KNICKS FANATICS 1 : NY KNICKS FANATICS

Knickerbockers Pre-Season Schedule Released

2008-08-22T00:06:32Z

Released from the New York Knicks:

The New York Knickerbockers announced its 2008-09 preseason schedule, which includes three games at Madison Square Garden and four road games. The schedule is as follows:

Oct. 8 Toronto Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ONT 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 10 Philadelphia Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA 7:00 p.m.

Oct. 14 Philadelphia Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 17 Boston TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 20 New Jersey IZOD Center, East Rutherford, NJ 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 21 Boston Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 New Jersey Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 7:30 p.m.

Note: All times Eastern Tickets for the preseason home games at MSG go on sale Thursday, Sep. 4 at 9:00 a.m. and can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, nyknicks.com, (800) 4NBA-TIX and TicketMaster outlets. All preseason games will be broadcast on MSG Network. Knicks 2008-09 ticket plans are now available, including Season Subscriptions starting as low as $25 per game. For more information call (877) NYK-HOOP or click here. Media Day is scheduled for Monday, Sep. 29 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Greenburgh, NY.

ROCK THE VOTE! MAKE A DIFFERENCE

HEY KNICKS..YOU CAN'T BREAK OUR HEARTS THIS YEAR!

2008-08-16T02:31:37Z

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John F�Kennedy once said� " Success has a 1000 Father's but failure is an orphan."

So my fellow Fanatics ....we are Orphans, born of two Fathers... With the only rumor that

Ewing Jr may be waived and picked up by the Knicks is TOP NEWS these days.

Anyone Excited? ....Didn't think so. What we have on our roster is what will remain this year...with a remote possibility that we may make a blockbuster trade before the trade deadline in February 2009.

This is the first year in our fellowship of�being Knick Fans, that ALL OF US HAVE NO EXCITEMENT...no BUZZ! We have the lowest of expectations and rightfully so! I'm sure that most of you will buy the NBA pass to watch Balk, Bayless and Oden, Arthur, Randolph,

Dorsey, Deandre Jordan, Augustin and Chalmers play for other teams when they could have easily been wearing the Orange and Blue. I hope I'm wrong but if Bayless is putting up all star numbers.....Walsh won't make it till the trade deadline.�I don't think there is one rational Knick fan that is not expecting us to be the bottom feeders of the East! Don't get me wrong, I would be the happiest person in the World if the Knicks play there ass's off and become a 6-8 seed.....but lets get real here!� Where are we going? Is Duhon and Gullanari going to surprise us and take us to� the 50 win Heaven? I want to be wrong so much you can't even imagine.....but I can guarantee...the Knicks will not break our hearts this year, they can only pleasantly surprise us...and that is remote!

HEY MIKE D! PUT SOME PICTURES OF BROTHERS UP ON THE WALL NOW!

2008-08-08T21:03:06Z

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Report: Donnie Walsh quickly morphing into Paul Bearer

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So that's what happened to Uncle Fester after The Addams Family was canceled. Think he'll hire Thing as Scouting Director?

For the record, this Fan is far from Happy about Renaldo Balkman leaving the Knicks.

We all have seen what he can do on the Fly.....D'Antoni's strength, Balkman's strength!

So what gives? Shots have been taken at him by another blog as him�having a low Hoop

IQ? Maybe my anger was an over reaction? Bullshit....NAH! Taz gave us his Heart each time he stepped on the court. If half the other Knicks would have given us the same energy and desire Taz did ....we would of been in round 2 of the playoffs the last two years!

Yeah Balkman was the only Knicks that had signs of winning anything besides "The Scholar"

The list of NIT�MVPs of past tournaments is like a stroll through the basketball Hall of Fame. There's George Mikan, DePaul (1945); Lenny Wilkens, Providence (1960); Walt Frazier, Southern Illinois (1967); Ralph Sampson, Virginia (1980); Reggie Miller, UCLA (1985); Jayson Williams, St. John's (1989); Adam Keefe, Stanford (1991); Bryant Stith, Virginia (1992); Voshon Lenard, Minnesota (1993); Erick Strickland, Nebraska (1996); and Robert Traylor, Michigan (1997). Lets add Balkman to that list! Remember Dave Lee's Gators got much better AFTER he left and won back to back Big Dance's. He may have a Marbury effect...you know, leave and your team gets better.

