Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics

As the creator of his own comic book series "The Walking Dead", Robert Kirkman regularly displays the artistic movement that obviously was instilled in him early on by the influence of the comic book genre. Like most of us, fanboys and fangirls alike, he knows much of the history of the novel literature which we all grew up reading.

In his new series, "Secret History of Comics", Kirkman attempts (and succeeds) to reveal more than what most originally know about their favorite comic books and the characters within those pages, and most importantly their creators. There are six installments which break-down, yet build-up, the pillars upon which comic books stands. To see the blood, sweat, and tears that went into building these institutions is to behold the beauty of the art and the sheer genius of man itself. To be able to draw inspiration as well to learn life's lessons, now that is the true secret history which Kirkman may have truly intended reveal.



▪The Mighty Misfits Who Made Marvel

The pilot episode of the series starts at the top. The top of the hill that is, as Marvel Comics, the biggest brand in the industry of comics, is dissected piecemeal in a effort to show what comes first when it comes to comic books: the chicken or the egg? Although this metaphor is appropriate for the narrative of this particular bit of history which Kirkman has chosen to enlighten fans about, it cannot replace the real question being asked by Kirkman: "What is more important to the success of a comic book: the artistry or the writing?

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby represent the two sides of that coin. Lee was always responsible for the writing which pushed the genre to places it had never been before, while Kirby drew subject matter in a way which had never been seen before. They literally performed a 1-2 punch to the head of their competitors, which propelled the popularity and viability of the characters of Marvel Comics to heights previously unseen.

Ultimately, like most uber-sucessful rock bands, fixer-upper reality shows co-hosts, and three-peat championship-winning Los Angeles Lakers teams of the beginning of this century who don't know a good thing when they have it, the dynamic duo (trio if you include the contributions of Steven Ditko, and you should) at Marvel began to rip apart at the seams. Each individual believing himself to be the reason for Marvel's success. It almost ripped asunder an institution which had begun to inspire generation after generation. The world needed them. Together.

In the end the two would reconcile. And although there was much to be salvaged, much had already been lost. Once again proving that man needs one another to be a success. Most importantly, he needs to share.

▪The Truth About Wonder Woman

William Moulton Marston believed that people illustrated their emotions in four different ways: Dominance, Inducement, Submission, Compliance. He also believed strongly in feminism and the truth. Marston invented the systolic blood pressure test, a system designed to reveal whether or not a person was lying based upon the way their emotions triggered changes in their blood pressure. It actually became one of the tenets on which the polygraph test is based upon.

Most importantly, Marston also is recognized as being the creator of the iconic heroine known as Wonder Woman. He was not alone in his inspiration for designing a character whom women, as well as men, hold in high esteem. His wife Elizabeth Holloway and his extramarital partner Olive Byrne both played a huge role in the creation, as well as the continual development over time, of Wonder Woman. Interestingly enough, his wife's suggestions about the behavior of women also influenced him to invent the aforementioned blood test. Marston, along with his wife, had been heavily involved in the suffragette movement, believing that women should hold the power to vote.

Patty Jenkins, director of "Wonder Woman", believes that Marston was a "very forward-thinking feminist mind and [that] he was also very interested in truth." Not the truth, but truth. Jenkins found those two things fascinating "because [they have] everything to do with the hero that has been created, and everything to do with what equality takes."

At his core, Martson prescribed to the theory that women are "love leaders" as well the idea of "loving submission." The latter can be described as the approach of men giving themselves completely over to the power of women, thus rendering man to be a less-destructive entity in society and the world in general. Meaning if Adolf Hitler had given himself entirely to Eva Braun, as well as other tyrants to their better halfs, then quite possibly the world could be a better and different place to live in. That may be stretching the notion, but you get the idea.

Marston not only felt that women should be the "emotional leaders", but also leaders in the political forum on a global scale; going as far as predicting that in the not too distant future that women would be the benefactors of a matriarchal revolution, as they are better suited to lead. As far as he was concerned, "feminism is the path to peace."

Unlike other popular comics of the times, Marston imbued his Wonder Woman with storied based on "psychological theories and ancient mythologies." Educating and enlightening his readers not only about the world around them, but about a world before them as well.

Everything happens for a reason. There is no such thing as a coincidence. It is the truth that Wonder Woman never would have been created without the threesome of Marston, Holloway, and Byrne, no matter how you view their union. The ties between Wonder Woman, feminism, World War II, and ultimately the change in how countries around the world viewed women are too numerous to enumerate, but a single bind ties many. William Marston is the reason for the ties that bind, like Wonder Woman's lasso, compelling all to truth.


▪The Trials of Superman

This installment of the series explores the creation of what may quite possibly be the greatest superhero character of all. The definition of the superhero, was created by two high-school classmates, who had sought for years to create the perfect comic book character. In Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, had found that perfection.

The duo had formed an icon among icons. An image to represent all that a true superhero should strive to be. A character shaped by the greatest characteristics known to man. A virtuous being. A super man. How could he receive any other moniker but this?

Created at, during, and for a time when man, especially the men of this great country named America, needed someone and something to believe in. More importantly, someone and something greater than themselves to follow and inspire, this hero did more to buoy the spirits of a nation at war, than any government or political leaders and activists would at the time. Sensational and inspirational was he! Imagine growing up during the time when a vicious dictator sought to bend the entire globe to his will. Seemingly doling out crushing defeat after crushing defeat to any and all comers. What a time to be living in. Yet, how could one be alive?

The period of time in which Superman came into existence was a period characterized by hope and despair: The Great Depression. No American was truly alive during that time, unless they were wealthy or well-off. This period of extreme hardship due to lack of finances and resources affected most if not all Americans.

Along came the first "superhero" who would help to aid in showing Americans, and the whole world in general, that they could believe in something greater than themselves. Not only was Superman created to be a larger than life character, he was created as an ideal. An ideal based on the better part of man; on the best attributes he has to offer the world at large. Superman was also created in the image of another ideal: the American way. Superman indeed would be based on truth and justice.

As mentioned, Superman was brought into existence by two young men, Siegel and Schuster. The friends had longed to create stories about science fiction and had done so in fact. They created literary pieces featuring science fiction and art and published these stories in their own magazine. Yet they yearned to truly impact science fiction and the genre which generally accompanied it: comic books. And they would. Forever!

The story of the creation of Superman is beautiful, wonderful and unique in of itself. The story of the control of Superman? Well that is a tale quite sordid, truth be told.

In the 1930s when comic books were beginning to emerge, the genre road the backs of limited topics and characters such as detectives, cowboys, and astronauts. These were the types of subject matter mostly young men (and possibly some women) found appealing. The creative resources were limited. Mythology was not yet prominent, and remained mostly rooted in classical literature. Siegel and Schuster, again, would change all that.

Enter Superman. No one had ever seen anything like him. No one had ever experienced anything like him. Armed with superhuman strength. Blessed with superhuman attributes. Born on a world not our own. Living amongst us, clandestine with a secret identity no less.

And, just as he was bursting onto the fictional scene with nary a comparison, changing the game forever, the same thing was happening in the real world, as he burst upon a publishing scene which was devoid of comic books. The genre had yet to be invented, or at the very least, truly distinguish itself from other literary forms of artwork. Again, enter Superman. The brilliant brainchild of Siegel and Schuster would need a place to call home.

Comics at the time existed on and between the pages of newspapers the form of the "comic strip". There were no actual "comic books". There only was the publishing industry. Publishers of course published. And publishers of course made money. It was the money part of the transaction which drove the industry. Publishers would offer a mere pittance to artists and writers for their creations. Once those creations were handed over to publishers they were then published repitiously nationwide and worldwide to the tune of great revenue. Although artists and writers received compensation it paled in comparison to what the publishers were raking in.

