Quiet As It's Kept...

NYC is the mecca of sports, and while other major cities like to think otherwise, I see no reason to debate. In football, we proved we're the boss when the New York Giants won the Super Bowl by stomping out what was deemed to be one of the best teams in all of history, the New England Patriots. The Mets and Yanks still have Jeter and A-Rod, and most fans are still buzzing about the Mets' offseason acquisition of Johan Santana. Our basketball team, the Knicks, are on the complete other end of the spectrum.

'Basketball sucks' seems to be the general consensus, as ratings and fan interests are at an all-time low. I know people who haven't watched basketball since the Michael Jordan era, gangsta ass Chicago Bulls era. Ask any of them and what's left of the NBA will never compare and can barely even be called basketball. That is especially the case here in NYC. The Knicks were at one point one of the most feared and revered teams in the NBA. Nowadays, they're one of the worst teams, record wise, in the league. The Knicks exploded onto the scene before the season even started, with the Anucha Browne Sanders sexual harrassment/wrongful termination lawsuit, and the well-publicized tension between Knicks head coach Isiah Thomas and PG Stephon Marbury. With big name players and big money contracts, no one expected the season to go the way it has. The Knicks have the fourth worst record in the league at 17-38, above only Memphis, Minnesota and Miami.

I can't count the number of anti-Marbury articles I read and telecasts I watched over the past few months. Everyone pointed the finger at Starbury, saying his selfishness and arrogance was the reason for the Knicks lackluster efforts, dismal record and poor play. All those chatterboxes backed off a bit when Marbury had deaths in his family, including his childhood mentor, his aunt, and his father, Don Marbury, who suffered a fatal heart attack IN Madison Square Garden during a Knicks' game in December. Lemme ask you now, when was the last time you heard the name Stephon Marbury?!

Exactly!! The storyline got old, fast. Stephon Marbury has quietly faded into the background, and with no real public stars to attack, so has the media coverage. Marbury only played in 4 of the Knicks' 14 December games, and hasn't played for the team since January. It's been over a month since the controversial PG was on the court, and that's not going to change anytime soon.

X-Rays in January showed he had a fractured bone spur in his left ankle. "I have pain when I'm running up and down the court," said Marbury in an interview. "I need surgery." He had the same bone spur surgery on the same ankle back when he was in Phoenix, so he knows what he's talking about. Marbury had the surgery again back in January, and this time around, what was supposed to be a routine bone spur removal surgery turned into a lengthy 2-hour long procedure. Doctors found several bone fragments in the ankle that also had to be removed.

Initial reports said Marbury was out indefinitely, and that the Knicks hoped to have him back in a matter of months. We learned last week that Marbury is in fact done for the season. The Knicks were being weird about the whole situation, specifically saying that Steph "decided" to have the surgery, as if it was a decision the organization wasn't backing. You don't have to love the guy, but at least give a damn about his health.

The sad truth is, at 31 years old, Marbury seems to be coming up on the end of his NBA career, and his durability has really come into question. He has struggled to stay healthy over the past few seasons, missing several games with shoulder and foot injuries, and knee tendinitis. During this season, Marbury averaged a career low 13.9 points per game.

Stephon Marbury's huge contract is one of the many reasons why the Knicks are well over the salary cap, and the laughing stock of the league because of it. Marbury is making $20 million this season, and he has one year and $21.9 million left on his deal. There is speculation that the Knicks may be looking to buy him out. The trade deadline came and went, and the Knicks barely batted an eyelash, mainly because there aren't nearly enough pieces to complete their trade puzzle. This season is a wash, and frankly, I don't know anyone who would want to come into this ill-fated situation - on purpose.

Before the season started, Marbury said he wanted to win a championship with the Knicks then move to Italy with his wife and play basketball there. "I'm not just thinking of doing it, I'm going to do it," said Marbury last July. In his blog, Steph went on and on about his trip to Italy and seemed to be renewed by his experience. He called himself tryna get his "David Beckham" on, and wants to go overseas to assist in the globalization of the NBA. He hopes to "spread the Starbury Movement" by promoting his affordable line of sneakers and athletic wear.

Now I'm not the biggest Marbury fan, but I think it was just easier for everyone to focus on him rather than the real problem at hand, which actually stems from Knicks' management. It's unfair to assume that everyone that plays a team sport is a team player, and if he is selfish and arrogant, then learn how to work with him. With all the negative publicity surrounding the franchise, it's easy to miss some of the good things he's done. He donated $4 million last year, $1 million each to teachers, emergency services, and NYC police and fire departments. This doesn't even include the hundreds of pairs of sneakers, clothing and haircuts he gave away to inner city youths and area basketball teams. He says he found God, in his own strange, erratic way and people mocked him. He was one of the few public figures who wasn't afraid to speak out in favor of Michael Vick and people jumped down his throat and called him an idiot.

