mafra
Legend
Starting to wonder where all these "leaks" are coming from? Methinks someone in LJ's camp is toying with the media.
'He's going here, nope he's going there. Done deal.' Blah blah.
Almost like the only consistent thing in this whole ordeal is that he WONT go to NY, and that the Knicks have no legitimate chance to compete next season.
I think the KNICKS or CLE has been the choice all along for Lebron. Like the NY Dailey news reported this morning:
This is all a marketing ploy. Sort of like a race, and the Knicks are going to be "the dark horse" coming up from the outside to take the lead at the last moment. (See article below)
Rumors that LJ will go here, there, anywhere but NY only drive the stock on NY down, and LJ's camp will cash in on this scenario buying low.
LJ doesn't want it to appear that he planned all along to bolt for NY so they create this illusion.... Almost like chosing NY is the last resort, least attractive option and had nothing to do with basketball.
If he goes to CHI or MIA he attaches himself to other players, diminishing his legacy.... and it appears he escapes fro OHIO b/c he couldn't deliver a title without help.
Now it appears LJ turns down a sure title in CHI, MIA (heck, even NJ with the way this is getting out of hand).... but he goes to NY and now they'll say winning isn't important to him.
That he opted out for NYC just because he wanted to big in the big city, to elevate his brand....
And then when he turns NY around and they contend next year.... this ONLY ENHANCES his legacy. Heck, NY is the one place he can go where he wont be expected to reach the Conference finals.
Makes you think?
Lebron James isn't thinking where is the best place to win a title next season, or the next 3 years.... He has loftier expectations.... And he certainly doesn't feel like he needs to be surrounded by 3 HOF players to win. He has an ego, and feels he can make players around him better.
If the Knicks show up in CLE with Joe Johnson on board.... Lebron James will be a Knicks faster than than his team can gobble up stocks in the NYK.
------------
http://www.theknicksblog.com/2010/06/29/trust-me-theres-still-hope/#more-15759
THERE'S STILL TIME - TRUST ME
by Tommy Dee
So I?m sitting having dinner before I go on the air on The Daily Line last night, and I see at the bottom ticker on ESPN that James Dolan will be meeting with Lebron James and I got to thinking, ?this thing is a horse race.?
I thought, ?is Dolan going to Ohio national news??
Bear with me for a moment as I digress. You know that I always found the whole ?anti-Knicks? approach from the national media suspicious. Then I put my marketing hat on and I?m convinced that this thing is scripted. The Knicks will be the dark horse coming from the outside because it?s been planned for over a year to stir up interest level across each market.
Remember the Forbes article? Well, I got on the horn with a well-connected Wall Street source and, being a big Knick fan, has a handle on the CBA. I know, I know, I?ve told you that sources are lame, but hear me out. I found it more suspicious that Forbes, despite a report from Newsday, owned by (guess who) Cablevision, saying the league would have an issue, never refuted the story themselves. So the source with as much knowledge with hoops as the finance game hit me with:
You would think that a reputable publication like Forbes would correct itself. Yet, again, they never refuted.
Interesting, no? Almost as if someone cleared their proverbial throat and said??uh hum?shut up...? and let it dissolve into history.
They can also, I don?t know, own merchandise, a network, a label, etc.
This is their pitch, and it?s been confirmed through a source with direct knowledge of The Garden?s planning.
Back to the network stuff. Remember, 1050 ESPN radio casts out of 2 Penn. That initially screams business arrangement. Always has.
Another thing of note is to track Cablevision?s stock over the past few weeks. News surrounding the Knicks getting ?shut? out hurts the stock making the upside higher. MSG has rallied but the 52 week range is 16.35 ? 23.04, and it sits at 19 and change. For what it?s worth, Cablevision sold at $50 roughly in June of 1994 and close to 90 dollars per share in June of 1999. Obviously, the markets were much stronger, but you get the idea.
And let?s not forget about the renovations? impact on share price.
To me, reports are telling ESPN national followers that the Knicks are dormant, and I wouldn?t expect to change just yet. Because, like, for example, the Brett Favre situation, it?s designed to stir the pot. Get different markets jazzed. And I believe there?s an agreement to make MSG?s owner look like a hero heading into Ohio on a white horse
This is business over journalism.
The Nets, according to a source, are players, but longshots. But based on business, journalism and logic (and, again sorry, but a few sources) the Knicks are major players still, regardless of what the national media says. They want you to read. They want you to tune in.
We here want you to get the whole story.
Again, to me, Lebron isn?t going to Miami, he?s not going to Chicago. It just doesn?t make sense. Never did. It has to be NY or Cleveland, and based on the pitch they will bring Thursday, NY seems financially and business-wise impossible to resist.
Will James? We?ll see. But I don?t think he, or his team, can.
At least, that?s the way I see it. The Knicks are in a great position come Thursday. Is it a ?done deal?? No. But neither are the others.
But based on their pitch and the network coverage, there seems to be an answer to my suspicion as to why the Knicks aren?t mentioned.
At least the way I see it.
'He's going here, nope he's going there. Done deal.' Blah blah.
Almost like the only consistent thing in this whole ordeal is that he WONT go to NY, and that the Knicks have no legitimate chance to compete next season.
