Knicks Linsanity Ends In Disaster

Jeremy Lin was one of the feel good stories of the last NBA season. He came out of nowhere to be starting guard for the New York Knicks after injuries felled the starters. He managed more than respectable statistics in his 1/3 of a season's worth of starts, but then was felled with an injury that kept him out of the playoffs.

Despite the injury, Lin had a good chance of being the starter for the Knicks in the 2012-2013 season had the Knicks sought to keep him on the team. The Knicks thought it was a good idea to let Lin shop his skills around. That was the first of many bad moves the Knicks made this offseason.

Lin got a great deal from the Houston Rockets (the very team that had released Lin on waivers in 2011 when the Knicks picked him up). The Knicks claimed that they would match the offer; Lin apparently went back to the Rockets and reworked the deal with a third year that seemingly would have imposed huge salary cap considerations for the Knicks. The Knicks dithered, then picked up a boatload of over-the-hill, has-beens or never-weres and then ultimately refused to resign Lin.

Lin is now on the Rockets, and the Knicks are inspiring the ire of Knick fans who knew the value that Lin brought to the Garden - not only on the court but with the huge impact he made off the court. Linsanity will play out in Houston, but it didn't have to be that way.

The new CBA included a provision to make it much easier for teams to release players with bad contracts. It’s called the stretch provision. Here it is right out of Larry Coon’s invaluable CBA FAQ that can be found here: cbafaq.com.

Otherwise (if the contract or extension was signed under the current CBA), the remaining guaranteed salary is paid over twice the number of remaining years, plus one, per the Stretch provision:

If the player’s salary payments are spread-out using the Stretch provision, the team may elect to stretch the salary cap charge to match2. For example, if two seasons remain on the player’s contract when he is waived, and the payment is spread-out over five years per the Stretch provision, then the team may elect to spread-out the salary cap hit over those same five years.
In other words, the Knicks will have the option after the 2013-2014 season to waive Jeremy Lin, take his third-year $15 million salary and spread it out with its cap hit over the following three seasons. In each of those three seasons, the Knicks would have $5 million of dead money on the cap. Doing that would all but eliminate the insane luxury tax payment the Knicks would have to endure in 2014-2015, which is supposedly stopping them from re-signing Lin.

Obviously, this isn’t an ideal plan or scenario. The Knicks wouldn’t be resigning Lin with the idea of waiving him after 2013. Instead, this is simply a way out if Lin turns out to be nothing more than a backup quality point guard. Having dead money on the cap for three seasons is obviously a bad thing, but it’s nothing the franchise couldn’t survive.

Lin could have turned out to be above average as a point guard over full seasons, but he would be at least as good as his replacements (Felton and Kidd - both of which are not the draw Lin was, and in Kidd's case, without the worry of a DUI in waiting). Indeed, Kidd was barely named to the team when he was arrested on DUI.

The toxic locker room situation is nothing to sneeze at either. The pieces that the Dolans have assembled over the past couple of years was self-centered so that Lin's selfless play was freshening and worth watching. Now? It's anybody's guess, but I doubt the team will be nearly as fun to watch.

Knick fans are already indicating that they're going to consider the Nets over the Knicks, which is money to Jay-Z's ears.

After the Lin-Sanity Fades; Knicks Coach Mike D'Antoni Resigns

Let the blame game commence. Mike D'Antoni, the coach for the New York Knicks has resigned in a mutual agreement with the Knicks organization. The team is coming off a 2-8 stretch following the return of Carmelo Anthony after the All-Star break. That follows a striking run when Jeremy Lin ascended as an everyday starter in Anthony's absence.

The Knicks have not replied to requests for confirmation yet. The news comes just hours after D’Antoni spoke at the morning shoot around and said that he had spoken with frustrated star Carmelo Anthony before the workout.

Asked if he believed he had the support of the players, D’Antoni said he was confident.

“I am,” he said. “But you have to ask them that. I’m confident. I think they’re great and have been great and we’ll battle through this.

Anthony insisted that he was in the coach’s corner, contrary to whispers from the locker room.

“I support Mike 100 percent,” Anthony said. “Regardless of what is going on as far as us losing basketball games we all need each other right now and this is the best time to come together and stick with one another because There’s a lot of things being said out there about Mike, about myself and it’s just a bunch of nonsense right now. So we’ve got to stick together. We’re not going to do it without one another.

