Madison Square Garden goes totally vegan for Morrissey concert

Morrissey has long been an acquired taste for the casual fan and, if you were looking to sate your carnivorous taste buds at the refreshment stands during his concert at Madison Square Garden Saturday night, well ... you were out of luck.

The maudlin British singer headlined the stage and, at the performer’s stipulation, no meat was to be served inside. Morrissey, a staunch animal-rights activist, made the demand or he would cancel the show.

It was the first time the Garden's history that the arena went totally vegetarian at a performer's request.

But the ex-Smiths frontman has some of the most fervent followers in music and, even with the banning of hot dogs, chicken fingers and the like, the Moz fanatics filled the seats.

Morrissey had made the same no-meat requirement of other venues and has, on occasion, canceled shows if his request wasn’t met.

And since the fickle Morrissey regularly cancels shows (and whole tours) at a whim, munching on carrots and kale — not to mention his political crudities — seems a small price for meat-eaters to pay and see one of his transfixing live shows.

@BlondieOfficial at @MSG for Morrissey vegetarian concert no meat at Madison Square Garden! W @SoberVeganLesbi pic.twitter.com/6Y6y96RTnV

— Jane Velez-Mitchell (@JVM) June 28, 2015

And with the still tasty Debbie Harry opening, at Morrissey's request, who needed any more MSG at MSG?

Walt Frazier calls female referee 'nice-looking' during Knicks broadcast (VIDEO)

Former New York Knicks legend and current MSG analyst, Walt Frazier, who has been known to turn a phrase, found himself in a little bit of hot water after saying two words about a female NBA referee during a broadcast.

The one-time man-about-Manhattan called Lauren Holtkamp, the female referee who worked Wednesday night's Knicks loss to the Indiana Pacers, "nice-looking."

And the comment has critics screaming louder than one of Clyde's colorful suits.

Pro Basketball Talk's Dan Feldman called for punishment and CBSSports.com's Ananth Pandian used the word "inappropriate" to describe his words. Even Frazier's on-air partner Mike Breen shook his head during the broadcast exchange. 

"No, no, no, no, no," said the play-by-play man after he heard the remark.

At the time Breen was discussing Holtcamp, the first-year official who was criticized in February by Chris Paul after she handed him and his Clippers several technical fouls. Paul later said of Holtkamp, “This might not be for her,” a comment that sounded sexist to many.

Paul claimed that he was referring to her inexperience but was stilled fined $25,000 for the comment.

On the other hand, Frazier’s on-air stumbling and bumbling didn't need any explanation.

New York finally picks new D-League name and its ... the Knicks

The Madison Square Garden Company held a fan vote to name their new NBA Developmental League team, and the fans reportedly pooled their collective thoughts and came up with " The Knicks."

That's right. After two months of fan polling and contests, the Knicks introduced the minor league team to the world and the most creative name the they could come up was the oh so original: the Westchester Knicks.

What a stretch.

If the organization didn't ignore fan-inspired suggestions like the Phil Jackson Five, the Nix or the Knicks City Dancers, it must be some kind of Boston conspiracy.

The team's new logo even looks like the Patriots mascot dribbling a basketball.

Here is the #Knicks' D-League team's logo: pic.twitter.com/0aG8wlKKfG
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) May 14, 2014

James Dolan: Phil Jackson 'taught me basketball in two hours' (VIDEO)

James Dolan just revealed something that New York Knicks fans have suspected all along — the team owner didn't understand the game of basketball.

At least until spending a couple of hours with Phil Jackson— the new Knicks president.

The Knicks owner confessed in a pair of candid live television interviews during the second quarter of Wednesday night's Pacers-Knicks game that Jackson initially won him over during an impromptu basketball lesson at a mutual friend's house in December.

"He taught me basketball in two hours," Dolan told MSG's Al Trautwig.

When asked what he learned during that time with the zen master, Dolan added, "That I don't know basketball." 

The normally camera-shy Dolan later spoke to ESPN's Lisa Salters from his seat and also recalled that initial meeting.

"The way he explained the game to me, I'd never actually had anybody teach me it that way," he said. "He clearly has a level of intelligence and skill in the game that I hadn't seen before, and obviously his reputation preceded him."

Dolan also told Salters the season has been "a huge surprise, a disappointment for everybody," but added of a possible playoff berth, "We're certainly playing well enough to do so, but we've got to get some breaks along the way."

Asked about Carmelo Anthony, Dolan said, "The most important thing to him is to win a championship, so our job with him to convince him to stay is to convince him that he has a great shot of doing that. Bringing on Phil certainly helps."

Here's the ESPN interview:

Gerald Green's nasty two-handed reverse silences Knicks crowd (VIDEO)

Gerald Green took off on a fast break in the second quarter against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday, and with no defenders in sight, you knew it was showtime.

After stealing the ball, Green went up and easily threw down the two-handed reverse jam in front of the usually raucous New York crowd — but it sounds like nobody noticed. 

The Knicks went on to beat the Suns for their fifth straight victory.

First look at Madison Square Garden's 'sky bridge' seats (PHOTOS)

Knicks fans — who have gotten tired of hearing all about Barclays Center and its state-of-the-art architecture for the past year— finally have a chance to brag about Madison Square Garden after three years of renovation inside the 45-year-old structure.

Basketball and hockey fans will be “on top of the action’’ as never before at the newly revamped World's Most Famous Arena after the long-awaited debut of its sky bridge seats.

