Nady front-runner for RF, Girardi says

Monday March 23, 2009 10:49 AM By Pete Catapano

(AP Photo)

By Pete Catapano

There probably wasn't all that much doubt going into the season that Xavier Nady would take over the starting job, vacated by Bobby Abreu, over Nick Swisher.

But today, Yanks manager Joe Girardi has pretty much confirmed it.

"If we were to break today, Nady would be my right fielder," Girardi said told MLB.com.

So far this preseason, Nady is hitting .244 with one homer and five RBIs in 41 at bats. Swisher, meanwhle, is hiitting .265 with no homers and eight RBIs in 34 at-bats.

Column: The Sacramento Kings of Nowhere

Thursday March 19, 2009 4:28 PM By Max J. Dickstein

Rashad McCants joined the transient Kings' roster on Feb. 19 (Photo by Getty)

By Max J. Dickstein

A Knicks season is headed for another  early end. This mediocre edition is three games out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot with a 28-39 record and 15 games remaining.

To which Friday night’s Madison Square Garden guests, the Kings, might say, “It could be worse.”

At an NBA-low 14-54, Sacramento at this writing is 27 games out of the playoffs and, incredibly, has just two more shots at winning its first game against a team from the Eastern Conference.

From its farcical interim coach, Kenny Natt, to its piecemeal roster, decimated by cap-saving transactions without regard to competitiveness, this team is nothing more than an odds-on favorite to select Blake Griffin of Oklahoma with the No. 1 overall draft pick in June.

It wasn’t always this bad in Sacramento. In fact, it never has been.

In 1985, when the Kings moved from Kansas City to my hometown, the team was an NBA mediocrity — engaging but uncompetitive, never winning fewer than 23 games. Then, in an abrupt heyday from 1999-2006, they were title contenders who nearly beat the L.A. Lakers in Game 7 the 2002 Western Conference Finals.

But Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, coach Rick Adelman and the eight straight playoff appearances area fading memory now, survived by a crumbling Arco Arena and a justifiably cynical fan base.

Once endearing, once mighty, the Kings have fallen.

Knicks, nod your heads: It could be worse.

LEAST IN THE EAST

Sacramento (14-15), which visits the Garden to play the Knicks (28-39) on Friday, has tied the dubious mark for NBA inter-conference futility this season with two more games to play against the East. Here are the worst inter-conference tallies in NBA history:

• Sacramento Kings, 2008-09, 0-28 vs. East

• L.A. Clippers, 1986-87, 1-21 vs. East

• Denver Nuggets, 1996-97, 2-28 vs. East

• Chicago Bulls, 2000-01, 2-26 vs. West

• L.A. Clippers, 1981-82, 2-20 vs. East

(Source: Elias Sports Bureau)

Sam Amick of the The Sacramento Bee maintains a lively blog on the ups and (mostly) downs of the 2008-09 Kings.

NCAA Preview: Eight to watch

Wednesday March 18, 2009 4:40 PM By Max J. Dickstein

Jonny Flynn is the sort of game-changing player whose leadership can determine a team’s fortunes. (Getty Images)

By Ravi Shankar

Special to amNewYork

Individual performers have often carried teams deep into March Madness. Here are eight players you’ll want to keep a close eye on over the next three weeks.

Blake Griffin

6-foot-10 power forward, Oklahoma, sophomore

The favorite to win the Naismith Award for the nation’s best player, Griffin dominates with 21.9 ppg (on 63.5 percent shooting) and 14.3 rpg. Few teams on Oklahoma’s NCAA tournament road have the inside presence to stop this year’s likely No. 1 overall NBA draft pick.

Jonny Flynn

6-foot point guard, Syracuse, sophomore

Named the Big East tournament’s MVP, Flynn enjoyed a national coming-out party. Despite averaging 45.3 minutes over four consuming days last week, there is little reason to doubt Flynn’s determination to keep ’Cuse on its roll.

Ty Lawson

5-foot-11 point guard, North Carolina, junior

The ACC Player of the Year shoots well for his size (53.8 percent shooting overall, 46.7 percent on 3-pointers) while also distributing to his fellow Tar Heels (6.5 apg). Whether Lawson can overcome a chronic toe injury to play in the first round is what UNC fans will be watching for against Radford today.Hasheem Thabeet

7-foot-3 center, Connecticut, junior

The two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year inhales 3.7 offensive rebounds per game, and he blocks another 4.6 shots per game, many into the hands of his teammates. That and his 64.3 percent shooting make him a contributor to UConn’s offense as well.

DeJuan Blair

6-foot-7 forward, Pittsburgh, sophomore

Sharing Big East Player of the Year honors with Thabeet, the physical forward made a name for himself with a 22-point, 23-rebound breakout at then-No. 1 ranked UConn. But Blair’s recent complaints about officiating won’t help his cause with NCAA tournament referees.

Tyreke Evans

6-foot-6 guard, Memphis, freshman

Tall and muscular, this likely NCAA Freshman of the Year electrified Conference USA with 16.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 3.8 apg. Will he follow in alumnus Derrick Rose’s footsteps by leading his Tigers to the NCAA Championship in his first year?

