As many have already said here, the season is lost, and again, I’m livid the Knicks are not going to the playoffs. I’m going to take a break from Knicksdefense for a while. I can’t stomach anymore losing, even if the goal is now to get a high lottery pick instead of make the playoffs.

This is far worse than last year, worse than the year before with that disgrace Next Town Brown. As a Knicks fan, I want Isiah Thomas out of New York now. He’s had four years to do it and has failed in every sense of the word, so it is time for him to go now. You can talk about the relative failures of Larry Bird or anyone else, as Scoop Jackson has in his recent article, but the bottom line is I never cared about Larry Bird, I never cared about the Pacers or any other team, my team is the New York Knicks, there is no comparison. By refusing to quit, Isiah has betrayed real Knicks fans everywhere because he is not getting the job done in New York. He sticks around just to get the paycheck, which makes him no better than Larry Brown, who also betrayed this Knicks franchise in my opinion.

ESPN

If Walsh comes in as GM, that means Isiah may stay on to coach, because Walsh has always supported Isiah when no one else besides magic would. I can’t agree with Isiah staying on in any capacity should Walsh take the helm. Isiah must go, Glen Grunwald must go, that scrub Steve Mills must go, and Mark Aguirre and Brendan Suhr must all go as well. The ultra-loyal soldier Herb Williams and the young coach Dave Hanners would do well to stick around the organization, but I won’t complain if they must clean house to eradicate the divided, defeated, halfhearted, lackadaisical, underachieving, excuse-making culture Isiah Thomas has cultivated during his New York tenure.

I rooted for him at first, but now it seems Isiah Thomas was never a true Knick, not in my mind. Never. The day he is gone will be a great day for real Knicks fans everywhere. It will be a sad day for the fakers. He screwed with New York for four years using the blame game, and this year even went as far as to blame it on the fans at the Garden for not kissing his ass while they lost. Guess what Isiah? Layden is gone, Chaney is gone, KVH is gone, Weatherspoon is gone, Shandon Anderson is gone, Kurt Thomas is gone, Allan Houston is gone (twice removed by you), Lenny Wilkins is gone, Larry Brown is gone, Stephon Marbury is gone, Eddy Curry is out, the season ticket holders you alienated are obviously MIA having been outsourced by tourists who just want to see the inside of MSG. Your last card was the rookies, and now that they’re playing, you can’t say anything. Finally there is no one left to blame but yourself, Isiah Thomas.

Four years ago, I thought it was unfair and mean-spirited when Mike and the Mad Dog talked smack on Isiah the day he came to New York, because he had not yet done anything to merit that kind of doubt. I thought then that Isiah would be worth a try to bring back glory to NY, he should start with a clean slate and not be judged for previous experiences. They doubted him. They cited the CBA bankruptcy under Isiah’s direction (forget the owners, what of the Starks and the Masons of that time just trying to make the pros when that minor league went under), and the Raptors as evidence that Isiah was a bad choice for the Knicks, and really implied that he would fail in New York. I don’t know how they knew it then, but it turns out they were proven right, and it has nothing to do with MSM or spin doctoring. After four full years, Isiah is objectively a loser in New York.

I’m going to spend the remainder of this month taking care of other business and watching the NCAA tournament, where mid-level exception atrocities don’t kill a fan’s spirit.

Hopefully Isiah will be gone soon because I’m sick and tired of talking about him. You might say to talk about the game instead, but it is very hard to watch this kind of prideless, spiritless knicks basketball. I never, ever thought I would say that, but that’s how it has been lately. They suck. Crawford isolation plays definitevely suck. Zach is no team player. Curry and Lee have taken steps in the wrong direction. Fred Jones shouldn’t even be on this team.

Dolan has the keys. He can do what he wants, and has done just that. In spite of the media’s opinion, and contrary to the patrons’ collective voice, nothing changes. If he keeps it the way it is, obviously he doesn’t give a rat’s ass, so why should anyone else? Dolan treats the most loyal, die-hard Knicks fans like stray dogs. Insulting your clientele is simply not the right way to run a business. Dolan’s father knows that. Does Jim? From the looks of it, I doubt it.

