The Knicks of Time

Posted 12:00 M by Gerald So

Following up Wednesday night's 29-point comeback win, the New York Knicks closed out the 2026 NBA Finals tonight 94-90. It's been so long, I didn't want to post until all was said and done.

Banner by Gerald So

This playoff run reminded me of the dominant 1998 Yankees and the breakthrough 1996 Yankees, even-keel Mike Brown taking over for Tom Thibodeaux as Joe Torre succeeded Buck Showalter, OG Anunoby giving us an improbable win as Jim Leyritz homered off Mark Wohlers to turn the World Series.

I also thought of how the 2025-26 Knicks avoided some past contending Knicks teams' downfalls: Ewing's missed finger roll, Charles Smith's missed tip-ins, John Starks going cold from three in Game 7, all ghosts put to rest.

Very Much Snow

Posted 6:00 AM by Gerald So

I meant to post a couple more times last month, but the January 25-26 storm left about a foot of snow and convinced me to buy two styles of ice scaper: one with a triangular blade and one that reminds me of a pizza peel to dislodge ice from underneath.

Recapping some items of interest:

Irish strength athlete Pa O'Dwyer died of a heart attack January 3, aged 40. I had followed Pa the past four years or so, learning of his reputation as the funniest strongman. Near the end, the toll on Pa's body forced him to essentially retire from strongman contests, and an attempt to become a bodybuilder may have shortened his life.

His last YouTube videos were responses to social media, but I'll most fondly remember the ones with his physicist sister Kris, who knew nothing about his sport and apparently disagreed with many of his views, but clearly loved him.




Firing Brian Daboll amid a 4-13 season, the New York Giants pursued and eventually hired longtime Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who has begun reshaping an organization that sorely needs it.

Congratulations to former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, who won the Super Bowl in his first season with the Seattle Seahawks.

Finally, last Friday marked my first year on Bluesky. It may be better than Twitter/X, but then Twitter had become unusable. I'm taking steps to make my social media experience better: not hanging around to be blindsided by what appears in my feed, not posting whatever comes to mind.

Below is a photo from last January. The latest snow is no longer pretty.

Photo by Gerald So

Goodbye, CBS NewsRadio 880

Posted 4:00 PM by Gerald So

I grew up listening to WCBS 880 AM on my clock radio. I preferred it to 1010 WINS's typewriter background noise. Today, 880's parent company, Audacy, announced the station was changing format as of August 26, becoming the new home of ESPN New York. This leaves WINS, also owned by Audacy, as New York's only remaining all-news station.

I appreciate straight news all the more in this age of everyone's opinions posted to YouTube, but I have to admit all-news radio hasn't genuinely been around since 880 and 1010 began carrying sports broadcasts. And so it goes.

Offense

Posted 2:00 AM by Gerald So

Paris Olympics organizers apologized Sunday after an intended opening ceremonies depiction of Greek god Dionysus featuring drag queens offended people and religious groups for its similarity to Leonardo Da Vinci's 15th century "The Last Supper" painting.

Art historians point out the depiction was not a parody of "The Last Supper" but an allusion to Jan van Bijlert's 17th century painting "The Feast of the Gods."

In the organizers' and performers' apologies are the phrases "if I have offended," "if people have taken offense." There's no "if" they offended. People have expressed offense. The apology phrasing should've been "that I have offended," "that people took offense."

I understand it was not a send-up of "The Last Supper," but if the organizers had been more concerned they might offend, it might have occurred to them, "We can't do this. It will bring to mind 'The Last Supper," not what we want."

Brian Shaw's Final World's Strongest Man

© by Gerald So | 6:30 AM

I have fond memories of watching marathons of the World's Strongest Man finals on ESPN2. In early 2020, having dropped cable TV, I reconnected with the sport of strongman through Brian Shaw's YouTube channel, getting to see his affable nature with wife, kids, training partners, competitors, and fans.

It would've been nice to see him win a fifth World's Strongest Man title, but pragmatically older strength athletes are at a disadvantage against younger. The older you get, the more difficult it is to prepare and make your way into contention. Athletes like Mark Felix and Brian Shaw should be commended for it.

I suspect many strength athletes use performance enhancers or eat exorbitant diets to maintain themselves. In my pursuit of greater everyday strength, I don't have the inclination to use PEDs nor the money to support such a diet, but part of me will always wonder and be amazed how strong humans can be.

Naomi Osaka Withdraws

© by Gerald So | 3:30 AM

Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from this year's French Open after being fined for refusing to do mandatory news conferences. In two written messages, Osaka stated that doing press caused her to doubt herself, that she was self-conscious about public speaking, and that she battled social anxiety and depression.

I see media coverage as a reality of pro sports. You don't become a pro athlete and four-time Grand Slam champion like Osaka unless you have the mental toughness to beat the best competition, the same mental toughness that can help you face the press at the biggest events. That said, to regain the confidence and become more comfortable facing the press, her perception of the press has to change. She has to see media coverage as a golden opportunity to speak for herself and advance any causes she wishes. She may not want to make that change.

