As a chief executive of a sports operation, you'd have to say that Bob Gutkowski has a fine track record.
He was the President of Madison Square Garden during a portion of the early 1990s, and that was a very good time for New York sports. You might remember that the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994 - the only time that has happened since 1940. You also might remember that the New York Knicks reached the NBA Finals in 1995, only to fall just short in the series with the Houston Rockets. Still, there were some good times for the Knicks along the way.
In hindsight, that accomplishment of having twin winners in New York looks even better now than it did then. Perhaps Gutkowski's biggest strength was getting some strong-willed people to work together, at least temporarily.
Now, about 30 years later, Gutkowski looks back on his career in sports business with "Gut Punch." It's an easy read about some interesting times for all concerned.
Gutkowski's career dates back to 1970, when he was a page at NBC in New York. His main job was to herd crowds into programs like "The Tonight Show" and "Jeopardy." That may not sound like much, but among those who once had that job were Michael Eisner, Ted Koppel and Regis Philbin. From there things got more serious as Gutkowski worked on the business side of NBC Sports. He left for ESPN at just the right time, as the Connecticut-based network had just about figured out how to survive in a changing landscape.
From there it was on to Paramount Television, which took over Madison Square Garden, in 1985. Bob led the MSG Network for a few years and became president of Madison Square Garden in 1991. Let's face it - on the list of cool if stressful jobs, that's a pretty good one. It also supplies the meat of the book.
Cleaning up the business end of the operation was the easy part for Gutkowski, who worked to bring in top concerts and some boxing matches to the New York City complex. Getting the Rangers and Knicks to thrive was more difficult. The problem was personality clashes. In hockey, general manager Neil Smith and coach Mike Keenan didn't get along too well. OK, they couldn't stand each other. A highlight of the book was Gutkowski's meeting with the two of them early in 1994, figuring out how to help the team go on a playoff run. A flurry of trades before the deadline followed, and the Rangers went on to end a 54-year drought.
In basketball, there weren't many personalities bigger in basketball at the time than Pat Riley, and he was the coach during that era. Riley worked for general manager Dave Checketts, and they had some major disagreements as well. When the dust finally settled, Riley was off to Miami, and the Knicks' era of top-level of play ended shortly after that.
Gutkowski's stories about all of this work rather well. He also has some tales about George Steinbrenner, the late owner of the New York Yankees. Gutkowski helped negotiate a television deal between MSG and the Yankees that represented nearly a half-billion dollars in revenues .... which was good money at the time. Gutkowski also essentially had the idea for what became the YES Network. While that worked out well for the Yankees, and is still working out for the Yankees, Gutkowski didn't get a piece of the pie for his efforts and watched others profit from the concept.
You don't land jobs like these without having a bit of an ego, and that's occasionally on display here. But Gutkowski comes across here as a rational man who can laugh at himself. He'd be a good companion over a nice dinner, if this is any indication.
There are a couple of obvious problems with the book. Sports business is a rather narrow of interest for most people. especially in the parts that are more business than sports. Some may get a little lost in the discussions at that end. Meanwhile, the most interesting portions of the publication deal with matters that are 30 years old or so. That leaves out quite a number of people.
Still, it's nice to have this side of the story down on paper. "Gut Punch" goes by quickly and sticks to the subject. Those who are interested enough in Gutkowski's stories to pick the book up in the first place will be happy they read it.
Three stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com. (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn money from qualified purchases.)
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