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There comes a time when you just have to take a break from hitting your head against a wall. Does anyone today seriously need another rundown of what is going so wrong for the Rangers over a first 23 games in which so little has gone right?
The Blueshirts left the ice following Monday’s 5-3 defeat to the Devils in fifth place (by point percentages) in both the Metropolitan Division and the wild card race in a league in which both the loser’s point and the paucity of head-to-head divisional matches conspire against clubs coming from behind in the standings.
Still, it can be done. In 2018-19, the Blues charged from last place overall on Jan. 2 with a 15-18-4 record to go on a 17-4-1 run that extended to 30-10-5, boosting them not only into the playoffs but to a Stanley Cup. In 2014-15, the Senators, 10 points out of a playoff spot on Jan. 17 with a 22-23-10 mark, went an astounding 21-3-3 the rest of the way to make the playoffs before losing in the first round.
Both of those teams’ revivals were sparked by goaltenders who essentially came out of nowhere — Jordan Binnington for St. Louis and Andrew (Hamburglar) Hammond for Ottawa. Following that model, the Rangers perhaps should dip down into Hartford and promote Dylan Garand, the 20-year-old who recorded his first pro shutout Saturday in, of course, a 1-0 shootout defeat to Hershey.
The Devils’ comeback Monday night at Madison Square Garden left the Rangers 14 points behind New Jersey and buried deep in the Metro standings.Robert Sabo
Falling fast
A look at the standings is sobering. The Rangers have lost contact with the Devils. They’re out of sight by 14 points and thus should be put out of your minds. The role reversal between these two clubs might make more sense if put this way:
Last season, Jimmy Vesey played on the fourth line for a New Jersey team that missed the playoffs by 37 points. On Monday, Jimmy Vesey was on the first line for a Rangers team went into the season fancying itself a Stanley Cup contender.
This is not a knock on Vesey, who earned a spot on the varsity after coming to camp on a PTO and has been one of a tiny faction of Rangers — Vesey, Adam Fox, Ryan Lindgren, Filip Chytil, Julien Gauthier, Barclay Goodrow and maybe Braden Schneider — to meet expectations. (If you want to lobby for Ryan Carpenter in his role as fourth-line center, be my guest.) Early in camp, Vesey talked about having adopted a fourth-line mentality, how he modeled his game after Tyler Motte, so valuable in a fourth-line role for the Blueshirts last spring. And now No. 26 has played on the first line in eight of the club’s 23 games.
That hasn’t changed the situation Vesey and the Rangers find themselves in. Not only have the Blueshirts have lost contact with the Devils, but the Hurricanes are going to be long gone. The Rangers are going to have to be careful not to lose contact with the Islanders, whom they trail by six points while having only one game left against them.
After watching the Rangers reach the playoffs while playing with the Devils last season, Jimmy Vesey is now watching New Jersey steam toward a potential playoff spot while playing for the Rangers.Jason Szenes
In order to qualify for the tournament, the Rangers will have to pass three teams they currently trail. Awarding spots to the Devils, ‘Canes, Bruins, Maple Leafs and Lightning, the teams to catch would be the Islanders, Penguins, Red Wings, Canadiens and Panthers.
Again, not one of them and not two of them. Three. Add to the equation that the Blueshirts will also have to stay in front of the Caps, who are three points back.
Strength of schedule
The schedule turns murderous next week, when the Blueshirts travel to Vegas and Colorado before home games against the Devils and Leafs. The Rangers — who have won four out of 12 (4-5-3) at the Garden — wouldn’t be expected to win any one of these.
But before the Rangers get from here to there, the schedule provides a silver lining. The next three games are against 29th-overall Ottawa and 31st-overall Chicago, teams that appear well on their way to Lotteryland. If there can be a soft spot for a team such as the Rangers, this is it. Of course, this is also the way the Senators and Blackhawks might look at it, preparing for a Blueshirts team that has won 10 of 23 overall (10-9-4) and is on a three-game regulation losing streak.
With an upcoming date against Jack Eichel and the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights, the Rangers’ path to getting back in the playoff hunt isn’t getting any easier.NHLI via Getty Images
After Wednesday’s match in Ottawa, there is a back-to-back at the Garden on Friday and Saturday, respectively, against the Senators and Blackhawks. Yes, get ready for Jaro Halak in one or the other.
Quick hits
• Is it a coincidence that K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere have regressed in what is a contract year coming off entry-level deals for both?
• There are 37 defense pairs that have been on the ice for at least 200 minutes at five-on-five. Miller and Jacob Trouba, the tandem that went into this season as the club’s presumptive shutdown pair, ranks 37th and last in goals for/against percentage at 28.57 (8 for/20 against). How’s that?
The Lindgren-Fox duo is 26th at 52.17 percent (12 for/11 against).
K’Andre Miller and Jacob Trouba have struggled to be the defensive stoppers they were expected to be when the season began.NHLI via Getty Images
• There are 187 forwards who have played at least 250 minutes at five-on-five. (Thanks, Natural Stat Trick.) Vincent Trocheck is tied for 163rd with 0.37 goals per 60:00.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav made some noise last week by intimating that Turner Sports might not do a new agreement when its deal with the NBA ends in three years.
This caused my phone to buzz as sports media folks wondered whether, after four decades, Turner and the NBA could be headed toward a breakup.
What Zaslav said:
From The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint:
“Sports is hard.” — Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on rising costs and ratings challenges. Sports once “lifted all the boats.” Says we have favorable deal(s) on March Madness, NHL and baseball playoffs. On NBA he says, “We don’t have to have NBA.”
“It has to be a deal for the future, it can’t be a deal for the past.” — Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on next NBA rights deal.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David ZaslavGetty Images
What he previously said: During a WBD earnings call on Nov. 3, Zaslav spoke about the NBA, and this was a part of it:
“We love the NBA. But we’re going to be disciplined. In the end, if there’s an NBA deal, it’s going to be a deal that’s very attractive for us and very attractive for Adam [Silver, NBA commissioner]. But we have a lot of tools in that we have a lot of sports assets that no one else has. We got a global sports business that nobody else has. And we have a platform, a high-quality platform like HBO Max that could generate 30 million people watching within a short period of time for a great piece of content. Imagine what that could do with sport. And we’ve had very good luck with sport in Europe. So I think it’s an opportunity. We like the NBA, but we’re going to be disciplined. I’m hopeful that we can do something very creative.”
