NBA News: Stephon Marbury Knick-less

For those of you with more than a passing interest in basketball:

Marbury’s exit could lead to Thomas’ departure

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
November 13, 2007

So, Stephon Marbury walked out on the New York Knicks. He just packed his bags and bailed on Tuesday, catching a flight out of Phoenix for Planet Starbury. This is what happens to a franchise when it’s turned over to knuckleheads and con men. From within, it implodes.

Today, Marbury.

Tomorrow, Isiah Thomas.

“I have one thing to say and that’s I got permission to leave,” Marbury countered in a text message Tuesday afternoon to the New York Post’s Marc Berman. “I would never leave my team on my own. What I’m telling you is that I got permission to leave from Isiah. He said I could go home.”

Well, Thomas left the impression on Tuesday morning at a shootaround that Marbury had left on his own, and that he had hoped his point guard would return for tonight’s game with the Phoenix Suns, or perhaps re-join the team in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Surprise, surprise: Someone with the Knicks isn’t telling the truth. 

“No, I’m not coming to L.A. as of now,” Marbury said in the text to the Post.

Who knows who’s fibbing here, and frankly, who cares anymore? As much as ever, Thomas and Marbury deserve one another. Once, these two turned together on former coach Larry Brown and Anucha Browne Sanders, the former Knicks employee who sued the team for sexual harassment. It was just a matter of time until they turned on each other.

Clearly, Thomas has decided to go after Marbury, and you have to wonder how much his owner, Jim Dolan, is behind this move. Thomas knew he’d have the public support for benching Marbury, but probably didn’t expect Marbury would create this circus by leaving the team.

Read the rest of the Yahoo piece here.

Football Movie News: NFL Films’ Moment of Impact

I was at the Buckhead Borders last night when I came across an NFL Films DVD called Moment of Impact.

I scanned the back of the DVD and the names Ray Lewis and Ed Reed caught my eye–I knew I had to get it. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see some footage of these two Baltimore Ravens at their finest.

Comprised of nine chapters (The Defenders, Units of Impact, Blood Brothers, Tradition by Position — D-Line, Tradition by Position — Linebackers, Tradition by Position — Secondary, Something Special, and Defining Moments), Moment of Impact is basically an homage to the defense and special teams. Ed Reed, John Lynch, Ray Lewis, Dick Butkus, Gene Upshaw, and Conrad Dobler, among others, receive spotlight attention; teams include the Buccaneers in the late 1990s; the Cowboys of the 70s and 90s; the Steelers of the 70s; the Bears of the 60s and 80s; and the Ravens of the early 21st Century. There’s even a portion devoted to offensive players who eagerly and frequently block as well as quarterbacks who sporadically block.(because they have no choice–they’d much rather wake up Monday morning feeling sore in the torso than confront a locker room of disgruntled teammates).

In customary NFL Films fashion, the footage (some of which is in slow-motion) is accompanied by voice-over-narration and upbeat, guitar and percussion heavy music that complements the game-play. It’s a worthy addition to any NFL or NFL Films fan’s DVD collection.