston	3
1B	Justin Morneau	Minnesota	2
2B	Ian Kinsler	Texas	1
SS	Michael Young	Texas	5
3B	Joe Crede	Chicago	1
3B	@Carlos Guillen	Detroit	3
OF	J.D. Drew	Boston	1
OF	Carlos Quentin	Chicago	1
OF	Grady Sizemore	Cleveland	3
DH	Milton Bradley	Texas	1
# — won’t play due to injury (Note: Bradley replacing Ortiz as starting DH) * — named as injury replacement

NATIONAL LEAGUE ROSTERSTARTERS
POS	PLAYER	TEAM	ALL-STAR APPEARANCES
C	Geovany Soto	Chicago	1
1B	Lance Berkman	Houston	5
2B	Chase Utley	Philadelphia	3
3B	Chipper Jones	Atlanta	6
SS	Hanley Ramirez	Florida	1
OF	Ryan Braun	Milwaukee	1
OF	Alfonso Soriano	Chicago	7
OF	Kosuke Fukudome	Chicago	1
PITCHERS
POS	PLAYER	TEAM	ALL-STAR APPEARANCES
RHP	@Aaron Cook	Colorado	1
RHP	Ryan Dempster	Chicago	2
RHP	@Dan Haren	Arizona	2
RHP	Brad Lidge	Philadelphia	2
RHP	Tim Lincecum	San Francisco	1
RHP	Ben Sheets	Milwaukee	4
RHP	Edinson Volquez	Cincinnati	1
LHP	@Billy Wagner	New York	6
RHP	Brandon Webb	Arizona	3
RHP	Brian Wilson	San Francisco	1
RHP	Kerry Wood	Chicago	2
RHP	@Carlos Zambrano	CHC	3
RESERVES
POS	PLAYER	TEAM	ALL-STAR APPEARANCES
C	Russell Martin	Los Angeles	2
C	@Brian McCann	Atlanta	3
1B	Adrian Gonzalez	San Diego	1
1B	@Albert Pujols	St. Louis	7
2B	Dan Uggla	Florida	1
3B	Aramis Ramirez	Chicago	2
SS	@Cristian Guzman	Washington	2
SS	Miguel Tejada	Houston	5
OF	Matt Holliday	Colorado	3
OF	Ryan Ludwick	St. Louis	1
OF	Nate McLouth	Pittsburgh	1
# — won’t play due to injury * — named as injury replacement

I’ve had time to recover…

Don’t worry folks. I’m alive. I know a lot of you thought I’d jump off a bridge after the Knicks chose not to go after a point guard in the draft, but you know what? I’m not upset at the pick. Danilo Gallinari wasn’t my first choice but he was picked and nothing I can say is going to bring DJ Augustin to the Knicks. But before I completely immerse myself in the Knicks’ offseason plans, I have to talk about the draft itself.

The first two picks were as predictable as they could be. In fact, Andy Katz reported that the Bulls would take Derrick Rose with the first pick well before the draft had already begun. With that out of the way, the first surprise of the night was Russell Westbrook going to Seattle. After that, the draft went as everyone thought it would. Guys like Jason Thompson from Rider were taken too high. Guys like Darrell Arthur from Kansas fell too low. You had feel good stories, like the Lopez twins. You had head-scratching picks, like Seattle taking Serge Ibaka from Congo, who basically said don’t draft me… I’m staying in Spain. What was Seattle thinking on that one? Thats a wasted pick, I don’t care if they had six of them.

Now, as far as the Knicks are concerned, the motivation here is to make this Knicks team appealing for Lebron James, Chris Bosh,or Dwayne Wade. Thats it in a nutshell. I didn’t agree with Danilo Gallinari for several reasons.

1) He can score, but can he defend? His dad was known as a defensive player in Italy, but thats no indication of Danilo’s game.

2) He can fit into D’Antoni’s system but when will he play? If he plays small forward, there’s also Quentin Richardson and Renaldo Balkman to share time with. He can cause matchup problems if he plays power forward but they already have Zach Randolph and David Lee. I’ve heard rumblings of his ability to play some guard. If thats the case, he’ll have to share minutes with Jamal Crawford.

3) Like so many others have said, this is a big risk because Gallinari can blossom into an MVP like Dirk Nowitzki or be a dud like Frederick Weis. At this point, all we as Knicks fans know is that he’s a guy they called “Cock” in Italy. Wonderful.