I’ll still be around, just cutting back a little because I don’t want to sound like a broken record, though the team is playing like one. The record called “Lose Horribly,” by I Drive a Tank. Save your money; don’t download that mp3.

Thanks to every single one of you guys for blogging here with your thoughts and ideas. It has been a tough season and you deserve something for getting through it. Too bad the knicks can’t deliver it though. The next thing I suppose we have to look forward to is what Steady alluded to previously, the draft. That’s way off in June…

I did not watch the loss Saturday night, but now Nate Robinson is starting to sit out Knicks games as well as Quentin Richardson, Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph and Stephon Marbury.

I understand the concept of tanking, and obviously it looks like the Knicks organization is electing to tank, but what I am concerned about is best illustrated by what happened to the once promising point guard Mardy Collins by the end of last season.

Mardy was a rookie last year, drafted at the end of the first round by Isiah Thomas out of the Philadelphia school, Temple University. Just before the preseason, Mardy showed me quite a bit in the celebrity wheelchair classic game in Madison Square Garden-he and Renaldo Balkman were catching and dunking alley-oops all throughout the game.

Still, Mardy basically sat for most of his rookie year, so those that did not follow Collins at Temple or during the NBA summer league didn’t know what he was about on the basketball court, until April came along.

When most of the Knicks backcourt fell out of the rotation due to injuries, Mardy Collins went from playing no minutes to averaging over 40 minutes per game. Collins played well, getting the ball to Curry, driving to the basket at will and playing solid defense. Collins has never been known as a shooter, but he showed that he may be an otherwise functional NBA point guard in the making. Clyde Frazier was impressed enough with Collins to proclaim that he would work with him over the summer to improve his game to be more “Clydesque.”

Then Collins hurt his knee so bad he required surgery. I assume the Clyde tutelage never had a chance to take place. The Knicks tried to prevent this surgery information from becoming public, then announced after the surgery had been performed, that Collins would not be available for the summer pro league that was about to start in Vegas.

Now I’m sure regular NBA practices and strength training are enough to keep a player fit, but when your Knicks team is sometimes skipping practices, shortening practices and basically giving up on improving this season, it seems risky to have players like Wilson Chandler and Randolph Morris getting thrown onto the floor against other team’s starters. You have to be concerned about preventing the past from repeating itself with these young players, if they are valued as such.

After secret knee surgery over the summer, Mardy Collins is just now starting to get some of his game back. He was basically a better player last season before the knee surgery then he is right now, almost a full year later.

All I’m saying is, I hope the kids that are finally getting a chance to play are in good enough shape to keep up with the demands of the NBA, because much is suddenly being asked of them. Possibly too much.

Half way through the season defenders and I won’t lie to you: it has been a tough season for the orange and blue. I want to know how everyone sees this going down, check out this survey and please take the time to be honest about these knicks.

I picked up this issue of Knicks haterade on the corner of 24th street and Sixth Ave last night. If you are interested, you can visit their website to read all their biased articles, but I wouldn’t take anything they’ve got to say to heart. This is not a read for your in-the-know Knicks fan, it was intended to piss off less sports savvy NYC residents and hopefully get them to turn against James Dolan and Isiah Thomas to “save the Knicks.” NY Press is a free paper for skinny jeaned hipsters that can’t find L Magazine or Village Voice, you can tell that from their front page ads for trendy clothing stores like American Apparel or the ads you find inside for the newest high rise luxury apartments.

Some of us thought Newsday was different, but considering recent events, I suspect they’re on the same page as New York Post, NY Daily News and most recently the New York Times. They feel it is their responsibility to oust James Dolan and consequently Isiah Thomas from the Knicks organization. They wish to turn the city against the Knicks, they’ve tried before (this will be their third straight year) and have not succeeded. They view the ABS civil trial as a victory for their agenda, and right now, their single greatest hope is that Isiah’s Knicks lose as many games as possible starting November 1st. Then it’s open season.

The Knicks must win early on to avoid major changes at Madison Square Garden. It may not be fair, but that is what it boils down to. If David Stern decides to punish the knicks for the liable outcome of Isiah’s sexual harassment trial–as he has recently hinted he may–consider that very bad for the Knicks as you see them today.

