New Thing #131: Front-Running With The Knicks

There was a time when I lived and died with the New York Knicks. They absolutely broke my heart in 1993.

Then in 1994.

And then they did it again in 1995.

And for the first time in my life I decided maybe my approach to sports wasn't healthy and maybe I needed a break.

I still rooted for the Knicks through college, but when the NBA lockout hit I took out my aggression from the baseball strike on the NBA.

And I didn't really watch any NBA games for the next decade-plus.

But lately I've been watching the Knicks again.

I'll admit it - it has all the markings of me being a fair-weather fan.

They're good again, and I'm following closer than I have since 1999 - that's the definition of a front-runner.

But I've paid dues.

I was furious at Charles Smith for not dunking 20 years ago.

I cried after Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals.

I went into a severe funk after Patrick Ewing missed the layup against the Pacers in 1995.

It's not like I'm a total Johnny-come-lately to the Knicks scene.

But there was a time a 54-win season would have put me over the moon. This year it barely registered. So I know I'm no longer a die-hard.

That was clear in the first playoff game against the Celtics when I texted my friend Justin with each name I heard from the team, in disbelief that these were guys who now played for the Knicks. I couldn't believe I had absolutely no idea who was on the team besides maybe Carmelo Anthony.

(Meanwhile, man is he a frustrating player to watch. When the shots fall he's amazing. But when they don't - yikes. I've watched like 8 games in a row at this point, and I don't think I've ever seen him pass.)

Besides Anthony being essentially a talented chucker, this isn't the most likable collection of talent in NBA history. Too much talking, that whole black suits to the Celtics funeral thing - it's annoying. Just play winning basketball.

When the Knicks did beat the Celtics last week, it was their first playoff series win since 2000. I'm glad I didn't miss anything while I was gone.

But I'm also glad that if and when this season ends - probably short of an NBA title - it won't affect me the same way it did 20 years ago. And if all that goes well and the Knicks don't break my heart...maybe I'll watch them from the start next season.

New Thing #90: The Final Four Court

Depending on when you read this on Sunday, the college basketball season will be either at or very near its Final Four. A few years ago the NCAA went away from using the regular arena floors at each of its tournament sites and used the same NCAA-themed courts at all of the sites.

The only difference was that on the baselines you could read which city was hosting that group of games.

I always wondered whether they painted over the original floor or how they went about making all of those courts the same.

Earlier this week I came across a video that showed how it was done.

This is the company responsible (Connor Sports?) for creating the floor that will be reconstructed in Atlanta next week for the men's Final Four. I assume the process is similar for the other 20 (or however many) early-round sites.

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did:

New Thing #80: Watching The First Round Somewhere Other Than Home

If you know me at all, you're not surprised that I'm working a New Thing around the NCAA Tournament. I love the tournament, and I love writing about it.

(See the bottom of this post for an entertaining written recent history of my tournament experiences.)

But because I've written about it so much, there's very little "new" surrounding the tournament. (Though that is this year's 'new' bracket at left for your enjoyment.)

So this year I've turned what has often been a solitary experience for me into a more social one.

I'm pretty sure I've only ever watched the NCAA Tournament at home, by myself. At the very least, that's been the case in the decade I've been teaching. And even before that, I never went anywhere to watch the games - I have vague memories of watching with a couple of friends at my house.

I don't know that I had a reason for not going somewhere to watch the games. If I know me, though, which I do very well, I'd bet it was because I had too much going on. I had to keep track of my picks, which were written down, and I had to record all the scores of all the games...my living room is much more conducive than a bar to all of that.

This year, I figured I could use a break from doing all of the channel-changing by myself. I asked a friend if he wanted to catch the games somewhere after work, and we were going to try to stay out until the end of the first round of the night games - I can't make it through until midnight (it's a school night), but I can park myself in front of a bunch of screens showing CBS, TBS, truTV, and TNT - or whatever stations are showing the games - at least through the end of the 7pm starts.

Outside of actually attending some games at a first round venue, I don't know that there are any possible new NCAA experiences left for me...and I've written about them all. Hope you enjoy the following:

2008: One of the first times I wrote about my obsession with the NCAA Tournament, as well as the viewing experience. Also, a breakdown of my brackets to that point. (For what it's worth - this year marks the 21st year I'm filling out a bracket.)

2009: I wrote about the emotions that accompany the beginning of the Tournament for me.

2010: I broke down the week of the Tournament - nothing has changed all that much for me since then, other than the addition of games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

2011: A personal favorite - The first time two of my children filled out their brackets. They did it again this year - my oldest picked James Madison to go all the way (she likes the presidents) and my middle child came out with Duke over Michigan. (Ha! One picked Duke and the other picked the Dukes!) My wife made her picks too...but they're less cute.

2011: Also from two years ago, there was a little bit of a shift in my approach to Tournament week.

2012: And last year my wife took over the blog the week of the Tournament, writing about how March Madness ushers in a big sports period in our house.

Bottom line: if you're looking for me, I'll be out on Thursday evening. But you can catch me on Friday late afternoon and into the evening...I'll be sitting at home in front of the TV...enjoying the NCAA Tournament from my usual spot.

New Thing #33: An ACC Basketball Game

I'm almost positive I've been to a Boston College basketball game before. I don't remember who they played, but I remember being at Conte Forum before.

It's possible it was for a hockey game, but I'm pretty sure I saw basketball there too.

But I'm absolutely sure I haven't been there since they moved from the Big East to the ACC.

And on Saturday I saw my first ACC Basketball game - Clemson at Boston College.

I know. ACC Basketball is Duke-North Carolina. Maryland-NC State. Even Miami makes better sense there than Boston College. But BC-Clemson it was. (You might ask why, in a season in which BC hosts both North Carolina and Duke, I'd go to a BC-Clemson game. The answer is North Carolina was at 9 o'clock on a Tuesday night - too late on a school night for me and the people I was going with to handle - and BC handles Duke games in such a way that you have to buy tickets to multiple games in order to be able to buy tickets to the Duke game. So that was out of the question.)

Clemson came into the game in sixth place in the conference. BC, meanwhile (and much to my pleasure, considering my BU roots), was below .500 and in the basement of the ACC.

Considering all that, this game was a surprise. BC took an 11-point lead into the half, and built that lead to 20 in the second half, with a 15-to-17-point lead most of the second half. Then Clemson came alive, making for an exciting final 4 minutes, actually getting to within one point,  and then was a missed three away from tying the game before eventually losing by 7.

I have to admit - much to my surprise, Conte Forum was a nice facility for basketball. (I'm realizing now that maybe I haven't been there before for basketball...maybe just hockey.) I expected to see a facility that in my mind would be a far cry from what I imagine other ACC courts to be...but it can hold its own. It was a good place to watch a game, with good scoreboards and stats visible.

It was not a huge crowd, probably because it was noon on a Saturday. I'm sure when the crowd is into it the game experience becomes even more enjoyable. I might find out if I tune in on television next Sunday evening....that's when BC hosts Duke.