Mad Stork Sports on ScatterRadio Podcast For 11-14-12

The return of Mad Stork Sports on ScatterRadio is
here, and this podcast will cover the Jets trashing of
Time Tebow, R.A. Dickey winning the Cy Young and 
the Knicks hot start.  We will also bounce around a
bit to cover as much as we can.  So if you missed any
part of the show, here it is: 
   
   
  


   
      
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Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 11-10-12

The "Ranting with Rizzo" podcast is back after a brief 
Hurricane Sandy hiatus.  Here's a chance to listen to
what you missed this past Saturday!  Enjoy:  

   
    
     
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Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Jeremy Lin LEFT, Time To Move On

By Dave Einsel, AP

New York Knicks fans out there who are about
to jump ship, were never true fans to begin
with, not if they are about to leave over
this ONE single transaction. If you're sick
and tired with James Dolan and Co., OK, but
otherwise this means nothing.

Jeremy Lin says he preferred to stay a Knick,
and I will not fault him for taking the most
money available to him, BUT if he truly wanted
to remain in NY and with the Knicks, he would
not have gone back to Houston and reworked the
original offer sheet for a new one. The new
offer sheet made it very hard for the Knicks
to financially justify matching it. The first
contract offer by the Houston Rockets was set
to be signed and the Knicks stated both publicly
and privately that they would match, they showed
their want and commitment to Lin. There is your
answer, you want to stay? We want you to stay.
Lin, and his agent got greedy and allowed the
Rockets to add language and numbers that made it
almost embarrassing for the Knicks to match.

Wanna quit the Knicks? Go ahead, go follow the
9th best team out west, see how long that shine
on Lin's fame lasts. Nothing against getting the
best offer for Lin, but don't like GREED, most
clear headed folks will tell you the same thing.

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Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Jeremy Lin or Steve Nash

Getty Images

I can bet that many of you ever thought you'd see
that trifecta of players on the same page many
moons ago, but the question isn't that they are
being talked about in the same breathe but rather,
which do you think made bigger news this week?

Celtics fans are furious that Ray Allen joined the
dark side, but in all fairness, as much a I think
it's a bit of a shock, e was never a lifer as far
as Celtics are concerned, and the Heat wanted him
more. Ray Allen's time with Boston only differs
because he won a ring, be he spent just as much
time in Milwaukee, and made somewhat of a name for
himself in Seattle to.

Jason Kidd leaving Dallas to join the Knicks is
also a bit of news as well, but he's older than
Allen, and unless he has Lin to tutor, his minutes
in NY aren't going to be as earth shattering as his
choice to leave Dallas to begin with. What do you
think went wrong in Big D to prompt Kidd to leave
such a comfy situation? Now that's a question.

The Houston Rockets round up our list of guards in
the news stories with the boatload of money they
through at Jeremy Lin in the offer sheet he signed
with them. Are they trying to hurt the Knicks by
getting them to overspend? Are they trying to right
a wrong be getting back a guy the let go too soon?
Don't know, but it sure is alot of money for a guy
who hasn't real proven anything yet.

Hey didn't that Steve Nash guy go to the Lakers this
week? Huh, musta missed that. Sounds like the NBA is
really into guard play this off season.

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Mad Stork Sports on ScatterRadio - Live 6PM EST

What do you want to chat about today? The New York
Knicks?, Baseball, and Josh Hamilton? Mad Stork
Sports on Scatteradio is here for you, so join me
for an hour of talk, and call in to make your
voice heard. Find the show here on ScatterRadio


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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 4-21-12

The podcast of Saturday's show is ready to download
and we take a look at the Rad Sox 100th Birthday
celebration of Fenway, the NBA Playoff picture, the
NHL Playoffs, and other juicy tidbits from around
the world of sports. Enjoy the show.



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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 4-7-12

The podcast of Saturday's show is here, and NBA Playoff
talk as well as NHL Playoff talk is in the air.
Is their anything to the Knicks resurgence?
Download the podcast and hear what we have to
say or enjoy it right here, but whatever you do,
don't miss out on it. Enjoy !

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FIU Fires Isiah Thomas, Knicks Fans Fear The Worst

Sladky/AP

Never before have NY Knicks fans rooted so hard for
head coach Mike Woodson who wasn't anywhere near the
top of their wish list when it came to coaches who
could replace Mike D'Antoni, but now that it is once
again possible that Isiah Thomas is available after
being fired from Florida International University for
producing a dismal 26-65 record over three seasons as
head coach there, Knicks fans can't help but fear the
worst.