So imagine when Siegel and Schuster were offered the grand sum of $130 ($10 per 13 pages of content) for the creation and release of Superman to two prominent publishing partners. Businessmen named Harry Donenfeld and Jack Lebowitz to be precise. You would imagine their initial hesitancy. You would then consider their financial plight: Turning down that sum of money ($130 today would be equivalent to the sum of almost two thousand dollars) during a time when the entire country was reeling financially, was nothing to scoff at.

Decisions. Decisions.

Siegel and Schuster decide on turning over the rights to Superman to Donenfeld and Lebowitz. Both men are the owners of D.C. Comics and plan to use their purchase to showcase Superman to the world. And to the world he was showcased to great fanfare. Within three months D.C. Comics would sell 1 million copies of Superman comic books. To say that the character of Superman took the world by storm back then would probably be an understatement considering he has an almost similar effect in this day and age.

As the popularity of Superman soared just as high and fast as the character itself, the fortunes of Siegel and Schuster plummeted even as they were employed by D.C. Comics to do what they had always dreamt as high-school classmates: pen their greatest creation, The Man of Steel. They received no royalties or any significant compensation from their deal with D.C Comics. And to their chagrin, although they were able to finally bring to the masses an artistic masterpiece they had toiled on since childhood, they would never truly reap the financial rewards and benefits that D.C. Comics receives to this day. That would not sit well with Siegel and Schuster, but more on that later.

Speaking of benefits the world has benefited from Superman. A symbol of truth, justice and the American way, the S that is emblazoned on the suit of the man who would save us all, is an icon only surpassed by the symbols of the crucifix and the Star of David. That's saying something. Speaking of truth, justice, and the American way, the factors of the due process of the legal system and the ideology of capitalism would combine to ultimately prevent Siegel and Schuster from having their day in court.

Well they would have their day in court, but wouldn't have their day in court, as they would lose a continuous legal battle with D.C. Comics for the rights to ownership of the character that was Superman. The character that is Superman would continue to be the sole property property of D.C. as it is to this day. An American dream deferred, by the absence of sense, trust, and honesty.

Eventually, three decades later Siegel and Schuster were finally recognized for the contribution of their greatest creation. A creation, albeit fictional, which has left an indelible mark on the consciousness of comic book readers and non-comic book readers alike. An impressive feat to say the least. A feat only a superman could pull off.

If it wasn't for Superman there may never have been comic books.

A sobering thought indeed.


▪City of Heroes

Comic books are the baby of the city. Birthed in the slums and ghettoes of Every city, USA. More specifically, conjured from the minds and imaginations of the inhabitants of the greatest city known to man: New York City. From Bob Kane's Batman to Jack Kirby's Captain America to Stan Lee's Spiderman, these superheroes originated from artists and writers who had been influenced by every element of New York City.

To say that comic books and the city are not synonymous, is to say that the chicken can exist without the egg (or vice versa). Funny how that analogy keeps coming up. It seems, however, to be quite appropriate for the series of comparisons that are making these revelations.

From their inception in the 1930s and throughout their development over the following decades leading into the end of the 20th century, comic books carved out a distinctive imprint in society and culture by tackling head-on the issues in society and culture that the more "respectable" genres of writing and reporting failed to address. Topics such as racism and drugs, issues which plagued the country on a whole, yet were more prevalent within the inner-cities. Comics gave a voice to the oppressed in the face of injustice when others would not. For an artistic movement considered fleeting upon it's introduction to now be held in such esteem and burdened with the responsibility of being the only lifeboat in a sea of controversy, the ascension was nothing short of remarkable. Comic books had arrived and it no longer solely had the attention of some of the city and some of the nation's youth. It now had the whole city, and with it the whole nation. For the city, New York City, represents the best of what the United States has to offer.

The tragic events of 9/11 would forever change the genre in terms of perception and reception. As much as comic books had become an activist in it's own right prior to the worst terrorist attack on American soil, it became something much more after the carnage of that fateful day. A new narrative arose that day. The hero. No, not the superhero, but the hero. The hero who lives in all of us, amongst all of us. This is what comic books and the characters it has familiarized us with over time taught it's readers in that moment: How to bear the unbearable.

It also sent the definition of what is a superhero or a hero for that matter in a wholly different direction. The anger that ensued Americans after 9/11 split itself in many ways. Initial patriotism and the unifying bond that came with it gave way to suspicion about subsequent government legislation and response and ultimately divisiveness amongst Americans, and nowhere was this reflected more than in the panels of comic book pages. New York City was in turmoil and so were its superheroes. Essentially the Patriot Act gave way to "Civil War". No not that civil war, but Marvel's. The allegories abounded, to say the least, in most comic books. A message was being spread: National Security or Civil Liberties? You make the choice.

Maybe most importantly, overall, 9/11 changed the way that villains and superheroes would be written going forward. Criminals were now truly the terrorists they always were. And superheroes? Well in order to deal with a more deadly threat they in turn became more deadly themselves. Enter the role of the "anti-hero". The lines were now blurred. Everything that comics had valued prior to 9/11 became prioritized in a different manner. Just as in real life, villains and superheroes no longer operated in the black and white. Grey had become the color of the day. Duality had become the name of the game. If it was happening in the city. It was going to happen in comic books. As CNN Contributor Van Jones succinctly states: "9/11 didn't just change facts. 9/11 changed fiction." Jones draws parallels between the superhero characters of the modern era which adorn New York City and those of the Roman gods in the city of Rome during their zenith. How they exist to show us mere mortals the way. The way to hope and a life worth living.

Maybe it is because of this duality, as a result of 9/11, that comic books and the movies and television series on which they are based have become more real.

▪The Color of Comics

"Black people have never been in control of their own story in this country. People should tell their own stories." - Michael Davis

"One thing that comic books always communicated to me is two things: heroes and possibilities. And if you don't see yourself as a part of that then who are the heroes, and what are my possibilities?" - Derek Dingle

Derek Dingle. Denys Cowan. Michael Davis. Dwayne McDuffie. All prescribed to the theories above. Four men. Four African-American men, who would affect the legacy of comic books. Forever.

Milestone Media began as nothing more than an idea, the way most things that are a success or failure begin. The four men mentioned above, comic book afficianados themselves, believed that the world in which they existed in the figurative sense did not quite mirror the one in which they lived in reality. Artists all, they found themselves doing what they had always dreamt about, for whom they had always dreamt about. Yet something was still lacking.

Marvel and D.C., the pillars of the comic book medium, controlled distribution of most of the popular material which had driven the industry for decades. However the issue which befell most (if not all) of the driving content of both giants was the lack of diversity with regards to race represented within its pages.

Enter Cowan, Davis, Dingle, and McDuffie. These four, innovators all, whose accomplishments achieved the distinction of being both daring and noble, changed forever the landscape of comic books upon their inception of Milestone Media. The dearth of minorities represented between the pages of comic books changed virtually over night.

Supported by D.C., as far finances and distribution were concerned, Milestone Media and its roster of heroes featuring a more diverse and ethnic section of the human race instantly carved out a niche for itself amongst the stalwarts of the industry. Milestone Media's characters were not just black, nor were they just about being black. They aimed to be more than, well, black. They desired to tell the story about every man through the use of any man.  



The four visionaries who are mentioned deserve to be much more than the proverbial "footnote in history." These men and the art and opportunities which they created from their efforts added immensely to the culture itself. Maybe more importantly it was nothing short of a movement. A movement in the direction of change. A change which would bring with it a new voice. The voice of not just one man, but every man.

▪Image Comics: Declaration of Independent

Jim Lee.

Rob Leifeld.

Todd MacFarlane.

Erik Larsen.

Marc Silvestri.

Jim Valentino.

Whilce Portacio.

Seven names synonymous with the peak of the mountaintop as far as the artists who drew (as well as created) some of the most popular characters in comic books. Tired of the "constraints" placed upon them at the institution Marvel, one of the two pillars which hold the comic book universe in place, the other obviously being D.C. the collective decided to do what the boys at Milestone Media did, head out on their own in an effort to stake their claim. Artistically speaking.

