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Washington Square news | tuesday, march 20, 2012 | nyunews.com
SPORTs
edited by daniel hinton sports@nyunews.com
Health concerns break football boundaries, unite fans By Sara Levy Four minutes before halftime, the English Premier League football match between Bolton Wanderers Football Club and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club on March 18 was abandoned. Medics raced onto the pitch and players started praying — some even began crying. Every fan in Tottenham’s stadium was silent, their hearts in their throats. Bolton’s 23-year-old midfielder, Fabrice Muamba, had suddenly collapsed and laid face-down, motionless on the pitch. He had suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the London Chest Hospital. Since then he has been in critical condition, but statements from both Bolton and London Chest Hospital confirm Muamba “has been able to recognize family members and respond to questions appropriately.” Twitter erupted — #PrayForMuamba was a trending topic in the United Kingdom for the entire day. Every footballer with a Twitter account had a comment dedicated to Muamba, as did nearly all official football club accounts. Before their match later that same Sunday, Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, the leaders of La Liga in Spain, wore shirts that said, “Get well soon Muamba.” Last week, it was announced that FC Barcelona’s starting defender Éric Abidal was anticipating a liver transplant after having a tumor removed from his liver a year ago. In the first game he missed after his tumor removal, every fan in Barcelona’s stadium clapped during the 22nd minute of the game in honor of Abidal, who is number 22. Both Barcelona and their arch rivals Real Madrid wore shirts before their separate matches that urged Abidal to get well soon. Two months later, Abidal was back playing with his team in the Champions League Final against Manchester United. He was given the captain’s armband for the match, usually worn by Carles Puyol. After the game, Abidal was given the trophy to lift in front of the crowd before anyone else on the team. Football fans can be cruel and will defend their club to the end even if that means insult-
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FC Barcelona’s starting defender Éric Abidal. ing and fighting fans of other teams. It is not uncommon to witness or experience physical violence between supporters of rival clubs. But the moment Muamba stopped breathing, the moment Abidal was found to have a tumor on his liver, every color and crest of every team around the world melded into one. Every supporter worldwide stopped caring that Muamba plays for Bolton or that Abidal plays for Barcelona. What mattered the most was that these two men were going through medical crises — serious, lifethreatening health issues. In those moments the health of Muamba and Abidal took precedence over the sport itself. As an ardent football fan this was — and still is — absolutely incredible to watch and be a part of. The entire football community coming together to support these suffering men is no small feat and should not be overlooked. Football fans and hooligans alike have shown that as seriously as this sport is taken, nobody will disagree that life is much more important. Sara Levy is a staff writer. Email her at sports@nyunews.com.
No title for Knicks anytime soon By John Axelrod It has been quite the roller coaster season for the New York Knicks. Despite very high expectations, they got off to an abysmal start. They won just eight of their first 23 games. When superstars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire struggled to mesh together, head coach Mike D’Antoni was on the verge of being fired. Then, the Linsanity began. Young point guard Jeremy Lin led the Knicks to victories in eight of their next nine games without the injured Anthony. Lin was hailed as the savior of the franchise, and once Anthony returned many predicted they were ready to make the leap into the NBA’s top-tier. But the Knicks went two for eight in the first 10 games of Anthony’s return, and coach D’Antoni promptly resigned. What was truly astounding was that out of all the Knicks’ trios that had played at least 130 minutes together, the combination of Lin, Anthony and Stoudemire were outscored by an average of nine points per 100 possessions — the worst scoring margin of any trio on the team. When Anthony returned, the team scored about 12 less points per 100 possessions, and on defense they also allowed 12 more points. Some of the Knicks’ struggles can be attributed to the increased talent of the teams they played later in the season, but much was amiss in the Big Apple.
The Knicks have played three games since D’Antoni left and have won them all by a wide margin. The pick-and-roll offense D’Antoni ran through Lin has been abandoned by new head coach Mike Woodson in favor of isolation plays designed for Anthony and Stoudemire. For Woodson, it has been successful so far. The offense has been prolific — averaging almost 113 points per game during his short tenure as coach. But I would not be so quick to anoint the Knicks contenders again. It was blatantly evident that D’Antoni was not the right man for the job, and they look like a better team under Woodson. But the grim reality is that the Knicks are three games below .500 and have only a half game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. In my opinion, whether or not the Knicks make the playoffs this season is moot. They will likely make the playoffs only to be jettisoned by a better team in the first round. Under the terrible guidance of owner James Dolan, the Knicks once again find themselves in an unenviable situation. They could have signed Anthony in the offseason and kept their strong nucleus of young talent, but instead they traded everyone away to get Anthony a few months early. Anthony is not good enough to carry the team, and Stoudemire’s best seasons appear to be behind him. It may only be a matter of time be-
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Former Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni. fore his bad knees give out. Both Anthony and Stoudemire’s scoring averages are down, and they have always been mediocre on defense. The Knicks still don’t know Lin’s full potential. In the past few games there have been some moments where Lin has looked decent and others where he has looked awful. My money is on Lin having a solid career, but he isn’t good enough to elevate the team to title contention. The Knicks have few young promising players and no cap room. Barring a miraculous trade, it will be a long time before Madison Square Garden hoists a Knicks championship banner into the rafters. John Axelrod is a deputy sports editor. Email him at jaxelrod@nyunews.com.