The Good & The Bad of LINsanity for Die-Hard Knick Fans

Being both a journalist & a Knicks fan, I couldn't avoid talking about LINsanity. LINsanity has swept across headlines around the world and has picked up on the bandwagon that "Melo-drama" started. So it's time to break down the good and the bad of LINsanity from a die-hard Knicks fan's point of view.

THE GOOD: 

Jeremy Lin's momentum brougut the Knickerbockers a nice 7 game win streak including a big win over the LA Lakers & a buzzer beater by Lin in Toronto. The Knicks are becoming more relevant now & even President Obama has complimented Lin. Lin (so far) is the point guard the Knicks were in desprate need of since the departure of Chauncey Billups. Baron Davis has been waiting for his recovery from injury to show New York what he's got but he may have to come off the bench to provide a spark because Lin is showing everyone he belongs in New York. Winning games and getting a high seed in the East is what seems likely if this momentum keeps up. If they reach the Eastern Conference Finals this year I'll be satisfied and if they reach the NBA Finals I'll be a mix of surprised and happy. This kind of excitement is what I've been waiting for since A'mare said "THE KNICKS ARE BACK!"

THE BAD:

ESPNarcade.com is on the money with this one. In any sport you will find band-wagoners (for those of you unaware with the term it means a fan who likes a team when they get hot) and especially in the case of the Knicks it makes me sick. I've heard people say "Jeremy Lin has me watching basketball, I've never been a fan but this kid is really good." And my favorite I heard while scorekeeping heard a coach tell his team after a game "Hey do you guys think the Knicks will win every game, No, you did good today" a parent said to the coach "The Knicks will win every game, they have Jeremy Lin and are unbeatable" I restrained myself not saying anything. I have nothing against Lin, I'm a fan, but I remember when the Knicks were the laughing stock of the NBA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj8-fsnV8nY) and when people would show me that Family Guy clip or the picture I have below. I'd like to share with everyone my Knicks memories.

I've been a Knicks fan since I could remember watching basketball, my first NBA jersey...a 90's Knicks Allan Houston jersey. I remember crying as a 5 year old when I watched the Spurs win Game 5 of the NBA Finals when they celebrated on the court at MSG. Reggie Miller use to rip my heart out and back in 2004 my dad showing me a broom after his Nets swept the Knicks in their last playoff appearance before the 2010-11 season. After 2004 the Knicks became a joke in the NBA with the arrival of Isiah Thomas. I could go on and on with all the players who played for the team in this time and most of these guys aren't remember for their time in New York. It wasn't until November 22, 2008 that I got to my first Knicks game after years of begging my parents & my uncle just to go to one game. I didn't care how bad they were or if they played a bad team, I wanted to be there. On that November night in 2008 I saw the Knicks beat the Wizards 122-117. When I got news of my uncle buying the tickets I bought a Jamal Crawford jersey at Modell's and all be it that Crawford was traded the night before the game. That night was so fun it became more of a common place for my uncle & I to purchase Knick tickets on StubHub.com and saw games that interested me or my brother(who's a Bulls fan but loves basketball). We went on April 4, 2009 to see the Knicks fall to the Raptors because I wanted to see Jason Kapono. The only Knick road game I attended was at iZod Center on November 21, 2009 when the Knicks were 2-9 and the Nets were 0-12, that game was the last time I saw a Knicks W in person. On February 27, 2010 it was Retro Night at MSG and the Knicks fell to the Grizzlies, I'll always remember that game because at halftime the Sugarhill Gang performed "Rapper's Delight" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKHEAylqDds). The next time I went to MSG was for the 2010 Open Practice and sat courtside at MSG for the first time and at the end of practice there was a "$10 ticket deal" announced. By the time my uncle, my brother and I reached the front of the line at the box-office with slim pickings for tickets vs good opponents: we got 3 tickets for the infamous asbestos game vs Orlando and I bought 2 tickets for my friend Brandon and I to see the Knicks take on his Mavs. I attended opening night at MSG on 10/30/10 and the Knicks fell to Portland. About half an hour before our train for the Orlando game, I got a text message saying the game was cancelled and my options were either refund or nothing so we went up the following Sunday for a matinee between the Knicks & 76ers ($7 tickets on StubHub). The last Knicks home game I attended was the 40 point loss to Dallas last year. It was a lonely time to be a Knick fan, the only other true Knick fan in my high school class was my good friend John. John and I went to school together since first grade and he was always someone I could talk Knicks to without someone asking me why I was a Knick fan and the only other guy in my class who wore Knicks gear with pride. In my family my fellow Knick fans were my Uncle Rich(who's the reason I'm a Knick fan) and my cousin Drew. When the Melo trade became official, I facebooked with Drew & John in excitement and called my Uncle saying the suffering was officially over. The day after the Melo trade, was a dress down at good ol Cardinal McCarrick High School and John and I were waiting on line for lunch when this kid Dan who was a Nets/Grizzlies fan came to lunch wearing a Melo Knicks t-shirt, John and I looked at each other and said "And so the bandwagon begins".

