Sleeping with the Enemy: The Johnnies

Georgetown! St. John’s! Big East Tournament! Thanks to Rumble in the Garden for helping out. Here we go!

Big East Tournament! Wednesday night! Winner gets to be Villanova's sacrificial lamb! Are you at all excited for this?

Villanova makes for the nicest sacrificers. Their coach looks so good it makes the pain go down so easily. You feel like you're part of something greater, the march to more NCAA Tournament units. I would be happy for St. John's to do its part. EXCITED.

This is the second time these two teams are playing in a week and a half. What will be the key for the Johnnies if they want to earn their second consecutive win vs. the Hoyas?

Pass the ball. Don't think it's time to go one-on-one with the Hoya defenders. Tell the Georgetown players it will be over soon and there are some delicious snacks waiting back in the locker room. Even gummi bears.

All of that changes if the Hoyas actually show up. Because they CAN beat St. John's if they're playing a little bit hard.

Any thoughts on the state of the Hoyas right now?

This is a fascinating "cultural" moment in Hoya basketball. In most schools, there is a somewhat similar dynamic - it's hard to fire coaches, they make a lot of money and have a lot of power. But here, if the hoya administration even has the power to terminate JTIII, the school is opening up what will be an awful rift between the current program and... all of its past history. What is hoops without history? It's Rutgers.

No one wants to cheer for Rutgers.

But maybe Big John would say "you all are right. Fire my son. He's not motivating at all."

I doubt it.

Do you think MSG would ever bump the Big East Tournament out for some other conference? Or would they just maintain the arrangement they're planning for next year where a conference like the Big Ten would have to play a week early?

"Ever" is a long, long time. Anything can happen. The Big East Tournament could be bumped for indoor Futsal one day, for all we know. Maybe the Big East will decide to go to Omaha or Cincinnati one day (vomit emoji). But I think MSG wouldn't mess with tradition, the Big Ten wouldn't want to end a week early (and for what?) so no. I am intrigued to see how the ACC does in Brooklyn, though.

Please recommend a place to get halfway decent food and/or a cheap drink near MSG.

Cheap? Your flask.

Decent? A food cart?

I don't eat over there. I found some pan-Asian lunch place that does sandwiches and salads on 8th and 37th or 38th on the east side of the street. The diner on the corner of 34th is ok. Farther down in the 20s on 7th Avenue there is some decent-ish stuff - a place called BRGR, Kobeyaki, Potbelly's, Five Guys. St. John's people drink at Stout Bar on 33rd east of 7th ave, and on 8th ave and 31st is Brother Jimmy's BBQ... which people like because they are in New York and they have no clue that barbecue is all wrong in NYC.

Again - I always eat somewhere else. But there is lots of stuff on those streets near MSG, some decent looking places to drink on 30th that I have never been in, and probably lots of options I've never even noticed.

If you could pick one TV character to be your best friend, who would you pick?

Trish Walker from the Jessica Jones series. She's the best best friend and person can have and I am neither crazy or destructive.

What did you think about the Knicks' decision to play half of Sunday's game without any music or video accompanying the game? Would you appreciate that as a fan, or be annoyed?

I think I would like it - games are so, so loud and annoying. But then again, I like the kiss cam and sometimes the dance teams are really good and I love a free t-shirt!

Actually, that's a dick move. The arena is so big that if you were on the 400 level, you would be straining to see which mediocre point guard is dribbling aimlessly before giving the ball to Carmelo Anthony and then going for a smoke.

Do you have any reason to contradict the following statement: Everything Is Shit.

Well I can say...

...

There's...

I still have a job, there's no nuclear fallout, we still have basketball, stock market is doing well and I have investments, I have a lot of candy at my desk - things are great!

Final score prediction?

St. John's wins, 79-74.

(Which probably means that Georgetown will win.)