The Knicks will essentially have traded Balkman, a player who was deemed untouchable last year, for a second round draft pick in a cost-cutting move designed to rid the Knicks, owners of over $90 million in payroll, of his $1.3 million salary. Balkman, a high-energy player who plays defense and rebounds, was never viewed as a good fit for Mike D'Antoni's system. Though he holds a career shooting percentage of .499, most of his points have come from fast break opportunities, isn't that D'Antoni's style?????? This is a very dangerous move for Knicks president Donnie Walsh. Balkman was a crowd favorite and this move jeopardizes Walsh's relationship with an already distrustful fan base. Balkman is also a player who could have been used to sweeten a deal that unloaded the contracts of Eddy Curry or Zach Randolph. Sending Balkman to Denver also relieved the Knicks of a fan favorite who provided a spark off the bench and energized the crowd every time he entered the game.

The Knicks really had nothing to risk by keeping Balkman around for another season. In his two years with the Knicks, he has not been given many opportunities to shine. He may not be a great shooter, but neither were Dennis Rodman or Ben Wallace, both of whom were late bloomers and integral parts of championship teams. Granted, the Knicks have�cut Green and Jones, they will save on payroll, but a beer at the Garden would still cost $12 whether or not Balkman's $1.3 million was on the payroll.��

�� FIRE WALSH

KNICKS SCHEDULE RELEASED

2008-08-06T23:55:13Z

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HappyBirthdayKnicksdefense.

Peaceman keepin it real.

2008-09 New York Knicks

Regular Season Schedule

Game times are Eastern. Home games appear in bold

Oct.	Wednesday	29	Miami	7:30 p.m.	Jan.	Friday	23	Memphis	7:30 p.m.
	Friday	31	Philadelphia	7:00 p.m.		Saturday	24	Philadelphia	7:00 p.m.
Nov.	Sunday	2	Milwaukee	6:00 p.m.		Monday	26	Houston	7:30 p.m.
	Wednesday	5	Charlotte	7:30 p.m.		Wednesday	28	Atlanta	7:30 p.m.
	Friday	7	Washington	7:00 p.m.		Saturday	31	Indiana	7:00 p.m.
	Sunday	9	Utah	3:00 p.m.	Feb.	Monday	2	L.A. Lakers	7:30 p.m.
	Tuesday	11	San Antonio	8:30 p.m.		Wednesday	4	Cleveland	7:30 p.m.
	Wednesday	12	Memphis	8:00 p.m.		Friday	6	Boston	7:30 p.m.
	Friday	14	Okla. City	7:30 p.m.		Sunday	8	Portland	6:00 p.m.
	Sunday	16	Dallas	6:00 p.m.		Tuesday	10	Golden State	10:30 p.m.
	Tuesday	18	Boston	7:30 p.m.		Wednesday	11	L.A. Clippers	10:30 p.m.
	Friday	21	Milwaukee	8:30 p.m.		Tuesday	17	San Antonio	7:30 p.m.
	Saturday	22	Washington	7:30 p.m.		Friday	20	Toronto	7:30 p.m.
	Tuesday	25	Cleveland	7:30 p.m.		Sunday	22	Toronto	Noon
	Wednesday	26	Detroit	8:00 p.m.		Monday	23	Indiana	7:30 p.m.
	Saturday	29	Golden State	7:30 p.m.		Wednesday	25	Orlando	7:30 p.m.
Dec.	Tuesday	2	Portland	7:30 p.m.		Friday	27	Philadelphia	7:30 p.m.
	Wednesday	3	Cleveland	7:00 p.m.		Saturday	28	Miami	7:30 p.m.
	Friday	>5	Atlanta	7:30 p.m.	Mar.	Wednesday	4	Atlanta	7:30 p.m.
	Sunday	7	Detroit	Noon		Saturday	7	Charlotte	7:30 p.m.
	Tuesday	9	Chicago	8:30 p.m.		Sunday	8	New Jersey	6:00 p.m.
	Wednesday	10	New Jersey	7:30 p.m.		Tuesday	10	Milwaukee	8:00 p.m.
	Saturday	13	Sacramento	10:00 p.m.		Wednesday	11	Detroit	7:30 p.m.
	Monday	15	Phoenix	9:00 p.m.		Friday	13	Minnesota	8:00 p.m.
	Tuesday	16	L.A. Lakers	10:30 p.m.		Sunday	15	Cleveland	1:00 p.m.
	Friday	19	Milwaukee	7:30 p.m.		Wednesday	18	New Jersey	7:30 p.m.
	Sunday	21	Boston	6:00 p.m.		Friday	20	Sacramento	7:30 p.m.
	Friday	26	Minnesota	7:30 p.m.		Saturday	21	Orlando	7:00 p.m.
	Sunday	28	Denver	1:00 p.m.		Monday	23	Orlando	7:30 p.m.
	Tuesday	30	Charlotte	7:00 p.m.		Wednesday	25	L.A. Clippers	7:30 p.m.
Jan.	Friday	2	Indiana	7:30 p.m.		Friday	27	New Orleans	7:30 p.m.
	Sunday	4	Boston	6:00 p.m.		Saturday	28	Charlotte	7:00 p.m.
	Tuesday	6	Okla. City	8:00 p.m.		Monday	30	Utah	9:00 p.m.
	Thursday	8	Dallas	8:30 p.m.		Tuesday	21	Denver	9:00 p.m.
	Saturday	10	Houston	8:30 p.m.	Apr.	Saturday	4	Toronto	1:00 p.m.
	Monday	12	New Orleans	8:00 p.m.		Sunday	5	Toronto	6:00 p.m.
	Wednesday	14	Washington	7:30 p.m.		Tuesday	7	Chicago	8:30 p.m.
	Friday	16	Washington	7:00 p.m.		Wednesday	8	Detroit	7:30 p.m.
	Saturday	17	Philadelphia	7:30 p.m.		Friday	10	Orlando	7:00 p.m.
	Monday	19	Chicago	1:00 p.m.		Sunday	12	Miami	6:00 p.m.
	Wednesday	21	Phoenix	7:30 p.m.		Wednesday	15	New Jersey	8:00 p.m.

