The Triple Heat Get Knicked

The Knicks lost their first game with Carmelo Anthony on Friday against the LeBronless Cavs. Today, they faced LeBron James and the Heat in Miami. It didn't seem like the Knicks could actually win the game considering they were down 15 at one point. The Knicks fought back, however, and stuck around long enough for Chauncey Billups to get them the lead scoring a 3 pointer with just over a minute left. LeBron would be denied a layup by Amare Stoudemire and latter LeBron would miss the game tying 3 pointer with seconds left. Knicks pull off the upset, 91-86.

Carmelo had another good game scoring 29 points and getting 9 rebounds in the win. LeBron had 27 points and 7 rebounds, while Chris Bosh had 20 and Dwayne Wade was left with only 12. Billups and Stoudemire had 16 points apiece.

Perhaps the Knicks can win in the postseason. True, the Heat are a bit undersized but they are still a team to respect. I would be more interested to see what they can do against the Celtics. They have two more games against them with the first coming up on March 21.

Jeff Gordon's 66 Race Losing Streak Ends

I remember the days when Jeff Gordon was hailed as the best driver in NASCAR. He won 4 Winston cups and 3 Daytona 500's. However, Gordon's stock or image has dipped considerably in the last few years. A lot has to do with Jimmie Johnson winning 5 Sprint Cups in a row but it also has to do with bad luck befalling Jeff Gordon. His last win was at the Texas Motor Speedway when he won the Samsung 500 back in April of 2009. Since then, he has failed to win 66 races in a row. However, the monkey would finally be lifted from Gordon.

A week after the Daytona 500, the Sprint Cup Series went to the Phoenix International Raceway and had the Subway Fresh Fit 500 (WTF!!!). At the end of it, Jeff Gordon managed to edge out Kyle Busch and hold the lead for the victory at Phoenix. His losing streak is over and it's his first win in nearly two years (83rd win all time). Good for Jeff Gordon to finally get another win. Though still early in the season, this has to be a big morale boost for Gordon and his crew.

P.S. Trevor Bayne did not finish the race as he crashed getting 40th place.

Knicks Fall to the Cavs and Deron Williams' Nets Debut

Most of New York went ecstatic when Melo played and got a win in his debut at MSG. The cheers may have stopped for now. The Knicks went into Cleveland and got beat by the Cavs, 115-109. Despite Melo getting 27 points, Stoudemire with 31 and Billups with 26, they still lost. Antawn Jamison of the Cavs had 28 points while J.J. Hickson had 24 and Ramon Sessions had 22. Proof that the Knicks are not yet a top NBA team. Mike D'Antoni still has a problem with defense and always will. Replace him.

Meanwhile, Deron Williams made his Nets debut as the team went to San Antonio and took on the Spurs. Williams had 14 points and 12 assists in the losing effort as the Nets lost to the Spurs, 106-96. Manu Ginobili was the top player for the Spurs getting 26 points. Not a surprise that the Nets lost as getting Williams was something meant for the long term, provided that Williams wants to stay there. Nothing the Nets can accomplish this season can convince Williams to sign an extension, anyway. To do that, they need to get some good players this off season.

P.S. SERIOUSLY, REPLACE MIKE D'ANTONI!!!

Melo's Knicks Debut

Carmelo Anthony was just traded to the Knicks a couple days ago and already he's making his Knicks debut and in Madison Square Garden no less. How did Melo fair playing his first game for his home city? He scored 27 points and got 10 rebounds in the win over the Bucks, 114-108. Not bad as the New York crowd cheered like crazy. Chauncey Billups also made his Knicks debut scoring 21 points and getting 8 assists. As for Amare Stoudemire who was already on the team, he had 19 points in the game. Good for Melo winning his first game back home. I'm sure this team will get a bit better over the coming weeks. They better, the postseason is just around the corner.

P.S. The Sports Khan radio show on KSUN returns tomorrow at 2 PM Pacific. That's ksunradio.com... Pretty Good.

Deron Williams Goes to New... Jersey?

The Nets, who had failed in acquiring Carmelo Anthony and any big names in the off season, felt they needed to make a move to improve the team and impress the fan base. Also, Mikhail Prokhorov needed to start making himself look good around the league. The Nets acquire Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz as part of a trade that sends Derrick Favors, Devin Harris,and two first round draft picks to the Jazz along with cash considerations. A big move for the Nets to try and compete with the Knicks. A pity this move won't do anything in the short term. Just like when they were looking at Melo, they are hoping that this is someone to build around. As for the Jazz, it seems clear that they want to start fresh and not wait a year when Williams could possibly force a trade on his terms.

Not exactly the right place that Deron Williams wanted to end up but at least he's in the Tri-state area (where he can now talk more closely with Melo and Stoudemire about possibly joining the Knicks).

Melo Gets His Wish

The speculation finally ends with Carmelo Anthony. As part of a three team deal, Carmelo Anthony has been traded to the New York Knicks. A bunch of other players are moved around as well including Danilo Gallinari to the Nuggets, Chauncey Billups to the Knicks, and Corey Brewer to the Knicks. Of course the big picture is Carmelo Anthony joining Amare Stoudemire.

The Knicks are currently 28-26 and are trying to make a playoff push. Melo definitely improves the team but how much really? In the long run, they won't win the NBA Title this year. What this trade really does is solidify the Knicks as a solid playoff team and one to beware of in future seasons. The Knicks still need to add good pieces around Melo and Stoudemire like Deron Williams who has shown interest in coming to the Knicks after the 2011-2012 season.

A lot of excitement has been added to the Big Apple as Melo will likely make his Knicks debut this Wednesday against the Bucks in Madison Square Garden.

P.S. Any chance Williams forces his way out of Utah next season?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TREVOR BAYNE!!!

It's the beginning of the Nascar Sprint Cup Season and it begins with the Daytona 500. This is the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 and marks ten years since the death of Dale Earnhardt. Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually drove well for most of the race, even grabbing the lead position at one point. The lead changed hands so many times during this race and the caution flag might as well just kept flying the whole time. We had two Green-White-Checkered flags at the end with cars teaming up to try and pass one another. The winner would barely edge out Carl Edwards' late run and that winner was Trevor Bayne?

The #21 car owned by Wood Brothers Racing won the race with 20 year old Trevor Bayne as its driver. Bayne actually just celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday and gets a huge win and payday with it. He is the youngest driver ever to win the Daytona 500 edging out Jeff Gordon who was 25 when he won it in 1997. This was just his second Sprint Cup race and his first Sprint Cup victory. The funny thing is that he didn't know how to get to victory lane.

Congrats to the youngest man to ever win the Daytona 500. Trevor Bayne's future looks bright indeed.