D'Antoni hasn't been able to get the team to play on the same page, and that has as much to do with the flawed nature of the team as it does his coaching abilities. Anthony can't seem to gel with Lin and the offense comes to a standstill when it flows through Anthony. That's the exact opposite of what was happening when Lin was directing traffic on the floor.

The assistant coach will take over in the interim. The team needs to do more than replace the coach; it needs to deal with the fact that the offense is a muddled mess when Anthony is on the floor.

Monumental Mistakes at the Garden

Isiah Thomas must know where James Dolan has buried dead bodies or has video showing team executives in compromising positions, because there is absolutely no reason in the world that anyone with the Knicks should want to have anything to do with one of the worst team executives and coaches in the team's history.

In fact, no one who has a functioning neuron should want Thomas to have anything to do with coaching because of his gross irresponsibility and culpability for creating a hostile work environment and engaging in sexual harassment with female executives with the Knick organization.

Yet, what does Dolan do over the weekend? He names Thomas a consultant and claims that Thomas was instrumental in landing the Knicks' sole major player in the offseason.

Thomas, fired by the Knicks in 2008 after embarrassments on and off the court, was cited during last month's Amar'e Stoudemire press conference for helping in the recruitment of the free-agent forward. Thomas also was dispatched on the eve of LeBron James' decision to meet with one of the members of his entourage whom he knew.

“I’m excited to once again be a part of the New York Knicks organization. I was honored to have been asked to help during the recent free-agent recruiting process, and believe that this new role takes full advantage of my skill set as an evaluator of basketball talent," Thomas said in a statement released by the team.

"While I will of course continue in my role as FIU’s coach, I look forward to working with Donnie (Walsh), Coach (Mike) D’Antoni and all of the Knicks staff to help bring a championship back to New York.”

The team's statement says Thomas "will assist the team’s senior management in various capacities, including player recruitment."

However, The Associated Press reports the hire could violate NBA rules that forbid college coaches from having jobs with its teams, which aren’t allowed to have contact with players who aren’t yet eligible for the draft.

“We are reviewing the agreement, in consultation with the Knicks, for compliance with league rules,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

Since he left the organization as a consultant to team president Walsh to head the FIU program two years ago, Thomas has remained close with owner James Dolan and kept a house in Westchester. Thomas' involvement with recruiting Stoudemire led to speculation he could return to the Knicks as GM, a job which is vacant.

Thomas was a Hall of Fame player, but has been absolutely atrocious as a team executive and coach. He's destroyed more teams than helped, and yet the Knick owner thinks that the time's right to bring Thomas back?

What is current team executives Donnie Walsh supposed to think about this? Walsh is picking up the pieces left behind by Thomas' ignominious departure after losing season after losing season and the team and Thomas were forced to cough up $11.5 million in a sexual harassment suit.

Knick fans have every right to be pissed off about this and it once again shows just how poorly run the organization is - starting at the top.

The Obligatory LeBron James Wrapup

LeBron James, the NBA player who commanded pretty much all the attention in the NBA off-season, will be going to the Miami Heat, rather than New York, Chicago, or the Newark (NJ) Nets.

Whatever shall we do? Well, if you're in Cleveland, you're probably wondering what you did to deserve this fate.

After all, Cleveland used to rock:



James didn't think it rocked, so he rolled on down to South Beach to join up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Wade's won a championship with the Heat; Bosh and James have done nothing despite James' tremendous talent and abilities to fill the seats of arenas around the NBA. The guy is a phenomenal talent, but he hasn't exactly won anything.

New York was hoping for James to come to be their savior; same with the Nets. Can't blame them given that both franchises cleared cap space to attempt to make this happen, but their offers fell short.

The best revenge for those cities would be to win one before the Heat (and James) do. I can only hope that the Cavaliers win first - that would be the sweetest revenge for Cavs' owner Dan Gilbert, who wrote a stinging rebuke of the James departure. Moreover, he promised the Cavs would win the championship before the "...self-titled former "king" wins one."

Right now, the Heat are the biggest winners of the offseason, namely because with the James signing, they've now sold out all games as of this afternoon (except for the withheld seats for single game purchases). Sales of his jersey will start flying off shelves pretty quickly too.

