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The vast majority of the names on MSG's banned list belong to people like Justin Brandel: lawyers who are employed at a firm engaged in active litigation against MSG Entertainment's properties, which also includes the Beacon Theatre and Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, the Chicago Theatre, and the recently opened Sphere in Las Vegas. The list has drawn little media coverage outside of New York. But within the city's legal community, it has become something of a local legend -- the vengeful billionaire who deploys the most modern security technologies available, including facial recognition, to facilitate one of the oldest of human pursuits: settling scores.
Several of the lawyers I spoke with dismissed MSG's stated reasons for the ban and suggested a more Machiavellian purpose. "It's basically designed to chill litigation against MSG -- to scare lawyers away from taking any case against Madison Square Garden or any of their entities," DePaola says. "And we think it sets a really bad precedent." That was one of the arguments that DePaola's firm made against it in court. A judge initially lifted the ban, but an appellate court reversed the decision. One attorney told me about a lawyer at another firm who wanted to join her lawsuit against the Garden, contesting its use of facial-recognition technology, but his partners made him withdraw from the case -- not because they feared Dolan's wrath, though. They just didn't want to give up their Rangers tickets. None of the lawyers I spoke with flinched at suing Dolan. If anything, the ban emboldened them.
Mike Brown was the only coaching candidate to interview for the Knicks' job multiple times, including holding meetings with Rose, the team's front office and owner James Dolan on Tuesday, sources said. The Knicks also interviewed former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, New Orleans Pelicans associate coach James Borrego and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, sources said.
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Mike Vorkunov: MSG Networks makes its debt restructuring deal official, via a SEC filing. It will reduce its annual media rights fee by 28% to Knicks and 18% to Rangers, and eliminate annual increase. MSGN also reduced rights fees to "certain other" teams. MSGN also broadcasts Sabres, Devils, Islanders, Gotham FC
The sale of the Lakers at a record $10 billion valuation has at least one activist investor wondering whether the Knicks could go for more. Boyar Value Group believes the Knicks are leaving billions of dollars in value on the table by being part of Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation, a publicly traded entity that also owns the Rangers. Boyar Value, a shareholder in MSG Sports, urged James Dolan in a Tuesday statement to consider splitting up the company or even selling the Knicks outright.
The statement notes that while Forbes estimates the Knicks’ value at $7.5 billion and the Rangers’ value at $3.5 billion, MSG Sports trades at an enterprise value of $5 billion. As of Thursday morning, MSG Sports’s enterprise value was actually at more than $6 billion, perhaps due to a stock bump that can in part be attributed to enthusiasm about the teams’ value after the Lakers deal. “The Lakers sale highlights how cheap MSG Sports is relative to the value of its assets,” Jonathan Boyar, president of Boyar Value, tells Front Office Sports. “It’s a clear [comparison]. Both don’t own the arena, both are marquee assets with rich histories in major media markets.”
In an open letter published days before the press release, Boyar emphasized that a spin-off shouldn’t be unfamiliar to Dolan and the MSG Sports board, which includes six other Dolan family members. MSG Sports itself was created through a 2020 spin-off, and Sphere Entertainment—owner of the Las Vegas venue—was spun out from MSG Entertainment in 2023. Boyar says Dolan “has a fiduciary duty to shareholders and he should start acting that way,” although he admits he gives Dolan credit that “the right move thus far has been not to sell the team. Look how much it appreciated in value.”
Chris Mannix: We're going to get two expansion teams probably in the next three years. I think the NBA is going to step on the gas with the expansion now that the [Golden State] Warriors sold for $10 billion. Bill Simmons: You know who’s roadblocking them right now? James Dolan. Yeah, he's got a little cabal of anti-expansion owners that he's trying to rally—just because he doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want to share the media rights. Chris Mannix: James Dolan doesn’t want to share anything. He votes “no” at every single Board of Governors meeting. Go back and look at some of these meetings—how many of them are 29–1? He sends his consigliere in because he doesn’t really go to vote. Bill Simmons: I think he has a couple people this time, though. I think this expansion— Yeah, I think this expansion thing is a little—not enough—well, a little more complicated than people are giving it credit for.
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Mike Woodson a 'wild card' for Knicks head coach job
The New York Knicks are striking out with all their current NBA head coach targets right now, so they may have to turn to a former one. Ex-Knicks head coach Mike Woodson is considered to be a “wild card” for the job, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reported Wednesday during an appearance on the “Knicks Film School” podcast. Begley says that the Knicks will likely “at least have a conversation” with Woodson and notes that Woodson has good relationships with Knicks owner James Dolan, president Leon Rose, and executive William Wesley.
James Dolan spearheaded Tom Thibodeau's dismissal
What was clear was Thibodeau’s firing being spearheaded by Knicks owner James Dolan, sources told Yahoo Sports. Dolan and team president Leon Rose held exit meetings with key Knicks players and the complaints were clear. Dolan, whom sources said was never a huge Thibodeau fan through the years, asked the questions in the meeting while Rose took a secondary role.
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