I’m not having as much fun as everyone else is, and I have nobody to blame but myself.

That isn't true.

Blame mostly starts with James Dolan, and it ends, if my memory serves me, with Frank Ntilikina. I won't bore anyone with the details; there is no shortage of Knicks fans talking about the dog days of their rooting history; they are real Knick fans, I am not. In fact, I’m not even a Knicks fan — not anymore, at least.

When James Dolan kicked out Charles Oakley, I was doing a TV show a stone’s throw from the Garden (Not important right now, but almost nobody saw this show, with the exception of a now very famous Knicks fan who took a ton of...”inspiration” from what our small show did and has sort of made a career off it since) and I vowed that I would pledge my allegiance to Golden State, simply because, at the time, they were everything the Knicks seemed to not want to be — a talented team that genuinely seemed to enjoy each other; they were fun to watch play. I was the Squidward meme, watching everyone have fun outside in May and June while I was stuck inside. My owner is throwing out legends, while their owner is creating, re-signing, and even recruiting them.

I took my heart to San Francisco.

Fast forward to today, where there is a literal wall outside the World's Most Famous Arena to protect the likes of Donald Trump and The Rizzler… and I feel left out a little bit. The Knicks have created everything that seemed impossible just a short decade ago — a team that likes each other, a GM who is making the right moves, and although I don’t feel they'll need to, they can certainly attract high-level talent for the first time since the Carmelo Anthony years. But I am not switching sides. I feel a bit like whoever Adele was singing about in her debut album; I now have to watch someone I tried to quietly leave in the past be on every screen and come through every speaker for a very, very long time. All I get in return is the feeling of what if I was more mature at the time, and was willing to just be a little more patient. I gave up, when I should've been Chasing Pavements.

All of this is essentially a letter to my now world-stage successful ex, to let them know I am proud of them. However, I subscribe to the "stay on that side" mentality with my sports, so I now need to stand on my side of the proverbial, and literal, wall that surrounds the Knicks’ success.

I love New York, I love Knicks fans, I still dislike James Dolan.

Here are some predictions from a lover scorned:

"Kobe" currently 13% on Kalshi

Jalen Brunson went into detail about his mentality and mentioned how he tries to stay in the moment and has adopted a Mamba Mentality. It didn't come off as Jason Tatum-ish as it comes off on paper, but it felt noteworthy when I heard it.

"Alien" currently 23% on Kalshi

Trump in the building makes this feel like a layup with all of the UFO releasing files that have been going on.

Karl-Anthony Towns Finals MVP currently 36% on Kalshi

I know, I know. But read my introduction article; I shoot from the hip, I am usually wrong when I do, but it just feels so sweet when you get one, and this one doesn’t feel so crazy to me.

KAT has been doing a really nice job on Wemby — he has been an uber consistent presence on the floor and seems to be really comfortable in his role. Although Brunson seems like the obvious choice, I would expect Wemby to come full force for the duration of this series, and if KAT is able to not just shut down that effort, but match it, you have a real chance at seeing those eyeballs move over to Towns. 

Jaxson Dart currently 32% on Kalshi

I haven’t quit the Giants yet, but Daniel Jones got me close. Jaxson Dart is interesting. He seems like someone who already puts himself in the face of NY conversation, and I have been going back and forth on his appearance tonight.

For one thing, Cam Skattebo posted he was looking to spend $500.00 on tickets for tonight's game, which makes me think he should be the first person to ever enter the blue concussion tent before preseason even begins. Besides that, Dart, to me as a NY (non-Knicks!) sports fan, is in a weird spot. He did the Trump introduction that caused a whole brouhaha, and has probably been told to distance himself from politics. However, how can you be the head of one of the six families in New York (Yankees, Knicks, Mets, Rangers, Giants, Jets… no, I didn’t forget the Nets), and not be front and center tonight? I think he is there with Abdul Carter (even if Carter is on crutches!).