Nothing makes my blood boil more than....

[Son of Simon]

Any news (http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5720418) about a certain team in the NBA, the New York Knicks.

Much to my discredit, I have been a Knick Fan since the late 1980's. I was a huge Patrick Ewing/Charles Oakley fan, and in the 90's with Pat Riley, Anthony Mason, and John Starks in the mix, I couldn't have been happier.

Okay, I would have been happier had they beaten the Houston Rockets in 94...

But still- I was happy. New York was a playoff mainstay- my favorite sports team of all time, and still a dream of mine to watch them play in Madison Square Garden.

Fast forward a few more years. To the overpaid Alan Houston and underappreciated Latrell Sprewell days. Still a Knicks fan. To the farewell of them both and the continued destruction of the franchise by president Dave Cheketts. Still- a fan. Fast forward to the hire of Isaiah Thomas as Knicks President, and the team slumping away from the playoffs for many years. Still a fan.

And then, in perhaps the worst roster move in NBA history- they decide to sign one of the NBA's most arrogant and overrated players.

A "point guard" notorious for being uncoachable and putting up "impressive numbers" but never being able to take a team into the playoffs. When he left Minnesota- they saw an improvement in their record and made their first playoff appearance. When he was traded from New Jersey to Phoenix for Jason Kidd- New Jersey skyrockets to playoff contender status and even making an appearance in the NBA finals. Phoenix languished while he was on their roster, and as soon as Zeke signs him up with the Knicks- Steve Nash is over in Phoenix winning the MVP award and improving their record to become another playoof mainstay.

And yet this point guard still proclaims himself to be the best point guard in the league. If there is one single connection to success with this egomanica idiot's career- it would be that whatever team he leaves ends up becoming phenomenally better without him. I'm talking about Stephon Marbury.

Forget what you've heard about Kobe Bryant, Terrell Owens, or even Barry Bonds. Yeah- they're all jerks, but at least they know how to win!! Marbury on the other hand is POISON to any organization stupid enough to sign him.

And despite New York's most expensive roster, filled with the greatest underachievers ever assembled in one roof, they decided to fire perhaps the only hope they ever had for this "team"- easily one of the greatest coaches in NBA (and NCAA, and ABA) history, Coach Larry Brown.

Ridiculous. Larry Brown- the guy who took the lowliest of low Clippers to their first playoff appearance, the guy who revitalized the Philadelphia 76'ers and took them to the NBA Finals, the same guy that redeveloped young stars in the Detroit Pistons and won an NBA championship with them, FIRED?!?!?!

And I thought we had hope. Sure, Marbury may be the worst thing to happen to basketball since Kermit Washington punched Rudy Tomjanovic....

Arrgh. Have to go for now. Enough venting. :)

[RushDog]

I'm not a Knicks fan, but I feel your pain. As a Celtics fan I know what it's like to be fan of a once dominant team that has turned into a cellar-dwellar.

[Son of Simon]

But dude, the Celtics have had at least mega-dynasties before their demise. They've had Russell, and Bird, and Auerbach...

And their demise was caused by tragedy- aka Len Bias, and Reggie Lewis. These were great players well on their way to becoming superstars. The franchise was never intentionally ruined by anyone (not that we know of anyway). In New York we're just trying to figure out "what is the worst possible thing to do with this team" and then Cheketts and Zeke are coming up with even worse things.

I say we demote the Knicks to CBA status. Or let IQ-challenged former players like Shaun Kemp or Olden Polynice make the front-office decisions. I definitely believe we'd see an improvement then. I know a lot of us are "Armchair GM's", but I wager that anyone on these forums could make better decisions about the franchise at this point.

Thanks for supporting me Rushdog. Like you- I realize it would be easier to root for a different team, but New York is still my fave.

Stephon Marbury should only be sent to teams as a form of punishment. So instead of players getting suspended- they are replaced with Marbury for that number of games.

[RushDog]

I know one thing. I wouldn't hire Isiah Thomas to run anything. He hasn't been successful anywhere. He bankrupted the CBA. His roster totally sucks. He goes out and gets nothing but scorers who always want the ball, and whine when they don't get it. He gave up a draft pick for Eddie Curry, who's mediocre. If anybody should've been fired, it should've been him, not Larry. I can see Larry going to Charlotte and working for Jordan.