NFL Draft Wraps Up in New York

• The Indianapolis Colts started the NFL draft on Thursday drafting Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, as expected. They ended the draft on Saturday drafting Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish. In between these two quarterbacks, 251 other men were drafted by all 32 teams. The Colts used their second round draft pick on Luck’s college teammate and friend Coby Fleener. Fleener was Luck’s best receiving target in college, and will provide the rookie a security blanket as he begins his pro career.
• The two best drafts are probably those of the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals. The Eagles addressed their most glaring needs by drafting Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox in the first round and Cal linebacker Mychal Kendricks in the second round. They continued to help a defense that was lacking in depth by drafting 4 defensive players in their top 5. The Bengals had a boatload of picks and were able to turn them into a number of players who should be playing right away. Dre Kirkpatrick, the cornerback from Alabama, Kevin Zeitler, guard from Wisconsin, and Mohamad Sanu, wide receiver from Rutgers should all contribute right away.
• Perhaps the most eye raising story from the draft was that of Sanu. Somebody called Sanu’s agent telling him the Cincinnati Bengals had drafted Sanu with the 27th overall pick. The agent relayed the news to Sanu and they both began to celebrate. However, when it became aware that the actual pick was Zeitler people were flummoxed. It turned out that the agent had been the victim of a prank. In a turn of fate, the Bengals actually drafted Sanu in the third round. Sanu has expressed no ill will towards the pranker, I do not believe I would be so forgiving


Clips come from 27 down to beat Grizz

• The L.A. Clippers have only been to the playoffs once in the past couple of decades, and it was showing as they were down by 21 points entering the 4th quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies (their largest deficit was 27).  Yet in the 4th quarter, against all odds, they mounted a furious comeback and ended up winning the game 99-98 after Chris Paul's 2 free throws with 23 seconds remaining.  
• The comeback was tied for the largest ever in the playoffs entering the 4th quarter, and it likely would not have happened unless Paul begged his coach to put him back into the game despite the huge deficit.  Fans and players alike were stunned afterwards and Blake Griffin could only mumble, "I've never been a part of a game like that at any level."
• The Clippers lost SF Caron Butler to a broken hand in the game (although that loss is more manageable than that of the Chicago Bulls, who lost reigning MVP Derrick Rose to an ACL tear in their own Game 1).

NBA Playoffs start

• The 2012 NBA Playoffs are finally about to get underway, beginning on Saturday now that all of the teams have been set.  There are some terrific series right off the bat in the 2-7 matchups, as the defending champion Dallas Mavericks play the up and coming Oklahoma City Thunder, the team that was the best in the NBA for much of this season.  In the East, the New York Knicks play the Miami Heat, a team they have historically upset in the playoffs even when the Heat were much better.
• The Chicago Bulls have the top seed in the East and will play the Philadelphia 76ers while the San Antonio Spurs have the top seed overall and will play the Utah Jazz, a big team who may give the aging Tim Duncan and the Spurs weaker inside defense some issues.
•  Remember that since the NBA lockout shortened the season, only 66 games were played in the regular season this year instead of the typical 82. 
• One team not in the playoffs is the woeful Charlotte Bobcats who lost 23 games in a row to end the season at 7-69, the worst mark in NBA history.  Many have made a point of noticing that Bobcats part owner Michael Jordan, the key player on the mythical 70 win Bulls team that had the best record in NBA history, has now been a directly involved in both the best and worst NBA teams ever.
• For full matchups and game times, click here.  Every team will play a game either Saturday or Sunday. 


NFL Draft ongoing

• The first round of the NFL Draft was Thursday night and many players went where they were supposed to although, in many spots, they went to different teams than expected due to the 8 total trades.  Here is the current list of players taken.  Check back later as we fill in more details!

"World Peace" a misnomer?

More Insanity from Metta World Peace

• During Sunday's matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Metta World Peace (formerly known as Ron Artest) threw down a monster dunk on two Thunder players. Right afterwards, and accounts vary on the purpose of the action, World Peace threw a pretty vicious elbow in the direction of James Harden catching him right below the left ear. Harden collapsed and displayed concussion like symptoms.
• World Peace’s history of bizarre both on and off court behavior lead to the NBA suspending him for 7 games. This will make him miss at least 6 games in this year’s playoffs as there is only one more regular season game for the Lakers.

