Free Agency 2016: Everyone Gets Paid Edition

The Knicks are trying to build around Carmelo Anthony's final prime years and with a very good move in bringing in Derrick Rose, the Knicks just added his good friend, and hometown Knicks fan, Joakim Noah for 4 years and 70 million.

Noah is coming off of an injured plagued season, but no one can knock the passion and hustle and his knack for being a great defender. He is the ultimate locker room guy and is an upgrade at center over Robin Lopez.

Negatives?
-18 million a year to a player in his 30s which effects our ability to get more prices next season.  Lopez was signed to what was mocked as a bad deal ( a bargain with the numbers being thrown around this off-season )

- extremely volatile! His passion and energy is amazing when going after loose balls and offensive rebounds and amazing block shots, but it will earn him technical after technical foul and cost his them momentum and even ejections.

I actually wanted Mozgov because he would provide the same type of numbers minus the negatives but the Lakers decided to destroy the balance of contracts and sign him to a four-year deal worth 60 million!

Knicks are in on SG Eric Gordon. Super talented and good friend of Derrick Rose ( notice a trend here? ) and very good shooter and scorer. He also is injury prone and we can end up with Rose, Noah and Gordon all on IR by Christmas...ugh.

A Rose by any Other name

Gotta hand it to Phil, he is slowly making some moves and even though as a Knicks fan i am trained to wish for the best and accept the worse, there is nothing about this deal that i can be negative about.

The Bulls will acquire Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant and Jose Calderon in the trade. The Knicks will also receive Justin Holiday and a 2017 second-round pick"

I really liked the energy and hustle Lopez played with and his contract wasn't horrible at all, considering how bad contracts are about to get ( rumors are Noah is looking for MAX money 4 yrs 120!!! ).  Jerian Grant has the potential to be a very good pro in this league and i hoped to have developed him. Calderon is way past his prime, he played with alot of heart but the man's skills are diminished beyond reproach. 

Derrick Rose was an MVP in this league averaging 25ppg and about 8 assists a game. The current version of Mr Rose is no where near that. What he is though is still one of the better PGs in the league. He can still attack a defense, commands attention from the opponents D and he can play decent defense. 

 The trade is a win, win for the Knicks. Rose has new life in NY. The mecca. Where the lights shine bright. If he can reclaim some of his former glory he can earn himself a long term deal as a free agent or re-up with the Knicks. If he doesn't work out, just let the contract expire and we regain cap space for 2017 and make a HUGE push for Westbrook. 

The Knicks now focus on getting a replacement for Lopez in the middle as i can't see Porzingus manning the middle due to his strength issues. We also need a SG and the list is light. I would welcome a Jamaal Crawford return or maybe give Eric Gordon a chance to prove himself. Jordan Clarkson would be a great player to target also.

Things are looking good for the Knicks and the best part? We own all our picks next season!!

LeBron Cements his Legacy

I have to let go of all "hate" of LeBron James. What he did this NBA Finals and bringing a championship to Cleveland is things of legends.

The way the Cavs pulled together and won this for "The Land" was inspiring. JR Smith played defense. Kyrie outplayed the MVP. Tristan Thompson showed people why he got paid. Kevin Love, in one defensive possession, proved his worth to this team and how much he loves playing for this group even though he fits like round peg in a square hole.

Knick fans felt spurned by LeBron during his "decision" and the hate is real. It could have been us with Mozgod, JR and Shump winning one for Gotham, yet here we sit watching four former Knicks get rings ( Mozgod, JR, Shump and Channing Frye )

I'm ready to let it go and embrace LeBron as one of the best ever as one ring for Cleveland is like 2 in any other city! The King finally delivered for his kingdom.

How AMC lost its touch

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!







Ok





I will start by saying , I'm a HUGE fan of the comics and the AMC show. I can appreciate that they co-exist in a shared universe and will be different and I respect that. Some characters are dead in the comic that may be still alive in the show and vice versa, some things added, some things taken away, again all fine, all good.  I do have a HUGE problem with what AMC has done in season six and especially in the season's finale!!