Isaiah Thomas

5-foot-8 point guard, Washington, freshman

Though much smaller than his legendary NBA namesake, Isiah Thomas, Isaiah led his team to an unexpected Pac-10 regular-season championship as a freshman. His stature and style may remind some of fellow Huskies alumnus Nate Robinson, the Knick who offered Isaiah his best wishes this week.

Eric Maynor

6-foot-3 guard, Virginia Commonwealth, senior

VCU’s all-time leading scorer and assister, Maynor also bears watching simply because his 22 points and game-winning shot helped bounce Duke from the 2007 NCAA tournament. Duke and Maynor’s Rams could have a rematch in the Sweet 16 this year.

The Equalizer: Drew brings the new; Carey’s MLS innovation is welcome

Wednesday March 18, 2009 4:30 PM By Max J. Dickstein

“Price Is Right” host Drew Carey’s plan will allow Seattle fans to oust team brass. (Getty Images)

By Andrew Keh

Special to amNew York

If fans had their say, could Isiah Thomas have lasted as long as he has as an employee of the Knicks?

What about Matt Millen, who from 2001 to 2008 turned the Detroit Lions into the laughingstock of the NFL?

These are the questions Drew Carey asked himself before becoming a minority owner of Major League Soccer’s new franchise, Seattle Sounders FC. Since an unorthodox proposal by the “Price Is Right” host prevailed among the club’s owners, the Sounders’ fans won’t have to ask themselves those questions.

Carey stopped by MLS headquarters in Manhattan this week and explained to a small group of reporters the Sounders’ plan to give their season-ticket holders the unprecedented power to remove an underperforming general manager by popular vote.

Carey got the idea, he said, after a trip to Spain, where he saw teams such as FC Barcelona using a similar system. Fans will also have the opportunity to send representatives to quarterly face-to-face meetings with the owners.One reporter asked Carey if he was worried that the fans’ power could get out of hand.

“They actually dialed it back from what I wanted,” he said of the current plan to allow the fans to vote every four years or any year in which 20 percent of them deem it necessary. “I wanted a free-for-all.”

This sort of sensibility is in striking contrast to that of Clay Bennett, who ignored the pained cries of Supersonics fans and moved Seattle’s NBA franchise to Oklahoma City.

The Sounders’ owners and MLS, meanwhile, are handing the city a new franchise on a silver platter, and its denizens are responding.

The club has sold more than 20,000 season tickets so far. They also are expanding the planned capacity at Qwest Field to more than 30,000 for their opener tonight against the Red Bulls to accommodate the demand.

The response has been overwhelming, but not surprising. In an era in which fans boycott sections of Camden Yards and protest outside Madison Square Garden, is it any wonder that people have embraced a team that welcomes their input and influence?

Carey and his co-owners should be commended for understanding what so many clueless owners don’t get: Local fans, no matter what, will always be the lifeblood of any successful team.

NCAA Preview: Rugged Big East soars atop tourney

Tuesday March 17, 2009 4:17 PM By Max J. Dickstein

Louisville’s point forward Terrence Williams leads the NCAA tournament’s top-seeded team. (Getty Images)

By Max J. Dickstein

Banner years do not customarily come in the form of 30th birthdays, but that’s been the case for the Big East, founded in 1979 and decorated more than ever in 2009.

With a record three No. 1 NCAA tournament seeds, including top-ranked Louisville, the Big East dominated selection.

The prime positioning gives the conference new reason to hope that the Cardinals, or fellow No. 1 seeds Connecticut and Pittsburgh, can claim the Big East’s first NCAA title since UConn’s victory in 2004.

The best and the rest

Athletic directors from Providence, St. John’s, Georgetown and Syracuse formed the conference on May 31, 1979. Today, the league’s 16 markets contain nearly one-fourth of all television households in the U.S.

The inclusion of so many big-money programs, however, may elevate the best teams and keep the worst of them down.

“It’s got this hard core at the very bottom that is just way, way below the rest of the conference,” said John Gasaway, co-author of “College Basketball Prospectus.” “They’ve got teams like Rutgers and DePaul that are on literally almost a different planet.”

It is heartening, however, Gasaway said, that the top Big East basketball schools aren’t necessarily those eight that have football programs.

“Villanova disproves that beautifully,” he said.

Regular-season grind

St. John’s coach Norm Roberts recalled some of the more brutal stretches of the Red Storm’s (16-17, 6-12 Big East) past season, including an early January slate of top-25-ranked Notre Dame, Pitt, UConn and Villanova.

“It’s a matter of how you survive that situation,” said Roberts, who went 1-3 in those games and finished 12th in the league. “In most leagues you wouldn’t have that, but everybody in our league at some point in time had to go through that.”

Indeed, a conference whose seven NCAA-bid teams have an average seed of No. 3 landed three more teams in the NIT and another — St. John’s — in the College Basketball Invitational, where the Red Storm plays Richmond in the first round Wednesday.

“I think it’s one of the best years the Big East has ever had,” said Roberts, reached by telephone Tuesday. “There was a lot of kids that were very good players last year that a lot of people thought may put their name in the draft and leave. That did not happen in our league.

