Jeremy Lin is close to acquiring a trademark on the term “Linsanity.” (Kent Smith/Getty Images)

New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin on Thursday moved closer to capitalizing on the “Linsanity” he created during the NBA season. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the rest of the applicants for a trademark on the term “Linsanity,” The Huffington Post‘s Ron Dicker reports.

“We’re delighted,” Lin’s lawyer Pamela Deese told Dicker. “This is the right result.”

Lin’s rise from undrafted benchwarmer sleeping on his brother’s couch to star at Madison Square Garden pushed him onto magazine covers, sent the price of Knicks’ tickets skyrocketing and created a market for all sorts of Lin gear.

In the aftermath, many people applied to trademark “Linsanity,” including Lin. Dicker reports that after a cease-and-desist letter from Lin’s attorney, close to a dozen applicants continued to pursue the trademark. Now, the patent office has informed them that their applications have been dismissed, leaving only Lin.

The trademark will protect use of the term on a variety of items, Dicker reports, including beverage sleeves and underwear.

The ultimate value of the trademark will likely depend on Lin’s success going forward. The point guard suffered a season-ending knee injury and is a restricted free agent this summer. Earlier this week, his agent said not to assume he would re-sign with the Knicks.

The New York Knicks are confident that point guard Jeremy Lin will return next season rather than flirt with other teams in free agency over the summer, but his agent says it’s far from a sure thing, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

“We don’t have assurances of anything,” Roger Montgomery said. “I know history shows most restricted free agents go back to their team, but I’m not going to assume anything. We’re waiting to see what happens.”

Lin, who took over the Knicks’ point guard job on Feb. 6 and averaged 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds over 35 games, becomes a restricted free agent this summer, meaning the Knicks have the right to match any offer sheet extended by another team. Lin can begin negotiating with other teams on July 1.

Lin is currently in the final stages of rehabbing from a torn meniscus; he plans to return home to Northern California. He’s hoping to join the U.S. Select Team this summer and practice against Team USA prior to the Olympics.

“It hasn’t been settled, but he’d be excited to do it,” Montgomery said.

Injured New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin could return to the team for Game 5 against the Miami Heat Wednesday, according to the New York Daily News. 

Lin has not played since March 24 due to surgery to repair an injury on his meniscus in his left knee. Prior to his injury, Lin’s emergence from obscurity helped spark the Knicks playoff charge this spring. The 23-year-old averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists in 35 games for New York.

“I mean, I really can’t answer that,” head coach Mike Woodson told the Daily News when asked if Lin would suit-up for Game 5. “We’ll get back to the gym tomorrow and talk to doctors and see where everybody, where they are physically. And we’ll make some decisions before we get on the plane to head to Miami.”

The Knicks, who trail the Heat three games to one in the series, are in desperate need of a point guard after losing Baron Davis last night to a knee injury. The club also lost Iman Shumpert to another knee injury in Game 1.

Earlier this week, injured New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin was eyeing Sunday’s Game 4 against the Miami Heat as a potential return date, as the Harvard alum is nearing a full recovery from the partially torn meniscus in his left knee. Now, according to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Sunday is all but ruled out.

“I haven’t been able to load it or jump or explode or drive by somebody the way I want to,” Lin said today. “So it’s going to be longer than that.”

Lin has been out since March 24, recovering from knee surgery. He was originally planning on being out until mid-May, meaning no first round, but since his recovery has gone more smoothly than expected, he’s considering moving that date up a little.

Game 4 is a no-go for Lin, but Game 5 may still be a remote possibility.

“I really don’t want to say I am or am not [returning],” Lin said. “I just want to take it day by day. Game 4 doesn’t look great. Game 5, I have no idea.”

The Knicks host the Heat tonight at Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of their first-round playoff series; they currently trail 2-0.

Get ready for an insane media circus — New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin says he might return Sunday, when the Miami Heat visit Madison Square Garden for Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.

“I’m going to evaluate at the end of the week and see how I feel,” Lin told Marc Berman of the New York Post. “Hopefully I’ll feel good. Every time I come into the gym, the playoff atmosphere is unbelievable.”

Lin has been out since March 24, recovering from surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus in his left knee. After playing in 35 games this season and averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds, Lin has been stuck on the bench as the Knicks open their postseason in South Beach.

