Photograph: A Rainy Day in Gotham

The New York Knicks: Ready to Die or Ready to Win?

Last the Knicks lost yet again, this time to the Sixers and combining that with the sexual harassment charges of that their General Manager faces, things look ugly. Will they regroup and make the playoffs like I predicted in an earlier post or will they just crumble and give up hope on the season?

Good questions indeed. First, I predicted that without injury to Marbury and Curry, two of their key players, the Knicks would make the playoffs. This current losing streak actually started with an injury to Marbury, and they lost 4 games in a row without him. Secondly, now he is back but now we have the charges/lawsuit against Isaiah Thomas, the teams general manager.

Taking the above two things into consideration, making the playoffs will be harder since they now have such a big distraction to deal with. The Knicks play in the biggest media market in the world, a market that thrives on scandal, which was evident by the fact that as soon as the scandal was known, the general manager's face was on the front pages of several of the newspapers here for several days. On some papers like the Daily News and The Post, Mr. Isaiah was on the Front side and on the Back side, the Back side usually deals with sports, but our dear friend was on both sides of each paper and on consecutive days.

True, some of my readers will say, "hey, these guys make millions so there should be no distractions," but the reality is that these guys are humans and as a team, the Knicks were just starting to get their confidence together and now with this situation it will be quite difficult to stay focused on basketball and ignore this situation. One of the papers actually had a headline that demanded that Mr. Thomas be fired! And we must remember, at this point, the charges are allegations, and he has not won or lost this case.

I am not going to make any predictions now but we will see how this guys handle the next game.....

PD

New York vs. Philadelphia

Who wins?

No need to compare these two great east cities, only a need to enjoy both of them. I spent two nights and three days in in Philadelphia and I enjoyed everything about my stay; The brilliant pianist Brad Mehldau performing in the Kimmel Center, Hall of fame coach John Chaney coaching his underdog team to a victory against the nationally ranked Maryland Terrapins, and I even got a chance to enjoy a belgian waffle at a cafe downtown.

Now that I am back here in NY, it feels good to be home but it also feels good having the chance to visit a city like Philadelphia and enjoying myself.

Speaking of basketball, little did I know that the Knicks(New York's professional basketball team) were playing the Sixers. The Sixers(Philly's professional basketball team) beat the Knicks, the game was not even close. I've written about the Knicks in another blog but that's another story. Until then, enjoy the pictures...

Hall of Fame Coach wins crucial game

Temple 91 - Maryland 85

PHILADELPHIA Jan. 28, 2006 - Hall of Fame coach John Chaney of Temple added another victory to his iron man career. John Chaney often purposely schedules the hardest teams to play every year and has miraculously won about 75 percent of all his games. Whether he is coaching a good team or average team, he has his team playing the best in the country.

Today Temple beat a good team that is ranked 18th nationally, the Maryland Terrapins who just a couple of days ago suspended one of their star players.

I was in attendance at the game and it was clearly evident that John Chaney is a teacher of basketball, a professor of the game in the highest sense. After nearly every play he would pull different players aside and give them little lessons on the sideline in between plays which is different from just yelling at players senselessly when they make a mistake. His profound understanding of the game is also obvious by the way his team plays defense, in fact, the zone defense that Temple plays is only played by Temple and no other school quite knows the exact zone that he teaches, it is only known that it is quite difficult to play against. Different defenses, whether it is man to man, or different type of zones often have various rules and assignments, and coaches often use the same type of defenses and even prominent coaches give clinics on their specific defense - but not John Chaney, his defense is absolutely top secret, in fact, other coaches often ask John Chaney's former players about this special defense and the players always decline to give any insight into his complex zone defense.

Maryland was confused by this defense and they committed several turnovers because of this often called "stifling defense." Myself being a former coach with two championships under my belt, was in awe of how this defense forced the other team into turnovers and how often they got a steal and how often they forced a bad pass.

This game was crucial since Temple doesn't have great chances of making it to the NCAA tournament which allows teams the chance for a championship. 64 teams are invited though it is not a formula of just the best 64 teams, but that is another story. By beating a ranked opponent it gives them better chance to make it into that tournament and it gives them some confidence for the remainder of their games that they can beat quality teams.

All in all it was a great game, and I hope to put some pics up and perhaps talk about the game some more.

Pete Duhon

City of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia

I just arrived here in Philly from NYC and I must say I love this city. The people, buildings, the way the streets are designed. I love all of it. I must say that NYC is in my blood but so is the East Coast.

Last time I was here, I didn't receive any love from the person I traveled here with or the town itself.

This time I am here to see Brad Mehldau perform live at the Kimmel Center. I will also check the men's basketball program of Temple university. I will report back with words and pictures. In the meantime, visit Art Commentsto get some great information on Brad Mehldau and other musings.

