Knicks-Must Watch Television-Thanks To Lin

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I am reminded of my high school years, 1966-1970, when the New York Knicks were the team to watch with the likes of Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley and Willis Reed, one of the great NBA teams of all time.  Again, the Knicks are the team to watch thanks to the play of sensation, Jeremy Lin.  Yesterday, Lin did not disappoint leading the Knicks to a come from behind victory over the World Champs, Dallas Mavericks, leading the way with 28 points and a career high 14 assists. 

Lin(sanity) has taken on a life of its own of late as the Knicks have gone from one of the NBA's poor performing teams to a team that reached .500 yesterday with their victory over the Mavs.  Jeremy Lin has taken the spotlight from Tim Tebow as the one player who all of America is following.  Endorsement deals are coming his way, jersey sales are way up and if his superior performance continues, the Knicks just may compete for the championship.

Waived by both the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, Lin was only days away from being released by the Knicks after playing only 55 minutes in the Knicks first 23 games.  The Harvard graduate had his breakout game in a win over the Nets scoring 25 points, capturing 5 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists.  The rest is Lin(sanity) as they say.  If it turns out that Lin and injured Carmelo Anthony are able to work together on the court, the Knicks will definitely be a team to watch for come playoff time. 

The bigger story with Lin is the hunger across America for the great sports story.  The NFL season captured everyone's attention with the emergence of Tim Tebow and his on the field heroics week in and week out.  The American sports fan loves the underdog and is engaged day in and day out on sports radio, television, online and in the newspapers.  Tebow and the Broncos won a playoff game and kept the dream alive.  Once the NFL season ended, no one expected another story of such magnitude. 

The NBA coming off the labor problems, the shortened and almost aborted season, needed an exciting and vibrant story and they have it in Jeremy Lin.  So does America.  These fascinating sports stories capture our imagination at a time when we need them to.  Unemployment, difficult times and the upcoming election all can be shoved aside while we watch the magic of an improbable and wonderful story unfold before us at Madison Square Garden and arenas across the nation in the likes of Jeremy Lin. 

Like everyone else, I am delighted with Lin's story and the emergence of the Knicks as a solid NBA team.  Let's hope that the story continues and that Lin's performance is everything we could dream for.    

Tiger Time-It's Coming-Very Soon!

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Last weekend gave us all a glance of what we have been missing on the PGA Tour,  Tiger Woods in contention.  It also gave us more of the same with Tiger's game coming apart at the seams .  Tiger never really showed up on Sunday to compete with Phil Mickelson, who played brilliantly in winning the Pebble Beach Open. 

The weekend was filled with Tiger moments though and clearly it looks like Tiger is on the verge of breaking free from his prolonged drought of being a serious contender on Sunday.  For those who tuned in, they saw Tiger playing terrific off the tee and solid with his iron play.  His overall putting was pretty good until Sunday's round when he just couldn't drop anything. 

Seeing Mickelson and Woods paired together on a Sunday was something that all of the golf world has been hoping for since Tiger's wheels came off.  The two of them are fun to watch and generally bring out the best in each other's games. 

Tiger's play over the weekend and actually his play thus far this year has been a dramatic improvement over what we have been seeing for quite some time now.  The swing looks pretty solid.  He's crunching the ball like we remember.  You have to think that where his game is, it's really only a matter of time before the confidence kicks in.

A confident Tiger will win.  He looked surprisingly comfortable over the weekend until Sunday when he stopped making putts.  He started out rough on Sunday and after a half dozen holes, it was obvious that  he would fall short.  However, his game is coming together in such a fashion that it puts him in a rather good position with the Masters only six weeks away.  He will have a few tournaments to play between now and then and plenty of time to build his confidence level.    

Out on a limb and certainly not one that does very well predicting anything; I do believe that Tiger Woods will return to Augusta this year and win the "Green Jacket".  I know the course has changed but Woods knows it as well as anyone and everyone knows how competitive he is when it comes time to play the majors.  I believe the 2012 Masters will be the second coming of Tiger Wood's quest to overtake The Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus.     

Peyton Manning - The Sweepstakes

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By most accounts, Peyton Manning will not be wearing the white and blue of the Indianapolis Colts for the 2012 season.  All that remains is the meeting to decide his fate in Indianapolis with owner, Robert Irsay.  In the meantime, Manning is fast at it working his arm and body showing all to see that he will be capable of performing on the field for the 2012 season. Anyone who has watched the career of Peyton Manning knows, it would be foolish to count him out and think that his playing days are over. 

No question it will be hard for Indianapolis to say goodbye to Peyton Manning.  He is loved in Indianapolis.  He will not retire with the Colts unless Irsay chooses to rebuild around him.  Chances of that are remote.  Most likely, the Colts will use their number one overall draft choice to take Andrew Luck of Stanford and Manning will be released.  Here's where the fun begins for all fans of the NFL.

When was there ever a free agent the likes of Peyton Manning available?  Never!  Manning was voted four times the Most Valuable Player of the National Football League.  Manning is a consistent winner.  The best argument for what Manning brings to the field is this past year when the Colts failed miserably without him.  Let the sweepstakes begin.  Who's in line to change their destiny, winning ways and formula for success. 

Few teams in the NFL should be excluded from the Manning sweepstakes.  Unless you have a comparable quarterback, Manning could turn your franchise around in just one year.  Of course, Manning is the one who gets to choose so one has to give consideration to where he would like to play.  That will exclude many teams right away.  Manning will want an effective offensive line.  Manning will want some skilled offensive weapons.  Manning is accustomed to running the offense his way and will want to play for a team that largely will turn over the offense to him.  Given those parameters, the search for the winner of the Manning sweepstakes narrows.

Review of NFL franchises, it would seem to me that the sweepstakes comes down to four teams.  The four include the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins and the Arizona Cardinals.  All four teams need a quarterback and all four teams would immediately challenge for the Super Bowl with the addition of Peyton Manning.  Even though Seattle meets most of the parameters, it is unlikely that Manning would want to play that far away from what has been his home.  That takes us to three competitors for his services, the Redskins, Dolphins and the Cardinals. 

All three teams have the money to add Manning to their roster.  All three have good offensive lines and skill players.  All three teams would benefit from Manning's on and off the field leadership.  In the end, the sweepstakes will come down to where Peyton Manning feels he has the best chance to win a Super Bowl.  My guess is that he has poured over film, reviewed team rosters and talked to others about coaches.  My guess is that money will play only a minor role in his decision.  No question, winning will be the primary goal. 

My best guess is the Washington Redskins.  It would create quite the buzz.  Then again, the team that I haven't mentioned, the New York Jets could enter the sweepstakes too.  Two Super Bowl Manning quarterbacks playing in the same city.  I really don't think that will happen because of the Jets personality.  Doesn't really fit the likes of Peyton Manning.  No, I think Washington wins the sweepstakes and Manning will be playing in our nation's capital for 2012. 

If Peyton plays in 2012, in my mind, there is no doubt that he will not only be the Comeback Player of the Year but more than likely, vie for his fifth Most Valuable Player award.  No matter what, the next few weeks will be exciting as the sweepstakes unfold.