Looking for Lin

I can't remember the last time I checked the TV listings to see if the Knicks were playing. But I did it today, caught in the curiosity about a new face breathing some excitement into a long dormant franchise.

Of course, they weren't playing tonight so we'll just have to wait a day or two.

I'm referring to the unheralded emergence of Jeremy Lin as the starting point guard who has ignited a modest winning streak for the New York basketball team. If you're interested in that sort of thing you don't need me to tell you about him. I want to tell you about my Knicks.

My era as a died-in-the-wool Knicks fan goes back to the 1969-70 NBA champs with Captain Willis Reed at center, Walt Frazier and Dick Barnett at the guards and Bill Bradley and Dave DeBusschere at forwards, with Mike Riordan coming off the bench. A few years later Barnett ceded his role to Earl Monroe and Riordan's went to Phil Jackson.

But they still played Coach Red Holzman's move-without-the-ball, hit-the-open-man team basketball. That's how we learned it in the Bronx schoolyards and tried to play it three-on-three. Or even two-on-two. We never had enough for a real five-man game.

The Los Angeles Lakers of Magic Johnson and the Boston Celtics of Larry Bird played that way, too, but, hey, they weren't New York teams. I watched them anyway because they played the kind of game I admire.

(Disclosure: I've become a big fan of women's collegiate basketball because they, too, play the team game rather than the power game.)

So, after a long sojourn in the doldrums, I'm back to the Knicks. I hope the Lin kid makes it. He's off to a great start and he's sparked renewed interest in our local team. It's fun to watch something new.

I'll be checking those listing.