Happy Fourth of July. Let's Go Yankees!

  I could whine about the state of the New York Yankees after the team was unceremoniously swept by the Blue Jays in Toronto. First four game sweep of New York by the Jays across the border. Which put Toronto in first place for the first time this season. It must have felt great to the patriotic Canadians who were there for Canada Day to stick it to the MLB team which embodies America the most. 

Look, the Yankees are a flawed team. Aaron Judge may be hitting .370 and leads the majors in R.B.I.’s and is second only to “The Big Dumper,” Seattle’s Cal Raleigh in home runs as No. 99 chases the Triple Crown. But almost no one on the Yankees is hitting within 100 points of Judge, has half the homers he has or is close to him driving in runs. Which isn’t good. 

Moreover, the situational hitting is not there. Seemingly every game New York is repeatedly leaving men in scoring position without plating them. Even in the big outburst on Wednesday night, when the Yankees came all the way back to tie the Jays on a monster home run by Judge, once Toronto scored two runs off closer Devin Williams, the door was shut. Again. Just like on Thursday night when the number of runners left on base was in double figures yet New York could only score five runs while collecting 12 hits. 

And the pitching is in tatters. Even their best pitchers, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon cannot lead the team to victory because they haven’t been perfect or the once solid bullpen is now unable to stop anybody. 

Plus, in a very ominous sign, starter Clarke Schmidt, in the midst of a solid year, left the game with right forearm tightness. His loss could be devastating for a team already hurting with the absence of quality starting pitching in the form of Gerrit Cole and the still unavailable Rookie of the Year Luis Gil. Relying on a sustainable comeback by Marcus Stroman is not a solid option. 

The players will say all the right things about slumps and how they happen during the course of a season. Or how much fight they team has shown, especially in the comebacks on Wednesday and Thursday night. 

But the reality is that the team fell out of first place, trailing Toronto by one game and they are tied with Tampa Bay for second place. Having seen the Rays in person in Baltimore when they clubbed the Orioles, Tampa looks a heck of a lot better than the Yankees. Division rivals Boston and Baltimore give New York fits right now. This is not good. 

NYY has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse and now, after playing a night game across the border, have a mid-afternoon July 4th start at Citi Field in a pressure-packed three game series with the Mets, who are on a two game winning streak after playing as badly as the Yankees. Mets fans, who always are in frenzy when hosting the Yankees, must be salivating at the prospect of adding to the misery of their hated rivals. 

I don’t have the answers for this problem. Could the Yankees be on the precipice of breaking out, like Manager Aaron Boone preaches? Maybe. But even if the hitting becomes torrid for awhile, is the pitching able to maintain leads—former closer Luke Weaver looks lost on the mound and Williams is inconsistent at best. The mid-inning relief isn’t much better. 

Watching the Yankees is depressing. Almost as depressing as viewing Season 4 of “The Bear.” At least with the latter, my wife and I are six episodes into the season; with the Yankees, we have to get to October, which seems way too far away. 

I could get into all of the free agency signings and trades going on in the NBA and NHL. Starting with all the speculation about what Lebron James is going to do now that he has opened into a $52 million one year deal with the Lakers and has stated how much he wants to be in a place where he can win now. The Knicks have been mentioned as a landing spot for him. Especially with Mike Brown becoming the new head coach—the former Coach of the Year had James on his roster in Cleveland when the Cavs first went to the NBA Finals. 

If I were New York, I would avoid taking James. It could be one year only. He has shown that he is more injury-prone and he is now 40 years old. And the pieces which would go to Los Angeles in the form of a rental would be too much. Stick with the plan—the Eastern Conference is wide open with the injuries in Indiana  and Boston along with trades which have happened and will continue to take place changing the dynamic of the Celtics, Pacers, Pistons, Bucks, Cavs, Magic and even the Wizards. 

