Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks
Book by Chris Herring
DETAILS
Publisher : Atria Books (January 18, 2022) Language : English Hardcover : 368 pages ISBN-10 : 1982132116 ISBN-13 : 978-1982132118 Item Weight : 1.2 pounds Dimensions : 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches Best Sellers Rank: #17,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #15 in Basketball Biographies (Books) #89 in United States Biographies #133 in U.S. State & Local History , INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A SELECTION ON BARACK OBAMA’S SUMMER READING LIST The definitive history of the 1990s New York Knicks, illustrating how Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason resurrected the iconic franchise through oppressive physicality and unmatched grit. For nearly an entire generation, the New York Knicks have been a laughingstock franchise. Since 2001, they’ve spent more money, lost more games, and won fewer playoff series than any other NBA team. But during the preceding era, the Big Apple had a club it was madly in love with—one that earned respect not only by winning, but through brute force. The Knicks were always looking for fights, often at the encouragement of Pat Riley. They fought opposing players. They fought each other. Hell, they even occasionally fought their own coaches. The NBA didn’t take kindly to their fighting spirit. Within two years, league officials moved to alter several rules to stop New York from turning its basketball games into bloody mudwrestling matches. Nevertheless, as the 1990s progressed, the Knicks endeared themselves to millions of fans; not for how much they won, but for their colorful cast of characters and their hardworking mentality. Now, through his original reporting and interviews with more than two hundred people, author Chris Herring delves into the origin, evolution, and eventual demise of the iconic club. He takes us inside the locker room, executive boardrooms, and onto the court for the key moments that lifted the club to new heights, and the ones that threatened to send everything crashing down in spectacular fashion. Blood in the Garden is a portrait filled with eye-opening details that have never been shared before, revealing the full story of the franchise in the midst of the NBA’s golden era. And rest assured, no punches will be pulled. Which is just how those rough-and-tumble Knicks would like it. Read more
REVIEW
Though I’m an old Grandpa… I spent over half my life playing high level competitive basketball… and longer than that watching and going to NBA games… over a quarter-of-a-century before the 1990’s New York Knicks. When I played at every level… and every game I watched… you needed two things to not only compete… but to be allowed to stay on the court… a spine… and cajones! When I raised my son and taught him how to play hoops… “OUR-FAMILY-MANTRA”… ON AND OFF THE COURT WAS… “YOU EARN YOUR BONES UNDER THE BOARDS!” Around the time that these Knick teams were making the rest of the league shake in their boots… and when every Knick opponent knew… when they came to play the 90’s Knicks… they didn’t just need to bring their lunch bucket… THEY NEEDED TO BRING A VERY LARGE FIRST AID KIT! Then NBA commissioner David Stern… started his massive de-boning and gentrifying of the mano-a-mano “gladiator” sport… and in its wake… leaving a game behind that if you breathed on someone it was a foul… and players started dancing… and literally howling at the moon like a rabid werewolf… and actually… (I still can’t even begin to fathom this!) constantly giving each other high-fives when they MISS FREE THROWS! The author… Chris Herring… does an absolutely… classic… professional… detailed… pull no punches… look at the last team that not only left “BLOOD-IN-THE-GARDEN”… but blood AND TEETH… at every arena in the league. From the time Pat Riley took over a terrible Knicks team… with terrible losing records… and thousands of empty seats at the most famous sports arena in the world… Madison Square Garden… to their resurrection as a legitimate and feared championship contender with over FIFTEEN-THOUSAND-FANS… on a waiting list for season tickets. Forget the physical fear and tolls that the Knicks rained down on their competitors… their practices from the very first day of training camp became blood baths… akin to feeding the Christians to the Lions… except the Christians and the lions… were on the same New York Knicks team. The author does a stupendous job of telling the intimate story of not only the overall team… but digs microscopically deep… into the lives on and off the court of “Knick-combatants” such as Patrick Ewing… the toughest of the tough… Charles Oakley… John Starks… Anthony Mason… Xavier McDaniel… and innumerable others who became teammates and fodder without mercy. I cannot heap enough praise on the author for seamlessly combining published information from the actual time of the games… but also with interviews years later… as time allows not only 20/20 hindsight… but the ability to admit mistakes… accomplishments… observations as to how they wished certain things could have been different. What puts this unvarnished… yet at the same time highly-polished literary gem above other sports books… is that it not only painstakingly describes the mayhem on the court… but takes just the right amount of time to integrate what made these gladiators and madmen into the resulting individual. One of the most intriguing expose’s is the life of Anthony Mason… an extremely unique… talented… overly flawed human being. Though I knew in extreme depth… not only what made Pat Riley… Pat Riley… as a man… a player… and a coach… especially as the coach of the Showtime Lakers… and coach and executive of the Miami Heat… this is an extreme unveiling of how… if nothing else his success with the Lakers (where he eventually wore out his welcome… as he would with the Knicks) allowed him to be even more “over –the- edge” in his demands to the owners as well as the players. But it is a lifelong testament how one coach could lead a team of finesse like the Lakers… and then create “MURDERERS ROW” with the Knicks on the court! It of course continues on with Jeff (I am now happy being a clown on NBA telecasts) Van Gundy… following in Riley’s wake down the road. I would like to acknowledge one very special and heartfelt thing the author included… that probably ninety-five-per-cent of readers didn’t even see… or absorb… let alone acknowledge… that absolutely touched my heart… because I have had the same exact sentiments regarding my dear departed Parents for over forty-years… and that is the following note that author Chris Herring included before you even got to the table of contents: ***”FOR MARSHA AND CEDRIC HERRING, THE BEST PARENTS I EVER COULD’VE ASKED FOR, ALL I’VE EVER WANTED IS TO MAKE YOU PROUD, AND I PRAY I’M DOING THAT NOW. UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN. I LOVE YOU”*** G-d Bless Chris… I’m sure they’re proud as can be… based on this book alone… and these words of love and gratitude!
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