This is what was imagined when owner James Dolan threw $60 million at Phil Jackson last March. When a standout player experienced tough times, the Knicks president would sprinkle some Zen on the problem and it would disappear.

He has done that for Carmelo Anthony, who said Monday Jackson provided clarity a week ago.

Last Monday after a shootaround before the Knicks hosted Atlanta, with Anthony enduring the worst four-game shooting stretch of his career (26-of-84, 31 percent), Jackson cornered Anthony for a meeting.

Two nights later, against the Hawks at the Garden, Anthony began a slow emergence from his funk. By the next game against the Magic, he was back on track. Across the last three games, Anthony has shot 36 of 57 (63 percent), and is 20 of 27 in his last six quarters.

There was the 46-point night Friday against Utah, when he tried single-handedly to win the game and nearly succeeded. His work finally paid off with a smooth 10-of-14, 28-point destruction of Denver on Sunday, when the seven-game losing streak was snapped.

We had a long conversation, Anthony said. I wont go into detail exactly. We had a great conversation, a very positive conversation and gave me some clarity, whether it was the system or things I should do out there for myself or things I should do out there for the players, for my teammates. It was a conversation. I took it extremely well.

Anthony, whose Knicks embark on a Milwaukee-Minnesota road back-to-back starting Tuesday, admits he has not mastered the triangle. And the Knicks, at 3-8, have a long way to go before they can consider themselves definite playoff material. But if a massive turnaround occurs, the turning point could be that talk between Anthony and the Zen Master, who has tried to stay out of rookie coach Derek Fishers way.

Carmelo Anthony celebrates during his 46-point outburst.Photo: Getty Images

If we continue doing what were doing, Anthony said, not just in the game but in practice, with the mindset of getting better, by Game 50 or Game 60, we would be looking back at this time right now and say it helped us get where we are today.

The talk with Jackson didnt necessarily help Anthonys shooting touch, but his mind. Anthony said he discovered some problems with his mechanics, technique that smoothed his shot. During the slide, he was 8 of 23 with seven turnovers against Washington, 5 of 21 in Detroit, 5 of 20 in Brooklyn and 8 of 20 in Atlanta, when he became invisible in the final three quarters.

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A little Phil Jackson Zen helped solve Carmelos problems

PRESS RELEASE

All classes are led by certified water aerobics instructors and are 60 minutes in length. Tuesday-Thursday classes are $22.50 (Cash or check payable to FISD). These sessions are 3 weeks, December 2nd through December 18th. Enrollment in any class is limited to the first 25 paid enrollments. Note: There will be no refunds or adjustments for instructor cancellations or cancellations due to unplanned pool closings.

Classes:

Mornings 9:30-10:30 T-Th.

Evenings 6:30-7:30 T-TH.

These classes are deep water only and use Aquajogger equipment. Participants should be comfortable in deep water and will be supported with the Aquajogger buoyancy belt. Other Aquajogger equipment will be added under the guidance of the instructor. This is a no impact workout program that can be easily adjusted to individual needs and goals.

To sign up, come by the Friendswood Aquatic Center, 1115 Falling Leaf between 6:00 am and noon and 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

For more information call the Aquatic Center at (281) 992-2505 or e-mail John Little @ jlittle@fisdk12.net.

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Water Aerobics scheduled at the Friendswood Aquatic Center

During any typical Bucks practice, you might hear a whistle blow and a muffled groan from players, then you'll hear four dreaded words: "Get on the line."

That would be new coach Jason Kidd, stopping the action and putting his players on the baseline to run sprints as a sort of punishment for a collective or individual mistake. Before he does, he will ask the offending party about the error, wait till he gets the answer, then send his players on their way, sprinting up and down.

For those who played high school basketball, this arrangement probably sounds familiar. But in the NBA?

"It kind of reminds you of a backyard coach just because he will stop practice and say, 'Get on the line, let's get some lines in. Let's get some ups and downs,'" veteran guard O.J. Mayo said. "It's a little different because the NBA is not like that, but he takes it back to how he would have liked it when he played."

There is no doubt it is an effective weapon for Kidd. Nothing punctuates a directive better than putting it with some physical exertion.

"It gets the point across," point guard Brandon Knight said. "Sometimes a coach can say, 'Don't do this, don't do that.' But guys will continue to do it. When you have got to run up and down, you have got to sprint seven or eight times, and you've got a game the next day, you'll figure it out."

Kidd, of course, is in his first year in Milwaukee, following a messy and bizarre breakup after just one season in Brooklyn, in which his team won 44 games and reached the second round of the playoffs. He shocked many not only by contorting his way out of the Nets job in late June, but making the leap to the Bucks, a group that won just 15 games last season.

Now, Kidd is heading up a team that features two 19-year-old starters (Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker) and only one player (Zaza Pachulia) older than 30. That's a stark contrast against the team he coached last year which, at different times, featured seven players 32 or older.

But Kidd said it's all still basketball to him.

"It's just the age difference," Kidd said. "They're basketball players. This is a younger team, the team I had last year was vets. They knew how to play, a couple of them won championships so they knew what it took to win. We won a Game 7 on the road, so experience, time and minutes are probably the only thing that's different."

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Kidd, young Bucks excercise power of the windsprint

Britain has the higher levels of obesity and overweight people than anywhere in Western Europe except for Iceland or Malta, with almost two thirds now classed as overweight.

Mrs Nokes said: One of the biggest barriers to physical participation is a cultural one. I always use the example of golf club where actually walking through the door you are almost inevitably going to be told that you are wearing the wrong thing, on your instant arrival, and the same is true for many gyms.

Its imperative to be wearing the right kit and wherever you go there are mirrors on every wall so people who feel somewhat nervous, anxious about making that first step, and I firmly believe that it is that first step that is the most important one, can sometimes be put off instantly on arrival and I have long said that the hardest thing about keeping girls in sport is that wonderful substance Lycra that everyone will be wearing in a gym.

Yet those who feel slightly self-conscious those who might be overweight can look in the mirror at themselves clad in Lycra and decide that this is not for them and they are never coming back.

So it is critical that we have welcoming environments and it is critical that those environments are accessible both in terms of cost and to the physical structure of the buildings but what I think it absolutely imperative is that you have a culture of welcome enthusiasm encouragement from the instructors.

Miss Ellison gave her support to Miss Noakes telling MPs: Like the honourable member of Romsey and Southampton North [Mrs Nokes] I too remember the Lycra shame of the 80s and the feel the burn movement and we dont want people to do that, we dont want people to give up on it we must remove those barriers to entry, I heard about wonderful initiatives at local government level like T-Shirt swimming days for people who dont want to go swimming in a swimsuit and all sorts of clever things that local Government is doing.

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Get rid of mirrors and Lycra so fat people do more excercise, public health minister suggests