Initial success would give way to ongoing issues. Although the art of new and exciting characters was excellent, their stories were lacking. Emphasis was put on presentation much rather than substance.

In the end the Image brand, along with the entire comic book industry in general, would become the makers, as well as the victims of their own demise. Preying on their consumers own speculation about the true value of comic books they were purchasing at record pace. This would be their kryptonite externally speaking. Internally hubris and competition were eroding them from within. The autonomy they had built their stake upon, now biting the hand which fed it. The rules they formed Image around, meant to liberate, yet protect them, would lead to anarchy. An example in why constraints and restraints, although similar in definition, can often be interpreted in another way: One confines while the other protects.

Eventually ego, relentless ambitions, as well as a downward spiral in sales throughout the industry as a result of the backlash towards speculation would fracture the company, but more importantly it would change the relationships with the artists who considered themselves friends.

However great the significance of their collapse it is mitigated to some degree by some of the positives within the industry as a result of the aftermath. Security for the artists to be precise, or "creator ownsership", a deal which is "right and fair and proper" as one comic book writer categorizes it. An increase in page rates took place as a result and exclusive contracts between artists and publishers is now the norm. Also, technically speaking, some of the industry standards such as digital coloring as well as the premium paper on which they were printed became the industry standard.

To say that Shuster and Siegel would be proud of this progress almost a century after creating Superman would be an  understatement.

Thankfully the boys at Image share another similarity with the boys at Milestone in that they were able to resurrect themselves, and in turn, experience a renaissance of sorts. Serving as the go to source within the medium for niche comic books.

In a way the seven artists who struck out on their own to start Image Comics, 85 years after Shuster and Siegel fought to retain the rights to their creation of Superman, draw many parallels between another figure who fought for "independence" within his place of business. Curt Flood anyone? It also reminds us that success can separate instead of bring together it's creators, similar to what took place between Lee and Kirby, and that in the end it's almost always about the journey rather than the destination.



* These six separate illustrations on the history of comics surely help to paint a picture of a movement most thought they were already familiar with. Beyond these stories, however, is a look at the true nature of man and woman and how this behavior has shaped the world in which we live. If there is anything to be learned it is this: Just as in the comics, life allows the author to write his or her own story. Now what story could be better than that?

A Date With Destiny

It's as if LeBron James & Co. are sort of coasting through these playoffs. Granted they have lost the first game of each round to upstarts that were touted on giving the Los Angeles Lakers the best run for their money only to have their respective dreams go pop💥 inside the #bubble. 

And now The Finals are in sight. The Lakers should be able to douse the flames 🔥 of the latest hottest upstart. Yet what possibly awaits for them on the Eastern side of things may be the fight that they are looking for.

The Miami Heat, barring a reversal of that which has transpired thus far (at this writing they were up 2-1 in a best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals), will be the foil that eagerly awaits LBJ & Co. Eagerly it would seem because, as the great Michael Wilbon points out, their feerless leader is the only player in the league with a .500 winning percentage vs the King🤴🏾. 

Jimmy Butler would be that feerless leader. Jimmy Butler is the only NBA player without a losing record in their career vs LeBron James. A mark of 17-17 to be exact. (Thanks again for those numbers Mr. Wilbon). 

We won't get into everything about his background. All you need to know is that it made Butler tough.* It also makes sense that Butler would find a team with the same DNA which resides in him, in the form of the Miami Heat. Pat Riley and Erik Spolestra are about as tough as it gets this side of Gregg Popovich and Bill Belichick. 

What seems like ages ago, both Riles and Coach Spo had the King 🤴🏾 in their employ. You know the history of that relationship and its time in South Beach: mutual respect on both sides. Mutual respect which may have fell by the wayside when the King 🤴🏾 informed these men that he would be taking his talents back to his hometown of Akron for the benefit of the city of Cleveland. Riley would be crestfallen about the departure; opposite of the elation he most certainly expressed upon the King's 🤴🏾arrival. 

Riley doesn't seem to be the vindictive type. He also doesn't seem to be the type to let memories of "little things" like the departure of "a king and his court" fade away into the far recesses of his mind.

It would seem then that the basketball 🏀 gods have divined a path of jurisprudence that will result in a meeting at the mount between the two factions, as facilitated by their teams. Riley, not that he could ever be accused of being vindictive (as mentioned), will finally have the opportunity to prove to LeBron why he should never have left the Sunshine State.

A victory in The Finals, would not only add to his trove of rings as a player, coach, and front office executive, but even decidedly more important, would keep the 4th NBA Championship (which LeBron so obviously craves and desires in his quest to be entered into the pantheon of NBA players who have won four, five, or more titles) out of his reach. At least for now. At least for this, the longest season in NBA history. 

Riley has his foil in the form of one Jimmy Butler. Will the opportunity to finally show LeBron why he should have finished his career in South Beach be within his grasp? Will Butler be given the opportunity to show that he is just as tough as one LeBron James? 

We already know Butler's personal W-L record speaks to that toughness anytime he and James have occupied the same 94 feet. What we don't know is if there will be a date with destiny that involves the Heat and the Lakers deciding the fates of their respective franchises and, almost more importantly, their respective leaders: James and Butler. 

Time will tell. 

Maybe this thought process will not ever even matter if and when the Lakers and Celtics bump heads in The Finals. Again. For a record-setting twelfth time. If that happens we will have afforded ourselves, once more, the best that the NBA has to offer. 

Just don't tell that to Riley, Spo, & Co.

*Note  When Butler left the Philadelphia 76ers to join the Miami Heat last summer I questioned the move. I felt that Butler appeared to present himself seemingly as a selfish individual who wanted the spotlight all to himself. That notion couldn't be further from the truth than the Sun is to Pluto. He has found the team that he was meant to be with. He has found the executive and coach that believes in him. He has found like-minded teammates that believe in him as he does them. Most of all, he believes in himself

It's Spring Again

Spring is here and with it the usual occurrences that take place during the season. The days are getting longer. The air is getting sweeter and warmer, although you could barely tell this time around as the random nor'easter continually reminds us that winter is always coming, if not going.

My son is in school now and as a prekindergarten pupil he is learning and experiencing the same things that his father did at that age, if not more. Easter egg hunts, spring concerts, and the like, mark the occasion of the season. However, one event sticks out from all the rest: the viewing of the cherry blossoms.

My son attends school in New York, arguably the greatest city and state in the known world. Many great things are here in abundance. However one thing we don't do is as great as how the District of Columbia does do: the cherry blossom. Although I did not realize this as a child my son's age growing up in Brooklyn, thankfully my mother did. She would make it her point of duty to make sure that her children, in time, would realize this also. Lord knows that we do now.

My sweet, dear mother passed away earlier this year, and I do miss her so. It has been a vague and surreal experience, which has left me not quite sure how to be. I've told friends, family, and colleagues that this being the first time my mother has ever died, I'm not exactly sure how to go about it. (My mother taught me to find the humor in everything). It is to say the least, a wholly different outlook and a seemingly muddled forecast, for myself at least.

Thankfully the lessons and exposures which my mother provided for us throughout a lifetime, have appeared in a timely fashion, almost as a lighthouse in a tempestuous current. Those trips to Washington D.C to stroll the National Mall and to tour various important sites and locations in our storied nation's history have come back to serve me in a time of need, possibly always as my mother had intended.

So something as seemingly simple as my son's first foray into the significance, symbolism, and more importantly the meaning of these incomparable beautiful trees has lent itself to me reconnecting to someone and something I have always been connected to: my mother and her love.

The Promise

"And there it was on a Sunday night in plain sight for all to see. 

A beacon of light, the promise of hope, finally in MSG..."

These lines ring true like a sonnet or some poem, and they may as well come off sounding as the epilogue to some literary fantasy. For with most, the promise of a bright future for the New York Knicks has often appeared as such: a fantasy.