Lin has recovered rapidly from the knee operation and was even seen playing one-on-one before Saturday’s Game 1; he’s nearing a return. He said he definitely won’t play in Games 2 or 3 this week, but Game 4 is not out of the question.

“I don’t really want to make a promise because I just don’t know,” Lin said. “If I felt good today, then that would be more of a possibility. But I don’t feel that great today.”

Jeremy Lin was on the floor today prior to the New York Knicks’ playoff opener against the Miami Heat today, but it’s still unknown when Lin will be ready to return to game action, according to Howard Beck of the New York Times.

Lin was seen three hours prior to today’s Game 1 at American Airlines Arena playing one-on-one against Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson. Beck reports that the 23-year-old point guard was “running, cutting and moving laterally,” all good signs that he’s ahead of schedule in his recovery from April 2 knee surgery.

Lin hasn’t played since March 24; the team discovered shortly thereafter that he had a partially torn meniscus in his left knee. It was originally projected that Lin couldn’t return until mid-May; he’s now threatening to come back sooner.

Lin played 35 games for the Knicks this season, posting per-game averages of 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds.

Is Jeremy Lin ready to return from the meniscus tear that’s kept him out of action for the New York Knicks the last month? Probably not by a long shot, no. But according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday, there was a major breakthrough this morning: Lin is shooting again.

Jeremy Lin is shooting. First time we have seen that since his knee surgery.

—
Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) April 25, 2012

The Knicks’ sensational second-year point guard was spotted participating in the team’s shootaround this morning, prior to tonight’s regular-season home finale against the Los Angeles Clippers. Iannazzone reports that Lin was able to move slowly from side to side, as well as up and down the court.

It’s been projected that Lin won’t be able to return before mid-May, meaning the Knicks would need to pull a first-round upset to advance far enough in the East playoffs for their point guard to be ready. Currently 34-30 and tied for seventh in the conference, the Knicks are looking at a daunting first-round matchup with either the Chicago Bulls or the Miami Heat.

Lin played in 35 games for the Knicks this season, averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest. He earned the point guard job on Feb. 6 and was a fixture in New York’s staring five until March 24, when the knee injury derailed him.

Jeremy Lin took to Twitter today, congratulating his New York Knicks teammates on a hard-fought 113-112 road win over the Atlanta Hawks — and he also snuck in a minor detail about himself. He’s jogging again.

Great team win in ATL. And i jogged slowly (but not as slow as @stevenovak20) for the first time since surgery..its been a great day so far!

—
Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) April 22, 2012

Lin underwent surgery on April 2 to repair the partially torn meniscus in his left knee. He hasn’t played since March 24; it’s projected that he won’t be ready for a return until mid-May. The Knicks would likely need to advance past the first round of the playoffs for Lin to play this season.

Lin played 35 games for the Knicks this season; he averaged 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest. He was the team’s full-time starter at point guard between Feb. 6 and the moment he went down.

The Knicks have two games left in the regular season, Wednesday and Thursday against the L.A. Clippers and Charlotte Bobcats respectively, before the postseason opens next weekend. They’re likely to lock up the No. 7 seed and face the No. 2 Miami Heat in the first round of the East playoffs.

Time released their 2012 “The 100 Most Influential People in the World,” and six athletes were named to the list: Jeremy Lin, Tim Tebow, Novak Djokovic, Yani Tseng, Lionel Messi, and Oscar Pistorius.

Lin made the list  for coming out of nowhere to save a desperate Knicks team, averaging 14.6 points and 6.1 assists per game during a stretch helped  save New York’s season.

“Jeremy cares only about one thing — winning. And I don’t care whether you are an Asian-American kid, white, black or Hispanic, Jeremy’s story tells you that if you show grit, discipline and integrity, you too can get an opportunity to overcome the odds.”

Another standout was Tebow, who not only saved the Broncos’ season and led them to a first-round playoff victory over the Steelers but also for the compassion he displayed toward his fans.

“He realizes what he has been blessed with and seeks to help those who are worse off. As athletes, we pour our hearts into winning games. Tim is a reminder that life is about much more than that.”

The number one tennis superstar, Djokovic also topped the list due to his outstanding effort to reach the top spot in his sport. He has won five grand slams singles titles and has been the sixth male player in the open era to win three Majors in a calendar year.