What he’s done: TNT signed Charles Barkley to a 10-year deal that immediately raised his salary significantly from $10 million per year. TNT also signed the rest of the iconic “Inside The NBA” crew to extensions. This was an indication of TNT’s plans and how much the network wanted to keep the NBA. The language in the Barkley deal, I’ve been told, calls for his contract to be revisited if TNT loses NBA rights, though it is not immediately clear what that would entail.
What Zaslav’s comments mean: They mean something, not everything. I would hone in on these two quotes for real guidance.
“It has to be a deal for the future, it can’t be a deal for the past,” Zaslav said.
Charles Barkley and Co. recently signed contract extensions with Turner Sports.NBAE via Getty Images
This suggests Zaslav would like the NBA to help drive HBO Max subscriptions while likely trying to keep Turner’s revenue stream. This is what ESPN is doing in every new deal, securing rights for all of its platforms.
The future for global companies such as WBD is to try to sell subscriptions globally, which might be what Zaslav is partly thinking when he talks about Turner’s future relationship with the NBA.
ESPN/Disney, Amazon, Apple and other companies likely will be interested in the same concept. It will cost a lot, and, ultimately, I think the NBA will have more than just two distribution partners. The current partners could slim down their number of cable games. For TNT, think maybe just Thursdays, but not Tuesdays.
There is also the matter of the new in-season tournament that the NBA hopes becomes a thing.
Global superstars such as Stephen Curry put the NBA in a good position to negotiate its next set of rights deals, which begin with the 2025-26 season.Getty Images
Turner will be very active in retaining NBA rights, but there are no guarantees, especially as Zaslav emphasizes profit as opposed to just growth.
Cut & spend: One final point. WBD is in the midst of layoffs, which started with 70 behind-the-scenes employees who worked on sports. There is a feeling the company may be cutting before doing some more big spending.
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Quick Clicks
The World Cup started poorly for Fox Sports, which isn’t entirely the network’s fault because it didn’t have anything to do with the bribery that led Qatar, a country that demeans the rights of women and gay people, to be the host. Still, though, it wasn’t great. With the World Cup moved from the summer to the winter and the NFL king in the U.S., the opening game aired on FS1, not Fox, which diminished its importance. FS1 is a network that routinely doesn’t send announcers to other games, which tells you how much it values production and says a lot about how much we should value the network. John Strong, Stuart Holden and Jenny Taft were on hand for Ecuador’s 2-0 victory over Qatar, but there was no post-game show. When the Qatar supporters section was shown, there were no women in sight. Fox Sports chose to ignore this while the network runs ads about how Qatar is so great. Again, some of this is due to circumstances that Fox did not create, but it just feels smaller than it should. And, even for those who love soccer and are used to it being run poorly, it is ugly that a country that disdains equal rights is the host. Fox probably needs to address it a little, if not a lot.
Notice something missing from this photo?Getty Images
… LeBron James’ alternate broadcast of Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” was pretty good. As with most of these secondary listens, it is not perfect if you are really into the game. James was mostly joined by non-football players — Dez Bryant and Jalen Ramsey were the exceptions. The key to this version of “The Shop” was Jamie Foxx. This is kind of self-explanatory — he’s Jamie Foxx. He’s very funny, so that added a lot. Ramsey gave the show a viral moment by saying James will be accused on Twitter of lying. It was good because, with everyone in person, it gave the feel of hanging out with LeBron and friends for a game. It didn’t give you the same level of expertise as the Manningcast, but it did enough that it may be worth checking out again when TNF has a bad game in Raiders-Rams on Dec. 8. … Among the layoffs from WBD was Turner Sports PR man Jay Moskowitz. Moskowitz is a thorough, hard worker.
Will Apple and MLS grow the game?
The pricing for streaming all MLS games on Apple TV+ next season was released last week, and it immediately raised eyebrows around the entire sports media stratosphere.
The numbers: Let’s go through it, citing the company’s “Apple Newsroom” press release:
Starting February 1, fans can subscribe to MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app for $14.99 per month during the season or $99 per season, and Apple TV+ subscribers can sign up at a special price of $12.99 per month and $79 per season.
Gareth Bale (center) celebrates with Los Angeles FC teammates during their win in the 2022 MLS Cup.USA TODAY Sports
Golazo!: I think most people have a fundamental misunderstanding of subscriptions, and I think Apple does not.
Apple says these games will be available on billions of devices around the world. So when I predictably conducted a very unscientific poll, the idea that people won’t subscribe “won.” Among the first 5,000 who responded, only 4.6 percent said they would subscribe.
But this is what is misunderstood about subscription businesses: You don’t need everyone. You really don’t need most. And what you want to do is get as much money as possible from your diehard fans who are willing to pay the most. So let’s do some simple math. Let’s use the results of our unscientific poll (which admittedly has a bias toward engaged American sports fans), round up to 5 percent and say Apple has a billion devices out there. That would be 50 million subscribers. (Easy math, because I was a journalism major.)
There is no way they are getting 50 million subs! You are correct. No chance.
However, I’m using that outlandish number to show how Apple could recoup the $250 million per year the company is paying MLS for the rights (MLS is covering the production costs, so the league probably nets more like $200M, give or take).
MLS commissioner Don GarberUSA TODAY Sports
If we use the easy math (again) of $100 per subscriber, Apple/MLS only needs 2.5 million subscribers to get to $250 million per season. I’m not saying they will hit that benchmark, but we are talking about the ability to reach the entire world with no blackouts. We shall see if they can.
In understanding subscription economics, and factoring in that soccer is the world game and Apple says there are more than a billion people who actively use an iPhone, it is conceivable that Apple can reach .25 percent of those users to subscribe to MLS.
So as a business proposition for Apple, it may make some sense. Heck, I get a monthly bill from Apple for $1 for storage for my kids’ phones that I’m not positive they use. You almost think they may be able to reach .25 percent of Apple devices by mistake.
You could base these calculations on a ratio of Apple TV+ subscribers instead. Apple doesn’t officially give out how many subscribers it has, but the internet has the figure at around 30 million (I don’t really trust the internet, but let’s stay that is right). If Apple got two percent of 30 million existing users to sign up, it would be just 600,000 for MLS.
MLS thinks the product will have reach because the league features players born in 82 different countries, 37 of whom are on World Cup rosters.
There’s buzz around Lionel Messi potentially playing in MLS at the end of his career.AFP via Getty Images
And, here’s something we wrote previously: How about if MLS adds Lionel Messi? Could Messi pay for himself with digital subscription economics?
