Fun fact: Yankees manager Joe Girardi has as many wins in November as Giants coach Tom Coughlin, Jets coach Rex Ryan, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni and Nets coach Lawrence Frank combined. His loss total pales in comparison, however, which is probably why the Knicks invited him to Madison Square Garden to be honored during Sunday's They're giving him the (quite possibly made up) Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton "City Spirit" Award, ostensibly because he stopped on his way home from winning the World Series to help the victim of a car accident flag down help from the police. It was a kind act, but it's not hard to imagine Knicks brass is desperate to liven up the grim Garden scene these days.
In Girardi's honor, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni will coach in the style of the best braces-wearing manager this side of an eighth-grade fantasy team. He'll pull right-handed shooters between free throws to replace them with different right-handed shooters who don't have markedly better shooting percentages. He'll risk technical fouls to walk out to the court to talk things over with point guard Chris Duhon and he'll give big minutes to seldom-used forward Marcus Landry because Al Harrington is simply more comfortable throwing passes to him.
The image of Girardi on the Knicks floor won't just be about getting a cheap cheer amid a season of unrestrained losing, it will also offer a bit of a rebuke to those who think you can simply buy championships in sports. The Yankees are often accused of doing that, no matter how many other teams won titles between 2000 and 2009, while the Knicks have long had one of basketball's largest payrolls.
What's all that money gotten them? Four playoff games, all losses, in the last eight years. Clearly money isn't the only ingredient to success in sports.
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