Lykke Li, a Swedish singer who delivered pop love songs with a cutting voice and wily acoustic arrangments, performed in four places on Friday alone.

It was a whole day's journey from I-ch'eng to Chü-wo which, in turn, is about 60 li east of Chiang Chou — one of the most important cities in southern Shansi and a center for curio-dealers.

The sergeants-major were always on the watch to report us if we went out of bounds. […] The moment we saw the sergeant-major, off we scampered over hedge, ditch, bog, and ploughed land, leaving him to catch or identify us if he could! […] Of all the serjeants-major, Howe, of the C company, ran the swiftest. Howe enjoyed these chivies. He frequently omitted to report us if we gave him a good breathing.

For the next five months, Knicks fans will have to watch a collection of underachievers, inexperienced players and fair-to-middling pros attempt to be respectable.