SU is all in on the Women’s World Cup for Team USA.  Last night’s game was quite exciting as they finally played a more offensive style.  They dominated the first half and although half-time was 0-0, they had several scoring chances.  In a single elimination tournament, there is a lot of drama and this game had true end-to-end action.  SU says it’s a worthwhile couple of hours.

We contrast that with watching the Yankees on the West Coast right afterwards.  Apparently, YES Network ratings are down again this year as is road attendance which SU believes is a real indicator of just how boring this year’s team is.  In addition, the Yankees will likely not have an All-star Game starter for the first time in many years.  You can say they are battling for 1st place and are second in the league in runs scored but SU speaks the truth: this is a vanilla, dull, unimaginative team.  Whether they make the playoffs or not is not important.  Brian Cashman needs to get younger and start playing the kids for the future.  If they continue this way, get to the playoffs and lose in the first round, this is not a successful season as you haven’t gotten the younger players into the mix.

The Mets cannot hit but they continue to bring up the young, stud starters which is interesting.  Plus this kid Matz can hit to boot.

Finally, SU has been following some of the NBA free agent rumors and signings.  SU fave Jeremy Lin has made it to the Knick rumor list.  How good would that be?  Melo can tell him that his new contract, whatever it is, is “ridiculous” and of course will show him which corner he should park himself in on offense.  But maybe, just maybe, Derek Fisher would design some plays to have Lin do his pick and roll thing and create some excitement back at MSG.  Why not take a flyer here?  The fans would love it as well.  OK, haters: feel free to hate.

SU is troubled by the Greg Monroe rumors.  I just cannot see this guy as a difference maker.  Same with David West.  If you really want to plan for the future, then go younger and go all in.  But even with sizable cap room, you do not see any of the big name free agents flocking to NY.  And why is that?

Relatively new SU subscriber and frequent commenter Mark N weighs in this morning: “The Knicks have always been planning on rebuilding through free agents anyway so I don’t know what Melo was all cranky about in the first place. If they didn’t take Porzingis who reportedly has the most potential upside which may or may not ever be realized – what was the sure thing he suggest they take in his place? Towns, Russell, and Okafor were already gone and he was reportedly whining about not wanting to play with a rookie PG anyway. Phil is going to be successful based on who he gets to sign in the off season and how they operate in the triangle. Your point on Phil likely telling Melo to dial it back on projecting an air of hopelessness is probably dead on.”

SU has to chuckle on how Melo has apparently done a 180 on his opinion of the Knicks’ 1st round pick.  On Friday, we had Stephen A. Smith, the owner of many inside sources who are right about 23% of the time, say that Melo was outraged – outraged I say!  Then yesterday, Carmelo took to Instragram or some other social media avenue to say the Porzingis pick was a “steal.”

SU interpretation: someone in the Knicks’ brass, maybe Phil, gave him a call to say, “Melo, we are trying to sign free agents to come here and play for the team.  If you describe the situation as hopeless, no-one will come here to play.”  What a concept!  SU believes Melo is furious and frustrated but will toe the party line in order to attract others who might want to play here this coming season.

SU fearless prediction: Melo will tolerate this one more year (and Phil will tolerate it one more year), and then you will see a trade of max players for one another once Durant makes it clear there is no way he is coming here.  Maybe Melo for Blake Griffin?  Something along those lines.

For the record, SU has decided that I am all in on the pick.  He’s young and it’s something different.  The fun as a fan is to watch your young guys develop over time.  We had that happening before the trade with Denver.  SU will tune in to watch this kid and Grant from Notre Dame.  Not the other free agents who will be signed in July and injured by October.

Wimbledon starts tomorrow.  Once again, the draw on the men’s side is so uneven.  Nadal, Federer and Murray are all on one half of the draw.  SU will be rooting for a Djokovic win – figure it will be over Murray in the finals.  Men’s tennis continues to be at the top of my viewing choices these days.

