It would appear this list is only basketball. Interesting how closely it aligns with media market size and not necessarily team success. The Knicks have never lived up to their fan loyalty or budget, but part of that maybe NBA salary restrictions as compared to MLB.
It probably is at the high school level, I don't think they can really get fully fledged districts going for football as a single field would be like $90 million in unused real-estate.
saw oak on this cooking show "chopped" a few yrs ago. he was quite mild-mannered, personable, and cool under pressure. and he wasn't a bad chef either
wtf Frank Benedetto, the senior vice president for security at the Madison Square Garden Company, was fired Friday morning, a source said. Benedetto, who was at Wednesday game and witnessed the fiasco, took over the top security post after serving as a top U.S. Secret Service official who was credited with helping oversee the safety of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama while serving as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Presidential Protection. He was also lauded for handling security for the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago, as well as the 2013 and 2014 Chicago Marathon, according to his LinkedIn account. Sources say he moved from Chicago to the Big Apple not long after MSG released most of its veteran senior security staff, which included officials with years of experience and historical knowledge, including the depth of the feud between Dolan and Oakley. Sources said Dolan may take further action against other employees over the flap.
Yeah, and the #1 witness statement got tossed out and the dude got fired. Willing to bet all the video is different angles of what we've already seen.
And firing your Sr VP of Security for all MSG events helps with that, how? Apparently, this is the 2nd time in a few years he cleaned out his security managers....turn-over always help with keeping people safe at all your MSG events. Hypocrite Here's the resume again of the guy he fired Benedetto, who was at Wednesday game and witnessed the fiasco, took over the top security post after serving as a top U.S. Secret Service official who was credited with helping oversee the safety of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama while serving as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Presidential Protection. He was also lauded for handling security for the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago, as well as the 2013 and 2014 Chicago Marathon, according to his LinkedIn account. I feel much safer without him. Remember, Dolan doesn't just own the Knicks, he owns MSG. His company "The Madison Square Garden Company" own the Knicks.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...stepping-foot-garden-report-article-1.2969466 Ex-Knicks star Charles Oakley is banned from ever stepping foot in Garden: report
James Dolan: We reported that Oakley cannot come into the Garden anymore. What's behind that? I saw lifetime ban but not necessarily a lifetime ban. Most important thing is we need to keep the Garden comfortable & safe for everyone who goes there. Anyone who comes to the Garden, whether they've been drinking too much, looking for a fight, abusive, disrespectful to staff & fans, they'll be ejected & banned. Everyone has a right to come to those games & enjoy them. No one has the right to take that away. That did happen. We'll put the ban in place, hopefully not forever. This is Charles Oakley, a popular former Knick. Worried about public opinion coming down against you? Charles is a great Knick. Let's get that off the table. I loved watching him play basketball for the New York Knicks. Fans remember how he played. He was tough & gritty. Always 110% energy. But am I concerned? Yes but at the same time, the number one concern is the safety & comfort of fans. Whether it's Charles Oakley or Charles Dolan, you do those things & behave that way, you will be banned & ejected. That is the right thing to do. I understand he was a big star & a Knick. That doesn't excuse people from that behavior. What happened on Tuesday? We've sent you some material starting to get out now. It was clear he came to the Garden with an agenda, a mission in mind. The moment he stepped into the Garden, the