Vogue in Amor with Amare?

Amare Stoudemire of the NY Knicks is dreaming big. His new ambition? To grace the cover of Vogue magazine. Wait… huh?

Stoudemire, who is more well known for his nude (under)cover photo as opposed to a Vogue cover photo, commented, “Anna [Wintour] will bless me to be on the cover of Vogue, but it hasn’t happened yet.” Apparently Stoudemire met Wintour, the editor in chief of U.S. Vogue, during fashion week.

To be honest, I am pretty skeptical Vogue would throw some basketball player who isn’t even known for being a fashion icon onto the cover, but I guess time will tell. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for a fall issue featuring a different kind of sporty attire.

I'm sorry Knicks fans, but the misery continues...

I can only imagine how difficult it would be to be a New York Knicks fan. Each year, Knicks fans are thinking "Who wouldn't want to play at Madison Square Garden?! NBA champs (insert upcoming year here)!" But then the summer progresses, the Knicks draft some bust like Mardy Collins in the first round, whiff on the top free agents, and despite usually having of the highest payrolls in the league, end up in the early lottery for the next year's draft. To be fair, I am a fan of Mike D'Antoni as their new coach, and they did get Amar'e Stoudamire, but they still are flat out not a good team. And in case any of these earlier blunders don't confirm this for you, they just rehired Isiah Thomas as a 'team consultant'. If you're a Knicks fan, you have to be having nightmares right now. This guy tried his best to screw over the organization as both the president and the coach, never reaching the playoffs despite throwing around money like it was Monopoly money. And I haven't even gotten to the sexual harassment lawsuit he was involved in that cost the team around 11 mil. The only plausible reason I could see the Knicks rehiring Thomas is if they are planning to do some kind of reality show on VH1 chronicling how to destroy a once-proud franchise. But honestly, with the Knicks, this wouldn't even be that surprising.





NBA Champs 2011 for sureeee.

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Super Troopers...

As if New York athletes hadn't committed enough crimes later, Ex-Knick, Zach Randolf was linked to an Indiana drug dealer this past week. Apparently, the unnamed doobie dealer had been driving Zach's Cadillac Escalade, which had 3 ounces of mary jane hidden in it. In addition, aforementioned ganga dealer had been storing 3 Chevy Impalas registered to one alleged cheeba puffing Zach Randolf. At least he buys American right? My question is which highway trooper found the reefer and how many "Meows" can he get up to?

The Grizzlies have announced that they intend to continue contract negotiations with Randolf despite his apparent involvement in this incident.

New York Wins Over Boston

The Knicks beat the Celtics. The Yankees beat the Red Sox. Moving on.

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No Sun Shining on the New York Knicks

The Knicks pretty easily beat the Suns last night. While I may have contributed personally to the Suns loss, it still enrages me. The Suns are 14-4 while the Knicks are just 4-14. More importantly, however, is that that the Suns were the first to beat the Celtics this season, ruining their perfect schedule. I immediately communicated my anger to the Suns coaching staff who replied with a mere, "Sorry."

Unfortunately, "sorry" doesn't cut it, particularly when you can't even beat the Knicks. New York is more likely to experience an earthquake than win a basketball game. Nonetheless, I had a great time at the game. I met some very interesting people and would love to give a shout out to Clyde, our trusted concession stand / beer dispensing guru. Also, to the entire fashion industry and those involved in that industry at last night's game. Even to those who choose to hide their involvement in the industry and claim, rather, that they just "hang out."

First Is The New Last

Today Dime Mag came out with their "Hit List Power Ranking" for the NBA teams. Given the title of the article, I'm not sure why they include every team. Let's face it - the Knicks aren't that much of a "hit" here in New York. Neither are the Nets. What I want to know is how the Clippers ended up ahead of both teams on the list.

