James Dolan is the Devil and Cablevision is his hell that he wants to spread all over Long Island and New York City. Harsh you say? I do not think so. Let me explain...
I came across an awesome show on the Madison Square Garden Channel the other day. It was called, " The Spring of '94". It chronicled the run of both the New York Rangers and Knicks through the playoffs and into the Finals in their respective sports during the Spring of 1994. The Knicks lost in 7 games (John Starks) to the Houston Rockets and the Rangers broke their 54 year Cup Curse by beating the Vancouver Canucks in 7 unbelievable hockey games.
It was the year I graduated high school. It was actually the week I graduated high school that both teams were playing in their Finals. I graduated high school on June 12th, 1994 and I was sitting in a hotel room in Florida on June 14th, 1994 watching the Ranger's win the Cup that night. My buddy and I went to Florida for 2 weeks the day after we graduated and we were going to a party that night which my friend assured me the people at the party would be watching the hockey game. When we arrived they were playing SEGA hockey. Hockey had not arrived in Florida yet. There was no such thing as Florida Panther or the Tampa Bay Lightening. So we left the party and started our own back at our hotel to watch the game.
Just watching "The Spring of '94" gave me goosebumps, remembering the last time The Garden was truly alive. Those two teams had a stranglehold on NYC that Spring. That Ranger team will be remembered through the ages with names like Messier, Leetch, Richter, and Graves. And what Ranger fan is ever going to forget, "Matteau!, Matteau!, Matteau!" And even though that Knicks team lost those Finals and never did bring home a championship, they will always have a special place in my heart and I'm sure with most Knick's fans of that era too. Those battles with Chicago, Detroit, and Miami are emblazoned in my memory forever. There has yet to be a Knick team since that can compare. And even though this current incarnation of the New York Rangers gives a fan some hope for the first time in years, they have to win Lord Stanley's Cup to even be in the conversation with the '94 team.
There has yet to be a Spring like it since. Sure the Knicks made a run to the Finals in the strike shortened '99 season, and the Rangers have teased us with a one and done playoff appearance here and there, it has never been like it was. And it is no coincidence in my opinion, these dark times coincide with Cablevision and James Dolan's mishandling of all things MSG. They say when you are in a depression you have a hard time recognizing that you are in a bad place, but the people that are removed from your emotions can see it very easily in you. I was so emotionally invested in those teams at that time of my life and that combined with youthfully enthusiasm carried that emotion for years even after those teams were disbanded. It wasn't until the last 4 or 5 where I had emotionally detached from that emotion that I started to realize what a cancer James Dolan is. And it has been a combination of things that has enslaved me to my current set of emotions regarding Jimmy D.
Let's start with his ruining the brand that was the New York Knicks. I can't even bring myself to read or watch anything about this team. His loyalty to Isiah Thomas has crippled this franchise and brings to mind the beginning lyrics to Incubus' song Pistola, "On the tip of my tongue an offensive is poised and rearing, My intention a bullet, my body a trigger finger". This is a man (albeit as a player in definitely a Top 50 All Time NBAer) who has bankrupted the CBA, The Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks on top of costing his boss $10 million to cover up a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against him and Madison Square Garden. He has proven time and time gain that he doesn't care about the average fan. Doesn't care if he prices them out of game tickets. Doesn't care if he alienates an extremely loyal fan base. He is all about the what is good for Jimmy. He wants to prove that he knows what he is doing but what he keeps proving to me anyway, is that he should just stick to playing the guitar.
And he has done the same thing with the Ranger's franchise. The last year or two is the first time I have been emotionally invested in this team. But how could you not with the current group of homegrown talent? These kids play with their heart on their sleeves and blood and sweat on their jerseys. But for many years after that Cup team he has just throwing money at bloated All Stars while sacrificing youth to win something that can never be one without chemistry. And it has only been because of those horrible teams that we were lucky enough to be able to draft the current group.
And finally, lets talk about Cablevision. Growing up Cablevision is all their was (on Long Island anyway). I switched to Verizon's Fios as soon as it was available in my area. It is such a better product than than Cablevisions in both the online and television services. The user interface for Fios blows away Cablevision's unresponsive, antiquated piece of crap. But the kicker is the MSG channel. I love that New York Daily News' columnist Bob Raissman calls it the 'MSGulag Network' (Think Caligula). As Fios customer I cannot watch the MSG Channel in HD. I have to watch Ranger hockey games in Standard Def on beautifully crafted and expensive High Definition Televisions. If he was really for "the fans" he would allow all the fans to experience hockey and basketball in HD if they could not get to the games. But no, he wants to rule the television world make everybody buy his inferior product. When I had OptOnline I could not have my computer and XBox on at the same time it would totally slow the services of both of them down to an unusable level. But with Fios i can have both my computers, my smart phones, XBox and PS3 running at the same time with no lag. It is such a joy.
I will never go back to Cablevision but Jimmy has to get his head out of his ass soon and start showing the fans that he cares.
Free MSG!!!!!!
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