Good morning, New York sports fans! Today is, of course, the Day After Melo-Mania Died, at least in New Jersey. That, of course, because New Jersey Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov pulled his team out of the Carmely Anthony trade discussions.
Good move by the Russian billionaire? Bad move? Well, the Nets stink just as much today as they did on Wednesday, despite defeating Utah, 103-95, Wednesday night. I'm not sure, but in the end not getting Anthony might turn out to be a great thing for the Nets. 'Melo's a great scorer, but can you build a winning franchise around him? I'm not convinced. The Nets have some young talent like Brook Lopez and Derrick Favors to build around, and some financial flexibility. Let's see what they can do with it.
The New York Knicks, of course, will now be seen as the front-runners to acquire Anthony's services. You know all that talk about not needing Anthony that has been coming from the Knicks lately? Well, New York lost its fourth straight game Wednesday night, falling to the Houston Rockets, 104-89. The Knicks are now a very average 22-19. They might want to re-think that whole 'we don't need another star player' attitude. This collection of Knicks is good enough to have its moments, probably good enough to get to the playoffs, but it's not good enough to do anything really special. Anthony might not make them a championship team right away (they still need a quality center to get there), but he would make the Knicks better.
- The New York Yankees introduced Rafael Soriano on Wednesday. Oh, and GM Brian Cashman said he really did want to bring Carl Pavano back to New York. What's next, Cash? Kyle Farnsworth? Sidney Ponson? Armando Benitez? I have always liked Cashman, but you have to question his judgment when he says he honestly feels like Pavano back in pinstripes would be a good idea.
- Be sure to follow our New York Jets StoryStream for all your Jets-Steelers information leading up to Sunday's AFC Championship Game.
- Martin Gaborik scored four goals Wednesday night to lead the New York Rangers past the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-0.