The 2015 NBA All Star Weekend in New York City

Article by: Christine O'Connor

Twitter: @christineeeeO

​​​Image Credit: nba.com

Welcome to New York! 

The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks will share hosting duties for the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend. The Saturday nightevents, including the three-point contest and slam dunk competition, will be held at the Barclays Center, while the All-Star Game will be played at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Feb. 15.

Here is what you need to know for the weekend's events:

All-Star Celebrity Game

Two teams of celebrities will get to play at the World's Most Famous Arena on Friday night.

Tipoff: Feb. 13, 7:00 p.m. ET

​Location: Madison Square Garden

TV coverage: ESPN

Rising Stars Challenge

The top rookies and sophomores take center stage on Friday night at the Barclays Center.

Tipoff: Feb. 13, 9:00 p.m. ET

Location: Barclays Center

TV coverage: TNT

All-Star Saturday Night

The Barclays Center hosts the Shooting Stars, Skills Challenge, Three-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night.

Tipoff: Feb. 14, 8:30 p.m. ET

Location: Barclays Center

TV coverage: TNT

All-Star Game

The East and West meet in the 64th All-Star Game on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. It will be the fourth time the game is played at The Mecca and the first time since Michael Jordan took home MVP honors in 1998.

Tipoff​: Feb. 15, 8:30 p.m. ET

Location: Madison Square Garden

TV coverage: TNT

Adidas unveiled the uniforms for the weekend: 

​Image Credit: lakersnation.com

The Disappointing Brooklyn Nets and the Disgraceful New York Knicks.

Image Credit: EliteDaily.com

By: Kai Jones

Edited by: Dana P. (E.I.C.) 

New York City, the city of big lights, big dreams, and big expensive underperforming basketball teams. Anyone that follows basketball knows that the New York Knicks are in the words of Charles Barkley, “TURRIBLE!” The Brooklyn Nets aren’t quite as bad as the Knicks, because they are in the Eastern Conference. They are still one game under .500. Brooklyn is currently in the 8th spot of the eastern conference. Let’s not get into the despair of the Eastern Conference, where one win the Philadelphia 76ers are 7 games back of the 8th spot! Can either team get back to the near top of the Eastern conference,  where both of them were just 2 seasons ago?

Can the New York Knicks? Probably not. Willis Reed is not walking through those doors. On the brighter side, if the Knicks start to understand the Triangle offense and are able to get healthy, they could make the playoffs. 

Experienced veterans JR Smith, Samuel Dalembert, and Jose Calderon have not played up to their career averages. Calderon is especially surprising as he’s been a great point guard wherever he has been. 

Carmelo Anthony has been performing well. The Knicks do have young talent, but if they are going to make the playoffs, Derek Fisher needs to find the right lineups ASAP! 

The Nets are a little closer to the top considering they’re in the playoffs as of right now. This is a team of overpaid, aging veterans. Jarrett Jack and Kevin Garnett have not played up to their contracts. While Deron Williams and Joe Johnson have played well, they are going to have to continue their winning ways of the past few days when they beat the defending champs. 

It sure is sad to be a New York sports fan lately. The Jets and Giants are eliminated from the playoffs, the Mets and Yankees aren’t splashing in free agency, the Knicks can't win, but there is potential hope with the Nets. Brooklyn, we go hard!

New York Knicks Tip Off at Madison Square Garden with Nas & Swizz Beats

by: Dana P. (E.I.C.)

Knicks season ticket holders were in for a special treat this past Sunday at The Mecca. Hip hop legends Swizz Beats & Nas took the court, following the Knicks Scrimmage Tip Off game at Madison Square Garden, and we were there front and center for this historic event! Yes, I said historic for a "scrimmage" game. Did I mention Justin Beiber was sitting court side, FRONT row?! Indeed he was there, along with Taylor Swift. 

Image Credit: Kate Arian

We have OFFICIALLY tipped off the 2015 season, so you might wanna check out this COURT SIDE FOOTAGE we got of The Knicks Dancers, the scrimmage, and performances by Nas & Swizz Beats! 

