35 years of Misery: Name that Net

Greetings, hoops fans! As you may have heard, that team that plays in New Jersey is moving to Brooklyn in a few months and so ends 35 years of misery in the Garden State. To commemorate 3 and a half decades of pain, the Nets are having a farewell night and they're pulling out all the stops. All the past legends of the Meadowlands will be on hand like Kerry Kittles and Derrick Coleman? Bernard King's brother? And who's that guy wearing number 10??? I understand that the active guys aren't available like Kidd and K-Mart (and obviously Jayson Williams isn't) but shit isn't Kevin Edwards available? How about Keith Van Horn, he can't be too busy. And where's Buck Williams? I understand DC and Kenny Anderson, since they were the stars of the other good Nets team that didn't feature Kidd, but why does Kerry Kittles get the prime position in that poster? That's the position Ewing or Clyde Frazier would hold if the Knicks had a similar celebration, KK is the symbol of 35 years of history?? At the very least, I'd like to see a Petrovic hologram at this event.

Now, here's where the PTU readers come into play. If you can name number 10 in that photo you will be shouted on in a post as the most knowledgeable sports fan in the world and will also receive a special prize. Good luck, because I am stumped. It's not Sam Cassell or Mookie Blaylock. Could it be a made up player? Let us know if you have any idea, Nets fans.

RIP Armen "The Hammer" Gilliam

Any New York area basketball fan who had the Sportschannel in the mid 90's remembers The Hammer. Nicknamed the Hammer during his days at UNLV because of his tough inside presence, and his name sounding like Arm & hammer baking soda, Gilliam passed away today of a heart attack at 47 years old. Playing alongside the likes of flashy but difficult to deal with players such as Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson and Chris Morris, Gilliam stood out with his boring yet effective low post game. I spent many an evening of my youth cursing out the Hammer and his slow half hook shot that Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason seemed powerless to defend. Although the Nets didn't win much when he was around, they always seemed to have their big brothers across the Hudson's number in those days, dominating the regular season match-ups and getting a game off the Knicks' Finals team in '94. And a big part of their limited success was the Hammer quietly doing his thing in the paint. He went on to play for a few more teams including Charlotte and Milwaukee, but I'll always remember Bill Raferty yelling "The Hammer throws it down!" to a half empty Meadowlands arena, the perfectly unflashy stalwart for a mediocre NBA team in New Jersey. Never getting any accolades, but always a pain in the ass for whoever had to guard him. RIP Hammer.

Knicks vs Nets Preview

Tonight is the first meeting between the Hudson River rivals since the big trades. Both teams have been pathetic lately, but at least the Nets have had the excuse of Deron Williams sitting out with a bad wrist. You know Prokhorov's guys want this game badly tonight, so Deron was told play or something bad might happen. "Wrist hurt? What is wrist hurt? You play or you die".

Knicks win a closer game than it should be tonight.

So, here's mascots playing hockey....