I was a huge New York Knicks fan back in the day. Still follow them today but not as much as in the 70’s and 80’s.
If you know me, you know Micheal Ray Richardson was my guy.
“Sugar” played for New York from 1978 to 1982. He had his ups and downs, both on and off the court. But that’s for another blog entry.
I’m here today to give the Knicks of 2023 some props.
Tom Thibodeau’s squad advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs and will face the Miami Heat Sunday in Game 1 of the eastern conference finals.
Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson has been playing good ball.
Mitchell Robinson has been awesome at center.
Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley have been terrific off the bench.
Thibs is doing a good job calling the shots.
I will admit I was down on them this year; they had their struggles but it looks like they have figured it out.
It’s been 10 years since the Knicks have been in the second round. They have their hands full with Miami and Jimmy Butler. But if they defend and play hard, they can move on to the conference finals.
Outstanding documentary on Showtime, “NYC POINT GODS.”After watching it Friday night it had me thinking of the solid PG’s from our neighborhood back in the day.
Watching basketball in Holy Name boys schoolyard, whether it was 3-on-3 or a 5-on-5 fullcourt game you could always tell who the leader of the team was out on the court. Directing traffic, setting screens after passing or pushing the ball up the court in transition. The point guard in basketball is considered the floor general. Always looking to hit the open man. Sharing the ball. Making the extra pass. As a young player I wanted to shoot the ball from the outside more than pass the ball (bad deal). I look back and admire the guys who set their teammates up, passing the ball at the right time. On point, on target. I played with Ricky Ferro at Holy Name for a couple of years and he was the ultimate leader.
Alan Lang, Danny Conlan, Richie Deere, Dennis Walsh, Jimmy Maloney, Tito Martinez, Danny Piselli, Joe Santos, Gammie, John Godfrey, Artie Lee, Albert Esposito, Orlando Pabon, and Joe Farrellwere other point guards who come to mind. (Forgive me if I missed anyone else, please drop a note and let me know)
Two of the best were Brian Keating and Edgar De La Rosa (pictured below); they were fantastic. Ha! You thought I forgot about them…Brian played at Xaverian and later at Siena. Edgar played at Bishop Ford and St. Francis College of Brooklyn.Brian was from 16th street, Edgar, Prospect Avenue. They were in the schoolyard often working on their game. They made their teammates better. Best of all, they were two good guysfrom good families.
What went into the making of these guys? Was it the coaching? Because Holy Name had terrific men teaching us the game. Was it their family? I always wonder, I mean I think I know, what makes a good point guard. It takes a special person to want to sacrifice shooting the ball. The mindset of wanting to make others look better is not often seen, especially between the four lines.
There were five major omissionsfrom the documentary:
No mention of Vern Fleming.
No mention of Bob Cousy.
NeededFran Fraschillafor information/stories on the players.
Peter Vecseyfor info and stories too.
And, how can they leave out Ziggy from Brooklyn USA?
Do you ever look back on life and ask yourself, “How did I get here?”
At the age of 58 I find myself asking that question often.
Born on June 7, 1964. 665 10th street but we moved to 228A Prospect Park West in 1969. Attended Holy Name for 8 years. Jimmy and Frankie Cullen split for one year I believe and went to I.S. 88’s.
Made some great friends growing up on ninth avenue.
At Holy Name I played baseball, basketball, ran track and cross country. Played Intramural football. whiffle ball, punch ball, stick ball both on the street and with the strike zone. Jimmy Cullen took Boo-La deep in the boys schoolyard. That ball went to 18th street.
Academics wasn’t my thing; I hated school. Hated being there. The teachers were rough. Mr. Mussa was my favorite teacher; I had him in the 5th grade.
Miss Monzillo was awesome in the 7th grade…everyone else, later for them.What was up with all the yelling and smacking my ass with a paddle?That didn’t help.
