Well, it's not exactly productive, but it was nice to see the Knicks pull one out as they defeated Orlando 100-90. Quick game notes:

• Tonight's broadcast booth was a treat: Gus Johnson, Walt Frazier, and special guest Earl Monroe. Most of the "commentary" was really just Earl and Clyde giving each other backhanded compliments and reminiscing on the old days. Earl's got a very pleasant voice, if you ask me.
• Clyde, meanwhile, did what he could to draw some of the attention away from the guest by wearing a red and blue plaid jacket with bright red pants.
• Tonight's star was probably Wilson Chandler, who 23 points and 8 boards in 44 minutes. Most of his scores came around the basket on put-backs and such, but he did can a 3 and show a little bit of touch from the floor. Wilson also played really nice defense on the taller Rashard Lewis when he drew the assignment, staying on his feet and helping to hold him to 2-12 shooting.
• Today was actually going to be the day that I officially declared that Zach Randolph could not dunk. He had one wide open look at the basket with a nice running start and opted to lay it in. Then, in the third quarter he threw down a pretty legit two-handed stuff. Pretty impressive for a 6'9'' guy...oh wait.
• I think some fan ran on the court at some point. I sorta missed it.
• The Magic sure didn't look like a real contender tonight. Poor from the field, trigger-happy from downtown, and terrible from the line. Throw in some pretty relaxed defense and they really look like a potential first round upset opportunity.
• Patrick Ewing got a big hand from the Garden crowd. Good luck to the big guy on the Hall of Fame ballot tomorrow.
• Nate put an exclamation point on the game by throwing down a vicious one-handed dunk. Rashard Lewis bailed out before he got posterized, but that didn't stop Nate from following the stuff with a lion's roar and a nice jersey pop. Impressive, but still not as amazing as the Zach Randolph dunk.
• For the last time (not really), LET DOLPH SPIN.

That is all. Lotsa mammalian links coming tomorrow. Have a good one.

Donnie Walsh is officially our leader, and today's press conference should breathe some hope into the fanbase of this Knick franchise. For those of you that missed the presser, I was watching and took notes.

• James Dolan opened with his first real words to the media in quite a while. As one of the writers in attendance pointed out, JD used the word "autonomy" twice (!) in reference to Walsh's new job.
• Walsh was bombarded with a dozen different versions of the same question, that of Isiah Thomas' future with the Knicks. Walsh responded, often with an edge of sarcasm at the pesky media, that his plan was to sit down with Isiah, other front office members, and Knick players, and then begin to take steps towards the future. Walsh emphasized going into the meetings without any pretense, and without jumping to conclusions based on what he observed from afar. He expressed that Isiah "has the skills to help this franchise", but in no way leaned one way or another as far as keeping him. I think it's gonna take a little while for New York writers to learn to take what this guy says at face value. They're used to reading between Isiah's lines, and were desperately trying to unearth some of Walsh's plans, while he remained firm that he isn't yet prepared to make any calls, and justifiably so. The man just got here.
• Another point of emphasis was cap flexibility in 3 years. Walsh made a point of wanting to be able to test the free agent market down the road, and the closest he came to revealing his plan was a suggestion of avoiding acquisition of long-term contracts for the next few seasons. Regarding the immediate future, Walsh insisted that "it isn't so much the players themselves. It's the mix of players", and that getting the team at least to the point of contention is a goal for the near future.
• The final, and perhaps most refreshing, announcement was that Walsh would have "autonomy to establish the policies in relating to the media". He envisions "a policy that is more open and more accessible" while still protecting players and media members alike.

The theme here appears to be patience. Said Walsh, "there's no magic wand here. it's gonna take a lot of hard work." Walsh sees no reason to jump to decisions or act hastily, and that goes for matters of staff, office, and roster. Walsh did everything to convince me that he's reasonable, likable, and fully committed to making this franchise a contender. Today is the dawn of a new era.