The reason the Clippers deserve to simply be omitted from the list is obvious to anyone that remotely follows basketball. How can a team get the #1 overall pick VIRTUALLY EVERY YEAR and still suck. Some ex-Clippers contend the problem is that Clippers management treats their players as if they attended an inner city high school. One reported to me that their practice facility actually has holes in the roof and they would simply take the day off when it rained. Certainly, this policy wouldn't fly in Seattle but luckily rain is a lot more scarce in L.A.

These Bright Lights Will Inspire You

Is Leon Rose the Scott Boras of basketball? Seriously, a player like Allen Iverson should have a contract. Regardless of what the situation is, it's Rose's job to get Iverson into a realistic state of mind and that should have started a long time ago. Iverson is upset with a dwindling role on in the NBA as he gets older and this attitude isn't meshing well with management. As a result AI finds himself without a team despite his immense talent.

When woman start to age, hopefully they do so with grace, i.e. not walking around in skanky little dresses that are barely appropriate for an 18 year old. Face it Iverson, you're getting old - start acting your age!

Iverson spent years of his career without an agent but after drama erupted when Iverson missed some practices, he decided to hire Leon Rose. Rose's first day on the job included attending Iverson's infamous press conference during which Iverson used the work "practice" at least 20 times and often included it 3-4 times per sentence. Now, even with one of the best agents in the game, Iverson doesn't have a deal and I just can't help thinking about A-Rod and Boras' $350 million demand.

Sometimes unrealistic expectations leave you with nothing. It's Rose's job to be realistic and honest; both with himself and his clients. So whereever the disconnect is, I hope that Iverson does come to New York and play for the Knicks. We'd certainly love to have him in the Big Apple. Perhaps the Knicks could win some games.

Don't hate the player, hate the...

Across all professional sports, contract negotiations, player-coach relationships, retirement, and player-player conflicts result in athletes changing their uniforms. The popularity of the player is positively correlated with the outrage of the old team and the excitement of the new team. Switching teams is not, by any means, a new sensation. Usually, a trade makes a small wave within the organization that ripples out into the public for a week at the most. When great players are traded, however, it is a different story. Over the course of five weeks, we are taking a look at five significant cases. The first was Brett Favre and the second was Wayne Gretzky. The third is Patrick Ewing.

New York Knicks: 1985-2000
Seattle Supersonics: 2000-2001
Orlando Magic: 2001-2002

The New York Knickerbockers drafted Patrick Ewing with the first pick of the NBA draft in 1985. Named Rookie of the Year despite injuries, it was the start of what Pat O’Brien coined the “Ewing era.” Though he put up stunning stats and came understatedly close, Ewing was unable to lead the Knicks to an NBA Championship. Still, the success the team saw is nearly unparalleled, especially when compared to the weak performances of more recent years. Whether the Knicks were the division leaders or a Cinderella team, they made the playoffs in 13 out of 15 seasons with Ewing. He made the All-Star team 11 times. He became a hero in New York City, and number 33 jerseys filled Madison Square Garden to see the star center in action.

After 15 seasons as the team leader, Ewing left the Knicks in 2000, traded to the Seattle Supersonics for the final year of his contract. He wanted a high salary, but his age and deteriorating body were failing. Unable to agree on a contract extension, MSG Chairman James Dolan signed off on the deal that Ewing’s agent, David Falk, later described as “a mutual decision, and a mutual mistake.”

Ewing spent one season in Seattle and another with the Orlando Magic, retiring in 2002. He was relatively unsuccessful with both teams. Similarly, the Knicks have endured little success and many losing seasons since his departure. It is hard to tell who is to blame: Knicks management for refusing to spend more, or Ewing for refusing to accept less. Dolan was described as selfish for trying to bring down the team’s salary cap; Ewing was described as immature for believing that he could still perform at the same level that he did when he entered the NBA. Regardless, the truth remains—Patrick Ewing was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and instead of trying to come to an agreement, the Knicks traded him away.

Next Week: Michael Jordan