Yellow card: What I don’t understand is why MLS and Apple are giving away subscriptions to teams’ season ticket-holders. This is supposedly 300,000-400,000 freebies. These are MLS’ most loyal customers with money in their pockets.
If Apple and MLS release numbers one day, these people will be included as subscribers, but they aren’t paying. MLS and Apple are hoping to have these people evangelize the product. I’d let them do that — and take their money.
Yellow card II: Two of the most popular sports in the world are soccer and basketball. The NBA is by far the best pro basketball league in the world. MLS is not even close to the best soccer league. Many people around the world, including in the United States, have access to watch the Premier League, Champions League and every other soccer match they want. If the NBA were to try the MLS-Apple game plan, it might really work, though as stated above, I doubt it does a one-party, exclusive deal and probably would advise against that, at this point.
MLS has yet to announce deals with ESPN and Fox to continue to have games simulcast on broadcast and cable TV, though it still appears to be in the cards. I know the folks at the networks like MLS commissioner Don Garber, but I’m not sure why they would want to prop up MLS’ 10-year agreement with Apple.
An agreement, which, by the way, could wipe the networks’ businesses off the map if it really works. When it is all said and done, there will be plenty of free MLS games in front of the Apple paywall and some select games on ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, ABC and Fox.
NYCFC’s Alexander Callens defends Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya during the MLS conference finals.USA TODAY Sports
Yellow card III: I tend to doubt MLS will grow as a global league, though a move for a legend such as Messi prior to the 2026 World Cup in North America could add some juice. MLS, to the frustration of American soccer fans, has shown no real appetite yet to fight for talent with the big boys of soccer.
So this might work in terms of being a good money deal — no one was close to Apple’s $250M — but, at the same time, the growth that big American soccer fans want to see in the level of MLS doesn’t feel fully as if it’s on the horizon. Without that leap and with convenient access to better leagues already in place, does MLS grow?
Red card: MLS is making me, a huge soccer fan, decide: Do I need it or not? If it were part of a bigger service, incorporated into the price, such as in ESPN+’s deal with the NHL (out-of-market MLS games previously were included with ESPN+, but there were blackouts), the value proposition is with the overall content, not just a thumbs up or thumbs down on MLS.
The huge MLS fan is going to put his or her thumbs up. That’s why sports are so vital in the media landscape. We will pay for the games we love.
But if you are in charge of a growing league, do you want someone like me — who is already watching Premier League, Champions League and the World Cup — to decide whether I want to put my thumbs up for $14.99 per month? Not so sure about that.
Extra time: Though we did break the fact that Apple and MLS were getting together in this here newsletter in January, we also discussed MLB’s deal with the company. Here’s what is not totally clear: What is Apple’s strategy? My belief is they want the MLS format to become ubiquitous. The rights don’t come up for so many leagues for so long that it is kind of irrelevant to even consider. (This is also why the NBA is in prime position with its rights deals expiring soon.)
NBA commissioner Adam SilverAFP via Getty Images
Could Apple replicate the MLS model with another sports property? Maybe, but my gut tells me the NBA — though I’m a bigger believer in subscription — doesn’t ultimately do a deal like this if Apple wants the rights to everything. (It actually is basically impossible in the relatively near term unless something changed with all the teams’ RSN deals.)
The one-stop shopping is smooth and easy, which is what Apple and Amazon do so well, making them transformative companies. However, the NBA is not going to give them everything. NBA commissioner Adam Silver may be watching, but he is going to want games to be on broadcast and probably cable TV to go along with the addition of streaming.
This MLS-Apple deal might be a transformative deal or it could really stall growth for the league. Apple basically owns the league for the next decade. Players even will wear Apple patches on sleeves. It was the only deal MLS really had — the money was not comparable in any other offer.
How this works might be more interesting (from a sports media perspective) than watching the Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake.
Programming note: There will be a podcast next week, but no newsletter the following Monday. Back on Dec. 5.
A simple question, but a significant one for the Nets: Why was Ime Udoka suspended?
Why did the Celtics ban their head coach for a year? Why would Boston allow a prized coach, coming off a breakout season that fell two wins shy of an NBA title, to leave for an Eastern Conference rival?
As the Nets apparently search their hearts and search for a new head coach, they must be searching for the specifics of the case, too. Why is Udoka not coaching right now? If he wants to replace the fired Steve Nash, Udoka should have to explain himself and the situation in which he finds himself.
Because whatever thoughts that you, as a Nets fan or as a basketball fan, hold about Udoka are uninformed. A high-profile suspension that lacks real precedent also lacks publicly available facts. The only official statement from the Celtics stated Udoka was banned for “violations of team policies” and did not elaborate.
Ime Udoka led Marcus Smart and the Celtics all the way to Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals.NBAE via Getty Images
Udoka’s downfall was as stunning as it was suppressed. Let’s follow the series of reports that told the world much more about the outcome than about Udoka’s offenses:
— At 10:35 p.m. on Sept. 21, six days before the Celtics’ first practice of training camp, ESPN reported Udoka was facing “possible disciplinary action — including a significant suspension — for an unspecified violation of organizational guidelines.”
— A few hours later, at 12:50 a.m. on Sept. 22, The Athletic reported Udoka had an “improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff.”
— As the world woke up in the morning, ESPN matched that report by stating, “Udoka is likely facing a suspension for the entire 2022-2023 season for his role in a consensual relationship with a female staff member.”
— That word — “consensual” — then began to disappear from the most prominent reports. The Worldwide Leader’s version of the story dropped it, stating Udoka was involved in an “intimate relationship.”
— The Athletic reported some in the Celtics organization learned about the relationship in July and believed it to be consensual. That belief reportedly changed shortly before the suspension, when the woman accused Udoka of “making unwanted comments toward her.”
Celtics president Brad Stevens (left) and owner Wyc Grousbeck announced a year-long suspension for Udoka for violations of team policies, the nature of which remain shrouded in privacy and mystery.AP
— ESPN followed by citing the independent law firm the Celtics hired to investigate, which found Udoka “used crude language in his dialogue with a female subordinate prior to the start of an improper workplace relationship with the woman.”
— On Sept. 23, Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens held a solemn news conference in which they revealed few specifics, but decried the speculation that had led to a witch hunt among female Celtics employees. The duo said the team was alerted of “a potential situation” involving Udoka over the summer, which led to the hiring of a firm that had finished its probe days earlier. Based on the findings, the Celtics suspended Udoka for one year, which was “well-warranted” and “backed by substantial research and evidence and fact,” Grousbeck said.