Against the Indiana Pacers, in the ninth game of an 82-game season, the Knicks were able to defeat a team whom themselves had been playing well; as well as playing well beyond the expectations that had been placed upon them by others at the start of the season. The Pacers balanced offensive attack, evidenced by six players averaging double digits in scoring, held a commanding 19 point lead with little less than 2 minutes left in the 3rd frame.

Eventually this would be no ordinary game and ultimately no ordinary victory. The storylines of a seemingly insignificant game and, more importantly, the faith of turnaround which a new season provides were beginning to shape, and now they needed a producer.

Enter Kristaps Porzingis.

Coming into the game the power forward had scored at least 30 points in six of the Knicks eight games. A torrid pace to start a season to say the least, no matter for a veteran, all-star, rookie, or third-year player, which of course Porzingis is. He had never been in this position before though as he walked from the scorer's table out onto the court to re-enter the fray. You could probably count on one hand the amount of comeback victories from double-digit deficits that the Knicks had overcome in Porzingis' tenure with the team. And if any were made, he certainly had never been the one spearheading the comeback as the Knicks had always relied upon Carmelo Anthony to insulate Porzingis from those responsibilities.

Not to say that Porzingis was incapable. The time was not right. More importantly those types of opportunities had yet to present themselves. However, in the NBA, just like life, things can change in the blink of an eye. And, on September 25th, the staring contest that had enveloped throughout the season and off-season between Anthony and the Knicks finally came to a head and upper management finally blinked. A pre-training camp transaction, in which Anthony was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder, would now provide those opportunities. Immediately a new narrative was formed, and with it a new story began unfolding.

After entering in the waning moments of the third quarter, in a game in which the prospect of a favorable outcome seemed rather dim, Porzingis appeared to enter another dimension. Single-handedly he immediately brought the hometown team within striking distance of victory by scoring nine straight points via an array of shots and maneuvers. He would go on to score 24 points over the final 13 minutes of the contest.

That Porzingis was at the center of a remarkable turnaround in the game was no surprise. Heck, the 7'3" Latvian is at the center of what many hope to be a remarkable turnaround at Madison Square Garden. However it was not only about The Unicorn's contributions as much as it was about the contributions of ancillary sources. More specifically, the Knicks' precocious, seemingly pre-pubescent, teen-aged rookie Frank Ntilikina.

The 6'5" French point-guard whom the Knicks had tabbed and then selected (during and after the Phil Jackson regime) with the 8th pick in this past summer's installment of the NBA draft, was the source of much discontent to most Knicks fans during the league's off-season. He played sparingly, if at all, in Summer League ball as well as in the pre-season skirmishes. Fans had no idea what to expect. That fact combined with this notion, as far as any of them were concerned, gave them the reason to be very skeptical (at best) about the prospects of success for this young professional. Even more so for the team on a whole.

Yet there he was and there they were. Ntilikina and Porzingis. Arms and legs. Hands and feet. All 14-plus feet of limbs. Clogging the lane. Stifling penetration. Blocking shots. Tipping, deflecting, stealing. Them and the Knicks. Reawakening the ever faithful MSG crowd. Reawakening the ghosts of the gritty Knicks teams of your father's generation. Changing the tide and momentum of the contest. Perhaps even changing the prospects and fortune of a franchise. On one single night.

In the fourth quarter, Porzingis would continue his scintillating start to the season. Scoring, as well as assisting on, crucial baskets down the stretch of a game, which only moments before had seemed already lost. Whether hitting shots from the elbows (now his go to spot for his go to move which basically consists of shooting over the top of any defender) to the tune of a career high 40 points or using the threat of this newly formed prowess to find his new running mate Ntilikina as they executed the "two-man game" to perfection for two major three-point baskets from the rookie in the final moments to complete a stellar comeback performance.

Ntilikina scored 10 points and registered seven assists, but it was not just the about the numbers he was able to record. Rather it was the way he was able to put his imprint upon the game, as well as on Porzingis to some degree. The young point guard always made sure that the ball ended up in the capable forward's hands, both early and late in the shot clock. Following the lead of the Jarrett Jack, the veteran point guard who also has helped to spearhead the Knicks productive showings as of late.

[Jack replaced point guard Ramon Sessions three games into the season after three straight losses and has been a steady influence on Ntilikina. The Knicks have won five of six games since the change dating to the Pacers game. They have gone on to win four out of the next seven for an overall record 9-7.]

Ntilikina and Porzingis were in middle of everything the Knicks did on offense and defense in the most critical moments against the Pacers. It was a joy to behold. Possibly one enough to emote the slightest warmth within the hardened heart of any ardent Knicks supporter.

To say that this particular game against the Pacers, stuck between two decent stretches of basketball in the infancy of a season which is hopefully the harbinger of promising things to come for what has been a perpetually moribund franchise, is a ton of pressure to heap on the significance of the outcome of a defining performance for two players and one team; but it is. Quite frankly, it appears so. Because a display like this is just what it is: a promise of things to come.

TOP FIVE NBA PLAYERS OF ALL-TIME (POSITION)

NBA ALL-TIME TOP FIVE AT EVERY POSITION 

POINT GUARD

1. Earvin "Magic" Johnson
2. Oscar Robertson
3. Bob Cousy
4. John Stockton
5. Jason Kidd

SHOOTING GUARD

1. Michael Jordan
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Jerry West
4. Clyde Drexler
5. Reggie Miller

SMALL FORWARD

1. LeBron James
2. Larry Bird
3. Kevin Durant
4. Julius Erving
5. Scottie Pippen

POWER FORWARD

1. Tim Duncan
2. Karl Malone
3. Charles Barkley
4. Dirk Nowitzki
5. Kevin Garnett

CENTER

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
2. Bill Russell
3. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Shaquille O'Neal
5. Hakeem Olajuwon

This obviously is one man's list. Created to satisfy and disturb, placate then upset. The Ancient Greek philosopher Democritus is quoted as stating: "Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion." Consider this to be the latter. 

It was difficult to leave Isiah Thomas off this list. Oscar Robertson is the toughest player to categorize. Quite simply he could easily be in the top five at both backcourt positions. Quite simply he could very well be listed as a top five small-forward as well. The man was that good.

The center position was another position were one could spend all day and night deliberating as to who goes where. I'd like to see you argue with what Bill Russell did on the collegiate, international, and professional level. 

Only the Michael Jordans and Magic Johnsons of the basketball world and lineage have achieved similar accolades during their distinctive careers.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar rarely looks up to anyone, literally or figuratively. He may however have to look down, in a show of respect and reverence that is, to Russell, as he was never able to garner an Olympic gold medal in basketball similar to Jordan and Johnson. Abdul-Jabbar chose to boycott the 1968 Olympics which saw the United States win their seventh gold medal in a row in the sport. It is a forgone conclusion to come to the realization that Jabbar would have won the one thing which is now absent from his trophy case. 

These things matter and then they do not. 

I have always contended that Magic Johnson may be the greatest basketball player of all-time, based upon what the game of basketball is. The very nature of it being at its core a team sport. How then could one player who when at his zenith could become all five players on the court at anytime due to his passing as facilitated by stature, awareness, and I.Q. not be considered to be the greatest? 

If Jordan was the index finger marauding as the trigger finger on the firearm of any offensive attack, then Johnson was the hand which held the firearm and pointed it in the proper direction to do the most damage. Johnson also may have had the more difficult task of running an entire team. 

In contrast, Jordan was a cold-blooded assassin with a singular approach who could do it all when necessary. He did what he knew how to do better than anyone else. Especially when it mattered: the playoffs. 

Ultimately it is difficult to choose between the two, at least for me it is, considering how I view the game now after watching it for most of my life. It also is hard for me to choose between the four when you invite Russell and Abdul-Jabbar into the the discussion. In my estimation these four just may be the most accomplished of all-time in NBA and basketball history.

                                                                      

                                                                            

MURDER BY NUMBERS

The UCLA Bruins squeaked by the Texas A&M Aggies 45-44 Sunday night, on this the first weekend of the college football season. Anyone who did not see the game could safely assume that this was a game that came down to the wire based upon the score alone. In a contest which was decided by a point, one could also imagine that the game itself may probably have been a back and forth affair, by either two potent offenses, or two teams that had no interest in playing defense. These are all possibilities.