SU has also been watching the women’s World Cup for the US.  It’s great having a former women’s team coach do the color commentary criticizing the current coach.  And according to the other analyst, one of the former women’s team’s players (Foudy?), no US player has committed a foul in the entire tournament.  SU says be a little more objective – please.

Finally, watch out for Tanaka on the Yankees.  He is not throwing his 4-seam fastball.  The end is near.  You can sense something is going on there.  No one will admit it but he just does not look comfortable out there.

Arrrggghhhhh!!!  The Knick fans are dying tonight.  But let’s be honest: no one knows enough about this Latvian kid to know if this will be a major bust or the foundation of the franchise for the next 10 years.  SU has been looking for Carmelo’s tweet to welcome Porzingis to the Knicks.  Instead, he no doubt tweeted in Latvian: “Stand over here while I am jab stepping.”  SU would have liked to see Justice Winslow who dropped to 10th to Miami.  He is a player.  Many on the radio wanted Cauley-Stein from Kentucky.  Say what??  SU was surprised how high Kaminsky went – intereseting.

The Knicks are trading Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Hawks for Jerian Grant from Notre Dame.  Feels like a wash to SU on that deal.  But we know Hardaway Jr. and Melo did not like each other so no surprise there.  Also, rumor is out that the Knicks will sign David West of the Pacers.  34 years old, past his prime, tough guy.  Figure he’ll be healthy for 30 games this season.

Phil Jackson is one of those “smartest guys in the room” type people.  He could have gone safer but at his age and his salary, what the heck!  Apparently lots of NBA GMs like this kid from Latvia.  But SU says this: your franchise player is Carmelo Anthony and is he really going to embrace a 19-year old from Latvia who weighs 109 pounds?  Knick fans do not fret: you are only a couple years away before Isiah Thomas assumes Phil Jackson’s job.

SU has begun the search for a new team to root for next year.  Too many of my Michigan faves are on the move – Hardaway, Trey Burke will supposedly be moved soon.  And where will Jeremy Lin land?  The only certainty for SU is that I will once again need to purchase the NBA Season Pass so I can watch players and teams that I respect and enjoy.  Alas, the Knicks still do not make the cut.

OK Knick fans: what do ya think??????

SU always looks forward to the NBA draft.  This year features a relatively weak field with reports of most teams looking to move down in the draft vs. trying to secure a better pick.  The Knicks have a rare first round pick as Isiah Thomas hasn’t been able to amass enough power as of yet to move it for Eddie Curry’s expiring contract.

I just stumbled across this article on Bleacherreport.com which features an interview with Phil Jackson:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2488958-phil-jackson-nbas-lord-of-the-rings-faces-ultimate-test-saving-the-knicks

It’s a long read but there were a few striking quotes from Jackson here:

• “What Jackson did talk about at length was his belief in “a structure” or “a format” that involves all five players and emphasizes ball and player movement, whether it’s the triangle or another system. He cited the Spurs and Warriors and Hawks as teams that exemplified the ideal.”
• “When I watch some of these playoff games, and I look at what’s being run out there, as what people call an offense, it’s really quite remarkable to see how far our game has fallen from a team game,” Jackson said. “Four guys stand around watching one guy dribble a basketball.”
• “The game actually has some beauty to it, and we’ve kind of taken some of that out of it to make it individualized,” Jackson said. “It’s a lot of who we are as a country, individualized stuff.”

All fine and right in line with SU’s view of team basketball.  But here is where I am perplexed: Carmelo Anthony, one of the great one-on-one scorers in NBA history, is clearly the opposite of this type of thinking.  Clearly.  Opposite.  As in 180 degrees in the other direction.  Phil Jackson came in before Melo opted out of his contract.  WHY WOULD YOU RE-SIGN HIM IF THIS IS WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN?  As long-time SU subscriber B. Levine would say, “it makes on sense.”  You sign him to a long-term deal at max money and now you are stuck.  This is not how he plays the game.  And after 12 years in the NBA, it’s hard to see how he would do that now.

If you believe in a system, you need to put players together who want to play in that system.  And by that, I mean skilled players – not the guys currently on the Knicks’ roster.  As stated before, SU is not on the Knicks’ band wagon but even the most passionate fan must be very frustrated by the inconsistency here between philosophy and personnel.