When it was time to enter high school in the Fall of 1978, I screwed that up. That Co-Op exam in the 7th grade was strange. Made 3 of the 4 schools I listed. Power Memorial, LaSalle, Christ the King; the school I should have attended, Bishop Ford, didn’t accept me. Why did I put Christ the King on the list?
For the next three years I tried high school five times. Power Memorial, LaSalle, and John Jay three times.
Screwed it up.Poor choices.
Biggest regret in my life was dropping out of high school.
No telling what would’ve happened if I stayed at Power.
I had a girlfriend at 14 who loved me. Screwed that up too. I didn’t know how to love. She was amazing.
The adults in my life, well let’s just say they weren’t equipped to raise kids.
Mom did the best she could. The “Gooch” (my father) left when I was six. Thanks Gooch…for nothing. Well actually that’s not true, you taught me HOW NOT TO raise kids.But I have to admit the Saturday’s you showed up to take me to Timboo’s was cool. I learned how to gamble on sporting events at the age of 12.
When I turned 18 it was time to get serious.
The light went on.I think?
The ironworkers from Local 40 NYC taught me how to work. Thanks fellas. Shout out to Joey Alba (RIP)
Willie Higgins, Tommy Walsh (My fucking idol as a kid) Walsh played hoops at Bishop Ford and he had hops.My first ironworking job he was a connector for Billy Phelan.
Into my 20’s, after a few years of ironworking I decided I wanted to coach basketball.Thanks Jerry Darlington for setting me straight.
Ray Nash and Danny Piselli gave me a shot. But before that I coached 7th grade hoops when I was 16, that was a learning experience. My guy Gerard Trapp helped me out with that gig.
Ziggy was a big help in my journey. Gave me confidence in my coaching ability. Turned me on to motivational quotes.
Planet Hollywood, Limelight and the Peppermint Lounge, three great spots I worked for a few years. Met some wonderful people. Meeting Tupac Shakur before he died was a cool night. Can’t forget about Samuel L. Jackson. What a cool dude.
The newsstand in Penn Station working for Steve and Ronnie Kaplan; one of my favorite jobs ever. Jeff Van Gundy was reading the paper and Al, the old man I worked with asked him if he was going to read the whole paper or pay for it?Meeting my college football idol Brian Bosworth was some moment. Dean Meminger stopped by one morning. We rapped about hoops. Gerry Cooney was cool too.
Getting my G.E.D. and enrolling in college – how did I graduate from Central Michigan University with a B.A. in Sports Administration?
Moving to Michigan in my 30’s was the best move ever. “10 outta 10” is the greatest person to enter my life. (That’s my wife of 24 years)
Having a baby girl in 1999 really opened my eyes to life.Taylor’s been the greatest gift.
Shout out to Denis Hamill…gave me valuable advice on the writing craft. Wish I could have met Pete.
The past 23 years have been wonderful. Saint Peter’s College assistant coach. Jackson Community College head coach. East Lansing boys varsity head coach. Lansing Sexton High School boys varsity head coach. Chippewa Middle School 8th grade boys A and B teams.
Ups and downs. Anxiety. Tough times. Failures. Depression. Nights spent crying. But we keep plowing through. No matter what they say about you. I realized when you do well, the haters get jealous…
Sports was the band-aid. If it weren’t for basketball I probably would’ve stopped going to school.
The friendships I formed were incredible. I still communicate with a few people.
Mom was behind on the tuition often. I applaud her, she put three kids through H.N.S.
Don’t know how she did it.
The third grade wasawful.
This was when the dislike for school started, it was a nightmare. Talk about anxiety and depression. Damn…
Miss L. was my teacher, she was a nightmare. (I’m not talking about Miss Lynch either. They said she was awesome)
This witch made my life miserable every single day. I didn’t want to go to school in the morning.
She criticized me every chance she could.
I had psoriasis on my body and it was highly visible on my left eyebrow.
One day she humiliated me in front of the class. Removing her reading glasses, she moved closer to me and said, “what is that white stuff?”
I felt like crawling under the desk and hiding.