However, a lifetime of watching football has taught us that the score, important as it may be to deciding the final outcome, does not always reveal to us exactly how a game transpired. Such is the case with Sunday night's affair between the Bruins and Aggies. Playing in front of a home crowd, the Bruins found themselves in a hole, of the 34-point deficit variety, late in the 3rd quarter. They would rally to win, scoring the game's next five touchdowns for the score that flashed across your screen, as you dozed soundly, already put to bed by the score of 44-10 late in the 3rd quarter.

There have been games in which teams despite winning the turnover or possession battle (you know those little nuances of the game which generally ensure success) still ended up losing to the team that turned the ball over more than they or did more productive things with their time of possession than the team that actually possessed the ball longer. Although infrequent, it seems to happen all the time. This is why I am never blown away when I see a comeback in football. Football seems to mirror life in a multitude of ways almost too numerous to enumerate here.

One particular way in which it does seem to parallel the real world is with regards to late starts and procrastination. People delay and procrastinate all the time. Some, it would seem, thrive on it. It's not a formula one would suggest as the way to success, but it does let you allow the notion that when the task at hand is put off, whether directly or indirectly, there may or may not be the chance that the job can still get done. Dependent now upon how compliant the ancillary components of whatever it is that is trying to be achieved is willing. There still is a chance, and a chance is all you need.

Now back to the Bruins-Aggies game of Sunday night vintage. This particular contest featured another way that a close score, or any score for that matter, could be interpreted. The comeback. A team gets down by a considerable margin to another team only to mount a comeback of extreme proportions often resulting in an epic win soon to become an "instant classic". The term "unanswered points" usually gets bandied about during the broadcast of said event. Enlightening the viewer or tuner of how quickly the tide can turn into an avalanche.

Earlier this year, fans of the NFL were treated to another "epic" comeback, this time on the greatest of stages, the Super Bowl. You would have to be living under a rock to have no idea about what transpired in that particular contest. Down in similar fashion, with regards to time and score, the New England Patriots overcame a 25-point deficit at the hands of the Atlanta Falcons, ultimately emerging victorious and hoisting yet another Lombardi trophy.

So, it happens. Teams race out to big leads based upon what seems like their opponent's taking to heart the notion of "Murphy's Law". Anything that can and will go wrong does, resulting in huge deficits. However sometimes the football gods are in the business of leveling the playing field and "Murphy's Law", momentum, the tide, or whatever you want to call it decides to change dancing partners. It is then that the outcome which was played out in Super Bowl LI, and most recently this past Sunday night in California, becomes a reality. No one questions how scoring happens when one team gets down and another goes up, but yet questions abound when the team that was down gets up and the team that was up gets down as far as the score is concerned. Life has taught us at times that "things were all good just a week ago." Things change and life changes with it. Same as in sports, same as in football. Professional or collegiate. No one ever says: "Things were all good just a half ago. Just a quarter ago. Heck, just five minutes ago." But they should.

"This is why you play the game...", or something close to that is what the great broadcaster Chris Berman trained us on when any two opponents collide on any given Sunday, or any given Saturday for that matter. With apologies to Mr. Berman, "...and this is why you play the game until it's over..." should be the other part of that great saying. Expecting a certain outcome before a game commences is one thing. After all, expectation is the mother of disappointment. Is it not? Expecting a certain outcome once a football game starts and begins to develop? Well now, that's just sheer torture. The type of torture that both Bruins and Aggies fans were feeling on Sunday night.

From Worst to First

The worst kind of writer that you can be is the type of writer that I have been: one who does not write. So then, how could I call myself a writer?

In elementary school a teacher once shared with the class the notion that "what you are to be, you are now becoming." I did not totally grasp the severity of the situation at that time, but as with most things in life you begin to understand the deeper meaning of words and events through time and experience, and this particular scenario is no different. What I am to be I have now become, a writer who has not written.

Well not a writer who has not written entirely, but rather a writer which has not wrote enough. Not nearly enough. And for this I apologize. Not to you who reads this, and certainly not to I who writes this, but to the stories, the articles, and the essays themselves. For not applying the due diligence to research. For not displaying the ability to focus. But most of all, for not taking the time to just write.

So once again I sincerely apologize. Not that you were waiting. My stories were.

I will not make them wait any longer.

[*Editor's Note: "There will be appearing from the date of this entry archived pieces which were intended for release and consumption earlier."]

It Was Written...

Is this season just a prelude? Is this, the 2016 NBA season, the 71st installment of such, which has now spilled into 2017 calendar year, a prologue of a story which many believe is already written? The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, the former the defending champions and the latter the recently reloaded, are the two teams most expect to be the finalists by the time The Finals roll around in June. And with good reason. The two have split the title of NBA Champion between themselves over the last two seasons and have shown no signs of letting up. Most believe the Warriors to currently hold the edge over the Cavaliers as they added a former MVP by the name of Kevin Durant to a team which boasts a two-time MVP of its own in Stephen Curry. The Cavaliers themselves are a well-oiled machine, pulled by the locomotive that is LeBron James, and need to make no argument for why they will be there in the end as well. And although for most, that this season is already a forgone conclusion, barring major injury or act of God, there does not seem to be a palpable pulse beating in either the direction of apathy or intrigue. And it is not as if there should be a definitive feeling either way.

The 1990s saw the Chicago Bulls win six championships during the decade. The Bulls won back-to-back-to-back titles twice, as those reigns were broken up by some mere mortal's quest to be decent at baseball, ultimately winning their six championships over the span of eight years. The notion that the Bulls would have won eight in a row, while adding Hakeem Olujawon, to the list of Hall of Famers such as Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton to succumb at the hands of the aforementioned mortal, stands as plausible. Imagine if the 90s did provide eight consecutive titles crafted by Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson. It would be akin to the Boston Celtics era of dominance in the 1960s provided by the efforts of the incomparable Bill Russell and Red Auerbach. These two dynasties during the height of their powers gave NBA fans at the time the same result over and over, whether they wanted it or not. Whether good or bad for the league, it is what it was. The same way in which it continues to be it is what it is today.

To say that the state of the NBA as it pertains to winning a championship or two is monopoly-driven endeavor, would be to acknowledge the history of how championships are one and spread out amongst not the entire league on a whole, but to a special select few franchises. Namely those that have been able to field teams which combine great teamwork and coaching with superstar talent and the killer-instincts that accompany said talent. The teams who fall under this distinction are those whom we name readily when it comes time to talk about just who has hoisted a championship banner in their respective arena's rafters. The aforementioned Celtics of the 60s fit the bill. The Los Angeles Lakers and (once again) Celtics teams of the 80s do as well. The previously referred to Bulls of the 90s are revered to the point of worship. The Lakers of the first three years of the new millennium take a backseat to no one. And the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat teams of recent memory give of fresh reminders of just how this thing works. In short, everyone gets invited to the party, but not everyone gets to dance.

As this season reaches the All-Star break, the fact that this campaign is more than halfway complete is a notion that is not lost amongst both players and fans alike, although both entities may process the thought in entirely different manners. For the player, to know where his team currently stands, and to understand what lies ahead within reason and within expectation; the opportunity to substantiate or create anew the narrative that this season is becoming, his is the perspective of faith and hope. The fans do the same as well, although their approach is one of hope and prayer. For some a hope that we get the championship round we all expect, and for others a prayer that this is not the beginning of a back-to-back-to-back-to back (well you get the idea) and forth between the Cavaliers and Warriors that completely excludes their own teams. You know, the ones that never get invited to dance that last dance.