Lakers Win NBA Championship and Riots Ensue

I never got the reason behind rioting after your team wins a championship. It's insane, and while the Los Angeles police claimed that they were prepared to deal with any rioting, it still broke out and damage was done.

Crowds hurled bottles and other objects at police, smashed marquees, jumped on vehicles, broke windows, and set rubbish dumpsters and vehicles on fire along Figueroa Street north of Staples Center and on Flower Street.

Police fired non-lethal rounds to disperse the crowd at Figueroa and Venice Boulevard after several small fires were set, as well as at 11th and Hope streets. At 7th and Flower, a car believed to be a taxicab was engulfed in flames.

At least one person was beaten unconscious as fights broke out on Flower Street near Olympic Boulevard. A bicyclist was injured when struck by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department vehicle near 11th and Flower streets, according to the LAPD.

In all, there were multiple injuries but no loss of life, officials said. One police officer suffered a broken nose. As night wore on, fire crews responded to many rubbish fires and some vehicle fires, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The LAPD declared an unlawful assembly moments after the game ended.

The Garden Media Mess Continues

The Knicks and Cablevision continue to heap dishonor on their brands with the latest sad chapter of the Isiah Thomas era. Fans must be scratching their head wondering what insanity will come down from Garden Management next.

Yesterday, Stephon Marbury left the team and text messaged that he had the permission of team coach and GM Thomas to do so.

Today, we find that Marbury has been fined $182,000+ for leaving the team.

According to the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, players are docked 1/110th of their salaries for a missed game. With Marbury scheduled to earn $20.1 million this season, that would be about $182,800.

Marbury told the New York Post on Tuesday he had permission from Thomas, also the Knicks president, to leave the team, but Thomas would not confirm that. He did say the team would welcome back Marbury.

Thomas refused to discuss any potential penalties against Marbury before the game on Tuesday, saying the matter would be kept “in-house.”

If he had permission, why did he get fined? Did Marbury lie? And didn't he and Thomas and the Garden know that someone would find out that someone wasn't telling the truth?

More to the point, why are Thomas and the Garden screwing with the media on a daily basis over what is going on? They couldn't give a straight story and instead lied about what was going on. No comment would have been more suitable than the clown act that passes as Garden Management these days.

Someone isn't telling the truth and someone at the Garden really ought to learn how to deal with the media better. Cablevision is a media company, and yet it doing everything imaginable to destroy its branding. Knick fans have to scratch their heads over what is happening to the team less than two weeks into the season. They're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

NBA Referee Pleads Guilty

Reports surfaced yesterday that former NBA referee Tim Donaghy would surrender to authorities in Brooklyn federal court this morning. It looks like Tim Donaghy will be pleading guilty to two counts.

Tim Donaghy, the former NBA referee accused of betting on games he officiated, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to two charges, including conspiracy to defraud the National Basketball Association.

Donaghy faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy relating to defrauding the NBA and up to five years for conspiracy to transmit bets and wagers, U.S. District Court Judge Carol Amon said in a hearing in Brooklyn federal court.

"I was in a unique position to predict the outcome of NBA games," Donaghy told the judge. "Some of my picks included games I had been assigned to referee."

Donaghy acknowledged receiving several cash payments from unnamed co-conspirators. No amount was discussed in court.

Donaghy was an NBA referee who got involved with the mob and I expect that he's going to sing like a canary for the FBI, who will use his testimony to go after other mobsters.

For the NBA, life will go on, and David Stern will have to put this sorry episode behind him. He's got to make sure that the public understands that this was a singular episode and that the integrity of the game will not be compromised. He has to show that in word and deed. Stern has said that the league's investigation found no problems with Donaghy's officiating.

Blowing Whistle on Crooked Players and Refs?

An NBA referee suspected of betting on and possibly fixing games he officiated may name others involved in the scheme, The New York Daily News reported.

Citing law enforcement officials, the Daily News said Sunday officials think Tim Donaghy will cooperate with investigators, and may name other officials or players involved in the scandal.

The NBA confirmed Friday it is cooperating with the FBI in an investigation into whether Donaghy, a 13-year veteran NBA referee, bet on games he officiated. Donaghy, 40, has reportedly resigned from the NBA.