2014-2015 NBA Preview, LeBron, Championship, Lakers, and more

by Regis Welch @regisjwelch

Down The Line Sports

Image Credit: NBA.com

Well the NBA season returns this week, and I must say that I am extremely excited. I’m excited because this has been an extremely long offseason that has only had a few storylines that have been covered for far too long by the media. C’mon you know what I’m talking about.

* Where’s LeBron going? 

* Can D. Rose come back healthy?

* Is Phil Jackson going to return as the head coach of the Knicks? 

* Are the 6ers going to win five games in the 14-15 season? 

For the most part we already knew how those questions were going to pan out. Am I surprised that LeBron went back to Cleveland? Not really. He has a much better chance to win an NBA title and he can bring glory to his home city. Cleveland has not celebrated a championship since 1964. Jim Brown led the then Cleveland Browns to the NFL Championship.     

Let’s examine the teams:

Cleveland Cavaliers

As previously mentioned, LeBron James did return home. He is team up with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. I believe Love is the best big man in the NBA because he can rebound and he can score from anywhere on the court. However, Chris Bosh was also a deadly big man as well who took a minor role to play alongside LeBron. I don’t see Love putting up the same numbers that he did when in Minnesota just because he doesn’t have to. I can hope that he is still effective on both sides of the court.  Kyrie Irving is arguably the best point guard in the league. He can score and stretch the court.  The Cavs also have a great bench who is made up of good scorers.

However, on the bad side the Cavs do a have a rookie coach, David Blatt. He is a respected coach. Blatt comes with a great resume. He’s a four time Israeli League Coach of the Year, six time Israeli Cup Champion, Italian Cup Champion, and Euroleague Champion. It will be interesting to see him bring an international flair to the NBA and see how he reacts to the nuances a new league.

Miami Heat

For all of the friendly folks who pretended to be Miami Heat fans, please know that your presence will not be missed. It was just a few years ago where the Heat were in this same position. The leader of the team was Dwayne Wade and he had a mediocre supporting cast. Now players who actually have talent will surround Wade. Chris Bosh can be a beast within the paint again. He does not have to be on the perimeter to stretch the defense. I believe that Luol Deng is one of the most disrespected players in the league. He can score, play defense on log major minutes. 

The million-dollar question with this team is their health. Wade must play in at least 70 games. If Danny Granger can return healthy they may have a chance at a playoff spot.

With all that being said the next time that the Miami Heat win a championship will be when LeBron James has a full head hair. It’s not gonna be anytime soon.

Chicago Bulls

Derrick Rose appears to be back and playing like Derrick Rose. He’s making cuts and driving hard to the basket. My only concern about this team is the health of the former league MVP. Rose has had an ACL tear in the past and a torn meniscus.  To play this sport you must have a good foundation and hopefully he has that.

The Bulls brought in a Pau Gasol during the free agency period. It will be hard for teams to matchup on the Bulls double-headed monster in the post. Gasol will play side by side with Joakim Noah. Noah carried the Bulls all of last season in the absence of Rose. 

Chicago reminds me most of San Antonio. Meaning that this group of people plays great together.  If and only if Rose is healthy will this team win the NBA title.

Indiana Pacers

Paul George broke his leg while playing for team USA during the offseason. He will be out the entire 2014-2015 season. George says that he can possibly be back for the playoffs if needed. This team has no chance of making the playoffs in the easiest conference. The Pacers were disgusting in the postseason last spring. Roy Hibbert, proved his worth as he had games where he did not record a basket or a rebound. A 7’2 you can’t get a rebound. I have a great aunt over 80 who can play better. David West is the only person on this team that I trust. He will play hard, too bad his team won’t.

