Starbury Suspended

When the new Knicks coah, Mike "my system doesn't work in the playoffs which is why I am not in Phoenix anymore" D'Antoni benched Stephon Marbury in the first game of the season. ESPN ran a spot saying Knick fans would have no problem with it as long as the Knick team won games. Well we knew that would be short lived. Now it is very odd that when you trade away Crawford and† acquire Harrington, Mobley and Thomas that makes him part of your rotation. I find it very odd that a kid from Coney Island would say he doesn't want his 200,000 dollar game check no matter how much money he has made. The fact of the matter is, the Knick organization has mismanaged players for the past 20 years. As a coach, you do not put a franchise player on the bench and say he is not in our plans. D'antoni did not do that in Phoenix, why did he do that in New York. It was obvious to me that the Knick organization hired D'antoni to placate fans for two years with a fun brand of basketball to watch until they had the ability to go after a big name in Free Agency in 2010 assuming James, Bosh or Wade are available or that they want to play for the worst run franchise in the league. Whether Stephon has a bad attitude or not, Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Randy Moss, and even Allen Iverson have been said to have bad attitudes. Players of his caliber are afforded the latitude to have diva moments. Why? They put people in the seats of the arenas and stadiums. D'antoni is a not a disciplinarian, never has he been compared to Larry Brown or Tom Coughlin. The whole story behind this has not come out yet and we may never know everything, but there is something not being said.

Thankful

In a time when the economy is at a low point, what some call the bottom.  Some call a false bottom and some say is part of a cup and handle.  You can use this time to buy more stocks and average down and create a base for your profits to soar.  We are at a place in the economy that America has not seen economic hardship of this magnitude since the Great Depression of 1929. The Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S & P 500 are at all time lows. Is there a silver lining in this grey dark cloud?  If you look at the glass as half full, you believe we can turn this around.  A pity party won't help us get through these hard times.  Hard work perseverance and fresh ideas about innovation will steer us in calm waters.  

Some Analysts call this time a recession, other say we are in a market correction. In 2008 the unemployment rate has risen at a staggering pace.  According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics,  there are 10.1 million Americans currently out of work.  No matter what you believe or which theory you subscribe to, America has seen times similar to these and with that we can take solace in the fact that we as a country have the ability to bounce back. You may be reading this article and saying why is the title, "Thankful"?  We may have lost a lot, but we have so much as a country and will bounce back.  Challenge yourself to be better, do more with less, be and more efficient.  As you sit around and eat turkey and watch football and bring about Holiday Cheer, be thankful for what you do have.

King of Bikes

Suzuki is a loved motorcycle Manufacturer. From the Hayabusa down the 600 and my all time favorites the 750. It doesn't get much better than leaning on a Black and Orange two wheeled finely tuned piece of art like the Suzuki 750. In the life of a motorcycle enthusiast this hobby can be an expensive past time. Ask anyone who have a bike, from paint jobs to customized helmets and handle bars, you will need a budget to get your bike to look and run exactly how you envision.

When it comes to customization, Stunt Man of 301 Connection is a Mastermind. With the halogen lights, slick license plate functions and black out features, Cyclebot is a legendary machine born from a Suzuki 750. There are a wealth of companies that provide tools for customizing bikes from everything to headlights to fuel management. With the rising fuel costs, two wheels have become a wonderful alternative to driving a four wheeled vehicle on a daily basis. Ride hard and safe, that the best way. Keep the wheels down, until next time.

Do you have a bike that you want highlighted on the Internet. Goto http://www.301connection.com and send them an email.

Basketball News

The New York Knicks have not been a team of championships and back to back playoff appearances of late. The front office of this organization is beginning to feel the pressure from the fans and most of all from season ticket holders. In the right system players can flourish and in the right city players can lose their way. This has seemed to be the case for many players involved in trades to the Big Apple. It is time for the Knicks to approach this from a different angle and all things considered, I believe they are going in the right direction. It may be early to say they are posturing to make a major move at next years stars who will be free agents including Lebron James and Chris Bosh. With the season still in its infancy, New York has been making moves and clearing cap room. The new head coach has the fans and city buzzing about the west coast up and down style of basketball never before seen in New York unless deployed by a visiting team.


The next item on the list is what does the team do with Stephon "Star" Marbury. Marbury has not played in a single game for the Knicks this year, he is arguably one of the better players on the roster but his reputation as a me first point guard has kept him on the inactive list this year. He is owed 21 million dollars in the final year of his contract and it doesn't look like he will be going to any other team anytime soon for that amount of money. He is just to expensive with his past track record. For the time being Marbury seems content being paid to sit on the bench, but for a player of his caliber, his current temperment could change at any time.

The Giants of New York

Everyone knew the time was going to come for me to right about my favorite Football team and oh yes the time is here. I'm going to have a little for, because its been a long time coming for me to be able to say my team is the toast of the NFL. The New York Giants have been a good team for a long time and they have had many great players and a tradition of winning games. However over the past decade they have had multiple playoff appearances and have brought the Lombardi Trophy to great city of New York. Eli Manning has grown into a Quarterback that while his facial expressions may not exude the most confidence when he makes a mistake, his consistent play has more than made up for it. With a three factor back, backfield, including Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward. (Thanks Merrill Hodge, I think that is a great phrase.)

The Giants are poised to make another run at the title in 2008, due to plethora of skilled players up and down the roster. I know you are intrigued to hear their names again. Plaxico Burress, the outstanding wideout who has dazzled on the field since his days in a Steelers uniform. I am not a total offense nut, so I have to say, "Good Day" to my defense. Starting with Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka. These guys anchor a defensive line that has been dominating scrimmages for two years now, just ask Tom Brady. The coaching staff is lead by Tom Coughlin is superb. With his team first mentality, we can all take a page out of the book of Couglin and teach selfless behavior as a mainstay and a character trait to be applauded.

With five games to play in the regular season, the Giants still have a long way to go. The season looks good and the future look bright. This Sunday, the Giants will be in DC to play the Redskins at FedEx field. Tune in for the action, the game will be on Fox local in the DMV. We will be back to follow the story post game.