Donaghy allegedly used bookies with connections to organized crime to place thousands of dollars in bets on games over the past two seasons, sources told the News.

The New York Times reported Friday the investigation is focused on whether Donaghy affected the point spread in 10 or 15 of the 60 games he worked dating back to December 2006.

Two bookies are expected to be arrested after Donaghy surrenders to authorities in New York -- possibly as early as Tuesday, sources told the News.

Donaghy may get quite talkative, and name more than just bookies. It is quite possible he might name other referees and players, which could make an already bad situation for the NBA even worse.

NBA Commissioner David Stern is in a real bind here. These reports undermine the credibility and authenticity of his product - legitimate outcomes from basketball games.

They have to take aggressive action to reassure sponsors who are the lifeblood of the lucrative deals that power much of the sport's income streams that this is an extremely isolated and limited crisis, but that strategy could backfire if Donaghy reveals that other referees and/or players are involved.

Therefore, Stern and the NBA will have to wait and see what the FBI and law enforcement have to say about what Donaghy has to say. It's not a good position for the NBA to be in - reacting to a developing crisis instead of being able to get ahead of it.

Basketball Blues: FBI Calls Foul On Ref

This isn't good for the NBA or Commissioner David Stern:

THE FBI is investigating an NBA referee who allegedly was betting on basketball games - including ones he was officiating during the past two seasons - as part of an organized-crime probe in the Big Apple, The Post has learned.

The investigation, which began more than a year ago, is zeroing in on blockbuster allegations that the referee was making calls that affected the point spread to guarantee that he - and the hoods who had their hooks in him - cashed in on large bets.

Federal agents are set to arrest the referee and a cadre of mobsters and their associates who lined their pockets, sources said.

"These are dangerous people [the referee] was involved with," a source said.

One source close to the probe counted the number of games on which the ref and his wiseguy buddies scored windfalls in the "double digits."

NBA Commissioner David Stern is aware of the investigation and has a report about the referee on his desk, another source said.

The official, whose name was withheld, allegedly wagered on games during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 NBA seasons.

James Margolin, an FBI spokesman, declined comment on the latest black eye for professional sports.

The sources indicated the referee apparently had a gambling problem, slipped into debt and fell prey to mob thugs.

"That's how he got himself into this predicament" by wagering with mob-connected bookies, one source said.

Referees in basketball have a tremendous amount of power to determine outcomes of games based on how they call fouls. If this referee was as compromised as is being alleged, it throws the outcomes of those games into question. This is a serious black eye for the sport and the NBA has to deal with this issue forthrightly and promptly to assure fans that the outcomes of games are legitimate.

UPDATE:
Naming names time: Tim Donaghy. Oh boy.

Defense attorney John Lauro confirmed Donaghy is under investigation but refused to comment on the allegations or the case.

According to a law enforcement official, authorities are examining whether the referee made calls to affect the point spread in games on which he or associates had wagered.

The law enforcement official, who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on the condition of anonymity, said the referee was aware of the investigation and had made arrangements to surrender as early as next week to face charges.

This isn't going to sit well with anyone in the NBA Front Office. This goes to the heart of the integrity of the game of professional basketball. If this referee affected the outcome of games, it completely undermines the game and affects the bottom line for the players, teams, and all those who draw income from basketball related activities. Commissioner Stern has to take prompt action here to assure his sponsors that this was a single isolated incident. Investigating the backgrounds of all other referees is a good start - set up an independent counsel to check all referees. However, that wouldn't go far enough. Include checks of players too. The NBA cannot be too careful here in protecting its main asset - the integrity of the game itself.

Here's some background on the games he's refereed:

Age: 40
NBA experience: Referee in 772 regular-season games in 13 seasons
2005-06 season: 63 games; team officiated most often -- Trail Blazers (7 games)
2006-07 season: 68 games; team officiated most often -- Heat and 76ers (8 games)
High school: Cardinal O'Hara (Springfield, Pa.; one of four NBA refs to attend O'Hara)
College: Villanova, 1989
Of note: In his first dozen seasons as an NBA referee, worked 704 regular-season games and 15 playoffs ... Also has seven years of CBA officiating experience ... Played varsity baseball at Villanova ... Participated in the NBA Read to Achieve program.

UPDATE:
True Hoop has all kinds of links to various incidents relating to Donaghy.

