Monday Black Herons

Good day, lava lamps! The Knicks are practicing today, so perhaps I'll have some updates to pass along later. For now, GET YOUR LINKIN' HATS ON! IT'S LINKIN' TIME!

- Gian sent me this link about black herons this morning. Note that they are not officially "umbrella birds"-- those are these guys-- though I think they come by that name more honestly. They've also got great haircuts.

- I suppose it was evident in the fact that he's still around the team all the time, but the word is Chris Smith will be officially back with the Knicks this summer. I can't see this amounting to anything more than a stint in Erie, though perhaps he'll earn a spot this time around.

- Howard Beck is back on the Knicks beat! He'd switched to the Nets this season, but-- for reasons unexplained-- will be rejoining the excellent Nate Taylor to give us even more coverage. Terrific news.

- Speaking of Erie, it was "Knicks Affiliate Night" there the other day. Happy that bond is being strengthened, although the Knicks haven't had much business with the BayHawks this season besides bringing them in to practice with Amar'e Stoudemire a few months back.

- As Chris Herring notes, it's almost March and the Atlantic Division is still tiiiiiiiiiight.

- Carmelo Anthony was highlighted as one of the rare athletes whose charitable endeavors operate quite efficiently.

- Melo's increased effort to get to the line last night may have been the result of Mike Woodson's initiative to get the Knicks attacking the rim more aggressively. (Read to the end for Alan Hahn's li'l jab at Wally Szczerbiak).

- There's a lot of talk about Amar'e's "role" today. Woj dropped in to say he deserves a bigger one. Amar'e himself remained wonderfully diplomatic about the subject when asked. Some things I've seen suggest that the long-term plan is for Amar'e to work back into bigger minutes, if not a starting spot, but those minutes and knee stress are being saved for the most important of games, like the playoffs and stuff. We'll see.

- Meanwhile, Kelly Dwyer warns that, while Kenyon Martin might add some defense to the Knicks' front line, his recent years suggest he won't contribute much on the glass. It seems like Amar'e's been making more of an effort on that front recently, which is good, but that's something to watch for when Martin does join the rotation.

Those are the links. Anybody eating good things for lunch? Wanna trade for these lightly salted peanuts?

Update: Charles Pierce also wrote a thing about the Knicks today. I got pretty excited about that, but there's not really much to it. Just sounds like he watched the Knicks game.