Relatively new SU subscriber Mark N. weighed in this morning: ” …sadly it is really probably Dolan who is the cause of my recent distaste for rooting for the Knicks. I can root for teams when they are down. I just can’t root for teams that are morally bankrupt.”  Lots of frustration out there in Knick Land.

SU caught the end of the US Open last night.  You have to feel for Dustin Johnson.  That was a stunning last 3 minutes.  Hard to think he will be able to mentally ever recover from that.

Happy Father’s Day to the SU intergalactic subscriber base.  Best day of the year and certainly one where it’s harder (but of course not impossible) for men to be wrong.  A few thoughts from SU this morning:

• Impressive performance by Jason Day gutting out 18 holes in the 3rd round of the US Open.  He will be the people’s choice today to win his 1st major.  He is definitely one of the top players to yet bag his first major championship.  SU asks this question about professional athletes playing with vertigo: is there any other sport other than golf where this could even happen?  Football, baseball, basketball, hockey – nope.  Tennis, soccer, auto racing, boxing, ping pong – don’t think so.  Pool?  Yes, you could play with vertigo at the highest level.  SU cannot think of any others.  Just thought that was interesting.
• The Yankees are back to winning as their maddening inconsistent season continues.  Win 5 in a row, lose 5 in a row.  They even won on Old Timers’ Day which never happens.  A-Rod is hot and playing very relaxed after notching his 3,000th hit.  Interesting that none of the Tiger players in the dugout applauded the hit – they didn’t even move.  Their manager said after the game that if it was a single, he was sure that they would have done a polite “golf clap.”  SU understands the reaction of other teams in that A-Rod cheated to gain advantage against them over the years.  Of course, the hypocrisy is that players on every team cheated and no doubt there were players in the Tigers’ dugout who were PED users.  As a fan, the contrast with Jeter’s 3,000th hit and A-Rod’s is very striking.
• Nova is coming off the DL and you will have to put Adam Warren in the bullpen despite his recent success as a starter.  The reality is that the Yankees desperately need another consistent arm in the bullpen and he has done it before.  Cashman’s pick-ups of Martin and Carpenter were both busts but not his fault – relievers year-to-year effectiveness is uneven except for Mariano which makes his greatness that much more incredible.
• Finally, it’s NBA Draft week and the rumors about the Knicks’ pick are flying   Trade it to the Suns for Eric Bledsoe?  That one is interesting as he is a solid player.  SU’s rooting interest for the Knicks will depend on what they do this off-season.  Unlike other NY sports teams, I do not root for the laundry ever since the Isiah Thomas era.  I need to be wooed to get back on the band wagon.

SU is on record that for this year’s Yankee team, the only and I mean only excitement and interest for me comes from A-Rod’s at bats.  I am a life-long, diehard fan and I no longer watch games all the way through.  Brian Cashman has worked hard and he has finally put together a collection of players that can put me to sleep.  He did some pilots the last couple of years –  Andruw Jones; Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells – to see just what a Yankee fan could truly tolerate.  And now he has doubled down to give us Stephen Drew and Chase Headley.  Admit it: when you watch this team, who do you wait to see come to the plate?  For SU, it’s only A-Rod.

I must say the boos this year are much less hateful than what we have seen in past years for him and much less than what I would have expected (except for the Red Sox fans who are hypocritical when it comes to PED users (see your DH)).  A-Rod has done and said all the right things this year.  His approach, behavior and mindset are 180 degrees different from the last few years.  And the fans have forgiven him in New York.  SU says it shows how fans are willing to forgive and forget especially for their own and especially if they produce.  They do it in every sport time and time again.  It’s also why athletes like Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Pete Rose, etc. would all have been better served to just come clean and admit the truth in the beginning.  SU would even put Roger Clemens in that category although not for me – he is the worst of the worst in that regard.

