Stunned

[irish2u2]

Just when I think I am too jaded to be stunned by anything in the sports world I have to admit my jaw hit the floor when I read this mornings online NY papers.

"Curry won't play till he shapes up" is one of the headlines.

"WTF?" is my own headline.

Eddy Curry spent the entire summer with paid trainers getting into shape and he can't make up and down the court without pulling a muscle? He still needs special 2 and 3 a day workouts just to be able to scrimmage? What the Hell was he doing all summer? Where is the sense of urgency Eddy keeps talking about knowing his career and personal life are circling the drain?

I don't understand it. I'll never understand it. Eddy spends the off season dropping weight and he still can't even perform a minimum requirement of the job paying him 10 million dollars this year? Unbelievable. Or.....

Believable.

[jbnewyork162]

This is the most redundant topic in recent Knicks history. Aside from previous ex redundant topics like when is Isiah going to get fired and why is Jerome James still on this team, the topic wont go away until he is not on the team anymore like the two aforementioned.

Now, with that said, I guess I'll be in the minority on this, no pun intended but, I was never fooled by Curry's off season regiment and what he was going to bring to the team this season. I wasn't fooled by a long shot but hind sight and fore sight being 20/20, the last remnant of Zeke's horrible mistakes will thankfully end with him being gone either by natural order or by some miracle of getting traded when his deal is an expiring one at draft day next summer or just falling off the cap by natural order so we can look at Chris Paul or Carmelo Anthony when they are available the following summer in 2011.

This whole Curry subject no matter how many ways you can spin it, should have simply began and ended with a stipulation in his contract for lack of fitness preparation and conditioning which should be in every professional "SPORTS" contract. I love how in the NFL when you cut/release someone only a portion of their contract remains instead of how a buyout will still have that contract count against the cap.

When is this league going to start giving back to the fans?

Not to change the subject Bill, but did you hear of a recent and new rule in the NBA that Stern implemented that players who stand up during games like the Cavs and sometimes the Celtics do to hype up a shot made by a player, or until the first basket is made, that the team or individual players can get warnings from refs which could lead to a technical foul if repeated during the course of the game.

Rich front row fans have complained not to be able to see the action because players constantly get up and cheer and block view of the court. Another dumb-ass rule by dictator Stern. And yet, he in all his arrogance made it a rule. Look for players getting techs by replacement refs no less for the dumbest reasons THIS year and beyond.

-Jason

[ironman95]

Losing weight doesn't necessarily mean that you are getting into shape. You can lose a lot of weight sitting in a sauna or steam room every day. I don't recommend it, but it is a way. There should be no surprise that Curry is not in playing shape. Playing shape means being able to run in short burst of speed, move laterally, and actually jump. I doubt Eddy did any of that. Maybe Eddy can run 10k or a marathon now, but that won't help him get back on defense in time or run a fast break, or jump. If Eddy ever makes it into the coaches system the coach will have to rename the offense "12 seconds or less". I suspect with Darko it will be "9 seconds or less". Eddy is a slug on a good day, and although Darko has some smoothness and is somewhat fast, he is not exactly quick. Most likely Eddy lost the weight doing straight ahead exercises like treadmill, eliptical trainer and cycling. All smooth ways of moving, involving no sudden bursts of energy. All of a sudden Eddy asks his body to provide some bursts, and his body rebels. Eddy should sue his trainers, because it seems they worked on only one thing, when they should have had a dual-purpose theme. It was not necessary to work on specific basketball skills, but they should have worked on lateral movement, jumping and other sudden bursts of energy and power. It is now painfully obvious to me that those alleged trainers sucked and did the Knicks and Eddy a disservice.

[pearl]

Bill:

I think the Knick brass takes some heat on this one. I agree with Iron's assessment below, losing weight doesn't necessarily prepare you for basketball conditioning. Shame on the Knicks organization for not having their own people oversee Curry this summer.

Missing training camp is huge (like Eddie) and hurts the Knicks chances of moving him. What a waste of talent, he really is stealing money, like his burger king buddy, Jerome James.

Pearl

[kgooglog]

Bill is right on the mark with this one, guys. Curry only contracted his trainers until August 31st, when he lost all of his weight, but one pound, and, rather than retain them, his oft-exhibited sloth and laziness as well as his lack of enthusiasm for this game, took over. While Eddy did lose the weight, he also fell off the wagon, and this was his responsibility, not the organization who wasted $10,000,000 last season on a TOTAL of 12 minutes from this fat lard.

As Pearl says, and yes we all have said it at one time or another, Eddy is stealing money each and every day he sits. He is a big fat zero, and he failed, once more, to live up to his commitment to get into NBA playing shape. I don't think the Knicks were required to shell out any more cash in order to keep this guy on the treadmill or in the weight room. Professional athletes work their asses off when they know that they have a chance to lose everything, which is why I do agree with Jason that the uniform player contract should have a very clear clause in it that says, "You are terminated if you weigh as much as a Volvo V70 Station Wagon".

Does anyone's employer pay for them to eat correctly, work out (I suppose that some people do have this benefit tied into their employment package), come to work dressed appropriately? For Pete's sake, Eddy has done very little to demonstrate a willingness to play basketball, and why should he? He is assured of making $23,000,000 for the rest of his Knicks career, irrespective if he plays another NBA minute.

On MSG, I watched one of those specials on former Knicks, and I could not believe the way Bernard King rehabbed his torn ACL after the Reggie Theus collision, which 99% of the fans, media, and medical staff, deemed to be career-ending. King ended up returning to the NBA and made the all-star team. This is what I am speaking to. Bernard King did not have to work his ass off in what was actually videotaped in the weight room and endure excruciating pain, for while he didn't make the money Fat-Ass currently steals from the organization, he had an inherent desire and love, but most of all, a sense of commitment to the employer who paid him is salary.

There are no other entities to blame for Eddy Curry, anymore. If he had an ounce of the dedication, drive, and responsibility that innumerable players have shown over the years, he would never have been in this mess to begin with.

He is a disgrace to the sports world and, sadly, he is only 26 years old. And we have him for another two years. That's the only thing NY fans can count on, unless Donnie Walsh pulls off a swindle, the likes of which may make Bernie Madoff look like a philanthropist in comparison.

[greatgates]

Not to change the subject Bill, but did you hear of a recent and new rule in the NBA that Stern implemented that players who stand up during games like the Cavs and sometimes the Celtics do to hype up a shot made by a player, or until the first basket is made, that the team or individual players can get warnings from refs which could lead to a technical foul if repeated during the course of the game.

Jason. the Cav players STAY up. You can't see the game for minutes at a time. It's like sitting behind Shaq wearing an angela davis wig at a broadway play.