Believe it or not, there is a silver lining to the Knicks’ miserable start, writes the New York Times’ Vincent Mazolli.
The Knicks are not very good these days, so Dr. Arthur Figur (above), the medical director at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, is thinking about moving his stationary bicycle back in front of his television set.
Dr. Arthur Figur did not finish the Ironman World Championship triathlon last month. He finished in 1988 and 1991.
Figur, 74, a longtime runner and outdoors enthusiast, was disappointed when he failed to complete the Ironman World Championship triathlon last month in Hawaii. He is planning a comeback that may include an old training formula involving his favorite team, which he credits for providing the bicycle stamina that made him an accomplished triathlete.
“It was in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, when they were terrible, that I began training on a stationary bike,” he said. “The worse the Knicks played, the angrier I got, and the harder I pedaled. Well, they kept getting worse and worse, and for years, I just kept pedaling and pedaling, and getting stronger and stronger.”
Figur attributes much of his success to the inspiration he draws from his cancer patients. “They have a fighting attitude and the strength and determination to take on greater challenges than I’ve ever faced on any racecourse,” he said.
So he is getting back on the stationary bike, and with every bad shot taken by the Knicks, with every failure to get back and play defense, and with every bad foul they commit, Arthur Figur will pedal a little bit closer to a possible comeback.