So what’s the point of holding a news conference when the news already is out? That’s the feeling I’m having at this very moment as the entire New York media corps gathers at Madison Square Garden to hear that Larry Brown has been hired (at $10 mill per year!) as the new coach of the New York Knicks. The danger of pre-announcing the main headline lies in the fact that reporters’ questions may delve deeper into areas the Garden may not be willing or prepared to address. Of course, local TV sports producers and talent need pictures, so Larry and Isiah re-united at The Garden will nicely fill that void making the no-new-news news conference viable.
(I’d be surprised if Jim Dolan, the much-maligned (by the city’s rabid basketball and hockey fans) CEO of MSG parent Cablevision, subjects himself to the gaggle of the NY sports press.)