It's hard to blame Knicks fans for clinging to hope. The most sophisticated basketball clientele in America has been saddled with a team that's richly embarrassing. The toxic remnants from the Isiah era remain in the form of mismatched players, empty seats, and the stench that comes with a 2-10 record.

Donnie Walsh has performed a miracle in clearing enough cap space to have room for a big free agent in the coming offseason. Mike D'Antoni coaches a style players love, one that lets them run the floor and make plays without looking to the puppet-master on the sidelines.

Doesn't matter. LeBron's not...]]> Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 We're past the halfway point of the NFL season, and the year still felt somewhat unformed as it headed into Week 10. Fortunately, the schedule provided a number of intriguing, defining matchups (funny how that happens as we enter TV's sweeps month), and the hierarchy of the league is beginning to take a firmer shape.

Northern Exposure, Part I: There's a new beast in the AFC North. If Cincinnati can stay awake through its November 29 matchup with the Cleveland Browns, it will sweep the division for the first time ever. The Bengals' 18-12 victory over Pittsburgh gave them home-and-home wins against the Steelers for the first time since 1998. (And Cincinnati went...]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0600 Charlie, Charlie, can we talk?

I know, the last thing you want to do is listen to me. Or anybody. You know what you're doing. You've won four division titles in eight years of managing, two league pennants and one World Series. I've watched and thought about more baseball games than ninety-nine percent of all American men; you've watched and thought about four or five times as many as I have.

I know what you're thinking. I understand why you'd think it. You've gotten your team this far.

Let me take it from here.

So let's talk about your pitching.

It's been a long season, and a tough Series. Cliff Lee's been spectacular. Pedro Martinez gave you a...]]> Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Twelve months ago, the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series. Two months later, after committing a tidy $423 million to three players - on top of the gazillions already earmarked for Alex Rodriguez and sure to go to Derek Jeter - the New York Yankees became the prohibitive favorite to take the title in 2009. The two will meet beginning Wednesday night - weather permitting, two words that will be repeated often in the days to come - in what should be the most exciting World Series in a generation.

The two teams are extremely well matched. Both have potent and deep lineups that can generate multi-run innings from any spot in the order. Both led their leagues in runs, home...]]> Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 The 2009 ALCS between the Yankees and Angels will be a battle of tangibles and intangibles. The on-field assets of these two teams are obvious; so, this year, are the more ephemeral ones.

The Yankees' winter spending spree was impossible to ignore. Reeling from the end of their thirteen-year postseason streak, they added starting pitchers C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and first baseman Mark Teixeira (from the Angels) as free agents, with outfielder Nick Swisher coming over in a lopsided trade. Has any team makeover ever worked as well? Sabathia was a horse, averaging nearly seven innings per start, winning a major-league high 19 games. Burnett had his second healthy year in...]]> Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Plucky underdog stories are so last year.

There are no Tampa Bays among baseball's final four this year. All the participants in the 2009 League Championship Series are solid members of the $100 million club, proud possessors of nine-figure payrolls. Such expenditures don't guarantee success - ask a Mets fan, if you can find one - but failing to make them helps you get an early start on your autumn vacation.

Big markets don't always add up to big ratings, but this year's foursome offers something for every fan's taste: a defending champion with a patched-up rotation and an arsonist for a closer; two Southern California squads with balanced offenses, pitching staffs...]]> Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Don't put the Hefty Bag out by the curb just yet. Rinse out the Homer Hankies, and don't toss the ear plugs. The most ill-conceived park in major-league baseball lives for another few days.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis opened for business the year after the 1981 strike shut down baseball for fifty-eight days. Its last baseball game was supposed to be three days ago, but like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Rasputin, and Tom DeLay, it refuses to go away.

A month ago, the Twins were seven games behind the Detroit Tigers. A week ago, they were two games back, beginning a vital four-game set in Detroit - their last realistic chance to make up ground. ...]]> Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500 It's summer. It's hot. The dog days are upon us. And the world of sports has gone stark staring mad. I offer a few observations on the utter insanity of the past few weeks.

Stay classy, Rick Pitino.

The International Olympic Committee has recommended inclusion of golf and rugby sevens in the 2016 Summer Games. Rugby sevens is the stripped-down, faster, high-action version of a sport that is a national obsession in some parts of the world. Isn't this a little like having Olympic competition in Arena Football or Pitch-‘n'-Putt?

When I heard that Ken Williams got Alex Rios for nothing, I assumed they were talking about a baseball card. Toronto signed Rios...]]> Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0500 He last played a game in 1986. He was banned from baseball for life in 1989. He maintained his innocence for fourteen years, until he saw the opportunity to sell his confession in book form. And even then he expressed no remorse or contrition for what he'd done, insisting that he'd suffered enough already and that he should now be reinstated because he'd come "clean" at last.

