The Best of WatchDog

Gus misses Knicks

Gus Johnson said it has been difficult being away from Madison Square Garden and MSG Network for the first time in 16 years -- and not just because the Knicks at last are back to relevance.

"That's my team,'' said Johnson, who left the network (and Knicks radio) before the season after being unable to come to contract terms.

"Every door that has ever been opened up for me is because of them . . . So it's been a transition, but this is life.''

Johnson, 43, still lives in Manhattan, but he has not been to the Garden this season. He said he intends to visit soon, though, and take his son to a Knicks game.

In the meantime, he is preparing for the role for which he is best known: Calling NCAA Tournament games for CBS, preferably his trademark buzzer-beaters.

Johnson looked noticeably slimmer Tuesday at a breakfast to preview the NCAAs. He said he has lost about 20 pounds.

"I am not on that Knicks team plane eating that food anymore,'' he said, laughing, "so my stomach ain't as big as it used to be.''

Tiki bashing is over the top

I took a beating from tweeps Tuesday after I attempted to defend Tiki Barber on Twitter.

Well, I wasn't defending him exactly. Mostly I was saying the level of hatred for him among many Giants fans is out of proportion to his personal rap sheet -- and his disappointing, briefly controversial TV career.

But he is an all-time Giants great, and his misdeeds pale in comparison to, say, the greatest player in team history, Lawrence Taylor.

Discussion topic: Is there any player in the history of New York sports who was among the 20 or so best players for his franchise, yet was this disliked in retirement?

I can't think of anyone. Help, please. I'm at nbest@newsday.com.

Kerr happy for Amar'e

I spoke to Steve Kerr on Tuesday for the fourth time since October, and for the fourth time I did what I had to do: ask the former Suns general manager and current TNT analyst about Amar'e Stoudemire.

"Nothing surprised me in terms of how he's performed'' Kerr said. "I've known Amar'e now for years and he's a favorite of mine just because of the way he's grown up and matured and handled himself.

"He's just embraced this whole New York lifestyle and the glamour and the spotlight.''

What about adjusting to sharing the spotlight with Carmelo Anthony?

"Unlike LeBron [James] and [Dwyane] Wade, Amar'e always had a superstar next to him; he played next to [Steve] Nash for years,'' Kerr said. "He understands not only the dynamic of having two stars but the importance of it.''

'Fab Five' is fabulous

"The Fab Five," an ESPN documentary premiering Sunday night, is well worth the two-hour commitment if you have an interest in that famed Michigan team, in that college hoops era and / or in the history of baggy shorts.

Jalen Rose is listed as an executive producer and is quoted extensively, including some blunt thoughts on his hatred of Duke as a teenager. Chris Webber declined to participate, and takes a verbal beating.

The film has particular meaning for me because I covered 10 of those Wolverines' 12 NCAA games in 1992 and '93.

It was a heck of a ride, as the film documents. One of the highlights is a riveting segment on the timeout Webber called when Michigan didn't have one late in the '93 final against North Carolina.

The aging Fab Fivers also do a good job asserting their place in hoops lore.

Juwan Howard says even though he still is in the NBA and plays alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, people are less apt to identify him as a member of the Miami Heat than as one of the Fab Five.

Sir Charles smacks Packer

On Tuesday, I got what I thought was good material out of Charles Barkley on the subject of NBA announcers working the NCAA Tournament, a development criticized by former CBS analyst Billy Packer.

Turns out Sir Charles was saving his best material for Thursday on TNT:

"Ernie [Johnson] wanted to be the bigger man; Kenny [Smith] wanted to be the bigger man. Me? Not so much.

"Hey, Billy Packer, you might be right. We might not be very good and know all the players and all the teams in college basketball. I don't know any players on Wofford or UNC Asheville. You are absolutely right. But stop being a jackass.

"Listen, we're going to do a good job. You say [the NCAA] should have went to ESPN. There was one problem: ESPN didn't have 11 billion dollars. We did. That's why we got it. So sit back, enjoy the March Madness.''

Packer responded Friday on 790 the Zone in Atlanta: "If Charles Barkley wants to get in a room and debate intercollegiate athletics and college basketball, I would have no problem being in a room with him. As a matter of fact, I don't believe it would be much of a contest and I wouldn't have to call him any names."