A happy and healthy new year to SU’s intergalactic subscriber base.  SU caught part of last night’s Knick game as part of my channel surfing as I wanted to see how Carmelo Anthony was received by the MSG crowd upon his return for the 2019 – 2020 season.  I must say that I was a little bit surprised about how positive it was and how he was consistently cheered throughout the game.  He had a good offensive game (26 points) on 11-17 shooting, and as Clyde Frazier pointed out on a few occasions, zero assists.  It was all 1 on 1, but Melo was at his best.   Meanwhile, the Knicks played great continuing a recent 6-4 record with lots of passing and ball movement.  The new coach, Mike Miller, clearly has their attention and they are (somewhat) entertaining to watch.

But then this morning, SU saw that Melo had suggested after the game that the Knicks consider retiring his number.   Apparently, he also feels that the Nuggets should also retire his number for his time there.  I don’t know: I am old school.  Perhaps the response of “You know, if the organization feels that I made a strong enough contribution during my time there to give me that honor, that would be great” might have been more appropriate.  But I know that is not what people say in this era.

But let SU weigh in.  NO WAY SHOULD THEY RETIRE HIS NUMBER.  You don’t retire numbers for players who scored a ton of points but accomplished little in the way of championships, playoff runs or even how about just playoff appearances?  Look, he’s a nice guy and never did anything off the court to embarrass the team.  He didn’t pass to Jeremy Lin and managed to ruin that run in the end but hey, he didn’t pass to anyone in his 6+ years in NY.  He will go down as one of the great scorers in NBA history and an Olympic champion on the US team.    He is generous (see his donation to Syracuse for their athletic facility) but in NBA history, there are plenty of players like this.  The rafters at MSG are for players who achieve more than what he did with the Knicks.  But feel free to let me know if you disagree, or agree.

SU was disappointed in Michigan’s final outcome vs. Alabama but the game was entertaining for 3 quarters.   I must say that I am impressed with how the Alabama players act on the field.  No histrionics for a sack or making a first down.  Nick Saban runs a tight ship and clearly he wants his players to respect the other team.  Of course, SU did note that he wanted that final touchdown at the end of the game where most teams may have taken a knee in the end.  But if you don’t like it, then don’t let them score.