The season is a prelude. Although it differs greatly from a book already printed for publishing, words, letters, and characters deeply embedded and unchangeable, an NBA season is quite similar in its structure and presentation. The difference between the two is subtle, yet sublime. The difference? The ink has already dried on the pages of the literary work of art. The ink is still drying on the pages of the annals of NBA history. Already written. Awaiting the drying breaths of air to be drawn and blown from the lips of players on teams that were already written.

AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT: A Voice In Support of A Philosphy

There are no ethics in the NFL, and why should there be?

Every NFL team, from the players to the coaching staff to the front office has an obligation to win. At all costs.

The Seattle Seahawks and their head coach Pete Carroll have recently come under fire, stemming from their decision to fake a punt with less than five minutes to go in the fourth quarter of a game in which they led by three touchdowns. The game, which was played last Thursday night, saw the Seahawks ultimately complete their rout of the Los Angeles Rams 24-3, as the outcome was never in question.

Another Thursday Night Football game, another blowout.

At first, there was consideration from this scribe that this maneuver may have seemed a trite bush-league. I mean come on, faking a punt up 21 points! It even sounds funny.* However, "upon further review" it dawned that this is nothing new. More importantly, it may even be something to be lauded, if not appreciated.

A few seasons ago, 2007 to be exact, during their undefeated, record-setting, record-breaking run to the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots under the stewardship of their incomparable head coach Bill Belichick, continually and routinely, almost as if in their sleep, ran the score up on their opponent from week to week. Some of the outcomes were closer than others. The majority being blow-outs on the scoreboard, but the message was clear: This is a professional league. Players get paid to perform. ALL. THE. TIME. There is never a moment to take a play off. There are only so many possessions and plays within those possessions to be treasured with the utmost respect. For at any time, the game, and the momentum it totes so carefully, can shift.

There have been games in which teams trailing by three touchdowns have overcome such a deficit. The instances are many, albeit far and few between, to provide evidence of such, but rest assured it does occur. Opposing teams have scored three touchdowns in less than two minutes as well; similar to what took place between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers a month ago when both teams traded back-to-back-to back touchdowns, the Cowboys being the one to fall on the right side of the coin in that affair. So the game can change, and the tempo and momentum can increase at any point in time in a game, and it is there which lies the reason as to why teams should never take their foot of the gas, take their foot off the throat, take their foot out the...well, you get the point. So for Carroll to take the friendlier (read: less aggressive) approach with about five minutes left in the game it would be the football equivalent of sacrilege. The football gods are watching. Always watching.

There are various other instances where the supposedly improbable suddenly became probable. This is why coaches like Belichick and Carroll (who themselves are from the Bill Parcells School of Coaching) do what they do. They are not putting their destiny and fate in the hands of anyone else but their own. They get paid to win, not to make sure that the other team is feeling good about themselves.

Yes ethics and morals do matter...in all walks of life. Yet, as is the case with most things, there is a time and a place for everything. The football field is not one of them.


* Not that it was funny, but the punter, Jon Ryan, who faked the punt, after a gain of 26 yards on the play was concussed on the ensuing hit. Imagine that. You fake a punt up 21 points and get your punter knocked out. It provided a measure of hilarity to the whole situation. For the Los Angeles Rams it provided a measure of retribution to the fake.

QUICKCAP: Sacramento Kings vs New York Knicks (12/5/16)

The New York Knicks, with balanced scoring from their back-court and front-court, beat the Sacramento Kings 106-98 Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, and have now won eight of the last ten games they have played in front of the hometown crown. They also notched their third victory in a row, and now stand with a record of 11-9 after the first 20 games of the season.

The Knicks, with leads of 21 points in the first half, and 20 points at the beginning of the third quarter, were able to stave off several runs by the Kings, including a 16-0 run in the same quarter, and never relinquished those leads. The Kings were able to close within a point on several possessions, but were never able to tie the game or take the lead after the Knicks were able to establish control of the game from the second quarter until the final buzzer.

Timely baskets by the guards Derrick Rose (20 points) and Brandon Jennings (19 points), as well as Carmelo Anthony (20 points ) and Kristaps Porzingis (15 points), ultimately made the Kings' runs come up short. Although they were threatened at various stages of the game the Knicks never panicked and composed themselves productively on the possessions they needed most; defensively as well.

This game had the makeup of a blowout due to those 21 and 20 point advantages, and although the Kings made their run, as most NBA teams do, they never quite could get out of the hole that they dug for themselves. Sound familiar? Usually this is the Knicks alibi and prescription for heartbreaking losses of this type. In seasons past, and even at times this year, it usually is the Knicks playing the role of the Kings, falling behind early, only to make a run late, but never quite able to get over the hump themselves. Leading to many a frustrating night, for Knicks fans, and players alike.

Thankfully this is a new season and thankfully these are new Knicks. Going into this season, with so many unfamiliar faces added to the roster, it was the sentiment of this scribe that we (as well as the Knicks themselves) would begin to have an idea of this team's identity after about twenty games or so. And, after twenty games, it's safe to say that these Knicks are destined to be much better than their 15 and 30 win counterparts from the last two seasons.

These Knicks should most certainly win 45 games, and could possibly win 50 or better. 15 win improments in 2 to 3 season increments is certainly not astonishing, although it is nothing to blink at, but the notion that these Knicks could be embarking upon something of a special journey, gives rise to the sentiment that they may indeed be worthy of doing some real damage this season.

[Editor's Note: This piece originally was intended to appear during the New York Knicks 2016-2017 campaign.]

QUICKCAP: New York Knicks vs Washington Wizards (11/17/16)

As per their lighting-quick leader point guard John Wall, the Washington Wizards raced out to an early lead and a barrage of 3-pointers allowed them to extend their lead to 27 points in the 3rd quarter as the home team defeated the visiting New York Knicks 119-112, who like themselves were playing on the second half of a back to back.

Let's not dwell on this one for too long other than to point out a few positives from a situation which was mostly negative. Back to backs aside, the hope that the Knicks would be able to put on a strong showing on the road after an emotional victory at home the night before were quickly dashed as the Wizards hit three after three and were basically offered valet service for any drive into the Knicks paint as they seemingly scored at will. That being said, even after falling behind by almost 30 points the Knicks did not succumb. 

Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings once again answered the toll scoring 27 and 17 points respectively. They were able to spearhead a comeback of epic proportions, as the Knicks offense blew up for 47 points in the fourth quarter. However they fell short in their quest to tie or take the lead in the final frames of the quarter. 

Give credit to coach Jeff Hornacek for leaving his starters in the contest despite the deficit and the fact that this was their second games in as many nights, if not just to see them get back in contention and to see what different line-ups could provide after the Knicks initial lackluster effort.

Rose, as mentioned before, put forth a season-high output in points and even caught a powerful two-handed dunk on the break over and around a helpless Wizards defender. 

These may seem like few and inconsequential positives, but in the construction process that is season's version of the Knicks, these positives will suffice in forming their own part of the foundation that they so desperately need.

QUICKCAP: Oklahoma City Thunder vs New York Knicks (11/28/16)

The Russell Westbrook show, a season-long performance in its early stages, literally hit the big stage tonight as the Oklahoma City Thunder played to rave reviews, albeit Off Broadway in the World's Most Famous Arena. The Thunder, along with the uncanny yeoman's effort which Westbrook routinely supplies usually in the form of triple-doubles (as he did tonight), defeated the New York Knicks 112-103. Turning what was an 11-point 1st quarter deficit into a "knock 'em down, drag 'em out" beatdown.

The Knicks, as mentioned before, squandered an early lead by allowing Westbrook his usual forays into the paint. Wrecking havoc to the tune of his 8th triple double of the season as he finished with a line of 27 points, 18 rebounds, and 14 assists, along with contributions from Enes Kanter and Steven Adams, who scored 27 points and 14 points respectively. The Knicks seemingly could not, nor did not want to, provide the effort defensively that was needed to support their offensive output.