Isiah is a favorite son of Knicks owner Jim Dolan,
and when it comes to their relationship, he makes no
apologies for an affinity to wanting Thomas to be a
big part of the Knicks hierarchy. Thomas says he was
surprised that he was let go from FIU, but can
anyone really understand what this guy is thinking?
I mean you go 26-65, and never win more than 11 games
in a system that requires you win around 20 to make it
to the tournament, and you're surprised you were let
go?

This isn't too different than the kind of reaction
or feeling he had when he was finally relieved of his
duties as head man with the Knicks, if not publicly,
the privately for sure. That's just pretty much Isiah.

Growing up a Knick fan myself, I can totally understand
what Knicks fans are feeling, but I'm pretty confident
that fear will not materialize into anything more than
speculation, rumor, and innuendo. Isiah Thomas will
not be head coach of the New York Knicks anytime soon.
Jim Dolan as much as he might want to will not make
Isiah Thomas head coach of the Knicks once again.
He may make him the GM, an advisor, a scout, and even
team president once again, but it won't be anytime
soon that Isiah will roam the sidelines for the Knicks.
I'm am not saying that this will never happen, and it
may off with something like an interim basis, but it
is not likely to be in the neraf future.

Jim Dolan is going to want to make a splash this off
season, and he is going to try and pry Phil Jackson
out of retirement, or make a run at John Calipari or,
perhaps even resurect the late John Wooden, but I
don't see a resurrection of Thomas thistime around.
Luckily for Knicks fans, that the only thing Jim Dolan
cares about more than Isiah Thomas is making a HUGE
headline in the sports page. Until then, Knicks fans
will keep hoping and rooting for Woodsanity to be as
successful as Linsanity.

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Mad Stork Sports on ScatterRadio Podcast For 4-4-12

The MLB season has begun, The Knicks now want
to talk about "Woodsanity", and we aim to
entertain so download & Enjoy !

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Mad Stork Sports Live on ScatterRadio 6PM

Lots happening in the sports world this week and
Mad Stork Sports on Sactteradio is here to talk it
over with you. What do you wanna talk about?
Join me for a fun hour of talk and breakdown,
and call in to make your voice heard.

Find the show here on ScatterRadio
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Ranting with Rizzo Podcast For 3/31/12

The better late than never podcast of Saturday's show
is right here, so download or enjoy it right here, but
whatever you do, don't miss out on it. Enjoy !

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Mike D'Antoni The Fall Guy For MSG's Mistakes

NBAE/Getty Images

Blame Mike D'Antoni, blame Carmelo Anthony, blame
Jeremy Lin, blame Amar'e Stoudimire, blame the
defense, blame the lack of offense, but no matter
who you blame, just realize that their is more than
enough blame to go around. I blame the hierarchy
at MSG, whether that means Jim Dolan, Glen Grunwald,
or some other exec I have never heard about, that
is not as relevant as the fact that they never let
Donnie Walsh finish the job he started. That being
said, along with the fact that D'Antoni was brought
in by Walsh to do that job, the coaches resignation
surprises no one. No matter what anyone tells you,
no one was surprised. This is a case of you doing
the breaking up, before you get broken up with.

MSG and Co. got what they deserved, and this is what
happens in any and all team sports when ownership
throws money at their problems, and has ZERO patience.
The Knicks can still make the playoffs this year,
Mike Woodson is a fine coach, and their is talent on
this roster, but the Knicks just did the NBA East a
favor and made themselves fairly irrelevant for any
sort of Championship type push, but that's not a good
thing for the NBA in general. Phil Jackson you say?
The body is still warm, so don't count any chickens
before those eggs hatch, it work out too well when
those eggs were labeled LeBron, did it?

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Did The NY Knicks Get Too Melo To Keep Linning?

Jeff Haynes/Reuters

It wasn't too long ago that there was alot of
Linning and Linsanity around the NY Knicks,
but now they are almost exactly where they
started after Jeremy Lin took New York City,
and the NBA by storm. All of that being said
I'm not ready to start pointing fingers on
who's fault it might be, or if this is a little
bit of a coincidence with the return of Carmelo
Anthony, but you can't help but see that things
have changed a bit.