I can't say I've ever faced depression, but I have been nervous about public speaking and conscious of how others may perceive me. I became more comfortable the more I spoke. I realized it was best to forget the aspects of myself I couldn't control anyway, that each performance was unique, dynamic, not to be overthought. As a fan, I hope Osaka reaches that level of comfort.

Eli and C.C.

© by Gerald So | 5:00 AM

As a New York Yankees and football Giants fan, I've had great sports memories, most recently the Giants two Super Bowl-winning seasons and the Yankees' 2009 championship.

The 2019 season sees the official end of Eli Manning's run as starting quarterback and C.C. Sabathia's retirement. Playing sports is grueling, demanding the same high-level performance year in, year out, as all bodies wear down.

As hard as it is to see the end, I've always appreciated Eli and C.C.'s leadership qualities and clutch performances. You can ask more of an athlete than to vault his team to a title. I thank them both.

Standing for Ideals

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com |

Over the weekend, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat through the national anthem, later explaining, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."

It's Kaepernick's right to protest. Have fellow Americans mistreated me because of my color and beliefs? Yes. But those few don't overshadow the country's ideal of freedom, something it continually aspires to, and to me, what its flag represents, the opposite of oppression.

Moving toward that ideal, it has taken the country's entire history to achieve the practical freedoms we have. Depending on Kaepernick's ideas of oppression and change, we may never see him stand for the anthem again, but it's more important for the country to pursue ideal freedom than to meet one person's idea of freedom.


(SEPT. 8 UPDATE): Since my original post, two other perspectives have influenced my opinion on anthem protests. John Tortorella, coach of Team USA in the World Cup of Hockey, said if any of his players sat during "The Star Spangled Banner" he would sit them for the game. A world competition is a larger platform than the one Kaepernick is on. One would assume people who choose to play on behalf of the U.S. wouldn't sit out the anthem, but Olympic athletes have protested in the past. Then again, in team sports, the coach decides playing time.

Elsewhere, in solidarity with Kaepernick, U.S. Women's Soccer star Megan Rapinoe recently knelt during the anthem before a Sattle Reign match. To prevent a second protest, last night's Reign opponent, the Washington Spirit played the anthem before the teams took the field. The Spirit's reasoning was they didn't want Rapinoe's protest to draw attention away from "an important night for our franchise."

I have two thoughts: First, playing the anthem before teams take the field shows country is more important than individual. Anyone who's been part of a team or a group should be able to empathize, having given of themselves for the collective good.

Second, as Tortorella and others have said, there are ways to show stances in America besides sitting or kneeling out the anthem. The conviction of those who protest should run deeper than this particular sign of protest.

The Sloppy End of the Yankees-A-Rod Era

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 6:00 A.M.

As a Yankee fan, I never wanted Alex Rodriguez on the team. In his prime, Alex played shortstop, and the Yankees had a shortstop, Derek Jeter. When the Texas Rangers couldn't afford to pay out the 10-year, $252 million contract they made with Alex, and the players' union voided his trade to Boston, the Yankees emerged as the only team that could eat swallow the contract.

Even so, Alex would have to move to third base, and the Yankees had a third baseman, 2003 ALCS hero Aaron Boone, at least until Boone injured his leg in a fateful game of pickup basketball.

Alex's first season in New York was an error-prone media circus as he apparently struggled to fit on the team. Just as he got comfortable, the evidence of steroid use surfaced, his denials, half-admissions, lies, his legal action against the union and the team...

He served the longest MLB player suspension to date, came back and had a nice season last year filling in for an injured Carlos Beltran at DH, surgeries on both hips leaving him without the lateral mobility to play third base. This year, with Beltran healthy, Alex hadn't found a spot in the lineup. When he has played, like many aging Yankees, he's struggled.

Last Sunday, the Yankees announced A-Rod would have one more week as a player before becoming a special advisor to owner Hal Steinbrenner. While it was a sign fences had been mended, it's put an unneeded spotlight on Alex's last days as a Yankee. Despite trading away the best pieces of this year's team, the Yankees still have an outside shot at the playoffs, and the organization hates to throw in the towel completely. That philosophy doesn't jibe with giving Alex this farewell week.

The team could have honored A-Rod later with a quieter ceremony announcing his advisor position, or they could have released him without ceremony. I think A-Rod's stature led everyone to handle his exit too carefully and ultimately incorrectly.

Changing Games

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 9:00 A.M.

Longtime MLB relief pitcher Rich "Goose" Gossage has made headlines with profanity-laced remarks about current players flashier shows of personality (bat-flipping, homerun celebration...) and whether today's players should be allowed to "dictate this game".

While I don't like what some players do, current players and society always influence sports. As much as I admire past players, once they retire, they no longer have direct impact on the games. Even longtime, current coaches have been shown to lose touch with the games.

Anything that doesn't change risks being left behind by everything that does.

Meldonium Meltdown

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 5:00 A.M.

On Monday, Maria Sharapova revealed she had failed a drug test after she was eliminated from 2016 Australian Open play. The drug in question, meldonium, which increases oxygen flow in the blood and thus one's capacity for exercise, was banned on January 1. Sharapova said she was unaware of the ban and had been taking the drug under the name mildronate since 2006. Subsequent reports say Sharapova was warned five times that meldonium would be or had been banned.

