Niagara Falls, NY: Happy Monday, Man, back-to-school season is starting to warm up. My son just completed summer school, so we only have about two more weeks and then school starts. Excited and nervous. With that said, let’s get to our topics for today: the New York Mets, the CFL, and netball. If you’re wondering why those last two things, it’s because I did say I was going to try and use the summer to cover the less-known sports while the more known sports are on hiatus.
NY Mets Week in Review
The Mets went 4-2 for the week. They lost the series to the Braves but then won the series against the Nationals. They won the first game against the Braves, which was important because it meant that for the first time in like nine years, they won the season series. Which is a weird thing because they’ve been terrible this season, but somehow they’ve been able to beat one of their arch-rivals more often than not.
They followed that up with a sweep of the Nationals. And you know, it’s typical Mets: now that there’s nothing left on the line, you’re seeing Lindor hitting again and the team hitting again. They’re bringing up guys and they’re looking comfortable. Polanco, who’s probably the worst DH ever, is all of a sudden now getting hits.
They did promote another infielder, Brandon Morel, so we’ll see how he adds to the mix, as it seems like it’s already pretty cluttered. Young guys are vying for first base, and so what will happen with Marcus Semien and Brett Baty—nobody knows. We’ll see if they finish at .500 and can keep having more wins than losses now that the heat is off.
It’s funny how I don’t like college football but I do like Canadian football. I’ve been following Canadian football all summer, and wow—the NFL is in its preseason, while the CFL is at its midseason point pretty much.
If you haven’t been paying attention, their league has 9 teams. I really wish they’d find a way to get to 10, but you know, that’s the cost of starting a franchise and everything like that. There’s got to be one Canadian billionaire out there willing to do it.
In the East, there are four teams, and the East has not looked competitive this year. The Montreal Alouettes are the best team in the East right now, and their record is only like 6-4. The Ottawa Redblacks are the only winless team in the league at 0-9, and Toronto and Hamilton are both under .500.
In the West, the Edmonton Elks lead at 7-3, with the Saskatchewan Roughriders only half a game behind, followed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 5-4, with both BC and Calgary chasing Winnipeg. Of the 9 teams, 6 make the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see what happens from here on out. But it looks like the majority are going to come out of the West.
Netball
I said I would cover lesser-known sports, and I’m trying to. What came on my news feed the other day was netball—a sport I’m familiar with, and it’s actually why I am the worst athlete in my family.Netball is exclusively a women’s game played in England and by the former English colonies. It’s basketball but 7-on-7, with no real dribbling, and the rim has no backboard—just a hoop. Supposedly, my mom was a pretty handy netballer in her youth, and I’ve heard stories about that. Which means there are no stories about me being a good rugby player or soccer player, but there are stories about everybody else in my family in the sport.
In the 2026 Commonwealth Games—which is basically a British-only Olympics with only the nations that make up Great Britain and former English commonwealths, as is in the name—there was a major upset. Netball, for all the teams that play it, is pretty much dominated by England, New Zealand, Australia, and Jamaica. Australia and New Zealand usually lead the way, as it seems to be their primary women’s sport of choice.
Then came a massive upset in the semifinal: Jamaica beat England, to become only the fourth different team to make the final. As the final had always been Australia, New Zealand, and on rare occasions England. Jamaica did go on to lose the final to Australia, but winning a silver medal was the highest they’ve ever beeN.
Come back tomorrow for The Big Aristotle.