To read more a whole lot more head over to Down The Line Sports (link at the top of this article) 

Jadakiss Talks Biggie Smalls, The New York Knicks & DMX In A RecentInterview With ESPN's 'Highly Questionable'

Image Credit: Jadakiss' Instagram (therealkiss)

The hosts on ESPN's Highly Questionable might just be in the wrong line of work as they continuously transform into under cover detectives in order to attempt to solve the mystery of which New York Knick the rapper Biggie Smalls allegedly robbed on "I Got A Story To Tell." Hip Hop legend Jadakiss was the latest person to go under interrogation when he recently got a chance to sit down with the Dan Le Batard, Bomani Jones and Gonzalo "Papi" Le Batard,. Highly Questionable soon learned it was no snitching over here after Biggie's friend joked along with the host claiming he did not know because Big wouldn't tell him.

“I still don't know who that player is. Big wouldn’t tell me, I was doing my own investigation, he was saying 6'5. Trying to figure out what Knick was 6'5 back then. He threw you off, though, because he also said 'rained out.' A basketball game can't get rained out. So, Big was trying to mess with you a little bit on there, too."
The Yonkers rapper was also asked if he believed former NBA player John Starks when he claimed he was not the man B.I.G. spoke about in the song. "I don't know, got a chance. It could have been Starks, baby,"said Jada. But he did jokingly provided a couple additional guesses, "Out of my candidates, it would have to be Mason, Larry Johnson, maybe Derek Harper. Could have been any of that team. Those were the crazy Knicks back then."

While in the hot seat, Jada paid his respect to the Notorious B.I.G. He reminisced on the time he knew he had made it in the music industry when he met up with Biggie and he verified his group The LOX.

"Meeting the Notorious B.I.G. and him telling me and my group, 'You guys have what it takes to make it in the industry,'that was the battery in my back that I needed. That was the motivational speech or whatever that got me still going to this day."

The rapper went on in the interview to elaborate on his wild adventures with fellow rapper DMX and even offered Papi hilarious advice as to how to get the groupies off of his back. But as for the answer to what NY Knick Biggie references on his song remains an #UnsolvedHipHopQuestion.

Check out Highly Questionable's full interview with Jadakiss here.

— Brittany Chanel Jackson

Twitter: @___PXC

For The East Coast; NBA Atlantic Division Preview

Image Credit: NotSportsCenter.com

by: Josh Henderson

Twitter: @verybadwrong

In the NBA, the teams in what is now the Atlantic Division used to be champions. The Celtics, the Knicks. They were contenders every year. Lately though, the Atlantic Division is, and has been for a while now, bad. 

Last year, the Atlantic produced two playoff teams: Toronto (48-34) and Brooklyn (44-38). This year, well, there isn't much reason to hope for improvement, though we can be fairly sure someone will win the division.

Over the off-season, Toronto did exactly what they need to do. They re-signed Kyle Lowry, bucking the trend they've set for letting budding stars go in exchange for nothing. Lowry and Demar DeRozan, an all-star last year, form a solid backcourt. Along with their draft and re-signing Patrick Patterson, a solid all around 4, they added depth while maintaining their core. With good shooting big men and all-star guards, they'll win the Atlantic again, easily.

The Nets... They made some off-season moves themselves. Jason Kidd learned the hard way he wasn't quite as in charge as he thought. He asked for more control, and ended up in Milwaukee. The Nets brought in Lionel Hollins, who used to coach in Milwaukee, to be their head coach. Hollins has said he'd like to run a faster offense. He may as well play himself. The Nets are too old, too slow, and lack anyone to space the floor. Joe Johnson will continue to shoulder the load, while big men Kevin Garnett - yes, that Kevin Garnett - and Brooks Lopez will try to keep up. Deron Williams is a solid 1, but overall, the Nets will take a step backwards. 

Image Credit: ESPN.go.com

A step backwards into... The New York Knicks. The Knicks have made a lot of noise this off-season. Some more than others. They hired a guy by the name of Phil Jackson to captain the ship. Not to coach, though. They re-signed their star, Carmelo Anthony. They brought in Jose Calderon and Samuel Dalembert. Calderon is a capable point guard you may have never heard of. That's okay. We all know the Knicks' season depends on Melo. He thinks the triangle offense will help him. The triangle offense depends on movement and specifically ball movement, not historically Melo's strengths. Melo has to decide if he's willing to play along. JR Smith and Calderon can both space the floor like Steve Kerr or BJ Armstrong did with the Bulls and Jordan. We'll learn if it's going to work early on. I expect the Knicks to pass the Nets and, yes, take a playoff spot. But that's it.

The Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers bear mentioning, but only because they're in the division. The Celtics drafted Marcus Smart, who has the skill set, especially defensively, to become a good NBA point guard. And Danny Ainge made some clever moves involved with the Lebron to Cleveland three team trade, picking up Tyler Zeller and a draft pick. They won't make much noise this year. 

Neither will the 76ers, who are playing to be a great team in the early 2020's. They were absolutely awful last year, and they'll be absolutely awful until a couple years after they manage to finally win the draft lottery. They drafted Joel Embiid, Dario Sacic, and five other players you've never heard of - and likely won't hear of again. Embiid is an entertaining Twitter follow, but recent history of injury prone high draft picks doesn't suggest he'll have a long or productive career. 

To summarize:

2014/15 NBA Atlantic Division predictions:

Toronto Raptors
New York Knicks
Brooklyn Nets
Boston Celtics
Philadelphia 76ers

The Raptors and Knicks should make the playoffs, barring significant injuries, but not advance. There's always next year. Or 2020, for the 76ers.

The Dire State of New York Sports

Image Credit: workinsports.com

New York, New York, big city of dreams. The city I call home, and the city I love more than any other I’ve had the pleasure of going to. One thing about this city that never ceases to amaze me is the love its inhabitants have for their sports teams. New Yorkers love their sports and they are not afraid to tell you about it. The city and surrounding tri-state area of New Jersey and Connecticut will root for their teams through the darkest times and brightest hour because in the end, sports is life. Sports are in the fabric of the people in this city and that will never change. Unfortunately for sports fans of New York Teams, winning is not something that has become synonymous with the greatest city on Earth. It’s to the point where the city’s sports scene has become somewhat of a laughing stock on the national level, and it’s embarrassing to watch. What’s happened to New York sports and what can possibly be done to fix it?

Management Is A Lost Art In The Big Apple…

Image Credit: www.freep.com

There are 8 professional sports teams in New York City or in the surrounding areas of Long Island and New Jersey. But for arguments sake, let’s just say NYC has 8 sports teams. The Rangers, the Islanders, the Jets, the Giants, the Knicks the Nets, the Yankees and the Mets. Before we continue, let’s do a little math. From 2001 to 2013 there was the opportunity for 96 championships to be won between all 8 teams. Out of 96 opportunities, New York City claimed just 3 titles. The New York Giants in 2007 and 2011, and the New York Yankees in 2009; that’s it. Meanwhile in Boston, the sports town New Yorkers hate the most next to Philadelphia, their four sports teams won 8 championships. They have half the teams but almost triple the championships. But why? New York has money, the prestige, the fans, and everything else Boston has. The difference between the two cities is how the teams are run and by whom.

The only organization that I can truly look at and say they’ve had a good plan on how to get things done would be the Giants. The Giants aren’t a franchise that’s concerned about winning the back-pages of New York papers. Year after year New York media and even some fans always call for Tom Coughlin’s head coach. And twice Coughlin has gone on to stop the New England Patriots from adding to their Boston sports titles while adding to New York’s. Imagine had the Patriots won at least one of the match-ups between the Giants. Boston would have quadrupled the amount of trophies NYC had with half the teams. But the Giants window seems to have closed and the era of Eli Manning as star quarterback and Tom Coughlin as two-time winning head coach seem to be over. Other than the Giants every other front office has been pretty much inept. The Yankees have one ring in the last 12 years, but their process of just over-paying past their prime players as not bore any fruit. The Mets owners have seemed clueless since the last time the Mets went to the World Series in 2000 where they lost to the Yankees. The Nets just got to the city but between Mikhail Prokhorov using the Nets as a toy and GM Billy King seemingly operating with careless disregard for draft-picks, the Nets won’t be good for years to come. The Jets have been a joke in recent memory with signings like Tim Tebow, and Rex Ryan Promises couple with Mark Sanchez shenanigans have made the Jets look foolish on multiple levels. No one knows what the Islanders are doing and it’s safe to say most of the tri-state other than Long Island even cares to find out. And the Knicks and Rangers are both owned by one of the worst owners in sports who has no idea what he’s doing and hasn’t know what’s he’s doing for years in James Dolan. Owners of New York teams want to win but have gone about it the way that used to work in the past, just throw money at the best players and let them rise to the top. But the landscape of sports has changed. Players have options when it comes to money and endorsements now that they didn’t in the past. As long as the player is great no one cares about where he plies his trade, as long as he can sell product. Leaving New York to fight it out with other markets and over-paying immensely for older past their prime sports stars. But has New York come out of the worst of it? There are some signs of hope on the horizon.