“What is on your face, It’s crusty and dry?”
MOTHERFUCKER!
Under my breath I was like, will you please shut up…
If you talked back to the teacher, you were sent to the principal’s office for a few whacks on your asswith a thick-ass wooden paddle.
Miss L. treated me like shit. Why?
Screamed at me often. Why?
Shamed and embarrassed me. What I do?
Maybe it was my red hair?
Or maybe it was the fact that I wasn’t very smart?
I had no fucking idea.
I do know I turned red in the face and felt embarrassed as the class laughed.
She wouldn’t even say anything to them for laughing.
Each student was required to have a black, composition notebook and on top of every page she wrote something negative in red ink.
Where did we ever get the idea that making a kid feel like shit is going to help them? It was like I had a sign on my forehead; PICK ON ME.
“FUCK YOU!” I shouted at her one day when she criticized my appearance.
My hair was always a mess. A mop. I never washed it, never brushed it. No wonder the girls ignored me. It was curly too. But I never complained to my mother. I took L’s bullshit. She sent me to the principal’s office after I cursed her out.
September 11, 2001. What an awful day here in America.
Thanks to Gerard Lang for alerting me to a special place in Kinsale, Ireland. “A Garden of Remembrance.” A tribute to the 343 firefighters who died during 9-11.
343 trees have been planted, one for each firefighter.
Vincent Brunton from 16th street died in the attack on the World Trade Center that day. “Vinnie” was one of the good guys.
Each tree at the Ringfinnan Garden of Remembrance is marked with a small, white sign emblazoned with the firefighter’s name and a small American flag.
I once read a quote from Lori Descene: “You are not responsible for the programming you received in childhood. But as an adult, you are 100% responsible for fixing it.”
I’ve read that quote so many times I have memorized it and can’t help but think of my life.
Do you ever feel like the walls are caving in on you?
How about making a decision and worrying like hell about what someone will think or say?
When I write these blog entries I always have anxiety for a few days worrying about what the former ninth avenue resident living in Portland, Oregon may say about it?
Why do we care so much about what people think.
On social media we put more stock into something someone says about us than we do with what someone who loves us says to us.
Doesn’t make sense.
This morning I woke up thinking back to my teenage days (1977-1982) wondering why I made some of the decisions I made? It was a rough five years.
The choices I made were awful; they shaped who I became.
I’ve been trying to fix things for many years. It’s a work in progress. Every day is a challenge and I gladly embrace it.
Chazz Palminteri once said, “the choices you make will shape your life forever.”
I wrote this last week, in case you missed it, here it is.
This NCAA tournament has been bananas. Upsets galore. Not a single #1 seed made it to the Final Four. Let me take you back 40 years ago
It was a late Monday morning on April 4th, 1983. I was walking across ninth avenue on my way to Pynn’s deli for a buttered roll and a coffee light and sweet.
Out of nowhere Joey Corrar appeared.
“HEY FINAMORE, KEEP AN EYE ON VALVANO AND THE WOLFPACK TONIGHT!” He shouts to me.
Okay bro, you got it.
“STEP INTO MY OFFICE,” he says to me.
I’m like, WHAT?
His office was Elvira’s doorway leading to her apartment. It was actually where Harry’s Barbershop was located.
“GO WITH VALVANO AND THE WOLFPACK TONIGHT,” Joey says.
“I stopped gambling Joey.”
He looks at me and laughs.
Later that night North Carolina State was playing the University of Houston in the men’s NCAA championship game.
I don’t recall anyone giving NC State a chance; not even me. I was going with the Cougars. From the enthusiasm in his voice, he loved the Wolfpack.
We all know what happened that night in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jimmy V’s squad upset Guy Lewis’ Cougars.
Final score: NC State 54 Houston 52.
Joey hit the nail on the head. He picked the winner.
I should have listened to him, I could have won some cake.
By the way, it was a Brooklyn guy, Lorenzo Charles (Brooklyn Tech High School) who made the game winning basket for the Pack.