Fansided

James Dolan tells Rangers player to come see his band play or he’ll ‘forget’ to pay him

By Stanford Crissey

Jun 13, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New York Rangers right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) before game five of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 13, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; New York Rangers right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) before game five of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

James Dolan really wants the Rangers’ Mats Zuccarello to come see his band

We’ve all been there: “Come see my band!” No matter which side of that statement you find yourself on, it’s always a little awkward. That goes double when the person is asking is your boss, and quadruple when he says if you remember to come, he’ll remember to pay you.

New York Knicks and New York Rangers owner James Dolan crashed an interview with the Mats Zuccarello, who was doing an interview with Nettavisen, a newspaper from his native Norway. In comes Dolan, who also owns the New York Knicks, to add that he expects to see Zuccarello at a blues festival in Norway this summer, to see Dolan’s band, JD and the Straight Shot.

Zuccarello told Dolan he would have to be reminded to come. Dolan apparently responded, apparently joking, that if Zuccarrello remembers to come, Dolan will remember to pay him.

That’s some pressure right there.

You may think Dolan is joking, but this band is serious business.

Nice how Dolan assumes his Norwegian player will be down to be anywhere in Norway where his boss’s band happens to be playing.

Involving players on his teams with his band is nothing new for Dolan; he once somehow roped Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire into playing kazoo on stage with JD and the Straight Shot. Zuccarello should at least be grateful he wasn’t asked about his kazoo skills.

As SNY notes, interestingly enough, Dolan’s band isn’t even listed on the lineup for the blues festival he was talking about; the band’s website doesn’t list it either.

Did Dolan just totally make this up? Is he trying to send Zuccarello to some remote location to see a nonexistent show so he doesn’t have to pay him? That’s more devious than I would expect from Dolan.

Or did Dolan just make the executive decision that his band is playing the festival, schedule be damned? Is he planning on showing up and crashing the stage to play, with a couple of hockey players armed with kazoos in tow?

After the season Dolan’s Knicks have had, a trip to Norway is just what he needs. Maybe he can invite Derek Fisher, then “accidentally” leave him behind. I’m just going to assume that this blues festival is a cover for some evil plan of Dolan’s, until proven otherwise.

More from FanSided

Home/New York Rangers