Thank you, NBA

As we enter the last week of NBA games, I wanted to express my gratitude for the entertaining season that the National Basketball Association created.  When we entered the first month of the lockout, I was considering dropping the NBA altogether.  I wanted to stop paying the monster of a cable bill we have and the ultimate sacrifice was to cut out live sports.  With the advent of TV on the internet and DVDs on Netflix, there was no point to pay an excessive amount to watch something I could end up watching later, at a cheaper price.  I had already begun to set up a media center in my family room for my viewing enjoyment.  The last frontier was getting rid of live sports which I thought would be an easy task.  I figured I already stopped watching baseball a few years ago.  I also stopped playing fantasy football so watching it on a weekly basis was just a waste of time.  The last and greatest passion for me was basketball.  This would prove hardest to drop, but the lockout seemed to be a good time to consider it.  As the lockout ended, I tried not watching the games.  However, my favorite team seemed to be on the cusp of greatness.  The Knicks had rebuilt in recent years, acquiring Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in the past.  Then they focused on defense and brought in Tyson Chandler, who instantly became my favorite Knick because with him came a sense of togetherness in the locker rooom and an urgency on defense.  But they stunk and watching them play was painful.  That reaffirmed my plan to drop the NBA.  Then:

LINSANITY hit.  The Knicks rattled off a tremendous winning streak, bringing a flair on offense but playing the stodgy defense reminiscent of the team I loved watching in the 90s.  I could not remember ever paying attention to the Knicks schedule and anticipating watching their games in my adult life.  I was setting my TiVo for all the nationally televised games and even dusted off the old credit card and signed up for NBA League Pass.  If you had told a year ago me that I would be paying an extra 30 bucks a month to watch the Knicks, I would have been insulted that you thought I would waste my money on such a thing.  Watching the Knicks brought back a sense of enjoyment that I had not experienced since I was 16.  i can remember my wife, Lani, making fun of me for cheering a little too hard in the Lakers game where Lin scored 38 points.  At the center of it all was a Taiwanese-American kid from Harvard who was on a 10 day contract.  Being Taiwanese-American myself certainly helped, but the thing that brought me in were the numerous

STORYLINES.  Sure Jeremy Lin was a great story, but my Knicks were relevant again.  This was something I never thought could happen, especially the way Isaiah Thomas destroyed the team as well as any hope for the future, or so I thought.  Enter Donnie Walsh, who somehow shed those bloated contracts and helped to usher in the Knicks we see today.  These Knicks were suddenly on a seven gain winning streak.  It would have been great if they had just run the table and won the rest of the games for the season, but what kept me engrossed was the drama that followed.  Their failure to stay above .500, the return of their two stars which lead to a six game losing streak, the quitting of their head coach and then another incredible run to finish out the season (while Lin got hurt) to not only make the playoffs, but possible gain seed position as well.  The season was topped off with my wife buying us tickets to the Knicks-Miami game.  Did I mention that we live in Boston?  What a great wife I have, but that will be written about another time.  Beyond the possibility of winning a playoff series, the press were now talking about

AWARDS.  MIP, or Most Improved Player, was going to go to Jeremy Lin.  He played garbage limits last year to somehow have more points in his first however many games he started than Shaquille O'Neal or Allen Iverson.  DPOY, or Defensive Player of the Year honors, is being considered for Tyson Chandler, who is leading the league in field goal percentage.  Steve Novak emerged as a sharpshooter and is now leading the league in 3 pt percentage, and also my second favorite Knick.  Even Carmelo Anthony is now in the running for the league's MVP, or Most Valuable Player award.  Just kidding, but he would certainly have to be mentioned if they only had the last quarter of the season in mind.  If he keeps up his play next year, along with the fact that he now plays defense as well as rebounds, there is no way he does not enter the top three on everyone's list.

This has been an amazing year.  My amazing wife and I celebrated our fourth anniversary and we were blessed with our first child.  To top that all off, the Knicks are now in contention.  Or have the illusion of contention at least, which is good enough.  We will talk about their hopes in the playoffs as the seeds become finalized.  Again, I would like to thank the NBA, its owners and players for the amazing season and for having an ugly dispute about money.  Without it, the numerous storylines would not have emerged, and I would probably not have a new found love for he last professional sports team I care about.  I can finally say it.  Go Knicks!