Niagara Falls, NY: Happy Monday, It’s the last Monday in August and the last day in August completely spent. I actually thought this was Labor Day weekend, and then I realized Labor Day weekend is next week. So, going into this week, I will talk about the Mets’ Week in Review, the Jets’ depth chart and surprising cuts to come, and I will talk about why Soccer fans are so much better than American family sports fans.
NY Mets Week in Review
I don’t know why I held out this hope that the Mets could somehow in the second half get to .500. I wasn’t expecting a challenge for the playoffs or anything like that, but I thought they would at least get some kind of hot streak to match the losing streak they had in the first half. You know, like 10 games, 12 games—something where you’re like, “We could have done better, maybe one a title if we didn’t go on that 15-game losing streak early in the season.” But it was foolish to even dream.
The Mets went 2-6 this week, losing the series against the Brewers and splitting against the Astros. Both series were winnable, but you know, the Mets fashion: a lot of runners left on base with a lack of clutch hitting. A guy on second, one out, got to get him in, but they just couldn’t do it. They did walk it back once, so they’re going to finish out the season. I guess it’s September now, and with expanded rosters, you can see more of the kids come up and see who will be the 2027 Carson Benge. Also, congrats to Francisco Lindor for surpassing David Wright on the Mets’ all-time home run list.
I happened to catch the Jets vs. Giants preseason game. It looks like the Jets will have a fight between Bailey Zappe and Brady Cook for the number three spot, but I just heard they cut Zappe, so my bet is that they’re going to move Cook to the practice squad. Hopefully, he makes it through waivers—which he likely will, since there are so many quarterbacks cut—and then he’s going to be the number three.
I believe Jeremy Ruckert is going to lose out in the tight end race. They have Mason Taylor, who is already tight end one, and drafted Kenyon Saadiq who is going to push Taylor. They traded last year for Jehlani Woods, and although Ruckert is solid, nothing about him in the passing game makes him more dynamic than those other three. He is saved by Saadiq having to have surgery, who will go from TE4 to TE2 on roster over the course of the season. I think he’s going to be cut, I expect a midseason trade cause somebody’s going to want to make him their tight end two because he is a solid guy that can block very well and can make a couple of catches.
At wide receiver, Junior Bergen is going to make the roster. I don’t know who’s going to be moved out—probably some of the other one-year free agents—but I really see him squeezing in there as wide receiver number six and kick returner. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the running back stakes because I see Chip Trayanum as somebody who should be kept, but I don’t see how he gets in with Breece Hall, Braylon Allen, and Isaiah Davis, with Kenny Nwangwu as RB4 and kick returner.
On defense, I want them to make room on the line for Nate Lynn, but apparently he’s been cut because they’re hoping to get him on the practice squad. But I don’t know—I feel like looking for a defensive lineman on your roster, he will likely get picked up elsewhere because he’s at least that good. Nobody really stood out in the linebacker group, but I think Marcelino Mcreary-Ball is going to be a real standout playing in the back end. They’ve have a bunch of cornerbacks who are really raw compared to the ones we knew a couple seasons ago, so it’ll be interesting to see how good that defense can be.
Soccer Fans
Look at this video. This is the thing that people don’t understand about soccer fans that always marvels me. I mean, yes, they led by what people call “Ultras”—these are the diehards that every soccer club has. American sports have no comparison. I guess you can have maybe the Steelers’ “Terrible Towel” and Bills Mafia, but all those guys jump off high points of tables.
These guys can do things like, within short notice, create a song and a rhythm dedicated to players just like that. A player can be on the opposing team and get into a drunken bar fight on Tuesday, and by Saturday, the Ultras have a song mocking him. They’ve already created the words, and they’re just like, “Okay, lads, we’re going to sing it to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy, and we’ll clap you in.”
In this instance, Mamadou Sangare of Mali and RC Lens—signed for Bradford about a week ago. He plays his first game and helps them win, and in that time from signing to that first game, they’ve already created this song to the tune of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” They’ve created “Sangere from Mali” just like that. American sports could never.
Come back tomorrow for The Big Aristotle.
