Tribute Week Part 3: Happy Will

So yesterday loyal friend and point guard legend Will B. threw an attack at old Sip. Before I respond, I wanted to take a few lines to pay tribute to Happy Will.

Happy Will B. is one of my favorites. After a very cheery upbringing at the Town School, where he was possibly taught by the aunt of Sippy Momo, Happy Will went on to Dalton, where Jews from all over go to be, well, Jews.

But Will is different. In a school that drew more boos than cheers, there was Happy Will. When people watched this kid play, whether he was from their school or not, they couldn't help but root for him. He was as fundamental as a young Mike Dunleavy and had the toughness of Mugsy Bogues. He wasn't a jerk on the court but would throw an elbow when he needed to. If you needed two free throws in the last minute, you went to Happy Will.

So Happy Will went on to Harvard. Where else? This kid was a golden boy and deserved to be among the country's elite.

All was going well until that one dark day. The day of the e-mail that will live in infamy.

It was springtime during our senior year of college, 2004, and there it came. I wish I had the exact e-mail. If anyone has it please send it along.

In this e-mail, Will made a confession. He had SWITCHED to the Red Sox. It killed us all.

I'll be the first to say that being in Boston gives you a different feeling about baseball. That city lives for the Sox. You can't walk a block without seeing a Red Sox hat or banner in the same way that you can't walk a street in New York without seeing a ton of diversity.

And then there is Fenway. Fenway is the greatest place in baseball, if not in the whole world. It is everything that a baseball park should be. I make the trip there once a year just because I need to be there.

But still, old Willie. Willie said it and he couldn't take it back. But he could make it right. After about 2 days of endless abuse from his friends, Will made his much needed retraction. He realized that maybe he acted impulsively without really thinking it through.

That is not how I feel about the Knicks.

Yesterday I wrote about how I have become a Golden St. Warriors fan to which Happy Will wrote:

SM,We all know the ribbing I took and continue to take for jumping ship for 48 hours from the Mets to the Sox after living in Boston for over 3 years while simultaneously enduring 3 years under Jeff Wilpon ownership that makes James Dolan look like Wellington Mara. Yet somehow, it's supposedly ok for you, after 1 week on the left coast to jump ship from the Knicks and starting rooting for the Warriors. I'm not sure I like it, big guy, I'm not sure I like it.

So I've thought about this a ton and I am sticking by my word.

First things first. The Knicks never were and never will be the Mets to me. Call me crazy, some will agree while some will disagree, but I truly believe that you can only really have one team. For me it is the Mets. Yeah, I love the Giants. But at least for me, a big offseason move for the Mets is more important to me than a big Giants win. That's just the way it is for me. I don't have it in me to commit any more.

Second, I think I hate Isiah Thomas more than any person in sports. I am obsessed with front offices in the various professional sports and can say confidently that the man running the Knicks is the worst the world has to offer. Every move that he has made to "improve the Knicks" has developed them into a bottom five team and crippled their cap situation for years to come. The team would have been better off not making a single move than the complete overhaul of the team that he made.

And yet for some reason people give him credit. But not me, I just can't support him. It's as though I'm taking the moral high ground or something but I feel obligated as someone who understands the economics of basketball to make a stand against this man, and this team. A part of me hates myself for it, but I think it is the right thing to do.

Anything Isiah has done is worse than anything the Wilpons have done for one reason. That is, there is no cap in baseball. The Mets didn't have the opportunity to ruin their future because you just really can't in baseball. This is different in basketball, a sport with a salary cap, which is why Isiah is that much worse.

Third, the Warriors are a ton of fun to watch. They are a Safe Haven team. For those of you from New York, you'll appreciate this, but for those who aren't, here is a brief background.

Safe Haven was the basketball league that me and my friends played in on the weekends. It combined a fine selection of NYC private schoolers and some of New York's most ghetto kids.

This is the Warriors.

They combine Compton's finest, Baron Davis and J-Rich with the crackers, Dunleavy and Troy "Justin Nolan" Murphy, and then throw in two of the game's illest Euros, Zarko Cabarkapa and Andres Biedrins, to boot. In short, this team is just awesome to watch. I haven't looked forward to watching a Knicks team in 10 years, including the magical run in 2001 when they were an 8th seed.

So Willie, I love you pal, but fuck you. Dont ever compare the Mets to another a New York team... Unless you really mean it.

For all of you with some spare time, check out www.deansplanet.com. It really is awesome. Pops, you especially should check out the Jessica Alba section. It'll change your life.

sweet arse: http://www.deansplanet.com/jessica_alba-sweet_arse.html
in white bikini: http://www.deansplanet.com/jessica_alba-white_bikini.html

Live strong all.

S. Momo

Note: the S. Momo sneakers are coming out Christmas '06