As we speak, there are rumors that the Knicks are pursuing Chris Duhon. Personally, I like the idea. He’s a hard worker, he plays defense, he hustles, and he’s talented. What the Knicks have to do is avoid over-paying him like they’ve done with all their over free agents in the past.

Clearing up cap space is pretty important at this point, and with Lebron James’ recent comments about New York, the Knicks should have a sense of urgency. However. its not just about cap space with Lebron. He wants to win multiple championships. And when it comes down to it, cap space and friendship isn’t going to be enough to lure Lebron James away from Cleveland. For everyone in Brooklyn, calm down. Jay-Z is only a part owner of the Nets. He has no influence over day to day operations in the front office.

With everyone worried about the summer of 20010, how can we overlook this summer? Gilbert Arenas has come out and pretty much said he wouldn’t re-sign with the Wizards if they hadn’t brought back Antawn Jamison. That not only shows a new trend in the NBA with players opting for team chemistry over more money, but it also shows the committment Arenas is showing to his teammates and organization. Elton Brand opted out of his deal but plans to re-sign with the Clippers. With Baron Davis possibly leaving the Warriors for the Clippers, it seems like more and players are more concerned with playing for a championship and for less money. The Celtics put together a championship team in one offseason because the players bought into a system and played well in that system. The Clippers with Baron Davis could be an interesting team to watch next season.

As always, here are a few things around the sports world I’ve been thinking about.

- How can Gene Upshaw be serious about not even talking about lowering rookie salaries? How can it help player morale to know that a guy who’s never stepped foot on the football field can make more than a guy who’s paid his dues and earned his paychecks. Since Upshaw is a former player, he should understand. Rookies making $30 million is absolutely ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong. I think NFL players get the raw end of the deal, but I’m all about earning the cash.

- If I were Shawn Chacon, I’d cut my losses and really try to play somewhere else. He threw the GM to the ground. Its hard to see who else would pick him up.

- Ron Artest regrets not opting out. I wasn’t aware that he couldn’t change his mind and opt out. Regardless, he’ll probably be traded between now and February.

- Baron Davis has officially signed with the Clippers. An impact point guard, a very good power forward, a sensational rookie shooting guard… I like the Clippers next season. I don’t know if they’ll challenge the Lakers but they’ll make it interesting in the Western Conference.

- Manny Pacquiao beat David Diaz over the weekend, put him in strong consideration for one of the best pound for pound fighters in boxing. I’d like to see him face the winner of Marquez vs. Casamayor.
Any comments or questions? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com

Knicks Pick A Rooster!

          Danilo Gallinari or as he is best known in Italy as “The Rooster” was the number six pick in this year’s NBA Draft. As Gallinari being a international player many fans in the united states have not heard of him thus leading to the now annual undercard event to the draft of Knicks fans booing the team’s selection. The negative response of the crowd however did not rattle the 19 year old as he was supposedly warned beforehand by his father and new Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni.

 

        The link between Gallinari and D’Antoni had been strong even before this draft’s workouts as D’Antoni wasa teammate and is friends with Gallinari’s father for years in Italy. This connection can mean one of two things as the reason for this draft pick as either being because D’Antoni has full knowledge of the skills that Gallinari posses and this may be a steal or he is just being a good friend and paying off an old debt (hey its the knicks anything is possible). The skills of Gallinari have been constantly hyped to make him appear as the next big thing to ever come from overseas and possibly be the savior for a franchise. It is amazing how the supposed “international experts” always seem to forget that yes even though most international players are incredible on the offensive end are still below average defenders and most have never played against the athleticism of the players that star here in America. I’ve been skeptical with international players since in my opinion its nothing more than a flip of a coin as to whether the player will be a star because to every Dirk Nowitzki there is a Frederic Weis (the knicks drafted him too).

            D’Antoni has made a stand in trying to do whatever it takes to change this decrepit franchise and hopefully garner its 1st winning season in 7 years. If Gallinari is not effective from the start we may see many loyal Knicks fans counting down the days until “the mighty” Jay-Z (Hov) brings his Nets to Brooklyn with what they hope his best friend Lebron James (It’s The Roc). It could also be a miracle on 34th street as Gallinari leads the Knicks to NBA glory and uplifts a franchise from jokes and ruin to honor and prestige even leading to a possible Disney movie reenacting the remarkable run (I think Mark Wahlburg will be waiting by the phone for that one) . Either way I hope as a Knicks fan that this guy does make a positive change I mean a year from now inner city kids could be fighting each other over scuffed “Rooster” sneakers than some Jordan’s.(Ha Take That Nelly!)  

 

* Highlights Of Gallinari In Italy