General: You can't go home again

Happy Holidays.

Just coming off a vacation from writing sports or anything for that matter that didn't include a wacky night of karaoke and the crashing of a former employee's party, I decided to take a trip back home to New York City.

The trip was fine until I decided to bite the bullet and visit the World Trade Center site. (I still have a lot of trouble with "Ground Zero" because it sounds like something Hollywood came up with.)

Let's just say that the area itself is now a step above the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus. Thousands of people were cramming themselves into this one spot to get their best picture or video available, and tables were set up as selling stations to peddle hats and other things, playing upon our patriotic sensibilities.

Except in this case, making my way through the crowd, no one was talking about the chasms they were staring into. Others had a look of horror fitting the catastrophe that it was, and still is.

You can see that most people put this on their "list of things to do while in New York" ledgers. Maybe it's so far in the past that many have "been there, handled that," but the patriotism has worn off, and the holes in the ground at Chambers Street have become the new big attraction.

It's the "Barry Bonds watch," or the local Michael Jordan appearance now.

I realize this isn't sports and all the corny jokes will fly in a sec, but I learned that being patriotic is staying patriotic at all times. It's not cheering the bombastic rendition of the "Star Spangled Banner" at baseball games, or buying a car from General Motors, because GM says it's good for the economy...

...but I know for sure that it's not standing in front of the former site of the Twin Towers pointing towards the site (like the bunches I have from Key West pointing towards Cuba in front of one of the many buoys or signs that read "90 Miles To Cuba") while having a picture taken with a Kool-Aid smile on one's face.

Being patriotic is not just going to see the site, which people will write off as a justification, but it's understanding how some acts of barbarism can magnify the need to comprehend what your current homeland stands for. In our case, we have a lot to learn, because we still haven't quite learned the lesson yet.

Now on to some sports...

* I'm just a lowly sportswriter, but I think the Celtics aren't missing Rick Pitino just yet.

* Kordell Stewart said that this year's version is the "real" Kordell Stewart, which I hope isn't the one I know. You know, the one that has one good season, and three really crappy ones soon after...

...if I was a division foe, I would Slash the Pittsburgh threat by hiring away offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and see how much a Bus can carry in Steeltown.

* Note to my Nets fan brethren: I know what you're used to, however, it's still cool to go see the only winning team in town, even if they are playing in New Jersey these days.

* Anybody ever see Marcus Camby and the Gingerbread Man in the same place?

I got a surprising call at home the other day, and even Humpty Dumpy is laughing at Marcus' durability these days.

* The NHL fined the Edmonton Oilers for practicing on Christmas Day...

...How dare they try to stay sharp in a league that needs to have small market teams stay remotely good because they're fourth in the official standing of American sports?

Maybe they should've been given the rules on practicing in Canadian, eh?

* If I have my vote for an Athlete of the Year, I got two words for you -- Jennifer Capriati.

* I walked into my local grocery store the other day and saw Grant Hill on the side of a milk carton...

...still looks the way I remember him.

* George O'Leary didn't know what was in his Georgia Tech media guide, like "Bob Patterson" was going to make it out of the month of October in one piece for the alphabet group.

* Hoops prodigy Tamir Goodman, a sophomore for the Towson University program, has left the school and will transfer after filing a complaint of abusive behavior by his coach...

...knowing Tamir was once known as the Jewish Michael Jordan, it's certain that he'll transfer to one more school for yet another comeback before his hoops career comes to a close.

Finally, get well, Stan Albeck...

...I first became a big Stan Albeck fan after he took over the Nets a lifetime ago, and led them to a great first round victory of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1984. Mr. Albeck had a great sense of humor and made being a Nets fan a wonderful thing to be.

Happy Holidays once again from Cubefour Sports.