Saying Goodbye to Mase

By Charlie Scaturro

“Damn. We lost Mase.” Is all I could think this morning when I heard Anthony Mason had passed away at the age of 48.

For basketball fans in the 90’s Mason was the epitome of the physical, hardnosed style of play that is a distant memory in today’s NBA. But for anyone who grew up in New York City in the 90’s, Mason was a bit more than that. From his iconic haircuts to his fur coats to being featured in music videos and songs by the Beastie Boys, Mason WAS New York City in the mid-90’s.

The fact that he was a part of some of the best teams in Knicks franchise history only further ingrains Mase in New York City’s ethos. I remember when the Knicks won the Eastern Conference Finals and subsequently lost to the Houston Rockets in agonizing fashion in the summer of 1994 and for me, at 8 years old, it seemed like that was the most important thing that had happened to the city in my brief lifetime.

Tom Brady and Outside Forces Helping to Decide our Fate

By Charlie Scaturro

With 20 seconds remaining in Super Bowl XLIX, an undrafted rookie cornerback from the University of West Alabama stepped in front of an undrafted wide receiver from Fort Valley State University and caught a football that was not intended for him.

Roughly 40 yards away stood Tom Brady, who, like the rest of the world, was fixated on what had just transpired between two players few people watching the game had ever heard of before. Though Brady was one of the 114 million spectators watching the Super Bowl at that point in time, he had far more on the line than those of us sitting in our living rooms.