The Final Score

It was good to hear that the although Seattle's NBA team is moving to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season, the Sonics name won't.

It's just as well that the Utah Jazz and LA Lakers won't be joined by another team with a nickname that makes no sense:

The Jazz came from New Orleans, the home of jazz. I don't think that listening to that kind of music is even legal in Utah. The Lakers got their name from Minnesota being the land of 10,000 lakes. LA is more like the land of 10,000 tar pits.

So what will the new OKC team be called?

The two obvious choices, Sooners or Cowboys probably wouldn't go over because followers of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would refuse to cheer for any team bearing the name of their arch-rivals.

So, I'm guessing the Oklahoma Drillers, a term that both refers to the state's oil industry and basketball sharpshooting, (Drillers is also the name of Tulsa's minor league baseball team).

What do you think the Sonics name should/will be?

I apologize for laughing at anyone who ever claimed there was a conspiracy in the NBA that favored teams like the Lakers, Knicks and Bulls, although not so much the last two lately.

Nothing has been proven, but read this story in today's Newsday.

I guess it's true that you're not paranoid if people really are out to get you.

If Baumbach were here, he would have something to say about Mike Jarvis getting hired by Florida Atlantic.

Jarvis was the St. John's coach for the 17 minutes that Baumbach was Newsday's St. John's beat writer. As soon as Baumbach came aboard, there was a huge sex scandal at the school. He did a great job reporting it, and 14 seconds later he was the Yankees beat writer. After three years on that beat, he became the country's first newspaper sports Web columnist.

Some people wonder why Jim has ascended as quickly as he has at Newsday even though he looks like he's just out of college. Actually, he's closing in on the ripe old age of 30 and he's a home owner and a dog owner.

I think it has something to do with working hard. Of course, now he's pretty much mailing it in, jetting off to Italy instead of staying behind to report on Willie Randolph's job security and Mike Jarvis' first coaching job in five years.

Has Baumbach blogged once while on vacation? No. I'm pretty sure they have the Internet in Europe. The Baumbach I grew up with would have never put his leisure time ahead of his blog.

I remember a time when you could count on uninterrupted blogging from Baumbach on The Final Score. Not anymore. Why do things have to change? Never for the better. I used to cringe when I'd have to listen to whining from old-timers about how much better things were in the old days. Now I agree with them.

Anyway, Baumbach returns Thursday, I think. I'd like to do one of those ESPN countdown clocks like they do for Monday Night Football. But we don't really have the technology for that.

and the Bulls go first.

I think it would be an important sign of growth for both teams if whomever the Bulls choose doesn't wind up being traded to the Knicks before 2010.

Interesting story in the Chicago Tribune today in which Jerry Reinsdorf goes into great detail about the Bulls' dealings with Mike D'Antoni, including his meeting with D'Antoni at the coach's house Friday. "He said he didn't want to coach the Knicks," Reinsdorf said. Who knows if he's telling the truth - it's funny how these guys are always so willing to give details after the fact when they've lost - but it's still an interesting read.

If Mike D'Antoni becomes the coach of the Knicks -- wow! what a great move by Donnie Walsh.

And Donnie Walsh couldn't have made the move if he hadn't been hired by James Dolan.

And James Dolan couldn't have hired Donnie Walsh if he hadn't been sired by Charles Dolan.

Good work all around!

Our hard-working Alan Hahn reports today that Mark Jackson had a so-so interview with Donnie Walsh for the Knicks coaching job.

What does that mean exactly?

Did Jackson show up 20 minutes late and blame the "f-ing 'roids" he has to take to get started in the morning? Did he try to chest-bump Walsh instead of shaking hands? Did he answer a question with "boo-yeah!" instead of "yes"? Did he say nice things about Isiah Thomas? Did he do the helicopter and knock over Walsh's prized hummels?

