Isiah the Prophet comes to NYC

The NBA just celebrated its All-Star Weekend with a dunk contest, the three point shootout, the Rookie-Sophomore game with Melo and LeBron and, of course, the actual All-Star game itself. But all we're hearing about is Alex Rodriguez and the damn Yankees.\nHas it donned on the public A-Rod won't take a meaningful hack until March 30th when the Yankees make sushi of the Devil Rays in the Tokyo Dome?\nRemember the NBA, with such stars as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson? \nWell Michael's finally gone and hitting the links, Magic is doing his TNT and movie theater thing, but Larry Legend and Zeke are still lingering around, Bird just up the road in Indianapolis and Thomas has found himself a home in the Big Apple.\nWhile the Boss gets all the headlines, he isn't the only New York honcho to work some recent magic with his roster. \nFormer IU great, Thomas, has transformed the New York Knicks' roster from a cellar dweller in the East to a playoff contender with home-court advantage on its mind for the first round. \nGone are the likes of Charlie Ward, Howard Eisley and Michael Doleac. In are Stephon Marbury, Anfernee Hardaway and Tim Thomas. At least if Isiah doesn't make the Knicks better, he'll make them exciting to watch again. And rather than inserting himself on the bench as the team's head coach, Thomas handed the reigns off to the winningest coach in NBA history, Lenny Wilkens. Shrewd move. \nThe NBA needs the Knicks to win again. The league longs for the days of Patrick Ewing and John Starks and the bitter rivalries between the Knicks and the Bulls. The Eastern Conference hasn't been the same since the demise of the Knicks and the loss of Michael from Chicago. \nForget about the Bulls. Chicago won't be good for some time, as long as they keep trading away All- Stars for draft picks and teenagers. Who knows what would have happened if Zeke had gotten the Bulls head coaching job instead of Scott Skiles, like he wanted. \nHow about the published reports Isiah even entertained the thought of returning to IU to clean up the mess Mike Davis has created? \nInstead, Thomas must settle for one of the premier jobs in all of sports -- team president for the New York Knickerbockers.\nNot only does the NBA need the Knicks to restore the glory to the Garden, but the basketball nation needs it. It makes things much more interesting.\nEverybody loves the Cinderella stories with the underdogs prevailing. America craves for match-ups between the Davids and the Goliaths, but seem unwilling to embrace the thought of having a Goliath. \nDoesn't it seem a lot easier for fans around the country to loathe New York teams more than any other city's franchises? The answer is yes ... but only when those teams are winning. You don't see anyone hating on the Islanders, now do you? The Yankees are the most hated team in the country. Why? Because they win and win and win. In the 90s, the Knicks were up there among the despised. \nNow I know the 90s Knicks never won the NBA title -- they can blame Michael and Houston for that -- but the Knicks won their fair share of games. From 1991-2000 the Knicks compiled a .628 winning percentage (494-293), advancing to the NBA Finals twice. \nThomas is still working the phones hard and will be until Thursday's trade deadline. Does Thomas have yet another trick up his sleeve? We'll soon find out, but even if Zeke refrains from pulling the trigger on another deal, he has positioned the Knicks to be, yet again a great and hated franchise.