It's a sad but true reality in sports, people question your fan allegiance when your team does good because everyone gets on the bandwagon. When your team takes a downturn they leave and for the true fan that's the only ray of sunshine that you get during these times. As a fan I will ALWAYS stand by the Yankees, Jets, Rangers and Knicks. To me being a fan is like marriage, when you're a fan of a team it's for better or for worse. When championships are won, it feels more satisfying when you remember the bad times.

16 year old me, when I was convinced LeBron was going to save the Knicks

17 and satisfied with Stat & Gallo

18 and ready for NYK to return to being an Eastern Conference Powerhouse

That does it for my Knicks post, thanks for letting me share my memories of being a Knicks fan with everyone and hopefully the best ones are still to come! GO KNICKS!!

BREAKING NEWS: WRESTLEMANIA XXIX IS COMING TO NEW JERSEY

After about a month of speculation, WrestleMania is returning to New Jersey for the first time in 24 years. According to NJBiz.com Governor Chris Christie & WWE will announce that WrestleMania XXIX will take place at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands and WrestleMania Axxess will be held at iZod Center. I for one am wondering that now with everything happening in my hometown area...will WrestleMania XXX happen at MSG as planned or is WWE thinking of going down to Dallas, only time will tell how that will go down. Nonetheless I am one happy New Jerseyan & will certainly be waiting on line at MetLife or will shell out on StubHub for tickets. With the last 2 early Aprils being incredibly hot and moderately cold respectively in the Garden State, I'm wondering if I'll be rocking my jorts or jeans...either way I'm excited.

Why I Love Sports

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Today's all about love so I figured that today's post is going to be about the things in sports that I love & can't get enough of. I'm going to list some "Top 5's" in a few categories, which are:

1. Stadiums I love to go to
2. Stadiums I'd love to go to
3. Logos I Love
4. Jerseys I Love
5. Jerseys I'd Love to Buy
6. Sports Traditions I Love

TOP 5 STADIUMS I LOVE TO GO TO

1. Yankee Stadium- New or Old nothing beats the experience of going to the ballpark in the Bronx
2. Madison Square Garden- Knicks or Rangers I can't describe the feeling I get when I go to MSG
3. Citizens Bank Park- Not a Phillies fan but I've caught a couple games there & it's such a beauty
4. Citi Field- An improvement from Shea & I'll gladly go there to see some NL baseball for cheap
5. MetLife Stadium- home of the Jets!...and Giants, my hometown's stadium is where I watch football

TOP 5 STADIUM'S I'D LOVE TO GO TO

1. Fenway Park- I'm a Yankee fan but I really wanna go see this century old stadium just for 9 innings
2. AT&T Park- That Park just looks so beautiful on TV, I can only imagine what it's like in person
3. United Center- I'd love to go to a Blackhawks or Bulls game just to check out "The Madhouse"
4. Wrigley Field- It's Wrigley, that place just has so much history
5. Michigan Stadium/Cowboys Stadium- I couldn't pick one 100,000+ Stadium over the other so it's a tie