I hate calling for a coaches job, I've done it,
but I hate doing it, and I won't do it here.
Mike D'Antoni is easy to pick on here because
many fans think that he should be the one to
fix their offensive struggles with Anthony in
the lineup, but the truth is D'Antoni never
asked for Carmelo Anthony to begin with, it was
Jim Dolan who force fed him to Donnie Walsh and
D'Antoni, and even though I don't want to call
out Carmelo either, the numbers don't lie.
You might wonder why he wouldn't want Anthony,
and that basketball is basketball, but apparently
this system that D'Antoni runs hasn't been a good
fit for this coach and player. Before Anthony's
return to the lineup the Knicks went from 7 games
under .500 to .500, and today find themselves at
six games under .500, in the middle of a six game
losing streak, and all those gains and momentum
just about lost.

Did the Knicks get too Melo? I think the answer
here is yes, but I also think it's fixable, IF
Melo wants to be part of the solution, AND if
D'Antoni can come up with enough adjustments to
make these parts work as one. The Knicks have
many good players on this team, and that is a
problem at times, but if Coach D'Antoni can make
sure he puts the lineup on the floor that best
matches up against the other team, logic will
tell you that if everyone is on board this will
work. The thing is, everything logical doesn't
always work that way. I heard NY Knicks TV man
and legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier say that he never
saw a team that got along as good as this bunch,
and that they seem to genuinely like each other,
well if that's the case, then this logic might
just work here.

Their are very few games left this season, and the
Knicks need to turn things around ASAP it's true,
but not just to make the playoffs, which I think
they will, but to avoid the seventh or eighth seed.
Should they land in the playoffs as either of those
two seeds, they better be hot and clicking as a unit,
because knocking off either Chicago or Miami to move
forward will prove to be more than a big task, and
they will need a little more Linsanity by the whole
team to get it done.

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Are The Rangers & Knicks Ready To Rock MSG This Spring, Or Will This Be An Overhyped False Alarm??

Photo: Bruce Bennett/Chris Trotman/Getty Images

For both the NBA and NHL this is definitely a very
big question, and one that they hope the New York
franchises will answer with a long run deep into
the playoffs if not a Championship in the end.

This is no in depth article that's for sure, but
I can't help but ask out loud, what can the Knicks
do in the post season with this new found success?,
and Are the Rangers really good enough to bring home
the Stanley Cup? I'm not sure I'm the right person
to answer either question outright, but here is my
two cents on this matter.

The Knicks as of this writing are hanging on to the
7th seed in the Eastern conference of the NBA, but
in order to make any waves at all they realistically
need to be 6th seed or better to ensure that they
won't match up against the Heat or the Bulls and get
knocked out in the very first round, and in turn have
to wait for next years playoffs. Their first game
after the All Star break last night was a resounding
win over an over matched Cleveland Cavaliers squad
that is still learning to play together after
a disastrous 2010-11 season and a very short camp
with impressive rookie sensation, #1 overall draft
pick Kyrie Irving. I wasn't very impressed with the
Knicks at all, no matter what the score was.
Cleveland was on the back end of a back to back, and
probably wouldn't have blown a 17 point lead under
normal rest. Couple that with the fact the Knicks
ended the first half with a stinker at Miami, had
extra rest pre and post break, as well as extra
practice time to get their act together as a team.
All of that tells my eyes that they are not ready for
the prime time lights of the Miami Heat and Chicago
Bulls of the East, and if they want to be, they still
have plenty of strides to make in a very short time.

The New York Rangers on the other hand have the best
regular season record in the NHL, period. So what's
the problem? Well they have the players, but are
they are they battle tested enough to get by teams
that have been there and done that? Henrik Lundqvist
is not only a front runner for the Vezina trophy, but
also likely to pull a Justin Verlander and win the MVP
of the league as well if he keeps up his current pace.
Yet the second seed in the East right now are the
defending Stanley Cup Champion Bruins, and though the
Rangers have had no issues with them in recent history,
you can't help but realize that playoff hockey is a
different animal altogether, and with the Bruins being
well beyond battle tested, this is a concern.
Most teams would love to be in this position for sure,
it just doesn't necessarily add up to a trophy though.

