does this thing have a trailer hitch?...

there are a ton more Knick fans this morning, huh?...

i know this because the bandwagon i've been driving for the past 10 years just got full up. some of you are returning after a long absence. you were left ill by the poor decisions and outright lack of class by management and ownership. some of you are probably fresh and brand new. either way, welcome, just don't expect a pat on the back, some of us have been here a while...

first the facts:

Carmelo Anthony was going to be traded. the Denver Nuggets have eyes and they can see all the way to Cleveland. that puts the kibosh on those who actually think this was going to drag out into the summer, where a lockout awaits and a guarantee of less money for players across the board. If the Nuggets didn't trade Melo he would have signed an extension and that would have been the end of it. New York is New York, but money is money and Denver ain't all bad...

the Knicks were no better than a sixth seed in the playoffs if they stood pat. They'd be no better than a five seed next year or the year after that, and that's dependent on what the Boston Celtics become. sure, i like Raymon Felton and Wilson Chandler as players but were they weren't going to win me a championship in a league with the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls...

Chauncey Billups is old. But he's a spring chicken in comparison to Steve Nash and Jason Kidd (and myself for that matter, though Kidd is the senior in this bunch), two (three) gentlemen that do not have rings. Billups has a ring. Not just any ring. His ring came with a bonus Most Valuable Player Trophy. You find me a point guard who has that on his resume. Billups will fit the role as long Felton was scheduled to, that is, until Chris Paul or Deron Williams come knocking, and they will....

no one can check Anthony. there are a handful of players that have earned that status—Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade and Amare Stoudemire. what? No Lebron James? Yup, no Lebron James. James has spent most of his career playing the small forward or combo guard with a power forward's build and strength but a point guards agility. There is only one other player who fits that bill and that's Melo. Anthony is a bad match up for James and nine times out of ten, head-to-head, Carmelo eats him up. For all of the talk of how great a defensive player James is he is not a very good on-the-ball defender. sure, he runs full court to block a shot off a fast break or fills a passing lane and comes up with a steal, no one is saying he doesn't have incredible instincts but in a game last year between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Nuggets the spotlight was on two of the best in the game playing clear out basketball. Anthony not only won the game, with his drive to the hoop against James, he then stymied James into taking a 25' jump shot with the clock ticking down. it was at that moment that i hoped James would resign with Cleveland, because i'd rather have Carmelo. sure, James gets all the cred, but Anthony is his nemesis, and know one is more worried today than Lebron James...

did i say no one can check Stoudemire? its true. now imagine the space created in the paint by putting Melo at the wing, or the opposite free throw line extended. imagine the lack of double team, the frustrated looks on opposing benches during time outs when they don't know who to cover. this will be worth watching. it might take a few weeks and the Knicks might not get any better than a sixth seed in the playoffs but whoever lands in that three seed better pray for a Knick injury. Amare is my man, a modern day Larry Johnson who still has his knees (at least for now). LJ could score from anywhere inside 10 feet, before Amare he is only 6'7" power forward/center i've ever seen dominate a post. Amare is listed at 6'10" which is probably closer to 6'8" and he has the same ability to power past taller, wider players to score...

now, the thoughts...

this will be Billups' show, coach Mike D'Antoni works everything through his point guard. there will be a high screens and low screens and maybe even some Anthony/Stoudemire pick and roll. it should be interesting. defense? it will be there when it has to be, this is an offensive league no matter how many times Mark Jackson tells you any different. real defense went the way of the dodo, once Phil Jackson cried enough times about how Xavier McDaniel, Charles Oakley and John Starks used their hands too much. the Knicks will be able to score with anyone and ultimately i like my chances with a kid like Landry Fields on Wade and Anthony on James. i like the odds of Melo checking Hedo Turkgoglu and Tony Douglas putting a hand in Jameer Nelson's face when they are trying to get the ball into Dwight Howard. i like my Knicks having the chance of doing to the Bulls what the Bulls did to us. And the Celtics, well, we may have gotten a little older with this trade, but those Beantown boys have been in the oven so long they are baked. i sure would like to see that series...

all of this talk that the Knicks got older and lost defense is assinine. Danillo Gallinari was a statue who regressed offensively. i love his attitude and the kid can shoot, but so can Shawn Williams and Roger Mason...

while Felton and Chandler are two players i will miss, chances are i will forget about them over the next few years as this team challenges in the conference year after year. As much as i liked those guys, as is said before, they aren't championship players, only pieces...

and where is this future all of these naysayers are talking about? in the draft picks we don't have? we should be celebrating, Eddy Curry is gone! the world is better place today!!...

