Shaun Powell disses Barkley, praises Ewing...

This article really pissed me off. Can this guy BE more biased! Check it out...

Unlike Barkley, Ewing has shot at elusive title

by Shaun Powell


Charles Barkley broke into the NBA playing alongside Julius Erving,
Moses Malone and Maurice Cheeks. He left the NBA playing next to
Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato and Roy Rogers.

In his 16th and presumably final season, Barkley found himself
hauling a broken-down tractor known as the Houston Rockets, which was
tough for someone on bald tires himself. He played hard anyway, right
up to the fateful moment last Wednesday in Philly, when he tried to
block a shot and crashed hard, left leg first.

Well before the knee injury that ended his season and his career,
Barkley's chances for that elusive NBA title were the direct opposite
of his body type. Slim, in other words. Scottie Pippen had sensed
trouble ahead and jumped ship in a snit late last summer. Hakeem
Olajuwon, who for years could spin better than a good publicist,
found his body breaking apart. One star left by forced trade, another
by injury, leaving Barkley alone to deal with the Mobleys and Catos
and dashed dreams of ever tasting championship champagne.

But while mourning the loss of a player who could infuriate and
captivate but never bore, I found myself thinking of Patrick Ewing.

Like Barkley, Ewing helped carry the league from one prosperous
decade to the next. Unlike Barkley, Ewing did it strictly on ability,
not charm.

Like Barkley, Ewing has no championship jewelry. Unlike Barkley,
Ewing still has a shot. A good one. The best he's ever had, actually.
And let's make one last distinction between the two: Unlike Barkley,
Ewing needs a title to help melt away the iceberg between himself,
the aloof center, and us, the hard-to-please masses.

When Barkley sat at the podium after his final game, fought back the
tears in his eyes and the pain in his knee, and said to hell with a
championship, I believed he was sincere.

"I have nothing but 16 years of great memories," he said. "I've been
all over the world. I met great actors. I met presidents. I met
Bishop Tutu. I exceeded all my expectations."

Barkley left the game with everything he wanted most: money, fame,
attention, a fat head and thousands of new friends. Sure, he would've
liked a title, but I never had the feeling he craved one. He never
paid much attention to conditioning until it was too late. There was
too much late-night carousing by Barkley in June of 1993, his only
NBA Finals appearance, when the Suns lost to Michael Jordan in six
games. Afterward, Jordan questioned Barkley's motivation and desire
and said his golfing buddy would never win a title because he didn't
have the right stuff.

Barkley wanted a great time more than a great finish. He accomplished
that. You sense the exact opposite with Ewing. He's a grouch who
prefers a great finish, a feat that could give him the kind of
acceptance, at least around here, that embraced Barkley.

Ewing easily is the most accomplished Knick ever, in the individual
sense. He's been everything the Knicks wanted from their franchise
player after David Stern plucked that "fixed" envelope from the
lottery hopper in 1985: consistent All-Star, massive season-ticket
seller, courageous player, hard worker. All except champion.

Maybe that lonely void gnaws away at Ewing, who's more sensitive than
he wants you to believe. He can be snarly and boorish in public, and
perhaps it's because a small segment of the public never lets him
forget what he hasn't delivered.

So Ewing does nothing to encourage or deserve New York's embrace. He
may be helpless because he doesn't have Barkley's engaging wit. He
never left that Georgetown attitude at Georgetown. Maybe a part of
him is betting a championship will do what he can't.

The hunch here says in several months, Ewing finally will get his
chance. His ring. The competition in the NBA is weak enough and the
talent around him strong enough to make that happen. There were two
people responsible for keeping a healthy Ewing away from a title;
Jordan is gone and Olajuwon might as well be. Pay little mind to
Miami right now, because Tim Hardaway, the most important Heat
player, is weaker, and everyone knows Ewing owns Alonzo Mourning.

And admit it: With a healthy Ewing, wouldn't the Spurs have sweated
out a Game 7 last summer?

When Ewing broke into the NBA, he had Pat Cummings, Louis Orr and
Rory Sparrow. Now there's Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston and Marcus
Camby.

That's another difference between Ewing's twilight and Barkley's.

Sure, the Knicks must develop a style that fits everybody and, yes,
good health is a must. Assuming all of that, there's no good reason
why the Knicks shouldn't return to the Finals and, this time, take
the Alamo.

Let's go ahead and predict as much, right here, right now.

And that's where the guessing stops. With a championship in hand,
nothing else is certain for Ewing, not even the applause and 100
percent acceptance he so desperately wants.

But in the ongoing quest to embrace one of the biggest sports stars
in New York history, nothing else has worked. Winning a title seems
his best and only hope.

Shaun Powell is a sports columnist for Newsday.


any thoughts?......


------------------
"You know, it's interesting....."
-Calvin Murphy


[This message has been edited by 2Sandwiches (edited December 15, 1999).]

 

The funniest things to me is:

He seems to think the Knicks actually could beat even the 8th seed out of the West.

If Hakeem is all but done because of injuries, what does that make Ewing who has spent more time on the injured list than my grandmother after a bull fight?

Let me list your problems in Knick town.

Sprewell can't even show up with a decent excuse as to why he couldn't be on time for training camp.

Ewing is the knee-less, ankle-less wonder of the NBA.

Camby is b****ing about minutes

They paid untold, unwarranted millions and billions to Ward and Childs to share time at the point and play it poorly.

Larry Johnson...nuff said

Wasn't that the same coach youve been calling to be fired for at least 2 years in NY? Oh I guess your 13-9 record in the WEAK eastern conference is enough to praise any coach.

You now have a former Utah Spazz as your GM. Nuff said

And we all know that Hakeem OWNS Patrick. If you need a refernce, see 94 finals. Heck just watch any game between the two.