Tribeca Film Festival

Annual Film Festival in Tribeca

Excited about the Tribeca Film Festival and here's a picture of Tribeca which is located in the lower west side of Manhattan. Expect details about the event to trickle through this blog and through our sister blog Art Comments. In the meantime, visit our sister blog and check Art Comment's Standout Films of 2005, and read a separate review of the French film Cache in Art Comments as well.

A current gem of Art Comments' is our review of a screening of the film Capote, which Philip Seymour Hoffman(the film's star) not only attended but answered questions from film scholar Annette Insordof and the audience. Enjoy!

Hoffman Screening of Capote

Peter Duhon

Steve Jobs, Mickey Mouse and the Future of Disney

Looks like Disney's' acquisition of Pixar is "imminent." If this deal goes through, I will comment on it.

PD

Antonio Davis Update: To Sue or Not To Sue

THAT IS THE QUESTION:

"The Chicago Bulls fan whose confrontation with Antonio Davis' wife led the Knicks forward to rush into the stands will not sue the player and his family." yahoo sports

Antonio Davis and Wife "just say no"

Disgruntled fan wants apology and will drop any impending lawsuit. Antonio and Wife "just say no."

PD

Antonio Davis Suspended by NBA

Looks like Antonio Davis is suspended for five games. That's quite a lengthy suspension. David Stern and Co. really have some issues to look at. Instead of trying to continually give players stiff penalties they need to just ban drinking at the games. There is just too much potential for any type of situation to escalate.


Davis said: ``I witnessed my wife being threatened by a man that I learned later to be intoxicated. I saw him touch her, and I know I should not have acted the way I did, but I would have felt terrible if I didn't react. There was no time to call security. It happened too quickly.''

"The fan, Michael Axelrod, claims he did nothing wrong and says he was attacked by Davis' wife. He has said he plans to sue Davis and his wife, as well as the New York Knicks." courtesy of cbs2chicago.com.

No one knows the whole story as of yet.


Michael Axelrod(the fan) claims that he did nothing and has stated that he plans to sue for 1 million dollars. Apparently he is some kind of "prominent political consultant." I wonder if he works for Bush. If so, no matter what happened in the stands last night, he will win his "court case."

Wondering how everyone feels about this situation? Leave a comment if you have some thoughts.

PD

NY Knicks: Chicago Update

To read more about the incident that I wrote about in a previous blog of Antonio Davis going into the stands. Click the link below:

Thou shall protect my wife.

Peter Duhon

UPDATE: New York Knicks and last night in Chicago

UPDATE: NEW YORK KNICKS

Despite losing last night against Chicago the Knicks put up a strong fight and showed that they are warriors. But the sore thumb from last was the fact that Antonio Davis, the Knicks starting center, ran into the stands amidst a crowd of people to protect his wife. No fighting ensued but apparently Antonio felt that there was danger possibly impending for his wife.

I totally understand why he would venture into the stands. It was the smart thing to do considering that his wife was in a hostile environment and she was surrounded by intoxicated people.

I will check with my sources to see if there is any additional information.


PD

The New York Knicks Report

Looks like Steph may not play tonight due to a shoulder strain that resulted from what Steph called "a dirty pick." I said earlier that a healthy Steph and Eddy would ensure them making the playoffs. Lets see how the game goes tonight against Chicago with or without Step.

Peter Duhon

The New York Knicks

Foundation is Ready:

People are asking me, "what about the Knicks?" My response continues to be "they'll be fine." Meaning, they are a young team and are consistently developing the traits that make up for a future dominant team. Their learning each other and they are learning their coach as well. Some of the key members of the group are even learning the NBA game: David Lee, Channing Fyre, Nate Robinson and even Trevor Ariza. And let's not forget before Eddie Curry's breakout season last year people were throwing in the towel on his skills. Currently, Stephon Marbury and Eddie Curry provide a solid nucleus of an inside/out tandem that will only get better. Throw in the smart moves of David Lee, the hunger of Nate Robinson and the elegance of Channing Fyre and you might understand why many of us(Bob Dolan) are ignoring the media's constant taunts on this team.

I must also mention Jamaal Crawford, I guy who can create his own shot and hit the jumpshot. Isaiah Thomas knows how to build a team.

Also, I have to mention that sometime ago I predicted that the Knicks would win five games in a row and they did just that, won five games in a row and an additional game.

NYCCOMMENTS PREDICTION: The Knicks will make the playoffs with a healthy Marbury and Curry.

Macy's and Bloomingdales Announcement

Looks like Fedarated Department Stores(Macy's and Bloomingdales), Inc. announced today plans to sell Lord & Taylor.

New York, NY

Can any guess what this photo is?

Train Ride

Elegance

Production of emotion determined by a resistance to emotion.

-Robert Bresson

Photograph: Rainy Day in Gotham

Homage to Robert Bresson

"The things we bring off by chance - what power they have!"
-Robert Bresson

NEW YEARS: NEW YORK CITY

Here are some photos before the big day, prior to the ball dropping, here is timesquare. This is not new years day, its the day before.