Renaldo Balkman, Sheldon Williams and Corey Brewer are all replaceable parts that don't cost much and come off teh books quickly. Balkman might even find himself at the Garden where he was once a fan favorite for his hard working style of play. my man can rebound and defend better than Chandler ever could, and if you ask me which player i'd rather have Timofey Mosgov or Balkman, i'll take Reynaldo and you can hold the gross misspelling of my name...

was it the best deal? no. the New Jersey Nets (and they will be in NJ longer than they think), would have been stealing if they were able to send draft picks Devin Harris and Derrick Favors to Denver for Carmelo. Draft picks? Favors?! HARRIS?! no one in the league wants Harris two years after he was hyped as a great young point guard by the Mark Cuban marketing machine. did the Knicks outbid themselves? possibly, but its not like they got Glen Rice this time...

the deal is done. let's be pragmatic. this team is better today than it was yesterday. it will be even better in two to three weeks. ultimately it will better when they pick up basketballs next fall or whenever they decide to play again. Amare didn't lie, the Knicks are back...

will the Knicks win a title? they certainly could, but either way it will be worth watching...

more expirements from the lab...

two straight posts about sandwiches? really?!..

pipe down, when you work at home and by extension eat at home this is the kind of thing that inspires you...

i write to work right now, leaving me little time for creative pursuits. between expounding on the benefits of remanufactured inkjet and adult cloth diapers a mind can wander to the matter of how best to feed oneself...

in the grand tradition of the Peace in the Middle East and the Sandwich of Love (both recipes are locked in the annals of Sandwich Masters (TM), i bring you the o'Ban...


this would be a potato pancake with jalapeno, garlic and shallots coupled with ham and surrounded by swiss and cheddar cheese with mustard on cuban bread. grilled and covered...

and yes, its awesome...

ey yo Cuban!...

normally, you'd expect a native New Yorker (cue the music...) to drone on about what he misses about the biggest and best city in the world, his home. but that's just not going to be the case here, 'cause i got that scouting spirit up in brain...

sure, i miss the tons of snow, the black ice and ungodly cold. that corner of 71st and metro that seems to be the coldest place in Queens, or that turn on 31 st on the way to the Garden, where the boys and i used to hit the now-shut Blarney Stone between 6th and 7th...

in all seriousness, its peculiar what it is you do miss...

friends? of course, i've been away before and the world still turns. everybody's got their something, mine is Tucson...

pizza? not really, i had my fill on the way out and there is a place downtown that does the trick...

deli? diner? what have you, Tucson has more good places to eat than you'd think...

nightlife? Mostly Bears aren't playing in New York, neither is Tom Walbank. you don't know them, but you should...

what i do miss? semolina bread, so i baked it. and it was good...

what else? i thought of something i wasn't able to grab before my way out the door via Delta...

a Cubano, pan con lechon, a cuban sandwich, the sandwich that makes all other sandwiches jealous. so i went to the lab and got to work...

the lab...

first thing to do was to get myself some bread that could fit the bill. since i had great success with baking semolina, i figured i'd take a shot at baking some Cuban bread. after picking up a recipe to take heed of i went to work putting the bread together...

kneeding, martini optional...

then it was on to the pork. i had the damndest time finding myself some roast pork to use along with the traditional ingredients of ham, swiss and pickles. i bought small piece of pork and seasoned it up and sent it into the oven...

a little garlic (fresh only you scalawags), rosemary, thyme, lemon and lime stuffed into small slits cut into the meat. currently i'm buying fresh herbs and letting them dry out on their own as i go through them. until i can get the garden up and running it will have to do. i added some salt and pepper along with some extra virgin olive oil and dry vermouth (in lieu of white wine). i let it sit for a bit and preheated to 350. martini optional...

a note on the martini. i prefer a gin martini fairly dry, with a twist. i stir my martinis, i have since my bartending days, because who wants a watered down shot of gin and vermouth? i prefer Bombay Saphire or Hendricks, but will settle for a Tanquery and even slum with a New Amsterdam when the wallet is light. the vermouth is Martini & Rossi. my trick is to shake the vermouth in a mixing glass with ice and then pour out the majority of the vermouth. it sticks to the ice, and gives you more room for the gin...

after letting the bread and pork cool, i sliced the pork and stored it for the night in the refrigerator and put the bread in the microwave. i slept with one eye open in anticipation of putting all together the next day...

you know the recipe. i choose mustard over mayo any day and twice on Tuesday. i set up a pan on medium heat with butter and placed the sandwich in the pan. i compressed the sandwich with another, heavy pan, a la the GW grilled cheese technique. flip it, repeat, and plate...

the product, primitive crudite optional...

who needs New York? you guys have snow and ice, i have a cubano...