Blame The Loss On Me
NY Post
12-18-07
By Marc Berman

You might have heard about Eddy Curry’s fake guarantee that motivated the Pacers last night. Even AP ran a separate. As you know, Curry didn’t guarantee a thing. The Pacers just thought he did. In fact, Curry is so mild-mannered, he wouldn’t guarantee it was December.

Here’s the most honest account and it’s too silly to believe. At the morning shootaround, I and a few others conducted a very dull interview with Eddy Curry. A young reporter who had been talking to Isiah Thomas during the Curry interview decided to ask me – of all people - what Curry had said.

I told him, in my best joking, sarcastic manner, that Curry guaranteed a victory over the Pacers. He laughed. I laughed. A few journalists nearby laughed. However, some mystery journalist must have overheard and did not get the joke.

Somehow, that evening before the game, word spread in the Pacers’ locker room that Curry had guaranteed a victory. There were rumors that it was reported on television. The Knicks PR staff called Channel 2, 4 and 7 – the three stations at the shootaround – and each station denied reporting that Curry made a guarantee.

To this moment, nobody knows how this one-line quip from me to a reporter got into the Pacers’ locker room as fact. I’d love to know. Curry was baffled and not pleased. “Maybe it was a coach’s tactic,’’ Curry said after the Knicks got slaughtered by the Pacers by 27 points.

Curry was still in uniform 30 minutes after the game. I whispered to him what had really gone down. “So it’s your fault,’’ Curry said, unamused.

this is a classic article about how things are going in the garden. we blame rumors for tham not playing inspired ball. even though it maybe a joke, they should have played better than the pacers period.