Is this finally the Knicks year?
This morning El Duque asked what is the single most
important question in NY sports.
Not, "Will the Giants fire Joe Schoen?
Not, "Why didn't they fire Shane Bowen too?"
Seriously, how did they not fire Shane Bowen?
Not, "Why can't the Rangers win at home?"
Or even, "Why didn't the Giants fire Shane
Bowen?"
OK I know I said that already, but how does a Defensive
Coordinator whose defense has three epic collapses, historical collapses, in
three weeks, keep his job?
But I digress...
He asks "Can they (the Knicks) catch the Yankees?" and win The 2025 Tabloids Back Cover Race.
This could be the Knicks year.
While winning their first NBA Championship since most of us
were in short pants would be good, there’s a lot of road between here and
there. So, for the time being, let’s focus on an equally remarkable yet
achievable goal.
Winning The 2025 Tabloids Back Cover Race I’m guessing for
the first time ever.
(Well, since this blog started tracking it. It's quite
possible that the Knicks won between 1969-73 when the Yankees sucked and the
Knicks owned the town or maybe the Mets took it but I don't have an intern to
task with finding it out, so we'll never know.)
Currently the Knicks trail the Yankees 172.5 to 158.5
Fourteen covers back with seven weeks and ninety-eight
covers available.
You would think it would be a cakewalk but it’s actually
going to be very close.
Here’s the breakdown…
Monday back covers are pretty much guaranteed to be
football. This takes 14 covers off the table.
84 Remaining.
The Giants have named their head coach for now but as
today’s NY Post shows, there are going to still be the random “Bill Belichick?
No. Lane Kiffin? No. Fill in the Blank? No. Basically the print
equivalent of click bait.
Figure at least four of the these per paper. So eight more
covers. Let's give the Jets a couple of these too. You never know.
Down to 74.
Unless a NY Ranger, New York Islander dies, or is
arrested for stabbing a Door Dash guy or is found cheating, either in a
gambling scandal or for managing to nail Jordan Hudson during halftime of a
North Carolina football game while Bill is otherwise occupied… no back covers
for them. Same with The Nets.
OK, maybe two per paper. Let’s give the NY Post another one
given their love of the salacious.
69.
Toss in a Saint Johns Big East Tourney and a couple of Met
Free Agent signings, some unforeseen big name scandal, or other general sports
headline worthy event and we’re down to 61.
The Knicks need to make up 14 back covers with 61 remaining.
Can they pull it off?
The Knicks should always get the back cover after a game and
there are 20 games between now and the end of the year. (Actually 21 but the
game on Dec 31st will be in the first paper of the new year.)
There’s 40 right there.
Putting the Knicks up 26 with only 21 covers remaining.
More than enough to win it going away, except…
The Yankees aren’t going to go down without a fight.
They need to come up with twenty-six (26) back pages,
between now and the end of the year to retain the title. So they are going
to have to time the announcements of their biggest deals to come on days after
the Knicks play a game and knock them off the back pages.
If they can do this just four times they will only need
twenty-two to retain the title.
Bellinger on the verge of either signing with them or
elsewhere gets them two. (2)
Bellinger signs with them or doesn’t. (4)
Losing out on a major Free Agent target gets them two. (6)
Winter meetings shenanigans gets them two. (8)
A big trade get’s them two. (10)
The inevitable free agent pitcher signing get’s them two.
(12)
Former Yankee found with underage girl in the Dominican
Republic or its equivalent, two. (14)
Current Yankee deported by ICE, two. The New York Post
approves! (16)
Michael Kay divorces wife marries Meredith Marakovits. Complete with honeymoon pics from Bali. I know that's not going to happen but try unseeing that!
Anyway, there will be some other Yankee related thing. Two. (18)
Still short. They need four more back pages.
Of course if Hal cared about winning this thing he would
fire Boone or Brian and take it going away but we all know how he feels about
going the extra mile to win. So, no.
Sadly, the Yankees might need Joe Torre to pass away to
retain the title. A final gift to the franchise. Two back covers on the news.
Two more on the funeral for the win.
If Joe hangs on, it looks like the Knicks! Oh and, fire Shane Bowen. C'mon this is just nuts.
Posts
6 comments:
Knicks turned a 29-point laugher into a near-nailbiter last night. I like the more generous use of the bench, but I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this fast-forward offense that heaves up 55 (!) threes and views the cure for defense as, well, more offense. They can't score 130 points every night!
It's certainly different than what were used to. In some ways I think they're going with a hockey concept. Guys on a line giving 100% when they're out there and then hitting the bench to recharge. It's interesting anyway. Better than watching Brunson hold the ball.
You can see that there's no standing around knowing the ball won't come to you which was the problem with integrating Bridges last year. He needs to be in flow and now he is. They all are. Lots of passing and everyone getting opportunities to score on virtually every possession.
I also like Hart off the bench.
I guess we will see how it plays out but in theory they should be fresher at the end of the year and through the playoffs. Tibs just wore them down to nothing.
I don't disagree with it, and I sort of enjoy it, but I'm still trying to adjust to it, as are the Knicks, I guess!
I didn’t/couldn’t watch the game but assumed the 4th quarter was basically garbage time. The offense is humming but as noted here, they need to tighten up the defense, especially at the arc (they were bad at that last tear, too).
From The Athletic: The New York Yankees fired longtime international scouting director Donny Rowland earlier this offseason, three major-league sources confirmed to The Athletic. The sources, who were granted anonymity in order to speak freely, each pointed to the franchise’s recent poor track record of turning big-money signings into impact major leaguers as a likely major contributing factor in the dismissal.
So … progress?
An excellent analysis. I believe that - somehow - Anthony Volpe will clinch the back page title for the Yankees. But it won't be a cover the Yankees enjoy.
Post a Comment