Filowitz's Friday Five

1) I read this article this morning (have I mentioned before that I think Howard Beck is a fantastic beat reporter?) I thought to myself, this is the kind of thing we may want to remember three months from now if the Knicks find a way to turn things around. Then I thought to myself, given these bunch of dudes, the way things have gone the last six or seven years, this is the kind of thing that we won’t even be able to remember three months from now since in that time the Knicks will have gone through more ups and downs than three Russian novels.

2) So, who had Todd Collins on their fantasy team? Put your hand down. Let me rephrase that – who knew Todd Collins was in the league? Seriously, put your hand down. Let me re-rephrase – who knew Todd Collins was still alive? I’m not kidding, Bears defense, put your hands down.

3) Kris wanted to know what happened to the Rockets. There are two simple answers. One, Yao is a defensive liability. Which is crazy, given his size. Two, they have a bunch of point guards on the roster, but not one that is actually any good. If Rafter Alston and Steve Francis are getting any kind of significant minutes on your team, your team is not going to dominate. There is also a third answer, which is that they are still adjusting to a new coach and his new system. That typically takes some time. I have a feeling that this team has one of those long mid-season win streaks in them, which will put them in the top third of the Western Conference, where they belong.

4) You know what’s kind of fun? Seeing the Bulls stink again. That’s fun. It doesn’t remove all the pain I feel when I think of what Isiah did for them with the ridiculous Crawford and Curry deals. But it helps.

5) There is no freakin’ way the Steelers beat the Pats this weekend. The only way the Pats lose is if they let up against the Jets (unlikely, given the rivalry) or the Dolphins, or if they have completely stopped caring for the Giants game (especially if the Giants need to win to lock up a playoff spot.) But for this game, the Pats are going to be up for it. This is going to be like a playoff game for them. And as we’ve seen, the Pats rarely lose these types of games. Which sucks balls.