The Honeymoon Will Be Televised�� & In Print

2008-08-01T14:43:42Z

Viewers are accustomed to MSG-Network glass is half-full coverage of the New York Knicks. The Dolans contrary to Marv Albert’s beliefs, do not write checks to their employees to denigrate their product. If you are on the Dolan’s payroll, you either get with the program or you get going. This week Cablevision officially acquired Newsday and the Knicks’ relationship with the print media will never be the same.

Cablevision/Newsday becomes the Big-Dog regarding the Knicks. Ken Berger (a solid journalist), and Alan Hahn will have access to information regarding the Knicks before any of the other scribes in town. The Knicks will plant information with their own, (Newsday) to drop on the public as a trial run before it becomes official. Balkman was written out of the Knicks’ script before the first summer league game by Alan Hahn. Was this because Hahn is a prophet, or was he given information by the club to set the tone of the discussion about Balk’s low IQ, and how he does not fit in the offense because of his decision making, and his inability to run the point from the 3 in D’Antoni’s offense,(this was mind-boggling, Q can barely make 3-dribbles in a row, is he going to run the offense from the 3). This trial-transaction was initially attempted with David Lee before the draft.

Before the draft it was floated that Lee would be traded to free cap space in 2010, but when the fans protested against the trading of Lee, the Knicks backed down. Remember Lee is the most popular Knick, and when you are trying to sell season tickets after a 23 win season, you listen to the fans. The fans resistance to the trading of Lee forced the Knicks to move Balk, because a forward had to go to make room for the Roost-Ta. Although Walsh initially stated that Roost-Ta was a 4 (Lee’s position), Balk a 3, became the odd man out. It wasn’t that DLee suddenly developed a jump-shot. Alan Hahn set the table and Berger broke the story on the trade. Look for this process to repeat itself in the future. In addition look for Hahn to be less critical and show more reverence toward Knicks management this year, because he understands that you either get with it, or you get going.

In this current media environment that has newspapers downsizing and cutting cost, Hahn is now indirectly part of Cablevision’s PR-machine. Expect more of “Donnie is doing the right thing”, “Donnie is being patient”, and “the Knicks are more transparent” from Newsday. The tone has changed, and most will attribute the tranquility to the change in management. The truth is Dolan has bought the messenger.