The American fan wants to forgive – plain and simple.  SU says it is also why all MLB players who used PEDs should declare a day of amnesty and as a group, admit what they did once and for all.  There would be an uproar for a few days in the media and then we all move on as we always do.

SU will tune in tonight to hopefully see A-Rod’s hit #3,000 and will be happy for him.  He is a cheater, a knucklhead, vain and makes the worst decisions, but he also has a great swing and brings some excitement to a very vanilla team (and I do mean vanilla).

Your thoughts?

Interesting article here today on espn.com as to whether LeBron abused David Blatt in the Cavaliers’ playoff run this year.

http://espn.go.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/3896/lebrons-handling-of-blatt-unbecoming

SU would have to agree with Marc Stein here.  It’s one thing to firmly believe that you are right.  It’s another to set a bad example for your teammates – especially your younger ones who are more impressionable.  If you have an issue with the coach, deal with it off-line or behind-the-scenes.  You don’t do it on full display.  Think about how this would play out in the workplace.  Showing up your boss is not tolerated in most organizations.  I don’t care how good you are – you need to show respect.

As Mark Jackson would say, “Hey, you’re bigger than that!”  Or perhaps LeBron will just be another coach killer (he has plenty of company in the NBA).

SU asks: “What do you think?”

After a pretty boring NBA playoff season, the finals were must-see tv.  What will be our lasting memories?

• First of all, LeBron is a freak.  There is just no-one that can do what he does given his size and muscle.  For the 20 seconds a game when he wasn’t on the court, you could see just how mediocre the Cavs’ roster was for this series without Kevin Love and Kyrie.
• Second, SU has never seen a playoff series with so much whining on foul calls.  It takes complaining to a whole new level and now we have a whole new generation of youngsters who will do the same thing in their games.  When you watch the replays on TV of the fouls, it’s almost comical as 97% of the calls were obvious as guys are getting raked across the arm or grabbed.  SU says that if Draymon Green pulls this act next year during the regular season, he will break all of Dwight Howard’s technical records and will be suspended every 9 games.  Just stop whining.  And when the stars like LeBron do it all the time, it makes all of the teammates get into the act.  Even Mozgov was perfecting his whine – probably in Russian which saved him from getting teed up.  The NBA has to crack down on this next year.
• You knew LeBron was gassed last night when he was too tired to complain on his foul calls.  He just had no legs and tried to get his teammates more involved but to no avail.  Assuming Love re-signs and Kyrie Irving is healthy, they should be back here one year from now.  BUT… SU says that LeBron needs to show Love the love and make him an important part of the offense.  He can be a difference maker but James needs to get him more shots and show him the respect he deserves.  Team chemistry matters.
• Golden State is a fun team to watch but they are not a dynasty – at least not yet.  Truth be told, if Cleveland was at full strength, you could easily make the case that the Cavs win this series.
• Now we start the silly season of NBA free agency.  Role players who had a good run in the playoffs (see Jerome James and the contract that Isiah Thomas gave him as President of the Knicks) look to cash in with maximum size contracts.  Tristin Thompson is a great effort player but he should be smart, take less money and stay where he is.  It’s hard to maintain that level of effort over 5-6 years with pressure to perform.  Draymon Green is another player who thrives in the right system and should stay put for less money.  Of course, it’s hard to pass up the dollars and most players will take the big bucks to win 30 games a year in some small market.

SU is afraid to even comment on the Yankees this morning.  This team is so up and down.  They have now lost 5 of 6 and with Andrew Miller shelved, there is no margin for error in the games that they are leading and need to win.  It’s time for Brian Cashman to step up and make the tough calls.  SU says go all in on the youngsters and just see what happens.  Trade Stephen Drew when he is peaking at .176.  He will be less attractive at .155 which is where he will trend over time.  By the way, if you have a minute, just scan the batting averages that the Yankees put out there every day.  A-Rod and Gardner at .270 are leading the way.  Embarrassing.  And the media are already saying that if Girardi doesn’t get to the playoffs this year, his job will be in jeopardy.  Cashman should be asked to manage this roster just like the guy on the Marlins.

