Do NOT Trade R.J. Barrett!

What the hell is wrong with these New York sportswriters? Why are they trying to goad Knick fans into giving up on the talented R.J. Barrett in exchange for a scorer who could mess up the delicate chemistry the team is developing? Is it for kicks? Do they get their jollies this way? The whole idea is inane. Barrett's only 20 years old, for crying out loud! He's a budding star, like CJ McCollum and Bradley Beal (two names the writers floated in bogus trade rumors) were in their first two seasons. This whole "Win Now" thing is getting ludicrous. The very last thing the Knicks need to do is revert to what they've done for the last 50 years when they either signed the biggest name free agents or traded young talent and draft picks for high scoring superstars. How many times has that worked out over the decades?

Think about it now. From Spencer Haywood and Bob McAdoo to Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire and all in between is proof that the quick fix via star power is not the answer.

The Knicks are finally building a team the right way for once. The system of building a team through the draft and making key acquisitions along the way is how the Boston Celtics of the 1960s and '80s, the championship Knicks, and the San Antonio Spurs built and maintained their great teams. The Derek Rose trade is a very good example of adding a veteran player for the right role at the right price. Legendary Celtics coach and executive Red Auerbach excelled at that practice. 

This isn't to guarantee the Knicks are going to become a dynasty, but right now they have one of the best coaches in the game in Tom Thibodeau and he has his players believing in themselves as a unit and looking as good with very similar fascinating potential as the Knicks did when Hall Of Fame coach Red Holzman, young talents Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier (draft picks), Dick Barnett and Dave DeBusschere (crucial trade acquisitions) began patrolling the Madison Square Garden court in the late 1960s.

NBA Hall Of Famers Dick Barnett, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave

DeBusschere and Willis Reed celebrating the Knicks' 1969-70 world championship.

Think of it as a newborn baby. Patience is essential to help a baby grow up to be a successful adult. Why should it be any different for a promising young team that's just starting out? The Knicks are going to grow up to be something special. And if they do indeed become a dynasty, the tried and true method they're wisely using now will be the reason.

Or, as Knicks star Charles Oakley once said, "If it ain't broke don't break it!"

The Mets' Forgotten Man

The Sports Media Wants To Include This Emerging Superstar In Any Trade. Why?

When it comes to a topic, a writer should know what he/she's talking about. Simple, right? Basic, Hm? Not when it comes down to many sportswriters. Too many, in fact. Clickbait always wins out until the facts finally arrive to save the day.

With Steve Cohen taking over from the Wilpon family as owner of the New York Mets, the trade and free agent rumors are running amok. Baseball's annual Hot Stove League is always fun for the fans but not when some sportswriters try to light a fire using a damp sponge.

In most trade scenarios involving any number of superstars coming to the Mets, the the one player always in the mix is left fielder/first baseman Dominic Smith with the idea being if the Mets sign George Springer to play center field, Brandon Nimmo moves to his natural position in left and, with no DH in the National League for 2021 and first base occupied by Pete Alonso, Dominic Smith becomes expendable.

Their reasoning is, besides being a better fit in left field, Brandon Nimmo is also a very good leadoff hitter.  But that's there the comparisons stop dead in their tracks so, with your kind indulgence, allow me to enlighten those who have been dis-enlightened.

Yes, Nimmo is better defensively in left than Dominic Smith but let's look closer at the offensive comparison. Nimmo put up quality numbers in 2020. However, Smith was on a whole other level. Over a 162-game schedule Smith's numbers look like this: 32 home runs, 136 RBI, 87 runs scored and 68 doubles which would've broken the Major League record of 67 set by Earl Webb of the Boston Red Sox in 1931.

Smith's been improving each year and he's still only 25. If he hits like that anybody should gladly deal with whatever defensive shortcomings he has in left field. He plays hard, he's willing to learn and is one of the most popular players on and off the field. No matter how you cut it, Smith's not going anywhere and that bat is not coming out of the lineup. If the Mets sign George Springer, what's wrong with Nimmo as the 4th outfielder? A strong bench is just as vital to a contender as the everyday starters and Nimmo could also be a top trade chip at the trade deadline should the need arise. Meanwhile, the leadoff spot is in excellent hands with Jeff McNeil starting things off with those big bats looming behind him.

Bottom line: If the Mets make a deal for Nolan Arenado (or anyone else, for that matter), include Dominic Smith out.