A little over six weeks later, much has changed, but the world does not know much more about Udoka. The 7-3 Celtics have thrived early in the season under interim coach Joe Mazzulla. On Nov. 1, after a 2-5 start, the Nets fired Nash and immediately were linked to Udoka, a former Nets assistant who is known to be close to Kevin Durant.
Eight days later, the Nets still do not have a head coach and reportedly are vetting Udoka. According to The Post’s Brian Lewis, Udoka was suspended for “having an affair with a married staff member, sending inappropriate text messages and a ‘volume of violations.’”
The Nets, who collect scandals rather than trophies, already are enmeshed in the Kyrie Irving controversy with a star guard who would not directly state he is not antisemitic. The backlash is coming from all sides, as one organization has managed to upset multiple marginalized groups. There are “strong voices” urging Nets owner Joe Tsai not to hire Udoka, NBA insider Marc Stein reported Monday. Lewis reported the Nets are believed to have held a meeting in which “several female staff members expressed concerns” about the potential hire.
Udoka was a Nets assistant coach during the 2020-21 season, and he established a rapport with Kevin Durant.NBAE via Getty Images
So, what do we know? Udoka was suspended for violating Celtics rules; he was involved with a female staffer in a relationship that may or may not have been consensual; he made “unwanted” or “crude” comments toward her, though the circumstances and the content of those comments are under wraps.
This account is not intended at all as a defense of Udoka, whose transgressions were significant enough to force his own team to (mostly) cut ties with its well-respected, rising head coach. But it is impossible for fans to know whether his sins eventually can be forgiven without knowing the exact nature and degree of those sins.
If the Nets believe Udoka is the answer to their on-court problems, they need to have a full accounting of what led the Celtics to take Udoka off the court. We do not know what happened, but he cannot become the Nets’ head coach without publicly answering every question to explain why he is no longer the Celtics’ head coach.
What is more dangerous: riding on an all-terrain vehicle or practicing football?
The heavy bet here is the latter.
Xavier McKinney had played every snap for the Giants through eight games before he was injured in a non-football activity during the team’s bye week.Noah K. Murray
Giants safety Xavier McKinney broke multiple fingers in an accident in Mexico during the bye week, when he was riding an off-road vehicle.
McKinney told reporters Tuesday at Giants practice that he underwent surgery and did not yet have a timeline for his return. He repeatedly stated he was enjoying a sight-seeing tour and did not want to reveal whether he was driving or a passenger in the ATV.
The injury is a brutal one for a player who has not missed a snap this season and for a 6-2 team fighting for a playoff spot. Off-field injuries particularly irritate fans and teams, who want the players focused on the Super Bowl mission at all times.
But this is football, a blood sport in which bodies clash and bones are broken every week. McKinney just as easily could have injured himself training. Instead, he tried to escape the weekly pain for one idle week and found pain anyway.
There will be a portion of fans who criticize McKinney, but the hope here is that contingent will be small. Football players should be allowed to live their lives, especially in a game that is so much about pain.
The upside-down NBA
Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and LeBron James can barely stand to watch the Lakers’ latest loss, which dropped the team to 2-8.AP
After three weeks of play, these teams would not qualify for the postseason if the NBA season ended today:
The 76ers (5-6) would be the last team in the Eastern Conference play-in.
It is early enough to qualify these as slow starts rather than reasons to panic, but there is a common link involving aging stars. Stephen Curry (34) is not washed up. LeBron James (37) is still phenomenal. Jimmy Butler (33) probably will remember how to shoot again. Kevin Durant (34) has been playing arguably the best basketball of his career.
But teams with established stars do not have the luxury of waiting too long to avoid wasting a season. Anthony Davis trade rumors already have begun in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the “tanking” Jazz (9-3) are atop the West. What a strange start to the season.
In so many ways, Bruce Reznick is one of a kind. He is 86, and nearly lives at basketball arenas. He has seen thousands of sporting events, from watching Jackie Robinson steal home to witnessing the greatness of Kevin Durant nightly. He is beloved by those he meets and many who watch from afar.
And then there is this oddity: The man known as Mr. Whammy remains a proud Nets fan who loves the organization.
The popular fixture who sits (and stands) behind the basket at Barclays Center, from where he tries to hex opposing foul shooters, is sticking by a Nets team that has invited controversy at every turn. The concern dearest to Whammy, though, surrounds Kyrie Irving, who last week used his social media to plug a movie that includes antisemitic tropes.
Whammy, as we will call him, is Jewish, and said he has written Irving a letter, which will be sent to the Nets.
“Hopefully when he reads my letter, he should understand how he should act,” Whammy said over the phone Wednesday, speaking from his day job at his Brooklyn law office. “I think it’s very important that he understand his position — and change.”
Forgive Whammy for being an optimist. The most prominent Nets fan on the planet believes his team’s star point guard — who has not spoken to the media since a Saturday night face-off in which he defended his conspiracy-laden social media posts — can learn from his mistakes, say he’s sorry and move forward.
Nets superfan Bruce Reznick, aka Mr. Whammy, has a letter ready to deliver to Kyrie Irving, who issued a statement Wednesday saying he did not “believe everything” in the controversial documentary he tweeted out a link to last week.Corey Sipkin
In a statement Wednesday night jointly released with the Nets, Irving did not quite In a statement Wednesday night jointly released with the Nets and the Anti-Defamation League, Irving did not quite apologize — he did say he “take[s] responsibility,” opposes “hatred and oppression” and does not believe “everything said in the documentary” — but attempted to distance himself from this scandal.
Maybe the Nets can proceed, too, and a Steve Nash-less outfit can jell into a title contender. Whammy will be rooting for them. But he might not have much company on that limb.
In the history of sports, has there been a more difficult team to support? Teams such as the 2010-11 Heat (the first of the Big Three era), the 2007 Spygate Patriots and the “Bad Boy” Pistons teams were loathed across their respective leagues — but also loved at home.
The Nets have no such safe space. Nets fans sat courtside Sunday wearing “Fight Antisemitism” shirts aimed at one of the two faces of these Nets. Nash was the head coach then; he since has been ousted, and all indications are the Nets will bring in Ime Udoka, a head coach suspended for the year by the Celtics after an internal investigation discovered an improper, intimate relationship with a female Boston staffer.
