Mid-Lull - Tennis, Basketball and Hot Stove

Well, here it is again, the annual big lull, that is, the period between the end of the Division Championships and the Super-Duper Bowl. Even worse than that, we’re almost in the direct middle of the lull. What this means for me is that I start watching tennis again, pay more attention to the Knicks and Nets, and even try getting into hockey. The “hot stove” stuff from baseball is almost over, of course, and will Manny Ramirez ever get signed by anyone?

The Australian Open, the first major tennis event of the year, is in full swing now and it’s always interesting to see which established stars are going to bomb and which newcomers will knock our socks off.

This year it seems that Venus Williams has bombed spectacularly. She lost to some great forehands from 20-year old Carla Suarez Navarro while Ana Ivanovic was done in by an even younger Russian, Alisa Kleybanova. There aren’t that many big names left on the board either.

The biggest name, Maria Sharapova, has been hurt for some time of course. Serena Williams is still alive, though just barely from what I saw of her last match, as are some of the old reliables, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo. But it’ll be exciting to follow some of the up-and-comers, Alize Cornet from France, Victoria Azarenko and the Bondarenko sisters.

I can’t get that excited about the men, not only because they’re, well, men, but it’s always the same guys. How often do I want to hear about Nadal and Federer?

The Knicks may have found a new small forward in Danilo Gallinari. The 6’10” Italian is showing recently why he was a #1 pick with a display of shooting, rebounding and even some defense. David Lee has been showing he can shoot from beyond a few feet lately too, and the combination of the two of them playing together might be just what the Knicks have needed.

I was never too high on Richardson. But now there is Wilson Chandler. And, doing his best Marbury impression at times is little Nate Robinson. Jersey’s Al Harrington provides some height and toughness and can shoot, but not as good as he thinks he can.

But at least it’s interesting basketball, something the Knicks haven’t seen in oh, maybe three or four years now. There’s also talk of Marbury going to Greece. That’d be nice. Oh, and Eddie Curry’s still on the roster, although I wouldn’t expect to see him on the court anytime soon. What more could a Knicks fan ask for?

I think that, in order to really follow professional basketball, you’re forced to pay attention to the local teams. There just isn’t enough information to be had on the other teams. If your name isn’t Kobe or Lebron, the NBA isn’t interested. It’s a shame, really, this star system in the NBA, where rookies can’t get a break and the stars can’t commit any fouls.

And that’s the reason that Brook Lopez has been having a little trouble establishing himself. The league makes it virtually impossible for a rookie, especially a rook unlucky enough to be playing center. The Nets might be in trouble for a while now, as Devin Harris is hurt, Vince Carter seems unexcited, and they get only sporadic play from everyone else.

It’s amazing that their record is as good as it is. Guys such as Keyon Dooling, Bobby Simmons and Yi seem to play well enough in spurts to keep the team from falling totally into oblivion. And Lawrence Frank juggles things up enough to keep everyone on their toes.

At 19-23 now, though, they’re in danger of slipping beneath the Knicks in the standings. The Knicks are 17-24 and seem to be on an upswing. Not so the Nets. If you’re interested in seeing a whole hell of a lot of different combinations on the floor, though, the Nets are the team for you.

As for “hot stove”, there still are some blockbuster things going on. Prince Fielder just signed a 2-year 18 million dollar contract with the Brew Crew and, closer to home, the Phillies re-signed clutch outfielder Jayson Werth. He might be the best utility player on the planet and, as a result, managed to extract a 2-year 10 million dollar agreement from the Phillies.

That Werth contract makes me think we’ll see more of him this year, definitely a bad sign for Mets fans. And the Phils seem quite interested in keeping slugger Ryan Howard happy. He’ll be pulling down something between 14 and 18 million next year. Oh well, at least Mets-killer Pat Burrell will be somewhere else.

The Mets haven’t done much lately, but then they really don’t have to. Everybody’s making a big deal about left field and second base but, really, I’m content to watch Murphy and Evans and Tatis make a go of it. And, hey, Luis Castillo can only get better, right?

You can’t have everything. At least that’s my stance. I’d rather take a chance on that Mets left field situation than have “established” stars such as Damon, Matsui and Nady, although I do wish the Mets had never gotten rid of Nady. And, as much as I like Manny Ramirez, I don’t think I want to see him spend his last few years in New York. I can see another Andruw Jones situation developing.

As good as Manny has been, and as good as he was in his contract year, I can definitely see a guy like that retiring on his next team. Maybe he won’t practice so hard, maybe he won’t run as hard, and, worst of all, maybe he won’t even be as entertaining.

Well, I guess that’s enough to keep me entertained through the feared Media Week at the Super Bowl. I still think Omar Minaya might have an ace up his sleeve, though, and I’m kinda hoping the ace is a somewhat crazy left-hander named Oliver Perez.