Simmons on the Knicks

THE FIVE DUMBEST ISIAH THOMAS MOVES OF THE OFFSEASON (IN REVERSE ORDER)

5. Jerome James for $30 million
So predictable, I even predicted it. Maybe the first lucrative free-agent signing whose confidence was completely shot before the preseason even ended. On the bright side, at least he has a weight problem.

Paul Says: I agree that this signing was pretty bad. But you really can't consider the money. This is the going price for a big man in the NBA. The Knicks needed size, so they got someone with talent, but without the cojones to make the most of it.

4. Larry Brown for $60-plus million
He's one of the best five coaches of my lifetime. There's no question. But Brown has clearly established himself as a certain type of coach -- someone who takes over an underachieving team with quality veterans and teaches them how to win. He's notoriously impatient with young players, whether it was Detroit (Darko and Carlos Delfino), Athens (Carmelo, Wade and LeBron), Philly (Larry Hughes) or even Indiana (Jalen Rose and Travis Best). Well, have you taken a look at the Knicks? Not exactly a veteran team -- they're mostly rookies, second-year guys and young players who have driven their coaches crazy. Why is this a good situation for him? What's different between this situation and the '97 and '98 Philly teams that won a combined 60 games? Remember, those teams had Iverson, Hughes, Tim Thomas, Derrick Coleman, Theo Ratliff and others ... it took Brown three years to turn things around and five to make the Finals.

(Side note: If you're scoring at home, Larry Brown is 65 years old. When my father turns 65, I don't even want him shoveling snow anymore, much less coaching guys like Crawford, Marbury, Richardson and Curry and dealing with 3 a.m. phone calls from Isiah like, "Good news, I just traded four first-rounders, Penny Hardaway and cash for Zack Randolph!")

Paul Says: The Knicks had to make this move. Yes, some of these guys will drive Brown nuts, and if they can't be moved Brown may only last one season, but the Knicks had to do it.

3. Kurt Thomas for Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson
Classic "quarter for two dimes" trade. Everyone needs to settle down on Robinson, by the way. He's 5-foot-7 and he's not a point guard. That's a problem. In the NFL, he would be one of those exciting kick returners who makes only two or three plays per year but seems 10 times more dangerous than he really is. Watching Nate run an offense is like watching Michael J. Fox run the show in the final game in "Teen Wolf," only without the ridiculous edits. He's a shooting guard trapped in a point guard's body. On the right team, this could work. On a team with two other shoot-first point guards, it's a mess.

Paul Says: I love Kurt Thomas. He was exactly the type of player the Knicks needed. Someone who can rebound and play defense and score without needing the ball constantly. This was a huge mistake.

2. Channing Frye with the 8th pick
I was lukewarm on this one when it happened ... and then Isiah spent $90 million on two guys who play the exact same position as him. Four steps beyond completely illogical. That reminds me...

Paul Says: I also hate this pick. But I don't judge it in the context of the Curry and James moves. Once again the Knicks needed a big man.

1. Eddy Curry
If it works out, Eddy gives you a low-post scorer who doesn't rebound and peaks in the first quarter every game. If it doesn't work out, he could die on the court and you're stuck with his uninsured $60 million contract. There's no in-between.
Actually, this wasn't dumb; it was more creepy than anything. Let's roll the dice with him ... if it doesn't work out, we'll just clear him off the court and put in Jerome James. Unlike Tedy Bruschi, he wasn't cleared by the Bulls to play and nobody really knows how bad his heart condition is -- the whole situation is somewhat disturbing, if you ask me. There's a reason they don't show Hank Gathers' final game on ESPN Classic.

Paul Says: This is a huge gamble. Its like playing a $100 yo. If it work you are a genius, if it doesn't you wasted $100. Tim Thomas and Sweetney are like $100. You'll miss them, but its not worth holding on to them if you can get someone like Curry. That said, I hope this Curry thing has a better than 18 to 1 chance of working out. I hope he doesn't die on the court. And he was cleared by doctors to play. But the Bulls didn't want to take that chance.

Simmons and Tall Scott in Fantasy basketball league

An interesting cast of charcter in the nba.com fantasy basketball league. You have Bill Simmons, Sam Jackson, Michael Rapaport, Star Jones and Pamela Anderson. I can just imagine Simmons calling Pam Anderson for trade talks and asking her what she thinks about the new wave of sex tapes that are put out knowingly in order to promote their stars, like in the cases of Paris Hilton and Jenna Lewis.

Weekly Picks

My friend Harley and this guy Adam share an entry into a pool in which you must pick every NFL game against the spread every week. When they disagree, I break the ties. I had a good record for them last year. Adam froze me out to begin the season but then called on me again when they needed my help. I'm 10-5 over the last 3 weeks for them. Each week I'll post my picks for them. Remember only the most difficult games are presented to me. I'm not going to pick all the games because I think its important to use discretion.

Home Team in Caps and listed first. The spreads listed are the early line.

JETS +6.5 chargers: I think the Chargers are great, and will begin to hit their stride now that their schedule is getting easier. The Jets season is DOA and they may not win another game this year. The spread is under a touchdown, so its an easy call for the Chargers.

