Garden gets it right
THE GARDEN has done the right thing and rescinded its “offer” to have Knicks and Rangers ticket subscribers buy tickets to be distributed among poor kids during the holidays. MSG now says it will donate its own game tickets at no charge to those who already pay a fortune for tickets.
➤ Some civilizations died off from lead poisoning. Ours is threatened by the growing madness of genuine pigskin gibberish. Saturday, after Michigan State’s Elijah Collins ran for 8 yards, Fox Sports 1’s Evan Moore explained it: “He stuck his foot in the ground and got vertical.” And let us all say, “Nurse!”
➤ Naturally, Mike Francesa’s latest threat of retirement signaled another endless Jamboree of Me. It’s a pity all those stars he claimed to know so well died just before he first made the claim or they’d have added their salutes. As Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice, said of her father, “He wants to be the bride at every wedding, the corpse at every funeral.”
➤ Real professionals, not actors: Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins on Sunday, was unavailable to take the final snap as he was busy taking sideline selfies with fans.
➤ Say, what did ESPN give as Duke’s win probability at home against Stephen F. Austin? Turns out it was 00.00 percent. So SFA was paid to make the trip to be destroyed yet won.
➤ The Mavericks and Rockets played for first place in their division Sunday. Houston lost at home, 137-123. Lost what? A basketball game? Hardly. It was an 88 3-pointsshot farce, the home run-or-strikeouts Rockets finishing 10-of-44.
➤ Hurray for context! After noting that Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor surpassed Herschel Walker for all-purpose yards in three seasons, Fox’s Tim Bando, the crafty veteran, added that Walker’s Georgia teams played fewer games per season.
➤ NCAA student-athletics continue to produce our leaders of tomorrow. Toledo’s basketball roster lists 14 players. But only 10 played Saturday at home against Northwestern Ohio, and the five starters played between 25 and 30 minutes. Had to. Close game. Toledo won, 100-41.
➤ Reader Ken Van Durand: “Duke has three wins in MSG, this season ... same as the Knicks.”