Update: More from Henry Abbott suggesting that Walsh is, above all, a reasonable guy and a good, respectable person. That's a good step in changing the face of an embattled franchise.

The Donnie Walsh rumors have yet to be substantiated. In the meantime, the Knicks played a game last night and lost with flying colors. Game notes:

• Clyde's outfit theme: "Blue's Clues".
• It seems like Wilson Chandler alternates between shyness and trigger-happiness, depending on the game. Some nights, he's passing up wide-open shots, while on nights like last night, he doesn't think twice before letting it fly. Wilson did get to the basket some and finish with 13 points on 6-10 shooting, so nicely done.
• Mike Breen made a good point that David Lee's game is typified by the fact that he's putting up double-doubles (12 and 13 last night) in March on a 19-win team. Can't stop, won't stop.
• Lee's blunder of tipping the ball into the opposing basket does appear to be contagious, though. Zach Randolph tipped a rebound into the Nets' basket in the first half.
• "Knicks spokesman" Jonathan Supranowitz was sitting right behind Isiah and chatting away on a cell phone. For what it's worth.
• Clyde described a hard foul in the second quarter as "vicious, but not malicious". Haven't heard that one before.
• Clyde also professed his desire to visit Serbia and Montenegro after hearing about its' majesty while sailing in Turkey last year. Who knew he was so worldly? Do Clydeisms translate into other languages? Can any P&T user translate "resounding rebounding" into Serbian? Does it still rhyme?
• My roommate is trying to grow a plant in a bottle, and put a water bottle filled with dirt on top of the TV. The best way I can describe this game is that I spent about 38% of the time watching the bottle.
• Randolph Morris needs to play basketball. If he's not playing well enough to be on the floor with the tanking Knicks (which isn't true), then he needs to go to the D-League. Let. Dolph. Spin.
• I'm not saying Malik Rose is overrated as a veteran leader. I'm just saying that he put up a three in the fourth quarter of a game that wasn't yet out of hand.

And that's all she wrote. I'm gonna be in class til about 3:30, so any posts on the front office front won't be up until then. Keep your ear to the ground in my absence. Peace.

Man, Knicks games suck now. This may have been the most aesthetically unappealing basketball game I've ever seen. Green jerseys, yellow jerseys, errant passes, airballs, shots hitting the bottom of the rim, late defense, matador defense, and no defense at all. It was all there in this one, as Mike Dunleavy led Pacers to a win over the Knicks. Game notes (which are pretty short, because I spent most of this one playing "Georgia On My Mind" over and over again on my roommate's keyboard):

• Clyde's outfit theme for tonight: "leprechauns on shrooms".
• Apparently, Flip Murray is on the Pacers.
• I'm in college, so I don't have a particularly nice TV, and let me tell you, that much yellow, green, and orange does not look nice on a $150 screen.
• Whatever the actual numbers might say, it really looked as if Conseco Fieldhouse was at less than half-capacity. There may have been more players and coaches than fans at the game.
• I wouldn't say Wilson Chandler is a great defender just yet, but he's certainly got very active hands.
• Bizarre moment: MSG showed a shot of some little Pacers fan in the crowd smiling and waving a single thunderstick. Suddenly, a hand reached in and snatched the thunderstick away, but the kid kept smiling. Indiana is a fucked up place.
• There were really more unforced turnovers in this one than I've ever seen. They got creative too: passes to nobody, dribbles off knees, dribbles off faces, dribbles off ceilings... late-season basketball between non-contenders is really a spectacle.
• 50 seconds into the second quarter, Jared Jeffries hit an 20-foot jump shot. Meanwhile, in Italy, a solitary chef abruptly put down his knife, took off his chef hat, and walked directly out of the kitchen never to return.
• On one rebound, Jeffries boxed out Ike Diogu by simply kicking him right in the anus. Apparently, that's not a foul. Good to know.
• I don't know many of you have seen Semi-Pro, but there's one especially funny scene where Will Ferrell protests a call by screaming "I'M GONNA MURDER YOU FAMILY!" at the ref. I was trying to determine which Knick would be the most likely to do that, and I decided upon Mardy Collins, just because he looks so harmless.
• Jermaine O'Neal's watch was the size of my TV.
• In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, Mardy Collins is a pretty Irish-sounding name, no? I'm sure Bill Simmons has done this before, but if you made an all-star team of black NBA players whose names make them sound like Irish-Americans, Mardy would have to at least be the 6th man. Patrick O'Bryant is unquestionably your center.
• This game's highlight had to be Wilson Chandler lowering his shoulder into Marquis Daniels, who flopped directly into David Harrison's legs, causing him to also fall down. Chandler is just that powerful.
• Final note: Why in March of a decidedly losing season, against a shitty team, with the Knicks' starting center injured, when Isiah has promised otherwise, does Randolph Morris play only 6 minutes!? That's infuriating!

