Latest news with #Giannotti
New York Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Gregg Giannotti claps back at Carl Banks over fiery Karl-Anthony Towns take as feud escalates
Gregg Giannotti fired back at Carl Banks on Tuesday after the Giants legend criticized the WFAN host for calling Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns a 'loser' on Monday's show. Giannotti, who co-hosts 'Boomer and Gio' on WFAN with Boomer Esiason, opened Tuesday's show defending his take and expressing shock over the strong reaction from Banks. Advertisement 'I wasn't making it personal about Karl-Anthony Towns. He assumed I did,' Giannotti said. 'Then he made it personal about me. The same way that Carl Banks feels about us, meaning talk show hosts who didn't play [professional sports]. How you guys can't evaluate sports because you didn't play, is the way I feel about Carl Banks when he starts chiming in on stuff like this. Leave this stuff up to us. 'The way you don't respect our opinions on sports. I don't respect your opinions on media, because he's not very good at it. He doesn't understand. His comprehension was terrible yesterday, and he spent years on this radio station putting people to sleep.' The original comments made by Giannotti ignited a firestorm of responses, including a blistering take from Banks. Advertisement 'This is genuinely pathetic,' Banks wrote Monday on X alongside a social media clip of Giannotti talking about Towns. 'Calling a man you've never met a 'loser' says far more about you than it ever could about him. I've known Kat and his family since he was a kid — there's absolutely nothing about him that resembles a loser. Try being a better human instead of broadcasting this ignorant s–t.' 3 Gregg Giannotti elaborated on his fiery Karl-Anthony Towns take. WFAN/X 3 Carl Banks dubbed the WFAN host 'pathetic' in response to his take on Karl-Anthony Towns. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST Advertisement Giannotti contended that he never commented on Towns as a person and that his comments were strictly about the Knicks star's performance on the court. Banks has a bit of a frosty relationship with WFAN after he had a very public split from the station, where he had done regular appearances. Banks and midday hosts Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata had gotten into a heated debate over Kayvon Thibodeaux in 2023 that ended with Licata cutting the conversation short by telling his producer to bring the former footballer's phone line down. 3 Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks fell to the Pacers in Game 6 on May 31, 2025. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Advertisement He resigned from his weekly spot on WFAN after the incident, despite the best efforts of station management to mediate the situation.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Carl Banks rips WFAN's Greg Giannotti for Karl-Anthony Towns ‘loser' comment: ‘Ignorant s–t'
Giants legend Carl Banks called out WFAN host Greg Giannotti for his take on Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns following the weekend's season-ending Game 6 loss to the Pacers to end their season in the Eastern Conference finals. Giannotti called Towns a 'loser' and described him as 'soft' during Monday's 'Boomer and Gio,' which the station clipped and added a graphic that labeled Towns as 'LOSER KAT!' The clip caught the attention of Banks, who had appeared regularly on a different WFAN program before ending the relationship in 2023, and the former Giants linebacker was not amused by Giannotti's take. 'This is genuinely pathetic. Calling a man you've never met a 'loser' says far more about you than it ever could about him,' Banks posted on X in response. 'I've known Kat and his family since he was a kid—there's absolutely nothing about him that resembles a loser. Try being a better human instead of broadcasting this ignorant s–t.' Banks' opinion seemingly split users on the social media platform, with some appreciating his opinion while others didn't seem to have an issue with the way Giannotti described Towns during the segment of the show. Retired Giants linebacker Carl Banks attends a game between the St. John's Red Storm and the New Mexico Lobos at Madison Square Garden, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST 'He's making $50 million a year. And at the core, he's a loser. That is their biggest problem. The guy is a loser. He's a losing player. He complains. He's soft,' Giannotti said about Towns. 'He shows you flashes where he's the best player on the court. Not enough. He doesn't play defense. He bitches and moans. He is, up until this point in his career, a loser, who is making $50 million, who is going to be a logjam as far as them trying to get to the next level. 'He is getting the point, now, as one of the most frustrating players I have ever watched in the uniform of a team that I root for because I know how good he can be. And it's just so damn annoying watching him not realize his full potential.' Towns' performance on the court has garnered plenty of attention in the wake of the Knicks' elimination from the playoffs and he's sure to be a topic of conversation on the airwaves for a little bit in New York. Giannotti did respond to Banks' post as well in a seemingly somewhat sarcastic fashion. 'Great to hear from you, killer. You still owe me 500 bucks from an appearance I did for you in 2010 in Pittsburgh,' the WFAN host wrote back on X. Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) scores against the Indiana Pacers during the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the NBA basketball Eastern Conference final, Thursday, May 29, 2025. AP Banks had previously gotten into a heated debate with Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata over Kayvon Thibodeaux in 2023 that ended up with Licata abruptly ending the call with the Giants great. Banks resigned from his weekly spot on the WFAN midday show and later told rival station, ESPN New York, that the situation helped him realize that the station 'was not a platform I want to be on.'