first set of doors, he began with this behavior. Disrespectful, stuff you don't want to say on the radio. It accelerated all the way down to his seats & ultimately a confrontation with security, leading to his ejection & arrest. Agenda to get to you? I don't know for sure. He did say a bunch of things along the way, headed in my direction. I didn't hear them myself. We heard from employees he was using my name a lot. This isn't because I'm nervous. You can't do what he did & stay. You mentioned the second he stepped foot in. We weren't perfect here. He never should have made it to his seats. That's on us. We're doing things to remedy that to make sure it doesn't happen again to anyone. We've heard from police & security he appeared to be impaired. Was staff intimidated & that's why they didn't do anything? I don't know. Never should have made it to his seats. You parted ways with VP of security of the Garden. Person didn't work out & this was the last straw. We are looking at everything we did here along the way. Afraid for your safety when he's around? No. I don't think so. He's been quoted saying things like he'd poison my food. I don't think he's serious about that stuff. When anyone famous comes to the Garden, there is heightened security around that person. ... We're always mindful of anyone who is famous that comes to the games. You were right there. Were you cringing? This was on national television. I didn't realize it was on national TV. I wasn't aware of all the stuff that happened before hand. It wasn't until it was pointed out to me he was behind us. Security came up and said there's a problem behind you, it's Charles Oakley. I said could you wait in between quarters rather than during the game. They said yes. It got worse & said do what you gotta do. He's said he's done nothing wrong. It's unbelievable. I can't explain why. We have video tape, statements. I'm sure everything we've given the press is accurate. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe he doesn't remember it? Charles has a problem. I've said it before. He's his own worse problem. He has a problem. People need to understand that. He has a problem with anger. Physically & verbally abusive. May have a problem with alcohol. Being P&V abusive are personality problem. Release at the end said he needs help is personal. We were trying to be kind. It didn't come off that way. I do think he does Charles need help. He's had many physical altercations, arrested, he's been in trouble. It stems from his anger. He's somewhat in denial. What about players speaking out? You're trying to attract free agents. First thing is about the fans. Always about the Garden being safe & comfortable. We're not willing to move from that. Other players being supportive is understandable. From being an active player to retired player is difficult. Every single one of them, look at the Rangers & Knicks alumni, we have great relationships. This is an anomaly. You won't find 10 guys saying the Knicks didn't treat me well. There might be one, maybe two during my tenure who are unhappy out of hundreds. Go ask any of them how they feel, how they've been treated. You'll hear nothing but positive stuff. Fans don't like you. They blame you. You're the evil one. You hire the wrong people. How can you be the one telling the truth. Thoughts on Knicks fan base not liking you? You'd be hard press to find a living NY team owner that the fans like. Maybe John Mara. Maybe, but only in a championship year. You know when you come into it you won't be the most loved individual. You hear it from some fans. I hear that we take the investment to the max, the game experience is as great as it can be, we spend a billion renovating MSG. I don't believe it's everyone. There is a malcontent group that is vocal & they'll always be there. Can you & Oakley get together & patch this up? Nothing would make me happier than to see Charles Oakley be at center court being honored & shaking his hand. All we need that to happen is for Charles to address these behaviors. I don't recall anything at an all-star game. He was a great Knick & we'd love to have him. He should be at center court, recognized. Fans love him. But this behavior doesn't work with that. Until he can address it & get it under control, then we won't be able to do it.
