Mike Meldman - Explore Big Sky
Mike Meldman - Explore Big Sky
Mike Meldman - Explore Big Sky
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SPortS<br />
Melo Movement<br />
by brandon nileS<br />
I was going to talk about the NBA<br />
All-Star game and the very cool<br />
over-the-car slam that Blake Griffin<br />
performed to win the dunk contest<br />
this year. I was going to bring up<br />
the Celebrity game where we got to<br />
see that Scottie Pippen still has it,<br />
Michael Rapaport is still fantastically<br />
obnoxious, and somehow Justin<br />
Beiber had game. I was even going<br />
to mention All-Star snubs (LaMarcus<br />
Aldridge) and top performers<br />
(Kobe Bryant). However, in the<br />
wake of bigger news, I must forego<br />
the All-Star discussion and focus<br />
on what will probably go down as<br />
the most controversial trade in the<br />
NBA this year.<br />
Carmelo Anthony (Melo), longtime<br />
star of the Denver Nuggets and<br />
one of the ten best players in the<br />
game right now, was traded to the<br />
New York Knicks. This is a fantastic<br />
piece to the puzzle for the Knicks,<br />
who already have a top ten player in<br />
Amare Stoudemire. With these two<br />
star players, the Knicks are definitely<br />
in a good position to compete<br />
for a playoff position in the Eastern<br />
Conference.<br />
The question remains however, is<br />
this a good trade for the Knicks in<br />
the long<br />
term?<br />
The<br />
Knicks<br />
essentially<br />
gave up<br />
three key<br />
players,<br />
two guys with potential, and a first<br />
round draft pick for Melo, point<br />
guard Chauncey Billups, and backup<br />
shooting guard Corey Brewer. While<br />
Billups will be a temporary upgrade<br />
at the position, he’s only likely to be<br />
with the team for two or three years<br />
at the most. He’s not the long-term<br />
solution at the position. Addition-<br />
ally, losing so much young talent<br />
could potentially put the Knicks in<br />
a position where they lack enough<br />
role players to compliment their<br />
stars.<br />
Most surprising is the fact that Melo<br />
would’ve been a free agent after this<br />
season. He also<br />
has explicitly<br />
stated on multiple<br />
occasions<br />
that he wants<br />
to play for<br />
the Knicks,<br />
and only<br />
the Knicks.<br />
Instead of giving up so much, why<br />
didn’t the Knicks just wait until the<br />
end of the season and sign Melo to<br />
a free agent contract? Even if they<br />
took that gamble and Melo signed<br />
elsewhere, they’d still have a shot<br />
at another marquee player next year<br />
in Chris Paul or Dwight Howard.<br />
Both players are arguably better than<br />
“While Melo and amare pairing up<br />
in new york will definitely sell seats<br />
and will surely help them put up<br />
some points, the price was too high<br />
and the timing was all wrong.”<br />
<strong>Big</strong> <strong>Sky</strong> Broomball Pasta Monday<br />
The <strong>Big</strong> <strong>Sky</strong> Employee Broomball Games are every Tuesday night from mid-<br />
February through mid-March. 10 teams duel it out between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.<br />
In mid-March, playoffs begin, and teams will take on last year’s winners,<br />
“Tramdangle,” who went all season undefeated and are still waiting for a team<br />
to beat them. In this photo from a February 2011 game, last year’s second<br />
place team tries their best against the champs, however Tramdangle still came<br />
out victorious.<br />
- Danielle Chamberlain<br />
Tony’s “Little Italy Night”<br />
whisky wednesday<br />
Walleye Fry<br />
big <strong>Sky</strong> Weekly<br />
Melo, and both have expressed<br />
desire to play in New York.<br />
New York was desperate for a guarantee<br />
of Melo’s services. As a result,<br />
their long-term future could suffer.<br />
While Melo and Amare pairing up<br />
in New York will definitely sell seats<br />
and will surely help them put up<br />
some points, the price was too high<br />
and the timing was all wrong. Kudos<br />
to Denver for getting a lot out of a<br />
guy who was leaving at the end of<br />
the season anyway, and shame on the<br />
Knicks for competing against themselves<br />
in this negotiation.<br />
Brandon Niles<br />
has done online<br />
freelance writing<br />
about the NFL since<br />
2007. He is a Communication<br />
Studies<br />
graduate student<br />
at the University of North Carolina<br />
Greensboro.<br />
March Melt’n yur Mouth SpecialS!<br />
tuesday tune-uP<br />
Burger & Beer $7 All Day<br />
therMal thursday<br />
Corral Sirloin Night<br />
oPen daily 11am Lunch & Dinner · Sat & Sun 8am Breakfast<br />
5 miles South of <strong>Big</strong> <strong>Sky</strong> - HWY 191, Mile Marker 43<br />
menu online - www.corralbar.com - 406-995-4249<br />
March 4, 2011 23