“It’s the result of the really hard work that I put into it,” says Djokovic, 24, now a national hero in his native Serbia.

Lastly, Lionel Messi was also on the list due to his outstanding performance on the pitch, his passion for the sport, and how he defies all odds in regards to size. In 32 games this season, Messi has scored 41 goals with 13 assists.

Injured New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin said today that his knee his progressing well, but he still doesn’t expect to be ready for the first round of the playoffs.

“I think unless something goes really well, I wouldn’t get there,” Lin told Ian Begley of ESPN New York.

Lin underwent surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Rehab has gone well — Lin has already begun walking and riding a bike this week, and he hopes to have a full range of motion soon. Lin hopes to resume running next week.

“All the doctors are saying this is normal,” Lin said. “After about one and a half to two weeks is when you can see how well you’re doing.”

Lin averaged an impressive 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Knicks this season, but the team is doing just fine without him. New York stunned Chicago today in Derrick Rose’s return to action, winning 100-99 in overtime behind 43 points from Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks are now 29-27, one game up on Milwaukee for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Basketball season is likely over for New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, but the second-year sensation does have good news — he announced this evening that the surgery was successful on the partially torn meniscus in his left knee.

Praise God for a successful surgery...road to recovery! Lets goo. Much love to the fans for your support and kind words http://t.co/K5AvGRIq

—
Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) April 02, 2012

Lin last played for the Knicks on March 24, in a blowout win over the Detroit Pistons. He missed all of last week, and the team announced Friday that he needed surgery and would be out six weeks. He likely won’t return this season unless the Knicks make a deep playoff run.

Lin averaged 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Knicks this season. He became the team’s full-time starter at point guard on Feb. 6 and won seven straight games right off the bat.

The Knicks are still going strong in the postseason race without the star guard — they’re currently 27-26, 2.5 games up on the Milwaukee Bucks for the East’s eighth and final playoff spot.

Linsanity is screeching to a halt — Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports that New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has a partially torn meniscus in his left knee. He will need surgery and will be missing for six weeks, meaning he won’t be back unless the Knicks make a deep playoff run.

Lin averaged 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Knicks this season before his injury. He became the team’s full-time starter at point guard on Feb. 6, instantly leading the team to seven straight wins.

The Knicks, currently 26-26 on the season and eighth in the Eastern Conference, have just 14 games to go. Their regular season ends on April 26.

New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin will miss his third straight game with a sore left knee, according to ESPN New York. Baron Davis is expected to start in his place.

Lin suffered the injury in last Saturday’s win against the Detroit Pistons, according to ESPN, and said last week he’d been experiencing pain in his knee because of overuse. The second-year guard saw his playing time skyrocket in February and March, when he averaged over 30 minutes per game in both months.

Knicks head coach Mike Woodson gave an update on Lin’s condition, saying that he’s still day-to-day but that he has “no idea” when he’ll return.

“He’s out,’’ Woodson told the New York Post. “Still day to day. Amare’s out. Had his epidural shot yesterday. He’s day to day with Lin. I have no idea when these guys are going to return, if they’re going to return. I just don’t know.’’

The 23-year-old is averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game for New York this season.

New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin had lunch with former ESPN employee Anthony Federico  who was fired last month for writing an offensive headline about the point guard, according to Newsday.

“It went incredible,” Federico said. “I’m just so excited we had a chance to meet. We talked for an hour. I’m just so thankful.”

Federico expressed how gracious he was for the Knicks sensation to meet with him even after so much time had passed since the ordeal. According to the former ESPN employee, most of their discussion pertained to their shared Christian faith and Lin’s knee injury rather than the controversial headline published by Federico back on Feb. 19.

The two met after one of Lin’s family members reached out to the Federico more than month ago after he was fired for publishing a racially offensive headline on ESPN mobile referencing a Knicks’ loss in which Lin had nine turnovers.

One of the most sensational stories of the last year in sports is converging with another — Tim Tebow is joining Jeremy Lin in New York City, as the Denver Broncos traded Tebow to the Jets yesterday. And Lin, the Knicks’ wildly popular new point guard, is excited to have the athletic QB joining him in the Big Apple.

“It’s awesome,” Lin told the New York Post last night. “I’m just excited for him and to see what he does. We’ll see what happens next year, but I’m excited obviously that he’s going to be in New York.”

