If you think anyone was left off the Hall of Fame, send me an email to michaelfowler@iheartmedia.com. Also, who cares.
Welcome to another edition of the Weekly Roundup, where we take everything from this week on Fox Sports Radio you might have missed and recap it in one place. You joined at a very good time, as today we honor (possibly the wrong word) Knicks owner James Dolan by inducting him into the Sports Talk Radio Hall of Fame.
Now, this isn't for guys who perform well on the radio, and you would know that if you listened to Dolan possibly butcher an interview worse than any owner not named Donald Sterling in NBA history. This special group is dedicated to all those members of the sports world who have come through at times when there was nothing to talk about. If you notice the craniums on display in the image above, members of this prestigious group include Terrell Owens, Lochte, Tebow, Linsanity, Kaepernick, Dickerson, Fisher, and Ochocinco. That's just all I could think of to start.
Time to recap the entire saga with the help of our Fox Sports Radio hosts. Buckle up, let's go.
#Knickstape
As my grandfather once said to me when I was a young boy, every good story starts with Bleacher Report.
This entire thing started on the cellular phone of the winningest head coach in NBA history, Phil Jackson. Crazy when you think about it that way. He read an article by Kevin Ding that highlighted factors such as selfishness, disinterest, and misguided priorities as to why Carmelo Anthony has not been a winner during his time with the New York Knicks. Jackson tweeted out his praise for the article, and endorsed it in a way that baffled sports fans. Ben Maller actually believes the story was planted. It made no sense why Jackson would do this.
Then came Wednesday night.
Charles Oakley, a ten year Knicks veteran of the past and very much a fan favorite for his representation of the old Knicks dominance, strolled into Madison Square Garden with his friends reportedly seeking out James Dolan. Mayhem ensued, as you can see clearly from these incredible videos.
Now, instant reaction was very much different from current opinion. The only facts we know was that we saw a massive former player going fisticuffs with arena security in front of an entire nation on national television. We had Knicks PR putting out statements that JT The Brick felt were incredibly accusatory when they finished with the sentence 'we hope he gets some help', and it very much looked like a player on the edge of a sad delirium had had a 'freak out' in front of our eyes. Clay Travis even said that Charles Oakley was wrong, which still could be pointed out after everything that has unraveled. It was a bad night for Oak.
But then something started happening.
Instant Headlines in New York
After Charles Oakley (and his wife) began to point out that the former player did not need help in his personal life as Knicks PR so forcefully stated, questions started being asked of the way James Dolan and the Knicks handled the entire situation.
Blame started to shift.
Why was Oakley engaged with security in the first place? What did he do that set the whole thing in motion? Why were the Knicks seeking legal action and putting out these hateful PR messages?
Here is where the entire scenario flipped on it's head. When New York faithful started hitting the radio airwaves the day after the incident to heap praise on Charles Oakley for standing up to a tyrant owner of a floundering franchise, the entire court of public opinion stared Dolan right in the eyes.
And he blinked.
First it was Reggie Miller appearing on The Dan Patrick Show to give the character of Charles Oakley a much needed boost. He legitimized the idea that many players had said in passing, that Oak was a great guy and a legendary figure.
Second, Knicks faithful fanboy Michael Rapaport joined Colin Cowherd and debated the point that Oakley was to blame for the whole thing. He was masterful in his description of New York basketball as a train-riding group of die-hards who love the hard working Oakley.
Coming over the top rope to put the finisher on Dolan's stance as the victim was New York sports fan Jason Smith, who said that Dolan will not stop until the Knicks Ship is at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
America now had all it needed to stage a level 5 revolt against Dolan. The team was bad, the future looks grim, and he is tweeting about his band from the personal Knicks account. Dan Beyer even called it the 'Most Knicks Thing Ever' which could not be more accurate. It was all set to take off and just needed one more push to send it flying off the edge.
Who could have guessed that Dolan himself would be the one to provide it.
Pictured above is a binder with the word 'Preparation' on it. James Dolan had it with him today when he provided the nation with one of the most hilariously bad interviews of all-time, by the end of which he had labeled Oakley an alcoholic, sexist, and abusive towards members of the Knicks personnel.
Try and picture good old Jimmy Dolan, in his office, with a binder in his hand.
That binder contains his notes for the interview that will more than likely see him wind up in court very soon. Now, picture Dolan typing out the word 'Preparation' in standard font on Microsoft word, hitting the enter key five times, centering the paragraph, and increasing the font size.
Jimmy Dolan now prints that paper and walks over to the printer to pick it up.
He carefully takes the piece of paper and attempts to slide it into the front of the binder underneath that clear sheet of plastic that always has a lot of static charge. He struggles with it a bit, gets the paper halfway and the corner catches on the plastic.
That stupid plastic.
Finally, as Dolan is just about to get the paper in the plastic he suddenly realizes that he would much rather literally set himself on fire. So he does that instead.
The piece of Dolan's interview where he accused Oakley of being an alcoholic is the first part I want to address here in this space. Not only is Oakley not an alcoholic as Dolan stated to AMERICA, but he is currently helping former rival Jayson Williams battle addiction. This video sadly did not fit in Dolan's binder.
So there you have it. From a cryptic Phil Jackson tweet to a New York jail cell to James Dolan making a fool of himself on national television, the Knicks have done enough to deserve an entry into the Sports Talk Radio Hall of Fame. Since Dolan is so insistent on being the face of the franchise, he gets the nomination. Here are a few quick hitters:
- Steve Gorman lays out how the Knicks will never win again with Dolan as the owner.
- Rich Eisen will never set foot in MSG again as long as Dolan is the owner
- Chris "Mad Dog" Russo joined Rich Eisen today to break it down like a true New Yorkah
- BUY A T SHIRT
Another week is in the books, and we thank you so much for being with us for every step of it. Tune in next week, as we recap whatever Mark Cuban does to take the spotlight back from another NBA owner.
As always, it was nice to meet you.
by Michael Fowler (@mikeyfowler18)