Friday Night Lights…

by Tommy Dee on January 19th, 2010 at 12:33 pm

Update: So we’ve been told that Pearl Jam is a “featured artist” for Friday’s game and not actually playing. I have to admit, I apologize for misleading, as I mistaken previous halftime shows for “featured” artists.

My bad.

The Garden will be on full display Friday night as the Knicks welcome in the polarizing Kobe Bryant and the World Champion LA Lakers.

And at halftime, the crowd will be entertained, musically, by one of the greatest bands of my generation: Pearl Jam.

Now, I have to be honest and say I really like what MSG has done in terms of ditching original programming to focus more on Jim Dolan’s other passion, music.

They did a great job over the holidays playing a Frank Sinatra show at MSG then followed it with Jay-Z’s recent and most memorable effort immediately after.

And don’t get me wrong, this live stuff can be hit or miss, especially on short takes in the middle of the court. But I have a feeling, based on the fact that I’ve seen this guys some 15 times, that Pearl Jam will put down another incredible performance.

And you know Kobe will too, let’s see if these Knicks are ready to compete.

  • oscar f

    Wow Tommy you must be running out of stuff to put up here! I know its hard to find something good but but please suprise me be the weekend . Trade rumors debates and speculations on 2010. Give us a an article on how you would proceed as the knicks GM til July 1,2010. No disrespect.

  • CircleLimit4

    Knowing PJ they’ll over play their slot and delay the start of the 3rd quarter by a 30 minutes.

  • CircleLimit4

    Btw I was at the PJ show posted above, great set but the prior night was the best show of my life.

  • x-man

    Our Knicks usually get up for games like this but not gonna matter. The Lakers barring injuries will win the Championship again this year.

    They can go really big, play smaller, go inside o outside and they have a really deep bench. Oh Yeah they have this guy named Kobe and this is one of the smarter teams in the league.

    So for me, it;s about 2010 & beyond and looking for ways to get by a team like this in a 4 out 7 series.

    So we’ll take this a-s-s beating on Friday like it’s payday for a better tomorrow!

  • Knicks4life

    Lakers have been banged up this year. Still have a great record though.

    I wouldn’t discount the Knicks stealing one. Kobe is hurt and not playing like himself. The key will be to actually drive (yeah I know we don’t do that until the second half) and try to get Bynum and Gasol in foul trouble. Lee but especially Gallo have to take it to their big men and Nate and Harrington must drive from the perimeter, then we take our chances with Odom and Artest beating us.

    I would actually switch things up and have Harrington, Galo, and Lee start up front to try to pull Artest, Gasol and Bynum away from the basket. I think Harrington can also at least try to guard Gasol and should be able to handle the physical play of Artest that Chandler will buckle too.

    Tough game to win, but we usually play them tough. Let’s go Knicks.

  • Mucha

    Call me crazy but I think the Knicks can beat the Lakers this year. They don’t have the same aura. Al Harrington will have to be more aggressive defensively against a Pau Gasol or Lamar Odom though – he showed flashes in the 4th quarter against the Pistons – Jordan Hill should get some minutes (size).

  • x-man

    lol Say what? Unless we give the Kobe a limo to Atlantic City with the ladies taking away his legs. we’re still a heavy underdog!

    If you think our interior defense is bad wait until Friday! With Bynum and Gasol in the game plus the Lakers can bring in Odom with these two to go really big.

    Plus they have Kobe, Vujacic, Artest, Farmer Fisher and etc that can light it up from the outside

    Plus they have Artest, Kobe, Fisher, Bynum, brown and etc that can play good defense.

    We’re screwed dude! Let’s hope the Lakers take us lightly because even if it’s a close game, who do you think we’ll make the better decisions in crunch time?

    Yeah Let’s all chip in for that limo to AC!

  • x-man

    U sooooooo craaaaaazy! lol

  • Knicks4life

    It is a daunting task no doubt be we can’t give up before the game is even played.

    Plus the Knicks for whatever reason play the elite teams really well (most of the time). They typically give Boston, LA, PHX, Por, and even Orlando a tough game. I’m sure there are others too.

  • CircleLimit4

    Lakers are battling some injuries, but they’ve also had a very favorable schedule with very few road games.

    The Knicks stealing this one isn’t out of the question considering some of the Lakers recent losses. But as long as the Lakers don’t get complacent I don’t see a win here. It’s LA’s game to lose.

  • CircleLimit4

    Utah and Denver too.

  • CircleLimit4

    I think Hughes should get some spot minutes this game.

  • BluEandOrange

    Missed the Knicks game yesterday but from highlights, it looked like Nate led the team to a nice win. Duhon’s stats through the third quarter were atrocious at zero points, 5 assists, and 4 turnovers. Its time to sit him on the pine.

    In unrelated news, you guys need to checkout the Tyreke Evans story posted
    in philly.com’s sports sections:

    http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20100119_Tyreke_Evans_sued_in_Delco.html

    You need to read the last sentence of the 6th paragraph in the article. It will make your day, trust me.

  • x-man

    Yeah I agree the team better not give up but I’m already putting on some extra padding for this a-s-s whupping!

