Tim Howard is still living on cloud nine and has at least a few more weeks before the dust settles on his World Cup performance. The U.S. goalkeeper became an American sports icon by making a tournament-record 16 saves in the nation's 2-1 round of 16 loss to Belgium.
Howard's face is featured on a gold mine of memes and he recently landed on the cover of Adweek shirtless. His English Premier League club, Everton, is trying to recruit new American supporters.
Meanwhile, Howard, 35, may be trying to recruit himself to an American franchise. On Thursday, Howard, who joined Twitter in late May shortly before the World Cup, tweeted out a photo of himself in a Knicks jersey.
#TBT Knicks got any cap space left? pic.twitter.com/PV486UA9gQ
— tim howard (@TimHowardGK) July 17, 2014
Tim, Knicks fans would love to hear your demands. If you are willing to accept the veterans' minimum, Phil Jackson may be able to weave you into the roster. If you are looking for big money, the Knicks are not your destination at this time. New Yorkers will be the first to tell you the franchise is one year away from the contracts of Amar'e Stoudemire ($23,410,988) and Andrea Bargnani ($12 million) coming off the books. Maybe try then.
Howard was born in New Brunswick, N.J. and grew up in the Garden State. His first two professional teams were the North Jersey Imperials of the United System of Independent Soccer Leagues and the MetroStars (now the New York Red Bulls) of MLS.
The Knicks re-signed Carmelo Anthony to a five-year, $124 million earlier this week. However, they also traded former Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler. The Knicks need a new defensive stopper. Considering Tim Howard is rumored to be able to stop anything, he seems like the natural upgrade for the Knicks defense. (Howard is 6-3, but as they say in basketball, he plays bigger.)
Unfortunately for Knicks and NBA fans, this Throwback Thursday is only a dream. Howard will be back in action for Everton in August. Americans will have many opportunities to see his Liverpool-based club play across the pond.
-- Follow Jeffrey Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband.