Why are we still discussing Pete Rose?

He was a great player. He racked up more hits than anyone in the history of the game. Durability and strength are an important element of greatness; Rose, who liked to portray himself during his career as having only average ability, was a rock-solid...]]> Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0500 In golf circles, the argument rages: Did Jack Nicklaus face tougher competition than Tiger Woods does, or is Tiger's dominance the reason his competitors look unimpressive?

The British Open of 2009 can be considered a large check-mark on Nicklaus's side of the argument.

It was thrilling to watch Tom Watson battle time, age, and logic for four days, but as the bumper sticker says, Nature Bats Last. Experience and guile can carry you far, but only for as long as the putter goes with them.

The 138th Open Championship was lost, lost, and lost again, even by its eventual winner. "If you make four birdies on the back nine in a major," said Mike Tirico on the U.S....]]> Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Brazil wins its first World Cup, June 29, 1958: Brazil wins its first World Cup with a 5-2 victory over host nation Sweden in the finals. Seventeen-year-old sensation Pelé scored two goals in the second half, after recording three in the semifinals against France and the only goal of Brazil's quarterfinal win over Wales. Vavá also scored two goals in the final.

Andy Hawkins allows four runs on no hits in complete game, July 1, 1990: Andy Hawkins of the New York Yankees allows four runs on no hits in a complete game, losing to the White Sox in Chicago, 4-0. The runs scored in the eighth inning,...]]> Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 When the U.S. Open comes to Bethpage State Park, they call it "the People's Open," so it's only fitting that one of the people won it.

Lucas Glover will not be mistaken for golfing royalty. The 29-year-old had one career win - the FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World in 2005 - and had played in eleven previous majors, with one finish in the top 25 and six missed cuts (including all three U.S. Opens). His game is pure vanilla: hit fairways (he ranks first on the Tour in overall driving, combining distance and accuracy), reach greens (80th in greens in regulation, suggesting some loose iron shots), and make putts (23rd in putts per round).

He won the Open with his...]]> Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Everyone who had the Ricky Barnes-Lucas Glover exacta, raise your hands.

And did you remember to include David Duval in your box for the triple?

Didn't think so.

What if they gave a U.S. Open, and a Viking Classic broke out?

It has to be a U.S. Open, because the blazers are tasteful, the troopers are out in force, and Johnny Miller's more ponderous than usual.

But the scores and the conditions are anything but Open-like, and so are the names atop the leaderboard.

The rains of Thursday and Saturday turned spectator walkways into Woodstock-style mudbaths, and left the greens spongy and defenseless. Players threw darts at the flags as though this...]]> Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Heading into Saturday's play at the 109th U.S. Open, golfers and fans alike had reason to fear a repeat of Thursday's abbreviated session. A flood watch was in effect, with as much as two inches of rain possible on a golf course already saturated from the soggy spring.

The morning golfers would have ideal conditions, with sunshine belying the damp, receptive targets. The afternoon golfers, who'd been caught in the first day's downpour, would be lucky to finish the second round. With more rain and possible thundershowers coming Sunday, the championship seemed certain to end on Monday at the earliest, with a Tuesday finish not at all unlikely.

(Before dismissing the...]]> Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Let me say first of all, that whatever you've heard, I am not a brute.

I'm also not a tease, and I'm not a flirt.

I think I'm pretty straightforward; what you see is what you get. And I've never treated anyone differently than he treated me.

I'm tough, sure, but I think I'm fair. And I'm not as big as I look on TV; the camera adds quite a few yards. I've got six sisters who are bigger than I am; it's not my fault that they're - forgive me, girls - easier.

I'm the fifteenth hole at Bethpage Black, and if you want to dance with me, you'd better bring your 'A' game.

The last time the Open came to visit, ­­­I was the hardest hole the pros...]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 It's not that Mike Miles isn't happy to be at Bethpage Black, playing in the U.S. Open; it's that he's not just happy to be there.

"I'm playing really well," said Miles, a 47-year-old assistant pro at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, California. "I expect to finish somewhere in the top 20, to be honest with you."

He's played in the U.S. Open before, after all. Once. In 1987. He missed the cut.

There are thirteen players in the Open field who weren't born at the time of Miles's last Open round. But that doesn't bother the soft-spoken teaching pro. "I had a great practice round yesterday playing with three guys from Long Beach who are playing on the...]]> Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. Open is no fun. That's the point of it. It's a stern test of a player's ability that weeds out the pretenders and frightens the weak.

The Black Course at Bethpage State Park is no fun. That's the point of it. It's a stern test of a player's ability that draws pretenders like a cash giveaway and causes the weak to camp out for the chance to suffer like the pros.

