Sports Rain Man: Mets Lose NLCS, Yankees Make World Series, NY NFL…

Sad New York Mets fans, sad New York Jets fans — Mets and Jets fans feel each other's pain.

NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Happy Monday everybody! Its a bittersweet Monday for me. A little tired because both the Mets and the Jets had the late games, so I couldn’t hit publish until well into the night. That said, let’s just get into Mets Lose NLCS, Yankees Make World Series, NY NFL Recap, NY Liberty WNBA Champions

Mets Lose NLCS

Didn’t we almost have it all, Mets fans? After the first month of the season, we were all set to call it a season but boy did they comeback… and it what fashion!. Unfortunately the hottest team in baseball ran into the best team in baseball. Going out in 6 games is not bad. We put up a fight but they had bigger guns and their big guys kept getting big hits. In game 6, when the Mets scored a run, LA scored two. They scored another two, which the Mets followed with a deuce of their own. BUT… then LA scored three. Their lineup is a Murderer’s Row and the guys who are 7-9, who should be easy outs, were lucky hitters.

For the Mets brass, this was a great season for their first year manager. A lot of things went right. Things went wrong but the team rallied behind each other and battled. There will be off season changes and I will be back next week to talk about it after the dust has settled.

Yankees Make World Series

Congratulations to the Yankees from making the World Series. I can’t say I really followed them all year long, so I would be wrong to judge them – but that’s never stopped any pundit, so why should it stop me? Based on what I read from them from Ben Whitney, this team was okay – but not great- especially when compared to the great Yankees teams of the ’00s. It definitely had big bats in Judge, Soto and Stanton but the rest of them were just okay. The pitching was solid but not spectacular, like in previous eras. No relievers were dominant, either. I think it shows more how weak the American League was. Of the teams that had a chance to really take them down, it was probably the Astros and the Tigers. Yet, both stumbled in the playoffs before they could faced the Yankees. To be fair, that’s not the Yankees’ fault; you can only beat who’s in front of you. They beat the Royals and the Guardians… The Yanks were blessed win not having the most challenging run to the World Series. But it makes you wonder if they are ready for the challenge of the World Series. We will find that out after the first pitch of Game 1. That said…

Let’s go Dodgers!

NY NFL Recap

The Bills remain the best team in the AFC east. After a slow start, they turned it on to beat the Titans. New addition Amari Cooper had a great game. The Titans aren’t very good, though, so let’s not look too deep. But having a new weapon/clear number one receiver can make the difference in stretching the field. They also showed they can run the football last week against the Jets .

The Eagles roughed up the Giants. Saquon Barkley had his revenge game, getting 150 yards and a touchdown. However, I don’t see why he needed to have revenge because the Giants had too many holes in the offensive line. I guess you could probably be upset about them making him a restricted agent, knowing they couldn’t sign him, but if Michael Jordan can still carry a grudge from high school, Barkley can carry a grudge against the Giants… And the Jints’ offense that showed signs of life the last couple of weeks, was awful this weekend. They couldn’t get anything started on the ground – or in the air – and that’s what allowed the Eagles to score 28 points. The Giants defense was worn down. We’ll see what offensive genius Brian Daboll can do next week, cuz he’s got to go back to the drawing board.

The Jets also got roughed up by the Steelers. The defensive line has crumbled. They keep getting caught by the dog-leg attack. This means you allow half the defense to penetrate, while you block the other half. This creates a gap that get a backside seal and the running back goes through. On pass defense they have injuries and hold-outs, so they can’t get enough pressure. On offense, its the same issue. Injuries on the O-line and they can’t punch it in with frequency. They get inside the 20, even down to the 5, but can’t get to the end zone with enough frequency. It is getting to week 8 so the Jets have to make moves. With owner Woody Johnson acting as GM, the Jets have end the Hassan Reddick holdout to help with the pass rush. The offensive and defensive line issues will require some real looks at practice squads and free agents sitting on the couch. Lets see what happens.

NY Liberty WNBA Champions

It has taken 28 long years but WNBA 1.0 side, the NY Liberty have won the WNBA championship. I am NY sports fan through and through and I am still waiting for some teams to win one in my lifetime. As women’s basketball has grown, so too have the Liberty. They have had some great players and made the finals and playoffs, but this team was the team that finally took them over the top. It is well-deserved and a long time coming.

Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow for Ben Whitney, who will tell you why the World Series will be won in NYC.