Who will end the Honeymoon? Look for the guys at the Post and the Daily News to go negative, early and often. Vecsey, Berman, & Isola, will feel disadvantage by not being able to break news on the Knicks. Vecsy has positioned himself as Mr. Insider, and Isola Mr. Scoops. Their egos will not allow them to constantly get beat on stories by the Newday reporters. The guys will make McCain look like a puppy with the negatives. I look for Vecsey to start in November, and Isola to soon follow. I also expect the Post and News to give more coverage to the Nets and less coverage to the Knicks in the coming season.

Moral of the Post. Buy the Messenger and you Create the Message

Does Donnie NEED a Mulligan or Two ?

2008-07-25T14:53:54Z

“Tell me who admires and loves you, and I will tell you who you are.”

Sainte-Beuve

Long suffering Knick fans are divided on the direction of the team under Donnie Walsh (DW). DW has stated clearing cap space for 2010 is the #1 priority, yet when given an opportunity to create space, he passed. How do we judge DW’s transactions since replacing Isiah Thomas. I recommend grading each transaction similar to scoring each hole in golf. Yes, let’s talk bogeys and birdies.

MULLIGAN-A do over, a second chance to correct a mistake or a bad shot, a bad decision or strategy.

In golf scoring is based the number of shots needed to put the ball in the cup. If it’s par 4, then it should take 4 shots off the tee to score.

Par is even. It does not exceed or fail to meet expectations. For our purpose a Par is the equivalent of doing nothing. For a team coming off 23 wins it should be very easy to generate a negative score,( in golf negative is good).

(0) Par- does not hurt the team, or make it better, irrelevant

(-1) Birdie- exceeds expectations, unlikely

(-2) Eagle- out of the box, creative, exceeds realistic expectations.

(-1) Bogey- disappointing, failure to meet expectations

(-2) Double bogey- defying logic

(-3) Triple bogey- puts team at a disadvantage with little chance

of recovery

Donnie’s Drives off the Tee:

D’Anotini- A Birdie, playoff coach, up-beat personality with entertaining style. Not an eagle because team underachieved during playoffs and teams play little to no defense. Will his style work in the East. (-1)

Draft- A triple bogey. Said Roosta is a 4, but he lacks strength to play a 3. Can’t remember a finesse player that arrived e in NBA and became physical. Not Charles Smith. Not Michael Doleac. Not Channing Frye. Passed on better talent to select Roosta. (+3)

Duhon- A bogey. Given several opportunities to start in Chicago and proved that he is most effective 20-25 minutes per game, yet was given the MLE. There is a reason that he did not have any other offers. (+1)

Roberson-Par, Doesn’t hurt or help, just a transaction. The team is impressed by his speed and ability to shoot long-shot. We already have N8 with those qualities.(0)

Randolph Trade-Double Bogey. If clearing cap space for 2010 is goal then DW dropped the ball. Could have also acquired an experience point-guard to play with Duhon, in Brevin Knight, accelerating Steph’s buyout. (+2)

A few fanatics may say that it is hard to move bad contracts and that DW is at a major disadvantage because other teams are trying to buy the Knicks at a discount. Remember Rod Thorn has targeted 2010 as well, and he gave away Richard Jefferson for a cup of coffee, without sugar, (some will say RJ was the sugar). Thorn is moving, while Donnie is analyzing. Does Donnie need a mulligan or a Tiger?

Let’s go Knicks.

Through the first five holes DW is +5 on an easy course. How would you grade him?

Pop Quiz

Guaranteed Routes to Lottery:

1) A)Depending on Steph B) Depending on Curry C) A & B

2) Number of Bulls reject starting A) 1B) 2 C) 3

3) Asking Crawful to guard A) Dwade B)RIP C) Anyone

4) ‘Lives’ predicts A) Division Crown B) 50-wins C) Conference champs

LETS GET READY TO RUUUMMBLE!

2008-07-24T14:53:13Z

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Alan "Lights out" Hahn�� MARC " The Animal " Berman

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Tempers are flaring between two of the three Major Knicks Commercial� Blogs!

Marc Berman of the New York Post and Alan Hahn of the Newsday are not exactly

best friends ...these days! Let us note that poor Frank Isola's decline has been so

bad that Rumors are he may be the next beat writer of New York's " Onion" have surfaced!

