Tuesday Silver Arowanas

Hi! Happy first day of training camp, friends. I was not in Greenburgh today (and won't be all week), but I collected some links from people who were. Keep scrolling for some non-day-one-of-camp stuff, too.

- One thing that's becoming clear is that if I want to share pictures of fish with you, I'll have to rely on a lot of fish that can be kept captive. There are still plenty to choose from, though, including the terrifying Silver Arowana, a bony, scaly fish of the Osteoglossidae family ("bone-tongue", because their lower teeth are part of one big, scary bone on the bottom of the mouth). This particular species is known for lurking at the water's surface, then leaping out of the water to catch prey. If you do not want to see a Silver Arowana jump to eat a dead baby rabbit, do not click this link.

Things from the first day of camp (of which reporters saw only the last few minutes, plus a few interviews afterward):

- The Knicks typically hand out blue jerseys (as opposed to white or orange) to denote the starters, but that doesn't sound like it was the case for the halfcourt drills reporters saw today, so don't worry just yet about Andrea Bargnani being a starter. Guys like Chris Smith were also wearing blue, so you kn-- OH WAIT, DOES THIS MEAN CHRIS SMITH IS GONNA START?

- And on that note: No, Mike Woodson still hasn't picked his starters.

- More Woody stuff: He sees Andrea Bargnani as versatile, reachable, and in good enough shape. He says "World Metta Peace". He's not sure Amar'e Stoudemire will be ready for the opener.

- More Bargnani things: He felt like he was in good enough shape for today, too. He's working with Dave Hopla. Melo says there's no pressure on Andrea, just on himself, which I think is a sound assessment.

- Tim Hardaway Jr. said yesterday that his wrist is fine, but he's still keeping it wrapped. Rumor has it he won this shooting competition versus Carmelo Anthony.

- Mike Woodson acknowledges that the Knicks sucked at defense last year and wants them to be good at defense this year!

Other links

- The Times has a new Knicks beat writer: Scott Cacciola! I believe this is his first piece.

- I went on a SpreeCast with Anthony Donahue last night! It was fun! I got shouted at a lot!

- The Knicks Wall has been totally redone, and they've put together a staff including some thoughtful Knicks fans/talented writers/friends of mine. Check 'em out.

- This whole interview with J.R. Smith is great, especially the Mike Woodson and Jim Todd impressions. J.R. Smith doing a Boston accent is a gift I could never even have imagined. Click around over at KnicksNow. They're constantly updating with video stuff from camp nobody else can get.

- #Keith wrote up an excellent report on the motley cast that turned out for the Erie Bayhawks open tryout. I see none of your names on this list. :(

Those are the links! Have a sumptuous evening.