The nature of a cliffhanger is well known and established in media. Books, TV, Movies and even video games and radio.
 My biggest problem with the cliffhanger is that it was done completely for ratings and killed the story that HAS been told. If youre going to end it in a cliffhanger than end it with his intro and then continue the scene in the fall. It is garbage that they played out the entire scene, including the " Lucille " victim except....they didn't show us who it was!! Like some half-hearted daytime soap who needed a rating push. It's disappointing, it's bush league especially with the audience. You have us. We die hards. Its six seasons in. Don't treat us like we don't deserve what is one of, if not the most impactful moment from the comics and end it like this...but end it like this they did!

The showrunners have promised us a grand premiere. Unlike there has ever been before. Of course, it will be. It would have been regardless because if we were shown the victim, we would have had the same amount of discussion we are now except it would be anger and disappointment, it would be sorrow and wonderment. How will they keep the death from leaking is beyond me. Season seven will start shooting in May/June. Set photos will leak. Who is there and not there will leak. Someone auditioning for a new show or movie will leak. Just a clusterfuck of epic proportions just for an artificial spike in ratings when you are already number 1.

I will tune in, I will still watch because I'm invested this much and have a loyalty to the brand ,  but they need to wise up to this type of crap before they will lose viewership!

I think it will be either Glen or Abraham. It should be Darryl, but AMC lacks balls!

Risen

After a long hiatus, I am back to continue to maintain this blog at least once a week.

A ton has happened since my last entry and It would take an eternity to catch you up but let us say it's been hard and satisfying and here I stand :)

The Knicks still suck. I think its safe to say that five years from now that statement may still ring true. Carmelo is holding the franchise hostage with his no trade clause but the front office not only maxed him out but also gave him the clause to begin with. Double down. The triangle is not going to work. Not with this talent and Melo the centerpiece of it.  Durant is not walking through those doors either.  The best we can hope for is maybe having Melo waive his no-trade and get maybe Jimmy Butler and a pick. Going to be a looooooong summer....as usual.

I shall post my thoughts on Batman VS Superman and the Season Six finale of The Walking Dead over the weekend. They both found ways to disappoint!

Back from the future! Or Past?

Its has been over a year since I have posted and boy have things changed.

Personally, my life is completely different. It has been a stressful and tough road but with love and support of those close to me, I have done well for myself.

PS4 and Xbox One launched and although I own both I must, the selection of games has been disappointing. The future is bright and I'm looking forward to another year of The GAF Madden League. The Vita is slowly being phased out and EA just continues to find ways to keep its top spot of worse company ever.

LeBron went home, Melo cashed in, Falcons imploded, Paul George's leg went left while he went right, Tiger sucks still and Tony Stewart mows down a fellow racer...what an odd year!

Atlanta Falcons Season Preview 2013: Offense

The Atlanta Falcons enter this season with high expectations. Coming a half short of a Super Bowl trip, the Dirty Birds are poised to take the next step with a revamped secondary and a new running back to get those tough yards.

Matt Ryan played extremely well last season and with all due respect, he should have. Weapons like Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and the explosive Julio Jones, its no wonder why the Falcons were in the top half in the league in passing and points scored.

The inability to get the short yards is what ultimately did the Falcons offense in. Third and short, or goal line situations were return to sender. Jaquizz Rodgers not having enough punch and an out of gad Micheal Turner kept the Falcons from moving the ball and burning out the clock with a lead.  They have signed a replacement for Micheal Turner in Steven Jackson who is a strong power back with some left in the tank and should be able to grind out the yards that Turner left on the field. He is also a great blocker and a very good receiver out of the back field.

The OLine took a hit when we released veteran T Tyson Clabo. The injury to T Mike Johnson puts us in a dire situation upfront which could impact the running game and more importantly the timing and health of newly resigned QB Matt Ryan.

All, in all, the Falcons look to air it out early and often and i'm sure SJAX will get a ton of carries especially in short yardage and to milk the clock. Closing out games in the playoffs was ugly, we got lucky against Seattle and blew it against the Niners.