NFL Draft on Thursday

• This Thursday is the first round of the NFL Draft. The annual process by which the NFL dispenses college players to its 32 teams. This year the first two picks are almost as widely known as in any previous year. However, after those picks, the rest of the picks are up in the air.
• The Indianapolis Colts are on record saying they will pick Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, and the Washington Redskins traded their first round pick this year and that from the next two years for the second overall pick. They are widely expecting to select Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.
• The Minnesota Vikings, own the third pick and they have three different options that they are considering. Left tackle from USC Matt Kalil, Wide Receiver from Oklahoma State Justin Blackmon and Running Back from Auburn Trent Richardson are expected, in some order, to be the next three players off the board.
• The second and third rounds of the draft are Friday night, and the fourth through seventh rounds will be Saturday.

Humber perfect, NBA/NHL playoffs

Humber Hurls Perfection

• Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Philip Humber threw the 21st perfect game in the history of Major League Baseball on Saturday night, retiring all 27 batters he faced. Humber, a former top draft pick by the New York Mets in 2004 but was not a regular starter until last season, had never even thrown a complete game before.
• The White Sox defeated the listless Seattle Mariners for Humber’s 12th career win. Humber’s career was flat after being drafted 3rd overall out of Rice College in 2004. He debuted for the Mets in 2006, and spent time with the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals before signing with the Chicago White Sox in 2011. Humber struck out 9 Mariners.
• The Mets, founded in 1962, have never even had a pitcher throw a no-hitter (a game where players get on base by only walks, errors, hit by pitches, etc but not a base hit). Humber became the 7th former Met who threw a no-hitter or perfect game for another team. The improbability of this is something not lost on the fans from Queens.
• The final hitter of the game, Brendan Ryan, struck out but the pitch was wild and got away from catcher A.J. Pierzynski.  If Ryan had made it to first base, as you can do on a dropped third strike, the perfect game would have been ruined, but luckily Ryan was confused as to whether or not his check-swing had been called a strike to begin with and by the time he had figured it out, the ball was being thrown to first and Humber's spot in history had been secured.


NHL Playoffs wrapping up first round

• Half of the first round playoff matchups in the NHL have finished. The LA Kings, the 8th seed in the Western Conference, surprised the top seeded Vancouver Canucks winning the series 4-1.  It was the third time in the last four years that the best team in the regular season lost in their first playoff matchup.  The 4th seeded Nashville Predators defeated the 5th seed Detroit Red Wings. The Predators will move on to face the Kings. The 2nd seeded St Louis Blues defeated the 7th seeded San Jose Sharks 4-1.  The lone series in the West yet to be completed sees the Phoenix Coyotes leading the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2.
• In the Eastern Conference the only series that has wrapped up has the 5th seeded Philadelphia Flyers defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. After a rough and tumble third game, the Penguins won two in a row, but fell short in game 6.
• In the other Eastern series, Tyler Seguin scored a goal less than 4 minutes into overtime to force a game seven between his 2nd seeded Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals. The 3rd ranked Florida Panthers lead the New Jersey Devils 3-2 and the 8th seeded Ottawa Senators are leading the New York Rangers 3-2.


Suns, Jazz battle for last playoff spot

• The NBA season has 1-3 games left (depending on the team) and while most playoff spots have been locked up, the #8 seed in the West is still up for grabs.  The Phoenix Suns, who lost to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, trail the Utah Jazz, who came back to beat the Orlando Magic later that night.  Despite the one game lead, the playoff spot will probably come down to the two teams' matchup in Utah on Tuesday (Isn't it great when it works out that way?)
• The Suns have already locked up the tiebreaker, so if they win that game, they'd only need to win their last game (Against a San Antonio game that would presumably rest its starters) or have Utah lose to Portland. 
• Suns PG Steve Nash, who is a free agent this summer, has said he wants to play for 3 more seasons but has said he wants to see improvement to Phoenix's roster this summer before he commits to re-signing moved into 5th place on the NBA's all-time assist list, passing the legendary Oscar Robertson.

