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At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

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High Five w/ John Henson co-host of ABC’s Wipeout

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As Jerry Seinfeld once said: “Slapping hands is the lowest form of male primate ritual.” We here at VMS fully support the high five and believe it has a clear and important place in this world.  In our latest set of 5 questions, we asked John Henson, co-host of ABC’s Wipeout and huge New York Knicks fan, what he thinks about the 2010-11 Knickerbockers and the NBA in general.

VMS: As a big time celebrity, has it become cool again to root for the Knicks or do the scars of Isiah and Starbury still linger?

JH: It’s definitely cool to root for the Knicks now.  But true fans never stopped.  I know I never did… but the reason this season feels so good to Knick fans comes from all those years of waiting.

VMS: At what point does Amar’e “tap out” and tell Coach D’Antoni that he can’t keep playing 40 minutes plus a game?

JH: It’s an excellent question.  With the way Amar’e is playing and the league-wide credit he’s receiving for reviving the franchise (deservedly so)… he wouldn’t pull himself out of a game even if there was smoke pouring out of his knee caps.  I think the bigger question is why Amar’e and Felton need to play 40 plus a night in order for the Knicks to have a chance of winning? Someone needs to break out in that second unit and establish themselves as a threat.  The more guys like Tony Douglass, Shawne Williams and Ronnie Turiaf step up offensively, the more Amar’e and Felton can preserve their legs.

VMS: Tell the truth. Raymond Felton: not quite Walt “Clyde” Frazier but definitely better than Howard Eisely.

JH: First of all, NOBODY is Walt Clyde Frazier!  36 points, 19 assists and 7 boards in a game 7 is epic by any comparison.  That said… D. N. F. W. R. F., baby!  It took, what?  Maybe 4 or 5 weeks for Felton to make everyone stop wondering how much of Stoudemire’s success belonged to Steve Nash?  Felton and Stat are one of the toughest pick and roll tandems in the league, no question.  Ray hits threes, hits the floater in the lane, he’s 6th in the league in both assists and steals.  And most importantly to New Yorkers, he plays fearlessly.  He’s playing like an all star.

VMS: Are you one of those Knicks fans who is now talking themselves out of Carmelo or do you think they would be better with him?

JH: I met Carmelo before the season began and pitched him heavily on NYC.  I told him that all the love and affection, marketing opportunities and hero worship Lebron left on the table was waiting for him in MSG. That was before Amar’e set a franchise record for consecutive 30 point games.  At the end of the day, while it’s great to see us above .500, we need another impact player like Carmelo to challenge for a championship.  The question just becomes what you have to give up to get him.  If we toss out all our young studs and have no role players left to field a team, we’re screwed.  The best part about the team playing well is that we don’t have to make moves out of desperation.

VMS: Who wins an arm wrestling contest: Anthony Mason or Charles Oakley?

JH: I’ve met both of them and Charles Oakley was so intimidating that when he shook my hand, I peed a little.  But Anthony Mason has arms like sides of beef.  Mase was probably bigger but Oak was definitely meaner… so it’s a coin flip.  But I’d pay-per-view it, that’s for sure…

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Thanks to John Henson for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Hopefully the Knicks will compete long enough to give their loyal fans a taste of the postseason.

view of Madison Square Garden courtesy of @378cranberries

Kiss Cam in the Capitol Building.

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The Washington Wizards have yet to win a road game all season.  They haven’t fared much better at the Verizon Center either.  Last nights 120-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets lowered the Wizards record to a anemic 13-31. The lower level of the arena did not approach full capacity which was likely because a majority of bureaucrats and lobbyists were busy listening to President Obama deliver his latest State of the Union address.

The big story heading into last night’s SOTU was that, in an apparent display of bipartisanship and unity, house Democrats and Republicans would be sitting next to one another during the address.  When executed, this plan produced some of the oddest couples since Felix and Oscar.  Chuck Shumer and Tom Coburn. Kirsten Gillibrand and John Thune. John Kerry and John McCain. The comedy gods blessed us with an unparalleled amount of opportunities to poke fun of our bureaucratic transparency.

What if this happened in sports?  What if opposing teams and players decided that in an effort to promote greater civility and respect they would set aside their competitive integrity and extend the metaphorical olive branch. Picture this: baseball players inhabiting the same dugout. Or football players on the same sideline. And what about golfers sharing the same caddy. As Peter Venkman once said: “Cats and dogs. Living together. Mass hysteria!!”

