Knicks owner James Dolan was not in his customary baseline seat at the Garden last night. And by tonight, Dolan, in a raging feud with his father Charles, may not be in his customary role as Knicks owner.

The future of James Dolan's role in Cablevision and whether the corporation will sell the Knicks and Rangers is expected to be hashed out today in Palm Beach, Fla., during a big board of directors meeting.

A Garden spokesman would not comment last night on the agenda for the meeting or whether the Knicks will be put on the block by Cablevision.

Crain's New York Business reported on its website last night that Jets owner Woody Johnson and former Yes Network honcho Leo Hindery might be interested in purchasing the Knicks if Cablevision puts them up for sale. Johnson and Dolan have warred over the West Side Stadium proposal.

The chaos at Cablevision didn't stop Dolan from taking on $30 million more in future payroll Feb. 24 at the trading deadline in two roundly criticized deals. An impending ownership change could hurt the Knicks' chances in the Phil Jackson Sweepstakes.

Last week's Cablevision purge saw three board members ousted and four new members added, including Rand Araskog, who once owned the Knicks as head of ITT in the 1990's.

Analysts have speculated the new blood was brought in to decide whether Cablevision should sell its sports properties such as the Knicks, Rangers and the Garden. Estimates are the sports entities could be worth $2 billion.

James Dolan raised eyebrows last month when he left open the door to stepping down as Knicks owner. Reports of a feud with his father have been rampant.

When asked if he expected to remain owner, Dolan said: "Now that's a really good question. As far as I know I'm going to be. Do you ever read the rest of the newspaper you write for? It's called he business section. If you read that, the company is clearly going through changes. I know of no plan to change the ownership for the Knicks or change my position at my Garden. I would have something to say about it if we did. But we've had no discussions about that. "

A top media investment banker said in Sunday's Post on the father-son feud: "There is some Greek tragedy in here . . . The patriarch, Chuck, feels that the people he created and nurtured, like his son Jimmy, have turned on him."