Never-before-seen photos show the centerpiece of the arena’s renovation — two revolutionary glass-walled seating “bridges” attached to the roof that hold 430 seats, reports the N.Y. Post.

The bridges include walkways behind the seats for fans to stroll along. The bridges can hold a total of 900 people who will be shelling out anywhere from $110 to $210 for the experience.

“[People] will be on top of the action as well as very close to it. There is nothing like this in the world,” said architect Murray Beynon, who headed the three-year project.

“It gets people right out there. These are the most unique seats in a sports arena anywhere in the world.”

The bridge seats are 94 feet away from the arena floor — about the same distance as existing front-row seats.A limited number of the special seats are still available.

The Garden has been shutting down for four to five months every year for the past three years to finish the billion-dollar renovation, which also includes wider concourses, mores suites and comfortable new balcony seating.

It reopens on Oct. 25 for a Knicks preseason game.

Nice. But these seats sure don't look as vertigo-inducing as the artist's rendering (below) of the walkway we were shown last year.

Knicks owner James Dolan fires MSG guard for not recognizing him

Madison Square Garden head honcho James Dolan was so offended with a security guard who didn't recognize him outside the exclusive Delta 360 Club inside the arena that he fired her right on the spot, sources told The New York Post

The hotheaded owner of the Knicks cooled his heels overnight— and he rehired the underling the very next day, said the sources.

Dolan, 57, was walking into the private club —open only to season-ticket holders an VIP guests —  during Sunday’s Knick game against the Boston Celtics when security guard Fiordaliza Hernandez asked him for his ID — which he never wears, sources said.

Instead of laughing it off, Dolan snapped, “Do you know who I am?”

The startled security guard admitted she didn’t.

Then Dolan demanded, “How long have you worked here?”

Three years, the guard said.

“I’m your boss! I pay your salary!” Dolan shot back.

Apparently the rules apply for everybody but the rock-star wannabe Cablevision boss but the steadfast Hernandez stood her ground and wouldn't let the ID-less Dolan in, said the sources.

Dolan became so irate he morphed into Donald Trump and yelled, "Give me your ID! You're fired!"

The shaken guard was sent home immediately while Dolan ranted, "I have to get new security in this building! I have idiots working here!" said the witnesses.

After Dolan reconsidered the firing, Hernandez was back on the job at a different post at the Rangers- Winnipeg Jets game.

It's funny because Dolan's blow-up comes on the heels of three season ticket holders waltzing by security into the Knicks locker room without any repercussions, according to The Post.

Hernandez was unavailable for comment while MSG spokesperson Kim Kerns said, "As a company policy, we do not comment on employee matters."

But a source told The Post, "Nobody was fired."

Too bad Hernandez wasn't around when Isaiah Thomas was sniffing around the Garden a few years ago. And where are those eavesdropping devices when you really need them?

Mike Tyson drops air bomb during halftime interview

It's not exactly the most shocking slip of the tongue in the history of celebrity interviews, but you might call Mike Tyson's on-air s---bomb during the New York Knicks halftime show a case of temporary Linsanity.

The former heavyweight champion was being interviewed by MSG Network's Jill Martin at the Knicks-Kings game when he let the four-letter word fly.

Asked by Martin what was the "dumbest money ever spent in his life," Tyson replied:  "Anything I ever had.  Anything I ever had was dumb," before laughing and blurting out "There was some dumb s---."

Tyson, who seemed to catch his verbal gaffe, sheepishly put his hand to the side of his head and moved on.

Other tidbits we found out about Tyson were that he is the proud owner of between 2,500-3,000 pigeons and thinks his hidden talent is singing but will only warble a tune for money.

One of the last questions Martin asked Iron Mike is if he had one life do-over what would it be?

"That ear thing was pretty heavy," he said referring to taking a bite out of Evander Holyfield's ear during their 1997 fight.  "I wish I could do that one over."

""You'd take that back?" asked Martin.

"Yeah," Tyson said.  "At least not his ear."

Giants Victor Cruz Shows Knicks Crowd His Salsa Moves

New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has been wowing fans with his game breaking catches and touchdown celebrations all season long.  Cruz's salsa steps done to a Latin beat have become the hit of MetLife Stadium.

On Monday night, Cruz was court side at The New York Knicks-Toronto Raptors game at Madison Square Garden and showed New York what all the excitement is all about out in New Jersey.

When Cruz was introduced to the crowd, he stood up and did his thing to the amusement of Knicks fans and, at half time, showed MSG reporter Jill Martin how to shake it herself.

The salsa is intended to be done with a partner, but when a dancer breaks off to do a solo— like Cruz does with his signature TD moves— they call it "shines" because it is your moment to shine and show off.

Cruz has been shining a lot this season and maybe it will catch on with the Knicks (2-3) who dropped the game, 90-85, to the lowly Raptors.

The 25-year-old  Paterson, N.J. native— who is part Puerto Rican— was asked by Martin what are the chances he might appear on "Dancing With The Stars."

"Slim and none," Cruz laughed.

While Cruz's dance moves have become a sensation with Giants fans, some opposing players claim he has two left feet.

Cowboys wide receiver Laurent Robinson mocked Cruz by imitating the Giant player's caliente salsa moves after the Dallas player caught a TD pass in Sunday's do-or-die game.

But Cruz had the last dance after he caught a couple of key passes that sent the Giants into the playoffs while the Cowboys two-stepped their way back to Texas.