There's Only One Way To Force The Wilpons Out

In what's becoming yet another disappointing (so far) season for the Mets, the Wilpons' declaration of changing the culture of the team are looking like political promises - easily made, easily broken and the results are nothing new for Met fans. The starting pitching and the offense have been inconsistent (despite the presence of two very bright young stars in Jeff McNeil and powerhouse Rookie Of The Year candidate Pete Alonso) and the bullpen's been bull. And, inexplicably, manager Mickey Calloway and agent-turned-general manager Brodie Van Wagenen had zero job experience when the Wilpons hired them. Not surprisingly, that lack of experience is showing with Calloway's poor handling of the bullpen and the drive-by firing of respected pitching coach and designated scapegoat Dave Eiland.

 McNeil greets Alonso after a two-run homer at Wrigley Field.

So what to do this time? Well, Met fans, desperate times indeed call for desperate measures and if you're genuinely prepared to back up your demands that the Wilpons sell the team, there's one sure-fire way to make it happen. And that is (barring a pennant race down the stretch), stop going to the ballgames. Yes, that's a bitter pill but the long-term results can be satisfying if not rewarding. If the Mets fight their way back into the race that's one thing, but if they fall out of it and become sellers once again, the question you need to ask yourselves is, are you getting your money's worth? So why give the Wilpons their money's worth?  

Look, it's obvious nothing's going to change unless serious action is taken. Met fans did just that during the 1970s and by 1979 they brought to an end the ownership of Charles Shipman Payson, the skinflint husband of Joan Payson who, as team owner before she died in 1975, wasn't afraid to do whatever it took to improve the team.

Mets first owner Joan Payson flanked by Tom Seaver and Art Shamsky

M. Donald Grant

Unfortunately, after 1975 came the notorious mismanagement of infamous board chairman M. Donald Grant, who earned the fans' wrath by trading off the team's most popular and valuable assets for very little in return. This included Tom Seaver, Cleon Jones, Dave Kingman, Rusty Staub and Jerry Koosman among others. And to make matters worse the Mets sat out the free agent market while the Yankees, under George Steinbrenner, regained their former glory as the Mets crashed into the cellar.

Watching the Mets at Shea in virtual privacy, circa late 1970s

From 1970 to 1979 the Mets' attendance went from 2,697,479 to only 788,905, a drop of 1,908,574 paying admissions in only nine years. Management stubbornly ignored the fans' message, but by the late 1970s Shea Stadium began to look as neglected as the team was. Paint was peeling off the scoreboard backdrop, the parking lots were always flooded rain or shine, the amenities were becoming unsanitary and the entire inside of the ballpark became unkempt.

Finally, after drawing the fewest fans in their history in 1979, the Mets were sold to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon for a reported $21.1 million. They promised to do whatever it took to win and they started out by hiring Frank Cashen as general manager (He built the great Baltimore Orioles teams of the late 1960s and early '70s). Shea Stadium was refurbished inside and out, and with the necessary funds provided by the new owners, Cashen assembled a championship team that won the World Series in 1986 and the National League East in 1988.

 "The Mets have won the World Series!" ~ Bob Murphy

In 2002, Wilpon bought out Doubleday for $135 million and became the principal owner, something he was never prepared to do as evidenced by the Mets falling into mediocrity after The Subway Series in 2000 (although they did rise to a first place finish in 2006). 

Mike Piazza sends the ball on its way

With few exceptions (Mike Piazza, Carlos Delgado Carlos Beltran), ownership has shown little ability to make the right moves. Even when they opened their bank vault in 1993 and 2003 the Mets finished with the worst record in the league. 

In recent years, particularly since his involvement in the Bernie Madoff scandal, Fred and his son Jeff, the team's COO, have persistantly maintained a reluctance to spend and do whatever it takes to build a winning team while the Yankees have regained their former glor---wait a minute, haven't we been down this dead end before? In spite of a National League pennant in 2015 the whole thing feels hauntingly like the M. Donald Grant years after the 1973 pennant, doesn't it? 

Fred and Jeff Wilpon. Like father like son

Met fans back then knew the answer to the ownership problem. A losing team is a bad draw. Even a mediocre team. If Met fans today want the same end result of 40 years ago there's only one thing to do. Hit the owners where it hurts: Their pocketbooks.

