I have to give William Rhoden credit. I was pretty tough on his column in the e-mail I sent him, yet his reply was very nice.

He wrote me back, too, and said he hoped I was right.

were going on friday now, is this thing going to get done? i dont have privvy to some of the info purported on the board, but i do know something isnt kosher right now

I felt bad about what I wrote to you, and deleted it while you were taking 20 minutes to compose the above. I cannot allay your neurotic paranoia without access to the chemicals in your brain that bring it on. So, like they said on MSG, be patient and dream of more fat teenagers!

I'd hate to think what you were doing with your right hand. If you don't want to believe this will work out, don't.

Are you serious? I'm sorry to hear that. Sincerely. I wouldn't joke had I any inkling of that.

No Information Yet From Tests, or From Curry
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/sports/basketball/07knicks.html

By HOWARD BECK
Published: October 7, 2005
CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 6 - Eddy Curry, still a heart patient but not yet a Knick in good standing, was sitting Thursday morning, intently watching his would-be teammates run fast-break drills in a College of Charleston gymnasium.

Dressed in black warm-up gear and white sneakers, and accompanied by his trainer, Tim Grover, Curry was no more than a spectator in a baseline seat - albeit the largest spectator in the gym, and certainly the most scrutinized.

The Knicks were still waiting for test results to determine the health of Curry's heart, and for some of his medical records to arrive from Chicago. Team officials had expected to conclude their evaluation by Thursday, but instead announced that it would take another day.

So two days after the league approved the trade that sent Curry from Chicago to the Knicks, and three days after the teams agreed to the deal, Curry remained in paperwork limbo. He was also off limits. Though he chatted briefly and amiably with a couple of reporters, Curry was not permitted by the Knicks to answer questions.

"We're still waiting for some tests to come back," said the team president Isiah Thomas, who said Tuesday night that results would be back by Wednesday afternoon. "I misspoke the other day. Because of the Jewish holidays, I guess there was some slowdown in some of the process, in terms of getting some doctors available. We're also waiting for some more information to come from Chicago. Hopefully, this will be resolved soon."

Under N.B.A. rules, the physical examinations of all five players in the trade must be completed by 6 p.m. Friday. The deadline can be extended if both teams agree. Thomas said he hoped that everything would be resolved before then and that Curry would be cleared to practice with the Knicks Friday afternoon.

Until all of the traded players have passed their physicals, none are permitted to practice.

With Curry idle and under a gag order, others were left to speculate on his mind-set and his health, and the issues that cloud his career.

"He's just real relaxed and having fun," said Knicks guard Jamal Crawford, one of Curry's closest friends and a former teammate of Curry's on the Bulls. "He's happy to be here."

Asked if Curry was worried about his status, Crawford said, "If he is, he's not really showing it."

Jerome James, who most likely would be Curry's backup at center, said the team gave him "a nice, warm welcome, a Knick welcome."

"I'm happy to have him here," James said. "His presence here has even raised the expectations on this team a little higher."

Curry's future in the N.B.A. has been engulfed in controversy since the spring, when he was found to have an irregular heartbeat and an enlarged heart. Some doctors believe he is at risk for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or H.C.M., an abnormal thickening of the heart muscle that has proved fatal in athletes.

The Bulls benched Curry, a promising 22-year-old center, for their final 19 games, including the playoffs, last season as a precaution. On the advice of one of the nation's leading experts on H.C.M., Dr. Barry Maron, the Bulls asked Curry to take a DNA test. Curry refused, and the Bulls - fearing that his life could be at risk if he played - vowed to bench him for the 2005-6 season. The stalemate ended with this week's trade, and the burden shifted to the Knicks.

For the second time in three days, Thomas expressed confidence that the Knicks were doing everything possible, short of a DNA test, to assess Curry's health. Thomas also said for the first time that he expected the Knicks' doctors to consult Maron, adding that Curry had been examined by "some of the best doctors in the world."