Lin rose to power as the Knicks’ point guard in early February, immediately leading the team to seven straight wins and returning them to relevance in the Eastern Conference playoff race. He’s new to the New York sports scene, but he’s already got some advice to impart to Tebow about dealing with life in the big market.

“Everyone gave me some advice; they said, ‘Make sure not to read the papers,’” Lin said, laughing. “But I don’t want to say that to offend you guys. But that’s what I’ve been told. I don’t really read anything. I think it helps me.”

New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin will be announcing a major endorsement deal with Swedish car brand Volvo, according to USA Today.

Volvo Cars of North America has reportedly sent out invitations for the press conference in New York to “announce a dynamic marketing partnership with Jeremy Lin, the popular New York Knicks point guard.”  According to the invite, the press conference is scheduled to begin at 5pm EST on Monday.

The endorsement will mark one of Lin’s first major corporate deals since the “Lin-Sanity” craze and his rise to stardom.  He had reached an agreement with Nike for a Lin-themed shoe, although the value of the deal has not been disclosed yet.

Since the resignation of coach Mike D’Antoni, Lin has led the Knicks to a three-game win streak with a stellar performance in his most recent game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.  In the contest, Lin scored 19 points with six assists.

Reports of the death of Linsanity were greatly exaggerated — incoming New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson addressed the media today and said that Jeremy Lin, not Baron Davis, would be his starting point guard going forward, according to ESPN New York.

“Jeremy is a big part of what we do. He’s our starting point guard,” said Woodson, who replaced Mike D’Antoni on Wednesday. “He and I are on the same page. I thought the other night he played extremely well. We played well as a group.”

Lin had six points, six assists and four rebounds Wednesday night in only 23 minutes, taking a seat early as the Knicks recorded a 121-79 blowout of the Portland Trail Blazers at home. It was New York’s first win in seven games.

There’s been speculation that under Woodson, who prefers an offense with more isolation plays and fewer pick-and-rolls, Lin would see a diminished role in New York. But Lin says he’s spoken with the new coach and expects still to have a significant impact.

“Continue to initiate the offense, be aggressive,” he said. “He’s said there’s going to be a lot of spacing and still the opportunity to play pick-and-roll. But at the same time we’re going to utilize the post as well.”

The departure this week of New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni was bad news for Carmelo Anthony, as it brought endless speculation of “coach-killing” upon the star scorer. But apparently it’s even worse for Jeremy Lin, as interim coach Mike Woodson will do things a little differently in the Big Apple. As Howard Beck writes in today’s New York Times:

He prefers veterans to rookies. He wants the offense to run through his stars. He will run most of his plays for Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. None of this bodes well for Lin.

“Woody’s inclination would not be to play him,” said a person who has worked with Woodson.

Lin is known for emphasizing isolation plays over pick-and-rolls, which fits directly in Anthony’s wheelhouse. Lin initially excelled running the pick-and-roll while quarterbacking the Knicks’ offense — first with Tyson Chandler, then later on with Stoudemire — but now it appears the Knicks’ sophomore sensation will play a much smaller role.

Lin is averaging 14.7 points, 6.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Knicks this season. The Knicks are 11-9 since they began giving him heavy minutes on Feb. 4, including seven straight wins to start.

A source has told the New York Post that Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony was not for the signing of free-agent J.R. Smith after his return from China.

The Post reports that Anthony “gave a thumbs down to upper management” when asked if the team should bring his former Denver Nuggets teammate to Madison Square Garden. According to all other reports however, Anthony has publically supported the decision, both before and after the signing.

The once red-hot Knicks have lost seven out of ten games since signing Smith, including their last five contests in a row. Smith has averaged 9.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in that span.

The Knicks downward spiral has also coincided with the return of Anthony from injury. The club is 2-7 since the perennial All-Star’s return to the lineup. In the seven games he missed due to injury, the team went 6-1.

Formosa Transnational Attorneys at Law, a respected law firm in Taiwan, has released a statement saying that Jeremy Lin has not authorized any books about his life story, according to the Taipei Times.

The statement, on Lin’s behalf, comes in response to a recent flurry of books about Lin’s rise from obscurity to the starting point guard role on the New York Knicks. The law firm says Lin is afraid that Taiwanese publishers may try to promote their publications as authorized biographies with his stamp of approval.