TOP 5 LOGOS I LOVE

1. New York Yankees- This hasn't left the team in 99 years under the Yankee name, it was even around for the Highlander days

2. Green Bay Packers- This is the iconic, time tested logo in the NFL nothing could ever replace this

3. New York Rangers- Since the team's inception the shield has been the representation of the NY Rangers

4. Chicago Bulls- The only logo the Bulls have ever used and should stay that way

5. San Jose Sharks- What's not to love about a shark biting a hockey stick, it's always been a favorite of mine

the next top 5 is gonna be broken down to 2 parts, my favorite teams jerseys & my other favorites

TOP 5 JERSEYS OF MY FAVORITE TEAMS THAT I OWN

1. My Derek Jeter jersey with GMS & Bob patches

2. My Rangers Heritage custom ordered Messier jersey (I know that's a Drury in the pic but replace the 23's with 11's & that's what i got)

3. My Mitchell & Ness Namath Throwback

4. My 2009 World Series CC Sabathia jersey

5. My Danilo Gallinari Knicks jersey

TOP 5 JERSEYS(NOT MY TEAMS') THAT I OWN

1. My Patrick Kane 2009 Winter Classic Jersey

2. My Joe Mauer 2010 Twins Road Jersey

3. My Jim Brown Jersey

4. My Dan Uggla FLORIDA Marlins Jersey

5. My Roy Halladay Phillies Alternate

TOP 5 JERSEY I'D LOVE TO BUY

1. NY Rangers Lady Liberty

2. SF Giants Orange Brian Wilson

3. Maple Leafs James Reimer

4. Knicks Carmelo Anthony
5. A Jets Super Bowl Jersey(wish I had a picture)

Last But not least...

TOP 5 SPORTS TRADITIONS I LOVE

1. Fan Sections- in any sport any fan section is great: Dawg Pound, Cameron Crazies or my favorite...the Eagle's nest of my high school in my senior year last year
2. Tailgating- Food & Sports go hand in hand
3. Music- nothing get's me more hyped up then music
4. Gatorade Baths- it's an accomplishment in and of itself
5. Shaking Hands after the game- sportsmanship, it's a great tradition that's stood the test of time

That's a few things I love about sports, Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

Speculating The 2013 Winter Classic Logos & Uniforms

Now that it's official, the Toronto Maple Leafs will travel to the Big House to take on the Detroit Red Wings in the 2013 NHL Winter Classic on January 1st. I've done a little research on NHLuniforms.com & sportslogos.net and thrown together what uniforms & logos are very possible for the game. It could be possible that the two teams will use their current primary logos for their uniforms but then again as we've seen in the past they could have just used the current primaries for the press conference & team designers could be working on something very unique & special. If they choose to do what the Penguins and Sabres did for the first Winter Classic back in 2008 & wear the exact uniforms they wore the first time the two franchises faced each other then the uniforms I have up there are on the money. Toronto first played Detroit back on January 4, 1927 when the Leafs were known as the St. Patricks and the Wings were known as the Cougars. About a month after their first meeting Conn Smythe bought the St. Pats and renamed them the Maple Leafs. The Cougars name would stay in Detroit until 1930 when the teams name was changed to the Falcons and in 1932 the team finally became known as the Red Wings. If the teams use their original encounter sweaters then that will be great for Toronto but not great for Detroit as they previously wore the Cougars uniforms with two Red Wing logos on the shoulders for the 2009 Winter Classic in Chicago.

Here's what the uniforms look like in a game:

Detroit's 09 Classic Jersey's

Mats Sundin in a St. Pats Jersey back in 2002

What I'm hoping for is a hybrid jersey like the Blachawks (09), Bruins (10), Penguins (11) & Rangers(12) did  where they blended past elements into one awesome jersey.

