KNICKS & GARDEN OF DREAMS HOLD DAY OF GIVING THANKS

New York Knickerbocker forward Jared Jeffries, the Garden of Dreams Foundation and The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN) will host a special Thanksgiving Day event with families from The Children’s Aid Society, Thursday, November 19. The Garden of Dreams Foundation is a nonprofit charity that works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden, including the Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, MSG Entertainment, MSG Media and Fuse to “make dreams come true for kids in crisis”. Garden of Dreams partners with local children’s hospitals, “wish” organizations and community-based organizations to build on-going, unforgettable programs for children in the tri-state area who are suffering from devastating illness, homelessness, abuse, hunger, extreme poverty and tragedy. The Knicks and Garden of Dreams “Day of Giving” with have two sessions of activities, one in the morning and another in the afternoon.

In the morning Jared will tip-off the event with a visit to Children’s Aid’s Dunlevy Milbank Center’s daycare program. Jared will donate baby items to young families serviced by the program and work with the Center to stock its pantries with food to help these families through the holidays. In the afternoon, Jared will return to the Center with some of his teammates, the Knicks City Dancers and Irwin Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hain Celestial, to donate 300 Thanksgiving Day meals to families serviced by Children’s Aid.

Hain Celestial and its affiliate, Hain Pure Protein Corporation, have partnered to donate 300 all-natural Plainville Farms® turkeys that are free of antibiotics and hormones and raised humanely on family farms. Hain Celestial is also donating Earth’s Best® organic baby food, Celestial Seasonings® tea and other products from its portfolio of natural and organic brands that provide A Healthy Way of Life reflecting the Company’s continued commitment to feeding the hungry with healthful products that do not contain artificial or processed ingredients.

During the afternoon session families will also participate in a short program on health and wellness with Jared and members of Hain Celestial. During the day guests are encourage to visit Keri Glassman, M.S., R.D., C.D.N, and other nutritional advisors to the company to learn how individuals and families you and your family can ensure that the food and beverage products they choose are, in fact, healthy choices.

The families will end the “Day of Giving” with a surprise performance from the Knicks City Dancers as well as participate in interactive games on the Knicks Groove Truck.

Who: Knicks Forward Jared Jeffries

Knicks City Dancers

Irwin Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hain Celestial Group. Inc.

Families serviced by The Children’s Aid Society

What: Session 1: Jared Jeffries visits Dunlevy Milbank Center’s daycare program, to give away baby products and food he’s donated with Hain Celestial Group

Session 2: Jared Jeffries, teammates and Irwin Simon gift 300 families with Thanksgiving dinners – Knicks City Dancers perform

When: Thursday, November 19, 2009             Session 1: 8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Session 2: 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Where: Children’s Aid Society’s Dunlevy Milbank Center

14-32 West 118th Street

New York, NY

The NBA’s New York Knickerbockers basketball team, in its 64th year of operation, is part of Madison Square Garden, L.P. Madison Square Garden, L.P. is owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation and includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League); MSG Entertainment, which includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, the Beacon Theatre, the legendary Chicago Theatre, as well as an exclusive co-booking agreement with the venerable Wang Theatre in Boston, and which manages wholly-owned live entertainment properties including the Radio City Rockettes and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular; MSG Media, which is comprised of television networks MSG and MSG Plus, MSG Interactive, which oversees all company wireless and online initiatives, and Fuse, the only national music television network; and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), headquartered in Melville, NY, is a leading natural and organic products company in North America and Europe. Hain Celestial participates in most natural categories with well-known brands that include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth’s Best®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin’®, Health Valley®, Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Gluten Free Café™, Hain Pure Foods®, Hollywood®, Spectrum Naturals®, Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, Rosetto®, Ethnic Gourmet®, WestSoy®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Granose®, Realeat®, Linda McCartney®, Daily Bread™, Lima®, Grains Noirs®, Natumi®, JASON®, Zia® Natural Skincare, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica®, Queen Helene®,

Tushies®, TenderCare®.and Martha Stewart Clean.  Hain Celestial has been providing “A Healthy Way of Life™” since 1993.  For more information, visit www.hain-celestial.com.

The Children’s Aid Society (www.childrensaidsociety.org), founded in 1853,  is one of the nation’s largest and most innovative non-sectarian agencies, serving New York’s neediest children and their families with a network of services that includes community schools, neighborhood centers, camps, adoption and foster care services, arts programming, teen pregnancy prevention, education, health and recreation. The Children’s Aid Society is a founding member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the vast majority of Children’s Aid sites are Boys & Girls Clubs. For more information, please call 212-949-4938 or e-mailellenl@childrensaidsociety.org.

