Jeremy Lin shows off acting chops on sitcom 'Fresh Off the Boat' (VIDEO)

Jeremy Lin has already compiled quite an impressive list of credits on his IMDb site, so it was no big surprise to find out the Charlotte Hornets guard would be making a cameo appearance on the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat.

Lin was only on the show for one scene but delivered a fine performance as an Asian factory worker that assembled the plastic tables that go on top of pizzas. To keep morale up, the factory would play John Hughes' movies while workers put together the tiny tables.

And apparently, Lin's character, Chau, was not a big fan of Hughes' Pretty in Pink. Watch:

Lin has had a pretty good preseason for the Hornets, and with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist out for the season, it looks like he'll just have to put those dreams of an Emmy on the back burner.

Rockets players harassed gay worker at Barclays Center, says lawsuit

A gay catering service worker claims he was taunted with homophobic slurs by Houston Rockets basketball players while setting up a buffet in their locker room at Barclays Center last year.

Rasean Tate says in a federal discrimination lawsuit that his back was turned when the insults were directed his way, reports The New York Post.

But he heard them.

The 28-year-old Tate claims that he was setting up the buffet in the visiting Rockets locker room before a game on Feb. 22, 2013, when he was all but chased from the area because he was gay.

“When the plaintiff’s back was turned to defendant Rockets players, he began to hear laughter and taunting voices saying ‘get this f—– out of here!’ ” according to the suit, and ” ‘He’s trying to catch a sneaky-peeky!’…

“These series of comments were repeated a number of times by defendant Rockets players and staff,” claims the suit. “Plaintiff could hear defendant Rockets players overlapping voices and laughter.”

The lawsuit claims Tate was phased out of locker room duty and demoted by Levy Restaurants (the company that handles catering at Barclays center) after he complained and he was given fewer hours to work because of it.

“It was loud and gregarious and there were overlapping voices,” Tate’s lawyer Marjorie Masidor told The Post.

A representative of the Nets allegedly witnessed the incident and told Tate to leave the locker room and that he would “take care of it,” according to the suit.

“I think there’s a bit of irony that this occurred in the same place where a person’s (Jason Collins) sexual identity is accepted and welcomed with openness, while in the same place a visiting team chose to degrade Rasean and set us back,” Masidor said.

Among the players on the Rockets roster for the game were James Harden, Carlos Delfino and Jeremy Lin. The lawyer would not say whether Tate could identify anyone who made the comments.

The Rockets organization and Levy were named in the suit. No Rockets players, Barclays Center or the Nets were named in the legal action.

Jeremy Lin says being Asian-American led colleges, NBA teams to snub him

Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin says his ethnicity is the reason he was not offered any college scholarships to major colleges and why he was passed over by NBA teams during the draft.

Lin tells Charlie Rose — in a "60 Minutes" interview that was excerpted Friday — that not a single Division I school contacted the California Player of the Year after he led his high school in Palo Alto to the California state championship.

"Well, the obvious thing in my mind is that I was Asian-American ... I think that was a barrier," he told Rose.

The young man who brought "Linsanity" to the NBA for a few fascinating weeks last season believes that if he were black or white he would have gotten a scholarship to schools like UCLA or "hometown" Stanford.  He ended up going to Harvard, where no athletic scholarships are granted.

Lin says ethnicity has no bearing on anyone's performance on the court but believes perceptions about race and athletic ability still exist.

"It's just a stereotype," he says.




The 6-foot-4 guard wasn't selected by any of the 32 NBA teams in the entry draft following a successful career at Harvard.

In the NBA, Lin mostly languished on the bench in Houston and New York until injuries last February gave him a chance to get major minutes against the Nets and kick off the Linsanity craze.

Lin left the Knicks and returned to the Rockets after they offered him a three-year deal worth $25.1 million.

Jeremy Lin tweets about heart-healthy fine

Jeremy Lin returns to New York City Friday night and — even though his Rockets will be playing the Nets in Brooklyn — the the former Madison Square Garden exile will make his appearance at Barclays Center in a foul mood — and with a healthier heart.

After receiving his first technical foul for arguing with a referee Wednesday, the former Knicks star  tweeted his anger about the $2000 fine and put it into terms most fans can relate to.

Got my first ever technical last night and lost $2000...makes me angry when i realize thats 2000 mcchickens or 4000 jack in the box tacos
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) February 21, 2013

It could also buy 400 of the marked down "Linsanity" jerseys on the clearance rack at Modell's.