The question is ...who would win this Slug fest? Alan is tall and may be the better boxer, but Berman has a Neanderthal type body and may Brawl his way through Alan. I'd like to know

who would win this EPIC battle? Berman has poked fun of Alan's favorite "Danilo Gallinari"

while Alan has Nicknamed Berman " Sturberman...referring to his man Love for Marbury."

While nothing new for our beloved Knicks is happening....I would love to hear predictions

on who�would win in a 10 round slug fest between Hahn and Berman? Please post your prediction and be graphic! LOL............. Would Alan dance like ALI the full ten rounds while peppering the Caveman head of Berman?....or would Berman Catch the Graceful Hahn with an Animal barrage and Knock him out?� Please Post your opinion's and Predictions!

KNICKS SIGN ANTHONY ROBERSON -- NOW DEEPER IN BALL HANDLERS THAN LAST YEAR

2008-07-16T15:22:44Z

The Knicks are on the verge of signing free agent Anthony Roberson to a two-year deal according to the New York Post, a clear sign that the Knicks are about to waive or buyout one of the other 15 players who are under contract. The obvious candidates are Big Snaxx and Stephon Marbury who has been on his way out since Isiah and Dolan banned him from the team before the NBA Players Association, and probably Stern, warned the team to behave and play nasty in a nice legal way.

This addition deepens the guard corp and makes the team a lot more competitive internally. Roberson can flat out score. The Knicks guard depth chart looks, sans Starbury, something like the following right now:

Name	YRS	HT /WT	07-08 PPG	07-08 APG	FG%
Chris Duhon	4	6'1", 184lbs	5.8	4.0	38%
Jamal Crawford	8	6'5", 200lbs	20.6	5.0	41%
Nate Robinson	3	5'9", 180lbs	12.7	2.9	43%
Anthony Roberson	2	6'2", 180lbs	IGNORE	IGNORE	IGNORE
Mardy Collins	2	6'6", 220lbs	3.2	1.9	33%

The depth chart can also be view as follows by position:

Position
Point Guard	Chris Duhon	Nate Robinson	Mardy Collins	Anthony Roberson
Shooting Guard	Jamal Crawford	Nate Robinson	Anthony Roberson	Quentin Richardson

Relative to last year, that is a very nice group of guards. With Gallinari able to handle the point forward position, as in he can bring the ball up and get to the hole without getting stripped, Crawford should almost never be required to be the main point guard again. Such depth also means that Nate will not be forced to play point guard and defense, at his high octane level, all game long until he hits his point of diminishing returns, when his energy is no longer effective in changing the tenure of the game. Now the Knicks should always have fresh point guards on the floor that can handle the ball and score all day long. This should cut down on an exhausted Crawford hoisting up shots with two seconds left on the shot clock at the end of quarters (one of the dumbest freakin' plays I have ever witnessed 82 (games) X 4 (quarters) times.

I believe that Mardy can avoid being the last man on that depth chart, if he gains confidence. The competition between Mardy and Duhon can be a great storyline in 08-09.

In addition, Duhon, Robinson, Collins and Q can play a little defense. So now with Chandler on the floor, we should have at least two people who can play defense on the floor simultaneously. This is getting interesting.

Let’s note that some thought the Knicks were totally out of the free agent market since the full mid-level exception was given to Duhon, however there are several exceptions to the salary cap rules which may have allowed the Knicks to sign Roberson. It appears that the Knicks used the minimum salary exception. Contracts under this exception can be up to two years in length. "For two year contracts, the second season salary is the minimum salary for that season. The contract may not contain a signing bonus. This exception also allows minimum salary players to be acquired via trade. There is no limit to the number of players that can be signed or acquired using this exception."

CHECK OUT A FEW MORE ARTICLES FOR TODAY'S READING PLEASURE

GALLINARI PROBABLY OUT FOR REMAINDER OF SUMMER LEAGUE. A 19 year old with a bad back? Make note of this today and let's see where we are at the all-star break. Not all back problems are equal. Still, this brings up the issue, again, of whether his style of play and his body type will be able to withstand the NBA game.

POSEY TO HORNETS

Gallinari To Rest Sore Back

D’Antoni Not The Only Mike In Q’s Future

Collins, Chandler Eye Next Step In The Summer League

Danilo To Sit Against Spurs

Chandler, Mardy and Roberson Called Studs For Game One

I may or may not add a couple more pieces to the syllabus, so stay alert.