Last year at this time, I was one of the relative few who was supporting the Knicks at the Garden (I’d say on average, not many more than two-thirds of the seats were occupied prior to the brawl), and they were basically losing. My feeling is, the Knicks can’t afford to lose in November or December this time, they need to stay .500 or above or it will get uglier than “the Grill” and Frank have ever made it in the past.

African is famous for his line, “the village is watching.” I give him props because it turns out the sports media can’t be blindly followed, we have to consider their intentions when we read what they print. It seems the media outlets are a village in their own right, and the network of cohorts’ only wishes are to remove Dolan and Isiah from the organization by appealing to David Stern and Charles Dolan through the masses. These reporters don’t believe in the young talent the Knicks have assembled. They’re thirsty for blood and this time they’re going for the jugular.

Only the home games will be televised by MSG, but where there’s a will, there is usually a way…

Preseason game two has come and gone, and the Knicks are now 2-0. It was admittedly a tough game to watch, but I’m encouraged by some of what I saw and look forward to seeing this Knicks team again as they continue to learn how to play together.

Early on the Knicks looked nervous, Stephon and Quentin missed some easy buckets I’d like to think they’d make once they get into regular season rhythem.

Mardy’s got no hops yet coming off surgery, yet he did some great stuff including a spin move in the paint that dazzled. He had a few looks at the basket where it seemed he had no lift. I know from the Wheelchair Charity game last year that Mardy can throw it down, so I hope with more time he can redevelop his leaping ability. His defense was still very good, and he picked somebody’s pocket out there and pushed the ball on the break. That’s what I like to see from Mardy Collins.

Fred Jones played solid defense and challenged/altered some shots in the paint. I’d hate to think of what would happen if it were against a more athletic NBA player, Fred might get dunked on some times, but nobody said good defensive players don’t ever get dunked on–ask Mutumbo about that.

Nate looked like a real distributor out there. I’m liking what I’m seeing this year. His jumper looked good too–lookout AH7.

We’ve heard that Nate and Fred would be picking up their man at 3/4 court, yet I didn’t see much full court press tonight; I suppose we didn’t need it once New York took the lead.

Physically, Fizer looked like Boozer out there. He put on some weight while he’s been overseas.

I noticed they played Mardy at the Small Forward position some tonight, with Fred Jones and Nate Robinson in the back court. Very interesting lineup choice. There was some good chemistry between Nate and Fred, looks like that second unit is going to be a terror.

But what stood out most in my mind was Zach Randolph’s performance. He didn’t hit too many from the perimeter as he did in the first preseason game, but instead he showed great ability to score the ball with his lefty shot. Early on ZBO and Stephon played some promising two-man game, something to look forward to this season. All the rumors that ZBO doesn’t pass the ball once he gets it seem to be false, because I saw Zach passing to everybody out there, he just didn’t get any assists out of it.

Jared Jeffries had a nice dunk on the break, but he and Mardy still seem to be passing up open shots, I hope they develop the confidence and skill to take–and make–that shot this season.

The rookies: Chandler is very athletic, he has a shot too. Too bad Jared Jordan, Demetris Nichols and Randolph Morris played limited minutes, I’d like to see more from them in the next game.

Overall they looked rusty, but I like the team passing and I’m more than impressed that New York only had 11 turnovers for the game.

>>>

I’m a lefty myself so it is nice to see such great lefties on this team like ZBO and DLee.

>>>

I tried to get tickets to this game, the cheapest they had today at the Garden Box Office was $250. I couldn’t bring myself to pay that much for a game that doesn’t matter, even if it is for chairty. Outside MSG they were selling Maccabi jerseys and everything was very pro Maccabi Elite, I did not see much Knicks stuff at the merchandise tables. Suffice to say the crowd wasn’t a knicks crowd, they were still cheering for Israel despite being down by 20 in the fourth quarter.

According to this article, less than 800 tickets to MSG’s 19,763 seats remain unsold for tonight’s game. This was confirmed when I tried to buy tickets online earlier today and had some difficulty doing so. The game is televised on MSG network, for the locals who have access, NBATV for those who pay for that channel, and as a defender has already mentioned, the audio from the game can be streamed online at NBA.com

They got Fizer, and some other cats who can ball. With all the Euro success stories in the NBA, keep in mind that this team has won the Euro championship three times over the past ten years.