Jeremy Lin will bring 'Linsanity' to Sundance Film Festival on Sunday

The Sundance Film Festival is about to come down with a case of Linsanity — and we're not talking the Lindsay Lohan kind.

Former New York Knick turned Houston Rocket Jeremy Lin couldn't attend the the premiere of the packed screening of "Linsanity," due to a scheduling conflict, but will now show up Sunday Jan. 27, the festival's final day.

Lin will appear in person and bring along a couple of his Rocket teammates to watch the sports documentary which tells the story of the Harvard grad's rise to NBA fame last season.

Lin, the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, led the bumbling Knicks to the playoffs and burst into national consciousness — kicking off the craze which became known as Linsanity.

The film focuses on the 23-year-old Lin's wild ride to international fame as the cameras rolled and is produced by his brother, Joseph Lin.

"I'm excited for Jeremy that he will be able to experience his Sundance premiere after all," said director Evan Jackson Leong.  "I'm thrilled I'll be able to watch the finished film with my film's subject."

Linsanity already had a sold-out screening that drew fans from as far away as Hawaii.  Sunday's screening will be in Salt Lake City.

Lin's story had all the elements of a Hollywood script.  Well here it is — in Indieland.

Jeremy Lin says going to Houston was 'God's plan'

Jeremy Lin is miles away from the Linsanity that swept New York last season and says he holds no hard feelings towards the Knicks for not matching his $25.1 million offer sheet last July.

In fact, Lin thinks his controversial exit from New York had come from a higher power than the Knicks owner James Dolan, indicating it was "God's plan" for him to go to Houston.

"The biggest thing is I enjoyed playing for the fans," the new Rockets' point guard said after Thursday's practice. "I had a lot of peace about it when it happened.  I know God has a perfect plan. And he's shown that in my life."

The struggling Lin (10.0 ppg, 6.3 assists) will be seeing some of his former Knicks teammates for the first time this season tonight at the Toyota Center since he became an overnight  cultural phenomenon that had both divided and propelled the team in 25 starts last spring.

Hurtful comments by Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith about Lin's contract and play, a season-ending knee injury and the success of the Knicks (8-2) this season have made Lin's departure and the frenzy of Linsanity a long forgotten footnote in New York.

"It didn't shake out the way everybody thought it would, but I'm still very at peace with how everything happened," added Lin.  "I'm in a great situation right now."

After his breakout year and fat new contract, Lin is still adjusting to a new system in Houston.

The Rockets (5-7) — who benched Lin Wednesday night after averaging only seven points in his last five games — hopes he can light a fire under the Rockets like he did with the Knicks last season despite the criticisms.

"I'm fine with whatever anybody says," said Lin. "It's all fair game."

Deron Williams says Knicks' Felton is upgrade from Lin

If anyone knows about Linsanity, it's Brooklyn Nets star Deron Williams.

After all, it was a game against the New York Knicks last Feb. 4 when Jeremy Lin finally broke out and started one of the craziest and most fun phenomenons in New York sports history.

Williams was the man Lin outplayed that night and the rest is sports history or — depending on who you talk to — sports overkill.

On Saturday, five days before the Nets point guard faces the Knicks again, Williams is giving props to the opposing guard who not named Lin anymore— Raymond Felton.

"I would say Raymond Felton is a better point guard than Jeremy Lin, in my opinion.  He's proven," Williams said before cutting last year's sensation some slack.  "Well. I can't go out and say that.  Jeremy Lin, he had a a heck of a run, he had All-Star-type numbers when he was starting.  But we'll see how he does this year.  But going off of [his] track record. I'm gonna go with Raymond Felton."

Williams wouldn't go all in and say the Knicks are a better team without Lin as the starting point guard, but would put his money on Felton rather than Lin if he had a choice.

"He looks good.  He looks in shape this year," Williams said of Felton.  The Knicks guard admitted being out of shape last season after the NBA lockout but still averaged 17 points and nine assists in 54 games with with New York last season.

"Ray probably had his best year that half season he was there," said Williams.  "I guess he likes the bright lights."

Williams and Felton have a history together that dates back to when they both came out of high school in 2002.

North Carolina recruited Felton over Williams and the Nets guard has never forgotten the slight.  He still uses it as motivation on the court.

Funny how bad memories are the ones that seem to Lin-ger.

Animated video pokes fun at Knicks' indecision to sign Lin

A Taiwanese animated video company produced a crazy short making fun of the New York Knicks drawn out decision to keep Jeremy Lin in orange and blue.