The objective to winning in any sport is to outscore your opponent, especially in basketball. This, however, does not mean that in order to be victorious that it is all about scoring points. Defense matters. Keeping your opponent from scoring as much as you do ultimately is the deciding factor between wins and losses. The ancillary components of the game come into play as well in support of the success of teams in the form of taking care of the ball via not turning the ball over. Securing rebounds on the defensive side of the court matter as well. These seemingly minute, but critical, aspects of the game have always played a hand in how any team on any given night will fare against another team. Handle these functions of the game and you will find yourself if not at the very least in contention in most contents. Excel at these functions of the game and you will find your team at the top of the standings, year in and year out. And yet, in the effort to be a more cohesive unit, these are some of the issues that continue to plague Knicks.

Seventeen games in, with a record of 8-9, after seemingly finding their way and their identity in propelling themselves to an 8-7 record, the Knicks have now lost two in a row. No the sky is not falling, as the need to panic this early into the season reeks of the desperation which has emanated from the bowels of Madison Square Garden for what feels like the last decade or so (minus lackluster playoff appearances from 2010-2012), but the signs are alarming enough. Are they harbingers of what might finally do in this version of the Knicks? Or is this something that can be corrected by alot of tape? No, not the tape that is used to stabilize joints and limbs, although that would seem helpful as the Knicks looked as disjointed and wobbly as ever on both sides of the floor, but tape as in watching film and figuring out exactly what will be the Knicks approach to defending (pick and rolls especially) and not being out-hustled and out-worked on the defensive glass. Also up for review: What to do offensively in the waning moments of games when possessions are crucial and the conversion of shot attempts can decide a game, whether ahead or behind.

The Knicks for now continue to be a work in progress. Pieces of the puzzle to their identity continue to be put into place. Tonight Russell Westbrook and the Thunder knocked most of those pieces out of place.

[Editor's Note: This piece originally was intended to appear during the New York Knicks 2016-2017 campaign.]

QUICKCAP: Dallas Mavericks vs New York Knicks (11/14/16)

The New York Knicks bested the Dallas Mavericks Monday night 93-77, upping their sub-.500 record to a count of 4 wins and 6 losses. Ten games into the season it would stand to reason that they are far from near they want to be; hopefully 20 to 30 games into the season this will not be their narrative. Playing another team in recent days devoid of two of its starters, a team who themselves has been putting on a poor display, the Knicks did what they were expected to do, and put a reeling Mavericks team out of its misery.

After an ugly start by a seemingly disinterested first team, the Knicks looked to their second unit to bail them out of an ugly first quarter in which they shot poorly from the field and seemed to resume the same porous defense that has been their calling card in their previous two losses. To be fair, both teams seemed hard-pressed to even be able to hit the side of a barn on most of their attempts, initially turning the game into a barely watchable contest as both teams aimed to find cohesion.

The second-half turned into a much better deal for the Knicks, with contributions from the unlikeliest of sources. Such as shooting-guard Justin Holiday, who continues to show flashes on both ends of the court and is making it difficult for coach Jeff Hornacek to keep him on the bench. Holiday started the second-half, and the length and energy which he provided helped to add another dimension to the usual contributions from Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis.

An ugly win it may have been from an aesthetic point of view, however a loss under the aforementioned terms would have painted a much uglier picture than the one the Knicks are currently attempting to create of themselves. We will just have to see if this is the beginning of their version of a masterpiece.

QUICKCAP: New York Knicks vs Toronto Raptors (11/12/16)

The Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 118-107 tonight, and although the game was played north of the border, leagues away from the southern regions of this great country, the New York Knicks still found a way to pay a repeat visit to ATL. ATL in this case being: another tough loss.

Once again they played hard, and maybe even a bit smarter than the way they did last night in Boston, however they found themselves still falling victim to the same deficiencies that have been ailing them so far in the infancy of this season. Most notably on the defensive side of the basketball court.

Yes it is still early. Very early. And time will only tell if the trends which have made themselves visible so early on will be prevalent throughout the season. However the way that the Knicks have been playing defensively is a bit alarming. Numbers can be analyzed as much as possible to reflect the Knicks ineptitude in the defensive department, but in this case they eye-test is probably the one in which they are failing the most. To see them allow teams to come and go as the please is to know that a step-up in that area is direly needed.

Picking up on the notion that every quality team in the NBA has an identity and that teams on the cusp of being quality teams have to find their identity, standing at a record of 3-6, no where near being into the quarter or mid-point of the season, one expects that the Knicks should be closer to that realization 25 to 40 games into the season. Will they be a quality team just on paper or will they be a quality team on the floor as well? Once again, time will tell. Until then a stop or two on the defensive end with the game in the balance won't hurt. In fact, it will help.

QUICKCAP: New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics (11/11/16)

The New York Knicks let a prime opportunity to beat the Boston Celtics get away from them last night succumbing 115-87. Despite playing in front of a hostile crowd at TD Garden, but with the added bonus of the Celtics being short two regulars in Al Horford and Jae Crowder, they most certainly could have won. 

The game itself was officiated in a subpar and inconsistent manner, however the Knicks did not lose because of that. Carmelo Anthony being ejected toward the late minutes of the 3rd quarter did not help either, but even after his dismissal from the contest the Knicks still had a chance.

The deciding factor was the Celtics grit and toughness. They controlled the game from start to finish. The Knicks out-rebounded the Celtics on the offensive glass quite decidedly, but turnovers negated those  advantages. The Celtics just wanted it more and it showed; and this is not to say that the Knicks did not play hard because they did, they just weren't smart enough at times.

You have to take care of the ball! The Celtics make you work hard for everything and you can't make it easy for them by giving them extra possessions. Charles Barkley on TNT Thursday night said it best: "The good teams in the NBA have an identity." The Celtics without a doubt have theirs, the Knicks on the other hand are still searching for their own.

Opportunity Knocks

Sitting at exactly 130 games played, and with 67 of those games recorded as victories, the New York Yankees continue to find themselves embroiled in contention for a post-season berth. Thirty games or more prior, this scribe detailed exactly what it might take for these damned Yankees to do just that: contend for the post-season. Well with 32 games left to play, seemingly a game a day for the rest of this month and all of the next, the Yankees can put themselves in position to do something that would be as amazing as the feat they achieved back in 1978, albeit under less strenuous factors and a wholly different landscape considering how teams make the playoffs in this day and age of baseball, a wild-card or two notwithstanding.

Most have already given the Yankees no shot at making the post-season. And most, to this point, are seemingly correct in their position, for the Yankees have given no indication that they will indeed make it in...to this point. Were the season to end to today they would obviously be correct. And, when the season ends and the Yankees do not make it in they would be correct then too as well. And therein lies the issue. To think and believe they will not make the playoffs is right, however stating that sentiment now is wrong. The season though, does not end today. It still allows though, for the proverbial hot streak. And here we go.

For any to pronounce the Yankees as D.O.A. they may be permitted to do so. The fat lady is already humming, and she may not even need to raise her voice any louder in order to do the job. This is all well and good, but consider this at your own peril, or the peril of the Yankees as it were. The circumstances of the 1978 season are in stark contrast to what these Yankees face. Yet, the hill is just as steep. Yet, all a player ever asked for is the opportunity to play another day. And this is what the Yankees have currently, the opportunity to play another day. Hoping for the opportunity to have the opportunity to play another day. For all that they have not done, it still cannot be counted out. For others, not just that 1978 team, have achieved such a feat. Baseball is the ultimate game of averages, is it not? Then let it play out and see what these last 32 games have to offer. The offer of an above average month of productive, winning baseball. The offer of a hot streak. The offer of opportunity. 

70 Chances: To Be or Not To Be

The second game of a four game set versus the Baltimore Orioles, being played tonight, finds the New York Yankees smack dab in the middle of mediocrity. At 46-46, after competing (not sure if you could really call it that) in 92 games of a 162 game season, the Yankees find themselves with 70 games left with which to really finally get, not just their heads out of water, but their whole selves entirely, after being submerged for much of this season.

