Outside, on Seventh Avenue, the anger was already roiling on the sidewalk, under the famous Madison Square Garden marquee. You half expected to see it advertised in bright neon colors:
WED., FEB. 22, 8:00: BILLY JOEL LIVE!
SAT., FEB. 10, 7:00: AVALANCHE VS. RANGERS!
FRI., FEB. 9, 7:40: FREE THE OAK MAN!
“The only reason I’m here,” said a 26-year old Knicks fan named Sean Coughlin, bedecked in a Knicks windbreaker over his ratty old No. 34 jersey, “is to yell Charles Oakley’s name as loud as I can, and hope someone will hear me.