To be honest with you, I don’t normally think much of anything a President may say during the SOTU.  Actual political policy is rarely determined by anything mentioned during this traditional address. Even still, I found myself watching last night mostly for the off chance that Joe Biden did something outrageous like say, fall asleep.

view of the Verizon Center courtesy of @just_jess_jess

Jay Cutler Needs to Grow a Pair of Crutches

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The Madhouse on Madison was rocking last night during the Chicago Bulls 92-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.  With the win, the Bulls improved their record to 31-14 and now enjoy a healthy 13 game lead in the Central Division.  Derrick Rose is the clear frontrunner for league MVP and when Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer both return from injury, the Bulls will emerge as a team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

I’m sort of surprised so many fans were in attendance at the United Center last night.  I mean, only 24 hours had passed since the Bears were defeated by the Packers in the NFC Championship game and I figured fans would still be marching down Michigan Ave burning effigies of Jay Cutler.  Does yesterdays MRI, which revealed a Grade II MCL sprain, make Bears fans feel any better about the heart of their signal caller?  Have those current, and former, NFL players who called out Cutler for not “gutting out” the injury now since recanted their earlier statements?

Perhaps Frank Deford summed it up best regarding our immediate response to the “Cutler Identity”: “It’s terrible.  We move entirely too fast without thinking”. I agree with Deford that we, media and fans, are sometimes too quick to jump to conclusions.  Twitter and Facebook only exacerbate this 21st century tendency.  Perhaps Jay Cutler, and his wounded knee, would have been treated much more delicately before the advent of the interent and ESPN.  But, as one of the many fans who were too quick to question the severity of his injury, where’s the fun in that?

view of the United Center courtesy of @gneri

Seasons Greetings From the Association

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Hello, friends. This year, there’s a veritable glut of Christmas NBA action– about 13 hours of it in all– starting at Noon and finishing up on Boxing Day, ET. Here’s our brief look at today’s matchups.

Chicago Bulls at New York Knicks, 12:00 PM (ESPN)
It appears that basketball has finally returned to The Mecca. The rivalry began in the early 90s, only to lose a lot of its steam after Michael Jordan retired. But now, with both squads tapping the free agent big man market over the summer, the tradition returns to MSG. And by the way, Ray Felton IS an elite NBA point guard.  Look no further than his numbers: 18.2 PPG, 9.1 APG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 SPG. Stats don’t lie. As good as Amar’e has been early on, and he’s been great, I would argue that some of those Garden “M-V-P” chants could easily be thrown Ray’s way. He’s finally in sync with Stoudemire on the pick-and-roll, is not afraid to step back and knock down a three-pointer, and seems to thrive on pressure situations, making shot after shot when it counts.

(view courtesy of @dR3wMiLL3R)

As a lifelong Knicks fan who remembers the 90s and what those Knicks-on-Christmas game meant to the NBA, I’m just thrilled that this game means something. Again.

Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic, 2:30 PM (ABC)
Boston has won 14 games in a row. The Big 3 has been consistent, steady, and reliable. The two O’Neal’s and Rondo have all been shelved at some point (J.O and Rondo won’t play today), every game seems to come down to the last shot, but somehow the Celts are 23 and 4, leading the East.

Orlando has looked awful at times this year. Their two wing scorers, Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter, loved to disappear, to the point where the Magic blew up their squad with two blockbuster trades last week.  The Magic looked great in beating the Spurs on Wednesday night. Arenas, Turkoglu, and Richardson are all playing meaningful minutes, without any semblance of a formal offense yet, alongside Howard, Nelson, and a somehow-relevant-again JJ Redick.

In the closing seconds, the ball will be in Paul Pierce’s hand and I think you can all guess what happens next.

Miami Heat at Los Angeles Lakers, 5:00 PM (ABC) [Read more…]

“Veni, Vidi, Vici”

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He came, he saw, he conquered.  That about sums about Lebron James and Co. introduction to the Garden as members of the Miami Heat.  James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh combined to score 84 points in the Heat’s 113-91 rout of the New York Knicks. Believe it or not, the game was actually tied at the half however, thanks to a few highlight real dunks, and some incredibly poor shooting by the Knicks, Miami was able to pull away in the 3rd quarter.

New York fans were hoping for so much more.  After a sizzling 16-9 start, NY has now dropped two games in a row. Keep in mind that their last two opponents, the Boston Celtics and the Heat, are both considered title contenders.

I watched this game in a bar alongside VMS contributor and avid Knicks fan Dave.  His Knicks season ticket package did not include last nights game and when he went to look on stubhub, the average ticket was going for $350, that included 70K each for a few prized floor seats. Needless to say, he was more than happy to watch the game from a bar where we split a few beers and a plate of nachos for $70. Money well saved Dave. Money well saved.

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