Seems like its going to be a loooong season here in the Big Apple for allegedly professional basketball. This from ESPN.com:

[quote] New York Knicks forward Kurt Thomas was arrested on charges of assaulting his wife, and he did not accompany the team to training camp Monday.

There was more bad news for the Knicks: A broken bone was discovered in Latrell Sprewell's right hand. He will have surgery Tuesday and will be out at least six weeks.

Thomas was arrested at his home in Greenwich, Conn., for third-degree assault and risking injury to a minor. Bail was set at $1,000, police said. No other details were released.

The Knicks said ''the organization is going to be as helpful as possible to the Thomas family during this difficult time.'' The team didn't release any other information on Thomas' status.

The Knicks are coming off their worst season in 15 years and now face the prospect of beginning their season without at least one expected starter.

Thomas is New York's starting center, while Sprewell -- the team's second-leading scorer last season -- is the starting small forward.

Sprewell told Knicks trainer Mike Saunders that he injured his hand sometime during the summer, although he was not sure exactly when or how. Tests revealed a displaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal on his right hand. He will be in a cast for a month.

''He kept it to himself. He didn't tell anybody because he didn't think it was a big deal,'' Knicks spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said.

The Knicks refused to make Sprewell available for interviews. Sprewell shook hands with reporters as he drove out of the players' parking lot but did not speak about his injury.

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How much you want to bet wifey drops the charges? As much as I despise wife-beaters, I almost as much despise wasting the time, money and resources of the police department.

And why do I think there is some very interesting story as to how Latrell broke his hand?

[quote]Originally posted by George_vikingfan:
[And why do I think there is some very interesting story as to how Latrell broke his hand?[/QB]

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Trying to choke someone with a very tough neck?

Supposedly, he broke his hand throwing a punch...he missed and hit a wall!

Newspaper reports Sprewell punched a wall

The best part is because some chick messed up his carpet:

[quote] An argument ensued about 2:30 a.m. after a woman Sprewell hadn't invited vomited on a carpet by the bar area. Sprewell wanted the woman to leave the boat, but her boyfriend objected.


Sprewell took a swing at the boyfriend, missed and hit a wall. Sprewell cursed in pain and asked his guests not to say anything about it, the Post said.

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Now the Knicks have fined Spree and ordered him to stay away from the team for a while. This from ESPN.com:

[quote]GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Latrell Sprewell was fined $250,000 Monday by the New York Knicks, who also told him to stay away from the team until he can make "a positive contribution."

Sprewell was punished for failing to tell the team that he injured his shooting hand two weeks before training camp started. He had surgery last week and is out at least six weeks. He will miss at least the first two weeks of the regular season.

Knicks president Scott Layden met with Sprewell for 20 minutes at the team's practice facility Monday. Sprewell told team officials he broke his hand when he tripped and fell on his new yacht.

According to a report last week in the New York Post, Sprewell might have broken his hand by throwing an errant punch at the boyfriend of a woman who vomited on his yacht.

The newspaper, citing two eyewitnesses who asked not to be identified, said Sprewell was injured when he slammed his right hand into a wall during a skirmish at a late-night party aboard the yacht in Milwaukee.

Layden emphasized that Sprewell was not officially suspended, but no time frame was given for the four-time All-Star's return to the team.

"He has a responsibility to let us know. He had an obligation to do that," said Madison Square Garden president Steve Mills, who also met with Sprewell, along with coach Don Chaney.

Sprewell left practice without speaking to reporters. Layden described him as "upset" by the punishment.

Layden admitted the Knicks are taking a different tack than they had in the past in disciplining Sprewell, whose transgressions were often excused by the team. Sprewell skipped all of training camp in 1999 without explanation, and he routinely has arrived late for games during his four seasons in New York.

The Knicks acquired Sprewell from Golden State after he was suspended for a majority of the 1997-98 season for choking Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo.

"The approach we've taken thus far has not been effective. We need to try something different,'' Layden said.

He said Sprewell will remain an important part of the team, which missed the playoffs last season for the first time in 15 years. Sprewell was the Knicks' second-leading scorer at 19.4 points per game.

He was suspended by the team last season for one game after he missed a shootaround before a game in Miami. But the team later cut that fine from $125,000 to $2,500.

Monday's fine "will not be rescinded,'' Layden said.

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[quote]Layden admitted the Knicks are taking a different tack than they had in the past in disciplining Sprewell, whose transgressions were often excused by the team. Sprewell skipped all of training camp in 1999 without explanation, and he routinely has arrived late for games during his four seasons in New York

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Erm, the horse has already left the barn, no need to close the door.

The worst part of this whole thing is that if the Knicks are as awful this year as it seems they're going to be, we'll have to spend the whole season listening to the NY-based national media bore the pants off of us non-New Yorkers with their tales of woe.

Is Spike asking for a discount on his courtside seats?

[quote]Originally posted by Jim Allen:
Is Spike asking for a discount on his courtside seats?

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I have a sneaky suspicion that Spike will be taking his tired, pay-attention-to-me antics westward across the mighty Hudson to jump on the Nets bandwagon. He made a couple of appearances there last year, for the playoffs of course! Guess he figures more people will see him at the games then will see his movies!

Boy the fun doesn't stop here in the Big Apple! Spreewell is suing the New York Post for $40 million for their account of how Spree broke his hand. He is also suing to recupe the $250,000 fine assessed by the Knicks. Though the article doeasn't say so, I heard he was suing for libel and, get this, defamation of character. That's a good one! One of the most notorious players in the NBA is claiming his character was damaged by the reporter's account.

SPREE SUES

I guess it's time to reignite an old Knicks thread, now that Allan Houston is retiring. Now that the last of the Ewing era is gone, does this mean the start of a new beginning for the Knicks?
The cynic in me suspects it will be more of the same yearly disappointment.

Allan Houston retires.