We'll have to STAY TUNED to see what these 2 Original Six franchises have in store for us for the "Big Game in the Big House". If anyone wants to see the uniforms these teams have used in their history, I'll gladly post the links for you to enjoy below:

TORONTO ST. PATRICKS/MAPLE LEAFS

http://nhluniforms.com/MapleLeafs/MapleLeafs.html

http://sportslogos.net/franchise.php?id=28

DETROIT COUGARS/FALCONS/RED WINGS

http://nhluniforms.com/RedWings/RedWings.html

http://sportslogos.net/franchise.php?id=11

CONGRATS GIANTS!

The 2011 NFL season is in the books and (as I correctly predicted) the New York Giants are Super Bowl XLVI Champions. I watched the first half of the game at a house filled with Giants fans & rocked my Jets attire. I left my friend's party due to an ear infection & enjoyed the rest of the game from my home. Nonetheless the game was phenomenal and a definite classic. Now we look forward to Free Agency, the Draft & Training Camp...I for one am excited to see what the off-season has in store for football.

I'll close up today's post with the champs taking a bow...

Super Bowl XLVI Preview

Well we're down to 2 teams in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII we have the New York Giants up against the New England Patriots. In a Jets fan's mind this is like Eminem & Royce Da 5'9...Bad Meets Evil. From the beginning of the playoffs I've had the Giants winning the NFC and the Ravens were oh so close before being bounced by the Patriots. Both teams are well matched on offense but the Giants have a slight advantage on defense. This game, if it lives up to expectations, should be a classic...for the final time for the 2011-12 NFL season, I will make my prediction then explain why I'm using a picture...

I'm going with the New York Giants in a 27-20 game that's decided in the 4th. No to all of you who think I'm a biased New York fan, I personally believe that when it comes down to it, the Giants have the better defense, I truly believe that...DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I've seen first hand how dangerous the Giants are in person (my christmas eve football wise wasn't great). Bart Scott said it best, New England's defense "can't stop a nose bleed". The Giants defense is more like a tissue then, the Giants are hot & look to have their sights on Lombardi. All that stands in their way is Eli's brother's mortal enemy...Tom Brady. I feel 27-20 is a right score, all though the Giants have a great defense, Tom Brady can connect on quite a few passes however, the Giants can bring some ELIte Salsa to the party in Indy.

 To all my readers who know me, yes I'm well aware that I'm in a Giants jersey in that picture above & I'm not a Giants fan. This pic was taken back in August at the Giants-Bears preseason game with my good friend Alexis who's a big time Giants fan. Next year I think I might take her approach to football, at that game and before that she told me the Giants wouldn't make the playoffs after the losses of Kevin Boss & Steve Smith and week after week she expected the worst for her team, even Christmas Eve when I knew the Jets would lose to either the Giants or Dolphins and not make the playoffs, both of us argued about our teams losing on our way up to MetLife Stadium. Nonetheless, in her disbelief her New York Giants are in the Super Bowl & my beloved Jets aren't, in fact when she put that hat on that day she said "I may have to wait a while to get a new one of these". Next year I'm taking up her way of thinking even though it'll be hard with Rex Ryan promising myself & fellow Jets fans the Super Bowl every year. The reason I was wearing a Giants jersey that night is because Alexis & I had a deal where if she wore a Jets jersey to the Jets game the night before, I would wear a Giants jersey that night. It's a respect thing between us, we were both equally giddy to see each other in the wrong jerseys. It's not like I haven't done that in the past, in 2009 & 2011 i waved the terrible towel in support of my friend Brandon's Pittsburgh Steelers and in 2010 I lost a friendly bet to my uncle on the AFC title game so I enjoyed Super Bowl XLIV in a Colts jersey. I love sports but it's all in good fun with family & friends, but i draw the line with Boston sports, sorry folks it's the Yankee fan in me, I've had that stance since i could talk. I can't leave you all with the vision of me in a Giants Jersey...

That's more like it...for me anyway! 

And here I am at the mathematical end of the Jets season & when I first thought the Giants would be going to Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI

There's always next year fellow Jets fans (we've said it for too long)

That'll do it for my Super Bowl preview, good luck to both squads & I hope everyone enjoys the game no matter where you are or who you're for!