That's it for now, y'all. We'll get to some stories that have been floating around tomorrow. Sleep tight and don't let the Dunleavys bite.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

It wasn't pretty, but the Knicks got a rare road W last night in Miami. Quick recap of a miserable basketball game:

• Miami was empty last night. And I don't just mean the arena. The entire population of the greater Miami area left town for the night to avoid catching a whiff of this game.
• More on that: Breen mentioned that the Miami crowd is typically a late-arriving one, to which Kenny Smith replied, "this crowd is arriving next year".
• Smith's official Overused Word of the Night was "pro". In a game like this, the pros come to play. Shawn Marion is a pro's pro. Wilson Chandler was playing like a pro. We got it.
• More from Smith: Did you know he invented Shawn "The Matrix" Marion's nickname? I did not.
• As you've surely heard, it's been one year since Isiah got a new contract. The Knicks have won twenty-something games since then. Hey, Dolan didn't say he wanted "evident progress" after the re-signing.
• At one point, Nate Robinson tied someone up and the whistle blew. A foul was called, but Nate excitedly thought it had been ruled a jump ball, and rushed the referee to give him a high five. He was left hanging and the Knick bench was left in stitches.
• Someone needs to make a video of every time Mark Blount touched the ball in the second half. It was surreal. I'd guess he had 15 touches in the final 24 minutes, and that he hastily bricked an off-balance jump shot on about 10 of those touches. It was so egregious that Mike Breen's call at one point was "Mark Blount with...a pass!". My fantasy team thanks you, asshole.
• As Barnesgasm pointed out, the Miami PA announcer must have accidentally ingested some speed in his pre-game snack. The guy was practically screaming such unimpressive names as "DAEQUAN COOOOOOK!!!" and "CHRIS QUIIIIINN!!1", which was made even more depressing by the noticeable echo in the completely empty arena.
• Alonzo Mourning's son Trey was in attendance as a ballboy. Word has it that after getting an A on a spelling test, Trey will flip his desk, flex his biceps, and snarl at the teacher .
• Mardy Collins with a shaved head looks oddly like Shandon Anderson.
• At one point in the fourth quarter, my dog (who had been snoring loudly at my feet through the whole game) lifted her head, watched the game for a few seconds, groaned, and went back to sleep. I'm not making this up.
• I just watched the highlight on SportsCenter, and the reel showed a total of 3 turnovers and 2 airballs, with only one made shot shown. I don't know how better to describe this game.

That is all. Back later.