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KNICKS INVITE FANS TO PARTICIPATE IN OPENING WEEK “FAN FEST” AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

The New York Knickerbockers are kicking off the 2009 season with a “Fan Fest” event at Madison Square Garden. The festivities will take place for three days beginning Thursday, October 29, in the MSG mall area located in front of Chase Bank at Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets. The Knicks City Dancers, Knicks Alumni and other special guests will be on hand to participate in on-court contests, carnival style games and activities and ticket giveaways for the Home Opener. The Knicks interactive Groove Truck will be located on Seventh Avenue with live music, special guest emcee’s and Knicks Fan Development representatives.

The “Fan Fest” will take place from Thursday, October 29 through Saturday, October 31, culminating with the Knicks Home Opener vs. Philadelphia 76ers at 7:30 p.m. A limited amount of tickets are available for the Home Opener and upcoming games. For more information please visit nyknicks.com or Ticketmaster.com.

Below is an itinerary of events for the Opening Week “Fan Fest”:

Thursday, October 29, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Who:                Knicks City Dancers, Knicks Alumni Relations and Fan Development Advisor, John Starks and Hoops Wizard Black Jack Ryan

What:                Live music and entertainment, home opener ticket giveaways, shooting contests with alumni for multiple prizes, balloon artists and performances by the Knicks City Dancers

Friday, October 30, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Who:                Knicks City Dancers, Knicks Alumni Tony Campbell and Hoops Wizard Black Jack Ryan

What:                Live music and entertainment, home opener ticket giveaways, shooting contests with alumni for multiple prizes, balloon artists and performances by the Knicks City Dancers

Saturday, October 31, 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Who:                Knicks Alumni Charles Smith and Cal Ramsey and Hoops Wizard Black Jack Ryan

What:                Live music and entertainment, special Halloween Costume Home Opener ticket give-aways, balloon artists, face painting and shooting contests with alumni

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KNICKS AND GARDEN OF DREAMS HOST “DREAM DAY”

The New York Knickerbockers and Garden of Dreams Foundation team up to celebrate the start of a new season of giving with a fun-filled “Dream Day” at Madison Square Garden Training Center and The Children’s Village of Dobbs Ferry, NY. On Monday, Oct. 12, the Knicks players, coaching staff and dancers will host 30 kids from The Children’s Village at a private day at the training center followed by an event at the outdoor basketball court at The Children’s Village.

First, Knicks players, coaches and Knicks City Dancers will take the kids on a tour of MSG Training Center, including a special locker room visit, basketball skills clinic and autograph session. The players will then join the children at The Children’s Village to spruce up an outdoor basketball court and have a backyard barbecue party to celebrate the day.

Below is an itinerary of events for the Knicks and Garden of Dreams “Dream Day”:

Who: Jared Jeffries, Larry Hughes, Darko Milicic, David Lee, Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari and the Knicks City Dancers

What: Players, dancers and kids take private tour of training center

When:        1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Where: MSG Training Center, Greenburgh, NY

Who: Al Harrington, Chris Duhon, Wilson Chandler, Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas

What: Players and kids paint and clean areas of the basketball court and have barbecue party

When:        3:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Where: The Children’s Village, Dobbs Ferry, NY

*In the event of inclement weather the entire event will take place at MSG Training Center*

The Garden of Dreams Foundation is a nonprofit charity that works closely with all areas of Madison Square Garden, including the Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, MSG Entertainment, MSG Media and Fuse to “make dreams come true for kids in crisis”. Garden of Dreams partners with local children’s hospitals, “wish” organizations and community-based organizations to build on-going, unforgettable programs for children in the tri-state area who are suffering from devastating illness, homelessness, abuse, hunger, extreme poverty and tragedy.

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MSG ANNOUNCES NEW YORK KNICKS 2009-10 TELEVISION SCHEDULE

MSG announced today the official New York Knicks 2009-10 television schedule.  All 82 Knicks regular season games are scheduled to be televised on MSG as well as all seven preseason games.  A complete schedule is included below.

For the second year in a row, the Knicks will open their season against conference rival, the Miami Heat, at American Airlines Arena on Wednesday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m. The team’s home-opener at Madison Square Garden is on Saturday night, October 31 at 7:30 p.m. against the Philadelphia 76ers. In another early season highlight, the Knicks host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 6 at 7:30 p.m.

“Chase Knicks Game Night” returns this season as the thirty minute definitive pre-game show featuring interviews, game analysis and in-depth profiles. Most games will be followed by the “Ford Post Game show.”