Here are some actual bad interview stories from www.gradview.com:

-- Applicant stretched out on the floor to fill out the job application.
-- Applicant brought her large dog to the interview.
-- Applicant chewed bubble gum and constantly blew bubbles.
-- Applicant wore a Walkman, claiming she could listen to the interviewer and the music at the same time.
-- Balding applicant abruptly excused himself and returned to the office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece.
-- Applicant challenged the interviewer to arm wrestle.
-- Applicant announced she hadn't had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries during the interview.
-- Applicant threw up on the interviewer's desk and immediately started asking questions about the job, like nothing had happened.
-- Applicant sits down in interviewer's office, leans back, puts his feet on her desk, and proceeds to tell her why he should have her job.
-- Applicant said if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm.

Actually, that last one might work in the NBA.

The blog Hugging Harold Reynolds posted part two of its exclusive interview with Zach Feinstein, whom you might recall from such Final Score posts as Possible First Round Pick by the Knicks Speaks and Hey, Knicks, You Should Draft This Guy.

Here's Part Two of their interview. And here's Zach's site.

One of the HHR bloggers also turned me on to this site: http://gemmintten.blogspot.com/, which is essentially Fun With Old Baseball Cards.

My kind of site. I bookmarked it.

I also told the HHR blogger about how I once applied for the New Jersey Nets' head coaching job. Did I ever tell you guys that? Well, now I have. I sent a resume and a cover letter describing how I would improve their offense, defense, etc. And I even got a rejection letter in the mail. I'm sure it's somewhere in my basement.

In the same folder as my NBA Draft application, I'm sure.

The blog "Hugging Harold Reynolds" must read The Final Score, because someone from their site sent me a link to their exclusive interview with Zach Feinstein, the guy whom I predict the Knicks would have taken if Isiah Thomas was still running the show.

You remember Feinstein - I wrote about him here.

Here's the blog's interview with Feinstein, if you're interested.

Anyone else look at LeBron James' line from last night's 76-72 Game 1 loss to the Celtics and think of John Starks?

LeBron shot 2 of 18 from the field. Didn't Starks once shoot 2-for-18? And wasn't it in a big game? Anyone remember?

Talking to Lou Carnsecca is always a riot. I asked him about Mark Jackson's lack of experience, and here's how the great SJU coach responded:

“I’ll tell you, experience, you’re going to need it sooner or later. But I’ll tell you, when you have players you’ll learn the job pretty quick.”

LOL. Classic Looie.

Anyway, Carnesecca was great talking about Jackson, and he emphatically stated that Jackson will make a good coach. Here's my Web column.

Not just because they trail the Pistons, two games to none.

But also because of this. Yikes.

His name is Zachary Feinstein. He is a junior at Washington University at St. Louis. And he has applied for early entry into the NBA Draft.

Oh, one other thing: he is NOT a basketball player.

Here's his Web site.

Didn't someone try this before?

Yes, I did, thank you very much.

However, Feinstein has me beat. He's managed to get his name listed under 'unknown players' on the Web sites draftexpress.com or nbadraft.net.

Very, very impressive.

Come on, Knicks, do the right thing. Give the kid a chance! If only Isiah was still running the show... Ahh, those were the days, weren't they?

Hey, maybe I could be his agent...

Oh well...

The 66-win Celtics and the 37-win Hawks play Game 7 in less than an hour. I will laugh so hard if the Celtics lose...

And can the Knicks seriously hire supposed defensive guru Tom Thibodeau if the Celtics flame out in the first round? I was interested in whether the Knicks would seriously consider him, but if the Celtics lose then that hire suddenly would be a tough sell.

Man, the Celtics have to be so tight right now.

That's what I think.

He has NBA experience, overseas experiences, he's not afraid to try new things, employs an offense that is very fun to watch and is not afraid of dealing with reporters.

I assume he'll go to Toronto if Sam Mitchell is fired - former Suns GM Bryan Colangelo is quite familiar with D'Antoni's work. But if New York comes calling - and dangles millions - how can he turn it down?

Thoughts?

(BTW: I've read this book and liked it a lot. You should, too.)

Dallas Mavs forward Josh Howard on a local ESPN radio station on Friday:

"Most of the players in the league use marijuana and I have and do partake in smoking weed in the offseason sometimes. I mean, that's my personal choice and my personal opinion, but I don't think that's stopping me from doing my job."

I always wondered why Howard looked so relaxed on the court. And why his eyes are always so puffy.

