City Beat

Class work of Multimedia Reporting students

NBA Lockout: Before and After

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On Monday October 10th 2011, after hours of tireless labor meetings, NBA commissioner David Stern unveiled the unfortunate news that the first two weeks of NBA regular season games have already been canceled.

Although this decision was expected by most since preseason games had already been canceled, many NBA fans and employees were still heartbroken by the news. This time of year is usually intended for evaluating rosters and building enthusiasm towards the upcoming season but this year the only question being asked is, will we have a season at all?

In New York the mood is a somber one as fans around the city are preparing for life without basketball. Whether its the Knicks or St Johns, winter time in New York is always filled with great basketball action, however this year the Knicks will not be taking the Garden floor anytime soon. The timing of this lockout could not be worse simply because the Knicks are finally relevant for the first time in almost a decade and their starving fan base was excited for the season.

Not only will this lockout effect the diehard and well-paying Knick fans, but the people who will suffer most will be the Madison Square Garden employees and those that depend on NBA games to make living such as ticket sellers and street venders.

“It will definitely hurt our industry,” said Anthony DeMarco, a 31-year-old employee for Stubhub.com. “ When your business depends on the buying and selling of tickets, missing games can be devastating to your profit,” said DeMarco.

The lockout is going to cause problems for many people behind the scenes of the NBA , something that the players and the owners do not seem to concerned about. While the fans will suffer due to lack of basketball, others will suffer due to lack of income.

“The working class people are set to lose the most from this lockout,” said Patrick Donovan a 27-year-old Lawyer and life long NBA fan. “While the extremely wealthy owners negotiate with the disgustingly rich players, most of the employees of the NBA are common workers who are greatly dependent on their jobs,” said Donovan.

Donovan is emphasizing the point that the NBA lockout is negatively affecting many of the working class people who are involved with the day-to-day operations of the league.

The NBA lockout is particularly damaging to a city like to New York simply because New York City has always been considered the “Mecca” of Basketball. Fans of the NBA across the country will be heartbroken but New York fans might feel it worse as the Knicks who had been greatly disappointing over the past few years were finally ready to make a return to relevance.

In the wee hours of the morning on Saturday, November 26th, after 15 hours of negotiations the NBA lockout finally came to an end. Groups of NBA players and owners argued deep into the night and in a last ditch effort to save the season, came to a tentative labor agreement.

With the news of the lockout being over, Knick fans and NBA all around the country were finally able to rejoice. In an offseason that had been filled with talks of money and greed, talks could now change towards discussing the X’s and O’s of the sport.

As whole everyone involved is thrilled to have an NBA season but the fans are more excited than anyone. New Yorkers were close to facing a cold harsh winter without the warmth of watching their favorite team play.

“I felt like partying when I heard the news,” said Charlie Moore, a 22-year-old self-proclaimed basketball fanatic. “I truly thought the season was going to be canceled,” said Moore, ‘When I found out that the season was saved, it felt like Christmas had come early.

Fans like Moore consider basketball and watching the Knicks as a way to get through the boredom and depression of winter.

“It looked like it was really going to be a long winter, but now I feel like there is something to look forward too.” said Moore.

Other fans like 26-year-old Knicks season ticket holder Nick Pisco have a different feeling toward the lockout being over. “I wouldn’t say that I’m excited as much as I am relieved,” said Pisco, “I was debating canceling my season tickets due to the lockout but thankfully I don’t have to think about that anymore.”

For the fans that endured 149 days of grueling and arduous labor negotiations, it is finally time to put that in the past and focus on the upcoming season. The NBA season is set to start on Christmas day and New Yorkers could not be happier.

 

 

Ed McGuckin: Bronx Born Wrestler

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Johnpaul Nocerino
Profile

Ed McGuckin remembers his childhood in the Bronx when he and his friends would wrestle on old mattresses in his backyard.That passion for wrestling never left as the 27-year-old McGuckin turned his pro-wrestling dream into a reality.

As a child, McGuckin was always fascinated by the world of professional wrestling. Whether is was staying up late to watch WWF monday night raw or wrestling with childhood friends in his backyard, wrestling had always been a part of his life.

“I wanted to be a wrestler for literally as long as I could remember, some of my earliest memories as a kid were of watching wrestling,” said McGuckin.

McGuckin hangs around the neighborhood, working out at the gym near his house and
drinking at the local pubs. His friends know him as Ed, a guy from the neighborhood, but his fans know him as “Jigsaw”, a high-flying, trash talking masked wrestler.

