If Stoudemire doesn’t burst out crying in the grinding room or after eating a forkful of horseradish on a piece of matzoh and doesn’t fall backwards after smelling a gallon of horseradish placed right before his eyes, he’ll win the challenge.

“If Amar’e is really Jewish then there is only one way to prove it.”

The payoff?

“We’ll guarantee Amar’e a lifetime supply of Gold’s Horseradish (red, white or extra hot cream style) for him and his family,” Gold said.

Gold said he’ll also donate ten cases of Gold’s condiments, including its mustard products, to a charity or food bank of Stoudemire’s choice for every Knicks win for the next two seasons. And Gold says he’ll step it up for the playoffs, which the team hasn’t played in since the 2003-04 season.

– Darren Rovell, CNBC SportsBiz.

Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man. First of all, good luck with that, Amar’e. I could go either way on horseradish but I’ve never found it too difficult to palate. I imagine a gallon of it is pretty pungent though.

But hey, if you can handle it: FREE HORSERADISH FOR LIFE! I don’t even know if I want that after all those horseradish-related challenges. Plus I’m not certain I’ve ever even purchased horseradish. Of course, I’m not Jewish.

My favorite part of this, though, is that Gold’s is stepping up and donating mustard to the charity of Stoudemire’s choice. Because first off, it’s a condiment. It is by it’s nature extraneous — albeit delicious.

It’s not like they’re donating something with a ton of nutritional value that’s going to help food banks provide for more people. Just mustard, to make the people’s food a little tastier. Which is noble, don’t get me wrong. Just funny.

Also, it would be particularly funny if Stoudemire completed the challenge and chose a charity that was not a food bank, like the Sierra Club or one dedicated to cancer research. And I bet there are plenty of good people working at all those charities who would appreciate tons of mustard.

Knicks Prez Donnie Walsh told me today that Isiah Thomas will be among Knicks GM candidates if they make a hire.

– ESPN’s Chris Broussard, Twitter.

Wait a minute: What?

Look, I don’t know much about operating an NBA basketball team. In fact, there’s really only thing I’m downright certain of: Never, ever let Isiah Thomas anywhere near the controls.

And it’s not about the sexual-harassment lawsuit that cost the Knicks $11.6 million or even the time he overdosed on sleeping pills and then threw his 17-year-old daughter under the bus. I mean, yeah, those are two reasons I’d probably be leery of hiring the guy, but I’m not one for sweeping moral judgments.

I mean, holy crap, they JUST unburied themselves from all the damage the guy did while he was in charge.

The optics of James’ announcing that he’s going to Miami while surrounded by local kids who may reasonably cry in grief is what people in the business call a public-relations nightmare. Consider also that an enterprising reporter is sure to find a heartbroken child to be the poster boy or girl for what will be portrayed as heartless flirtation with total innocents.

If it’s not New York, why make the announcement here when he dragged everyone to Akron for the pitches? He could have stayed there and maintained an illusion of neutrality.

– Michael Salfino, SNY.tv.

Salfino makes a series of reasonable points here arguing why LeBron James will inevitably end up with the Knicks. The location, he points out, is as close to New York as you can be without being in New York. The recent talk that he’s going to Miami? Salfino argues that it’s misdirection from James’ camp to build suspense around the announcement.

I don’t know. I’d say I don’t care, but that’s not entirely true. I will care if he comes to New York. That would be cool.

I won’t watch the thing tonight — there’s baseball on. Real sporting events should always take precedence over announcements about future sporting events, I think. I’m sure I’ll find out where LeBron’s heading within five minutes of the announcement, and I won’t have to sit through however many minutes of hype-machine nonsense before it.

But that said, I’m a little surprised by how much backlash there has been to the news that LeBron would announce his decision in this fashion, on ESPN. I mean, how’d you expect it to be? It’s entertainment. LeBron James is a professional basketball player. And yet this particular instance of showmanship and spectacle makes a mockery of the game?

C’mon. Maybe the league-wide disregard for traveling violations makes a mockery of the game, or the gambling officials do. But a player maximizing his time in the spotlight is only that.

But this is a business. So follow the money. Forbes said it best, through Interbrand (a company whose business is valuing brands like the one James wants to become). The bottom line: James should expect to make $983 million if he signs with the Knicks and finishes his career here — that’s $284 million more than second-place Cleveland. (Cleveland beats Chicago because Michael Jordan already owns Chicago, so winning a title there is worth far less than winning one in New York or even Cleveland.)…

But the biggest reason why it’s the best basketball decision for James to come to New York is Curry — the secret weapon. He comes off the books after this year. So he can be traded at any point to a team seeking future cap relief or let go in June to create more cap room for next year’s free-agent class. New York would have almost enough for another max contract. Most importantly, he protects James from a change in the collective bargaining agreement that creates a hard cap. James knows that the Knicks will go over the cap if nothing changes. But only the Knicks from among all his suitors can also stay within the cap to get a third big player (or fourth if you count Danilo Gallinari).

– Michael Salfino, SNY.tv.

The NBA free agency hype has grown so monstrous that I’ve sort of stopped paying attention, but Mike makes the most comprehensive case I’ve yet seen for why LeBron James should and will end up a Knick.

Also, it’s hilarious that anyone besides Isiah Thomas and Greenburgh-area fast food restaurants might consider Eddy Curry “the secret weapon,” but it’s a good point.

And furthermore, the Greenburgh area could use a lot more variety in its fast food restaurants. McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King? What is this, 1989?