Jeremy Lin - NBA photo

Carmelo Anthony - NBA photo   Amare Stoudemire - NBA photo

Peyton Manning - Ytoyoda/Craig ONeal photo

SPORTS NOTES - LIN SANITY FEVER IS OVER

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

It was a matter of time when the Jeremy Lin balloon would come down to reality and the NY Knicks would return to their old ways of losing. Lin s the best thing to happen in the NBA this season the question is can the Knicks return to their winning form with their two super stars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire returning to the lineup - Peyton Manning is shopping for a team to blend his talents. The Denver Broncos are said to be in the driver's seat with the Arizona Cardinals 2nd. Manning tosses to super star receiver Larry Fitzgerald is a match made in heaven. Can it be signed sealed and delivered on earth? - CAMBODIA LOSE FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES AND RISE 6 SPOTS IN THE FIFA RANKINGS

Tuesday March 13, 2012

THE BLOOM IS OFF THE ROSE

The Jeremy Lin fever was a good thing for the NBA ad human relations in general. The 23-year-old Taiwanese/Chinese American rocketed to world wide notoriety when he came off the bench a sparked the New York Knicks to seven straight victories and 8 of 10. His highlight was scoring 38 points in a 92-85 win against the Los Angeles Lakers. The world went Lin nuts as Asia was claiming the young man that turned lemons into lemonade. He was rejected by two NBA teams the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets before latching on to a Knicks contract and eventually lighting them up with his sparkling play.

Lin merchandise was flying off the racks in the USA and Asia particularly in Taiwan where his parents are from. From underdog to top dog is seven games is enough to rattle a no name talent but Lin kept his cool and continued to perform. The weak part of his game is turnovers but as he puts it he's learning the NBA game.

The Cinderfella story had to come to an end some time as Lin was lifting a team with a losing record when he began his run to by in the Top 8 playoff berths in the Eastern Conference. Our question was the team was winning with Lin and bench players as the teams stars Carmelo Anthony was injured and Amare Stoudemire was on leave to deal with a death in his family… could they co-exist and jell with the young talent when they returned to the lineup? Anthony insisted that he could. Stoudemire was not asked the question.

Stoudemire was the first to return after missing four games. Prior to his leave of absence he played with Lin in their 99-92 win over the New Jersey Nets and in 3 of the 7 game winning streak with Lin at the starting point guard position. Since his return the Knicks have a 5-9 record.

Anthony has a reputation for being stubborn and the center of attention. He was the major question mark of can we all get along….AND WIN

Since Anthony returned to the lineup the Knicks have a 2-8 record including losing their last six in a row when they went down to the Chicago Bulls 104-99 last night. Pundits claim that the schedule was much easier when the team won seven in a row at the start of Lin being inserted into the lineup. LIN's overall record in 19 games as starter is 10-9. The Bulls loss dropped them out of the Top 8 playoff position teams and their record is now 18-24.

As famed former UCLA coach John Wooden once told me the best players don't make the best team and that's how he selected his players which led him to 10 NCAA titles including seven in a row.

Both Stoudmire and Anthony's stats are down from their career averages. Anthony's FG (field goal) avg down from career 401 - 456% and his ppg (points per game) is down from 24.7 career to 21.3 this season. Stoudemire's FG avg. and ppg down from career 532-459% FG and down to 17.6 from a career 21.7 ppg. Lin is averaging 15 ppg, 6.3 assists and four turnovers a game.

Lin has an Economics degree from Harvard University a school where brains are required and no scholarships are given. Lin was not given a scholarship from his schools of choice UCLA and Stanford therefore he had to pay his own way to attend the Ivy League school.

When it comes to economics the numbers are astronomical. Stoudemire and Anthony are the team's highest priced players each earning roughly 24 times Lin's earnings. Anthony's contract calls for $18,518,574, Stoudemire $18,217,705 and Lin's deal is $762,195 exceeding only Jerome Jordan's $473,604.

Currently the Knicks are on a downward slide. Following the Bulls game Chicago's all-star guard Derrick Rose said of Lin, "He's good. He didn't turn the ball over that much. He's playing with a lot of confidence. His teammates believe in him. You can go so far in this league when you have your teammates behind you."

The question is can they come together (sorry Beatles) and make the playoffs? Stay tuned…

NFL - PEYTON MANNING to LARRY FITZGERALD? A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

When it comes to leaving it all on the field Peyton Manning exemplifies that. That's the good news. The bad news is having done that resulting in a neck injury requiring a fusion operation that sidelined him last season he now falls into the category of what have you done for me lately?

Manning led the Colts to their only Super Bowl title and the team to its greatest success during his term with him at the helm. The Colts thanks for his contribution to the team is he's been released. A fused neck means less mobility in turning to see your defender and possibly limited performance. Apparently the Colts choose to cut their losses without any respect or appreciation of what Manning has done for the franchise.

The four time NFL MVP is searching for a job and several team are interested. He's met with for NFL MVP John Elway regarding joining the Denver Broncos. He's met with the Arizona Cardinals and that's a good fit.

With Larry Fitzgerald he has one of the best NFL receivers of all time to catch his throws. It would be a remake of the Kurt Warner, Fitzgerald era of big days with big plays. Fitzgerald can run long and fast with hands of glue. He experienced two 100 catch plus seasons with Warner and could do the same with Manning. It's a match made in heaven the problem is it has to be signed, sealed and delivered on earth. Stay tuned…

CAMBODIA LOSE FOUR GAMES AND RISE 6 SPOTS IN THE FIFA RANKINGS

In the world of go figure try this on for size. The Cambodia National team lost four straight games since the previous FIFA rankings and amazingly moved up six positions in the rankings from 172 to 166. The losing streak included a 1-0 loss to Timor East ranked 204.

According to the Phnom Penh Post the team returned from the 2012 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy in Brunei pointless. The competition also included Malaysia, Vietnam and hosts Brunei ranked 201.

This miracle occurred this time last year when Cambodia moved up the rankings while turning in a losing record against lower ranked opponents. That story has been one of our most read NR TOP 10 columns since it was published and is ranked # 3 on this months NR Top 10 chart.

FIFA recently sent out a survey regarding our thoughts about their ranking system. With results like these it raises the question just how is FIFA ranking teams? FIFA has given Interpol MONEY to investigate others perhaps Interpol should take a good look at FIFA. Go figure…