Less than six degrees of separation between Stephon Marbury, Keith Van Horn and George Steinbrenner
So I was wrong in in this post. Turns out Jan. 2, 2004 is not the last time I covered a Knicks game; I did a sidebar from a 108-88 win over Seattle on Jan. 16, 2004.
You don't need a boxscore to know Keith Van Horn is having a good game. Just look at his face. His cheeks turn red, his eyes open wide and he huffs and puffs every time he has the ball.
Nets coach Byron Scott used to call the look "Killer Keith," but that's old news to Stephon Marbury. The new Knicks point guard, who played with Van Horn on the Nets, said this is a new and improved Van Horn. "He's way more aggressive now," Marbury said. "I mean he attacks. He's always in attack mode now."
That was evident Friday night as Van Horn scored 30 points in a 108-88 win over Seattle. He shot 10-for-15 from the field and had seven rebounds. In the last 13 games, Van Horn has averaged 20.9 points and shot 54 percent (100-for-182).
Exactly one month later, on Feb. 16, the Knicks traded Van Horn for Tim Thomas.
And on that same date, I was in Tampa for my first day on the Yankees beat - and, appropriately enough, the day turned into a stakeout of George Steinbrenner outside the minor-league complex.
Eventually The Boss emerged and talked to three of us. And here's some of that story:
Dressed in his usual white spring jacket and dark slacks, Steinbrenner appeared on Field 4 of the team's minor-league complex just before 11:30 a.m. and chatted with Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Gary Sheffield before leaving the complex. But he wasn't gone for the day. A little more than two hours later, The Boss re-appeared in his BMW with the Florida plate "GMS01" on the car's back and the Yankees emblem on its front plate.
After gingerly getting out of his car, the 73-year-old Steinbrenner took a few steps closer to the waist-high shrubs that separate the Yankees' minor-league training complex from the public. Then he gushed about anything and everything Yankees-related.
Steinbrenner, who said he hasn't spoken with A-Rod, was impressed by his willingness to move from shortstop to third base to clinch the deal. "That showed me a lot about the young man," he said. "I think he's an outstanding young fellow."
Steinbrenner stressed that this deal was not only his doing - "It was an organizational deal, not a Steinbrenner deal," he said - and added that both sides walked away happy. "It was a good deal for all parties and that's the best kind of deal," he said. "It's good for Texas and it's going to be good for us."
As far as the Yankees and Red Sox are concerned, this offseason has had as many as twists and turns as a regular season. In that sense, it's fitting that A-Rod is a Yankee, considering there was a time when everybody had him in Boston.
"It's going to be a tough job," Steinbrenner said. "Who will fit where? But he's going to let them play their way into where they belong. I'm sure Joe will do a good job."
Steinbrenner also complimented the Yankees' renovated pitching staff. "We made some good moves," he said. "This young fellow [Kevin] Brown is going to be a good one. The young Cuban boy [Jose Contreras] is going to do well ... Mel Stottlemyre was here this morning and he's pretty excited, too."
Before heading inside the facility, Steinbrenner addressed his health, which became an issue after he fainted at a church service for late football great Otto Graham on Dec. 27.
Asked yesterday how he feels, he first said, "Tired, very tired." But after spending roughly 45 minutes inside, Steinbrenner re-emerged to speak with reporters and fans again, this time in his car on his way out for the day. Asked again about his health, he was far more upbeat, saying he feels "great."
He even signed autographs for fans, one of whom asked him if he could get Nomar Garciaparra to play second base. The Boss laughed and said, "That's what I love about New Yorkers."
Steinbrenner stayed away from making any guarantees regarding future trades or team accomplishments, saying only that the Yankees should be considered "one of" the favorites. But he made sure to mention that the American League East has the makings of one of baseball's toughest divisions.
"It's good for New York," he said. "They deserve it. They needed a winner and I try to give it to them. Basically, this is their team. It's New York's team. That's probably what makes me happiest of everything, to give them a good team."
So odd to read such long quotes from Steinbrenner, isn't it?
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Comments (1)
Jim,
Since that game, the following players have suited up for the Knicks:
Stephon Marbury, Allan Houston, Keith Van Horn, Tim Thomas, Kurt Thomas, Anferenee Hardaway, Nazr Mohammed, Shandon Anderson, Dikembe Mutombo, Vin Baker, Michael Doleac, Mike Sweetney, Moochie Norris, Frank Williams, Jamal Crawford, Malik Rose, Maurice Taylor, Trevor Ariza, Jerome Williams, Jackie Butler, Moochie Norris, Jermaine Jackson, Jamison Brewer, Bruno Sundov, Eddy Curry, Jalen Rose, Channing Frye, Steve Francis, Nate Robinson, Quentin Richardson, Qyntel Woods, David Lee, Antonio Davis, Matt Barnes, Jerome James,Ime Udoka, Renaldo Balkman, Mardy Collins, Jared Jeffries, Kelvin Cato, Randolph Morris, Zach Randolph, Wilson Chandler, Fred Jones, Al Harrington, Chris Duhon, Anthony Roberson, Danilo Gallinari.
And don't forget that game was also five coaches ago.