2008 New York Knicks

Unfortunately for New York Knicks fans, the 2007-08 season didn’t bring an end to the Knicks losing streak – they finished the season in last place in the Atlantic Division. Owner James Dolan decided what the team really needed was a change in management, so he replaced team president Isiah Thomas with former Indiana Pacers CEO and president Donnie Walsh. Shortly thereafter, Walsh fired Thomas and signed former Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni. The roster didn’t change much, with the exception of the addition of Chris Duhon, who is expected to be a more dependable floor leader. The 2008-09 season will tell us if it was the management or the players that were holding the Knicks back, and after such a long dry spell (the Knicks haven’t won a conference title since 1999 and they haven’t won a championship since 1973), hopes are high that this season will finally turn things around. One thing the Knicks can always count on is tons of fans screaming their support, so if you want to do your part, get your tickets to Madison Square Garden and cheer the New York Knicks on to a winning 2008-09 season!

The word "knickerbockers" comes from the Dutch term referring to the style of pants, rolled up just below the knee, that immigrants became so noticeable for in New York City. The name became so synonymous with the city that in 1946, when New York joined with nine other teams to form the Basketball Association of America, the predecessor to the NBA, the city adopted the term as the team name.

In 1949, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA as we know it today. The New York Knicks were in the league's Eastern Conference. In 1950, despite finishing only third in the East, the Knicks ran through the playoffs and met the Rochester Royals in the NBA Finals. The series went to a decisive game seven and the score was tied at 75 with just 40 seconds to play. This was in the pre-shot clock era, so Rochester held the ball and scored as time expired to win the title. Perhaps more important to the Knicks' run to the finals was the fact that the Knicks opened the door to one of the first blacks in the league, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton. Clifton, as well as several other black players in the league, helped pave the way for what is today one of the most racially diverse leagues in all of professional sports.

The New York Knicks hold an intense cross-coastal rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers. The modern personification of the rivalry seems to be the incessant jawing of Spike Lee and Jack Nicholson, court-side fixtures at Knicks and Lakers games respectively. The rivalry, however, stems all the way back to the 1950s when the Lakers called Minneapolis home. The Knicks went to the finals three consecutive times in the 1950s, twice being defeated by the Lakers, thus the inception of one of the greatest rivalries in all of basketball.

The Knicks call New York, New York's Madison Square Garden home. The Garden is known as one of the most historic venues in all of sports. It was at the Garden that one of the great teams in basketball history, led by Hall of Famers Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Earl Monroe, and Bill Bradley, won two NBA championships in the 1970s. It was at the Garden where Patrick Ewing returned the Knicks to their place among the NBA's elite in the 1990s, leading them to NBA finals twice. Tickets are tough to find in New York. The Knicks enjoyed a period with 433 consecutive sell-outs.

New York is also home of baseball's Yankees and Mets. Playing at the new Yankee Stadium, the Yankees are among the most historic teams in all of sports history. The Mets play at the brand new Citi Field. New York is also home to football's Jets and Giants. Though they both play in New Jersey's Giants Stadium, the teams still call New York home. The NHL shares a place in New York also, with the Rangers playing at Madison Square Garden and the Islanders playing at Nassau Coliseum.