A New and Improved Way of Thinking?...

As poor as management as been for NYC teams in recent memory, I think we are starting to see a shift in the right direction with at least a few of the teams. The Rangers and Knicks who are both owned by James Dolan are in the beginning stages of sport makeovers if you will. Dolan brought in the Zen Master Phil Jackson to be the president of basketball operations and has claimed he is going to stay out of Phil’s way and let him re-shape the team into a contender like they were throughout the entire 1990’s. I’m already seeing Jackson pulling string behind the scenes and making little changes here and there to quietly get this team back to where they should be. They have Carmelo Anthony as their franchise player, they have a coach in Derrick Fisher that Jackson trusts, and in the summer of 2015 they’ll have cap space to add more pieces around Carmelo. It’s a start.

The Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals last years and had they played smart hockey in the first two games, the Blueshirts could have been Stanley Cup Champions. Unfortunately things didn’t go the Rangers way but it’s definitely a good sign. The Rangers signed their own franchise star Henrik Lundqvist to a long-term deal which shows intent. They have a good roster of old players and younger players with a lot of potential like Chris Kreider that can help them build on last year’s playoff run as well. Head coach Alain Vigneault operates completely different than 99% of the people in the city he’s coaching in. He’s always calm and reserved, not brash, just always there watching and paying attention and tweaking where need be. He’s a stark contrast to former coach John Torterlla who eventually wore out his welcome in NYC. The Rangers are in a good place so let’s hope this continues.

Image Credit: DailyNews.com

It’s far too soon to say the Jets are headed in the right direction but last season they were a far better football team than people expected them to be. This past off-season has been relatively quiet and they made some pretty good acquisitions in Erik Decker, Chris Johnson and Michael Vick to help bolster their rosters. They have Geno Smith that still has a lot to prove, but unlike the Mark Sanchez debacle, Rex Ryan is putting weapons around Smith for him to grow. The Jets have done far too much dumb in recent times for anyone to immediately give them the benefit of the doubt, but it seems that maybe things are definitely changing in the culture of the Jets; and in a season or two they can really start making some noise. No more flashy signings, just really good ones to keep progressing.

The Jury is still out on the rest of the NY sports teams in my opinion. The Mets have some good young arms so lets see what Mets management does to help them. But the three aforementioned NYC teams are the ones that all look headed in the right direction. New York is far too great a city for its sports teams not to be in contention every single year in every single sport. But nothing changes if nothing changes. Only the men with the power and the checkbooks can affect change. Hopefully as a collective NYC’s power player owners wise up and return NY to sports prominence. The City will be waiting. 

By Frantz Paul

Twitter: @LSN_Frantz

Lebron James Set To Open Up The 2014-2015 NBA Season At His New Home In Cleveland, Against Carmelo Anthony and The New York Knicks

photo credit: NBCsports.com

What a way to kick off the 2014-2015 season! Lebron James will host with his new team, the Cleveland Caviliers, by opening up the regular season at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio against Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks!

The NBA 2014-2015 season schedule was announced earlier today, August 13th. Lebron signing with the Cavs and Melo resigning with the Knicks, were some of the biggest moves that were made this off season. Opening up the season in New York WOULD'VE made this season opener much more exciting, tho! 

Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports reports; "LeBron James’ first game back with the Cleveland Cavaliers will be at home on Oct. 30 against the New York Knicks, according to a league source. The game features the league’s hottest two commodities during this summer’s free-agency period."

Some of the other season openers announced earlier were; LA Lakers vs. Houston Rockets (Oct 28th), San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks (Oct 28th), and LA Kings vs. Golden State Warriors (Oct 29th). 

by: Dana Pelotta

Blow Owner/Editor In Chief

Twitter: @princessdanaox

Metta World Peace Has a New Name, AND Team!

Image Credit: Twitter @MettaWorldPeace

Making headlines once again, Metta World Peace has changed his name due to his move to China’s southwestern province. Ronald William Artest, also known as " Metta World Peace," is now going by “A Pandas Friend," according to the NBA forward.

Metta World Peace took to twitter on August 1st. “I’m changing my name for the China this season !!!! You guys will love it." Now playing for the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association, Metta World Peace decided to change his name due to his new home. 

On Thursday afternoon, "A Pandas Friend" took to twitter about what he has in store for his fans about his first game, before he heads back to the United States. 

-Kateri Fischer

Twitter: @katikiii

edited by:: Dana Pelotta (Editor In Chief/Blog Owner)

MORE on Carmelo Anthony...

Carmelo Anthony is a joke. Do a quick Twitter search. He shoots too much. He holds the ball for too long. He never wins. Knicks' fans know all this. You could hear their collective groan in Cleveland when he re-signed. Yet, as of writing this, he's the highest paid player in the league. Why?

Because he should be. Last year, Melo turned 30. He had a career high in minutes played for a bad Knicks team. He's largely injury free. He averaged 27 points and 8 rebounds. He shot over 40% from 3 point range and almost 85% from the stripe. And in a league full of stars that sit back and watch the other team score on defense, he had 1.2 steals and almost a block a game.

So what? Stats aren't everything, right? The guy's a bum, and you know it. New York won't win with him. Metric stats say Lebron is worth about 15 more wins a year than Melo. Oh, sorry, that was more stats. Why should you give him a chance?

While the money was no small factor, let's ask Melo why he stayed:

"This organization has supported me and in return, I want to stay and build here with this city and my team," he posted to his website. "In the end, I am a New York Knick at heart."

Tacky? Maybe. After the fact? Definitely. But, for a couple of minutes,  in a league where stars chase money and championships, can we agree to stop hating on Melo? At least until he holds the ball for fifteen seconds only to miss a jumper.

By:: Josh Henderson

More on Melo resigning with the Knicks.

After over a week of contemplating and  speculating, Carmelo Anthony is  scheduled to resign with the Knicks.  The  Brooklyn-born NBA superstar was courted by various NBA teams when he became a free agent at the conclusion of the NBA season. In the past season, he averaged 27.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.  Because of his gifted basketball talents, he was heavily recruited by other teams. Organizations that he met up with were; the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and the New York Knicks. In the end, he decided  to stay with the Knicks.  Anthony will be signing a 5 year contract extension. The exact price has yet to be announced, but since the Knicks can offer him the most money, it will be 

around $129 million. 

With Mike Woodson gone as coach, it will be interesting to see how Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks fare with Derek Fisher as the new coach.  

Author: Rayle King 

Melo stays! Knicks fans in AWE as Carmelo Anthony STAYS a New York Knickerbocker!

Multiple sources are reporting via Twitter that it's pretty much a "done deal," Knicks fans could expect their pride and joy, Melo BACK in New York this season!

CBSsports.com reports;

"The first big domino in free agency fell on Friday when LeBron James chose to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers over re-signing with the Miami Heat. Now the other big free agent has made his decision. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has confirmed reports that Carmelo Anthony will re-sign with the New York Knicks. Anthony is expected to receive a five-year, $129 million contract to stay in New York as he remains the centerpiece around Phil Jackson's vision for rebuilding this roster into less of a joke and more of a contender."