Though it's fair to say the the Rangers have far less
to worry about than the Knicks, let me put it to you
this way, if this were the NFL the Knicks would more
likely be compared to the NY Giants at this point in
the season, where the Rangers would be more comparable
to the Green bay Packers, and we know how that turned
out, don't we? No two situations are the same so that
was purely an example, and I do not foresee a similar
outcome, but I'm sure Jim Dolan, David Stern, and Gary
Bettman wouldn't mind little NY Giants type drama of
their own this year "In the World's Most Famous Arena"

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Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 2-25-12

Saturdays "Ranting with Rizzo" podcast is now
available and ready to go. Have a listen here
or download it and take it with you.
Enjoy the Show !




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Knicks Win With Lin Raise Expectations vs Heat

Reuters/Adam Hunger

Tonight's game vs the Miami Heat is not going to mean
too much in the standings unless the Knicks are going
to come all the way back and win the entire Atlantic
division and take the #1 seed, but if you take the
temperature of the fans right now, you would think
that it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

The Knicks had a nice win against a quality opponent
in the Atlanta Hawks last night, but with Joe Johnson
out of the lineup life was a little easier, and so
was the game. Since the arrival of Jeremy Lin into
the starting five the Knicks have had a few good wins
against quality opponents like the Lakers, Hawks, and
the defending NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, but they
have also had a couple of clunkers against teams like
the Nets, and the Hornets. The quality wins have been
all at home, and the losses have shown that when teams
make a real effort to defend Lin, they can cause the
Knicks some difficulties. The Hornets were the first
to get some film on him, and in turn made it hard for
New York to run it's offense.

Make no mistake, tonight is going to be one to watch,
but please don't think for a minute that LeBron and
Wade have been under a rock this entire time either.
They know what's going on, and just like the NJ Nets
Deron Williams made a point of saving his best game
of the season so far for Jeremy and the New York fans,
don't expect James, and Wade to let Jeremy Lin waltz
into their home and make a name for himself on their
backs. I won't sit here and tell you that Lin isn't
up to the task, but I can assure you that he and his
teammates are going to have to earn this quality road
win, in what is likely to be the first of many tests
in the Jeremy Lin era.

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Spending Valentines Day With Jeremy Lin

Courtesy: Yahoo Sports

The title of this post may be a little misleading, BUT
it is somewhat accurate. Tonight when my wife arrives
home from a long day at work, she will have an above
average meal on the table waiting for her, as well as
fresh baked dessert, and a Valentines card to mark the
occasion. Some of the remaining details will be kept
private of course, but what I can tell you is this, one
thing that probably would not have happened about a week
ago, us watching a Knicks game together, will.

Jeremy Lin fever has gripped the country, especially NY,
and the NBA. All for a bunch of reasons that are not
all wrong or right. One of the wrong ones includes his
being linked to Tim Tebow in some way, while one of the
better ones is that he has the Knicks moving in the right
direction once again, and is giving them a huge spark
with his energy and infectious play. The comparisons to
Steve Nash are flattering of course, but unfair to both
Nash and Lin. Lin still has a huge road to travel before
he can try on those shoes.

Tonight may be Valentines day for many people around the
world, but apparently the Raptors had some help from the
magic eight ball or something when they got the idea to
make this Asian Heritage night on their schedule. The high
flying division rival Knicks will be visiting with their
very own Asian sensation and it will be a packed house at
the Air Canada Center, which is bound to make any guy that
brought his basketball loving date to this game look like
a huge hero, and bound to get a big smooch to go along
with the evening.

Make no mistake about it, I will be spending Valentines
evening with my lovely wife, but Jeremy Lin is going to be
right there for both of us to watch instead of some RomCom
movie to cheese up the evening. It may not be your idea
of romance, but love has many faces, and tonight we will
be keeping one eye on Lin-derella.


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Lin, Love, And The NBA Chance To Grab Headlines

Let's face it, after the NFL season ends a great
many of us go through the lull of trying to figure
out what sports we want to follow. After Baseball
and Football, only the diehard NBA & NHL fans can
continue on with no shakes or shivers of any kind.

This week though I was able to grab three things
that made me turn my attention to the NBA.

The Lakers worked out Gilbert Arenas to see if he
was worth signing. Wow, I didn't even realize that
he wasn't playing for anyone, kinda embarrassing
on my part really.