Well, that was a fun one. Sure it was a loss, but being at the game and watching Nate Robinson completely take over was quite an experience. Some game notes:

• If Nate has his pre-game routine written down on a white board in the locker room, it looks like this:
  1. Shoot threes
  2. Throw basketballs at Wilson Chandler while he tries to shoot threes
  3. Shoot from halfcourt
  4. Yell in Brandon Roy's ear while he tries to shoot threes.
  5. Kick Von Wafer's legs while he tries to shoot threes.
• This looked like it was gonna be a long one early on. LaMarcus "The Marcus" Aldridge was posting and toasting the undersized Knick big men while the Blazer guards rained it from outside. Early double-digit deficit.
• One of these days, Wilson Chandler is going to really embarrass somebody. Wil doesn't have much finesse on drives to the basket. He's thinking rim the whole way. One of these times, someone's gonna be on Chandler's first poster.
• The halftime show was some people doing flips and throwing each other to house music. David Lee spent the second half of it sitting on the scorer's table and pretending to rave.
• Footage was shown of the Indiana high school rivalry between Jared Jeffries and Zach Randolph. Jeffries as a teenager most closely resembles Cheryl Miller.
• I mentioned this in my snazzy mobile post below, but why didn't Randolph Morris get any minutes? Aldridge and Joel Przybilla were having their way in the post and on the glass, so why not give our only active 7-footer some run? After a couple games of getting minutes, why would this be the one that Dolph sat out? Doesn't make sense.
• Dave from Blazers Edge has a question for us Knick fans in his recap: "I am curious to know if New York Knicks fans would prefer to field this lineup for the short term rather than the bloated, overpaid, selfish, directionless mess they started the season with". Short answer (mine anyway): yes.
• It's funny that Isiah makes enough coaching blunders like the one above that it makes us quick to judge his every move, even good ones. In this one, he subbed Jeffries for Nate late in the fourth quarter and the crowd went ballistic. Then Jeffries played tight D on Brandon Roy, grabbed a rebound, and was promptly switched back out for Nate in a timeout. It was textbook offense-defense that worked to perfection, and Isiah got no credit. Not that he deserves it, but it's funny.
• Alright, let's talk about Nate Robinson. Wow. Wow. 45 points on 16-28 shooting to go with 6 dimes and 6 boards. There wasn't too much luck involved in it, either. Nate only shot 6 threes, and opted instead to repeatedly dupe the bigger, slower Blazer guards and get to the hole. Example:

  Intoxicating, indeed. That's more Clydeisms than I've ever heard in a minute-long span. I think you can gauge the impressiveness of a play by the number of Clydeisms uttered in the minute following. I counted at least five there. Nate was also the man to force it into overtime, boldly attacking Joel Przybilla and getting the friendly roll:

  Stupendous. Hats off to Mr. Robinson for playing fearless, determined basketball and single-handedly keeping the Knicks (and the crowd) in this one.

That's all for now, kiddies. The Knicks' next game is on Monday, but I'll be back before then. Peace.

Despite Nate Robinson's heroics, the Knicks' lack of size and defense caught up to them in OT. Full recap coming tomorrow.

Get them lottery picks, I suppose. The Knicks hung around against a feisty Atlanta Hawks team, but collapsed in typical fashion down the stretch to give it up in Atlanta. Game notes:

• Kenny Smith doesn't know shit about bowling. First, he couldn't say how many pins there were, and then he said that he knew that the best strategy was to just "throw it as hard as you can".
• Bob Wischusen (the play-by-play guy for this one) commented that Josh Childress' fro protects his head like a helmet. Maybe this is the answer for Gerald Walace?
• While we're on hair, David Lee needs a snip ASAP.
• Towards the end of the first quarter, David Lee picks up his second foul and...Eddy Curry sits. In case you still thought Isiah didn't have favorites.
• Zach Randolph was an absolute monster in this one. Other than a couple misses down the stretch, he was on fire, attacking the basket and ruthlessly snaggling rebounds. He finished with 29 and 17 and played pissed-off throughout. Really makes one wonder why he can't be even a little active on defense.
• Bob Wischusen pulled out a nice, frightening stat: in 54 games played, Eddy Curry has hit double digit rebounds TWICE.
• I like Kenny Smith, but giving him a full 48-minute basketball game to talk is a bit much. At halftime, he pulled out the fact that the Knicks would need 4 big stops in the second half to beat the Hawks. Why 4? What does that even mean?
• Kenny also spent a full 3 minutes discussing the thought processes of Fred Jones and Josh Smith after Smith blocked Jones' dunk attempt. Apparently, Fred was thinking that he should go up for a dunk because he was once a dunk champion and still has some nice hops, while Smith was thinking that he was too smart to try and go for the block, unless Jones was gonna attempt a dunk, in which case he would try to get the block, but hopefully block it out of bounds for fear of a rebound. If this sounds ridiculous, that's because it is.
• Spike Lee's brother is named David.
• If I ever meet Earl Monroe, I'm gonna yell "HEY! You're Earl the Pearl Monroe!".
• This game got pretty ugly down the stretch. Check this out. The score was stuck at 91-90 for over a minute and a half towards the end. That took a lot outta me.