The development must have pleased Nets superstar Kevin Durant, who this offseason requested Nash and GM Sean Marks be fired. Durant is still with a team he demanded to be removed from, mostly hearing cheers from a fan base he wants to escape.
Irving’s initial defiance about his Twitter post linking to an antisemitic movie prompted fans to attend the Nets game against the Pacers this week wearing “Fight Antisemitism” shirts.Corey Sipkin
The Nets’ least toxic star, Ben Simmons, is a marvelous talent who cannot shoot, has played in six games and found his way to Brooklyn by refusing to report to his former team.
The Post has reported the Nets are dead last in season-ticket sales. The team is unlikeable, and the play — 2-6 thus far — often has been unwatchable. Their most devoted fans are questioning that devotion.
“I am personally disgusted with the WHOLE situation,” tweeted Bob Windrem, who runs the popular Nets site NetsDaily, after reports began leaking Tuesday that the Nets would replace Nash with Udoka. “[A]nd like a lot of fans I’ve spoken to this morning, I believe it is going to take a long time for us to feel comfortable with this franchise. If ever.”
You won’t hear such talk from Whammy, who is warm to a fault and preaches lessons learned from his parents: “If you show love, you get love.”
He concedes, though, that the faces of the Nets have not embraced the face of their fan base.
Irving “doesn’t talk to me, look at me,” Whammy said, adding that Irving and Durant are still relatively new to the team, and there is plenty of time to endear themselves to the Brooklyn fans.
Mr. Whammy has been a fixture since the 1990s at Nets games, where he has jokingly tried to hex opposing players at the free-throw line.Getty Images
Whammy speaks fondly of Jarrett Allen, who was sent to Cleveland in the failed three-way trade that briefly brought James Harden to Brooklyn. Years ago, Whammy introduced himself to the young big man.
“I said, ‘Do you have grandparents?’ He said, ‘No, but now I do,’” said Whammy, a regular attendee at Nets games since they were based in New Jersey in the 1990s. “Isn’t that beautiful?”
Whammy said he taught Allen to shoot foul shots, and shaky free-throw shooter Nic Claxton will be his next project. Caris LeVert, also part of that trade with the Cavaliers, was a hugger.
“I’m a little depressed that I don’t get the reaction from this team,” said Whammy, who was close enough with Jason Kidd that he attended his 2018 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. “But in time they will.”
Whammy, who will be in Charlotte for Saturday’s Nets-Hornets game, is not giving up on the team. At a time when much of the world and fan base have heard enough, Whammy is keeping the faith and wants to hear once more from Irving.
Reznick says he has not developed the kind of close relationships with some of the players on this Nets roster that he has with past members of the franchise.Paul J. Bereswill
“He should have come forth earlier, but he’s got a chance now,” Whammy said. “It’s never too late to redeem yourself.”
It is a good thing that it is “never too late,” because it is awfully, awfully late for the Nets.
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Cover your bases with more coverage of Wednesday night’s World Series no-hit history:
Speaking of culture issues, two wide receivers requesting trades in the same year does not reflect well on their quarterback.
On Tuesday, Jets GM Joe Douglas placed the responsibility for pacifying Elijah Moore and Denzel Mims — who both wanted out, yet neither was moved by the deadline — on head coach Robert Saleh and his staff. And sure: If the Jets re-engage Moore and Mims, it would speak highly of the people in charge.
It does not reflect well on Zach Wilson, the leader of this Jets offense, that two talented, recent second-round picks do not want to be a part of the team.
Elijah Moore’s inability to find the kind of rhythm with Zach Wilson that he had with Joe Flacco had the second-year wide receiver in search of a trade.Robert Sabo
“Each situation’s mutually exclusive,” Douglas said, though that may not be completely true: If Mims and Moore caught more passes, they likely would be just fine. “We think the world about these guys, and we love them here in New York.”
Moore did not ask for a trade when Joe Flacco — a backup at best at this stage of his career — hooked up for 12 completions and 139 yards in the first three weeks of the season. And if Wilson could utilize the length of the 6-foot-3 Mims, who has been a nonfactor since landing with the Jets in 2020, the former Baylor star would have fewer difficult discussions with Douglas and Saleh.
The Jets are proud of their culture, a fact Douglas made clear: Young players are carrying the team. But it is not a coincidence that the two Jets players publicly displeased are two players reliant on Wilson, who will have to take a leap this season for the Jets to win and for offensive players to want to be a part of that culture.
In honor of Judy Coughlin
Tom Coughlin was as football coach as a football coach gets. He worked on Tom Coughlin Time, always five minutes early. He drilled. He shouted.
And then he would return home to a wife who always was the true boss.
Tom Coughlin and his wife, Judy, after the Giants won the NFC Championship game in January 2008.Getty Images
“Judy was a remarkable woman in every way,” the former two-time Super Bowl champion head coach of the Giants said in a statement. “She lived a life filled with love and unselfishly gave her heart and soul to others. Judy made you feel like an old friend from the first hug to the last. She was a mother to all on and off the field.
“For everyone who knew and loved Judy, the enormity of her absence cannot be put into words, but the immense kindness she showed to others will always endure. Our hearts are broken, but we know she is free from suffering and at peace with our Lord.”
Last year, Coughlin came forward — in a powerful column for the New York Times — to reveal Judy had been diagnosed with a rare brain disease, known as progressive supranuclear palsy. Coughlin had become a caregiver, and Judy was slipping away.
“For the past four years, we’ve helplessly watched her go from a gracious woman with a gift for conversation, hugging all the people she met and making them feel they were the most important person in the room,” Coughlin wrote, “to losing almost all ability to speak and move.”
The Mets’ rotation didn’t get any younger this season.
In a win-now mode, the team last November added Max Scherzer, who turned 38 in July, and also featured the 35-year-old Carlos Carrasco and Jacob deGrom, who turned 34 in June. Chris Bassitt, who arrived in a trade from the A’s, turned 33 before the season.
It’s a fact team brass will have to weigh heavily this offseason. Mostly, that pertains to deGrom — and also to Carrasco and Bassitt — as the Mets consider how to rebuild a rotation that was strong for most of the season, but faded in the final weeks as the Mets squandered their NL East title chances and lost to the Padres in the wild-card series.
DeGrom at his best is the most electrifying force in baseball, but how long the Mets are willing to extend the relationship, more than the average annual value of a new contract, might be the largest factor in whether the two-time Cy Young Award winner returns.