    If the Laker’s bring their B game, we’re in big trouble. I don’t wanna think about their A game.

  • x-man

    Yep, I think the NBA should allow our whole Knick team against their 5 on the court. Let’s see if we have the smarts to put for a strategy to at least make it interesting!

  • ds2488

    Big game, but im with Xman on this one…If Lakers bring their b game, we are still probably screwed anyway…just too much talent and size. But it would be a big moral victory (for me anyway and I hope the team’s confidence) if we could play them really tough for at least 3 quarters. Hill is probably going to need to see some minutes, and Dantoni should think about benching JJ who will not make Pau Gasol have to guard a quicker person if he is in. That would be a horrible matchup. I look for a lot of minutes from Al Chucketts and JHIll in this game. Should be a crazy environment for this one, I think the crowds have really been starting to show up lately, hopefully we keep playing well or actually begin to play well again now.

  • josh h

    I am NOT looking forward to this game. You are all smoking crack if you think we can beat the Lakers! Kobe will have NO LESS THAN 40 points by the end of the night. We have no one to guard him, Chandler cant, Jeffries cant, but the only one who may actually have a chance would be Toney Douglas because he can go over picks and put real pressure on the ball.

    Maybe we should have Pearl Jam start the 3rd quarter?

  • BiggieSmalls

    i like the post.. MSG SHOULD be doing more music.. after all .. the worlds most famous arena has been known for Music and entertainment through out the years.. when it was ACTUALLY the worlds most famous arena and ACTUALLY in Madison Square..

    they should have the circus on the channel and tons more music..

    that Jay Z / Frank Sinatra concert was epic..

    i agree that we need more opinion on 2010.. lord knows we dont get enough of that in the comments.. lmao.

  • HaS

    Mookie Blaylock > Pearl Jam

  • Windsorpl

    x-man
    Are you a closet laker fan? Here is an advice, go on on a laker website, you will find like minded fans. this is a knicks fan website. I have been reading your posts and you have been hating on the knicks every chance you get. Do everyone a favor, come out of the closet and stop wasting your time here.
    And to quote you “lol”

  • HaS

    You my friend, will never earn my trust again.

    No shots.

  • http://theKnicksBlog.com Tommy Dee

    I missed the 8th bc i had a grad school midterm…my buddy John kept calling me and holding the phone up so i had an inbox full of live tunes.

    went the next night but heard the 8th show was ridiculous…and was when I heard the triple CD.

  • HaS

    I love the Lakers, always have, even before Kobe was born. That said, I’m not one of those Knick fans who chanted M-V-P for him last year AT the Garden, while he lambasted the team with 61 points, pathetic.

  • HaS

    FTR, The Lakers are my SECOND favorite team.

  • Jeff C

    Hill should definitely get some real minutes in this game.

    He should start getting more and more minutes, period. He showed that he can become a really good player, and that even right now, while he is still raw and not the smartest player, his size and athleticism and jumpshot are enough so that he can really, really help us. My only concern is that he doesn’t seem to have good hands in terms of grabbing rebounds. He gets way up there and gets his hands on the ball, but doesn’t seem to have a knack for actually holding onto it. Hopefully that can be improved.

    It’s time to start bringing this kid along. Everyone has hope with chandler and galo moving forward, and we all pretty much wrote hill off, but if he starts playing more and more and he looks promising, it will really make the ‘hope’ part of the situation so much better. If hill all of a sudden starts being a real player for us, having galo, hill and chandler moving forward will look pretty nice.

  • BluEandOrange

    You cannot say that the line didn’t make you laugh. Come on HaS, it was funny.

  • CircleLimit4

    Oh man, it’s good that you had your priorities straight but it was something else when the stage shook. In the middle of the song Eddie knelt down and put his hand to the floor. It’s crazy to know that only 3 other acts have done that. They made a dvd of that night. You should pick it up if you haven’t already

    Are you in Ten Club?

  • x-man

    lol. If you don’t or can’t appreciate what the Lakers Organization has done over the years, you are indeed blind and not fit to recognize a team with a plan and an good implementation.

    I want our Knicks to learn how to build a team for success.

    If you think this coach is gonna bring rings to NY, you’re beyond delusional!

    I had it correct on Isiah and I know I have it correct on this coach!

    If you don’t like me..well… get in line! Bring it on! lol lol An extra one for u buddy! lol

  • x-man

    You’re not suppose to luv success and brillance…even if it’s 2nd choice! I’m a Mets fan and I hate the Stankees. Who wants to be like them and win so many rings? lmao!

    As my Mets would say” Imitation isn’t the best form of Flattery. It costs too much. So go get the 2nd and 3rd tier players”

  • larry fleisher

    Maybe the programmers picked Pearl Jam for the Lakers game because Phil Jackson is a big fan. Hopefully they’ll play Black, Red and Yellow since Jackson is the person they’re referring to in the lyric “Freud walking the sideline”.

  • x-man

    Yeah we have “Fraud walking the sidelines!” We got rid of the other one though!

  • http://myspace.com/willhanza Will H

    Great Video, Tommy. Did you take it? The sound quality is actually decent. I love the guitair flourish at the end. yeehaw