A.W. Tillinghast, designer of such enclaves of privilege as Winged Foot, Baltusrol, and San Francisco Golf...]]> Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0500 In the Conference Finals, however, the Cavs had no answer for Dwight Howard and the Magic’s three-point shooters, who came alive after struggling against Philadelphia and Boston. When Cleveland doubled on Howard down low, he kicked the ball out to the arc; when they played him straight up, he used his speed and strength to get easy shots. The Cavaliers’ deficiencies against the Magic were defensive, not offensive; despite their poor shooting from downtown, Mo Williams and Delonte West outscored their season averages. The team allowed 103.7 points per game, a dozen more than their opponents averaged over eighty-two games.

After the final game in Orlando, LeBron left the...]]> Thu, 07 May 2009 00:00:00 -0500 Yes, I understand it’s used by men to jumpstart their testosterone following a steroids cycle, but still: a female fertility drug? Is this Manny being WoManny?

Derek Fisher’s shoulder block/elbow was an obvious flagrant foul and easy suspension, but Luis Scola went down so dramatically I expected to see Vince McMahon on the sidelines.

So Kobe Bryant elbows Ron Artest in the throat, and the refs call a loose-ball foul on Artest. Let’s just say that maybe the NBA didn’t want the Lakers to lose the first two games at home. Nice of the league to decide a day later that the play was actually a flagrant-one on Kobe. No doubt Artest feels that justice has been...]]> Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500 The game had been in a downward spiral since the ascendance of pro football in the 1960s. It was a radio game in the television age, too slow and static for the visual medium. Football had all the telegenic action, the violent collisions and powerful athletic moves. Baseball was your father’s game, your grandfather’s, and such continuity was no asset to the generational rebels of the baby boom.

That was the conventional wisdom, and as usual, by the time the trend became conventional wisdom it was already losing steam. Pro football had become dominated by defense; the six lowest-scoring Super Bowls were all played between 1969 and 1975. (The NFL would soon change its...]]> Sun, 05 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0500 I had been to Opening Day at Fenway Park several times before. In 1975, I saw Carl Yastrzemski and Tony Conigliaro create the season’s first run with a double steal, Henry Aaron play his first American League game, and George Scott hit a line drive that would have broken my ribs if it hadn’t hit the railing at my side.

That day was frigid, like most Fenway openers, and I took northern comfort from a companion’s smuggled flask. Still, the air was full of hope, winter had passed, the home team was undefeated, and we had no way of knowing that the season would fall a hair’s breadth short of fulfilling all those dreams, culminating as it did in a World Series marked by...]]> Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0500 It’s also a hoot, and if you’ve been too busy preparing to fill out your brackets to watch any of it, you’ve missed some of the most dramatic baseball you’ll see until September.

Last night’s elimination game between the U.S. and Puerto Rico matched teams that had met three days earlier, with the U.S. being mercy-ruled by 11-1 in seven innings. This time, Puerto Rico took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth, getting home runs from Alex Rios and Carlos Delgado. Facing J.C. Romero, the U.S. put runners on first and second on singles by Shane Victorino and Brian Roberts; Derek Jeter flied out to right, Victorino taking third. Roberts stole second while Jimmy Rollins...]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0600 We howl with outrage when athletes use steroids. But why are we surprised? They’re doing what we want them to do – i.e., everything they can to win.

We want sports stars to do glorious things as our surrogates. We don’t care about their long-term futures, or their lives after sports. We condemn the player who sits out to nurse small wounds, who pulls up shy of the fence instead of crashing into it in pursuit of a fly, who veers out of bounds instead of taking a hit. We praise the gamer, who gives us everything he has on every play whether it’s smart or not. We laud Curt Schilling for risking serious damage to his ankle by pitching the bloody-sock game...]]> Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0600 Super Bowl XLIII presents a classic offense-defense matchup. When the Arizona Cardinals’ offense lines up against the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense, more than a quarter of the players on the field will be Pro Bowl selections for this season (Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, and Larry Fitzgerald; James Harrison, James Farrior, and Troy Polamalu). When the Pittsburgh offense takes on the Arizona defense… well, there’s Arizona safety Adrian Wilson. Moveable object, meet resistible force.

The Cardinals are a great story. Dismissed as one of the worst teams ever to make the playoffs, they’ve jelled at the perfect moment, and offer a multitude of attractive narratives: Warner’s...]]> Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0600 Unless you were among the 21,000 at Qualcomm Stadium that night, you probably don’t remember the moment. When Pete Rose topped Cobb’s record for career hits, the game stopped for a lengthy ceremony, and the news was blared across the front pages of the nation’s newspapers. When Barry Bonds passed Hank Aaron’s career home run record, it ended a long ordeal that included questions about whether Commissioner Bud Selig would or should attend the game, and how Aaron should react; whatever you thought about Bonds, you took notice. Rickey had given himself a moment of fanfare and ceremony when he topped Lou Brock’s career mark of 938 stolen bases ten years earlier, raising the bag...]]>