Mention the name of Frederic Weis around Knick fans and most, to a man, will groan loudly.

Mark Berman of the New York Post has a new book coming out this week titled "Living Without Ew, The Crash of the Post-Ewing Knicks". Berman explains why interm GM Ed Tapscott drafted Weis over Ron Artest.

According to "Living Without Ew," Artest came to Purchase College for a pre-draft workout but begged off with a stomachache and didn't participate. Shawn Marion, now a Suns star, happened also to be in that day. The Knicks planned for Artest and Marion to go against each other.

Marion had badly outplayed Artest in a pre-draft workout the prior week with another organization. Artest, who desperately wanted to be drafted by the Knicks, may not have wanted to look bad again and some of the Knicks scouts thought the native New Yorker had chickened out.

Though Artest rescheduled and had a good workout later on with the Knicks, the front office began calling Artest's illness "The Shawn Marion Flu."

Indeed, Tapscott had reservations about Artest's fortitude. Had Weis not been available, the Knicks would still have passed on Artest, according to "Living Without Ew," and taken center James Posey, who wound up in Denver.

Berman's new book may be a must for Knick fans. One wonders if, considering the current state of the Knicks, it will top the page count of "War and Peace" or the Encyclopedia Brittanica.