One such publisher, the Taipei-based China Times Publishing, released a book yesterday about Lin’s rise to stardom entitled “Lincredible 17″ containing over 100 photos and divided into 12 sections covering Lin’s professional and personal life.

The publishing firm said Lin’s statement did not change its plan to publish the book, adding that all photos were acquired legally.

New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni said that he plans on sticking with point guard Jeremy Lin but that he wouldn’t rule out using Baron Davis in late game situations, according to Newsday.

“Maybe,” he said. “We’ll see. I’m comfortable going with Jeremy. I think at the end of games, Jeremy finds a way to be positive, and he was.

“Jeremy’s going to finish games right now. He’s going to start games. And then we’ll see what happens as we go forward. But I’m comfortable with him.”

Lin struggled Sunday for the second time in three games. The newly established star was 6 of 16 from the field, and had six turnovers to only five assists. His two down games came against the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics, however, two of the better defensive teams in the NBA.

As a starter, Lin is averaging 21.5 points, 8.9 assists, and 5.7 turnovers per game.

Amid all the rumblings about the future of the New York Knicks’ point guard position — will Jeremy Lin keep his job, or will Baron Davis usurp it? — we’re now beginning to see a third possibility. The Knicks are experimenting with playing Lin and Davis on the floor together, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

“You have more playmaking — we’ll see if that’s good or not,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “They can play together because Baron can guard bigger guards. But somebody’s not playing. You have to be really good together.”

Landry Fields has started 35 games at shooting guard for the Knicks this season, but if Davis continues his recovery from a herniated disk and plays at a high level, D’Antoni might be able to use Fields off the bench while starting Lin and Davis.

“It would be fun,” Davis said. “I’d love to play minutes out there with Jeremy. We’re both comfortable with each other on the floor. He’s a great player who makes plays, and I make plays. So It makes it easier for both of us as two playmakers.”

Lin has been dominant as the Knicks’ starter over the last month, leading the team to wins in 10 of its last 13 games. He’s now averaging 14.6 points, 6.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game despite starting the season as a bench-warmer.

Davis has come off the bench in four games so far. He has a total of eight points, 18 assists and three boards.

President Barack Obama told ESPN columnist Bill Simmons that he knew about the potential of basketball sensation Jeremy Lin well before the rest of America.

“I knew about Jeremy before you did, or everybody else did, because Arne Duncan, my Secretary of Education, was captain of the Harvard team. And so way back when, Arne and I were playing and he said, I’m telling you, we’ve got this terrific guard named Jeremy Lin at Harvard. And then one of my best friends, his son is a freshman at Harvard, and so when he went for a recruiting trip he saw Lin in action. So I’ve been on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon for a while.”

Obama, an avid basketball fan, is also a graduate of Harvard Law School. He told Simmons that he was surprised no one noticed Lin’s ability sooner.

“But look, it’s a great story. And what’s interesting is the fact that somehow folks were missing it in practice. I mean, that’s what’s interesting. Because you got to assume that during scrimmages he was running that pick-and-roll pretty well. And it is a terrific story. He seems like a wonderful young man. And, look, it elevates this great sport all around the world. It can’t hurt ratings for basketball in China.”

Last night Lin helped lead the Knicks defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-103. In 33 minutes he scored 19 points, dished 13 assists, and committed just one turnover.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant told the press that if he were to ever own an NBA team, he would have fired the entire front office for passing on Jeremy Lin, according to the New York Post.

“The biggest thing to me is how everybody missed it,’’ Bryant said yesterday before the All-Star Game’s practice session. “They all would be fired if I was owning a team. I hear this stuff, ‘It came out of nowhere.’ I think it’s a load of [garbage]. You can’t play that well and just come out of nowhere. There has to be something there and everybody missed it. So heads would roll [if I was owner].’’

Lin was passed up by two teams including the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets before being claimed by the New York Knicks off waivers.

Lin had one of his best performances against the Lakers, scoring 38 points and having 10 assists. Arizona Suns Steve Nash also commented on the improved Lin.

The 23-year-old has played in 21 games this season for the Knicks, and in the past 11 starts he has averaged 21.8 points, 8.9 assists, and 4.2 rebounds.  Leading the Knicks to a 9-2 record.