Ultimately, it was a decent, somewhat energetic performance by the Knicks in which they just came up short. Nothing to write home about. They're in Orlando tonight to face the Magic, and I'll have a preview up shortly.

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Knicks basketball: where unpredictable happens. Was that the Knicks beating a less talented squad by moving the ball and playing active defense? Who coulda seen that shit coming? In one of maybe 2 games this year in which I was absolutely sure the Knicks would win, New York disposed of the injury-riddled Bobcats by a margin of 24 points. Game notes:

• Eddy Curry came out a little cold from the field, but looked very active in the first quarter. He blocked a couple shots, grabbed some rebounds, and generally carried himself like he gave a shit. I wrote in my notes, "if you want minutes, play like a big man", and expected him to be back. Not so much. Curry finished with just 16 minutes. I'm not placing judgment, but against a team with two legit 7-footers in its starting lineup, that's not a matchup move by Isiah. That's preference for David Lee. Which would be great, if he would just admit it.
• On Curry's 3 missed FG attempts, John Andariese made a decent point. Eddy shoots with fear of getting blocked, and looks like he's lofting the ball out of reach rather than taking the most direct route to the rim.
• "Johnny Obvious" wasn't so wise for the rest of the night. My favorite line: "Deflection...I love that word."
• In an advertisement for Knicks Bowl 9 (which looks like a lot of fun), Renaldo Balkman was seen celebrating a strike with the "Goo Punch" dance. People who get that reference are the most prized citizens of P&T.
• Jermareo Davidson is the lovechild of Shannon Brown and the Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth.
• Luca in the house! The Garden's resident courtside rugrat was in attendance and enjoying himself. They just don't lose when he's on the sideline.
• As someone who prides himself on answering the Nissan Trivia Question, I hate this multiple choice shit where you text in your vote. Completely takes the fun out of it.
• The Cats were already playing without Gerald Wallace, and were further depleted when Jason Richardson got a Nate Robinson thumb to the eye. You knew it was bad because he let out a cry like a wounded puppy.
• You rarely get to say this with the Knicks, but Jared Jeffries truly posterized Nazr Mohammed.
• Jamal Crawford had two near highlights. First, he did a little shake-and-bake and rocketed a one hand pass to Randolph from halfcourt. Z-Bo got fouled and couldn't finish it. Later, Jamal attempted the off-the-backboard dunk we haven't seen since '06. The one-hand stuff just rimmed out.
• The game's turning point was a 15-point run to end the second quarter that may have been the cleanest, most efficient run of Knicks basketball I've seen this year.
• Kevin Bacon was featured in Jill Martin's "Gimme a Minute" and I can confirm that he's as creepy in real life as he is in movies.
• Highlight of the night: Nate posting up Earl Boykins and shooting a big man's turnaround jumper. Awesome.