"I'm in the best place in my life, man," Marbury said during a New York Times interview this past September. "It seems like people don't like it when you grow. They don't like it when you get older and wiser. I came into the NBA when I was 18...If I didn't take the time to grow, something's wrong." Marbury has decided to go out on his own accord, instead of sticking to conventional NBA culture. I'm all for it, and at this point he might as well.

Beating A Dead....

I've tried to kinda stay away from the Michael Vick issue. I could care less what people think, I don't give a DAYUM if Mike Vick fights dogs. Period. Point fuckin blank. Damn a damn dog!! People have done, are now doing, and will continue to do worse things. We live in a society where people treat their dogs better than other human beings. We step over the homeless, but run to the aid of abandoned pups. People are out there killing!! HUMANS!! Babies are dying, children are being molested, women are being raped, people are being tortured, we are at WAR!! With the reaction Vick has gotten you would have thought he's done all of the above!

I can understand people who are against dog fighting. Hell, I don't like it either. What I can't stomach, are people who believe that if you don't agree with them on this issue you are an immoral person. Fighting dogs sounds horrible, but let me be honest. I know people who fight dogs. Yes, I said it. Are they good people? Sure! Do they do some questionable things? Sure. Do I really give a rats fuckin ass? Hell to the nah! Hey man, listen, I got bigger fish to fry than to worry about pit bulls, which are arguably some of the most vicious dogs around! Another truth about me, when I was around 7-8 years old, I was attacked by a pit bull. Ok, more like it bit me once then kept it moving, but it was an attack none the less. This (white) woman was walking her 2 pits, 1 huge one and one puppy. I saw them coming and I decided I didn't want to end up a statistic so I decided to hide behind a huge tree and wait for them to pass. Well clearly the big ass pit wasn't having any of that and took my hiding behind the tree as an insult, or a challenge. The pit came around the tree, found me hiding, and bit me. The thing just bit me! Of course I started to cry, the woman asked me if I was ok, I said yes, and she uhhh, kept it moving. She clearly didn't want any problems so she left a child crying behind a tree rather than get me some help. I ended up in the emergency room to get checked out. I had to get rabies shots, the first one being in my ass, by a fine ass male doctor. I was little hesitant at first, but I showed him the goods. Hmmm, I wonder how he's doing...Anyway, this incident with a malicious pit didn't turn me off of dogs at all. Things happen, it is what it is. I love dogs, I think they're great. Some more evil than others, but great.

I read that long ass indictment and call me heartless, but I wasn't moved. The issue seems to be the manner in which the dogs died; electrocution, drowning, hanging. Sounds painful! Stephon Marbury came out a couple of days ago, as a Vick supporter, and likened dog fighting to hunting and people were all up in arms! 'Oh, how could he? There are no similarities whatsoever! Tell Stephon to stay in his lane, stick to basketball!' But let's put all the cards on the table, people hunt animals and leave their dead carcasses strewn about in their homes as prizes. What is the purpose of hunting deer? Yes, yes, I've heard that dumb ass story about thinning out the herd and overpopulation. Say what you want to try and justify it, but the truth is people take pleasure in killing deer! And bears and rabbits and elk and whatever the hell else they feel like killing and plastering their petrified heads above their fireplaces. I've heard the argument that hunting is legal and dog fighting isn't. Ok, way to state the obvious genius! The less obvious answer is people don't keep the animals they hunt as pets. If most people had deer as pets and dogs were out in the wild being hunted, people would have dog-skin rugs! And if they found out that Mike Vick was breeding deer to have them fight each other to the death, they would be just as outraged! As a society we make exceptions for the things we want to do, and deem everything else illegal.

Like you already know, I love 1050 ESPN Radio. Most of the hosts are on the "I love dogs with all my heart how dare you do anything to them but love them" side, and I'm fuckin sick of it. The past few weeks it's been getting harder and harder to listen to the station. No one says anything original, it's all about the humanity. Anyone who calls in to disagree with the anti-Vick stance gets berated and hung up on. So when the Vick topic does come up, as hard as it is for me, I just change the station. That is except for when the Max Kellerman Show is on weekdays from 10am - 12pm. He's the only guy who dares to take an alternative stance. He brings up the meat industry and the manner in which pigs, cows and chickens are bred, and subsequently slaughtered for our enjoyment. He brings up the hypocrisy of people who simultaneously proclaim themselves animal lovers and avid hunters. He brings up the fact that pigs, as filthy as we blast them to be, are smarter than dogs. Look it up people! Haven't you ever read Animal Farm!! This ain't no joke!

I say all that to say, GET OFF MIKE VICKS JOCK!! The man already pled guilty, and it's still not enough for all you dog lovin, animal rights havin, PETA supportin, I still hunt animals but the way I kill them is more humane ass phonies!! Damn, you guys are beating a dead dog! I mean uhh, horse.