Rumors

Remember LeBron James' "Decision" back in 2010? That was Rose, James' agent at the time, and Worldwide Wes. Carmelo Anthony's trade from the Denver Nuggets to the Knicks in 2011? Leon and Wes. Dolan had a good relationship with both men during Anthony's seven seasons in New York and admired the loyalty they seemed to have with clients. Dolan is a lot of things. Irascible. Unpredictable. Meddlesome. But he's also loyal. So when he went to replace Jackson in 2019, he kept coming back to the idea of Rose and Wesley -- two men he knew could handle the pressure cooker of New York and identify the type of players who could thrive in that environment, too. But maybe even more importantly, he trusted them to do it and largely allowed them to operate without interference. Those who know Dolan best say he'd simply learned from his past that ownership involvement isn't always productive. Others suggest his focus was split between the Knicks and building the Sphere in Las Vegas.

ESPN

Mike Vorkunov: James Dolan asked about SG&A costs on the Sphere Co. earnings call and he admitted he couldn't help himself. "Boy, I'm really tempted to crack a joke here. So I guess I will. So SG&A is a great basketball player. And when we get to the finals, I'm sure we're going to beat them."

x.com

Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan is looking to duplicate the success of his Las Vegas Sphere with a new, eye-popping, high-tech venue just outside Washington, DC — a massive orb-shaped arena at National Harbor backed by roughly $200 million in public and private investment. The proposed 6,000-seat venue in Prince George’s County, Md., would become Sphere’s second US location and its first scaled-down design, promising a year-round entertainment draw projected to generate more than $1 billion annually once it opens.

New York Post

The vast majority of the names on MSG's banned list belong to people like Justin Brandel: lawyers who are employed at a firm engaged in active litigation against MSG Entertainment's properties, which also includes the Beacon Theatre and Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, the Chicago Theatre, and the recently opened Sphere in Las Vegas. The list has drawn little media coverage outside of New York. But within the city's legal community, it has become something of a local legend -- the vengeful billionaire who deploys the most modern security technologies available, including facial recognition, to facilitate one of the oldest of human pursuits: settling scores.

ESPN

Phil de Montmolin: Bill Walton tribute at Dead & Company show at The Sphere in Las Vegas, 5/30/24. #BillWalton

Twitter

Speaking with CNBC host Scott Wapner last Thursday, Jonathan Boyar boldly predicted "it's likely" that after construction on the MSG Sphere is completed, "James Dolan, who controls the company, will sell the teams," - referring to both the Knicks and the Rangers. Boyar added that "private equity has gotten involved in a big way."

tommybeer.substack.com