From this Orlando Sentinel story:

Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy on Thursday questioned why the Knicks might hire an inexperienced head coach when Patrick Ewing is apparently not a candidate ... Van Gundy said he has "great respect" for Mark Jackson, but "he's never coached at all."

Stan, you're preaching to the choir -- Final Score debate, 4/18.

For some reason I always thought Michael Jordan never did much politically, to keep his MJ brand as inoffensive and attractive to every potential Nike and Gatorade buyer.

Yet I just looked him up in FEC and it appears very strongly that he gave $2,300 to Barack Obama on Feb. 23, 2007. He lists his occupation as retired, and the address he lists is an office in Washington, D.C. When I googled that address, I learned that's the office for one David Falk, Jordan's agent.

So Jordan supports Obama.

(Yes, Jordan is playing Michael Jackson in that photo. No further comment needed.)

Magic Johnson wrote a $2,300 check to Barack Obama's campaign on March 31, 2007.

Ok, now I'll take a break from the FEC.

Charles Dolan and his son, James, both gave the maximum $2,300 to Hillary Clinton. But for some reason both of their contributions are listed twice. Is it possible this is just a misprint, or is it possible the Dolans screwed up and each gave $4600 to Hillary? Would that be an illegal campaign contribution? These are questions I cannot answer right now. Perhaps I'll call someone about this.

Anyway, here's the details of the Dolan's contributions, and then I'll give the FEC Web site a break:

Papa Charles made two $2,300 contributions on March 28, 2007. (The only difference between the two receipts - which you can view online as a pdf - is that one contribution was for 'general' and the other was for 'primary.')

Son Jim made two $2,300 contributions on March 30,2007. (The only difference between these two receipts is one lists Jim's home address, and the other lists the Cablevision Bethpage headquarters address. They are both checked for primary.)

Tracy Wilson Mourning gave $2,300 to Barack Obama on March 31, 2007.

She listed her occupation as a broadcaster for NBA Entertainment.

Too bad she used a P.O. Box as her address.

I'm sure they live in some mansion that I'd like to view using Google Earth. Oh well.

Mike James, whom the Hornets acquired from the Rockets at the deadline, gave the maximum $2,300 donation to Barack Obama.

He gave $2,000 on Sept. 30, 2007, then must have realized he can give an additional $300, which he did on Dec. 31, 2007 (no doubt for tax reasons). James, by the way, is from Amityville.

How funny is it that Jason Kidd's Mavericks, who stunk ever since they traded for him, are now facing Byron Scott's Hornets in the first round?

You do remember that Kidd wasn't so chummy with Scott during their time together with the Nets?

And maybe, just maybe, Kidd had something to do with Scott's firing? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

If Scott's team wins this series - and I bet they do - then that's officially the last laugh on that riff.

After reading about the Pistons' 30-best players list event, I figured I'd try to name the 30 best Knicks. It's much harder than I thought it'd be.

You start with the retired numbers... Walt Frazier... Dick Barnett... Earl Monroe... Dick McGuire... Willis Reed... Dave DeBusschere... Bill Bradley... Patrick Ewing...

That's eight right there. Now, with 22 to go, trouble begins.

Some definites: Allan Houston... Mark Jackson... John Starks... Charles Oakley... Bernard King...

There are 17 spots left, and where do you go from here? I admit it's hard for me to judge anyone into the 1970s. Some recent candidates: Anthony Mason, Latrell Sprewell (hey, helped them make the finals), Bill Cartwright (guy was in a Knick uniform much longer than you'd think).

Help!

Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon head this year's basketball Hall of Fame class. Big deal.

I understand the importance of having Halls of Fame, to honor the best of the best. That's important. But in order to make the HOFs work, in my mind, they need to be centralized. So the HOF for baseball, basketball, football and hockey should be run by the same people, with the same set of rules for induction. The only thing that should differ are each sport's HOF location and selection committees.

Otherwise we're left with Halls of Fame that the average fan doesn't really know how one gets into it. We all know baseball writers vote for the baseball Hall of Fame. (And I have my own issues with that, which I'll save for another day.) But who votes for the basketball, football and hockey inductees? Bet you'd have to look it up. I had to.

