Random evidence of a cluttered mind . . .

The Garden is overrun by tall weeds, a blight in the middle of midtown Manhattan. Madison Square Garden likes to call itself "the world's most famous arena," but suffice to say that isn't any credit to anything the New York Knicks have done there lately.

New York has lost 13 consecutive playoff games since its most recent win in 2001, the longest drought in the NBA as the Heat tries to make it 14 by completing a four-game sweep Sunday. The skid includes seven consecutive losses at home, where the supposed hostile environment has proved closer to a relaxing spa day for visiting teams.

During Game 3 on Thursday at the Garden, the crowd displayed all the class properly associated with New York sports fans by loudly and repeatedly chanting "a _ hole!" to LeBron James.

They probably would have jeered Chris Bosh's 1-day-old baby boy had they known his first name.

They should have been deriding their own Amare Stoudemire, of course, as he sat in street clothes after busting open his hand punching a fire-extinguisher box. The Knicks seem to think there is a chance Stoudemire will play in Game 4 _ like it matters!

Stoudemire was hurt after Game 2 in Miami, of course.

That is not where you'd find the world's most famous arena.

However it is where you'd find the arena where the home team wins playoff games.

_ Shaquille O'Neal on Saturday graduated from Miami's Barry University with a doctoral in organizational learning and leadership. Coincidentally, fellow TNT analyst Charles Barkley is close to getting his degree in advanced making listeners annoyed.

_ In summary, I would call the first month of the Marlins' season a rousing success, other than the Muhammad Ali Opening Day calamity, the Fidel Castro crisis, the lack of hitting that sent the team spiraling to the NL East cellar, and the fact the new ballpark roof leaks and the outfield grass is dying.

_ The Volvo Ocean Race yachts are expected in Miami's Biscayne Bay by Wednesday and may be seen at a Downtown Race Village set up at Bicentennial Park. Aside to visitors to the village: Panhandling transients claiming they are raising funds for emergency repairs to Telefonica's main sail _ they're probably lying.

_ Fired Randy Shannon is suing Miami for shortchanging him on back pay. Cannot confirm Miami plans to counter-sue Shannon for shortchanging it on football victories.

_ Shannon's replacement, Al Golden, won the long-drive contest at a Chick-fil-A Bowl tournament in Georgia. That's good. Even better: Golden wins a long-season contest by getting his Canes into a bowl game bigger and better, and later, than the Chick-fil-A.

_ Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said he hoped the club would be retiring Ryan Tannehill's No. 17 jersey someday. Ross also said he thought Chad Henne could be the next Dan Marino. Dear Steve: How about you wait for your QBs to have one decent season before you start lobbying Canton, OK?

_ Although I must admit Tannehill is earning respect fast. Barely been here a week and already he leads the team in media Google searches for the phrase "blonde model wife."

_ NBC-TV had a three-hour Kentucky Derby preview show Saturday for a two-minute race. Unless the horses started talking, that strikes me as a bit excessive.

_ Love how Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen's battle with the English language sometimes causes an unintended truth to emerge. Guillen on his faith in closer Heath Bell: "I'm going to give Bell every opportunity to go out there to fail again."

_ Marlins return home from the road Friday to play host to their rivals from the NL East, the New York Madoffs.

_ Six Cubs fans are walking 1,600 miles accompanied by a goat named Wrigley to help end the club's 104-year curse. Yeah, I would think either that or better pitching would be the answer.

_ Angels TV broadcasters did not mention Jered Weaver's no-hit bid as it was going on. People, can we finally bury that superstition? Fans in the park are tweeting about it. A lady on the Internet in Equatorial Guinea know it's happening. C'mon!

_ The Dolphins rose one spot to No. 27 in ESPN's post-draft NFL rankings. W ooo-hooo!

_ Fallout continues from the Saints' bounty scandal, with four players suspended including Miami Hurricane Jonathan Vilma for the entire season. Between this mess and his contract dispute, I'd imagine Drew Brees is in a mood to take out a bounty on his entire franchise.

_ Remember when Tiger Woods missing a cut was startling news?

_ Must admit I did not watch Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s pay-per-view fight on Saturday night. However I do look forward to watching Mayweather's next event, on June 1, when he reports to jail on a domestic-violence conviction.

_ FIU is switching from the Sun Belt to Conference USA in 2013. To put that in perspective, if this were a poker hand, it made the leap from a pair of twos to a pair of threes.

Parting thought: Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli teamed to win the Grand Prix of Miami at Homestead, which steady rain and caution flags turned into the slowest race in track history. How slow was it? An old man who accidentally drove his Buick onto the track and never turned off his turn signal took second place.

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