Knicks eBay Pickup: Novakane!

Hey guys, Drew back here! As expected, my second semester has not allowed for a whole lot of free time, but fortunately the weekend came before I knew it. I'm going with my friend to see Matchbox Twenty tonight, one of my favorite bands, so that should be a lot of fun. In the meantime though, check out this sweet picture I recently bought off of eBay for my Knicks collection!

Steve Novak is one of my favorite current Knicks easily, just because of the way he conducts himself as an athlete. Here's a guy who had a relatively low ceiling but was able to perfect the 3 pointer; giving him a big role off the bench on many contending teams in the future! Since I went to the Garden a few weeks ago, I only gained more appreciation for "Novakane", as he put Sacramento to sleep by draining 5 three pointers en route to the Knicks big win. 

I absolutely loved the picture as soon as I glanced at it on eBay. It's certified by Steiner, so there's no way it wasn't legitimate, and it showed Novak doing his famous "Discount Triple Check", taken from the Packer's Aaron Rodgers but done just as fabulously. I also really love the atmosphere in the background of the picture, with all those crazy New York fans jumping up and down behind him.

I got this picture shipped to me for under $30, which is highway robbery compared to if I actually bought this from Steiner Sports' website. I'm not sure what I'll do with it for the time being, but maybe eventually I'll make a little Knicks shrine in my mancave. You'll have to wait and see!

Before I go, I wanted to announce that I probably will be at the March White Plains show, although I don't have a whole lot of funds to put towards it. There are a few signers on the lineup that I'd like to get on baseballs, and one player towards my Mantle photo. It would really mean a lot to me if you gave my Check Out My Collectibles page a look, so that I could make my experience a little bit better. There are a lot of nice cards still available in my inventory, and remember I will consider any offer as long as it's reasonable!

Thanks so much everyone! See Ya!

First MSG Experience: Knicks Dominate!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Yesterday, I went to my 1st basketball game since 2008, when I saw the Nets play at the Izod Center against Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets! The game was a special trip for my CYO team, and I had the opportunity to go on the court and shootaround! The Nets wound up winning by 44 points, and since I was a temporary fan of theirs, I was pumped! Fast forward a few years and a little 'Linsanity', and I decided to instead commit myself to the Knicks! Rather than going to see my dreadful Jets this year, I told my Dad I'd prefer to see the Knicks, since they had a shot to actually be competitive. We bought tickets to see them play the Sacramento Kings, because we didn't want to take the chance of  paying big money to see them get crushed by an elite team.

So last night, Dad & I got to NYC extra early for my first Garden experience. We relaxed at TGI Friday's for a few hours since it was freezing cold outside, but eventually we trekked through the heavy winds across the street to the most famous arena in the world! The only time I ever saw anything at MSG was a few years back, when my family and I saw a Cirque de Soileil show, so I was real pumped to be a part of one of the most intense fanbases in sports.

Carmelo Anthony & JR Smith Warming Up

We took a bit of a gamble with our tickets; not really knowing if we did well or not. Luckily for us, our seats were absolutely perfect, giving us a perfect angle of the court, despite being more on the left side of the court. In the first half, the Knicks played right directly in front of us, which was awesome! 

After a chilling National Anthem performed by the Sandy Hook Elementary School choir, the Knicks and Kings were underway. It was an emotional night at the Garden for sure, but it sure didn't look like it in the first few minutes of the game. Second year guard/forward Iman Shumpert missed a dunk, and Tyson Chandler wasn't able to execute on an early alley oop pass from Raymond Felton. But then, Amar'e Stoudemire, the Knicks most controversial player, came in off the bench and threw down a nasty dunk off an assist from Carmelo Anthony that got the ball rolling! They went on to take a 25-22 lead going into the second quarter.

Felton Setting the Play

Novak for 3!

Chandler covering promising young star DeMarcus Cousins

The Knicks rallied all throughout the second quarter, hitting three pointers left and right! Steve Novak made 4 consecutive three pointers, which gave NY a 47-25 lead, which became 56-33 minutes later at the end of the half! JR Smith led the team throughout the 3rd quarter, and went on to the finish the game with 25 points. The team was clicking on all cylinders, and they didn't even need to use their best player Anthony, who only finished with 9 points, snapping his streak of 31 consecutive 20 point games! Tyson Chandler finished with 20 rebounds in less than 3 quarters worth of action, and Stoudemire finished 10 for 10 shooting for 21 points.

The 4th quarter was basically just an exhibition, as NY had an astounding 97 to 52 lead going in! Rookie Chris Copeland was brought in by the fans, who chanted his name until he got the opportunity to play. Old Man Kurt Thomas scored 11 in the 4th, including a 3 pointer that cracked up Carmelo and Amar'e! The Knicks are filled with likeable, tough players, so it's very easy to become a fan of theirs.

Dad and I wound up having a great day witnessing this 120-81 massacre! The night was filled with laughter and excitement, and it was awesome to be a small part of it! New York is now 30-15 overall on the season, tied for 1st in the East with the Miami Heat! We know if we're going to make the finals, we need to first get past Miami, which will be a difficult obstacle to overcome. But, if the bench performs like it did tonight, I don't see how you could rule that out! The Knicks tape keeps on rolling!

Thanks Dad for the awesome night, it was something I definitely won't forget! See Ya!

eBay Pickup: Novakane Style!

Hey guys, Drew back here. Although I am extremely excited for baseball to start, I still haven't lost much interest in basketball over the past few weeks. In fact, after this card I also have another Knicks autograph coming in, of one of the better guys to get! Anyways, besides for last night's loss 100-90 to the Hawks, the Knicks have come alive under their interim coach Mike Woodson, winning 9 out of their 11 games with him in charge. One of the Knicks best shooters, if not their best, is the guy I'm about to show you a card of. There was Linsanity, and then there was Novakane!

Out of 2006-07 Fleer eX, I managed to pick up this very nice Steve Novak rookie autograph. Sure, the nickname is pretty darn stupid, and sounds like a John Sterling thing, but boy can this guy shoot a three pointer. This season his three point percentage has been astounding, at 48.2%, while the next closest players have between 30 and 33% on the team. He only plays about 17 minutes a game, but when he comes in the opposing defense needs to keep him from taking the big shot. His story certainly is an interesting one, in which his rough rookie season brought him into the D-League, until he was traded to the Clippers, where he did fairly well. The next season he was signed by the Dallas Mavericks, only to go back to the D-League, and then the Spurs. He was signed by the Knicks on December 21st of this year and has had his biggest role yet. 

He's a very likely guy from what it seems, as are quite a few of the current Knicks players. I paid only a few bucks for this, so I couldn't really go wrong. It's actually a really neat card, as both sides of the card are clear, which you can see in the picture below. I'm glad I could add Novak to my basketball collection!

See Ya!