Every time I go away on vacation to some warm, slow, friendly, quiet, nature soaked land, I always return home with the same thought (as I ride along the Van Wyck Expressway on the way home from the airport) –“What am I doing back here?” It’s not the cold and it’s not the concrete and asphalt and it’s not the crowds and it’s not the dearth of trees and grass and sea and sand and clean fresh air. It’s the endless hum of all the engines of commerce and consumption …which just so happen to be the very engines that drive the vehicle that provides me with a living. Which begs the question: “ You call that living?”


Okay…I’m breaking my silence. My blogging mentor at teddyvegas.blogspot.com is the gold standard in sports analysis ( you can just go there now if you want a more advanced POV) so I’ve thus far kept off his turf, but I gotta say a few words about the Knick resurgence and the man who lit the fire that continues to burn bright for Big Apple hoop fans--and for the first time in a long time I'm paying attention and watching more than a few 4th quarters here and there.

I’m glad Jeremy Lin has settled down into the player he’s probably destined to be— a smart, selfless, skilled, quick and consistently effective point guard who makes everyone else on the court better by virtue of his general court sense, anticipatory decision making (those turnovers will abate) and energy. Those high scoring outbursts were clearly anomalies (partly due to opposing teams who were taken by surprise by his unexpected aggressiveness and determination) and unlikely to be the standard he maintains…but that’s all to the good since his real value is in energizing the rest of the team, directing traffic, dishing off the drive, and perhaps doing what would be the greatest miracle of all—turning Carmelo into a true team oriented star.

And seems like N. Djokovic, Lin has some mimicry talent--displayed here when he was a 15 yr. old high-schooler.




I felt from the beginning of Lin's heroic streak, that as good as he is, he looked that much better cause the rest of the guys on the court were just going through the motions. And watching D'Antoni in pre and post game interviews, he always looked and sounded like a high school principal trying to avoid admitting that the kids are just too spoiled and entitled to respond to any kind of outside authority or discipline. Lin plays hard every second he’s out there (and takes a beating too) and there aren’t many NBA players you can say that about. It’s why I still have a high regard for Kobe. And KG, Pierce and Ray Allen are always exciting to watch up in Beantown cause tho past their primes they may be (all in their mid 30’s), they never let up. Carmelo is 8 or 9 years younger than any of those guys…so no excuses. Carmelo—are you listening? Also got high hopes that Baron Davis still has something left in his tank. He can be as good as anyone when he’s on…and he’s had moments that remind you how amazing he was in his best and healthiest days.

POST KNICK CELTIC CLASH YESTERDAY: Well, it was close and it was fierce (or is that Pierce?) but somehow even when it seemed it coulda gone either way, I didn’t think the Knicks would do it. Part perennial pessimism but also part practically obvious. With a DVR that can replay and super slo-mo every play, we can all be courtside surgeons now and that’s what I found myself doing on many plays yesterday. What I saw was that when Lin drove to the hole still looking to dish off—no one was open and no one was even moving! At least that's how it appeared on the half dozen or so plays I reviewed. But gotta credit Celtic D too...they were mad dogs all game long. Lin is a bit more reckless than judicious right now, but comparing his drives with Rondo’s forays to the hoop, you can see the difference in how his teammates react and anticipate.

Rondo (18-20-17 ... Only two other point guards have had 15-15-15 games in the past 25 years. Jason Kidd and Magic Johnson-though Rondo did it with an overtime period---but still did it in 47 minutes. ) is undoubtedly the more seasoned and skilled player despite his shooting woes, and it helps that he’s also a bit more durable physically—but if the Knicks had someone like Ray Allen (or the revelation to me since I don't follow the Celtics --Brandon Bass!) tirelessly working to get open and running off screens, Lin would have more success (read: options) and fewer turnovers. I think Shumpert, Fields, Jeffries and Novak and even Davis are better in touch with the flow and more in sync with Lin's rhythms than Amare and Carmelo...Chandler is going to adapt no matter what though, and without his defensive intensity it's all a moot point...but hope springs eternal and now with 10 strong and healthy bodies to play with it should be fun for the rest of the way.

And I don’t care how many points Carmelo puts up…he’s still the 600 lb elephant in the room that no one wants to acknowledge is taking up too much space. The guy is a scoring magician at times…but like many a magician, he specializes in making those around him disappear. But he played some defense yesterday, so I’ll cut him some slack and hope for the best.

My son, Eli, sent me the revised draft of the sit-com pilot he wrote with my other son Will. I thought the last one was great. This one’s even better. I wish I had “green light” power, I’d switch it on in a heartbeat.

Mentioned Matt Munisteri (Thanks to Dave Shapiro) a few posts back and found this online. Kind of a cool video, and a taste of what he does…but just a taste. You’ll find a more varied and eclectic mix of him in various settings if you search a little.



Don’t have much else today, except some leftover table scraps (mostly Jewish/Yiddish quotes) that I had considered using in previous posts but for some reason or another didn’t make the cut.


My father never lived to see his dream come true of an all-Yiddish-speaking Canada.
David Steinberg

I'm not really a Jew; just Jew-ish.
And the only time I feel like a full jew is around Anti-Semites.
Jonathan Miller

I was raised in the Jewish tradition, taught never to marry a Gentile, women shave on Saturday and most especially never to shave a Gentile woman on Saturday.
Woody Allen

Look at Jewish history. Unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable. So, for every ten Jews beating their breasts, God designated one to be crazy and amuse the breast-beaters. By the time I was five I knew I was that one.
Mel Brooks

Some Yiddish expressions (in translation)

If you want your dreams to come true, don't sleep.

A man is not honest simply because he never had a chance to steal

Man plans and God laughs.

The girl who can't dance says the band can't play.

That which is practiced in youth will be pursued in old age.

It never rose and it never flew
Figurative translation: It is bullshit!

When a fool is silent, he too is counted among the wise.

Troubles and soup is better than just troubles alone.

And this leftover from marriage post many months ago…

A man and a woman cannot live together without having against each other a kind of everlasting joke. Each has discovered that the other is a fool, but a great fool. This largeness, this grossness and gorgeousness of folly is the thing which we all find about those with whom we are in intimate contact; and it is the one enduring basis of affection, and even of respect. G.K. Chesterton.

Assorted One Liners

I'm not into working out. My philosophy: No pain, no pain.

Where are we going? And why am I in this handbasket?

I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.

Please, if you ever see me getting beaten up by the police, please put your video camera down and help me
 --Bobcat Goldthwait