Then I saw the story on Yahoo Sports that said
something about Kevin Love of the Timberwolves
thinking that it would be a good idea if the NBA
took MLB's idea of making the All-Star game decide
home field advantage in the Finals. Is he nuts?
Doesn't he realize that they are trying to get rid
of that stupid idea? Maybe he's taken too many
rebounds to the head.

Third but not least is of course the Jeremy Lin story
out of New York with the Knicks. I don't know much,
but I have seen him finish the last two games that they
played, they won, and he plays hard from what I can see.
None of these things are things you can argue with, BUT,
apparently every Tom, Dick, and Harry that calls in to
the sports talk radio stations in New York has already
decided that they know how this is gonna turn out when
Carmelo and Amare return to the starting lineup.
Boy was I glad to hear what they had to say, I wouldn't
want to be kept in suspense or anything, and I'm sure
they saved Carmelo and Stoudamire a boatload of time
as well. All the same though, I think I will start
watching more now, and take my chances. I'm sure the
NBA is loving this, and they don't have to spend a
bunch of advertising dollars for this feel good story
that even has a crazy connection to Tim Tebow.
You can't beat that!

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Jeremy Lin, Tim Tebow Comparisons Way Off Base

Getty Images

The sampling is way to small, and four games out of
about 66 are equal to only about 6% of the season
this year, but I already think that Jeremy Lin will
be a more established NBA player than Tim Tebow will
be an NFL player. So what?, and why compare the two?
Just because Lin said that he admired Tebow, and has
been a bit of an instant success, who may or may not
be a bit of a Jesus fan? Again, so what?

Everyone is looking for a link, Rich Cimini of ESPN NY
@RichCimini tweeted, "Year of The Undrafted Free Agent
in New York: Victor Cruz and Jeremy Lin.", Uh Cruz won
a Super Bowl the Knicks are under .500. Lin seems to
be a little bit of a Bible thumper, so he immediately
has to be compared to Tim Tebow? Well the stats don't
support that. In his last four games, the brunt of
this "Lin-sanity", Lin is averaging 28.5 PPG, 8 Assts,
and the Knicks are 4-0, and only three of those games
are starts. Those three stats alone dwarf anything
Tim Tebow did as an individual, even though it's true,
his team did win. All that said with that kind of
success and attention, there will come the hate too.
After the game Andrew Bynum said: "Today we just added
to his hype and probably kept him in the league for 10
years", hmmm, a little envy maybe?

I saw his post game interview after the Knicks, Laker
game at MSG, and at no time did he mention Jesus, Thank
God, or anything like that, but he did mention teammates,
and point out individuals. The only comparison I see so
far is that they are athletes, weren't expected to do
anything of any significance, and win. Not a bad combo.


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NBA Lockout Nears THE END

Image found @bcuban

No matter how you received or read this headline,
the one thing that is for sure is, that no matter
what, it's true. The lockout is near the end,
because they have reached an agreement, or it's
near the end because they are about to piss away
huge portion of the season as we know it.

Last week was supposed to be the NBA season opener,
and last night we should have had the "Dream Team"
Miami Heat against the new look, championship
aspiring, defense playing, New York Knicks in a
newly remodeled Madison Square Garden, but that
wasn't to be. I am by no means an NBA expert, or
aficionado, but I am however a fan, and must admit
that I probably would have lost much more sleep
had the NFL dispute gone this far than I am with
this. I think that the owners, and players both
need to realize that this is much more the norm
than the exception in this country, and it is
probably in the best interest of both parties to
get this resolved. I understand that most owners
have lost money, but the players have already given
back quite a bit. I realize that the players
didn't start this, but there must be some other
angle they can take to help the owners feel like
they may have won here. GET IT DONE, this is
ridiculous. It's becoming less and less sports
relevant everyday, do you really want to become
that obscure in the American sports scene?
The latest news has them bickering over as little
from 1/2 to 1%, and maybe that's a big number in
dollars, but keep this up and you won't ever make
it at the box office, not from me, and not from
quite a few ticked off individuals.

Michael Jordan is/was coaching the the American
golf team, you have players playing in China,
Turkey, Israel, and who knows where else, and
owners getting fined 500,000 for disagreeing
with how this is playing out. Talk about doing
a great job of tarnishing your image. Sheesh

I think I can speak for many of you when I say
that we are all getting to the point where we are
getting tired of hearing "it's just business"


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