Links: Wait, what happened to Donnie Walsh?
Plus Mutombo’s fake retirement party…
So, with new GM Donnie Walsh in place, the next step for the Knicks will be deciding on the fate of coach Isiah Tho…
Wait, what? Donnie Walsh isn’t the Knicks GM?
But ESPN said it was a done deal, that Walsh had already agreed to a contract (three years and $15 million, they said).
You guys already know about that, right? After all, ESPN had it on their scorecrawl thing, had it on “SportsCenter,” ESPN News, gave it the full multi-platform treatment. And I even wrote about it yesterday.
Well, actually, I wrote about how ESPN was reporting something that nobody else was reporting, which seemed strange. And even stranger, there was no actual person reporting it, just “ESPN.”
Well, today things are exactly the same. Donnie Walsh hasn’t accepted a job with the Knicks.
OK, one thing did change: ESPN has dropped any mention of it. Their original story is still online, but the same story that was driving traffic for them one day earlier is now, curiously, not even mentioned on their NBA home page. I took this screen shot (above) around noon, and maybe it’s just me, but the Donnie Walsh story appears to have disappeared completely…
So maybe he’s not going to the Knicks anymore? Hey, that would be news for sure. ESPN would be all over that.
And isn’t it news either way right now? Surely something is happening, one way or the other.
• Let’s raise a glass of warm milk for Dikembe Mutombo, who will be honored tonight in Houston. It was supposed to be a retirement party, but now it doesn’t look like Deke’s retiring, which is great news for…pretty much everyone, everywhere. Except for maybe Isiah Thomas, because Deke is still holding a grudge against him for telling him he couldn’t play anymore. Deke’s wife urged him to let it go, and Deke says he has, but after reading his quotes, well, maybe not so much…
“It’s still a wound,” Mutombo said. “My wife and I still talk about it. It’s still a bit sad to see the commissioner coming and all those people coming to celebrate the 17 years of my career and accomplishments and you look back and say that about (four) years ago, I had a guy tell me that I couldn’t play basketball no more, to go to the beach and onto vacation. That’s the same guy who’s losing his job tomorrow.
“I never said nothing (to Thomas),” Mutombo said. “The last time we played at the Garden (Jan. 9), my wife asked me to go shake his hand, to just forgive him. I went and shook his hand and I told him, ‘On behalf of my wife, I want to shake your hand and I forgive you for everything you’ve done to me.’”
“He said, ‘Tell your wife I said thank you so much.’ That was the way to put it behind me.”
But if he’s still talking about it, it isn’t really behind him, is it?
• Anyone catch that play in the second quarter of Hawks/Bulls last night when Drew Gooden got pegged in the face with the ball? Where’s odenized.com when we need it?
• Two TV shows worth watching: “The Hills” and my new favorite show, “Beauty And The Geek.” “The Hills” is the same as it ever was, but it’s still unintentionally hilarious. And “Beauty And The Geek” is one of the more underrated shows on TV. My man Jim is incredible to watch. Give it a shot.
• League Pass becomes worth the cost tonight with Hornets at Cavs, at the early tip time of 7:00 p.m. ESPN has Phoenix at Boston, which should be good, too, but Bron vs. CP3? Unmissable if you’re a basketball fan.
• Great Shaq interview today in the Boston Globe.
• And while I was on the Shaq story, I found this: A few years ago I read that book “Bringing Down The House,” about the card-counters from MIT who go out to Vegas and start raking it in. This weekend a movie drops based on the book, and today’s Boston Globe has an interview with Jane Willis, the woman who was featured in the book as the main guy’s sidekick. She has many vivid memories of her time making bank, including this…
“That’s when there was a lot action going around. After the Tyson-Holyfield fight, shots were fired and there was pandemonium in the casino. Security cameras caught [NBA star] Dominique Wilkins picking up chips off the floor.”
Hey, I’d be picking them up, too.
36 Responses to “Links: Wait, what happened to Donnie Walsh?”
Mar.26 at 3:10 pm
albie1kenobi says:
deke vs. zeke: “That’s the same guy who’s losing his job tomorrow.” hahaha. oh i’m gonna SOOOOOO miss Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo when he finally retires.
Mar.26 at 3:15 pm
Captain America says:
Shine the Lang flashlight and the roaches scatter. Nice frlsk, Lang, as usual.
Mar.26 at 3:29 pm
TADOne says:
ESPN is good like that.
Mar.26 at 3:30 pm
Eboy says:
Good to see that Shaq shares my dislike for Chris Quinn and my appreciation for James Posey.
Mar.26 at 3:37 pm
namik says:
“No one is asking me to play with chris Quinn or Ricky Davis. I’m on a team again.”…….wow. Is Shaq really whining about being the scapegoat? How deluded can this fat f*** get?
Mar.26 at 3:43 pm
Eboy says:
namik, would YOU want to play with Ricky Davis and Chris Quinn. Come on now.
Mar.26 at 3:44 pm
Captain America says:
Shaq confirms my view, James Posey is an excellent basketball player.
Mar.26 at 3:46 pm
Captain America says:
Now, about those clowns who were crowing when Ricky Buckets got traded to the Heat? Anyone willing to admit to it now?
Mar.26 at 3:49 pm
namik says:
No Eboy but I wouldn’t put them out there for nothing. I mean what have those guys said about Shaq? What has the Miami Heat organization said about Shaq for that matter? Only good things from what I’ve read. But Shaq needs to bitch and moan about not being loved when its a fact he quit on the team. And instead of answering the question he hides behind the “blame me because i’m big and nice” excuse. No they balme you because you manke $20 million a f***ing year. And to say he delivered on his promise of bringing Miami a champioship is retarded because THATS WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO.
