Behind The Box Score

After nearly two weeks of Linsanity, Jeremy Lin and the Knicks will get their true test in the Eastern Conference, as New York travels to Miami to play LeBron and the Heat on Thursday. Following a 100-92 loss at the hands of Deron Williams and the Rocafella Nets, oops, I mean, New Jersey Nets, Lin and the Knicks hope to upset the surging Heat. Miami, at 25-7, have won 14 of their last 16 games, with the previous six coming by 10 or more points. The ironic aspect of the Heat’s success this season is the incredible amount of undercoverage the team is receiving. As James continues to have arguably his best season thus far in his career, the successes of LeBron and Miami have been minimized due to Lin’s comet like crash on the scene, taking the entire world by storm. It will be interesting to see the outcome Thursday in Miami when these two meteors collide.

In other news…

• Retired slugger Manny Ramirez has come to an agreement with the Oakland Athletics. The contract is set for one year, at $500,000, a tremendous pay cut considering Ramirez was making $20 million in each of his two years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez, who turned his back on the Tampa Bay Rays following a second positive test for banned substances, was slated to serve a 100 game suspension for the 2011 season. With his retirement, league officials have reduced his suspension to 50 games for this season, saying the retirement was virtually “a 140 game suspension.” ESPN’s Pedro Gomez, who has been around Manny all offseason, says the Manny the A’s signed, is “a changed man.” 
• The New York Yankees have handed all of their troubles on the mound over to the Pittsburgh Pirates. New York dealt overpaid pitcher AJ Burnett to Pittsburgh in exchange for two prospects and a signed Terry Bradshaw helmet, according to multiple sources. Burnett, who was 11-11 last season with a 5.15 ERA, has $31 million remaining on his contract, in which New York will pay $20 mill. 
• In the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings look to extend their record home winning streak to 24 games on Thursday against the defending Western Conference champion, Vancouver Canucks. Detroit is fresh off a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks, who have lost six straight. All is well in Detroit sports at the moment. 
• Boston Celtics PG Rajon Rondo has been suspended for two games following his ejection Sunday night in a 96-81 loss to Detroit. Rondo, who received his second technical foul late in the third quarter after throwing the ball at an official, was upset over a foul not being called. The timing of Rondo’s suspension is detrimental to the Celtics, as the talented point guard will miss games at Dallas and a rematch vs Oklahoma City.