NBC’s Jimmy Fallon jumped on the Jeremy Lin craze as he parodied Peal Jam’s “Jeremy” in one of his patented musical impersonations.

In January, Fallon also did a remix of a famous David Bowie song to create a new character, Tim Tebowie. 

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Spike Lee made peace in Miami after a racially insensitive tweet by Mayweather about New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin sparked an online rift between the two, according to Fox Sports.

Lee and Mayweather were both present at AmericanAirlines Arena during last night’s Miami Heat victory over the New York Knicks. According to a tweet from Lee, the two settled their differences.

Floyd Mayweather And I Had A Great Conversation Courtside.We're MAD COOL.ALL LOVE.2 Brotha's.YA-DIG yfrog.com/gyylvaij

—
Spike Lee (@SpikeLee) February 24, 2012

Mayweather caused a stir online earlier this month when he tweeted, “Jeremy Lin is a good player, but all the hype is because he’s Asian … Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.”

Lee, in particular, took exception to the tweet. Replying later, “Floyd Mayweather I Hope You Watched Jeremy Hit The Gamewinning 3 Pointer With .005 Seconds Left.Our Guy Can BALL PLAIN AND SIMPLE.RECOGNIZE.”

The Knicks lost 102-88 to the Heat with Mayweather on hand.

David Stern has been the commissioner of the NBA for 28 years now, overseeing the rise and fall of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and countless other superstars. But never before, he said today, has he seen anything quite like the frenzy surrounding Jeremy Lin.

“I haven’t done a computation,” Stern told the AP today. “But it’s fair to say that no player has created the interest and the frenzy in this short period of time, in any sport, that I’m aware of like Jeremy Lin has.”

Lin’s popularity has grown astronomically in the two-plus weeks since he became the New York Knicks’ starting point guard. The top five videos on NBA.com since Feb. 4 are all Lin; Lin’s following on the Chinese networking site Sina is now over 1 million. Stern said today that he’s “never quite seen anything like” the attention on Lin.

“It’s fascinating,” the commissioner noted.

A Jeremy Lin signed rookie card auctioned off for $21,580 on eBay, according to Yahoo! Sports.

“I saw a lot of potential in him,” Yair Rozmaryn, the eBay seller told ESPN on Wednesday.

The rookie card was sold  by Yair Rozmaryn, a card collector in Manhattan, who originally bought the card for $1,000 from another collector on eBay two weeks ago. At that time, Lin was had yet to become an international phenom.

Jeremy Lin was passed up by two teams including the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets before being claimed by the New York Knicks off waivers.  In his last 11 games, Lin is averaging 23.9 points and 9.2 assists.

New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin could be invited to train with the U.S. Olympic team, according to a tweet from ESPN’s SportsCenter account.

Jerry Colangelo says Jeremy Lin could be invited to train with U.S. Olympic team. http://t.co/GfVoYPlh

—
  (@SportsCenter) February 23, 2012

Longtime sports executive and director of USA Basketball Jerry Colangelo told the New York Times he cannot recall anything similar to the way Lin came out of nowhere, reinvigorating a struggling Knicks team and becoming an international hero.  Although he gave the point guard such high praise for his accomplishments, Colangelo  also noted that Lin will not be placed on the USA Basketball team roster telling the New York Times, “the players who already have time invested in the system have equity built up.”

That, however, does not mean he will not be invited to train with the team.

When discussing the possibilities of which players have the best chance at filling the team’s point guard spot, Colangelo and Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski noted it would be quite difficult for Lin to beat out the current top point guards in the league.  Despite Lin’s outstanding play thus far, he would have to outplay Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose, Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook, Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul, and New Jersey Nets’ Deron Williams.

Yao Ming believes that Jeremy Lin’s emergence in the NBA could change the way that China scouts and trains basketball players, according to Reuters.

Yao has been an icon in Chinese basketball since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2002 by the Houston Rockets. As a result of his fame and success, there has been a large emphasis on identifying and developing  front court players in China. Lin, who has taken the NBA by storm in the last month, stands at just six feet, three inches, and is known for his quickness and shot creating ability as opposed to his size.

“This is something else that Jeremy Lin has brought to us. It has given us something to reflect on, whether there are imperfections over the development and selection process for our basketball players over the past 10 or 20 years,” Yao told Reuters.