Dolan continued... Direction of your franchise? 3 years ago, I signed a contract with Phil Jackson, who has more championship rings than anyone else. We thought he was the best guy to run the NY Knicks. I made an agreement with him. I turned over the entire basketball operations to Phil & Steve. Whether I like the results or not, I'll honor that agreement all the way until the end. It's not over yet. My hope is the team will become much, much better & Phil will be successful. I recognize some 3+ years ago, running basketball OPs is not my skill set. I tried to find the best guy & many agreed. Everyone said I was going to meddle. Everyone sees I have stayed away & let Phil run the franchise & I will for the length of the agreement. How can I get anyone to come work for us if I don't honor the agreement. He's done a terrible job. He's killing Carmelo on twitter. At this point, I'm hearing from people you have to step in. No. It doesn't work that way. Still believe in him? I'm gonna honor my agreement. That's what you do. He's got a little more than 2 years left. He can continue on for the full agreement. I am not going to exercise any opt out. I will honor the agreement for the full agreement. What player will want to come play here if the president is bashing the players? Phil has total control. He'll have to address it. I will not weigh in on those things I said I wouldn't weigh in on. Want Carmelo traded? I'm not gonna go there. That's meddling with Phil. I'm not gonna do it. You don't do these interviews often. It's not my thing. Phil doesn't do interviews. OK with the tweets? Part of his agreement is he controls is own PR. It's within his control. You gave him a lot of control. Everyone was calling for it. To get a guy with 11 rings to do the job, he was right to say I need full control. We wouldn't have been able to get him. I'm not gonna bite on the bait. Some things out there: When Carmelo re-signed, you told him he had to re-sign him & when he wanted Rambis as coach, you said no. Not true. Carmelo thing not true either. It was totally up to Phil what to do. I had no idea what he was going to do. I made a point of staying away & not weighing in. Does he tell you? He submits a budget. He's stayed on target. Why now with this to not get involved? 3 years ago, if you look at where we were before, where I tried to do my best, we weren't doing well & fans were upset. Fans want a winning team. I recognized I don't have those skills. Smart thing to do as an exec. is to hire someone who's good at it, the best you can. Any concern on your part that he's the greatest coach in the history of sports but never did this job. I don't recall there being a concern. We were concerned whether he would come or not. Phil is a great basketball mind and hard for you to argue otherwise with the success he's had. Will he opt out? No indication he'll do anything but stay through the length of the contract. Does it eat at you that you haven't won since you bought the team? I'd like to win. Everyone who works with me, we want to win. Phil wants to win. Carmelo wants to win. Jeff Hornacek wants to win. They're putting all their effort & energy into it. We haven't been winning but I got the best people on it I could find. Not much more else I could do. Has he done a good job? I won't comment. From the position I'm in, Phil doesn't need to hear from me, especially through the radio. It's a five year deal. At the end of the deal, we'll see. While in his deal, I'm staying out. Oakley, If he comes to the game, he's not getting in tonight? No. Would the Knicks get him help? Absolutely. When you have issues, the first step is to ask for help. He has lots of people around him who would help him but we would too if he'd seriously address the issues. Has John Starks or Allan Houston said anything about Tuesday? They like him. They do like him but I haven't had any direct conversations. We've had a relationship with Charles since he retired & left the Knicks. Every time we've tried to patch things up with him. Every time, it ends up the same way. Abusive, disrespectful, we gave up & stopped trying to reach out for him. Now this. It's not just about me. There were security people abused, service people abused, the same people who will help fans find seats, get them food, they were abused. ... How do you bring your kids to a game if you think that's gonna happen? You don't. There was a time way back when before we took over the Garden where the Garden was a place it'd not be uncommon to see fights & rowdy behavior. We put an end to that. We aren't going back to that ever. You can bring your kids, your family, you're gonna be safe. No one will treat you like that. Bother you fans at the Rangers game chanting Charles Oakley? I noticed it. I understand it. He was a great Knick. I'd like to be chanting Charles Oakley. I do think those fans, like tonight, we'll probably hear chants but those same people should look around, look at the people working at MSG and understand the person they're chanting for was a great Knick but terribly abusive to those there to help them. When they do that, in some way, they're saying as good as you are to me, it doesn't matter to me. Take them into account, please. Those who paint you as a villain... Ask Phil. Fake news, people who chanted Charles Oakley thrown out of the Rangers game? (Laughing) No. There were a lot of them. No. That's not abusive. Nothing wrong with that. Going to the game tonight. I am. Afraid of what you might hear? Fully expect it to happen. I'll interpret it's the love of Oakley's basketball game. Level of involvement with the Rangers same with the Knicks? Glen & I & Jeff talk quite often. Glen does have the final say on all matters Rangers. Last couple days embarrassing for everyone? Charles should be embarrassed. Should we be? We're sad, not embarrassed. This is an abusive situation. The staff, the workers at MSG were abused here. If you're being abused, don't be embarrassed. Refused to be abused.