The animated and live action clip also takes serious jabs at the Knicks newest signees— "old" Jason Kidd and "fat" Raymond Felton.  Kidd's DWI and Felton's weight issues are both targets of this strange YouTube video.

It even has Carmelo Anthony grabbing a spotlight from Lin and shining it on himself.

Throw in images of Lin replacing Yao Ming for the large Chinese fan base and Lin riding a rocket ship past the Statue of Liberty in a cowboy hat— ala the Slim Pickens character in "Dr. Strangelove"— and you have the weirdest propaganda film ever.  It is truly Linsane.



Who knows if it's only a putdown of the Knicks or a shout out to Houston but— even with subtitles— Knicks owner James Dolan still may not get the message.   At the end of the video, two cute women say "Good times fly by" then ask viewers to "share this clip."  Too little, too late.

The Knicks have until midnight Tuesday to match Houston's back-loaded offer to Lin.

Jeremy Lin granted his 'early-Bird rights' but NBA will appeal

The Players Association won and so did the New York Knicks after Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak were granted their "early-Bird rights" by an arbitrator, giving the team more financial flexibility this summer.

Friday's ruling by arbitrator Kenneth Damm means that Lin— as well as Novak— will be able to re-sign with the Knicks without the confines of a salary cap. 

Within an hour of the ruling, the NBA issued a statement saying it would appeal.  If that goes over past July 1 free agency, it could create a delay in the Lin/Novak negotiations.  Union attorney Ron Klempner said he believes the appeal will be resolved by then, paving the way for Lin and Novak to have Bird rights by then.

Because the Knicks will not have to waste their $5 million mid-level exception to sign either of those players, the team can take that money to improve their roster in other ways (i.e. a veteran point guard).  Steve Nash leads the list of experienced point guards the Knicks have their eyes on but that looks like a long-shot— especially the way the organization bum-rushed Mike D'Antoni—Nash's friend and former coach in Phoenix— out of New York.

Point guards Jason Kidd, Jameer Nelson, Andre Miller and shooting guard Ray Allen could also fill the $3 million slot.

Had the arbitrator sided with the NBA, and neither player was granted his so-called early-Bird rights, the Knicks would have had to use their exception money on Lin and left them with little room to make other moves and Novak was as good as gone.

"Can't tell you how great it is to have my Bird rights preserved," tweeted Novak.  "A lot of hard work was put into making this happen."

For now, it looks like Linsanity is still at the Garden.

Linsanity trademark belongs to Jeremy Lin

The catch phrase "Linsanity"— a word which captured the meteoric rise and city-wide euphoria of New York Knicks' sensation Jeremy Lin— has been awarded to the point guard by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

J-Lin captured New York's heart and playoff hopes with his Lin-credible rise from undrafted player to the face of a team and the NBA.

"It's not only Linsanity, but all Lin-related trademarks," said Pamela M. Deese, a partner in the law firm Arent LLP, who is working on the player's behalf.  "Having a clean plate with rights in place makes it a lot easier to negotiate licenses and endorsement deals."

The player's filing (fi-Lin-g) on Feb. 13 came six days after a California man with no ties to the 23-year old Harvard grad became the first to apply for the Linsanity trademark.  A second filing filing was made on Feb. 9 and on Feb. 14.  Somebody better have an exp-Lin-ation how the NBA player got the trademark before anyone else.

Lin, the first Chinese or Taiwanese-American to play in the NBA, drew widespread attention after coming off the bench on Feb. 4 to score 25 points in a win against the New Jersey Nets.  His Lin-fectious play sparked the Knicks to six consecutive wins— boosting TV ratings and ticket prices in his wake.

The wildly-popular player's Lin-credible run came to an end after Lin had surgery last month to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee.  He missed the Knicks' opening-round playoff series with the Miami Heat, which New York lost 4-1.

Since he was Lin-capacitated, covered in Lin-iment and Lin-gering on a contract, is there still any Lin-terest in the Lin-corrigible player with the g-Lin-t in his eye?

Call your trademark lawyer to find out.

Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler only makes All-Defensive Second Team

Was Tyson Chandler slighted with his All-Defensive Second Team selection? For the New York Knicks center, the second straight  Second Team pick is nice— if not a bit perplexing— especially since he was already named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year.

Since that award is voted on by the media, the All-defensive Team honor comes from all 30 NBA coaches with one important rule— coaches can't vote for their own players.

