Well, that works out!

Breaking news at this hour. Knicks guard Steve Francis will be out indefinitely with knee tendinitis that's been plaguing him for awhile. I guess that was why he always looked like he was in pain. A few bits from the ESPN article:

"He had a difficult time getting up from the dinner table," Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, said, according to the Times. "He needs to be healthy to perform and help the team, and this is the way to do it."

Francis said he would accept coming off the bench, if needed, when he returned. "I'm worried about my knee more than anything," Francis said.

Well, how bout that shit, eh!? Just when we were worried which guard would have to begrudgingly take a seat when Jeffries is healthy, Francis comes out with a bum leg and a clear statement that he's ready to ride lumber. Kinda fishy? Maybe. Helpful? You know it. I'm very pleased with Francis' recognition of a problem, whatever it may be, and the favor he is most assuredly doing the team. Good stuff.

Way to take one for the team, buddy.
In other news Mr. Marbury is doing another good deed for the kids of New York.

Marbury made a gesture to remember his roots this week by donating 3,000 sneakers, a free pair to every varsity player in the city's Public School Athletic League -- where Marbury won a championship in 1995 with Brooklyn's Abraham Lincoln High.

Not to belittle anything, but is that 3,000 shoes...or 3,000 pairs of shoes? Either way, it's an amazing contribution by Stephon, and no matter what you think of his demeanor on the court, you've gotta applaud his business efforts. Let's not forget that, despite their reputations and their poor record, our current Knicks are a fine group of young men. We have a team that is unbelievably devoted to various communities, and is just about squeaky clean with the league and the law. Unlike the Blazers and Nets of old, the Knicks leave their shittiness on the court.

Anyway, last night's TNT NBA Thursday was pretty entertaining, but the real action was in that double overtime explosion of offense over in East Rutherford. I managed to catch the tail end of this on the YES network, marking the first time I've watched that channel in my entire life. Some solid games, though. (By the way, don't you think Sacramento needs a new logo and colors? Milwaukee and Toronto have gotten rid of the purple, so the Kings should follow suit. I'm thinking black and gold.)

Have you ever taken a good look at this? It looks like a 9 year old girl made it on MacPaint.
Anyway, Thursday's always the best night for basketball, and I'm looking forward to Ernie, Kenny, and Charles heading to New Orleans in a week. Should be fun.

Knicks are back in action tomorrow, taking on Milwaukee at the Garden. Until then, peace.

EDIT: One more thing from that Marbury article....

"The key component is that it's something that people need, not what they want," he said. "It's a difference when you want something. Like, 'Oh I want juice instead of water.' You need water to live. You can't go without water. This is what it is. This is a lifeline, a lifeline of supply to people to have an outlet of feeling good about themselves."

Umm...what?