Luck to Colts, Pudge to retire

Colts officially admit they'll draft Luck

• Denial is a powerful tool and despite the fact that everyone and their mother thought that The Indianapolis Colts were going to use the #1 pick in next Thursday's NFL draft to select Stanford Quarterback Andrew Luck, they denied that it was a done deal... until yesterday.  The Colts finally announced that Luck would replace Peyton Manning as the team's franchise quarterback this coming year.
• Luck has been widely expected to be the first overall pick for more than two years. He is considered the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning, the last guy the Colts drafted with the first overall pick.
• With the Washington Redskins trading multiple picks to get the second overall pick and expecting to pick Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, the Minnesota Vikings are for all intents and purposes “on the clock.” Sportico will have more in depth draft coverage next week.


"Pudge" Rodriguez retires

• One of the greatest, if not the greatest, catchers in MLB history has finally decided to hang up the spikes after a brilliant career that spanned more than 20 years.  Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez (pictured above) played most of his career for the Texas Rangers, including 1999, when he won the AL MVP.  Debuting in 1991, he finished his career with 2844 hits, 1354 runs (both all-time records for catchers) a .296 batting average and 311 home runs, (although his stats were watered down by some weak years toward the end of his career).
• Despite his offensive prowess though, he'll be forever remembered for his play behind the plate.  Pudge was probably the greatest weapon against base stealers ever, frightening otherwise potent base stealers to stay at home.  He won 13 Gold Gloves which obliterates Johnny Bench's previous record of 10.
• I'd like to list Pudge as the #3 Catcher of all time and although some may disagree and I haven't looked at all the stats yet, I believe he's pretty close to that second tier following the epic duo of Bench and Yogi Berra (who younger fans may only know for his appearance on Aflac commercials).
• Congrats on a great career Pudge.  Baseball will miss you for the short period of time between now and the day you'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

April 18th Update

Kentucky loses starting 5

• Each starter from the national champion Kentucky Wildcats has declared for the NBA draft. It was widely expected that at least two of the five would leave early as they are the consensus top two picks in the draft. The other three will be joining their teammates in the NBA next year.
• Anthony Davis is the unanimous first overall pick and a defensive savant. He will be the prize of the NBA draft lottery. Fellow Freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is the front runner to be the second overall pick. These two were not surprising.
• The third of the highly touted freshman, Marquis Teague will be joined by two Sophomores, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb. To join these five players who have decided to leave early, Kentucky senior Darius Miller will also be leaving the program, and is also expected to be drafted. Kentucky coach John Calipari, who has made his riches on highly talented players who leave after a year or two, will be looking to reload again, after losing an astonishing amount of talent.

ANOTHER coach causes headlines

• Generally we like to stick to stories about players or games, but in the past few weeks coaches have done more and more to force their way into the limelight.
• Boston Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine, in an interview this weekend, criticized star 3^rd baseman Kevin Youkilis. Valentine’s comments came after Youkilis had a poor first three games. Valentine challenged Youkilis on his mental and physical readiness for the beginning of the season.
• Valentine is the new manager of the Red Sox and has had a rocky start, with many in Boston calling for his ousting already. This situation will likely continue to progress throughout the summer, and is something interesting to keep an eye out for.
• Red Sox star and former AL MVP Dustin Pedroia stepped up for his teammate, first saying that he hadn't questioned his effort at all. Later, when asked if Valentine's comments were a ploy he cracked a smile and said "Maybe in Japan or something (referring to Valentine's last managerial stint) but over here in the US we’re on a three-game winning streak and we want to feel good and keep it rolling."

April 16th update

Flyers crushing Pens in intense series

• The NHL playoffs have been going for about a week now, and the most interesting series has been the battle of Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins are locked up in a heated rivalry. The personal hatred between the teams was never in question but it intensified a few weeks ago during the regular season and obviously the players' tempers have not cooled down during the playoffs.
• It’s not helping that the Flyers have been running circles around the Penguins (Don't lie, you thought we'd use a flying pun there) which has contributed to the Penguins losing their cool a bit. During Game 3 on Sunday, which the Flyers won 8-4, the two teams combined for 158 penalty minutes. This included a period at about the 12 minute mark of the 3rd period with a fight, and then another fight as the referees were trying to sort out the first fight. 3 players were ejected from the game.
• One of the more concerning aspects of all the fighting is that Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby has missed much of the past two seasons with a concussion and its aftereffects. It would be a shame for one of the NHL’s biggest stars to lose even more of a very promising career from a stupid fight during a playoff game. That all being said, this was one of the most entertaining games in the playoffs so far and we're hoping that the Pens extend the series for a few more games just so we can continue to see these teams compete against one another.