Dwight Howard— who had won three DPOY awards prior to this season— was nominated to the first team in Chandler's place.  He was joined by LeBron James and shot-blocking phenom Serge Ibaka and guards Chris Paul and Tony Allen.

Chandler was joined on the second team by Kevin Garnett, Luol Deng, Rajon Rondo and Kobe Bryant.

Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin was confused by the slight and even questioned the logic behind Chandler's snub via Twitter.

Lin tweeted: "im no genius or anything but someone explain how @tysonchandler is defensive player of the year but not make the nba all-defensive team."

He did go to Harvard.

Chandler did have more points (36 overall and 13 first-team votes) than both Allen and Paul, but since only one center can be nominated per team, the honor went to Howard (16 first-place and 41 overall points).

If it was any consolation to Chandler, his teammate rookie Iman Shumpert received honorable mention after getting one first-place vote and 13 overall.

Howard's team, the Orlando Magic actually regressed from one of the top-three defensive teams to No. 13 last season while Chandler helped turn the Knicks into defensive force.

Knicks fans' poll: We like Amar'e Stoudemire's fire extinguisher

The New York Daily News is conducting a "Knicks' Keep 'Em/Dump 'Em" web poll and after the first day of returns, it is clear who the fan favorites are— and aren't.   In a tight race, the fire extinguisher that Amar'e Stoudemire tried to take out in Miami's AmericanAirlines Arena got 51% on the "keep" side.

That's funny because only 56% of the responses want Stoudemire (the actual player)— who missed a playoff game because of the boneheaded injury— back next year.

The newspaper is giving fans a chance to act as general manager for the New York Knicks after the team's first-round fizzle against the Miami Heat.

More than 75,000 votes were received during the opening day of voting. Tyson Chandler and Iman Shumpert were the most popular players with a 95% approval rating each.  Other players the fans have been overwhelmingly voting to stay in Madison Square Garden are Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak (both with an 85% approval rating) along with head coach Mike Woodson (74%).

It was no surprise that owner Jim Dolan (79% said take a hike) would be shipped off faster than Spike Lee at a Brooklyn Nets game if the fans had the power.

Other players the fans would like to see extinguished are J.R. Smith (53% dump), Baron Davis (83% said bye-bye) and Mike Bibby (76% had no use for him).

Surprisingly, only 69% of the respondents want to keep Carmelo Anthony; which makes him as popular as that other offensive powerhouse Josh (who?) Harrellson.

Linsanity looks like it has passed Landry Fields by.  Lin's best bud is barely hanging on with a 51% approval rating— a number that would probably be bumped up a few points if Lin was still crashing on his living room couch.

The bad news for Knicks fans is that there is no way the team will ever unload Stoudemire— their $100 million forward— and, even worse news, the fire extinguisher has been re-signed in Miami.

Bosh doubtful for Game 3 after rushing home to pregnant wife

Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh will probably miss tonight's Game 3 against the New York Knicks after rushing back home to Miami to attend the birth of his first son.

Bosh had been carrying a beeper throughout the NBA first-round series in preparation for the birth of his second child.  The original due date was around the third week of May but a message posted online by his heavily-pregnant wife,  Adrienne Bosh, suggested that the baby boy— the couple's first together— was coming ahead of time, reports The New York Post.

"Thank God for private flights... Hurry home Baby :)" she wrote on instant messaging picture site Instagram, next to a photo of Bosh on a runway walking close to a small plane."

Last week, Bosh had made it clear he would be drop everything to be at his wife's side when the beeper buzzed.

"When it goes off, I'll be ready," he said.  "We'll see what happens, man, just waiting."

The Heat are in New York for Thursday night's Game 3 at Madison Square Garden after back-to-back wins in Miami.  The Heat have a comfortable 2-0 lead over the battered Knicks in the series.

Knicks fans might be breathing a sigh of relief because of the Heat's probable lineup vacancy.  New York is already missing Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert to legitimate injuries while Amar'e Stoudemire— who cut his hand by punching a glass-enclosed fire extinguisher after Monday's loss— will be joining them on the bench.

Let's hope Bosh's plane ride home is faster than the stork's.

Carmelo to Lin: Take your time coming back

The New York Knicks were totally demolished, humiliated, undressed (pick a word) 100-67 in their playoff opening loss to the Miami Heat on Saturday.  The sight of Iman Shumpert being carried off the court with a torn left ACL only added injury to the insult but Carmelo Anthony still doesn't think it's time for Jeremy Lin to rush back and fill the gap.