BROWNS -3.5 titans: This is a tough one. Two dregs of the league. I like the Browns, I like Crennell, I like Dilfer, but they burned me last week by losing to the Texans. I'll give the Browns another chance.

JAGUARS -13.5 texans: Do not let one win make us forget about the horrors of the Texans. The Jags have a great defensive line that will put pressure on Carr. Also you have a crappy team coming off a win, playing a good team coming off a loss. And playing in the good team's stadium. I'd take the Jaguars if the spread were 23.5. And I mean that.

CHIEFS -4.5 raiders: Usually you can expect these two teams to play a close game. The Raiders are coming off two straight wins. Are they starting to pick it up, or was that just a twitch? I'll take the Chiefs, coming off a tough loss to the Chargers.

DOLPHINS +2.5 falcons: Any time you look at a game and you can clearly identify one team as much better, and the spread is less than a field goal, you have to take the better team. You won't be right every time, but you will be better off in the long run. That means Falcons.

VIKINGS +1.5 lions: This is the toughest game of the week. But anytime you're getting points at home, and the other team is starting Joey Harrington at quarterback you have to take the underdog. This game could do wonders for my still under development "Backup QB Theory." There is a knee-jerk reaction to say the backup stinks. But when the starter is turning the ball over like mad, maybe the backup actually gives the team a better chance to win. He may not help his team score, but he won't absolutely murder them either. We'll see if that happens this week with the Vikings.

49ERS +10.5 giants: After watching the Giants dismantle my Redskins there's now way I can pick against them. Also the 49ers are a dreadful team coming off a big win playing a third string quarterback. Unless the Giants have a huge letdown there is no way they don't cover this spread.

PATRIOTS +3.5 colts: Hey Indianapolis, think you can beat the Patriots? Prove it. Until the Colts do it once (which may happen eventually), you have to keep going to the well with the Patriots.

Concierge of Porn

Time Magazine did a story on Hideki Matsui. It doesn't get interesting until it talks about how Matsui is really a normal guy. "his only eccentricity, if it can be called that, is his extensive private library of adult videos." Apparently, he was sheltered as a kid and he was warned against dating early in his career. so he turned to porn. Understandable, I guess.

Melo at the Crossroads

I think Melo is great. Bill thinks he is special. But he has definitely been eclipsed by Lebron and Wade. He forces things too much and doesn't always try on defense. This is a big season for him and for the Nuggets to make the leap from bottom of the playoffs to winning at least one round. Unfortunately for the second year in a row they lost a key player for the season in the first week. Voshon Lenard and now Nene. That being said they have made the playoffs twice, with Melo playing a key role and Lebron still has to get there yet.

Kevin Cott, the Sports Guy intern, sounds off and Melo's season.

Bill Simmons' NBA Preview

I still read Bill Simmons religiously, but often a few days late, like going to temple on Tuesdays. I realize a lot of you don't anymore so here are some snippets from his NBA preview:

Carmelo Anthony
Not only are LeBron and Wade leaving him in the dust, but even Darko Milicic is getting some "Leo the Late Bloomer" buzz lately in Detroit. Meanwhile, 'Melo is the Marissa Cooper of that 2004 class -- a strong first season with a ton of promise, followed by a disappointing second season when everything possible went wrong. Of course, Marissa took a major leap in Season 3 of "The OC," suddenly started looking like a woman and seems headed for the Jaclyn Smith Hall of Fame for TV Babes. Good sign for 'Melo. And yes, I think he springs for 25-plus a game this season.

Paul Pierce
As the Sports Gal randomly said while watching two minutes of an exhibition game last week, "He seems happy, he looks like the old Pee-Pee again!"
(Yes, my wife calls the best player on the Celtics "Pee-Pee." Don't ask.)

T.O. is a Jerk

I'm so sick of this guy. Poor Donovan McNabb. Here are his latest ramblings.

1) He agreed with that idiot Michael Irvin that the Eagles would be undefeated this year if Brett Favre were their quarterback.
2) He said the Eagles would be better if McNabb weren't injured. I guess that's a nice thing to say.
3) The Eagles have no class because they didn't set off fireworks when he caught his 100th touchdown.
4) He doesn't think he'll be back in Philly next year.

But He's a Funny Jerk

A week after the Eagles got blown out by Dallas T.O. created a stir by wearing a Cowboys Michael Irvin jersey.

So he decided that the next week he'd dress a little nicer. So he wore a tuxedo. Here's my question: Did he already own a tux with a pink bow tie and vest? Or did he rent it for the occassion? And what do you think of sneakers with a tuxedo?

Dueling Caylas

My brother and my sister-in-law dressed their daughter up in two very cute Halloween costumes. Use the comments section to vote for your favorite Cayla.

Abercrombie is at it again

The good folks at Abercrombie and Fitch are back. They are once again offending people with their "bad attitude" t-shirts. Several of them are offensive to brunettes. The two I like read "Who needs brains when you have these?" and "The Freshman 15" followed by a list of guy's names. Some women with pink hair and questionable sexual orientation are not boycotting Abercrombie, instead they've arranged a "girl-cott." Very cute.



New York Newsday Article

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I have decided to start my own blog. I will occassionally be posting offbeat news story, life events and sports rantings. I hope you will visit often and enjoy.