Although things aren't nearly as bad for the Mets now as they were during the '70s, it's just as frustrating for the same reasons. The time has come to finally demonstrate to the Wilpons just who has the real power within a sports franchise and that power belongs to the fans who pay for tickets, parking, concessions, souvenirs, memorabilia and the Mets' cable network, because without those paying customers, professional sports as we know it would not exist. And since the Wilpons, like Charles Shipman Payson before them, are very wealthy mizers they'll feel the pinch very quickly. But you better act fast, Met fans. Fred is now 82 and when he dies Jeff will take over and the Wilpon conundrum will only continue ad infinitum ad nauseum.

Knicks Signing Durant Goes Against All Logic

As of this writing, it would appear that Kevin Durant will miss most, if not all of the 2019-20 season, which would seem to throw a major league monkey wrench into his free agency plans. Logic dictates that he will exercise his $31.5 million option for next season and wait until next summer because he'll never get that kind of payout through free agency now. Right?

Of course, you can't have logic without illogic. That part of the equation is provided in abundance by the many sports media talking heads and newspaper hacks because without it they can never fill a newspaper or a broadcast with enough quality information to warrant their careers. According to these so-called "experts" Durant is going to opt out anyway and that the Knicks, Nets, Lakers and Clippers should and will tender him max contract offers despite his long-term injury prognosis.

That's absurd enough, but there's no team that should avoid taking that kind of risk more than the Knicks because it's the kind of foolish move they've made in the past (Antonio McDyess in 2003 comes to mind). But that's only part of it.

The opinion here is that it would be absolutely ridiculous for the Knicks to sign damaged goods to a max contract and then have to wait a year while paying him millions not to play while he rehabs. Another consideration is Durant will be 32 on Opening Night 2020 and he has a lot of miles on his legs. 

[Illogic is taking a real beating here.]

The logical course of action for the Knicks is to ditch their plans for Durant and instead go after Kawhi Leonard, another unrestricted free agent superstar who's going completely ignored as the only viable option. He's three years younger than Durant and most importantly, he's healthy and can step right into the Knicks' lineup immediately. 

[See the simple logic here?]

The Knicks can not afford to screw up this time. Their winning percentage in this century is .416, worst in the league. They're coming off their second 65-loss season in five years under two regimes. They traded Kristaps Porzingis after he (justifiably) complained about the constant losing. Ironically, he was in the process of missing the entire season rehabbing a major knee injury. Why should Knick fans have to wait again with Durant's injury?

What it all comes down to is that signing Kevin Durant virtually guarantees at least another year to what's already been a long, agonizing wait for Knick fans for another championship caliber team.

Since the Knicks have a legendary embarrassing reputation for making illogical moves it's up to owner James Dolan to keep his nose out of things and let the current regime of team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry, who've openly dedicated themselves to building a winner the right way, to follow through on their pledge. 

And that starts this summer by trying to sign Kawhi Leonard, not Kevin Durant. It's the logical thing to do.

I Went To a Fight and a Hockey Game Broke Out. No, Really!

          

It’s impossible to talk about hockey's  glorious history without referring to fights. After all, fighting, for better or worse, is part of the game but this particular game was way-hey off the charts.

On March 5, 2004 at Philadelphia’s Wychovia Center the Flyers and Ottawa Senators played a game that was so wracked with penalties and ejections in the final minutes that they actually came close to not having enough players to finish it.

It was a matchup of two good teams contending for first place in their respective divisions, but there was bad blood brewing between them. The previous two seasons the Senators had eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs, and when the teams played each other a week before this game, Ottawa forward Martin Havlat high-sticked Philadelphia’s Mark Recchi in the face, earning a two-game suspension. Havlat was making his return tonight, so anything was possible.

Once the game started Ottawa scored first but the Flyers reeled off three straight goals and led 3-1 after the first period. Philadelphia maintained control  through the second and entered the final period with a 4-2 lead. It was a physical, well played game to that point, with ten minutes in penalties. Nothing unusual…yet.

With 1:45 left in the game and Philadelphia comfortably ahead 5-2, Flyers enforcer Donald Brashear and Senators tough guy Rob Ray dropped their gloves and started fighting. Almost immediately, players on both teams began going at one another. Even the goaltenders got into it as Ottawa’s Patrick LaLime skated the length of the ice to take on Flyer goalie Robert Esche. 173 minutes in penalties were doled out, many of which were game misconducts, including both goalies. After the gloves and sticks were picked up off the ice and the penalized players were either in the crowded penalty boxes or the locker rooms, they lined up for a face-off to resume play. As soon as the puck was dropped the players on the ice started brawling again resulting in 42 more penalty minutes and another ejection. Again the players lined up. The puck had barely hit the ice when Philadelphia's Michal Handzus and Ottawa's Mike Fisher began pounding away at each other. They were each tagged with 20 minutes in penalties and booted. It took 24 seconds before the next round started and that one resulted in 82 minutes in penalties and four more ejections. The teams were starting to run out of players so it became imperative to end this game while they could. But Philadelphia's Patrick Sharp and Ottawa's Jason Spezza didn't care. They squared off for a final round which resulted in their departures with a full hour of penalty minutes between them. 

