Please, No....

An open letter to one James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks:

I have been a New York Knicks fan since 1981. In that time, I have seen a lot of people come and a lot of people go. from Hubie Brown to Mike D'Antoni. To Michael Ray Richardson to Carmello Anthony. Bernard King, Rick Pitino, Mark Jackson, Lenny Wilkens John Starks, Pat Reily, Chris Duhon, Stephon Marbury, Patrick Ewing, A'mre Stoutmire, I have seen a lot of player and coaches call Madison Square Garden home.

I have stuck with this team when Bernard King went down with what was at the time called a career ending injury. I watched the Knicks upset the Pistons in the 1983 playoffa before losing to the Celtics. I seen the joy on Dave DeBusschere's face when the Knicks won the number one pick in the 1984 NBA draft, which turned into Patrick Ewing. I seen Ewing lead the Knicks to the NBA Finals, only to lose to Hakeen Olajowon and the Houston Rockets. I have seen the Knicks become the first 8th seed to make the NBA finals, losing to the San Antonio Spurs. I have followed and stuck with this team through the good times and the bad. I have never not wanted to see anyone person return to the Knicks. Heck, I have wondered why Ewing is not coaching the Knicks in some capacity or Mark Jackson as the Head Coach.

There is, I must confess, one person I do NOT want to see return to the Knicks and his name is Isiah Thomas. Here in NY, we refer to Thomas's regin as the Dark Age. This man, single handedly, brought the Knicks to their worst period in their history. He bought in Stephon Marbury, Tim Thomas, Nazir Mohammed, Jerome James, Michael Sweetney and Eddy Curry., at the cost of a first round pick and said getting Curry was like getting a first rounder. Seriously. He fired Lenny Wilkens when Wilkens was making chicken salad out of chicken (censored). He didnt even give Larry Brown a chance to do something with this team. He let Don Cheany coach way too long and then there was that whole Anucha Browne Sanders mess. He gave away money like it was water to players who had no business making the type of money they were making, putting the Knicks in salary cap hell for years thanks to the contracts of Curry, Jamal Crawford, Malik and Jalen Rose, and Steve Francis. Not too mention the wonderful trades for Penny Hardaway, Jerome Williams and Maurice Taylor. As much as he should be complemented for drafting David Lee, I still want to know what in the name of Red Holzman was he thinking drafting Renaldo Balkman. The mere thought of Thomas coming back to be the General Manager of this team just sickens me. How could James Dolan even think about it, after the hell he put the Knicks through. Does he not remember the nightly "Fire Isaih" chants that rang through out the Garden? Does Thomas have picture of Dolan that Dolan doesnt want made public?

Look, I know this hasn't happened and if Dolan is smart, and no one can ever confuse of of that, it will not happen. But, just the mere fact that Thomas is still a New York Knicks consultant, as long as Dolan continues to call Thomas a friend, the threat is always there.

I do not want to see Thomas's smiling mug on t.v. re-intorducing himself to New York fans. I don't want to see him come in and destroy all the hard work that Donnie Walsh has done in his time here. If Dolan decides he must have Thomas back (which is like Leon Hess deciding he must have Rich Kotie coach the Jets), then he will lose a few Knicks fans, including me. I have gone through enough mocking from fans of other teams. I have gone through too much dissapointment ( I am a Jets fan after all) to have to endure Isaih and his garbage once again. If Dolan brings him back, then maybe he deserves Thomas to come in like the wrecking ball that he is.

But don't ask me to watch it, because I wont. Choice is yours Mr. Dolan.

A Very Merry Knicks-mas

The New York Knicks gave their fans a pretty nice Christmas gift this afternoon, beating the Chicago Bulls 103-95 behind dual 20 point games from A'mare Stoudmire and Raymond Felton. As well as the Knicks played offensively, it was their defense down the streach that gave the Knicks a hard fought victory before a national T.V. audience.

Wearing their Christmas greens, The Knicks played a complete game, getting clutch shots and holding Chicago when they had to in the fourth. Stoudmire came up with 2 key defensive plays in the fourth quarter, first blocking Luol Deng and then drew a charge on Carlos Boozer. Wilson Chandler scored 10 of the Knicks final 12 points to put the game away.

