When NBA teams finish their daily workouts, the routine usually calls for the players to huddle around the coach at center court. There will be some critical information dispensed, then everyone will place a hand in the middle of the huddle and chant something profound, like, 'defense' or 'per diem.'

	Latrell and Patrick are no longer on the same team. But with the Subway Series, have fans in New York noticed?

When the New York Knicks finish their workouts these days, their coach, Jeff Van Gundy, might offer the following chant to his players: '4 Train, 7 Train, Pray For Rain.' (He could also add, 'Baseball has been very, very good to me.')

Is there anyone other than Sam from Brooklyn or Vinnie from Bensonhurst who's happier than Van Gundy that the Mets and Yankees are in the World Series? Nature abhors a vacuum. Coaches abhor scrutiny. The Knicks have been off every New Yorker's screen for awhile now and will continue thus as baseball finishes its season with the two Gotham entries still standing.

In the past 48 hours, the Knicks have been the involuntary beneficiaries of two, disparate but critical pieces of news: the tragic situation involving Alonzo Mourning in rival Miami and the euphoria/madness that will blanket the Big Apple for the World Series. In the case of Mourning, who is out for the season with a kidney ailment, it weakened the Knicks' main competition in the division and conference, to the point where their hole in the middle might not be so glaring. In the case of the World Series, it was sheer good luck, like receiving a six-figure inheritance check from the will of that lost uncle you thought had died 10 years ago.

For the next week or so, or almost up to Opening Night on Halloween, the Knicks will indeed be a New York State of Mind. As in, out of sight, out of mind. Of course, there will be the obligatory, daily stories in the newspapers, but, well, who cares while the Mets and Yankees are having at it? Do you think the Fan radio station is going to waste any air time talking about the Knicks' improved chances in the suddenly depleted Atlantic Division?

Van Gundy may have a lengthy wish list for his team, but foremost at the top right now is for a seven-game series with a lot of lingering controversy and a few rain delays. An out-of-season hurricane wouldn't be a problem. How about a power outage at Shea?

The longer the World Series goes, the longer his Knicks stay blessedly out of the spotlight in their suburban retreat in Purchase. That is indeed a good thing for New York right now, because, well, otherwise people might be forced to address the team's personnel situation. To be charitable, it's in flux. To be hard, it's well, totally Eastern Conference.

	Longley

	Ward

But who's going to care or notice that Charlie Ward and Chris Childs are still the point guards when everyone will be waiting to see if Joe Torre has the chutzpah to start Roger Clemens in Shea Stadium? Who's going to care or notice that Marcus 'I Am Not A Center' Camby is, by default, the center when it's more fun to see if Chuck Knoblauch will get a start in the infield? Who's going to care that Patrick Ewing is in Seattle and that, in his place, all the Knicks have now to offer are an injured Aussie who, when healthy, still moves like a manatee (Luc Longley) and a former Laker/Celtic/Laker (Travis Knight) whose fouls-per-minute ratio is off the charts? That's not a concern as Bobby Valentine ponders whether to make Mike Piazza his DH in Yankee Stadium.

We haven't even gotten to Glen Rice, who somehow found a way to be miserable and unappreciated on a 67-win championship team last season. Now might be a good time for his wife to pop off about her husband's role on the team, as well as the coach's recent comments about a lack of defense. Of course, it would help if her husband was healthy, but that hasn't been the case.

If any Knicks want to take a walk on the wild side, now's the time. Page 6 in the New York Post might deign to give you a few lines, but that's it. General Manager Scott Layden should also consider this to be an excellent time to make another trade, specifically for someone who knows how to rebound. It might get a few lines in the transactions column.

Not surprisingly, while the New York sports fan's attention has been riveted on baseball, the local five has been doing quite nicely in practice games. We can tell you that New York opened the exhibition with three straight wins. We can offer that Van Gundy has been experimenting with Latrell Sprewell at point guard, while at the same time bucking up the oft-maligned Ward and Childs. We can tell you that the slender Camby had a good game against the Wizards, even though he was overpowered by Jahidi White, the only NBA center from Georgetown who hasn't either been traded or taken ill.

We can also tell you that Sprewell, Rice and Allan Houston each has been injured and that Van Gundy rated their defense as "awful" in the recent victory over the dreaded Wizards. We can mention that there still is no banger up front to address the team's alarming rebounding concerns. We can say that the Knicks have to play eight of their first 13 on the road, including a trip out west, where they will confront their immediate past when they see Ewing in Seattle colors.

We can say all this and know that, at least in New York, no one really cares right now. The Knicks fans have no choice. They might want to know the ins and outs of their team, but instead they will be mercilessly bombarded and inundated with baseball and subway minutiae and factoids for the near future. The Knicks basically have been relegated to 'Previews of Coming Attractions.'

If you're Jeff Van Gundy, you have to ask yourself: does it get any better than this?

Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.