The Real Jokers

A few years ago when the San Francisco 49ers took a turn for the worse I predicted they would be the next "Bengals" of the league and have at least a decade of mediocre to bad seasons. 4 years ago I nicknamed them the "49-Jokers" and they have pretty much lived up to that name. But what I just witnessed in tonight's Knicks vs. Celtics game was by far the worst professional sporting event that I have ever seen and the Knicks, who have been a circus act since Jeff Van Gundy quit the team a few years back, have finally hit rock bottom and are the real joke in sports.

Being the sports fan that I am I was very excited for both the football game and the Knicks game this evening. I watched the football game with family while pleading with everyone around me not to say the score in the Knicks game because it was being 'tivo'd' and I planned on watching it later at night. Fastfoward to 1:00 in the morning as I watched the Knicks finally trail by 50 points. Yes, 50 points. The Knicks ultimately lost by only 45 as Nate Robinson (the only Knick to score double digits in points with 11) hit a 3-pointer from half court at the buzzer. Marv Albert got all excited as the Knicks were able to avoid losing by their largest margin in team history.

Before the season began I saw the second preseason game vs. the Celtics and in the early going I saw games vs. the Jazz and Nuggets - all Knicks victories. As an optimistic fan I actually believed this team had a chance to win games and reach the playoffs. Now, unfortunately it is obvious that the Knicks are among the worst teams in the league with the worst coach in the league. They are a group of talented individual players who cannot play together and who show absolutely no effort whatsoever.

The starting 5: Zack Randolph, while a solid double-double type player, is a hog. He cannot pass and he turns the ball over often. He also has only 1 offensive move going to his left and if I were a foot taller and 250 pounds, he would not be able to score on me. Eddy Curry is soft, cannot defend or rebound, and is a turnover machine. Crawford is a good player on a bad team. Q-Rich is an old man with a bad back who lost his shooting touch and therefore, shouldn't play. He is also the idiot who made negative comments before the game about the Celtics which KG said was posted on the bulletin board and motivated the team. Marbury is a good talent but a terrible point gaurd and leader.

The bench: Isiah must think he is coaching hockey and likes to go to his second line early in the game. The combination of Nate Robinson, Fred Jones, Renaldo Balkman, Jared Jeffries, and David Lee make up the Knicks 'defensive unit." As Charles Barkley said, "these players play hard but they just ain't very good." Who is the scorer in this lineup? Jeffries is terrible as is Fred Jones. Nate, Lee and Balkman should be regularly subbed with the starters to mix and match for defensive purposes and for energy minutes. To sub all 5 or even 4 of the starters at one point is just plain stupid.

As bad as the team has been in recent memory it seemed as if the players still played hard for Isiah and really cared about winning. It is now evident that the players have quit which means Isiah should be fired tomorrow. Its one thing to be a bad coach but you have a major problem when your players don't come out and play with any bit of effort in a nationally televised game vs. a division rival, especially against a team that is considered among the best in the league.

I was sitting at home watching this game and I was embarrased. I know every other Knicks fan watching felt the same way. I hope Jim Dolan spent a few hours watching this disaster and realizes that this is the end of the line for Isiah. The stories are getting old and the season is almost lost. How much lower can the Knicks sink before that idiot does something to fix it?