Priorities Askew

Which story should receive more coverage: 1) Israel conducting negotiations with terrorist groups to secure the release of Gilad Shalit and which would also mean the release of hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli jails including notorious terrorists and murderers like Marwan Barghouti; or 2) Don Imus and his inane clown rantings on the Rutgers Lady's Basketball Team.

Well, considering that the top story on most of the online news outlets is the Imus kerfuffle, it is clearly Imus and his rantings are seen as more important than the life and death struggle of Israel, Gilad Shalit, and the considerable ethical and moral quandries in a prisoner swap.

Think about this: Israel is on the verge of even considering a prisoner swap where hundreds of Palestinians are released to secure the return of a single Israeli soldier. Those Palestinians released could include those with Israeli blood on their hands, and there's no reason to believe that those Palestinians wouldn't simply return to their former ways - going after Israelis at the earliest possible opportunity.

Such a release would result in undermining Israeli national security (and indeed much of the West) for years to come. That the feckless Olmert government is even entertaining the Hamas inspired prisoner lists is telling. There's no reason to negotiate with these terrorists and there's no amount of goodwill short of Israel pulling down its flags and quitting the country that would be acceptable to Hamas. These same groups are continuing their attacks on Israel and it is lucky that a major terrorist attack didn't occur during the past week.

Israeli officials are looking at prisoner lists that include murderers and those involved in terrorist attacks on Israel and think they can whittle down the list to a number and selection that will be acceptable to the Palestinians, let alone Israelis who should be outraged that the Israeli government would cave on a matter of such national import.

Any kind of agreement that Israel works out with the Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Fatah will result in a major coup for the Palestinians - and undermine Israel's national security. It will mean that kidnapping Israelis will result in further concessions.

Where will that line be drawn? For the Olmert government, it would appear that there simply is no line that can't be crossed.

Instead, we're treated to the non-stop coverage of Imus and his distasteful comments that landed him a 2-week suspension that will begin next week because he's set to host WFAN's annual 2-day charity event beginning Thursday. He's going to meet with the players, has already been chastized by the coach, and has already met with the dispicable Al Sharpton whose own gory history of distasteful comments should have been more than sufficient to require clothespins for everyone watching that encounter and demand for fealty/apology on behalf of the team.

I find that the priorities of those in the media are so far out of whack that they don't recognize truly important news stories for what are marginal pieces that will affect only a tiny segment of the population; after all Imus has a very limited audience, even counting the marginal coverage he gets on the MSNBC simulcast. That few in the media are willing to delve deeper into Sharpton's background to show his nature as a race-baiter and racist is appalling. The same people who demand that white folks apologize for saying inappropriate comments haven't been above using their own hateful language and have never apologized for them either. Instead, they're now perceived as kingmakers and politicians must consider their support in running for major elections.

I've given up watching or listening to Imus for years now. He isn't funny and that was his schtick for a long time. He made the Broadcasting Hall of Fame on his record, but that record is long past. He's made his apologies and his employer has made him sit in the corner for two weeks. Fine by me.

It is interesting, however, to consider that the issue of race relations now turns on the utterances of an over-the-hill shock jock and his kowtowing to self-annointed protectors of civil rights who themselves care little about racial equality and see incidents such as this as little more than props to stay in the media spotlight rather than on the actual advances made since the founding of the civil rights movement. There's a story in there, and that is where the story truly lies.

Sorry Hawk, Great Danes' Bark Worse than their Bite

As many of you know, Lawhawk is an alumni of Albany University, in New York. The Albany Great Danes made it to the NCAA's march madness for the second year in a row, after defeating Vermont, 60-59, in a thriller to win the America East title. The Danes, who last year played # 1 ranked UConn tough in a 72-59 loosing effort, were ranked # 13 and and facing the #4 ranked Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. However, the Danes again fell short of advancing to the second round.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Flat on his back after a hard foul, J.R. Reynolds figured he might as well give it a shot.

Why not? Everything else was going in.

The high-scoring guard with a balky hip made shots from everywhere on the court Friday -- including a just-for-fun fling from his back -- while leading Virginia to an 84-57 victory over Albany in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"When you get it going like that ..." Reynolds said sheepishly, referring to his on-the-back bank shot. "That was a tough shot."