NBA playoff picture still wide open

• In many seasons the playoff picture is more or less locked into place with weeks remaining but this season there's still a lot of intrigue in the last couple of days. The Eastern conference has seen the Bulls recently pull away for the #1 seed as the Miami Heat have lost a few games and the Milwaukee Bucks are still within 2 games of the Knicks for the final playoff spot but it's the West where the real intrigue is.
• 5 teams are within 3 games of each other for the final 3 playoff spots. Those teams in order of their current standings are the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz. The Suns are currently one game back of the Rockets who lost to the Nuggets yesterday and the Suns on Friday. All the teams still have many games left against each other so it should be a thrilling, down-to-the-wire finish to an abbreviated but still entertaining NBA season.

April 13th update

NHL Playoffs underway

• The 2012 NHL Playoffs are upon us, with games beginning earlier this week. The New York Rangers are the top seed in the East while the Vancouver Canucks, who came within minutes of winning the Stanley Cup last year, are the top overall seed.
• Every series has started already except for the Florida Panthers vs. New Jersey Devils matchup, which will begin tonight. Thursday night saw 3 game 1's go into overtime, which may be a good omen for the overall excitement level of this year's playoffs. Full standings and playoff schedules can be seen here, although they do not show you future results of the Stanley Cup (Flyers over the Canucks, you heard it here first).


Vitt, not Parcells, will coach Saints in 2012

• Despite reports that former Super Bowl champion and coaching legend Bill Parcells may have been interested in the job, the New Orleans Saints announced that assistant coach Joe Vitt will coach the team in 2012 while coach Sean Payton is serving a year long suspension for his role in the now infamous bounty program. The move is curious because Vitt himself is suspended for the first 6 games so offensive line coach Aaron Kromer will be the other interim coach for that period of time.
• The Saints were one of the highest scoring teams in NFL history last season, Drew Brees set the all-time passing yardage mark and Jimmy Graham set the all-time receiving yards mark for a Tight End (although it was broken just minutes later by the Patriots' Rob Gronkowski). However, the Saints lost their second playoff game to the San Francisco 49ers and now face a 2012 season that is uncertain at best with so much change in the administrative positions as well as possible player suspensions looming.

April 11th update

Petrino out at Arkansas

• Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino was fired on Tuesday as the fallout from his motorcycle escapades continued. Petrino played the part on April Fool’s day by riding his motorcycle without a helmet with a 25 year-old football staffer, with whom his relationship was not clearly defined. Petrino (who is married with children) was fired with cause, which allows the university to avoid paying him a multimillion dollar buyout.
• This is not the first time Petrino has left an organization he was the head coach in controversy. In July of 2006, he signed a 10 year extension at the university of Louisville with much fanfare to remain the head coach and build the Cardinals into a power. Less than a year later, he bailed on them to sign with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons in a similar high dollar deal. Less than a year after that, he bailed on the Falcons after it became obvious that Michael Vick would be off the team with his dogfighting issues and signed with Arkansas, the job that he has just now been fired from. Hopefully the next school to hire him isn't expecting a high-character individual.
• The female passenger, Jessica Dorrell, has not made any public comments. Dorrell is a former Arkansas volleyball player and had been recently hired by Petrino to help with the recruiting effort. Her on-going status with the university is unknown.


Guillen suspended for 5 games

• Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen is known to be a fiery manager, saying what he wants no matter whom he offends. This was never more clear that in a recent interview when Guillen said he "loves Fidel Castro." Castro, the longtime dictator of Cuba is a very unpopular figure in Miami which has a very high percentage of ex-Cubans.
• Sportico does not try to delve into political controversies but suffice it to say a lot of people are mad and some are even calling for Guillen's termination. Others wonder how a simple comment like this can be grounds for a suspension and why he's being penalized so harshly. To his credit, Guillen, whose first language is Spanish but gave this interview in English, tempered his statement, saying that he did not mean to say he personally loved Csstro, but rather that he was surprised that he was still around after so long and harming so many people.
• In 2008, he also praised Castro in an interview saying: "Fidel Castro is a bull---- dictator and everybody's against him, and he still survives, has power. Still has a country behind him. Everywhere he goes they roll out the red carpet. I don't admire his philosophy. I admire him."