“It’s hard for me to take him seriously when I see him wrestling,” said Edward Hogarty a childhood friend to McGuckin. “His mask is supposed to be intimidating but I know it’s just Ed under there and it actually makes me laugh, said Hogarty.

McGuckin attributes his passion for wrestling to some of his childhood idols such as the loud and flamboyant “Ultimate Warrior”. “Seeing guys like warrior wrestle would always get me so pumped up as a kid,” said McGuckin. As he got older, McGuckin expanded his wrestling fandom to other forms outside of the WWF such as Lucha Llibre style of Mexico and companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling which enriched his love for the sport. “This was some of the most athletic wrestling I had ever seen and I was hooked,” said McGuckin.

McGuckin began to explore the possibility of becoming a wrestler when he tore his Achilles tendon in high school and was forced to give up playing basketball and football. “ I had always been a huge fan of pro wrestling so the idea of one day stepping foot inside the ring was always in the back of mind, but I always assumed it was a longshot,” said McGuckin.

After his Achilles had healed, basketball and football seasons had already passed and McGuckin was left looking for a new way to stay in shape until the upcoming basketball season. “In an act to just keep active I found a pro wrestling school, at the time it was just for fun and to kill time until I could play basketball again but I became hooked and never played high school sports again, I was fully engulfed in the pro wrestling world,” said McGuckin. After joining “Chikara Wrestling” based in Philadelphia, McGuckin decided to give pro wrestling a real chance as a career.

McGuckin’s wrestling career would then take off as he became “Jigsaw” a name he claims was given to him by wrestling buddy Mike Quackenbush of Chikara Wrestling. “Jigsaw” started gain fans in the underground wrestling world and McGuckin began wrestling for any company that was interested.

Certain rigors come with the life of a professional wrestler. Traveling is obviously one major aspect of professional wrestling that would keep some people from pursuing there dreams. McGuckin has a different approach to the traveling he has done as a wrestler.

“I feel extremely lucky and grateful for this path I’ve chosen because I don’t know if I would have ever left the tri-state area if not for the opportunities wrestling has given me,” said McGuckin. McGuckin has wrestled in 31 states as well as Europe, Mexico and Canada. At the end of November, McGuckin will be embarking on his first voyage to Japan. He is scheduled to spend three weeks in Japan touring with Osaka Pro Wrestling.

As a career, McGuckin has been able to support himself fairly well as a professional wrestler, especially when he wrestled for “Ring of Honor” a more high profile wrestling company. “ I’ve been able to get by financially but there really isn’t a 401K or retirement plan in this business and if you want to survive you need to very smart with the money you make,” said McGuckin. McGuckin also works part time as a personal fitness trainer and was an elevator operator for a private building in Manhattan as he took time off from wrestling this past summer.

Unfortunately, McGuckin understands that he will someday have to give up wrestling. “ I do plan to stop, I love pro wrestling and everything its given me but at the same time no ones body is meant to do this forever, the body breaks down, this business cripples people, I’ve set a plan to make sure I get out before my body tells me I have to get out.” said Mcguckin.

McGuckin now has fans from all over the country and even had his own action figure made. According to McGuckin however, it is the love of the sport that brings all the joy. “Pro wrestling has taken me places around the world I would never thought possible, I met great friends and childhood idols, I love this business because there is simply nothing else like it, every bump and bruise has been rewarded with accomplishments and friendships that I would never give up for anything in the world,” said McGuckin.

Paper Ideas

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1. The main topic I would like to cover is the impact that the NBA lockout is having and will continue to have on New York City. Without a NBA season, fans, merchants, and the entire city could suffer. I can interview shop owners and street venders near Madison Square Garden that depend on the crowds from Knick games. I can also interview fans that would be heartbroken to lose a season where the Knicks are finally set to have a good year.

2. Another potential topic can be the ban on smoking in parks. I think this topic would be interesting simply because most people dont respect the law. I can interview people I see smoking in parks and possibly police officers who are not giving out tickets for the offense.

Nicky’s BBQ and Beer Garden

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Near the corner of East Tremont Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard overlooking the Cross-Bronx expressway sits Nicky’s Bar-B-Que and Beer Garden. This new Bronx bar is quickly gaining popularity and creating quite a stir in the neighborhood. This beer garden is the first of its kind in the borough and is sure to be the venue for many exciting events in the future.