Welcome to Vancouver's newest sports blog! The Pacific Northwest's sport scene is constantly changing and growing in Canada, join me and my blog as I tackle the major issues & happenings in local and international sports.
The first domino has fallen. Borussia Dortmund's Polish striker Robert Lewandoski has joined German, European & World Champions Bayern Munich on a free transfer. While rumoured for the past year, Lewandowski's move to Munich was confirmed this morning by the Bavarians. The Pole will not join Bayern until the end of the season, but you can expect that this will put pressure on other European heavyweights to act quickly.
Lewandowski: Joining former team mate Gotze in Munich
With Lewandowski's arrival it seems that Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic will be a surplus to requirements at the Allianz Arena. Apparently Arsenal FC & Juventus are already lining up to sign the 27 year old.
Chelsea FC have been rumoured to be searching for a new star striker, since the triumvirate of Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto'o & Demba Ba are not quite setting the world alight. Despite Jose Mourinho insisting that the Blues will not dip into the transfer market for a new striker, Lewandowski joining a European rival may force the Blues to look for a goal scorer in January. One that is being linked with Chelsea is Athletico Madrid's hit man Diego Costa, who has scored 19 goals in 18 matches for his club. Arsenal, who are very thin at the striker position, are also rumoured to be interested in Costa as & said to be preparing a major bid.
4 days into the January transfer window and a big move is announced. But this may not be the last one. Get ready for some fireworks.
The New York Knicks currently sit at the bottom of the Atlantic division & are in the basement of the Eastern Conference with a winning percentage of 31.3%. However if the league standings depended on the number of bad decisions, bone-headed and terribly executed plays attempted by a team, the New York Knicks would be running away with the league.
On Friday night against the Rockets, the Knicks flushed yet another game down the toilet when mere seconds earlier it looked like they would either win or at least take the game to overtime. This time after Tyson Chandler pulled in an offensive rebound with the game tied at 100-100, the ball worked its way to J.R. Smith and the guard propelled a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim. The problem? There were 17 seconds left on the clock & the shot clock had been turned off. Rather than hold for the final shot & possibly beat the Rockets with little or no time left on the clock for James Harden to reply, Smith took the game into his own hands. Wrong move. After the game, Smith stated that he thought the Knicks were down by 2, when the game was actually tied. Yes, he was actually serious.
But the Knicks weren't done there. Following Smith's miss, Beno Udrih immediately fouled Aaron Brooks. Albeit unintentional, Udrih's foul proved costly because the Knicks were already in the penalty which gifted the Brooks 2 free throws.
The Knicks got the ball back, but Iman Shumpert and Beno Udrih missed consecutive shots and just like that the New York Knicks fell to 10-22.
There's no shame in losing to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are a dynamic team, who are clinical on offensive & solid defensively. But to lose THAT way is atrocious. This is not first time New York has coughed up a game that they should have probably won. Blowing a double digit lead in the 4th quarter against the Celtics on Dec. 13, Mike Woodson not taking a late game time-out to organize offensively against the Wizards on Dec. 17, and now this. Even the good teams get blown out every now and then, but New York's re-occurring late game collapses are baffling. Its clear that the Knicks lack veteran poise, particularly at the point guard position, to settle things down. The skill is there, and Thursday's win over the Spurs proves it. But the Knicks mettle between their ears is failing them.
No player personifies this year's Knicks like J.R. Smith. Throughout his entire career Smith has always been known as a player with a great skill set, but questionable basketball IQ and poise. This year is showing the latter of J.R Smith more than most. Last year's 6th Man of the Year is looking like Knicks weakest link this year.
While Smith and his mistakes have stood out, in the end it is the coach's job to compose the team and ensure that the players are prepared to execute effectively. The poise is supposed to come from the bench, but Mike Woodson has looked less than stellar on more than a few occasions this year as well. Whether it has been a time-out that was not called late in the game, not having the right players on the floor, or benching Pablo Prigioni, Woodson has made his fair share of mistakes along with his players.
While Friday's mistake was not made by Woodson on the floor, but by his players, you would have to think the fledgling New York Knicks will have to make a move at some point to try to resurrect this sinking ship. Pulling the plug on Woody may be the only realistic move they can make. That time may be coming very soon.
