NY Knicks Got Frye-d By Toronto Raptors

Their present in tatters, the New York Knicks watched their future tumble into a heap last night. So it seems the season can, in fact, get worse.

Channing Frye, the Knicks' top draft pick and their brightest prospect, injured his left knee and collapsed in the fourth quarter of a 114-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Madison Square Garden.

Frye needed two people to help him off the court, and he left the arena on crutches, his knee enclosed in a large brace.

The initial diagnosis was a sprain, but more tests, including a magnetic resonance imaging examination, are scheduled for this morning. Frye will not be with the team for tonight's game at Orlando.

It was as somber an image the Knicks have faced all season, perhaps even worse than their 19-47 record. Frye, the eighth overall pick last June, is a gifted shooter and athlete. He is considered the franchise's greatest hope, and has been deemed untouchable in trade talks.

The cruelest part of the incident was that it was caused by the Knicks' other top rookie, Nate Robinson. Toronto's Andre Barrett had sped past Robinson into the lane. Robinson, in a desperate move, slapped at the ball, then shoved Barrett in the back.

"I tried to steal the ball," Robinson said. "It definitely wasn't on purpose."

Barrett stumbled, and his left shoulder slammed into Frye's left knee. Frye collapsed on top of Barrett under the basket, and neither player immediately moved. On the bench, Malik Rose cringed and grabbed his own knee. It looked that bad.

"I definitely took full responsibility of what I did," Robinson said. "I've been in there 100 times to make sure he's O.K. He's not mad, but hopefully it's minor. I would hate for me to be the one to hurt his career or anything like that."

"I've seen a lot of these things happen. Think about what this franchise went through, with Allan and Penny and Antonio," Knicks coach Larry Brown said referring to Allan Houston, Penny Hardaway and Antonio McDyess, all of whom sustained devastating knee injuries.

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