Media giving Mark Jackson free pass

Updated Sunday, April 27th 2008, 8:30 AM

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Mark Jackson

If it were anyone else other than Mark = Jackson, another=20 guy with no coaching experience, would there be more media scrutiny - = and more=20 questions asked - concerning his qualifications to lead the = Knickerbockers out=20 of the toilet?

You bet there would. Anyone other than someone suddenly so beloved by = the=20 media would be put under the high-powered microscope. There would also = be more=20 questions - and criticism - of what's being portrayed as Donnie Walsh = only=20 having eyes for Jax, just as James (Guitar Jimmy) Dolan only had eyes = for Mr.=20 Walsh.

Most of the "analysis" of Walsh's "pursuit" of Jackson has been = confined to=20 how long it will take to get him to sign a contract. Then, after = reporting on=20 Jackson's long relationship with Walsh, most of the commentary = concerning=20 Jackson's future as an NBA=20 coach is a history lesson about former NBA players who got coaching jobs = and=20 enjoyed success even without coaching experience.

Yet some voices have actually wondered what makes Jackson qualified = to coach=20 the Knicks. = Ch. 9's Russ = Salzberg raised=20 the question on one of his 'casts last week. He described Jax as the = "sexy"=20 choice. "And if new Knicks team president Donnie Walsh is going to fix = the=20 Knicks, his first big move can't be the sexy one. It has to be the right = one,"=20 Salzberg said. "And right isn't always popular."

Jackson's popularity with the media has led to mostly fawning = coverage. It=20 has left no room to reminisce about his helicopter days and rabbit ears. = As a=20 young man, Jackson did have a rather unique attitude. In 1989, after the = Knicks=20 lost the first game in a playoff series with Chicago, Jackson = said=20 Knicks fans were "just like rats. They're the first ones to jump off the = ship=20 when it's sinking."

That's just one of several lines Jackson might want to have back. = That's also=20 ancient history. Most of that stuff (remember his Philly broom thing?) = has been=20 erased from inquiring minds. There's a reason.

The power of television.

This is why media, and fans, are comfortable with the idea of Jackson = becoming the Knicks' coach.

For the past few years Jackson has been out there. Whether it was on = YES'=20 Nets telecasts, or ESPN/ABC NBA = broadcasts,=20 Jackson didn't just talk basketball, he brought himself into your living = room a=20 few nights each week. Working on YES with Marv Albert, = Jackson's=20 engaging personality - not just his basketball head - came to the = fore.

If Jackson did not have the huge TV platform, if he had been out of = sight -=20 and mind - spending his post-playing days working as a Wall Street = analyst, he=20 would be in no position to get the Knicks' coaching gig.

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Mark=20 Jackson
National=20 Basketball Association
NBA = Atlantic Division
New York=20 Knicks
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DUDE OF THE WEEK: MARVIN = LEWIS

For saying Chad Johnson should keep his word and sit out the season. = The=20 Bengals' loudmouth has been posturing for a trade since the end of last = season=20 and now, despite signing a long-term contract two years ago, has = threatened to=20 withhold his services if he's not moved. Lewis, who sits atop a=20 behavior-challenged ballclub, could've ignored all this. Instead, he = told=20 Johnson "go ahead." Time will tell if Lewis is bluffing. For now, he = comes off=20 as a guy who's had enough of a jughead playing by his own rules.

DWEEB OF THE WEEK: PATRICK = MCCASKEY

Here's another boss who believes flattery can be deposited in a bank = account.=20 Why else would the Bears' co-owner serenade Brian Urlacher, the face of = the=20 franchise, with his own version of "Edelweiss" ("Ur-lach-er, Ur-lacher, = we hope=20 you play for-ev-er")? Singing to Urlacher, who was picking up the Brian = Piccolo=20 Award, is a lot cheaper than paying him. Urlacher ain't exactly thrilled = over=20 McCaskey and GM Jerry Angelo, offering a one-year extension worth $5 = million up=20 front. In spinning this to Windy City scribes, Angelo said despite = Urlacher's=20 stature, he should not be treated any differently than his teammates. Is = McCaskey going to croon to them, too?

DOUBLE TALK

What Brian Cashman said: "I think Hank and = everybody, we're=20 all on the same page (with the Joba Chamberlain situation). These are = things we=20 discuss internally all the time and we'll continue to do so, it's as = simple as=20 that."

What Brian Cashman meant to say: "It was one thing = when=20 George bullied me, but Hankenstein? No way. No idiot is pushing me=20 around."

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