So now that the dust has settled on the NBA trades made before and at the deadline, what can we learn about the deals the Knicks made?

Well, all the trades freed up enough free agent cap space to sign two big names in the summer for the maximum.

We also learn that Tracy McGrady was pretty great for his first game, but was right in line with Braylon Edwards’ first game as a Jet. Spectacular play in a loss.

Then, after only 15 points in his second game, he started rubbing his knee, and rubbed some more. Then some more, and now he’s sitting.

We also learned that Eddie House was brought in to “win” games. The Knicks haven’t won since he got here, but I think we’re supposed to be impressed with Sergio Rodriguez’ production as a starter.

Now that 50 cent’s little brother Nate Robinson has been banished to the town that shall not be named, and didn’t play so well upon his return to the Garden; I’m sure there will be plenty who will say what I always thought-a good player on a bad team looks great. A good player on a talented team looks… (more…)

*Hello ladies, this column will now stop you from wondering just what everyone is talking about regarding the Superbowl this Sunday…and Saturday too. So fix up and read sharp!*

This Sunday, most of America will be tuned into their local CBS station to watch the culmination of the 2009 football season.

There may be some of you wondering what the big deal is about the two teams participating and what all the hype is about. So-with the edification of others in mind, a quick rundown on Super Bowl 44.

This year, the Indianapolis Colts will be playing the New Orleans Saints. A great matchup on paper, that as of week 13 was supposed to be the battle of the undefeated teams.

While both teams lost games at the end, this is still a great match up, and should prove to be highly entertaining.

The Colts, led by QB Peyton Manning, won the last Super Bowl played in Miami, 29-17 against the Chicago Bears.

These Saints are not those Bears-at all. (more…)

This confirms it after that whole “face sewn on a football” thing recently. Footballer Salvador Cabañas Balazo was shot in the face in a dive called “Big Bar” in Mexico…apparently someone filmed it and uploaded the footage to the web. It’s been taken down but the Mexican news have a still of Cabañas Balazo lying on the ground.

I’m. done.

I’ll get my Mexican fix from La Pequena in Fort Greene, thanks.

props but beware, the footage is graphic

I’m not sure how many of you watched the first set of congressional hearings on steroids in 2005, but when Mark McGwire came in with his lawyer, he made it clear that he didn’t want to “discuss his past” and called Jose Canseco a liar.
.
My how things have changed.
.
Just yesterday, five weeks out from Spring Training and the media onslaught it will bring, he released a written statement admitting to steroid use during his career (including his record breaking 70 home run season in 1998) and claimed that it had no effect on his performance- as he used them to “heal injuries.”
.
This would probably all be much more interesting if he was still relevant to the game of baseball, or if the known user list didn’t read like a who’s who of baseball’s All Stars over the past 20 years. Instead, it’s just another cog in Bud Selig’s money making, “come back from the strike” machine.

People are saying he’s doing this in relation to the Hall of Fame and his chances of getting in or not getting in. He and the rest of his contemporaries probably shouldn’t even be on the ballot because of their use of steroids, but like everything else that’s wrong with baseball, his records will be allowed to stand, his bat and home run ball will remain in the building, and eventually, he’ll end up in there too. (more…)

Sometime this weekend, Leslie Frazier interviewed for the “open” head coach position with the Seattle Seahawks.

On the surface, a black man interviewing for the head job might look like a good thing, but in this instance it’s truly not.

Seattle has already identified and negotiated a contract with their next head coach. His name is not Leslie Frazier, but because of a little ditty called the Rooney Rule, the charade that is bringing in a minority candidate to interview for the position must happen before they can finalize with the guy they really want.

We’ve all been there before, you’ve gotten a call for an interview for a job that is supposedly open. They seem really interested in hiring you, until they see what you look like.

This is so opposite of that. Imagine getting a call for an interview KNOWING you’re being used to comply with an antiquated rule. (more…)

I have never liked Notre Dame. I grew up in the 80s as a huge Canes fan, and was never happier than when Jimmie Johnson dispatched Lou Holtz and co. back to their church or campus, or whatever they called it back then.

Of course, as with many of my views on sports, this isn’t a universal feeling, and the head coaching job at this school is one of the most prominent jobs one can aspire to as a head coach.

Of course, they aren’t so good at picking head coaches even now, and have spent the past ten years going with a merry go round of bad, mediocre, and really bad.

I laughed when George O’Leary was caught lying on his resume and lost his chance at the job. Smiled and actually rooted for them when they hired Ty Willingham, only to wish nothing but the worst upon them when they fired him three short years later, and brought in Charlie Weis.

Of course the story of his five years at Notre Dame is fraught with ineptitude and failure, on both sides. After finishing with the record that got Ty Willingham fired, he was offered a 10 year extension. Yeah, that’s what I said too. It is what it is though, and even he has been sent packing, and can expect to collect every dime he signed for. Not bad for a total and epic failure.

Next up? A nice Irish Catholic guy from Boston named Brian Kelly. What could be more perfect for a Catholic University? Just from the press conference he looked elated, and his demeanor seems to be what those freaks in South Bend need after so much recent failure. (more…)