How Sweet It Is: Knicks over Grizzlies by 8 at Garden

Well, shit. I had written a whole post on this game and deleted it accidentally by hitting the refresh button. Long story short: I came into some Knicks tickets today, through (of all places) the Catholic church.

(Before anyone suspects some vast charity scandal involving the "Starbury Stars" program and members of the clergy, I should note that the tickets were given to a local pastor who also teaches my mother's Greek class. Someone had given him the tickets, and apparently he's not much of a Knicks fan.)

My original post went far too deep in statistical analysis, and offered little that an interested party couldn't easily glean at espn.com. I will only reiterate my appreciation of Mike Sweetney, our pal Halfzie's favorite Knick. Somewhere in the beltway, a bottle of rye just ran out of luck. Sweetney's line: 21 minutes, 11 points, 9 rebounds (5 offensive), 1 impressive blocked shot.

Jerome Williams (picured with Sweetney above) stood out more for his halftime antics (jawing and dancing in front of the officiating crew) and periodic spasms (of either glee or dismay) than for his play (17 minutes, 9 points). Marbury was 5-5 from 3-point range in the second quarter, but the real show tonight was Stromile Swift's halftime dunk barrage.

The other point I will reconstruct before it gets too late: the Knicks are indeed more fun to watch than they were during the Rick Brunson/Clarence Weatherspoon years, but it would be a mistake to buy in to the Dolan hype just yet. The Knicks are a team that was managed into the ground over the last few years and if they begin to show promise now we should be somewhat relieved--not utterly jublilant

Anyway, there it is: abridged, but more to the point. But one last thing before I go: seeing Jason Williams tonight reminded me of a nickname our friend the Jaff once coined (for a lady friend, not Jason, but appropriate to both)--"Lil' Mousie Two-Bits." At last word the Jaff was going to be headed to Puerto Rico (and early retirement, at age 22) about this time. We wish him all the best.