Pipe Dreams: The Director’s Cut

It might be just me, but I think that… 

UNFOUNDED RUMOR

I’ve been hearing a rumor (and that’s all it is- a rumor) that the management of the Knicks is looking for a way to bring LeBron James here from Cleveland. The league PR people would love it.

Even based on their position in the draft, the Knicks would still like to get Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley and/or “uber-point” Derrick Rose out of Memphis. Both Beasley and Rose are considered to be franchise players and would compliment James very nicely.

MARSH-MELO

Bernie Lincicome is saying that 6-8 Carmelo Anthony might be had by the right team. He said, “He is still a me-first, half-interested, high-scoring basketball creature that he’s always been.” Maybe maturity will strike him like a bolt of lightning and stop him from driving the streets alone at night either too drunk, too fast, or both.

Bernie went on to say that Anthony “can’t play man-to-man defense, has a slow first step, doesn’t rebound, won’t muscle, and doesn’t out-jump small forwards.” He seems to be the opposite of David Lee.

OH NO!

I just heard that the Knicks were thinking about picking Danilo Gallinari a 6-9 small forward from Italy with the first 1st round draft pick they’ve had since giving up the last two to Chicago for Eddie Curry. Can I say Frederic Weis from the ’99 draft?

MCDYESS- VERY NICE

Antonio McDyess is playing with the Pistons in the NBA final. Say- didn’t he used to play with the Knicks? Oh right. Isiah said that he wasn’t good enough to play in NY.

HOME RUN OR NOT

The debate over whether or not that fly ball, hit by Met Carlos Delgado, which hit the fair pole should have counted for three runs against the Yankees on May 18th, is just the sort of thing that gives my argument, that instant replays in baseball aren’t something that should be implemented, support. The human factor IS the straw that stirs the drink of fans’ interests. Debates about certain plays can go on for years- no, for decades. I still think that Yogi tagged Jackie Robinson out when he TRIED to steal home (THAT IS the most exciting play in baseball and its excitement would be dulled if there were taped replay appeals in effect).

THE MAKING OF A SPORTS ICON

The WNBA desperately needs a face they can embed into the public consciousness to legitimize their league. The NBA has been doing this since its early days with George Mikan and Bob Petit; then with the Celtic dynasties (emphasis here on the plural), one-name wonders like Wilt, Kareem, Willis, Kobe, and LeBron.

But the WNBA never had players of that marketability- until now the league’s PR people hope that this year’s top draft pick, Candace Parker with the LA Sparks, will be that person. Her smile and her talent (in her opening game she had 34 pts., 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 block) didn’t diminish her reputation created during her time at Tennessee of being the GREATEST women’s college player, ever. She MIGHT BE “The Face of the WNBA.” Why she even has a nickname chanted by home LA crowds- CP3 (3 is her uniform number). We’ll probably be seeing Sparks’ number 3 t-shirts blooming soon as her reputation grows.  

CHEM LAB

Nick Cafardo, of the Boston Globe, asked if I remembered what happened in Chemistry Class when I mixed the wrong ingredients. Jon-does it remind you of the Mets?

ANOTHER PERRY QUIZ

Dwight asked “who Barry Trotz is:

  1. The coach of the NHL Nashville Predators.
  2. A digestive-tract disorder that affects Giants fans whenever Zito takes the mound.”

SPORTS VIDEO GAME

Dwight listed one of the worst selling sports video games (courtesy of CBS.com) as “World Championship Bridge: nobody under the age of 50 plays bridge. Nobody over the age of 50 play video games. You do the math.”

JET TRAILS

Danny Woodhead signed a fee agent contract with the Jets because he wasn’t chosen in the recent draft even though he rushed for 7,962 yards in four years with Div. II Chadon (Neb) State. The main drawback was his listed height of 5-feet-7. Woodhead says that he’s really 5-7 ½ but “people always forget that half inch.”

PETA TALK

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) were hoping up and down, AGAIN, when Eight Belles had to be put down after coming in second at the Kentucky Derby. Greg Cote really has their number when he said that they are “entirely more successful at self-promotion than accomplishing anything real.” There are just too many horror stories involving the cruelty of one human to another, and these “do-gooders” with their high priced ticket “look-at-me” fundraisers could pick one, only one, to do something that could really make a difference.

SO NEAR AND YET— FROM PETER YOON IN THE LA TIMES

“Stephen Ames nearly holed his tee shot on the famed par-three 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass in the Players Championship only to watch it bounce off an extra firm green and into the water.

“He was asked how close the ball came to landing in the hole. He held up a thumb and a forefinger. As for the assessment of how the course played, he held up a different finger entirely, if you get our drift.” 

UPSET

Peter let us know that Upset was the name of the only Thoroughbred to outrace the legendary Man O’War at the Sanford Stakes in 1919. That win is often credited with upset becoming a term for an underdog win.

WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY

The US women’s field hockey team won a slot in the Beijing Olympics, Greg Cote reported. “That proved extremely exciting to fan’s of women’s field hockey- both of them.”

JESU-WIT

Keith Jackson told the story about a Jesuit priest who was paired with an obnoxious golfer who used bad language and continually tried to goad the other players in the foursome into making bets. “After the round the priest invited the young man to attend one of his masses and he told him, “I’d also be glad to marry your parents.”

Again, maybe it’s just me—but…. 

Pipe Dreams, Bob Connolly, Yankees, Mets, Knicks, LeBron James, NBA Draft, Carmelo Anthony, instant replay, Carlos Delgado, Alex Rodriguez, WNBA, Candace Parker