I think the KNICKS or CLE has been the choice all along for Lebron. Like the NY Dailey news reported this morning:
"I think that's a big mistake," said one prominent head coach. "I would never underestimate Donnie Walsh. It was a stroke of genius to get the Knicks under the cap and I would guess he did it knowing he has a strong chance of getting LeBron."
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...knicks_talk_starts_at_hawk.html#ixzz0sG7QzTVV
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...knicks_talk_starts_at_hawk.html#ixzz0sG7QzTVV
This is all a marketing ploy. Sort of like a race, and the Knicks are going to be "the dark horse" coming up from the outside to take the lead at the last moment. (See article below)
Rumors that LJ will go here, there, anywhere but NY only drive the stock on NY down, and LJ's camp will cash in on this scenario buying low.
LJ doesn't want it to appear that he planned all along to bolt for NY so they create this illusion.... Almost like chosing NY is the last resort, least attractive option and had nothing to do with basketball.
If he goes to CHI or MIA he attaches himself to other players, diminishing his legacy.... and it appears he escapes fro OHIO b/c he couldn't deliver a title without help.
Now it appears LJ turns down a sure title in CHI, MIA (heck, even NJ with the way this is getting out of hand).... but he goes to NY and now they'll say winning isn't important to him.
That he opted out for NYC just because he wanted to big in the big city, to elevate his brand....
And then when he turns NY around and they contend next year.... this ONLY ENHANCES his legacy. Heck, NY is the one place he can go where he wont be expected to reach the Conference finals.
Makes you think?
Lebron James isn't thinking where is the best place to win a title next season, or the next 3 years.... He has loftier expectations.... And he certainly doesn't feel like he needs to be surrounded by 3 HOF players to win. He has an ego, and feels he can make players around him better.
If the Knicks show up in CLE with Joe Johnson on board.... Lebron James will be a Knicks faster than than his team can gobble up stocks in the NYK.
------------
http://www.theknicksblog.com/2010/06/29/trust-me-theres-still-hope/#more-15759
THERE'S STILL TIME - TRUST ME
by Tommy Dee
So I?m sitting having dinner before I go on the air on The Daily Line last night, and I see at the bottom ticker on ESPN that James Dolan will be meeting with Lebron James and I got to thinking, ?this thing is a horse race.?
I thought, ?is Dolan going to Ohio national news??
Bear with me for a moment as I digress. You know that I always found the whole ?anti-Knicks? approach from the national media suspicious. Then I put my marketing hat on and I?m convinced that this thing is scripted. The Knicks will be the dark horse coming from the outside because it?s been planned for over a year to stir up interest level across each market.
Remember the Forbes article? Well, I got on the horn with a well-connected Wall Street source and, being a big Knick fan, has a handle on the CBA. I know, I know, I?ve told you that sources are lame, but hear me out. I found it more suspicious that Forbes, despite a report from Newsday, owned by (guess who) Cablevision, saying the league would have an issue, never refuted the story themselves. So the source with as much knowledge with hoops as the finance game hit me with:
?One of Lebron?s inner circle can take his money and invest and it?s not illegal. It?s only illegal if Lebron does purchases or if the agreement is part of the player contract. After he signs he can do whatever he wants.?
Because the players association regulates it. Which means, Team Lebron can buy fair market price and make a zillion dollars depending on how profitable the Garden is over James? tenure. Imagine that. If they all of a sudden make it to the playoffs and ultimately a championship, obviously the shares will multiply exponentially.
You would think that a reputable publication like Forbes would correct itself. Yet, again, they never refuted.
Interesting, no? Almost as if someone cleared their proverbial throat and said??uh hum?shut up...? and let it dissolve into history.
They can also, I don?t know, own merchandise, a network, a label, etc.
This is their pitch, and it?s been confirmed through a source with direct knowledge of The Garden?s planning.
Back to the network stuff. Remember, 1050 ESPN radio casts out of 2 Penn. That initially screams business arrangement. Always has.
Another thing of note is to track Cablevision?s stock over the past few weeks. News surrounding the Knicks getting ?shut? out hurts the stock making the upside higher. MSG has rallied but the 52 week range is 16.35 ? 23.04, and it sits at 19 and change. For what it?s worth, Cablevision sold at $50 roughly in June of 1994 and close to 90 dollars per share in June of 1999. Obviously, the markets were much stronger, but you get the idea.
And let?s not forget about the renovations? impact on share price.
To me, reports are telling ESPN national followers that the Knicks are dormant, and I wouldn?t expect to change just yet. Because, like, for example, the Brett Favre situation, it?s designed to stir the pot. Get different markets jazzed. And I believe there?s an agreement to make MSG?s owner look like a hero heading into Ohio on a white horse
This is business over journalism.
The Nets, according to a source, are players, but longshots. But based on business, journalism and logic (and, again sorry, but a few sources) the Knicks are major players still, regardless of what the national media says. They want you to read. They want you to tune in.
We here want you to get the whole story.
Again, to me, Lebron isn?t going to Miami, he?s not going to Chicago. It just doesn?t make sense. Never did. It has to be NY or Cleveland, and based on the pitch they will bring Thursday, NY seems financially and business-wise impossible to resist.
Will James? We?ll see. But I don?t think he, or his team, can.
At least, that?s the way I see it. The Knicks are in a great position come Thursday. Is it a ?done deal?? No. But neither are the others.
But based on their pitch and the network coverage, there seems to be an answer to my suspicion as to why the Knicks aren?t mentioned.
At least the way I see it.