“In our league, the teams that did the best were the most experienced teams,” he added.

As hard as life is in the conference’s competitive cauldron, Roberts said he prefers this environment for his rebuilding program.

“We’re one of the founding fathers of this league,” he said. “No matter what, when you’re in this business you want to play against the best.”

NCAA Preview: Three cinderella possibilities

Tuesday March 17, 2009 11:46 AM By Max J. Dickstein

By Ravi Shankar

Special to amNewYork

Davidson. Wichita State. George Mason.

For some March Madness fans, the Cinderella stories are more memorable than the champions themselves.

Underestimate these three low-seeded teams at your own peril.

(12) Northern Iowa Panthers (23-10, 14-4)

Could Upset Because: Big lineup, solid road record in underrated conference

The competitive Missouri Valley Conference has a history of March surprises, producing three Sweet 16 teams since 2006. Northern Iowa won “Arch Madness”, the conference’s St. Louis tournament. The Panthers also shared the MVC’s regular-season title with Creighton with the help of an 11-game win streak in January. And in a conference known for raucous, sellout home crowds, Northern Iowa went 8-1 on the road. A 60-57 overtime win over Illinois State gave UNI the conference tournament title.

The Panthers are more than mid-major in size. Forward Adam Koch, 6-foot-8, and 7-foot-1 center Jordan Eglseder combine for 22 ppg. point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe often slashes and dishes to them. Shooting guard Ali Farokhmanesch chips in two 3-pointers made per game; forward Lucas O’Rear won the conference’s Sixth Man Award.

Early-round road: vs. (5) Purdue; vs. (4) Washington/ (13) Mississippi St.

For UNI to beat defensive-minded Purdue, Ahelegbe must exploit his five-inch height advantage over Boilermakers point guard Lewis Jackson. Potential second-round opponent Washington poses a tougher threat with its transition offense, but can be beaten by a tempo-controlling defense.

(13) Cleveland State Vikings (25-10, 12-6)

Could Upset Because: Experienced core, tested against top-25 teams

The Vikings halted Butler’s recent dominance of the Horizon league by stunning the Bulldogs in a conference championship final held on Butler’s home floor in Indianapolis. This is Cleveland State’s first NCAA berth since 1986 when, incidentally, the 14th-seeded Vikings upset No. 3 and No. 6 seeds en route to the Sweet 16. Building off of last year’s 21-13 NIT-invited result, Cleveland State played a relatively strong non-conference schedule for a lesser-known, minor conference school: at Washington, West Virginia and Syracuse, whom the Vikings defeated 72-69 on senior point guard Cedric Jackson’s buzzer beating 60-foot heave on Dec. 15.

The multi-faceted Jackson (10.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.4 apg and 3.0 spg) pairs with small forward J’Nathan Bullock (team-leading 15.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg), giving the Vikings strong senior leadership. In the Horizon final against Butler, Jackson had 19 points (including 4-of-8 on 3-pointers), 7 rebounds and 8 assists, and was named conference tournament MVP. What’s more, Cinderella stories are nothing new to third-year coach Gary Waters, who coached Kent State to a first round upset victory as a No. 13 seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

Early-round road: vs. (4) Wake Forest; vs. (5) Utah/ (12) Arizona

Bigger, faster Wake Forest is less experienced and more careless with the ball (15.8 turnovers per game), giving Cedric Jackson, the nation’s No. 2 thief (3.0 steals per game), a chance to capitalize. Second-round possibilities include Utah — another turnover-prone team with a strong inside game — or Arizona (19-13), whose star-studded lineup can’t seem to consistently win.

(7) California Golden Bears (22-10, 11-7)

Could Upset Because: Strength of schedule, wins against top-25 teams

It’s rare that the Pac-10’s third-place team can be considered a sleeper, but Cal really isn’t getting the attention it deserves. Even Pac-10 regular-season champion Washington earned only a No. 4 seed. Washington, UCLA and Arizona State commanded most of the attention in the conference this year, but Cal quietly finished tied for third with ASU. Those same Sun Devils blew out the visiting Golden Bears to end the regular season, and Berkeley didn’t help its cause with a lackluster quarterfinal against USC in the conference tournament. Still, Cal won seven games against eventual NCAA tournament teams selected.

Cal’s backcourt features two All-Pac-10 first teamers, point guard Jerome Randle and shooting guard Patrick Christopher. The speedy, 5-foot-10 Randle was the conference’s third-highest scorer this season with 18.4 ppg. The Golden Bears led the conference in 3-point percentage (.434) and were second in free throw percentage (.756) — statistics that are hallmarks of Cinderellas from years past.

Early-round road: vs. (10) Maryland; vs. (2) Memphis/(15) Cal St. Northridge

Cal is active enough on the boards to exploit Maryland’s poor rebounding ability, but it will need to shut down the Terps’ small forward Greivis Vasquez to advance. Beating likely second-round opponent Memphis will require both Cal guards to clamp down on Tigers’ big, athletic point guard, Tyreke Evans.