Before the Knicks / Celtics preseason game on Tuesday, October 20, MSG will premiere a special one-hour “Knicks 2009-10 Season Preview” show at 6:30 p.m.

Mike Breen, the league’s preeminent play-by-play announcer, will return to the TV booth alongside Knicks analyst and NBA Hall of Famer Walt “Clyde” Frazier.  Kelly Tripucka returns as a studio analyst, Tina Cervasio returns as MSG’s Knicks reporter and Jill Martin returns as feature reporter.

New York Knicks basketball on MSG is directed by Howie Singer, produced by Spencer Julien, and Kevin Meininger serves as senior coordinating producer. Dan Ronayne is executive vice president and general manager for MSG Networks, and Jeff Filippi is vice president of production.

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KNICKS SIGN RON HOWARD

ew York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that guard Ron Howard has been signed as a free agent. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Howard, 6-5, 200-pounds, averaged 7.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 17.5 minutes as a member of the Knicks entry in the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports. The Chicago native averaged 18.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.20 steals last season with Fort Wayne of the NBA Development League after posting 11.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.30 steals for Fort Wayne during the 2007-08 campaign. Howard played his final three collegiate seasons at Valparaiso after transferring from Marquette following his freshman year.

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KNICKS RE-SIGN DAVID LEE

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that forward David Lee has been re-signed to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“While this was a long process, we always wanted David to remain in New York and we are very happy to have him re-signed,” said Walsh. “David really flourished playing for Coach D’Antoni last year and we once again expect him to play a big role for us this season.”

Lee, 6-9, 240-pounds, averaged career-highs of 16.9 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 34.9 minutes in a career-high 81 games during the 2008-09 season. He also posted a league-high 65 double-doubles, while also ranking third in the NBA in rebounding and seventh in field goal percentage.

Lee was drafted by New York with the 30th overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft and has career averages of 10.9 points and 9.0 rebounds in 287 career games over four NBA seasons with the Knicks. The University of Florida product set the Knicks franchise record for field goal percentage, shooting .600 from the floor in 58 games during the 2006-07 season. Lee was also named Most Valuable Player of the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge at 2007 All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas, after scoring a game-high 30 points.

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KNICKS SIGN MARCUS LANDRY

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball OperationsDonnie Walsh announced today that forward Marcus Landry has been signed as a free agent. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Landry, 6-7, 230-pounds, averaged 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 121 career games over four seasons at The University of Wisconsin. The Milwaukee, WI-native averaged a career-high 12.7 points per game for Wisconsin in 2008-09 and led the Badgers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Landry averaged 9.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 21.8 minutes in five games for the Sacramento Kings entry in the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports.

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KNICKS RE-SIGN NATE ROBINSON

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that guard Nate Robinson has been re-signed to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are very happy to have reached an agreement with Nate,” Walsh said. “Nate established himself as one of the top reserves in the game last season and we expect him to play a key role for us this season.”

Robinson, 5-9, 180-pounds, averaged career-highs of 17.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 29.9 minutes in a career-high 74 games during the 2008-09 season and finished third in the voting for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. The Seattle, WA-native was also the winner of the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk competition at NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix and joined Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Harold Miner and Jason Richardson as the only two-time winners of the competition. Robinson first won the award at the 2006 dunk contest in Houston.

Robinson has career averages of 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 282 career games over four NBA seasons all with New York. The University of Washington product was originally drafted following his junior season by the Phoenix Suns with the 21st overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, before having his draft rights traded to New York on draft night.

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KNICKS SIGN SUN YUE

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that guard Sun Yue has been signed as a free agent. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sun, 6-9, 205-pounds, averaged 0.6 points, 0.2 assists and 2.8 minutes in 10 games as a rookie last season with the L.A. Lakers. The Hebei, China-native was selected by the Lakers of the second round (40th overall) in the 2008 NBA Draft and also averaged 9.8 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in six games on assignment last season with the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League. The 23-year old is a member of the Chinese National Team and started all six games for China in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

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KNICKS SIGN TONEY DOUGLAS

29th Overall Selection in 2009 NBA Draft Signed to Contract

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walshannounced today that guard Toney Douglas has been signed to a contract. Douglas was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 29th overall selection before having his draft rights traded to New York in exchange for a 2011 second-round draft pick and cash considerations.

Douglas, 6-1, 225-pounds, averaged 21.5 points for Florida State University in his senior year and was the runner-up for the ACC Player of the Year award. The Tampa, FL-native was an All-ACC First Team selection and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He also led the Seminoles to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998 and to the championship game of the ACC Tournament for the first time in school history.

Douglas is expected to play for the Knicks’ entry in the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports in Las Vegas, NV from July 14-19.

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