What the Heck Has Been Going On?

Well, I went from the woods of CT to hot, sunny, swampy FL. I’m all moved into the new place. The iMac is up and running. But what the heck happened? The Delta variant was barely a thing when I last wrote. And I missed writing about a whole lotta sports stuff. The Olympics included. I don’t even know where to begin in NY sports. So much has changed in the last few weeks. So this is my weekly review catch-up and I’ll just try to summarize briefly by team what the heck happened since I last wrote.

NY Yankees: Ok. So they have a pulse. A clunker here and there like last night’s poop fest against the .438 KC Royals and the 2-0 snooze-fest loss against Seattle, but other than those, it’s been fire. Crazy walk-offs, come-from-behind wins, and once, 4 times in a one game. The net result is that the Yankees find themselves chasing the Sux for that 2nd Wildcard spot. But it’s a chase now. A few weeks ago, it seemed like there was no “chase” left in this team. Then Gallo and Rizzo arrived, sparking new life into a listless team. It’s been fun ever since.

NY Mets: On-the-other-hand, “fun” is not a word used to describe the Mets as of late. The Mets went from having a decent lead in the NL East to being in 3rd place real quick. Losing 9 out of the last 11 games will do that to ya. And remember when I suggested that the Mets should shut down deGrom for a bit after that first injury scare? Well, they didn’t and now he is out into September. Not good.

NY Giants: Barkley was back on the practice field! What a welcomed sight that was. First pre-season game looms on the 14th against their Stadium housemates. Will we see any starters? A few. Not Barkley though. It will be good to see some of rookies.

NY Jets: Ok, so Zach Wilson did not perform well in his Mets Life Stadium debut at the Green & White practice. Nor did he fair well at practice subsequently. It’s gotta be nerves as the big day gets closer. All the pressure of the team seems to be on him. He will be all right. Right?

NY Knicks: The NBA Draft came and went. The Knicks seemed to trade around about 12 times before finally selecting Houston G. Quentin Grimes 25th overall. They later added another pair of guards in Rokas Jokubaitis, Lithuania and Miles McBride, West Virginia. They also added Jericho Sims, F, Texas with the 58th overall pick. Sims has been impressive in the Summer League as has last year’s draft pick Immanuel Quickley. In other big news, the Knicks signed 3pt specialist, Evan Fournier and former UConn standout and 4-time All-star, Kemba Walker. He comes with injury risk for sure, but he could just be the PG the Knicks have needed since forever.

Brooklyn Nets: It’s been all about KD and rightfully so. First he got his 4-year $198m extension, then he carried the US Men’s Olympic Basketball team on his back to a gold medal. It was KD’s 3rd gold medal. He is the men’s Olympic basketball GOAT. In other news, the Nets got some future picks for trading Dinwoodie to the Wizards.

NY Rangers: I know some sports sites and such don’t like that the Rangers based their whole off-season around operation “stop Tom Wilson from killing our players,” but I love what Drury is doing. Love it! Welcome to the team Ryan Reaves, one of the last remaining enforcers still playing. He joins newly acquired Barclay Goodrow, Patrik Nemeth, and Sammy Blais, all of whom represent size and toughness that the Rangers clearly lacked last season. Just point Reaves and his new friends in the direction of Tom Wilson opening night. And it might take all four to take him down, but at least they have a chance now. The Rangers won’t be bullied around anymore. I know they have to make the playoffs first, but this team is now built for the NHL playoffs. On the downside, losing salary-cap victim Buchnevich, was a tough pill to swallow. But they did re-sign Igor, the goalie of their future. Will the Eichel trade happen? Is it his neck? Do they want too much? Probably both.

NY Islanders: Ice-time mavin Adam Pelech got signed to an 8-year extension. That keeps him onboard until his mid 30’s. And they re-signed Palmieri and Zajac. They still need to add a veteran defenseman, but otherwise it has been pretty quiet on the Island. This is a real good team here so why mess with it.