Everything came easy for the Cavaliers (21-10), who advanced in the South Regional with their first tournament win since 1995, when they reached the final eight. It was their most lopsided win in 37 NCAA Tournament games.

***

The America East Conference champs gained distinction last year, when they made the tournament for the first time and, as a No. 16 seed, took mighty UConn to the limit. Huskies coach Jim Calhoun was so impressed that he later embraced Brown and told him: "You guys are special."

They returned to the tournament with senior guard Jamar Wilson, the conference's two-time player of the year, and a confidence bordering on brashness. They told everything that they had packed enough clothes to spend the weekend in Columbus.

Wilson missed five of his first six shots, allowing Virginia to take control. He finished with 25 points on 9-of-18 shooting, but it wasn't nearly enough.

"We've been eating and sleeping (thinking about) the Virginia Cavaliers," Wilson said. "The fact of the matter is, they took us out of our game."

And sent them home with a lot of clean clothes.

Well congrats to the Danes for a great run, hopefully they can improve again next year.

One Step Away From Big Dance

My alma mater, SUNY Albany, is one step away from landing another automatic berth in the Big Dance. They need to win the America East Conference Finals against top seeded Vermont to have another shot.

Albany is the defending champion, and nearly made history in their first ever appearance. They not only played top seeded UConn close, but nearly pulled off the first ever upset of a number 1 seed by a 16 seed until UConn pulled away with a late game surge.

Good luck Danes!

Getting Noticed

It appears that my analysis of the Knicks got more attention than my ongoing analysis of the rebuilding at Ground Zero or the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Darfur, and South Asia. AM New York picked up my comments about Isiah Thomas and his team's thuggery for the morning edition as representative of Knick fans commenting online:

On the Web, many were quick to note that, as a player in Detroit, Thomas was a member of the so-called "Bad Boys," a team noted for bruising if not outright dirty style of play in the late 1980s.

"Isiah Thomas was a thug when playing for the Detroit Pistons. He's been an awful GM, and his coaching hasn't been better," wrote "lawhawk," a blogger at "A Blog for All. "One better investigate to see whether Thomas instigated matters as a way to fire the team up going forward."

Well, it would appear that the league 'investigated' the matter and didn't find any link between Thomas' comments during the game and the fight. That didn't sit too well with Nuggets coach George Karl who placed the blame squarely on Thomas, noting that his team had recently given up big leads with minutes left to play as have had other teams. The Knicks themselves have mounted runs late in games to cut 30 point deficits down to 10 with a few minutes left. That's why I still think Thomas was up to no good when he made those comments and his players took heed of them.

Hat Tip to The Man at GOP and the City for informing me that my comments were picked up by the paper.

Technorati: nba, david stern, knicks, nuggets, brawl.

Isiah Thomas and the Garden Thugs

Isiah Thomas was a thug when playing for the Detroit Pistons. He's been an awful GM, and his coaching hasn't been better. So, on a night when his team sucked, the effort sucked, and the Denver Nuggets were playing on a different level, a flagrant foul turned into a huge brawl.

Expect serious fines and suspensions, though one better investigate to see whether Thomas instigated matters as a way to fire the team up going forward. Either way, it was a disgraceful effort.

If your team doesn't show up to play hard every night, that's not just the players' fault. That lies with the coach. And the GM. Isiah Thomas is both.

Here are some predictions for suspensions. I think that they're probably on the light side, but then again, this is the NBA. Oh, and if the Knicks think that they were being dissed by the Nuggets take a look in the mirror. The team has been dissing its fans for years now. Shameful play, awful decisions, and a team that is hapless, lacks heart, or determination to play out the entire game from start to finish are just the tip of the iceberg.

UPDATE:
I was right to suggest that ESPN's prediction of suspensions was on the light side. The NBA slammed Carmelo Anthony with a 15 game suspension and Denver teammate J.R. Smith and New York's Nate Robinson received 10-game suspensions.

Both franchises were fined $500,000.

"It is our obligation to take the strongest possible steps to avoid such failures in the future and to make a statement to all who follow the game of basketball that we understand our obligations and take them seriously," NBA commissioner David Stern said in a statement.

