NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Happy, Monday! The MLB playoff race is getting tighter. The 3 NY football teams are in action on 3 different nights. There’s some WNBA news. Let’s not muck it up. Based on the above, here are today’s topics: Sports Rain Man: Mets Update, NFL Recap, WNBA News.
Mets Update
The Mets beat the Phillies in a tight game, 2-1 on Sunday, to win the the 4-game series 3-1. It was good to see considering the Metsies could have done the same last week but blew two games. It was important that the Mets keep winning, as they currently share the 5th playoff spot with the Arizona Diamondbacks. More importantly, they are two games ahead of the Braves for the Wild Card spot. This is nerve-wrecking for a Mets fan because they play the Braves (who else) and the Brewers. Essentially the Mets need to go 2-1 against the Braves and then they can go 2-1 against the Brewers and win a playoff spot. Having had my heart broken by the Mets in the final weeks of the season a few times, I am very unlikely to rest easy in this final week, but it will be exciting and the Mets look really good.
On a final note, how seamless into the lineup has Luisangel Acuna fit in while filling in for soon-to-be MVP runner-up Fransisco Lindor?
NY NFL Recap
The Bills play tonight when they take on the Jaguars – who they should beat. The Jags seem to be still looking for their first win of the season, while the Bills seem to be in good form to start the season. I think the Bills will keep their momentum and get the win.
The Giants won against the Browns in a match that the Giants were in control of until late in the game. The Giants’ defense seems to be turning the corner. Maybe it was the Browns making them look good but they were able to get good pressure without blitzing. But late in the game, the Browns found success in the air- but not when inside the red zone. Meanwhile, Dan Jones to Malik Nabers is becoming a thing and that is good for the Giants. Jones was able to use the other receivers well too. The offense gave the defense a good enough lead to work with and holdout against Cleveland.
The Jets looked really good on Thursday night. Both teams had injury issues going into the game but the Jets seemed better able to adjust. The defense was stout, as there was good pressure and tackling from the front seven, led by Will McDonald. The secondary had great coverage. On offense, it was the Aaron Rodgers difference as he showed how a veteran quality QB can lead a team down field and pick the the defense apart. It looked like what he was brought into town for. Lets hop it keeps on happening.
WNBA News
With the arrival of Caitlin Clark, a lot of people now want to be WNBA experts, so I decided to show some love in my write-up. There has been 3 big pieces of news from the league over the past week or two:
1) The League announced that it was expanding with Portland getting a team next season, followed by Toronto the year after that.
2) The league will be announcing its end of the season award winners over the next few weeks, however, the MVP was announced. No surprise- it is A’ja Wilson, who had one of the greatest statistical seasons ever.
It will also be unanimous when Caitlin Clark is announced as Rookie of the Year because on top of the hype, she just balled out. The key was the month off for the Olympics which seemed to give her the rest she needed to be a terror in the second half of the season.
Most Valuable Player : A’ja Wilson
Rookie of the Year:
Defensive Player of the Year:
Sixth Player of the Year:
Most Improved Player:
Coach of the Year:
Executive of the Year:
Sportsmanship Award:
All-WNBA First and Second Teams
All-Defensive First and Second Teams
All-Rookie Team
3) The league has also started its playoffs. It is the first round which is a best of 3. Here is the playoff bracket:
No. 8 Atlanta Dream @ No. 1 New York Liberty – NY lead 1-0No. 6 Indiana Fever @ No. 3 Connecticut Sun – Conn lead 1-0No. 7 Phoenix Mercury @ No. 2 Minnesota Lynx – Minn lead 1-0No. 5 Seattle Storm @ No. 4 Las Vegas Aces – LV lead 1-0
Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow for Ben Whitney, who will tell you why the Giant win, is a season-changer.
