Carmelo Fever Has Taken Over New York

Feb. 25, 2011 - PRLog -- The "MeloDrama" finally came to an end on Monday night when we learned that by Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony would officially be traded to the New York Knicks. But who is Carmelo Anthony and why the big fuzz? Since entering the NBA, Anthony has emerged as one of the most well-known and popular players in the league. He was named to the All-Rookie team, to the All-Star team four times, and to the All-NBA team four times. And, he's currently 5th in the NBA in scoring.

Carmelo Kiyan Anthony, nicknamed "Melo", was born in the Red Hook projects in Brooklyn and then moved to Baltimore, where he sharpened his athletic skills. In October 2004, Anthony was cited for marijuana possession at Denver International Airport, in which he claimed the bag of pot found inside his backpack wasn't his, and instead belonged to a friend who was using the pack. The charge was later dismissed when James Cunningham "took the rap" and admitted it was his marijuana in the pack. Then in 2006, Anthony’s friend, Tyler Brandon Smith, was pulled over in Anthony’s vehicle and cited for marijuana possession and three traffic violations. So while it's obvious that Anthony has friends who smoke pot, it's not quite clear whether he does or did use marijuana.

Then later that year, he was involved in the infamous Knicks-Nuggets brawl during a game at MSG caused by the Knicks' Mardy Collins fouling Nuggets' J.R.Smith by slapping his arms around Smith's neck causing him to fall to the ground during the remaining 75 seconds of the game. As the fighting was apparently coming to an end, Anthony punched Collins in the face and retreated to the other end of the court leading to Knicks' Jared Jeffries and Nate Robinson chasing after him. All ten players on the court at the time of the incident were ejected causing 7 player's suspensions including Carmelo being suspended for 15 games.

On April 14, 2008, Anthony was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. Police spokesperson Detective Sharon Hahn said Anthony, who was alone in the car, failed a series of sobriety tests and the Nuggets suspended Anthony for 2 games due to the arrest. On June 24, Anthony pleaded guilty to a charge of driving while ability-impaired. The original sentence of driving while under the influence was dropped, and he was subsequently sentenced to one year of probation, 24 hours of community service and $1,000 in court costs and fines.

On August 24, 2010, it was announced that Anthony and Dwight Howard will star in a movie together titled Amazing and sadly later that same year In December, Anthony missed five games due to the death of his sister Michelle and didn't return until January this year. And just recently on February 22, 2011, Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks in a multi-player deal. The Knicks gave up Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph, Eddy Curry’s corpse, their 2014 first-round draft pick, the 2012 and 2013 second-round picks that they owned from the Golden State Warriors and 6 million in cash for Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter and Corey Brewer. Anthony signed a three-year, $65 million contract extension before the deal was completed.

Amare Stoudemire said the Knicks will be "hard to guard" with Carmelo Anthony now being part of the team. Stoudemire has led the Knicks to a 28-26 record this season, but said they will be even more dangerous with Anthony bringing his 25.2 points per game to join his 26.1 average creating a strong frontcourt. But while many New Yorkers are celebrating the moment of having 2 superstars in their home team, many debate on the actual value Carmelo brings to the team. Some think this trade will not bring the Knicks any closer advantage in the championship, others think the Knicks should have waited on Nene, and others feel the Knicks need to focus instead on defense and that the price may not have been worth the cost. But only time will tell if in the long run the deal really pays off.

So far, Anthony's first game with the Knicks was a 114-108 win against the Milwaukee Bucks in which he scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds and an assist and was at his best in the closing minutes, helping New York hold on after Amare Stoudemire fouled out. Carmelo Anthony wears number 7 with the Knicks, due to his former number 15 being retired by the Knicks for Earl Monroe and Dick McGuire. That game did not just bring a victory for the Knicks, but Anthony's appearance was so highly anticipated that it caused tickets demand to skyrocket. And for Knicks fans in NYC, now with the addition of Anthony into the team, tickets will never dip under the $70 opening price for nosebleeds. And for the fans who did not give cash to attend the game, tuned in to watch the game on TV, making Melo's debut the MSG Network's highest-rated regular-season telecast since Jordan's return to the MSG after his first retirement, when he scored 55  points in a Chicago victory 16 years ago. Also, Carmelo Anthony is already capitalizing on his trade to the Knicks VH1 having him and his wife, La La Vasquez appear in the reality series  “La La’s Full Court Life.” The series will begin in August, running for 10 episodes.

Regardless of all the doubts, debates, and negative opinions, Anthony has definitely managed to shake up New York with the "melo fever." Just as it seemed like the rattle for Wiz Khalifa's hit song "Black & yellow" had finally died down, in about just 1 day since the trade, another string of remixes singing "get carmelo" have emerged from Knicks celebrating the "stat & melo" team-up (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwMiosay7Z8). To catch Anthony wearing the No.7 for the Knicks (since his usual No.15 is retired by the Knicks) grab great seats at charged.fm (http://www.charged.fm/performer/item/312/new-york-knicks. So Whether or not the Knicks gave up too much for Anthony will be answered with future outcomes. For now, the team's reign of money-making will most likely continue and it will be in big part thanks to the acquisition of Melo. So while the fans' excitement for Anthony led them to pack the Modell's Sporting Goods in New York's Times Square to get their hands on the very first box of No.7 Knicks jerseys, all this love brings amplified expectations.

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