New York Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
WFAN's Gregg Giannotti slams ‘loser' Karl-Anthony Towns as Knicks' ‘biggest problem'
The Knicks have a 7-foot, 250-pound problem on their hands. That's according to WFAN host Gregg 'Gio' Giannotti, who torched the Knicks' big man on Monday as the dust continues to settle from Saturday's season-ending loss to the Pacers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. '[Towns is] a loser. That is their biggest problem — the guy is a loser,' Giannotti said. 'He's a losing player, he complains, he is soft. He shows you flashes where he's the best player on the court — not enough — he doesn't play enough defense, he bitches and moans. He is, up until this point in his career, a loser who is making $50 million.' Advertisement 4 Karl-Anthony Towns looked emotional after the Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs Saturday. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Towns averaged 21.4 points and 11.6 rebounds on 48.8% shooting from the field and 35.1% from 3-point range throughout the Knicks' playoff run — all down from his regular-season averages of 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds on 52.6% from the field and 42% from deep. Advertisement While Towns, 29, was still an impact player for the Knicks this season, he was also a source of frustration for many, including Giannotti. 'He is getting to the point now as one of the most frustrating players I have ever watched in the uniform of a team that I root for,' Giannotti said Monday. 'I know how good he can be and it's just so damn annoying watching him not realize his full potential. I don't know if it'll ever happen, I really don't know.' Across his nine-year career, Towns is a five-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection. Advertisement 4 WFAN host Gregg 'Gio' Giannotti ripped Karl-Anthony Towns on Monday for being a 'loser.' WFAN Sports Radio 4 Karl-Anthony Towns attempts to back down Myles Turner in the post. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images But that didn't shield him from being caught in Giannotti's fire. Follow The Post's coverage of the Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series. Advertisement 'The biggest issue that the Knicks have going forward to get to the next level is the fact that they waited and waited and waited to go all in on a couple of guys, and the biggest one being Karl-Anthony Towns,' Giannotti explained. '[He] is going to be a logjam as far as them trying to get to the next level.' The blame game started in the aftermath of the Knicks' 125-108 loss to the Pacers on Saturday, with Towns and captain Jalen Brunson accounting for two of the biggest letdowns of the series. 4 Karl-Anthony Towns was the Knicks' second-leading scorer in the postseason. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images 'That is their biggest issue, is the fact that they thought this Towns thing was going to work better than it did,' Giannotti said. 'And it hasn't.' Towns, whom the Knicks acquired from the Timberwolves in an October blockbuster, expressed disappointment over not delivering a championship to the city that welcomed him with open arms. 'It hurts to not bring an opportunity to the city for a championship,' Towns said. 'We got a bunch of great guys in that locker room, and we hope to put ourselves in this position again.' Towns will earn a base salary of $53 million in 2025-26, per Spotrac.
CBS News
24-04-2025
- CBS News
Police cleared in shooting death of murder suspect after chase in Chicago's western suburbs
A Plano, Illinois police officer and a Kendall County sheriff's deputy were justified when they shot and killed a man suspected of his father's murder last fall following a police chase that ended in Aurora, DuPage County Robert Berlin found after a nearly seven-month investigation. Berlin, whose office reviewed an Illinois State Police investigation of the Sept. 27 shooting death of 36-year-old Nicholas Novak, said Novak fired a shotgun at police at the end of the chase, and they shot him out of fear for their lives. Plano police and Kendall County Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of a home invasion and shots fired at the home of 70-year-old Russell Novak around 6:45 p.m. on Sept. 27, in the 3800 block of Pratt Court in Plano. As officers arrived, a Ford Bronco was pulling out of the garage, and the driver, Nicholas Novak, ignored officers' orders to stop, according to Berlin's office. As several squad cars started chasing the Bronco, other officers found Russell Novak dead inside the home. Police and sheriff's deputies chased the Bronco for approximately 25 minutes, as Nicholas Novak drove into nearby Aurora, where he stopped at a red light and got out of the vehicle near Ogden Avenue (Route 34) and Eola Road. Plano Officer David Svehla and Kendall County Deputy Tyler Giannotti got out of their vehicles after pulling up behind the Bronco. As Nicholas Novak got out of the Bronco, he was holding a shotgun as he stepped onto the median, and he fired at Svehla before pointing the gun at Giannotti. Both Svehla and Giannotti returned fire, hitting Novak in the abdomen, killing him. Illinois State Police were unable to determine which officer fired the fatal shot. "Both Officer Svehla and Deputy Giannotti perceived the same threat when Novak pointed a shotgun in their direction and both stated that they feared for their life with Deputy Giannotti telling a sergeant at the scene immediately after the shooting, 'that's f****** scary, he pointed that gun right at me,'" Berlin said in a news release. Investigators also found notes on his cell phone stating, "Unfortunately, I'm done with life," along with searches for "murder then fleeing," "gun suicide," Do police shoot to kill," and "suicide by police." His family also told police he had made previous suicidal statements. An autopsy also determined Novak's blood-alcohol level was .153 at the time of the shooting, nearly twice the legal limit for driving, suggesting alcohol might have influenced his behavior. "Therefore, it is the conclusion of my office that Officer Svehla and Deputy Giannotti acted lawfully and were justified in using deadly force when they fired their service weapons and shot Nicholas Novak," Berlin said in a news release. No officers were injured during the chase and shooting. The video above is from a previous report.