When the horn sounded signaling peace on ice, the Senators had just six players remaining and the Flyers had seven. Fortunately, a cessation in hostilities was finally reached. Ottawa scored with 13 seconds left, but Philadelphia won this literally hard-fought game/war, 5-3.

The Flyers were called for 213 minutes in penalties while the Senators were tagged for 206. The whopping total of 419 minutes is the most ever in an NHL game and it resulted in one very, very long box score.

Regarde:

Ottawa  1         1          1  -  3

Phil       3         1          1  -  5

FIRST PERIOD - 1, Ottawa, Neil, 9 (Simpson, Havlat), 4:07. 2, Philadelphia, Lapointe 4 (Somik, Slaney), 10:41. 3, Philadelphia, Recchi 25 (LeClair, Handzus), 11:11. 4, Philadelphia, Markov, 6 (Handzus,  LeClair), 16:10. Penalty - Philadelphia, T. Amonte, (obstruction - holding), 5:17

   SECOND PERIOD - 5, Philadelphia, Johnsson, 9 (Zhamnov, Slaney), 5:22, pp. 6, Ottawa, Chara 15  (Spezza, Schaefer), 14:32, pp. Penalties - Ottawa, M. Fisher (tripping) 3:57; Ottawa T. Simpson, (holding), 6:06; Philadelphia, R. Somik (slashing), 13:08;  Ottawa, M. Fisher (high sticking), 17:07.

   THIRD PERIOD - 7, Philadelphia, Zhamnov 10 (Gagne, Amonte) , 6:54. 8, Ottawa, Bondra 24  (Alfredsson, Schaefer), 19:47, pp. Penalties - Ottawa, Alfredsson (roughing), 9:03; Philadelphia,  Zhamnov (roughing), 9:03, Ottawa Smolinski (roughing), 12:18; Philadelphia, Sharp (roughing), 12:18;  Ottawa, Simpson (slashing), 14:21;  Philadelphia, bench served by Sharp (too many men on the ice) 15:57; Ottawa, Ray (major-fighting), 18:15; Philadelphia,.Brashear (instigator, roughing, double-major, misconduct, game misconduct), 18:15; Philadelphia, Radivojevic (major-fighting, double-game misconduct), 18:15; Ottawa, Van Allen (major-fighting, double-game misconduct), 18:15; Philadelphia, Markov (major-fighting, game misconduct), 18:15; Ottawa Simpson (major-fighting, game misconduct), 18:15; Philadelphia, Esche (goalie leaving crease, double-major-fighting, double-game misconduct), 18;15; Ottawa, Lalime (goalie leaving crease, major-fighting, game misconduct), 18:15; Philadelphia, Somik (major-fighting), 18:18; Ottawa, Neil (major-fighting), 18:15; Philadelphia, Timander (major fighting), 18:18; Ottawa, Chara (instigator-served by Havlat, major-fighting, misconduct, game misconduct), 18:18; Philadelphia, Handzus (major, fighting, misconduct, game misconduct), 18:21; Ottawa, Fisher (major-fighting, misconduct, game misconduct). 18:21; Philadelphia, Recchi (major-fighting, game misconduct), 18:45; Ottawa, Smolinski (major-fighting, game misconduct), 18:45; Ottawa, Redden (major-fighting, misconduct, game misconduct), 18:45; Philadelphia, LeClair (holding, major-fighting, misconduct, game misconduct), 18:45; Philadelphia, Sharp (major-fighting, misconduct, game misconduct), 18:47; Ottawa, Spezza (major-fighting, misconduct, double-game misconduct), 18:47.

Shots on goal:

Ottawa   7- 9-10—26

Phil      13-11- 6—30

  Goalies - Ottawa, Lalime (30 shots, 25 saves), Prusek (18:15 third, 0-0); Philadelphia, Esche (22-20), Burke (18:15 third, 4-3).