Amar’e Stoudemire stood at the foot of the Roman Colosseum and felt empowered in a very Russell Crowe kind of way.

“Oh, I immediately thought of the movie ‘Gladiator,'” Stoudemire says. “It was awesome.”…

The Knicks depart Wednesday afternoon for Milan, the hometown of third-year forward Danilo Gallinari. They are scheduled to play Gallinari’s former club, Armani Jeans Milano on Sunday before heading to Paris, where they will play the Minnesota Timberwolves in an exhibition game next Wednesday.

– Frank Isola, N.Y. Daily News.

When the Knicks failed to land LeBron James, I thought the small upside was that I could continue not bothering to really follow the NBA all that closely. After all, I’m a busy guy and the winter is for college hoops and first-run TV shows and the baseball hot stove and everything.

But Amar’e Stoudemire seems like he might be a pretty awesome dude for a variety of reasons, his personality and thunderous dunks among them. And I can’t really remember the last time the Knicks had a likable star. Allan Houston? Was he a star?

Mind you, I always sort of ironically appreciated Stephon Marbury and in fact still own a pair of Starburys. But that’s different.

I now find myself wondering if Stoudemire and the supporting cast will be enough to have me keep close tabs on the Knicks for the first time since I left for college in 1999. I have my doubts, but that I’m even considering it is a testament to Stoudamire’s charisma, I suppose.

Also, Danilo Gallinari’s Italian team was called “Armani Jeans Milano.” That’s incredible. I assume they played in black t-shirts and designer jeans and smoked cigarettes on the court.