Some thoughts from in and around Madison Square Garden for the Knicks' home opener on Friday night:
Larry Johnson. OK, so it was his Knicks jersey on a young fan seated six rows behind the hoop, but still. It was a Larry Johnson jersey. He wins my "Throwback Jersey of the Night" award.
The first gripe. Stephon Marbury turned the ball over on the Knicks' first possession of the game. A fan in Section 68 was not too happy.
Giants fan Brown. Ten minutes before tipoff and this season-ticket holder of three years is about to enter the Queens Midtown Tunnel. That's poor planning on his part. Stick to football, Brown.
"Ed Tapscott, rot in hell." Giants fan Brown finally made it to the game midway through the first quarter. At halftime, he was still lamenting the Knicks' non-drafting of Ron Artest. "You can quote me on that," Brown added. Well, it appears I just did. Stick to football, Brown.
Hieroglyphics. That's what the NBA scout seated to my right was drawing on his pages. Oh, sure, he may be able to decipher them and call it an elaborate system of play diagramming. But, don't be fooled. Only Cleopatra could figure that stuff out.
Cotton candy. The vendor peddling such sugary sweets to the fans behind the hoop kept interfering with the view of the NBA scout. "This is New York, pal," I said to the scout. "He doesn't care about you."
The City Dancers. Crazy hot! And I went to junior high with one of them. Nice!
The City Kids. Crazy cool! Any team can trot out a crew of hot-bodied honeys in small, skin-tight clothing and make them gyrate. But how many NBA cities can roll out a dance team of kids to break it down on the Garden floor?
Donald Trump. He had his spot on Celebrity Row at The Garden. Got a nice ovation from the crowd, too. Then the camera zoomed out and showed his wife, Melania. Got a great ovation from the crowd.
Celebrity Row. A rather poor showing for the home opener in my opinion. Joining Trump was Howard Stern and Chris Rock, both genuine stars and worthy of some attention. But Matthew Modine was also on the list handed out before the game. Has he done anything since "Vision Quest"? Just wondering. Michelle Williams was also on the list. You may know her as the third person to be the third singer in Destiny's Child.
Mariano Rivera. He gave Celebrity Row its true juice. And the crowd let him know it. Someone from a Washington newspaper asked me who it was. I said it was Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The reporter acknowledged knowing who Rivera was but not recognizing him. Then, I added, "That's Mo. He's kind of like our answer to Chad Cordero."
Quentin Richardson. The final boxscore says he went 4-for-14 from the field. I beg to differ. The 4 seems a bit generous.
Steph & Jamal. There is potential there for an energetic backcourt.
Little man Nate. He's not as short as you think. He's not as tall as he thinks.