A packed Garden was rocking in the fourth quarter as the Knicks pulled away. The past month, The Garden has an energy that I haven't felt since the 90's Knicks team were running over opponents on a nightly basis. Watching the game on T.V, I was wishing I was there. But family time during the holidays is more important. I got more of a charge watching the game with my grandma, who flew in from Puerto Rico than I would have sitting next to a stranger at MSG. The memory of us clapping together when the Knicks won is a memory I will have with me for a long time and that was my real Christmas gift.

-Found this great article by Frank Isola of the Daily News. He writes a short article about some of the people we may have seen at the Garden, but really don't bring much thought to. Take a look:http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/knicks/2010/12/the-people-that-make-the-garden-bloom

Hope you all had a merry Christmas. I know I did.

Meet New York Knicks Forward Danilo Gallinari 12/16/2010

All you Knicks fans can go meet Danilo Gallinari tomorrow from 6-7pm and nab a free autograph while helping the Daily News Readers Care to Feed the Hungry of New York Food Drive (quite a mouthful, eh?). Any fan who brings any non perishable food item to Modell's, located at 234 W 42nd st, will recieve a free autograph. If you have any questions, call 212-764-7030.

I do hope to attend. My company holiday party is tomorrow night, so if I go, I'll have to leave work an hour early and go then go the pah-tay.

I will be in attendence tonight as the Knicks play the Celtics at MSG. Hopefully, I can nab some autos and even more importantly, I hope for a hard fought game that results in a Knicks victory.

Me thinks I need to check the Garden store for bobbleheads....

It all ends tonight

Dear LeBron,

Well, you've done it. You have the entire world hanging on where you will be come October. Through all the countless news reports, breaking stories from "reliable sources" and tweets, you have every one guessing and tuning in to your descion tonight on ESPN. If it wasn't for the fact that your donating some of the proceeds from the sponsorship to the Boy and Girls club, this show would have made you look like a prima donna. Well, lets be honest here, it still kinda does. I mean really, does anyone need a whole hour to make a 15 second announcement?

So, the obvious question is before us, where are you haning your size 16 Nikes next season? Are you going to practice that loyalty line you've been feeding us and stay with the Cavs? Are you going to join the dynamic duo of Wade and Bosh in South Beach and make the trio of Allen, Pierce and Garnett look like the Little Rascals in terms of star power. Will you head up to Chicago for some deep dish pizza and live in the shadow of Michael Jordan or will you go to play for the Nets where you can hang out with you buddy Jay-Z and sip Stoli Vodka with the russian billionare owner or will you come to NY and bring the Knicks back to the NBA elite. As you already know Lebron, you have plenty of choices.

As a Knicks fan, I would love to see you wearing the blue and orange and lighting the Garden up on a daily basis. It's been too long since we had a great player. Far too long since we mattered in this league. We were once among the very best in the NBA and now, we're a joke. Too many players that didn't pan out, too many failed draft picks and horrible moves made by incompetent executives (Isiah Thomas anyone?). Scandals, fired head coaches and horrible cap issues plagued this team for far too long. Your arrival would change all that. The Knicks would matter again. add a few pieces here and there and the Knicks could actually contend for an NBA title again. Ask Mark Messier what it's like to bring a once dormant franchise back to championship glory in NY at the Garden. Before his arrival, he was just a part of the Oilers Dynasty, second fiddle to Gretzky. Now, in NYC, he's God. That could be you, times ten Lebron. You go to Chicago and win one, maybe two championships, they will always say, "Well, that's great, but Michael won more. He's no Jordan." Here, the masses would line up and kiss your Nikes if you win even one title. Plus, I hear the marketing is the best in the world. Oh, and we have your favorite baseball team, The Yankees. I'm sure getting you box seats at the Stadium wouldn't be a problem.

I'm sure you've heard all the sales pitches as you sat on your throne. I bet you've tossed and turned in your royal bed and spoken with your leeche....I mean associates. I'm sure you will make the best decision for you and your family. If you decide that you want to stay in Cleveland and try to finish what you started there, then I think that's terrific and would wish you all the luck in the world. Heck, I expect you stay. But if your leaving, then why not come to New York and play in front of the greatest and most knowledgeable fans in the world. Why not be known as the man who made the Garden matter again? I guarentee you, if at 9:15pm tonight you tell the world your becoming a New York Knick, I will elbow Spike Lee aside at the front of the welcoming wagon, give you your Knicks jersey and bow to you and say, Hail King Lebron.