Does owner Steve Cohen set a strict two-year limit on a deGrom deal? Three years? DeGrom has indicated he plans to opt out from his contract, and a team desperate for a marquee attraction with Cy Young upside might be willing to hand over the moon to get it.
DeGrom has started 23 games combined over the two seasons Cohen has owned the team, which included a nearly 13-month stretch without an appearance. The risk is significant.
Jacob deGrom exited his lone playoff start amid uncertainty about whether he would return to the Mets.Corey Sipkin
Carrasco is a back-end starter these days, and for the $11 million it will cost the Mets to pick up his option for next season (the net outlay of the $14 million option when the $3 million buyout in his contract is considered), it’s sensible to keep him.
But that’s only if you believe Carrasco has enough left in the tank to approach the same effectiveness he showed this season, when he started 29 games and pitched to a 3.97 ERA.
Bassitt was maybe the Mets’ most consistent starting pitcher, but he’s now headed toward free agency as somebody who will turn 34 in spring training. Team brass loved Bassitt’s dependability this season, but if deGrom and Carrasco stay — with Scherzer signed for two additional years — can the Mets justify keeping another older pitcher?
All factors considered, the Mets might want to take a long look at Carlos Rodon, who can opt out from the two-year contract he received from the Giants last offseason. Rodon, who is represented by superagent Scott Boras, is likely to reject the $22.5 million option and aim for a multiyear deal (think: five or six) in the $30 million range annually.
Rodon does have a history of shoulder issues, but he’s thrived the past two seasons while making a combined 55 starts. Rodon, who turns 30 before spring training, would provide a younger (and left-handed) alternative to potentially replace deGrom or Bassitt. This season, Rodon led the major leagues in FIP (fielding independent pitching), which measures a pitcher’s ability to strike out batters and limit home runs, walks and hit batsmen. Rodon had 2.25 FIP, which is measured on roughly the same scale as ERA. Rodon’s traditional numbers for the Giants this year were also strong, highlighted by a 14-8 record with a 2.88 ERA over 178 innings.
Chris Bassitt won 15 games while throwing a career-high 181 ⅔ innings this year, but the soon-to-be 34-year-old may not make for a good fit in an already-aging Mets rotation.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
A dominant left-handed component to the rotation would be welcomed. David Peterson was effective in a fill-in role, but Rodon would have the potential to become a CC Sabathia-type presence.
The Mets had a lefty on their mind last offseason, but Steven Matz spurned a return to Citi Field to sign with the Cardinals, eliciting venom from Cohen toward the pitcher’s agents, whom he accused of “unprofessional” behavior. Matz was a disappointment for the Cardinals, pitching to a 5.25 ERA in 15 appearances before a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee ended his season.
Rodon’s talent, relative youth (compared to the other members of the Mets rotation this season) and left-handedness are all factors that could make him an attractive addition for the Mets this winter.
A worthy cause
The winner of the Roberto Clemente Award — honoring MLB’s top humanitarian — will be announced during the World Series. The Mets’ nominee was James McCann for his work with families of premature babies.
McCann’s wife, Jessica, gave birth in December 2017 to twin boys who arrived seven weeks early. The twins spent seven weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
James McCann was nominated for baseball’s Robert Clemente Award for the work he and his wife, Jessica, have done supporting the parents of premature babies.Corey Sipkin
The McCanns visit NICUs in New York and at home in Nashville to lend support to families and distribute gift packages.
“The thing that is tough, and a lot of people don’t understand, when the baby is in there full-time, parents still have to go to work, they are not just sitting in the hospital all the time,” McCann said. “We go and visit … once in a while, we get a note from someone thanking us for the gift package that we left them. We’re just letting them know that as somebody who has been in their shoes, that as tough as it is right now, there’s brighter days ahead.”
McCann’s sons Christian and Kane, who weighed three pounds at birth, are fully healthy, according to McCann.
“They love baseball,” McCann said. “They will step over trucks and cars and legos to pick up a bat and a ball. They are obsessed. It’s incredible. Everything is normal as normal gets.”
McCann could join a list that includes Curtis Granderson, Carlos Delgado, Al Leiter and Gary Carter, all of whom won the Clemente award while playing for the Mets. The list of winners also includes Carrasco, who received the award with Cleveland in 2019.
“Just being nominated and in that conversation is a special thing, but to win the overall award and have your name etched in that legacy would be incredible,” McCann said. “When we had the Roberto Clemente night , you see the names of past winners … it’s a special group of people.”
System shakeup
Tim Teufel’s 25-year tenure in a variety of instructiuonal roles for the Mets has come to an end, but he likely will serve as a team ambassador moving forward.Getty Images
Tim Teufel’s departure from the Mets’ instructional ranks was surprising (he won’t be retained as the minor league infield coordinator) given his deep roots in the organization, but you can’t blame general manager Billy Eppler for wanting to import his own people.
In recent years, fan favorites such as Edgardo Alfonzo and Wally Backman departed from Mets minor league managerial roles as part of player development changes.
Teufel, 64, has served the organization well in various roles over the past 25 years and will remain a club ambassador. Omar Minaya, Mike Piazza, Mookie Wilson and Todd Zeile also served in that role this season.
Three games into Lane Lambert’s tenure as coach, the difference in how the Islanders play has not only been obvious, but has had strong positive effects.
After a training camp in which “aggressive” was the word du jour, we are seeing it in action, in every phase of the game. Yes, that means defensemen getting up on the rush — it is no coincidence that six of the team’s 13 goals have come from their blueliners. But that is not the half of it.
The biggest difference between the Islanders and the top-tier teams in the league last season was the speed at which they played. Much was made about the average age of the Islanders because they played like an old team. They broke the puck out slowly. They eschewed the rush. Watching them and then watching the Avalanche, Lightning, Flames or Oilers was like watching two different sports.
Again, it is just three games, two of them against competition the Islanders should be beating, but at least they look to be playing the same game as the contenders. That comes down to a difference in, yes, aggression. Not just on the rush, but in every phase of the game.
Where it’s been most noticeable so far is on the forecheck.
The Islanders were always a strong forechecking team under Barry Trotz, but they depended on their forwards to do much of the work. The defensemen stayed back, meaning that if the opposition got above the hash marks, more often than not they could get all the way through the neutral zone with some degree of ease.