“I am very surprised but also very happy,” he continued. “When he played well in his first game I thought this was a great start and perhaps he would soon have more stable game time.

“But I never thought he would perform to such levels as he had today.

In the 11 games since Lin began to see significant playing time, he has led the Knicks to a 9-2 record and has averaged 23.9 points and 9.2 assists per game.

During a pre-game chapel on Jan. 27, Jeremy Lin asked the pastor and fellow players to pray that he would not get cut by the New York Knicks, Udonis Haslem told The Times-Picayune.

“I understood where he was coming from,” Haslem, a fellow undrafted player told the paper.

At that point Lin had been cut twice and was potentially facing his last opportunity to stick in the league. He did not play that night against the Heat, but eight days later he played 35 minutes for the Knicks, scoring 25 points and registering seven assists en route to a 99-92 win over the New Jersey Nets.

In the time since, Lin has become one of the game’s biggest superstars. In the 11 games since he began to see significant playing time, he has led the Knicks to a 9-2 record and has averaged 23.9 points and 9.2 assists per game.

New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin has filed to trademark the term ‘Linsanity’ — according to Bloomberg — the widely-used phrase that describes the craze surrounding Lin’s debut.

The report states that Lin filed an application for trademark Feb. 13 — days after other people not associated with Lin also filed.

“We’re prepared to enforce his intellectual property rights,” Pamela M. Deese told Bloomberg, saying that her office had filed on Lin’s behalf.

Even though others have filed before Lin, experts say that since they have no connection to him or the term that courts will likely side with Lin.

“Nobody can register a mark if it falsely suggests a connection with a person or an institution,” attorney Gary Krugman told Bloomberg in a telephone interview. “I would guess that Jeremy Lin would be able to oppose on the grounds that Linsanity points uniquely and unmistakably to him.”

Jeremy Lin’s agent, Roger Montgomery, has already turned down “millions” in endorsement deals for the New York Knicks guard, according to the New York Post.

“There’s been so much interest, and so many people reaching out, it is overwhelming,” a source told the Post. “They’re working to build a team to handle all this, and hiring marketing and P.R. executives. He has met with IMG.”

Montgomery has reportedly received over 1,000 emails a day from potential brands who want to work with Lin. Some of the deals have been worth “millions of dollars,” a source told the paper.

“Jeremy doesn’t want to jump into anything,” the source told the Post. “He wants to sit back and wait and see what suits him. He’s not looking for the quick money. The deals have to be right.”

In the last 10 games Lin has started all and averaged, 24.6 points, 9.2 assists, and 4.1 rebounds, and has led the Knicks to an 8-2 record in that span.

Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl told ESPN Radio that despite the emergence of Jeremy Lin, he does not see the New York Knicks getting past the first round of the playoffs.

“The thing I don’t like about the situation is all this stuff is happening with very little practice time,” Karl said during an interview with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN Radio Sunday. “I don’t think they’re going to get out of the bottom half of the draw, so I think they’re going to draw one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference (in the playoffs). I’ll be honest with you, I think it’s going to be very difficult for them this year to put the pieces together to figure out how to beat one of those top three or four teams.”

With star forward Carmelo Anthony returning the lineup, some have wondered if the team would be able to carry the same momentum they had built in his absence. New York lost their first game with Anthony back to the New Jersey Nets Monday night. It marked the first time that rising star Jeremy Lin, Amar’e Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and recently acquired guard J.R. Smith have played together.

In Anthony’s absence the Knicks won eight of 10 games. They are currently 16-17, and rank seventh overall in the Eastern Conference.

Both Anthony and Smith played for Karl as members of the Denver Nuggets last year.

It’s obvious to everyone under the sun that Jeremy Lin has become quite popular, but here’s how popular — the New York Knicks announced today that their last two games were the highest-rated regular season events on MSG since the network began tracking household ratings in the 1988-89 season, according to the AP.

The last two locally televised Knicks games — both losses, one Friday to the Hornets and one Monday to the Nets — were each watched in more than 540,000 households and drew ratings above 7.3.

The previous regular-season high was a 6.78 rating for Michael Jordan’s first game back at Madison Square Garden post-retirement, on March 28, 1995. Jordan scored 55 points in that game and led the Chicago Bulls to a 113-111 victory.