"Anthony's decision to stay could be viewed as a money grab, considering he's earning $30 million more than anywhere else he can sign. With the Knicks being such a disaster last season due to coaching problems, roster issues, and injuries, it doesn't seem like the team is in any position to contend because they aren't. But just a year prior to the disasterous season, Anthony led them to 54 wins and the second round of the playoffs. There isn't any roster flexibility this season, unless a team is willing to take the contracts of big men Amar'e Stoudemire and/or Andrea Bargnani, but Jackson's vision for the future could be a quick turnaround after the 2014-15 season."

Knicks fans all over the New York tri-state area are RELIEVED since the news just broke, only minutes ago. This should be an exciting year for New York, with new head coach, Derek Fisher onboard, alongside their new president who came to the rescue at the end of the 2014 season, Phil Jackson.

By:: Dana P. (Blog Owner/Editor in Chief) 

Carmelo Anthony:: "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?"

Free agent Carmelo Anthony is HOT on the market right now! He went from saying this past season, that he would take less money to stay with the Knicks, to possibly negotiating a new deal with another team. 

Via ESPN.com:

"Anthony met with Jackson, Fisher and Mills in Los Angeles last Friday to discuss his pending free agency. Anthony has said throughout the season that he plans to opt out of the final year of his contract and test free agency this summer.

Jackson has said publicly, though, that he'd like Anthony to opt in to the final year of his deal with the Knicks and become a free agent next summer.

A source close to Anthony said late last week that Anthony hadn't changed his mind on free agency and still plans to opt out and become a free agent this summer.

Anthony, according to sources, has until June 23 to inform the Knicks if he plans to opt out of his contract.

The All Star forward politely declined to discuss his future on Wednesday night. He said he is spending the majority of his offseason in Los Angeles.

The Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, and Dallas Mavericks are all teams Anthony would consider in free agency, sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Free agency begins July 1. Miami Heat officials have also started to explore their options in trying to create enough financial flexibility to land Anthony in free agency, ESPN.com reported last week.

Anthony can sign a maximum contract for $129 million over five years with the Knicks. If he signs with another team, Anthony can sign a maximum contract of $96 million over four years."

J.R. Smith tweeted just a few days ago, that he would no longer speak to Melo, if he decided to sign with the Miami Heat!

On Wednesday, Anthony spoke to reporters at an event in LA. He spoke about the "great meeting" he had with Knicks president Phil Jackson, GM Steve Mills, and head coach Derek Fisher over the weekend. He also stated he "liked what Phil Jackson was doing," referring to the signing of Fisher, as the Knicks new head coach. 

Melo has until June 23rd, to decide if he's going to stay with the Knicks, or play for another NBA team.  

By:: Dana P. (Blog Owner/Editor in Chief)

Knicks end their 8 game winning streak, sign Phil Jackson, inching the playoffs, Brooklyn Nets streak(s), and more.

On March 12th, 2014, the New York Knicks signed former NBA coach Phil Jackson, as their new president. Jackson will earn 12 million per year.

The Knicks were back to looking a little sloppy, ending their 8 game win streak, by losing 2 in a row. Following an EXTREMELY tough loss to the Lakers, Jackson told the New York Times, "It was awful, huh." Last night after defeating Sacramento, the Knicks are back to being just 2 games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Without too much time left to get their act together and pull through, the Knicks couldn't have found a better time to scoop up Jackson, as he is VERY much needed. 

A lot of fans have been unhappy with Mike Woodson lately, but is he to blame 100%? I certainly wasn't expecting this team to shape up after their horrific performance the past few months.

Melo scored 36 points last night, and JR Smith tied a franchise record with NINE 3 pointers! After last nights win, New York is 30-42, facing the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night. 

Just wrapping up a road trip with 10 regular season games left, the Knicks are set to return home to face the Brooklyn Nets, whose 4 game win streak, was broken in New Orleans on March 24th. 

The Nets have won their last 10 home games, with their last 3 games on the road, ending in overtime. Brooklyn is currently 37-33, losing their last 2 games.