Lambert has changed that, and now there is a significant degree of pressure at the blue line as opponents exit the zone. That might make the Islanders susceptible to more odd-man rushes if their lines can be broken — everything is a tradeoff — but it has allowed them to keep the pressure on the offensive zone in a way they simply did not a season ago.
via ESPN+
Watch Adam Pelech’s positioning here on the far wall. When the puck is played around the boards, he’s all the way at the hashes to force the Ducks’ Troy Terry to play it back behind the net. The forwards do a good job as well, but that is where the real difference is compared to last season.
The added pressure also helps once the Islanders possess the puck. With Pelech and Ryan Pulock already stationed at the blue line, Pulock becomes an easy outlet for Brock Nelson after he wins a puck battle behind the net. Consequently, the Islanders can quickly get set up in the zone and not have to worry about an entry.
“If you forecheck with three guys, if you beat the three forwards, there’s that gap between the D and forwards. The D start to back off and you’re more or less giving the other team a free exit,” Matt Martin told The Post. “Now I think we’re a little more up and together. When we forecheck hard and a puck gets rimmed around the boards, our D are coming to keep that puck in and keep it alive. And then we come back hard to cover up for them.
“You’re gonna see a lot more of that, I think, around the blue lines. A lot more [of] those 50/50 pucks that we’re trying to come up with as opposed to backing off and allowing them to exit [with] no pressure.”
Even in the neutral zone, the pressure has been much more relentless. The little things — particularly forwards getting sticks on pucks — have shown out. Here, Kyle Palmieri does just that, and it leads to a zone entry.
via ESPN+
Earlier in the game against Anaheim, it was Anthony Beauvillier who made a heads-up play with his stick coming over the boards, leading to Scott Mayfield’s goal off the rush.
via ESPN+
The aggressiveness even has shown up on the penalty kill, where Islanders forwards have been emboldened to push up the ice when the situation has called for it. That approach nearly resulted in a shorthanded goal for Casey Cizikas against the Panthers when he chased a loose puck up the ice.
via ESPN+
The Islanders needed to find a way to generate more offense with the same group of players. So far, this is the way that works. The fourth line, in particular, has looked rejuvenated after struggling through last season.
“We love it, honestly,” fourth-liner Martin said of the forechecking mentality. “It allows you to hunt and make that first guy get rid of the puck, and you know that our guys are coming to try and keep it in. It definitely, I think, leads to more opportunities, more pucks going towards the net. You don’t want to give anyone anything for free.
“So if a player’s gonna make a play off the wall, which is always a tough play, and they don’t get it out, then we got an opportunity to turn it into offense.”
Added defenseman Noah Dobson: “It’s not fun when guys are chasing pucks as a D-man. You know they’re coming hard and they’re coming at you. That’s a good part of our game. When we’re forechecking well, we get lots of chances off it.”
A bigger test is coming soon with five straight games against playoff-level competition following Thursday night’s matchup with the Devils. Right now, though, we can only judge what we’ve seen. And what we’ve seen is the Islanders adopting a new approach and running with it.
“I think it’s just aggressive everywhere at all times is what [Lambert] wants,” Martin said. “Basically you’re never giving anyone a free play, you’re never letting anyone off the hook. You wanna keep the pressure on them. You wanna make them execute.”
Problem solved
Sebastian Aho’s move to the IR has eased a roster crunch facing the Islanders, for now.Corey Sipkin
The solution to having too many forwards coming out of training camp, it turns out, was not to send down one of the forwards, but to put a defenseman on injured reserve. By sending Sebastian Aho to IR with an upper-body injury retroactive to Oct. 8, the Islanders effectively ensured Oliver Wahlstrom, Kieffer Bellows, Ross Johnston and Nikita Soshnikov can stay on the roster without any worries.
Aho, who likely would have been a healthy scratch for games, still is practicing with the team as he works his way back from the injury. He has not spoken to reporters since going on IR, and Lambert has only spoken in generalities regarding Aho’s timeframe for returning. (The day Aho was placed on IR, he skated with the extras for 45 minutes after the rest of the team came off the ice. Make of that what you will.)
He’s already passed the minimum time to stay on injured reserve, so the Islanders can activate him if need be as long as he is healthy, a scenario that might only end up coming to pass if someone else goes on IR. If he is able to come back at the first moment the Islanders require him, though, it would be a good way of having navigated what seemed to be a real roster conundrum.
Dobson and Romanov taking steps forward
The Sharks may not have been the toughest test, but Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson still aced their time together on the ice in a 5-2 Islanders win this week.Getty Images (2)
Lambert did not exclusively go at certain matchups with his defensive pairs, but most of Dobson’s and Romanov’s work Tuesday came against either the Sharks’ second line, led by Tomas Hertl, or their third line, led by Nick Bonino. (If you’re wondering about Logan Couture’s top line, its largest share of minutes came against Pelech and Pulock.)
The Sharks, who head to Madison Square Garden at a well-deserved 0-5, are a hapless group, so take that with a grain of salt. But it is most definitely a positive sign.
Last week, the NBA announced its new “reimagined all-in destination global app” that it basically wants to make a one-stop destination for the league’s fans worldwide.
Itcould become a very big deal because of the idea of one digital storefront to sell the rights to view all of the league’s games, the implications of Sinclair potentially heading into bankruptcy and what the app could mean for the next national TV rights negotiations.
Let’s go through it.
What the NBA announced: Here are some of the highlights of what the app will feature:
• It will be available globally. • Wall-to-wall content from every game. • Continued development of alternative ways to view games. • Behind-the-scenes access to players and teams. • Access to NBA League Pass with a new low price of $14.99 per month or $99.99 for the whole season. • Access to classic games.
via ESPN
Let’s put our two index fingers up Windhorst-style and say, “Why would the NBA do that?”
1️⃣ The nature of distribution has changed, which has resulted in those with the most vital content having more power. The internet has created the chance for an individual or a business to reach the whole world at scale without needing another delivery service.
Though a content provider such as the NBA still can enjoy the fruits of the old model — and does, via its cable and broadcast TV deals — it can increasingly see a world where it can go direct-to-consumer or, at least, position that option as a threat to the old model to leverage even more billions of dollars in future deals.
2️⃣ This is happening while the cable model is under extreme pressure, especially with Sinclair Broadcast Group flirting with bankruptcy. This is a pressing issue for the NBA, MLB and the NHL because Sinclair owns the local broadcast rights to the games of 16 NBA teams, 14 MLB teams and 12 NHL teams.