April 9th Update

Watson takes dramatic Masters victory

• Bubba Watson won his first major on Sunday by defeating Louis Oosthuizen (pronounced oos-they-zin) in the second hole of a sudden death playoff. After 72 holes, the most important golf tournament on the schedule needed another two holes to crown a victor. Watson was able to walk away with the Green Jacket, symbolic of the Master's winner.
• Even a historic shot by Oosthuizen wasn't enough. On the par-5 2nd hole Oosthuizen's second shot hit the green and rolled almost the entire length of the green into the cup for only the 4th double-eagle in the 76-year history of the Masters. Oosthuizen calmly tossed the ball into the stands, where it was caught by a fan. This fan later returned the ball to the Augusta country club.
• Watson had an incredible shot of his own. On the penultimate hole of the tournament Watson hooked his tee shot badly, sending it into the woods. After Oosthuizen bogeyed the playoff hole, Watson only needed a par to win. Hitting an incredible shot (that Oosthuizen later said looked like a curveball coming out of the woods) without being able to see the hole, Watson was able to get the ball onto the green. After missing a birdie putt, Watson was able to win his first Major with a clutch short par putt.
• After the last putt, Watson immediately broke down in embrace with his caddie Ted Scott and soon after with his mother.Watson's had a roller coaster 18 months. His father died in 2010, and had his first baby just two weeks ago. Watson, a Florida native, is widely respected, not only on the golf tour, but across the sporting world.

MLB season off and running

• The First weekend of the MLB came to a conclusion Sunday night with more than a few surprises. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, probably the two most well-known teams in baseball got swept, as did the 2010 World Series champion San Francisco Giants.
• The three teams doing the winning in these series made the playoffs last year and the Detroit Tigers (who probably have the best offense in the MLB) and the Tampa Bay Rays (who probably have the best starting pitching staff) did as much as they could over the first weekend to show that they have what it takes to make another playoff appearance.
• Additionally, the Baltimore Orioles swept the Minnesota Twins and the New York Mets swept the Atlanta Braves. The Houston Astros, one of the worst teams in the league, are off to a 2-1 record, the first time they've had a winning record since July of 2009.

April 6th update

MLB opening day(s)

• You already know that two MLB games were played in Japan between the A's and Mariners and that the Cardinals played the Marlins on Wednesday night. But now, the rest of the teams are finally getting in on the action, as every team in the MLB either played last night, or will play today. Offenses looked a little rusty all day, especially in the earliest 4 games in which a total of 10 runs were scored.
• Injured starting pitching superstars Johan Santana and Stephen Strasburg both saw their teams win on opening day, and the Blue Jays and Indians played the longest opening day game in MLB history, going 16 innings until the Blue Jays scored 3 runs to win 7-4 (The Blue Jays also scored 3 runs in the 9th inning just to tie it).
• There are 9 more games today, including games from both World Series contestants (The Cardinals and the Rangers) and the first game of a tasty opening weekend series between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays.


Saints scandal deepens

• On the same day Saints coach Sean Peyton and general manager Mickey Loomis had their appeal heard by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, a recording was released that shows former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams seemingly extolling his team to injure members of the San Francisco 49ers.
• The recording was made by documentary film maker Sean Pamphilon who was making a video of a former Saints player who had Lou Gehrig’s dieses. He recorded the video while collecting film for this documentary.
• Among the things Williams said were to go after 49er receiver Michael Crabtree’s ACL or 49ers running back Frank Gore’s head. Gore has a history of concussions. Williams was suspended indefinitely by Goodell, but it was widely expected after this season he would be reinstated. This video throws those thoughts into question.

