Starting Five

1. It looks highly unlikely that James Harden will repeat as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. Starting Five? The Beard is not just in it, he owns it, as the newly acquired Houston Rocket went for 37 points (fyi, his career-high is 40), a career-high 12 assists, six rebounds, four steals, three french hens, two turtledoves… you get the picture. Harden’s agent also lassoed him to a five-year, $80 million contract with the Rockets. And how was your Halloween?

2. More Harden: Only three NBA players in the past 25 years — Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Dwyane Wade — have put up numbers equal to or better than Harden’s in a single game. And, of course, none of them did so in their debut with their team. Kudos to the blog Ultimate Rockets for doing some deep statistical work to put Harden’s debut in perspective.  Isn’t it funny how Russell Westbrook always seemed to be the one who wanted to be liberated from beneath Kevin Durant’s shadow, but now it is Harden who is Westbrooking?

3. Allow us, for a moment, to celebrate all things James: The King James Bible, the band James, which put together the most mimicked air-drum opening to a song in pop music history, James Bond, James Franco, the long, lost teen drama James at 15 (and James at 16) starring Lance Kerwin (that’s Kim Richards, who is Paris Hilton’s aunt, in the opening credits), James and the Giant Peach, and of course, the NBA’s reigning MVP… LeBron James.

James and the Giant Peach Basket

4. Manhattan’s newest tourist attraction: the Hurricrane. There it dangles, 1,000 feet above midtown Manhattan, poised to deliver destruction, possibly death, but certainly a monstrous legal settlement, to whoever is lucky/unlucky enough to have property impaled by it. In a city where traffic has always been a supreme test of patience, the Hurricrane has caused 57th Street, the most major east-west road in midtown, to close. All because a few people needed to spend $90 million on a property that does not even have a backyard. The Hurricrane, everyone: it may not be the symbol that New York City was aiming for, but it certainly is the one that it deserves.

Kind of reminds us of the Stratosphere rollercoaster in Las Vegas, to be honest

5. So there we were, this morning, ambling down Broadway en route to work, when we spotted a man with a familiar face, the type of visage one might expect from a native of the bucolic brigadoon that is Mattoon, Ill., to have. Clad in dark running gear and a New York Rangers baseball cap, he was huffing and puffing toward us. Could that, might that, yes, we think it was… Will Leitch jogging. We tweeted as much and Leitch answered our question: “Ha. Twas me. I have to jog from Brooklyn for movie screenings now.”

Reserves

The Lakers are 0-2. Steve Nash, who is 38, exited the loss at Portland due to the acute burning sensation caused by wearing a Laker uniform (although Los Angeles officials described it as a leg injury… whatevs, Mitch Kupchak. Nash had two points and four assists in 16 minutes. Meanwhile, his Blazer counterpart, rookie Damian Lillard, had 23 points and 11 assists in his NBA debut. We loved his work as Shaggy and in the Scream films, too. Portland made Lillard the sixth overall selection in last June’s NBA draft, which just proves how much smarter their front office is when not burdened by the pressure of having the first overall selection.

Lillard can only watch as Steve Blake makes his best Halloween monster face

The West Village’s Halloween Parade, which New Yorker Lou Reed once immortalized in a song, is postponed. There were more than the usual number of frustrated cross dressers in the West Village last night. The Halloween Parade is THE night, more than any other of the year, when the West Village becomes Queens.

New Jersey native Jon Stewart hails the intrepid efforts of New Jersey governor Chris Christie and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Speaking of New Jersey natives, you knew that Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen (who, as previously noted here, recorded a song titled “Sandy” early in his illustrious career), would come to the rescue in terms of relief fund-raising. Along with a score of other artists.

So Brooklyn native Jimmy Kimmel picked quite a week to return home. But he did manage to persuade David Letterman to visit New York’s hippest borough, most likely for the first time, last night. To get Dave to visit in this week of all weeks, when so much of the journey was through flood-ravaged areas that are without electrical power, says a lot about Letterman’s respect for the younger late night host. Also, it says a lot about Letterman keeping his word. Well done, Dave. Not only is he the king of Late Night, but think of anyone, a coach in sports, a world leader, anybody, who has been continuously relevant and in charge of the same fiefdom for the past 30-plus years. For us the list reads Dave and Coach K.

On Tuesday @realDonaldTrump tweeted, “Because of the hurricane, I am extending my 5 million dollar offer for President Obama’s favorite charity until 12PM on Thursday.” Seriously, though, just read The Donald’s timeline and ask your psychologist what he or she would diagnose…

Mary Wittenberg, the chief executive of the New York Road Runners, and hence, the New York City Marathon (and a Notre Dame Law School alum), defends her decision to stage the marathon this Sunday.

Four men shot at a USC halloween party. No fatalities.

Mississippi native and Ole Miss alum Wright Thompson does everyone involved proud with “Ghosts of Ole Miss.” The term itself, “Ole Miss”, is a slave term.

If all four undefeateds remain so, or even if Kansas State loses, the worst that could probably happen for the Irish would be to play in the Rose Bowl. For a plethora of Notre Dame fans, Pasadena would be the ideal spot to spend New Year’s Day. Notre Dame last played in the Rose Bowl in 1925, the school’s first-ever bowl game. That Knute Rockne team, led by the Four Horsemen, overcame an epic performance by Stanford’s Ernie Nevers. This Irish team would be pitted against the Big Ten champion, which would most likely be Nebraska or Wisconsin.

Never say Nevers: An 11-1, perhaps even a 10-2, Notre Dame could be headed for its first Rose Bowl in 88 seasons.