Centralizing the process will give it more validity, as opposed to giving the different Halls the appearance of the Student of the Month award in school.

I won't be watching.
I know nothing about college basketball and don't watch it. The only tournament games I watched were the ones involving Marquette, which is my wife's alma mater and where she interviewed Dwyane Wade many times before she smartened up and left the sports writing business altogether.
Jim and I were going to debate tonight's game here, but since I had to admit I don't know which teams are playing and don't know any of the players, we took a pass.
I went to NYU. Division III athletics. And before that I went to Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, which has no sports teams at all.
There's an episode of "Seinfeld" in which Jerry and George go back to junior high to speak at an assembly and the building they show is the actual Murrow building, but the sign says "Edward R. Murrow Junior High School" -- which it wasn't.

Here's another fun Rieber fact: I never saw an episode of "Seinfield" until it went into syndication. Now I've seen them all. I'm often late to the party when it comes to culture.
So tomorrow when I wake up I'll find out who won the NCAA title game. Right after I find out who's playing.

Seeing Allan Houston has me in a basketball mindset, and I just thought, whatever happened to that Keith Van Horn comeback?

Wasn't he truly supposedly trying a good-faith effort to make a comeback with the Nets in order to justify his spot in the trade with the Dallas (as well as the free cash he got in the deal)????

Time's running out, KVH...

Allan Houston, his wife and their clan of kids were in the Yankees clubhouse this morning.

They came in about two hours before the first pitch, accompanied by a Yankee official, and they went right toward Derek Jeter's locker.

Allan was courteous, telling his kids to stay close. (There wasn't much going on. Most players hadn't arrived, and reporters were standing around.)

Suddenly, another Yankees official ran over and told them they had to leave, citing Major League Baseball rules regarding guests in the clubhouses.

Never mind that they were guests of the Captain, Derek Jeter - rules are rules.

Unless you're Isiah.

UConn guard A.J. Price is out six months with a torn ACL.

(That's according to this ESPN report.)

Keep hitting refresh as I'll be posting thoughts from the Big East Tournament.

4:58 p.m.

Final score: West Virginia 78, UConn 72.

It's been fun. See ya guys later...

4:56 p.m.

There's your poster moment -- Joe Alexander throwing down a two-handed dunk over Stanley Robinson after West Virginia broke the press by finding him down court.

Get the bus started!

4:54 p.m.

UConn had a shot to get back into it. But Price's missed free throw was their last gasp; it's not his fault, it's just that UConn lost the momentum. That, and West Virginia grabbed something like 1,734 offensive rebounds in the final three minutes. So this is all but over, with a little over a minute left the West Virginia up by eight.

Keep hitting refresh as I'll be live blogging during the afternoon session...

4:34 p.m.

Now it's official: West Virginia 58, Providence 53.

See ya later.

I'm going to go hang out with Steve Kerr.

4:32 p.m.

Providence coach Tim Welsh, looking to savor what might be the final moments of his coaching tenure at the school, just called a timeout with 1.8 seconds remaining. West Virginia leads, 58-53. This one is over.

So tomorrow's matchups are:

Villanova vs. Georgetown, noon
West Virginia vs. UConn, 2 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

Joe Alexander does just that, hitting two free throws to make it 54-50 in favor of West Virginia.

I have to admit: when I decided to go to the Big East Tournament to live blog for all my faithful readers - and, yes, the checks will be mailed by the weekend - I did not realize that the tournament had changed its scheduling. It's been a few years for me...

It used to be that the first day of the tournament was game after game after game, a fun day of basketball. Turns out, there are now two sessions, with games at 12 and 2 and then games at 7 and 9. No sense in me blogging the night games because 99 percent of you will be home by then. So I'll go to the afternoon sessions tomorrow and Thursday.

I'll be seeing Villanova vs. Syracuse and West Virginia vs. Providence tomorrow, and then Georgetown vs. Villanova/Syracuse and UConn vs. W.V./Providence Thursday.

I am really, really, really hoping I can find some interesting stuff going on at MSG off the court, but we'll see. At the very least I'll have some tasty MSG french fries.