I've been a Sharapova fan since her 2004 Wimbledon championship run. She was described early on as a more dedicated Anna Kournikova, and her results before 2006 prove that. While I question her performance since taking meldonium and whether she had the medical conditions for which it is legitimately prescribed, I understand the mindset of legally gaining a competitive edge. I am disappointed if she knowingly took meldonium after its ban, but I'll support her if she comes back to play without it.

Jeter's Final Game

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 7:14 P.M.

Bringing meaning to a game that meant nothing in the standings, Derek Jeter's final hit, a run-scoring hustle infield single, typified his career and raised his season average so his career average rounded up to .310. I've remarked how Jeter delivered in the biggest game moments. He also never embarrassed himself or his fans off the field. We can be proud of his professional legacy from beginning to end. Thank you, Derek.

Jeter's Final Home Game

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com | 6:33 A.M.

The 2014 AL East champion Baltimore Orioles eliminated the Yankees from playoff contention yesterday, and rain threatens tonight's game, the final home game of Derek Jeter's career.

People have always pointed out that Jeter was neither the best athlete nor the "best" Yankee (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle...?). He was, however, consistent enough and durable enough to play shortstop for the Yankees for twenty years, rightfully giving him records surpassing them all.

UPDATE: The rain held off, and the game was played, and Jeter had two hits, including the game-winning walk-off single. We fans have come to expect him to rise to occasions because he's done it regularly over his career. In the biggest of spots, he delivers.

Jeter's Final All-Star Game

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

Once more, the game of baseball slowed for Derek Jeter, the players waiting as the Target Field crowd gave him an ovation. Then, as FOX's microphones picked up one heckler chanting, "Over-rated," Jeter answered with a double and scored on Mike Trout's triple to give the American League an early lead en route to a 5-3 victory.

Team Basketball

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

There's a brand of basketball any fan can enjoy beyond loyalty to any one player, city, or team. Besides beating the star-driven Miami Heat this season, Gregg Popovich and his players should be applauded for their team-first mentality in this increasingly me-first era.

Championships and short championship runs can be bought. Fifteen years of excellence such as the Spurs have had can only be earned. As LeBron James praised them for playing "team basketball the way it should be played," I wished "basketball" were understood to be the the team game and only "one-on-one basketball" needed to be distinguished.

Sharapova Wins Ugly

© by Gerald So | geraldso.blogspot.com

Yesterday Maria Sharapova won her fourth 3-set match of this year's French Open to claim her fifth Grand Slam title. In the three rounds previous, Sharapova dropped the first set but rallied to victory as other top players bowed out. In the final, she let an early lead slip away, but toughed out a three-hour battle with fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-4. Now having won twenty consecutive three-setters on clay, this was certainly well earned.

Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter has announced this will be his final season. As with Mariano Rivera, a virtually season-long injury prepared me to say goodbye.

Three months and nine days older than I, Derek made it to the big leagues during the first semester of Font, a student lit magazine I helped establish at Hofstra University. As luck would have it, many on staff were Yankee fans, and we've followed his career over the course of our friendship.

In both cases, I can't believe it's been twenty years, but the number of weddings, children, and gray hairs attest. Jeter is too much my contemporary to be my favorite player—that was Don Mattingly—but every compliment paid to Jeter is earned. One cannot handle being an athlete in the largest market better than he. Just as he does on the field, he gauges the gravity of any public situation, prepares himself, and performs. He has seemingly never been caught off-guard. We can all learn from that. It's what I'll remember most about him.

Sleepy Bowl

I couldn't attend any friends' Super Bowl parties this year, so I engaged in my alternate tradition, a nap. Yes, I slept through the entire game. The individualist in me resists doing what so many others are, but also, the Super Bowl strikes me as the final that least resembles a regular-season game. I like the regular seasons of most sports. As the media hype and attention increase, my interest oddly wanes. Where were all these people in Week 2?

62

Last night, Carmelo Anthony scored 62 points against the Charlotte Bobcats at Madison Square Garden, topping Kobe Bryant's 2009 Garden record of 61, reclaiming for the Knicks a record that, before Bryant, belonged to the beloved Bernard King (60).

More impressive to me than the point total was that the total was amassed in the flow of the offense. Mike Woodson lifted Carmelo from the game with 7:18 remaining and the Knicks up 109-72 or Anthony could have scored more. The Knicks may not make the playoffs this season, and Anthony may leave after this season, but it was one magical night.

Derek Jeter

Jeter, who had been trying to come back from a broken ankle suffered in the playoffs last season, has been shut down for the rest of this season.

Much like the ACL tear that sidelined Mariano Rivera for much of last season, Jeter's injury throws the rest of his career in doubt. He no longer seems to have the durability that allowed him to break many Yankee records. Then again, he is thirty-nine.

Jeter, Rivera, and Andy Pettitte could have retired in 2009 and I'd be happy. I don't like seeing players play until injuries leave them permanently hobbled.