I bought some back in february in the low 17's and thought I'd bone up more to make it more interesting.

Say what you want about Dolan being a lousy owner but the little Phucher makes a ton of money.

Of course, If im a REAL HATER, I short the stock.

Maybe all the pundits on UK should take a long or short position and put their money with thier opinions.

They say its "about winning"..>>>>> its about money!

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 heading out to Ohio for a 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.

crzymdups wrote:tommy d: smoking the gooood stuff.

I have to say it is plausible.

crzymdups wrote:

Moonangie wrote:It's more than plausible. It's legal, which makes it almost likely. But Lebron has also repeatedly said it's a basketball decision first and foremost. But I think Tommy D. is most definitely not on crack about this thing. 2 more days.

Lebron's team has said it's all about basketball - but it's all about power. It's about getting as much power as they can and fear of losing what power they've already have.

I think one reason Maverick Carter doesn't like the Knicks is that he's afraid he'll lose his influence over Lebron in NY.

It's the reason Maverick Carter wants James to stay in CLE.

crzymdups wrote:

martin wrote:

crzymdups wrote:

Moonangie wrote:It's more than plausible. It's legal, which makes it almost likely. But Lebron has also repeatedly said it's a basketball decision first and foremost. But I think Tommy D. is most definitely not on crack about this thing. 2 more days.

Lebron's team has said it's all about basketball - but it's all about power. It's about getting as much power as they can and fear of losing what power they've already have.

I think one reason Maverick Carter doesn't like the Knicks is that he's afraid he'll lose his influence over Lebron in NY.

It's the reason Maverick Carter wants James to stay in CLE.

Yup. And World Wide Wes wants to prove he's a mover and shaker by moving him to Chicago, Miami, New York or New Jersey. It doesn't matter which one Lebron chooses, Wes has had all those teams clear space because of whispered promises.

This is going to end ugly for three of those teams.

I wouldn't go that far. There are still a LOT of other free agents out there to fill the bucket. It may be really bad for PHO, TOR, Utah who lose their FA guys for nada but we shall see.