Mar.26 at 4:10 pm
Eboy says:
namik, all those things are true but for the last two seasons the South Florida media, the genral sports media (SLAM included) and Pat Riley himself had put almost the entire blame on Shaq’s big carcass. If you read the entire Bosotn blobe article he references that he realizes that he is probably viewed as an as*hole, so he’s not stupid. He’s also quite tempermental like other superstars/former superstars, so any criticism given is a huge slight, regardless of how meaningless it may seem to the everyman. While he should keep quiet on matters like this, sometimes the truth hurts, you know. Riley never set a great example to follow by leaving, taking extended breaks, taking ober for Van Jeremy, etc. so if your “head dog” is setting up the “big dog” to follow suit, what do you expect is going to happen? It all snowballed into the abyss of this season, so now Phoenix can be the bearer of his glad tidings. And yes, the Heat hasn’t said anything negative about Shaq, but you are glaringly incorrect if you think they have had glowing compiments for him since he was moved. Besides Riley’s inital press conference there hasn’t been ANY talk of his legacy in Miami, whatever that may be.
Mar.26 at 4:10 pm
Eboy says:
Sorry for the hijak, Lang.
Mar.26 at 4:16 pm
Lang Whitaker says:
No problem. But when did SLAM blame Shaq almost entirely for the Heat sucking? I don’t think I did.
Mar.26 at 4:17 pm
Eboy says:
Sorry for the typos.
Mar.26 at 4:18 pm
Ron says:
Beauty and the Geek is by far one of the reality tv shows on basic tv. Big Brother and Survivor have all run it’s course, but this show just gets better. Totally funny.
Mar.26 at 4:21 pm
Eboy says:
No Lang, not you. But Shaq’s name held the heading title here pretty much more than any other piece of the Heat’s team, but maybe it was just Mutoni’s constant headline pulling that drove me to that psychotic conclusion. Plus I know you are a Shaq guy, so that wouldn’t be in your arsenal.
Mar.26 at 4:23 pm
TADOne says:
Lang: Not to try and speak for Eboy, but I think he was referencing the posters on these boards that have derided Shaq for not playing in Miami and then finding rejuvenation in Phoenix.
Mar.26 at 4:23 pm
TADOne says:
Or what he just said. I’m too slow….
Mar.26 at 4:26 pm
Eboy says:
There’s that too, TAD, but really didn’t mean the posters. My bad.
Mar.26 at 4:29 pm
TADOne says:
Public Enemy # 1
Mar.26 at 4:55 pm
Allenp says:
Shaq is lame for taking shots at random players. If he just wanted to talk greasy about Riley I would be ok, but he shouldn’t bring up other players’ names. that’s just disrespectful.
Mar.26 at 5:14 pm
dma says:
heh dirk was actually pretty funny at odenized. short bus.
Mar.26 at 6:36 pm
Eboy says:
Allen, wasn’t that a bone of contention just a week ago?
Mar.26 at 11:21 pm
Cheryl says:
Riley is who he is, and so’s Shaq. But, dude calling out Davis and Quinn is simply uncalled for. He comes off like a snotty-nosed, immature jerk. And I’m a big fan of Shaq’s, but that particular quote was f)cked up. Period.
Mar.26 at 11:28 pm
Dacre says:
ESPN had a whole, “Bush has won the election campaign” thing going on…O_o.
Mar.26 at 11:47 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Ricky Davis has played in EVERY SINGLE GAME for the Heat this season. He may be a crazy, stat-hungry loon, but he deserves a lot of credit for sticking to it this year when pretty much everyone else quit. Cheryl’s right.
Mar.27 at 4:30 am
Young Chris #3 says:
And Buckets is also playing for a contract this year… Gotta sign with some non-contending team, right?
Mar.27 at 8:45 am
Eboy says:
Yes, Ricky is a dream come true in this season of infamy.
Mar.27 at 8:55 am
Cheryl says:
so, what’s your take on Shaq’s call out, E? you can’t be sympathetic, can you?
Mar.27 at 9:05 am
maio says:
Ricky. Davis. My. Hero.
Mar.27 at 9:05 am
maio says:
Mutombo is Abe Vigoda.
Mar.27 at 9:07 am
Eboy says:
Cheryl check me in Mutoni’s new post.
Mar.27 at 9:57 am
Rasheedionics says:
The bottom line is, Shaq is completely out of line calling out dudes like Ricky Davis and Chris Quinn. Everyone knows they’re not the most talented players in the league. Why state the obvious and in the process hurt people’s feelings? He could’ve simply said that at this point of his career he’d rather not play for the team that’s going through rebuilding process. It happens all the time. Everyone would understand. For a guy who’s been considered one of the most respected people in the league, he’s definitely lost a lot of that respect and can’t be considered a class act player or person anymore. It’s truly said because at one point I was a big fan of his.
Mar.27 at 10:00 am
Slobodan Chutzpah says:
Agreed. Mutombo is by far my favorite person (and character) in the NBA. I hope he plays for another 10 years.
Mar.27 at 10:58 am
Russ Bengtson says:
Until he’s 70?
Mar.27 at 2:53 pm
Young Chris #3 says:
Ricky Davis has long been considered one of the most talented players in the league, which is why it’s so frustrating seeing him out of control…
Mar.31 at 3:48 am
chintao says:
Eboy has the worst taste in ballers, hands down (down his pants, that is…).