Individual Performances

• Nate Robinson gave us a solid point guard performance with 22 points on 9-18, six assists, and two steals.
• Jamal Crawford had a quiet 20 and 5.
• Quentin Richardson played pretty nice D and finished with 17 points and 6 boards.
• 18 and 8 for Z-Bo.
• David Lee had only 4 points, but violently gobbled up 14 rebounds in 30 minutes.

Anyway, fantastic job all around. This doesn't exactly translate to lottery picks, but it's nice to see the Knicks log a good effort and get results. Next game is on Friday in Atlanta. Peace.

Wow. Really makes you wonder how the Knicks beat this team just two days ago. Playing in the second of a home-and-home, New York caved to Toronto's hustle and hot shooting. Game notes:

• The theme of Clyde's outfit tonight was "Cocoa Pebbles".
• There was interesting dressing on the sideline, too. Isiah was wearing a tie so pink that it made my TV go a little fuzzy.
• The Raptors provide a nice showcase for Clyde's bizarre accent. We hear him say "Renaldo Borkman" all the time, but only in Toronto are we treated to "Chris Barsh" and "Andrea Bargnarni".
• I'm sorry to do this to you, but you know what would be loud? Mike Crispino having sex with Gus Johnson.
• Second quarter: Zach Randolph gets the ball 24 feet out, attempts a series of crossovers, loses the ball, recovers it, and airballs a three with 6 seconds left on the shot clock. That took a couple days off my life.
• I can't really get a handle on Primoz Brezec. He's 7 feet tall with a neck like a buzzard, rosy cheeks, and a comb-over that looks like its treated with lighter fluid. Anyway, he got an easy dunk in the second quarter by blatantly cherry-picking. That's more a reflection of the Knicks' incompetence than anything, but I've never seen that before in the pros.
• Eddy Curry's disappearance from the rotation has been rather bizarre, but his benching against Toronto makes perfect sense. Watching him half-assedly jog to the perimeter to challenge Andrea Bargnani is almost laughable. "But what about the offensive end? Can't he dominate weaker big men down low?" you ask? No, no he can't.
• A team like the Raptors with a big man like Bosh is the Knicks' worst nightmare. The Raps figured this out in the third quarter and built their definitive lead by running the same play over and over again. Play: Throw it to Bosh in the high or mid-post. If Bosh has single coverage, he simply breaks down or shoots over any of New York's defensively retarded big men. If they bring the double, Bosh passes out and the ball moves until the Knicks' predictably slow rotation leaves someone open on the perimeter. It worked to perfection nearly every time.
• In his native Argentina, hairs from Carlos Delfino's soul patch are used by the rich as fancy garnishing for exotic dishes.
• Clyde mentioned going to movies with his girlfriend. What could that relationship possibly be like? I'd like this post's comments to be a thread of phrases Clyde might use during sex. Here's a few to start: "Stroking and Smoking!", "Boning and Moaning!", "Flailing and Railing!", and "Shagging and Teabagging!".
• T.J. Ford got hot for 15 points in the fourth quarter and talked an unbelievable amount of shit. I really like Ford as a player but come on. You're T.J. Ford.
• Some key numbers: Toronto out-rebounded New York 51-36, including 14-8 on the O-glass. The Knicks shot worse from the field (38.3%) than they did from three (39.1%). Not exactly a recipe for success.

A Few Individual Performances of Note

• Jamal Crawford had a mini-encore of Friday's performance, dropping 26 (8-19) and 6. The ill-advised threes lost some of their novelty, though, and I hope he's done chucking for a little while. He probably isn't.
• Zach Randolph, meanwhile, reconciled his fine performance on Friday with a stinker of biblical proportions. 7 points (2-13!), 5 rebounds, and defense that couldn't contain most shrubs.
• Player of the game, for what it's worth, was Nate Robinson. 20 points (8-15), 8 rebounds, and no turnovers for the little guy. If only he could get more than 2 assists...

And there you have it. I don't know whether to feel sad or relieved about this, but these losses hardly affect me anymore. Back tomorrow with some linkz. Peace.