The NBA, under the guidance of commissioner Adam Silver, increasingly could look to cut out the middleman in how it distributes its own content.NBAE via Getty Images
3️⃣ The NBA recently “helped” Sinclair with its re-financing while granting Sinclair the rights to stream the games of teams for which it already owned the cable rights.
(Windhorst fingers time!)
Why would they do that? Well, I don’t know the intricate details of the deal, but my understanding is the NBA could take back the broadcast rights of (including the Mavericks, Heat, Bucks and Clippers), which would help the league develop a direct-to-consumer model. The aforementioned app could be at the center of the offerings.
4️⃣ The NBA is watching what MLS is doing with Apple. Apple will sell MLS subscriptions all over the world. Though it is debatable whether this approach will work with MLS, which is merely a top-10 league in the world and nowhere near the best, the NBA is one-of-one in professional basketball. The NBA could take an iTunes approach, selling subscriptions out of one store (with no real middleman because of the reimagined app-based distribution center).
How do younger NBA fans consume LeBron James content? By watching entire Lakers games or by engaging with his highlights on social media?AP
The NBA could do this with a lot of partners or just one. The incumbents, ESPN and Turner (which is already a partner on the app), plus Apple, Amazon and who knows else could be partners. The NBA could try to go it alone, too, though, I doubt it will.
5️⃣ Let’s be clear: ESPN/ABC and Turner Sports (or a similar entity) aren’t going anywhere. The NBA’s next rights deal in 2025 will include networks with broadcast television being the platform of choice. But it would be surprising if, at the least, a third package is not added. And major changes to how we pay for and view local games are most definitely in play over the next decade, maybe much sooner.
6️⃣ Dating back to the late commissioner David Stern, the NBA historically has been very good at figuring out the market. It understands that a younger set of fans takes in sports differently. You can see that in the app announcement. It is not just about watching full games. It is about creating a hub for the NBA experience and different ways to view games and highlights. It is trying to put the fan — especially the younger fan — first. It is increasingly a problem for sports – and the NBA it is at the forefront of this issue – that the regular season has lost importance and if LeBron James does something spectacular, the highlight is everywhere on social media in moments. The incentive to watch a game live is not as great as it once was, and the NBA does not control the relationship if the highlight is viewed on Instagram.
7️⃣ The NBA used to have two apps, one for the domestic audience and one for the international audience. Now it is trying to have one-stop shopping. What digital distribution allows businesses to do is to open up a store that is as easily available in Boston as in Bangladesh as long as customers can access the internet. The NBA has grown the popularity of its sport internationally for a long time. It could sell its games directly to consumers around the whole world.
Sinclair CEO Chris RipleySinclair Broadcast Group
8️⃣ The NBA could change how it produces local games. If regional sports networks (RSNs) eventually disintegrate, the NBA could try to do everything in-house, producing and broadcasting the games in a central way. And sell them that way, too.
9️⃣ The NBA also could create its own subscription service that may work in conjunction with RSNs. So there could be an overall subscription for all the games, including your local ones, but there also could be an offering just for Knicks games, for example, in which the rights holder (MSG, in this case) would see most of the money. The NBA could create its own front door to directly reach fans and/or negotiate with cable companies if cable stays viable.
1️⃣0️⃣ Though a form of the plan we have outlined very well could happen, it wouldn’t surprise us if the NBA just uses this as leverage.
1️⃣1️⃣ To be clear: The league actually probably wants Sinclair to survive and thrive because, while this is all well and good, the RSN system is still very sweet for the NBA.
Cable partners such as Turner Sports, starring Charles Barkley in studio coverage, still figure to be part of the NBA’s next broadcast rights deals.Damairs Carter/MediaPunch/IPx
Last shot: The digital disruption of distribution has given the biggest and strongest global content providers enormous power.
NBA Finals ratings are still important, but there is a new game emerging.
So put up your Windhorst index fingers and ask yourself about last week’s announcement of the all-in-one NBA global app and say, “Why would the NBA do that?”
It is a hint of what is potentially coming with the 2025 TV rights negotiations around the corner.
Quick Clicks
Rachel Nichols’ comeback from her ESPN dismissal began by giving one interview … with an affiliate of her new employer.NBAE via Getty Images
Amazon missed big at halftime Thursday by failing to address that injured Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa potentially had suffered another concussion just four days earlier. It needed to move faster to address the situation. It did find its footing in the post-game as Michael Smith, who before becoming a semi-hot taker made his way up as an NFL reporter, giving strong details about the NFLPA’s Tua position. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Richard Sherman continue to shine. Good combo. They got at the uncomfortable truth: Everyone wants to do the right thing, but they also want to win. Meanwhile, Tony Gonzalez may set a record for consecutive weeks of saying nothing. … If Rachel Nichols wants to be thought of as a journalist — and to fully move on from how her ESPN tenure ended in her removal after her private conversations about the network and race were made public — she probably should not only do interviews with a company that just hired her, as she did with Showtime. That comes across more like PR. … When things change in coverage, it sometimes happens very slowly, but ESPN extending JJ Redick for three years and TNT hiring Jamal Crawford to replace Dwyane Wade on its Tuesday night studio show could be significant down the road. As the next generation of analysts take hold, Redick and Crawford might end up being in the middle of the wave for an extended period.
It’s not an indictment of streaming for Amazon (which did) or Apple (which didn’t) to permit a potentially historic Aaron Judge game to air on local cable as well.Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
… The Yankees and Amazon making Friday’s game available on YES was the right call. The Yankees and Amazon each have stakes in YES, so they had a common goal, but, more importantly, it’s imperative for the Aaron Judge chase to try to reach as many people as possible for the sake of the future popularity of baseball and of streaming. It is not an indictment of streaming by also offering a game on cable now, it is an acknowledgement that it is a new and growing delivery system. It is analogous to how the NFL still has ESPN and Amazon show their games on over-the-air TV in the relevant local markets. It just makes business sense. It is why when this issue emerged with the Apple TV+ game the weekend prior, there was an argument for Apple to offer the game regionally on YES as well as on its service nationally. On the other hand, put me on the side of ESPN shouldn’t be doing live look-ins during each Judge at-bat during college football coverage. Just show the home run if he hits it. … ESPN’s “Yankees-Dodgers: An Uncivil War,” was really well-done. What stood out was how neatly the documentary told the story of the late 1970s Yankees and Dodgers, which featured complicated figures such as Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner and Steve Garvey. It receives 4.78 out of 5 clickers.
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