April 4th update

Kentucky wins National Championship

• The Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Kansas Jayhawks for the NCAA mens college basketball championship on Monday. The 67-59 final score does not quite tell the story of the domination the Wildcats showed in both phases of the game.
• Lead by star center and tournament MVP Anthony Davis’s 5 points 16 rebounds 6 blocks and 5 assists, the Wildcats dominated Kansas scoring easily and leaving only the most difficult of shots available for them. Leading by as much as 18 in the first half and 15 with 5 minutes left, the Wildcats domination is reminiscent of the 2009 championship game between UNC and Michigan State where the Tar Heels were never in danger.
• Kansas was lead by its own star center Thomas Robinson who scored 18 points and had 17 rebounds. Robinson is expected to be a top 5 draft pick in this summer’s NBA draft, but he will likely be drafted behind two Wildcats, as Davis is widely expected to be the top pick and Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is thought to be the likely second overall pick.


MLB season starts tonight

• OK, first things first. Yes, we are aware that two regular season games have already been played in Japan already this season. Quiet, you. However, the first regular season game to be played in the United States starts with the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals going against the new-look Miami Marlins, who have a new name, new uniforms, new coach (Ozzie Guillen) and new superstar (Jose Reyes).
• The Cardinals lost Albert Pujols to the Angels for just a little bit of money, but he might be the last huge name to switch teams for a while, as two of the best players to hit the market soon, Joey Votto and Matt Cain, signed one-third of a billion worth of combined deals this week.
• All the usual suspects are out there with the Yankees hoping their hitting from guys like Curtis Granderson and other lesser stars wasn't a fluke, the Red Sox hoping that Bobby Valentine and a less than stellar starting pitching staff can get the job done this year, the Mets and Dodgers hoping not to embarrass themselves and the Cubs hoping that next year is this year (It won't be).
• This will also be the last year for Chipper Jones who actually started in the majors right when Nolan Ryan retired. Other big names might call it quits too, but none of them have done more winning in the regular season than Chipper who oversaw the legendary streak of playoff appearances by the Braves and Bobby Cox during his tenure.
• If you can't tune in tonight for Game 1, check the rest of the Opening Days tomorrow and on Friday and let's play ball!


Masters Tee off on Thursday

• An event unlike any other, the Masters, the biggest golf tournament on the calendar will begin on Thursday in Augusta, Georgia.
• The betting favorite is Tiger Woods fresh off his victory in the last Masters warmup tournament. He is currently a 3-1 favorite in Vegas.
• Last year’s winner Charl Schwartzel looks to become the first back-to-back winner since Woods himself in 2001 and 02 but the field will be tough and the competition should be very fierce.

April 2nd update

Madness ends tonight

• The NCAA Tournament has seen 66 teams fall and now only the Kansas Jawhawks and Kentucky Wildcats remain. The big storyline concerns the coaches, as Bill Self and John Calipari faced off in 2008, in one of the most tightly contested title games ever, which Self's Kansas squad won in overtime after a thrilling comeback and a clutch 3 pointer by Mario Chalmers.
• Kentucky has more talent, led by star C Anthony David and Forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist but Kansas has one of the best forwards in the nation in Thomas Robinson, a great PG in Tyshawn Taylor and one of the nation's best shotblockers (apart from Davis) in Center Jeff Withey.
• It should be a good game no matter what and a large number of viewers is expected. The game starts tonight at 9:23 EST.


Linsanity done (for now)

• New York Knicks breakout star Point Guard Jeremy Lin is likely out for the rest of the regular season with a small but debilitating torn meniscus in his left knee. Lin is out for about 6 weeks after having surgery. With the Knicks last regular season game on April 26th, Lin is likely out for the rest of the regular season.
• The Knicks Lin-lead resurgence drove the team from 8 games under-500 to just above 500 and into playoff contention. Now, the Knicks (who were never planning on relying on Lin) will have to stave off the Milwaukee Bucks in an effort to stay in the playoff race long enough for Lin to come back from his surgery.
• It remains to be seen how Lin will recover and to what extent his current production will return. Lin relied on his quickness to succeed, and is optimistic that he will recover from this procedure and is hopeful to be back with the Knicks next year.
• The Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni resigned midseason but the team seems to have played better under replacement coach Mike Woodson who led the Atlanta Hawks to the playoffs multiple times in the late 2000's.