Asked if he was worried about the worst-case scenario - that Curry, if he had H.C.M., could die on the court - Thomas said, "I know so much has been written and so much has been said, but until we actually know, I don't allow myself to really go down that road."

The Curry case is being watched closely by other teams and by league officials.

"We are monitoring the situation," said Tim Frank, a league spokesman. "But it's not appropriate for us to comment further at this time."

It is believed that the league's monitoring process includes league doctors independently evaluating Curry's test results.

Yet for John Paxson, the Bulls' general manager, nothing short of the DNA test could mitigate the concern that Curry could die on the basketball court.


"No one could assure me that that could never happen," Paxson said Thursday in a telephone interview from his office in Deerfield, Ill. "I wish Eddy well. I just know that from my standpoint and from the Chicago Bulls organization and all the people here, we would rather go winless than to risk what we could possibly have risked here."

The Knicks' philosophy - backed by another expert who examined Curry, Dr. David Cannom - is that even the DNA test is not conclusive. Cannom and his associate, Dr. Charles Pollick, believed the enlargement of Curry's heart was caused by a benign condition known as "athletes' heart" and was not life-threatening.

"Cannom assured them that Eddy had no greater risk than anybody in the N.B.A.," said Curry's attorney, Alan Milstein.

The Knicks believe they can assess Curry's health through alternative testing. But the Knicks were apparently the only team willing to make that gamble. No team offered Curry a contract this summer when he was a restricted free agent. And, according to Paxson, no other team offered to trade for Curry. "I had several teams tell me they weren't interested because they were scared about his health," Paxson said.

Assuming Curry is cleared medically, the next challenge would be to get him in basketball shape. He has not played since March 28. Curry spent the off-season in Chicago, working out at Hoops the Gym, which is run by Grover, Curry's trainer and the former trainer to Michael Jordan. Friends said Curry ran and lifted weights, but because he was not under contract, he was not permitted to participate in scrimmages there.

Thomas said he spoke with Grover, who assured him Curry had worked hard every day.

"He hasn't taken a day off," Thomas said Grover told him. "Conditioning-wise, he's done everything that he's asked him to do. He hasn't played live basketball, because you can't simulate that."

Curry, a native of the Chicago area, grew up a Bulls fan and wanted to stay there. But Thomas said Curry was "very happy about the possibility of being on the Knick team."

"His attitude has been great throughout all of this," Thomas said. "It's been a very probably troubling time for him. But for the most part, his attitude has been great."

REBOUNDS

Antonio Davis returned to Chicago on Thursday, and the Knicks appeared to begin to set the stage for his possible release. Davis, acquired in the Eddy Curry trade, went home to be with his wife, whose mother is having surgery. But Davis has also made it clear to the Knicks that he was unhappy with the trade. "He was really down last night," said Coach Larry Brown, who coached Davis in Indiana. Brown seemed ready to oblige Davis if he wants to be waived to return to Chicago. "I don't want to stand in the way if he doesn't feel comfortable," Brown said. "I'd be disappointed, but you don't want somebody that doesn't want to be here." If the Knicks cut Davis, they will still have to pay him the $14 million left on his contract, or reach a buyout agreement. Isiah Thomas sounded reluctant to do so. "He really has no choice," Thomas said. "This isn't charity." ... Quentin Richardson, Jerome James and Stephon Marbury sat out both practices Thursday, each nursing a strained left hamstring. Richardson and James have missed three consecutive sessions. ... With only 12 players healthy and available, the Knicks signed forward Matt Barnes, who practiced Thursday morning.

the Knicks cut Davis, they will still have to pay him the $14 million left on his contract, or reach a buyout agreement. Isiah Thomas sounded reluctant to do so. "He really has no choice," Thomas said. "This isn't charity."

That's all I needed to hear. I really don't think Isiah would do anything to lose AD's expiring contract (or of secondary importance AD as a player on the team from now until he's traded).

I wonder when the nBA is going to step in here--this looks like a chirade.