Luke Waltons Forehead presented by the Sports Dude.

BIG SHOCKER!!!! BREAKING NEWS!!!! Larry Brown has officially been named the next coach of the Knicks. Well, there may be some around these parts that are angry but I for one am not one of them. I would again like to say thanks to LB and I for one will miss him. However, I would also like to say good luck to him as well! I mean, NY may get a little suffocating, don’t you think? Also, something tells me you may never see the playoffs again, at least not with that roster. Oh, last but not least, good luck with Stephen Marbury as well – you thought Iverson was a headache? Trust me, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

Now, out with the old and in with the new. I remember back when Flip Saunders was fired by the Minnesota Timberwolves thinking that he would be a great fit for the Pistons. Apparently, the Pistons thought so too; everyone and their mother new the Pistons have had Flip in their back pockets for months now. I mean, I said it before and I will say it again, he is no Larry Brown but who is? It’s kind of like driving a Cadillac for two years and then being forced to give up the keys. Next in line is either a Ford 500 or the Chrysler 300, both nice cars in their own right, but there is only one Caddy! I am excited about Flip and I think he will have success here and help the Pistons maintain their winning ways.

Forget about all those first round exits in the playoffs he had in Minnesota or his record last year when he was fired. Have you ever looked at some of those rosters that were assembled there in Minnesota when he was coach? I mean, damn, even Kevin Garnett can only take you so far. I also hope that people don't think he won’t work well with the younger guys and help make them better players. Wasn’t he just about the only coach that KG ever had in Minnesota? Now granted there is no one on the roster with KG like skills but the point is he at least knows his way around the younger guys and can help teach them a thing or two. He has been successful everywhere he has gone, from Minnesota back to his CBA coaching days. The mess in Minnesota last season was more about “contract guys” (please see Spreewell, Hudson and Cassell for more information) who thought they should play more minutes, take the most shots and make more money. Success in the CBA is not easy, with players coming and going almost nightly, you have to coach and adjust on the fly. Lastly, and more importantly to me, he has the endorsement of the Pistons field general, point guard Chauncey Billups.

I look forward to the upcoming season; I truly believe the Pistons will remain atop the Eastern Conference. The players want to prove it wasn’t just a LB thing; they want to show everyone that they are capable of doing it without him. They will have a chip on their shoulder the size of the Palace itself, looking to get that championship taste back in their mouths and the sour one out. It won’t be easy, the East already is better right now than it was last year, but it will still be fun to watch. The Nets, the Pacers and the Heat will all be right there with them, but we will have to wait until October to start it all up again. I for one can hardly wait, so see you then.

Later – the sports dude.