By:: Dana Pelotta (Blog Owner/Editor in Chief)

 

A-Rod gives up, Knicks can't keep a win streak, Super BLOWout, Jeter dumps his girl to concentrate on baseball, and more.

A-Rod has went on to prove he is, in fact, GUILTY! Well, that's not a fact, but it sure looks like Alex has a guilty conscience. He has decided to accept his 162 game suspension, and drop his lawsuit against the MLB and the MLBPA (Major League Baseball Players Association.) The Yankees third baseman, however, is now suing The Daily News and former New York City Police Commissioner, Bernard Kerik, for defamation. Get 'em A-Rod! They have NO right to be tarnishing your name! <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="">
It was just earlier last week, I had read David Cone state in an interview, that Alex better not show up at Spring Training. This was after we interviewed David Cone a few weeks ago, as he said he was "sad" for A-Rod.

I am not FOR or AGAINST the use of PEDs. If that's something you feel you need as an athlete to better yourself as a ball player, that's okay in my book. I'm disappointed to see A-Rod give up this fight. I was proud to see him put his foot down, stand up for himself, and fight for what he once called his "innocence."

The Knicks ended a 3 game losing streak last week, by defeating the Denver Nuggets on Friday. Shumpert is back off the bench, and while Felton continues to be unproductive, JR Smith and Carmelo Anthony continue to progress through the first half, but can't seem to pull it through the 2nd half, lately.


(Best thing throughout the entire game.)

Well now that football is over, today was a great Sunday. We are just FIVE (5) DAYS AWAY from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training! Opening Day for the Yankees is April 7th, and I cannot WAIT to be back home in the Bronx, to see the beginning of a very INTERESTING (to say the least) season, ahead of us.

No one could've predicted that huge blowout of a football game last Sunday. It was boring, and caused too much pollution in my state for no reason! I bet Sherman really does think he's better then everyone else, now that he has a Super Bowl ring to prove so....

Derek Jeter has reportedly dumped his girlfriend, model Hannah Davis, to focus on Spring Training and the upcoming 2014 season. Too bad he can't find himself a lucky charm, similar to Kate Hudson (A-Rod's former lucky girlfriend back in 2009.) 

By:: Dana P. (Blog Owner/Editor in Chief)

Knicks on FIRE After 5 Game Losing Streak. More on the Knicks; JR Smith partying in NYC, Melo, Shumpert, & more

Last night, Melo and the Knicks went onto win their third straight game, crushing the Celtics, 114-88.

Carmelo Anthony set a Knicks record on Friday night against the Bobcats, scoring 62 points, the most at the current Madison Square Garden. He broke Bernard King's team mark of 60 points and passed Kobe Bryant's building record of 61. He also passed Kevin Durant's 54 points for most in the NBA this season.

With Melo's contract ending this year, many are wondering where the Knicks forward will be heading to next season. His wife recently stated in an interview with Bravo TV, that she "definitely" thinks he will stay with the Knicks.

Knicks guard Iman Shumpert suffered a sprained right shoulder at last nights game against the Celtics. Head coach Mike Woodson said he wasn't sure how long Shumpert will be out for.

JR Smith was nice enough to pose a picture for me, while out partying with his brother Chris last night, at New York City's posh club Greenhouse. He was amongst other celebrity & athlete guests Amhad Bradshaw, Rico Love, ASAP MOB, and Busta Rhymes.

For about 45 minutes, we witnessed JR standing at the top of the staircase of the bathrooms, as he pulled a few women to the side, chatting it up, and exchanging phone numbers with them. Even more interesting, he kept reaching up (right next to me) to grab a girls ass a few times throughout the night. Playing "hide and seek" like a child, he "grabbed and ducked," trying to keep as low of a profile as he could, which he didn't do very well in succeeding. Smith was "thirsty" in more then one way, as he was drinking a bottle of Corona (while booty squeezing) for the last few minutes, before heading back to his table.

Let's just say, he didn't appear to be sober.

By:: Dana P. (Blog Owner/Editor in Chief)