GARDEN OF EDEN?
Dolan & Knicks look good in light of Net dysfunction
he Nets being swept by Boston, and the circumstances surrounding that embarrassTment,
leave the Knicks with the unique and previously unheard-of opportunity to project an air of stability moving forward.
That’s right, New York’s Most Dysfunctional Franchise, brought to you by James (Guitar Jimmy) Dolan, has, at this moment in time, lost that dubious distinction to the underachieving, high expectation, Brooklyn Nets circus.
There are ways to quantify this assertion. Like, what’s more disconcerting? Kyrie Irving trumpeting his “co-management relationship” with the Nets organization? Or Knicks boss Leon Rose , in a business-as-usual move, trying to “control” the message by granting one season-ending interview to the MSG Network, the team’s propaganda arm?
There are just too many questions surrounding the Nets. These queries will create a perception of chaos fueled by negative content and sensationally ominous back pages. Nets owner Joe Tsai and GM Sean Marks already have done everything to appease Irving. Where did it get them? What did it get them? An early playoff exit? A well-earned reputation for being weak executives unable to manage one of their superstars?
Irving repaid them by delivering his own brand of agita on and off the court. Like when he used a combination of finger gestures to clap back at Boston’s bad-mouthing fans. Irving didn’t channel his anger, if there truly was any, by doing anything inspiring on the court. Something that might have produced one measly win in the first round.
Irving saved his passion for his Twitter feed and postgame media conferences. Perhaps that’s his definition of “co-management.”
Why would anyone think the Nets brain trust will do anything but take a similar laissez- faire attitude with Ben Simmons, whose back problem and mental health issues kept him from playing in the first round? Indeed, the last time Simmons played was in 2021, in Game 7 of the conference semifinals as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. And no one on the Brooklyn side can guarantee Simmons will even be ready to play next season.
The Knicks have nothing close to resembling the Nets (Irving or Simmons) in the dysfunction department. Nor do they have Kevin Durant, the scoring machine and Nets stabilizing force. Still, after the Celtics gave Durant fits with their
bump-andgrind defense, even his performances will come under magnified scrutiny next season.
That expectations will be low for the Knicks headed into the 2022-23 season is a plus. Only one Knick, Julius Randle, is a spotlight magnet. And all this stuff surrounding the Nets made boss scribes forget about the Knicks not making the playoffs and Randle’s “disappearance” down the stretch.
And after seeing the way Steve Nash coached in the Celtics series, will Tom Thibodeau’s media detractors now admit they’re glad Dolan, Leon Rose & Co. have — so far — stayed the course, sticking with their coach?
At least Thibodeau fostered the notion of stability and hope. And that’s much better than those clouds of dysfunction that have found a home above the Barclays Center.
AN UNHAPPY CANINE
Christopher (Mad Dog) Russo’s Wednesday soliloquy about the origin of, and programming changes caused by SXM’s new “I Am Athlete Tonight” program, turned into a spiel over his own business interactions with the satellite radio company’s executives.
Russo, who has been with SXM for 13 years, must have swallowed a nostalgia gummy. He went all the
way back to when his initial fiveyear SXM contract was about to expire. “They cut me and (my agent Sandy) Montag off at the B-A-LL-S,” Russo said on the air. “(SXM senior VP) Andy Moss basically gave Montag a cigarette, blindfold, and shot him… said take it or leave it. No negotiation.”
Russo, who once upon a time actually had a say on the personnel involved in “his” Mad Dog Sports Radio channel, said he took a major pay cut, but wound-up recouping some of his dough at another outlet. “I went to MLB Network to get the cash,” Doggie explained.
Russo, through his new association with ESPN’s First Take/ Stephen A. Smith, seems refreshed. Yet he was not exactly banging the drum loudly for “I Am Athlete Tonight.” The first episode featured verbal fireworks provided by Leger Douzable, Brandon Marshall, LeSean McCoy and Adam (Pacman) Jones.
Maybe they will invite Doggie on for a guest spot.
WHAT THE FOX?
After snagging then returning golf’s U.S. Open to NBC, you would think Fox would be gun-shy about one-off programming acquisitions.
That’s why it’s strange to know this year’s Triple Crown ends NBC’s exclusive hold on all three premium races. Fox grabbed the Belmont
Stakes starting in 2023.
How one maximizes and leverages a one-off telecast is puzzling.
PRIME DOESN’T NEED PRIMETIME
Along with the NFL announcing Amazon Prime Video’s first Thursday night game (Chargers at Chiefs) comes speculation that the company wants to acquire a Black Friday tilt for major dough.
Those skeptical of APV purchasing and streaming a post-holiday game doubt, because of the NFL’s Turkey Day and weekend sked, the league could provide APV with a marquee matchup. Who says it has to be mega-marquee to attract Friday eyeballs?
Think division rivalries and big markets. Like a Jets-Patriots afternoon matchup.
That should satisfy Amazon whose priority is more about attracting a captive audience on what traditionally is the kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Besides, Amazon has already proved it will pay eye-popping money, aka whatever it takes, to acquire NFL product — no matter who the participants are.
AROUND THE DIAL
Two of the more bogus sports talk “arguments” recently surfaced. One had Valley of the Stupid Gasbags flipping out over Knicks mascot Spike Lee, wearing Brooklyn Dodgers gear, sitting courtside at Barclays for Celts-Nets. Is Lee, who resides in Brooklyn, not allowed to enter an arena when the Knicks are not playing? The other tiff, as stupid as it gets, had Gasbags arguing over whether creeps who threw debris at Guardians’ players, are “real Yankee fans?”…..
Suzyn (Ma Pinstripe) Waldman, down with COVID. Not a serious case. She will be working Yankees radiocasts remotely from home through the Toronto series, which ends Wednesday, May 4. She would rather be at a ballpark ….. Ron Darling is a lucky guy. He now gets to work with Gary Cohen (SNY) and Bob Costas (TBS), two of the most finicky play-by-play voices in the business…..Enjoying the multiple miking of players on USFL telecasts. Also, we like seeing the drones flying in and out of the picture. They remind us of pigeons, minus the poop. …..As for USFL voices, recent escapee from Giants asylum, and former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, is bringing extra energy to the NBC booth working with