FanHouse AnuchaBrowneSanders

James Dolan spent something like $180 million on the Isiah Thomas abomination. The Knicks spent more money on payroll this season than any other team ... and still ended up among the six worst squads in the league. So it's good to see some of Dolan's hard-earned dollars going to a worthy cause. From the New York Post, via SbB.

Anucha Browne Sanders isn't letting the $11 million she won in her sexual harassment case against Isiah Thomas burn a hole in her pocket. At last week's Arthur Ashe SportsBall, a fund-raiser for urban youth programs, Sanders "was bidding on everything in the silent auction," according to a witness. "She had her name down under every item," said the onlooker, including "an Oprah Winfrey experience, a Roger Federer tennis racket and a Barack Obama basketball.

Oprah experience, or Jerome James? Federer memorabilia, or Jared Jeffries? Tough call. Hell, Anucha could buy $500,000 of Hot Pockets and still spend more wisely than Isiah did. And we're talking Hot Pockets.

FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

Is it me, or did it seem like every piece of NBA news this summer was either related to Tim Donaghy or the craziness that reigned at Madison Square Garden? Sure, the odd Kobe Bryant rumor popped up now and again, but by and large it was a crooked ref, a shady GM and an egotistical owner who dominated the headlines.

For over a month, lawsuits, depositions, and all the sordid details you never wanted to know about Stephon Marbury's sex life (get it straight: "truck, not trunk") were all the rage. And why not? It provided endless humor, complete with YouTube videos, conspiracy theories and even dueling popcorn companies.

Remember Anucha Browne Sanders? She's the former Knicks executive who sued Isiah Thomas for sexual harassment last year. She's not done with Isiah, though, according to the Associated Press.

Browne Sanders alleges cheerleader Petra Pope told her Thomas encouraged Pope to flirt with officials before a game against the Nets in 2004. [...].

"What she told me was that Isiah asked her to go into the referees' locker room and make them happy," Browne Sanders testified.

Zeke wasn't coaching the Knicks at the time; he was just trying to get his boy Lenny Wilkens some wins. Pope left the Knicks shortly thereafter, getting an executive position with the Nets. She managed the Lakers girls in the 80s, too -- so Isiah wasn't exactly sending a naive, bubbly 22-year-old over at Bennett Salvatore.

All told, is such a directive truly scandalous? Not to me. However, it will probably help define Isiah as the Knicks chief more than his recent flash of genius in landing Zach Randolph. It's hard to come back from years as a punchline.