Last season the Yankees garnered a spot in the playoffs (although some would say a spot in the play-ins) by winning 87 games; enough to qualify for the 2nd wild-card. They subsequently lost to the Houston Astros, but the fact that they had given themselves a chance, albeit miniscule to compete for a title, is something that was not lost to this scribe. Getting in, if even for a little bit, is way better than getting left out. For so many reasons. If those need to be explained to you, then you haven't really been paying attention to that which you have been observing.

More importantly there is a question to be answered. Rather, a few. The main one being do the Yankees give up on a season which has given its fans more ups and downs than the see-saw at the local neighborhood park? (Ugh, I'm getting sick already!) Do they turn the individual attractive pieces of a team which has not performed well collectively into assets for future campaigns, or do the they stay the course and see if those individual pieces turn into more of a collective whole? Although there is no reason to believe so as evidence has not been provided to this point to give assurances to those notions. No matter, it must be stated that in many situations in life, especially in the world of sports that it takes a while for things to change, and then it doesn't. Things and situations that are seemingly dour and morose forever, sometimes suddenly right themselves and become the opposite of what they were to begin with. (Once again, should you feel the need to have this explained or examples pointed out, you truly have not been paying attention to the sport you have been watching or much less the world you are living in).

Such could be the case for the Yankees.
Could such a case be these Yankees? It could. If the Yankees were to win 20 or more games than they lost of the next 70 for a record of say 45-25. They would finish the season with 91 wins. (Four more than last year, mind you.) And potentially make the playoffs depending upon how the landscape of baseball, as it hits its home strectch, around them forms.

Is this a 91 win team? Who knows? Will the Yankees win more than they lose over these last 70 games? Who knows?
This is a question asked of the front-office, to be answered by it's players. They may not know it yet, but rest assured we will when they do.

Warriors! Come Out to Play!

If you are a Golden State Warriors fan, tonight you sit upon the precipice of greatness; all with baited breath, mind you. This season, for all intents and purposes, has been a referendum on the almost incomparable greatness of the Warriors; namely their roster, their chemistry, their spirit, and most importantly their philosophy. A season  in which they have raced themselves at a torrid pace, some would say in an effort to dispel innuendo, speculation, and conjecture regarding the legitimacy of the championship they so now are fervently defending, has led to this penultimate moment: the chance to surpass the '95-'96 Chicago Bulls all-time single regular season total for victories of 72, with the 73 of their own.

Also at stake for the Warriors fan is their opportunity to defend two titles. One being Steph Curry's personal mantelpiece hardware, the MVP award for a season which made him look as if he wasn't even giving it his all last season (another way of saying a player of his caliber being able to find yet another ceiling to reach for). And the second but most important of all, the one which really matters and will make all the dynamic things that Warriors have done, singularly and collectively, pale in comparison, would be to win the Larry O'Brien trophy. Again.

Will all three baskets get filled for the Warriors fan? Without a doubt the MVP will be handed to Curry, quite possibly unanimously. So that's a given. And that same fan would most certainly place their money on the Warriors in tonight's potentially record-breaking contest vs the Memphis Grizzlies, a team who by the way to date had employed 28 different starting lineups (the most in the NBA this season) because well, they have employed 28 different starting lineups.

Once again, the kicker, for said fan, would be the ability if all three things come to fruition to enjoy the type of season that the '95-'96 Bulls fan enjoyed. Your best player (in this case Michael Jordan) winning MVP, your team setting the all-time record for victories  (72), and your team winning it all to punctuate the whole deal.

If this is to be the outcome and the Warriors cement their legacy it goes without mentioning that their fans will be euphoric to no end. It is now we will see if it is all meant to be. And it starts tonight.

One Rule To Rule Them All

When it comes to certain things in life and the approach with respect to how those things are formulated, there is usually one rule. And whatever it is, that rule, once agreed up, supercedes all other rules below it. Everything delineates from that point forward. Take the science of math for instance. Within this science are hard and fastened rules from which all answers and outcomes flow. We know that when you add a negative to a positive you get a negative. Or that  prime numbers are... These are the rules and they govern the empirical process for how things get answered, discovered, or for this particular case, built.

The Dallas Cowboys are facing one such conundrum in the form of a top-five pick (#4 to be exact) in this year's incarnation of the NFL Draft. A team with the potential to compete for the ultimate crown next season, but beset with a myriad of holes to fill in order to make that novelty a reality, the Cowboys are in dire need of creating that one rule for themselves which will supercede all, as they approach the best way to check-off everything on their shopping list.

Should they draft the quarterback they so desperately need as evidenced by last season's debacle? Should they go after the sexy speed rusher at the DE position that has long been a need since they let loose Demarcus Ware a few seasons ago to free-agency as a cap casualty? Or do they address a porous secondary by grabbing a dynamic cover man to A)-Finally get the DB they so desperately need and B)-Possibly select just the best overall talent available in the draft, and at that #4 pick (providing that they do hold onto their current position). Option B obviously serving as the final rule on the list: Drafting the best talent period.

Looking at each scenario based upon each rule for that scenario can and will yield something interesting, no matter the approach. If they decide to go after a quarterback they will choose whomever they feel is the best (or best available) and look for their DE, DB, and WR or RB (they need one of those too) with their subsequent picks. If they decide that an edge rusher is the more pressing concern for the success of defensive-coordinator's Rod Marinelli's defense then they will start there and find their QB and WR later on as well. And finally, if they decide to go with the best player, regardless of need or position, then that is what they will do and the remaining selections which the Cowboys front office will make at that point in time will be evidence of them going in that particular direction, fundamentally speaking. In fact with each approach by the rule that is being adhered to, the evidence of those picks will become to make obvious just which rule the Dallas Cowboys believed in at that time.

So, if Joey Bosa is called you know which rule is in place. If Carson Wentz or Jared Goff are called we know which rule is being employed. And if a player like Jalen Ramsey is selected , a talent which can take care of a few needs in one (best player/DB), then it becomes evident once more just which way the 'Boys are headed. And that is hopefully to the top.

WHERE WE ARE

The beauty of where you are is the ability to look back and see where you were. Only two seasons ago the Cowboys were one Dez Bryant catch away from possibly going to the Super Bowl. One season later they decided against bringing back one-third of their formidable trio of Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray, and Bryant when they chose not to re-sign the aforementioned Murray. A decision which may or may not have come back to haunt them in the form of Romo's left shoulder injury suffered in Week 2, on a play which could have involved the sorely missed running back by the possibility of Murray making a block on the defender who subsequently injured Romo, after a botched blocking assignment by Murray's replacement Joseph Randle, or even the remote possibility that if Murray was there that day that they Cowboys call a running play for him, thus avoiding the Romo injury altogether, and although this is pure speculation and conjecture, it still stands as a possible outcome had Murray still been there.

However everything happens for a reason, and the reason stands in this case that although last year may have seemingly been a lost season (for various reasons as previously discussed), it may have provided the answer for the problem that last season created (and for the forseeable future): the need for a quality, starting-caliber quarterback. Romo's absence and his understudies own version of absence, even while competing on the field, point to a glaring weakness which can be strengthened immediately in this spring's NFL Draft. Whether it be any of the two outstanding prospects currently seated at the top tier of the NFL wish list for teams without quarterbacks, Jared Goff or Carson Wentz, the Cowboys must seriously consider taking one of the two with the pick they currently own at the fourth spot.

Considering their abysmal 1-11 record during Romo's absence, defense and special teams notwithstanding, this was the season of the absent and missed quarterback for the Cowboys. That said, the Cowboys ought not be absent of mind and miss out on the opportunity to draft their next Roger Staubach or Troy Aikman. Heck even, their next Tony Romo. Romo like his idol Favre, could tutor another Cal stud in Goff, similar to the way Favre did for Aaron Rodgers, and we all know how that worked out. The Cowboys owe it to themselves to get the most important position on the field filled. A position which showed and proved to them to be the flash-point for everything they did (and did not do) last season. If the Cowboys are looking forward to something in this year's draft, they need only to look backward at last season.