Finally, the Mets are quietly hanging around 1st place and if Alderson is willing to spend a few dollars, they may have staying power into the summer months.  The Nationals are good but not great and that division is winnable.

The Cavs are now down 3-2 in this series and it looks like the Warriors have figured out the formula for winning the championship.  For Cleveland and its fans, there is a silver lining.  Kevin Love has to be watching this thinking that he could have been the difference maker that would have put the Cavs over the top.  Of course, Kyrie Irving is not playing either.  For

Love who will be a free agent, how do you not come back and sign that long term deal to play with LeBron and potentially win multiple championships?  Even Golden State’s most ardent fans would have to wonder if they were good enough to win this series if Irving and Love were healthy.  Assuming Cleveland loses this series, Love must have the competitive spirit to want to stay in Cleveland make some history over the next few years.  This could just be the beginning.

SU is a big LeBron fan – always have been.  However, his comments after last night’s game were cringe-worthy.  He said the Cavs still have a chance because he is the best player in the world.  While this may be true, can’t you just let others say that?  Is it necessary to say it about yourself?  SU predicts that the next thing he will be doing is talking about himself in the 3rd person (this is the natural progression of the big egos).  Keep an eye out for that.

Iman Shumpert is just not healthy.  Aside from his shoulder, there is something going on with his legs.  He cannot finish around the basket.  Knick fans remember him as a leaper and big time dunker but he has had his share of knee injuries.  It’s just another lmitation for the Cavs.  It really is amazing that they still are in this series with so many injuries.  Steve Kerr deserves credit for his small-ball line-up the last couple of games but truth be told, his strategy against LeBron can definitely be second-guessed.  A little more double-teaming and make him give up the ball earlier in the possession is another option.

SU caught some of the Yankees’ game yesterday.  Stephen Drew (batting 6th!) went 2 for 4 and John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman applauded his 2-hit effort.  But if you are paying even a little attention, you would have noticed that he failed with the bases loaded and runners on 1st and 3rd in this game.  His hits came with no one on base.  But he is almost up to .180 now and that must be Brian Cashman’s threshold for giving him a new long-term deal.  SU is criticized for complaining about the Yankees who are still in 1st place but this team is beyond boring.  The Yankees will continue to hover around .500 but someone in the AL East will pull away eventually.  I am not asking them to make trades.  Just bring up some younger players and put them in there.

SU is excited about the women’s World Cup and team USA.  I like watching women’s soccer better than the men’s.  With the men, it feels like you need to perfectly execute 4 or 5 consecutive passes to score a goal and that happens about twice a game.  With the women, it’s a slower moving game and there seem to be more mistakes which leads to more scoring chances.  I am not a huge soccer fan but I pick my spots.

The Yankees just got some bad news.  And no, I don’t mean that Brendan Ryan was activated today.  Andrew Miller is going on the DL with a strained muscle in his forearm.  Clearly he has been hanging around Tanaka too much and look what happened.  They can put Betances in the bullpen but they were already hurting with coverage in the 6th and 7th innings.  SU predicts that once Nova comes back to the starting rotation, Adam Warren will become that guy.  Too bad as he has been doing great as a starter but who knows how long Miller will be out.

LeBron once again put up some gawdy numbers last night as the Cavs hung on in a wild 4th quarter.  The numbers were interesting.  In games 1 and 2, he drove to the basket a lot but looked to pass to his wing men on a number of occasions.  Last night?  Er, not so much (something like 2 passes in 18 drives).  SU says this not sustainable and the Warriors discovered something in the 4th quarter last night (I think it was Stephen Curry’s jumper).  Steve Kerr also dusted off David Lee and he played great.  All the Warriors need to do is score more frequently and make the games more high scoring.  There is no way the Cavs can keep pace as LeBron is now fully committed to doing this all on his own and quite frankly it’s hard for players like JR Smith to get into any rhythm with shots that are few and far between.  SU still believes LeBron needs to cut back on the shots and spread the scoring around a little better.  It’s less wear and tear on him as well.  This has been a very interesting finals after some pretty boring playoff action until now.