Sports Poets Society

‘It’s the Knicks versus the refs.  It’s not even the Knicks versus the Spurs.’     - JUAN HERRERA, 20, who watched       at a bar in Pennsylvania Station. The New York Times Mercoledì 10 Giugno 2026 Pagina 30 As the Knicks have romped through the N.B.A. playoffs this spring, their embattled fans, desperate for their beloved team’s first title in more than 50 years, wondered what — if anything — could spoil the good vibes. For many New Yorkers, the arrival of President Trump, who attended Game 3 of the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, seemed like an answer. Heightened security at the arena meant that some fans waited more than an hour to enter. Entire blocks nearby were closed to pedestrians. The popular watch party outside the Garden was canceled because of safety concerns. The fans in deep-blue New York City responded with rancor. Trump smiled and saluted in the face of deafening boos when he briefly appeared on the arena’s video board durin...

Tania Ganguli, Santul Nerkar The New York Times - Lunedì 8 giugno 2026 Pagina 34 It has been nearly 10 years since Charles Oakley, the beloved Knicks enforcer from the 1990s, was forced out of his courtside seat at Madison Square Garden while fans chanted his name, then arrested as he protested. A war of words with the team’s owner, James L. Dolan, followed, Oakley was briefly barred from the arena and he sued. That ban is no longer in place, but the lawsuit continues. And Oakley has not been back to the Garden since then. Now, as the Knicks have made a thrilling run to the N.B.A. finals, he has mostly watched from afar. “It’s a situation that should have been solved a long time ago from the guy who owns the team,” Oakley said, accusing Dolan of “running a plantation.” The team has long employed a slogan, “Once a Knick, always a Knick,” to celebrate its former players. At Madison Square Garden, the alumni sit close to the court where they once competed, feted with boisterous cheers fro...