New York Knicks owner James Dolan made a rare appearance on WFAN this afternoon, hours before the crucial Game Four tipoff. As is his wont, he proceeded to open his mouth and cram his Florsheims deep down his throat.
Via reporter Kris Pursiainen, who apparently has the kind of steel-reinforced stomach capable of transcribing radio spot:
“Leon and I believed the team was good enough last year. We’re fortunately, I think, proving it right. I expect to win tonight. I make predictions here, they come true: we’re gonna win tonight, and we’re gonna win the Finals”
Thanks for that, Blow Namath. Fans have been attempting to swing the vibes back in our favor by burning sage or pointing excitedly at the Wu Tang Clan performing at halftime. And Guitar Jimmy opens his yap and gives the Spurs a sweet hunk of bulletin board material. Wonderful stuff. Great. I love it.
Dolan kept talking after that, revving up his ongoing beef with Mayor Mamdani, blaming him for a decision by the NYPD. (I guess his “I love cops! Love ’em, the cops! Oh I love cops!” sentiments have petered out.) He once again jabbed a stubby finger at the police for the delightful bit of security theater New Yorkers were subjected to on Monday.
Anything else?
James Dolan says Zohran Mamdani is not a Knick fan on WFAN.
Oh for sure, man. Any other whining you need to get off your chest?
“I can’t fix The City. That’s The Mayor’s job. Good luck.”
Funny thing about that. James Dolan paid for ads slamming Mamdani and pumped cash into former Mayor Eric Adams’ coffers throughout the campaign. He did so while Adams was still in office. Meaning: MSG hasd lobbying the Mayor’s office and was doing business with the city, including the oh-so-vital question of what will happen to the Garden now that Penn Station is being revamped. Eric Adams? Corrupt??? I’m shocked. This is my shocked face. So yes, it certainly seems like Dolan has tried to ensure that he has a great impact on how our humble burgh is run and whether or not it gets “fixed.”
As our own Kevin McElroy noted in our Knicks Sickos group chat, there is one silver lining: “I am glad that Dolan is doing everything he can to make it easy to blame him if we lose.”
Fair point, but please, by all that is holy and good, shut the fuck up, Jim Dolan.
The most poetic (and Knicksy) possible outcome here looms large:
Dolan fucks up what may have been the greatest playoff run in history by inviting his Fuhrer to Game 3, sapping the crowd’s energy with all the bullshit they have to go through to get to the game. Game 3 was close enough that just one or two loose balls going our way would have swing it.
The palpable momentum shift causes us to lose the next 3 games, culminating in a G6 series loss on our vaunted home floor.
One thing that this series has really made clear to me is that the Garden fucking sucks as a home floor. OKC had a better crowd because people who love basketball could afford to go to the games, and they didn’t have the Grifter King fucking up everyone’s evening so he could take a nap. That’s what Dolan did with the high point of this franchise in the 21st century — gave it to Trump to shit all over.
The MSG crowd also sucks. It isn’t any louder, and it’s quicker to go quiet when things are tough. Instead of uplifting our guys, they make them tentative in big moments. It’s no wonder most of the big streak came on the road, with our biggest margins and best moments concentrated there.
We get a better Knick fan crowd on the road that we get on our home floor, and we certainly don’t get any better of a whistle.
I have said a hundred times The Sphere is our true mvp for keeping Dolan far away from the Knicks for years.
The Sphere needs to get back to work,