Collins, whose hard foul of Smith was the flashpoint for the fight, was suspended for six games. Knicks forward Jared Jeffries was suspended for four games, and New York's Jerome James and Denver's Nene were hit with one-game penalties for leaving their respective benches during an on-court altercation.

UPDATE:
Others commenting on the brawl and subsequent fines and suspensions handed down by the NBA Brass: The Village Voice wonders what anyone was doing watching the last 2 minutes of a Knick game (heck, why is anyone watching the last 20 minutes of Knick game considering their putrid play).

The G Sides wonders how in the world Thomas avoided being hit with a fine or suspension for being the instigator. Good question.

The News Blog doesn't mince words.

Others blogging: Deadspin , Jossip, Basketbawfull, and Freedom Eden.


Technorati: nba, david stern, knicks, nuggets, brawl.

The Rematch - UConn v. UAlbany

The Albany Great Danes are meeting the UConn Huskies this afternoon in a rematch of their encounter in the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament last season. When I was at Albany, the Danes were never considered a powerhouse, let alone worthy of being on the floor with a team like UConn. The game last season showed just how far Albany has come, and how much further the team wants to go.

It set a benchmark by which Albany will judge its future seasons. The team can take a huge step forward today in its meeting with UConn. The national exposure has resulted in season ticket sales doubling.

The University at Albany has turned a memorable loss on the basketball court last March into a resounding long-term victory for the school, according to university officials.

The UAlbany men's basketball team meets 18th-ranked Connecticut today in Storrs, Conn., a rematch from that riveting night eight months ago when the Great Danes caught the attention of sports fans all over America.


On St. Patrick's Day, the Great Danes were poised to pull off the greatest upset in NCAA Division I Tournament history. They led top-seeded UConn of the Big East Conference by 12 points with 11 minutes, 34 seconds remaining before a CBS regional television audience and a crowd of 19,990 at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Gradually, UConn's superior talent took over and UAlbany ran out of gas in a 72-59 first-round defeat that ended the school's first appearance in the tournament known as March Madness.

But the national exposure the school received from that game helped contribute to an increase in student applications, greater alumni support and, say university officials, an overall better atmosphere on campus.

"The tournament had a huge effect on the university," UAlbany officer-in-charge Susan Herbst said. "It galvanized alumni around the country who saw the game, and it kind of re-opened their loyalty channels back to the university."

Herbst said she'll try to attend today's game, which coincidentally was scheduled before UAlbany and UConn played last March.

The tangible results of the previous meeting are obvious at UAlbany's SEFCU Arena, where season-ticket sales have nearly doubled from about 600 last year to almost 1,200 this year in the 4,538-seat building.

UPDATE:
The rematch wasn't nearly as close as last year's matchup. UConn won 86-55.

Worst Open Secret Ever

The New York Times is reporting that the New York Knicks have fired coach Larry Brown.

Duh!

He's been a goner the moment the season ended. Everyone knew it was a matter of time, and the only question was if the Dolans would buy out the contract or fire him and eat the contract price (what's a couple of million dollars - or $30 million) to a billionaire?

I haven't followed the Knicks in a while - they haven't been anywhere near as good or consistent as the cross-river Nets. There's a reason that's the case. Bad management. Brown wasn't the problem with the team. It starts at the top and the bad decisions seem to multiply around GM Isiah Thomas who has never seen a bad trade he didn't like. Brown was saddled with bad players and ones who refused to play defense. Lots of high priced talent were brought in who lack heart and work ethic.

That isn't the coach's fault, but the GMs.

This sets up the delicious possibility of watching Isiah coach the team to futility. Considering that every team (and even an entire league - the CBA) that has been run by Isiah has been run into the ground, the Knicks are no exception. Perhaps after another season of disasterous results someone will finally wise up and realize that Thomas has absolutely no business having anything to do with decision making in basketball.

Brown, on the other hand, will end up coaching another team, and will probably do quite well.

Albany Makes The Big Dance?!

Are You Kidding Me?! SUNY Albany - aka University at Albany, aka Albany State, aka SUNY at Albany, and aka where I did my undergraduate and some post graduate work, never so much as sniffed an NCAA tournament bid while I was in college (they were Division III back in the day).

Now, not only have they gone Division I, but they've actually managed to make the Big Dance.

Against UConn. Welcome to the big time.

Good luck Great Danes!!!! You're gonna need it.