In fact, the Knicks forward is advising the point guard to not come back at all against the Heat.

"No," Anthony said.  "We don't want him to rush it.  I've seen situations like that before.  That's something we do not want."

The horrible Game 1 injury to the rookie Shumpert may inspire Lin to attempt a hasty return, but considering that he hasn't played since March 24, it's likely that Lin could really effective.

Even when healthy, the Heat ate Lin up in their last meeting on Feb. 23 when he went 1-for-11 with eight turnovers.

Lin has been progressing from left knee surgery and has not ruled out returning for Game 4 on Sunday.

"I don't really want to make a promise because I just don't know how it's going to feel," Lin said on Sunday.  "If I felt good today, that would be more of a possibility, but I didn't feel that great today."

"I don't want to make myself vulnerable to something even worse,"  he added.

Meanwhile, Anthony knows he will be shouldering the burden of the Knicks offense but will not let the pressure get to him.

"Pressure?  I try not to play with pressure," he said.  "I go out there, I play ball."

It might be a little easier with healthy Lin at his side.

SNL's Seth Meyers: We'll go 'easy' on Eli

Seth Meyers says "Saturday Night Live" will go "easy" on Eli Manning when the New York Giants quarterback hosts the show on May 5.

The veteran cast member admitted the show's strategy to The New York Post at the Time Magazine 100 event at Lincoln Center, "We tend to be very easy on our hosts.  No, he's not known for his comedic timing, but he did something with us for the Super Bowl.  The great thing about Eli is we haven't had a New York athlete host since Derek Jeter [in 2001], and the room becomes a little more excited when someone like that hosts."

Jeter was a popular guest and might be best known for how good he looked in a wig and dress.

Eli's brother Peyton also appeared on the show and the former-Colts quarterback's comedy timing is considered the high water mark for athletes who have hosted.

It's a tough act to follow but Eli has been doing it his whole career.

Meyers, who is a big sports fan, put to rest rumors he was leaving the show ("I never leave before an election") and said he was happy to meet Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin at the Time event.

As long as Meyers and his fellow cast members don't morph into the Philadelphia Eagles defense, "Easy Eli" should have no problems calling an audible on the live show.

I wonder how he'll look in a dress.

Jeremy Lin blows assist to Cardinal Dolan

New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin failed to complete an assist while sitting with Cardinal Timothy Dolan at the Time 100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center ( LIN-coln Center?) on Tuesday night.

"I asked Jeremy to pass me a piece of bread and it's still floating around here somewhere," joked his Holiness (Ho-LIN-ess?)

Dolan's promotion from archbishop to cardinal got him a spot alongside Lin on the 2012 TIME 100, plus seating next to other influential movers and shakers like Hillary Clinton and Louis CK.

Tim Tebow made the list, but what's up with including Pippa Middleton?

Hey, any party with Louis CK and a sports-loving cardinal has to be fun.

The dinner was a celebration for TIME's 100 Most Influential people in the World.

Lin— who is the first Chinese-American NBA player— earned a place on the list because of his remarkable season before knee surgery put him out of action.

"I feel like it's a blessing from God," said the religious point guard, who vowed to complete the bread pass to Dolan before the dinner ended reported the New York Daily News.

"I'll work on getting it to him," he joked.

Lin knows it's one thing to muff a pass to Carmelo Anthony but not getting it to one of New York's ecumenical leaders is another.

Carmelo Anthony to make guest appearance on 'Nurse Jackie' Sunday night

This Sunday looks like it will end up being a television marathon for Carmelo Anthony fans.  The New York Knicks forward will star in an afternoon game against the Miami Heat and then guest star in an episode of Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" later that night.

Anthony will make a guest appearance on the dark-comedy hit "Nurse Jackie" playing a fallen pro basketball player.  In the episode— scheduled to air Sunday at 9 p.m. ET— Anthony plays one of an eclectic group of patients who participate in a group therapy session with the show's title character (played by Edie Falco) at a Manhattan rehab center.

No word on if Jeremy Lin and Amar'e Stoudemire will be typecast and used as extras at the rehab facility.

Falco plays ER nurse Jackie Peyton at fictional New York hospital All Saints who copes with the pressures  of love and life with an addiction to prescription drugs and bed-hopping with doctors.  The show is currently in its fourth season.

Melo is no stranger to portraying basketball players on the small screen.  He appeared in an episode of "Law & Order: SVU" playing himself.

