Not OK

Roughly 48 hours after defeating the Boston Celtics, the Knicks set organized basketball back 15 years last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, with the worst display of the slowly unraveling first season of the D’Antoni/Walsh era. How bad was it? At one point, the Knicks were down 23 points to the four-win Thunder, the team’s largest lead of the season. Kevin Durant and Jeff Green both put up 27 points, while Russell Westbrook made Chris Duhon look like post-op Jay Williams all night.

Just when I didn’t think it could get any worse, the decaying corpse of Joe Smith made a brief appearance, blocking four shots (David Lee twice) in 20 minutes.

Of course, the Knicks, losers of eight of 10, pulled within a basket with nine minutes to play. I should know by now, however, that the team, specifically Nate Robinson, likes to call a game in their favor long before the game is, you know, actually over. If you ever see Nate pound the floor or scream at the rafters after sinking a contested shot, mark it down for another Knicks’ loss. Trust me.

Last night’s game was straight out of Isiah’s tenure. Old habits die hard, I suppose. Still, I’ve come to expect more from D’Antoni’s squad, even if they are sitting seven games under .500.

Line of the Night

40 points. 11 rebounds. 2 steals. David West. 

Deep Thought

Roland Burris is the new Joe Morgan. 

Line of the Night

414 passing yards. 41 completions. 2 touchdowns. 1 rushing touchdown. 1 interception. Colt McCoy

Wild-Card Detox

I watched approximately 12 hours of football this weekend, or roughly four times as much football as I took in during the previous 17 weeks, combined. I even went so far as to make a few predictions, too. Considering my general lack of interest in the NFL, I’m kind of pleased with myself for breaking even. (Less so for the lame haikus). In fact, until Michael Westbrook scrambled for 71 yards in the 4th quarter against the Vikings, I was a Ryan Longwell field goal away from getting out of the Wild-Card weekend with three correct picks out of four. 

There were three solid games this weekend, possibly four, depending on how much money you had on either the Eagles or the Vikings. By far, though, the most entertaining game was Saturday night’s Chargers-Colts match-up. I don’t know anyone who thought the 8-8 Chargers even had a shot against the Colts, winners of 9 straight. If you say you even heard of Darren Sproles before Saturday night, I’m going to have to call bullshit on that, dear reader. Four years ago, the guy went undrafted out of Kansas State and, this year, carried the ball 61 times all season. Nobody expected him to turn into Bird Williams against the Colts’ defense, including the Colts’ defense. Isn’t that right, Mr. Meeks?

As impressive as Sproles’s performance was, I’m a little confused as to why he has to share the spotlight with Chargers punter Mike Scifres, whose booming kicks pinned the Colts inside their own 15 six out of six times. Granted, the guy can kick the hell out of the ball, but it's hardly akin to Sproles running wild for 328 all-purpose yards against one of the league's better teams. I had to laugh this morning, when Peter King likened Scifres’s performance to Plaxico Burress’s against Green Bay in last season’s NFC Championship Game and, wait for it, Kobe Bryant’s 84-point [sic] performance against the Raptors. Just stop it. Right now. 

I hate it when hyperbole gets in the way of a good weekend of sports. 

The next five days off should get me ready for a second overdose of non-stop football. Incidentally, this is, by far, the best weekend of the NFL's season. The conference championships and Super Bowl are, historically speaking, pretty anti-climactic. It's all down hill after Sunday night. 

Line of the Night

25 points. 8 assists. 5 rebounds. 1 steal. Tyrese Rice. 

L'Étoile du Nord: A Fourth Wild-Card Haiku

Westbrook contained, while
Peterson runs wild all day
Vikings buck the trend

Vikings 27 Eagles 20