What’s on my mind? You just never can tell. I’m like a good book with different chapters which keep ya on your toes. Nobody knows. Without further notice:

1.How can the Nets be serious getting absolutely destroyed by the Kings making it half a dozen straight losses? What is wrong with this team anyway? Granted, Mike Bibby (15 pts, 7 dimes) and Ron Artest (27, 6 rebs, 4 assists) were back for Sacramento who isn’t all that bad if they’re totally healthy. At 18-23, might it finally be time to axe Lawrence Frank? Any team with Jason Kidd, Vincesanity and Richard Jefferson shouldn’t be struggling this badly at the halfway point.

I might not be a fan of the perimeter oriented Vince Carter but if you have the best PG in the conference and a complementary third option in RJ, you should be performing better. Young bigs Sean Williams and Josh Boone aren’t bad either. They really need to break up the core and restart. Something they probably dread with the potential move to Brooklyn.

2.I don’t know what’s more shocking. Serena Williams’ lack of energy in a listless performance in a quarterfinal loss to Jelena Jankovic or older sis Venus unable to take advantage of Ana Ivanovic’ inconsistencies in another quarter disappointment. Maybe they were tired of Australia.

3.So now the Rangers decide to play for coach Tom Renney. When he’s about to get fired. How nice. This team which had such lofty goals should’ve played that way earlier instead of turning their season into the NHL version of Dire Straits needing to win an awful lot in a crowded East just to make the Spring for the third consecutive season.

4.I said it over at my Battle of New York blog and I’ll repeat it here. Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo have zero excuses for skipping the NHL All-Star Game. Especially when neither of the league’s best two netminders are hurt and were voted in by the fans. Sure. It’s a meaningless exhibition but if your marquee stars aren’t bothering to show up, what does it say about the league? Fans will pay top dollar to see the game’s best players put on a show in Atlanta. Brodeur and Luongo should be there!

5.So I was talking to my California buddy Brian Sanborn earlier and he made a good point:

“Since when was Sidney Crosby suddenly the face of the NHL?”

To paraphrase, he went onto say that Alexander Ovechkin is every bit as special. And if you don’t believe that’s the case, watch a Caps game and tell me how that team is right there in their division and not far behind the Islanders, Bruins and Rangers.

The truth goes like this. If Sid The Kid was Russian and Ovechkin was Canadian, it would be the other way around. Don’t let them fool ya.

6.Any moment now, Norm Roberts’ Redmen are going to start putting the ball in the ocean instead of taking the game of basketball back seven decades. Right?

7.Octavio Dotel, who can’t be relied upon to even give a club 50 innings is given $11 million over two years. Does his clause come with DL stints? Just wondering. But baseball doesn’t need a cap.

8.Speaking of Dotel, I’ll never forget the day I had the chance to cover him on a rehab stint with the Staten Island Yankees. He nearly didn’t get through an inning in Lower A Ball and afterwards, said his shoulder was feeling fine. That’s why we had to wait at least 20 minutes. So, I put together the story when I got back and low and behold, there’s a story on the AP wire about him having a setback. That’s what the Braves traded for last year and what the White Sox just committed 11 million for a couple of years to. Simply amazing.

9.Say what you want about the upcoming Super Bowl XLII but from what I saw of Tom Brady and the Patriots against a depleted Charger team, they aren’t exactly clicking on all cylinders headed into this big game against the Giants. Two schools of thought. Either they’re going to play much better when going for even more NFL history due to better preparation from Bill Belichick or just maybe Tom Coughlin’s gritty bunch is going to get them the way they already did with Dallas and Green Bay.

I’m not saying the Giants are going to win like many are already doing but if they continue to execute offensively, who says they can’t give the Pats a run for their money? Don’t think for a second that final meaningless regular season game didn’t give them new confidence into January. It did. And they’ve played with a lot of confidence since.

 

10.Brady just walked down 67th and Columbus with supermodel gf Gisele Bundchen!!!!! Made ya look.

11.Heath Ledger was only 28 when he was found dead in his New York apartment. It looks to be an overdose but as we know, way too young for the gifted Australian actor to no longer be around.

12.I thought this North Carolina team was supposed to be unbeatable. They couldn’t get a stop to save their lives against Maryland a few days ago.

13.If Rafael Nadal gets to the Australian Open final, is the Spaniard who has dominated on the red clay still one-dimensional?!?!?!?!?!

14.When exactly does Andy Roddick finally win that second career slam under tennis legend Jimmy Connors?

15.Does anyone really feel sorry for Pat Riley’s dreadful 8-32 Heat of 15 consecutive losses? Just remember. They were handed Game Five at Dallas which really determined that series. With Shaq basically done, who else does that franchise have aside from Dwyane Wade?

And here’s the better question. Why is the former 2006 Finals MVP killing himself on the floor by essentially playing big minutes in meaningless games? Is it worth seeing the former Marquette star shed some prime years due to playing for the lottery? This is one of the game’s best superstars. Do we really want to see him morph into Grant Hill? 

16.I wonder how Tiki Barber feels right about now. Maybe he and twin brother Ronde can co-author a book entitled, “All In The Family: How The Barbers Helped Inspire Big Blue.” Has a nice ring to it I must say.

17.I criticized Eli Manning as much as anyone when things were going wrong but boy has the 27 year-old fourth-year starter really stepped up his game when it really mattered. He managed that game in tough conditions about as well as possible. And if not for a few drops, he completes a higher percentage of passes and the Giants win it in regulation going away.

He might not have the typical New York personality but the former Ole Miss product who has been in older brother Peyton’s shadow sure is unflappable. You have to admire the way he’s handled everything. With total class. Here’s hoping he delivers one more solid game turning former GM Ernie Accorsi into a genius.

18.T-Ho just broke down and cried again.