While acting might be a nice sideline for the Knicks' leading scorer, Anthony knows his main occupation is not hitting his marks as much as hitting his shots.  The team has a slim two-game lead over the Bucks for the final playoff spot going down the stretch.  He filmed both segments during the NBA lockout.

"It's things that people like myself and athletes wouldn't normally do, especially Nurse Jackie," Anthony told HuffPost Sports at the time of his SVU appearance.  "So, I definitely wanted to do just that, just do something different."

Jeremy Lin doubtful of a Round 1 return

Jeremy Lin said he is "cautiously optimistic" that he will play again for the New York Knicks this year, but doesn't think it will be until the second round of the playoffs.

The Knicks point guard speaking before yesterday's 100-99 overtime win over the Chicago Bulls— and six days after surgery for a torn left meniscus— said he does not want to rush back.

"I think unless something goes really well I wouldn't get there," said Lin about returning for the first round.

"It depends on how far and how long it goes," he continued.  "But obviously I want to be 100‰ and then come back, hopefully see what I can do.  By then it'll be a different team identity ... chemistry.  So it gets tricky, too.  Yeah I'm doing everything and we're doing everything we can to get back as soon as possible."

One thing that is going well is the Knicks— even without Lin and Amar'e Stoudemire.  The team beat the first place Bulls to keep pace with the Philadelphia 76ers and a slim one game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot.

Jeremy Lin posts photo of himself in hospital after surgery as proof

The New York Knicks confirmed that Jeremy Lin had undergone successful surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee Monday afternoon.

Just in case you don't trust the Knicks organization— after they reportedly withheld the severity of Lin's injury for a couple of days— the point guard posted a photo of himself lying in the hospital bed after the procedure on his Facebook page as proof.

The post didn't say if he was in Lin-tensive care or not.

The photo shows the point guard lying in a bed at Manhattan's Hospital for Special Surgery covered with rumpled sheets and various medical tubes.

Lin also posted this message: "Praise God for a successful surgery!  Now on to the road to recovery!  Let's gooo.  Much love to all the fans for your support and kind words."

The team said he will be out for approximately six weeks after surgery and rehabilitation— or well into the playoffs.

Knicks held off announcing Lin's injury until NBA playoff ticket deadline

The New York Knicks were so worried about not being able to promote their injured cash cow Jeremy Lin for the playoffs, they waited two days — until after the deadline for season-ticket holders to buy tickets for the playoffs had passed— to reveal the severity of his knee injury, according to the New York Daily News.

Last Monday, the Knicks sent an email— with a picture of Lin jumping in celebration— to subscribers.  Yet,  it was two days before the deadline (Wed., March 28) when Lin and the medical staff had learned that the second-year point guard was suffering from a torn meniscus in his left knee and that he would not be returning anytime soon.


Although Lin waited until Saturday before formally making the decision to have surgery, it certainly made business sense for the Knicks organization to withhold medical information about its Linsanity star.  But that doesn't explain why the Knicks, who are 2 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the eighth and final playoff spot with 13 games left, weren't forthcoming about Lin's condition after Wednesday's postseason ticket deadline passed.

The Knicks had no exp-Lin-ation for the delay.

Nor did it explain why the Knicks contradicted interim-head coach Mike Woodson— who first had raised the possibility of Lin's "sore" knee being more serious than a two or three game re-hab and that the injury actually could sideline him for the rest of the regular season.

It's not every day that an organization goes out of its way to refute something the head coach says— when in fact, Woodson was just being truthful.  On Friday in Atlanta, Woodson told reporters that he didn't know "when" or "if" Lin would return to the lineup.  Within one hour, the Knicks media relations staff released a statement to select media outlets contradicting Woodson.

In the Knicks favor, Lin hadn't decided to go ahead with the surgery, so there was a chance he could have played in Indiana on Tuesday or in Orlando on Thursday.  However, an MRI taken four days earlier had already shown the knee was more than just "sore"— it was damaged.  Lin was already leaning towards getting arthroscopic surgery.

Woodson was only giving fans and reporters a truthful assessment of Lin's injury in his opinion.

It's a wonder that the truthful and unflappable Lin didn't spill the beans before the deadline passed.

Lin is looking at missing up to six weeks of game time after surgery— which could possibly have him suiting up by the second round of the playoffs— if the Knicks get that far.

Woodson is behind Lin's decision but wasn't sure if his point guard would postpone his surgery until after the season.  "Only he knows his body," said Woodson.

Lin is optimistic but claims he never had surgery before.

"I'm a fast healer," he said.