One more comment—this time it’s about the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Management has gone big time in re-signing core players to extensions. This is a team which has won two Cups in a row and has been in the past three Finals. Thinking about a dynasty in this day and age seems unlikely given player movement. Unless you are in South Florida. 

However, it is the Fourth of July as I write this blog. This nation is one year away from celebrating its 250th birthday. 

There is a lot of political turmoil right now. I will not discuss that. Yet in 1776, the situation was chaotic as Americans were revolting against Britain and the tyranny they felt. 

As we know, America won the war. Largely because they had a home game in terms of the fighting. That was emblematic of the resolve Americans would repeatedly show as the years went by. 

Wars. Depression. Racial strife. Still we came together and banded as one solid nation after the Civil War. Sure, there were hiccups large and small along the way. Nothing is perfect in watching a nation grow. Resiliency remained the key. 

This is a great country. I have been fortunate to have seen so much in my 75 years living in Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Each of those states, like every other sister state, is so different and diverse. Just think of the Amish and North Jerseyans as examples. 

To me, California is as beautiful as Texas. Utah is as pretty as South Dakota. Sunrises in Illinois are as lovely as they are in Alaska. A beach in South Carolina is as spectacular as a mountain in Montana. 

New Jersey has been a steady home for me for the past 50 years. I find it to have its own intrinsic beauty—West Jersey and the Jersey Shore are remarkable in their colors and sounds. Sure, there is urban blight in Essex, Hudson, Passaic and even Union County where I reside. I always found the refineries along the New Jersey Turnpike to be amazing, although I am glad that the stench from the pig farms in Secaucus is no more. All of the aforementioned  doesn’t overwhelm the magnitude of the state and its people from all walks of life. 

I have been so fortunate to have traveled this country many times. I look forward to doing more in the future months as time and physical ailments allow. At my age, major car trips are going to be fewer and fewer. 

That doesn’t mean that I won’t be checking out more and more of this great land. Or making return trips to places which deserve a second or third visit. I am sure that attending games or visiting college campuses will be a part of my travels.

Along with interacting with the people who live in such a diverse land. Southern hospitality at a family-owned restaurant is as wonderful as going to a theme park. It’s part of Americana. 

I will watch the fireworks displays in my home town of Springfield and adjacent Millburn, commemorating what we have—liberty. A nation which thrives and supports sports and viewpoints so divergent. 

We are a great nation. You may hate a school like Duke or a team such as the Yankees because they win. Sports and the connection we have to those who play is wondrous. Think how we all marveled in the 1980 USA hockey team defeating the hated Russians at Lake Placid. Or watching Steph Curry sink the three pointer to secure Olympic gold last year in Paris. 

Take some time away from your barbecues to remind yourselves of what you believe makes this country what it is. Think about what you want it to be heading into the next 250 years. Most of all, rejoice for the ability to be where you are for the reasons you have arrived there. 

Happy Fourth of July. Let’s Go Yankees!

A Good Week For Israel? Not Such A Good One For Indiana?

  Yeah, the oddsmakers got it right with the final score in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Some would tell you that they lucked out. Others would say that they had it figured out, no matter what transpired on the court—even if it was something unforeseen. 

`Of course, I am referring to the Achilles tendon injury suffered by Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton during the first quarter of the game. His injury took away the ability for the Pacers to remain sustainable on offense. 

Yes, Indiana actually maintained a one point lead at halftime. That is akin to an adrenaline rush spurring on greater performances—until the adrenaline is no longer secreting. 

Which is exactly what happened in the third quarter. A healthy Oklahoma City team—one which ended the 2024-25 season with the third most wins ever in the regular season and playoffs combined and was led by the NBA scoring leader, M.V.P. and Finals M.V.P. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander—was the prohibitive favorite at the outset of the playoffs and even at the beginning of the Finals. 

Except nobody got the memo in Hoosierland. Indiana Head Coach Rick Carlisle and his team scrapped, fought and gallantly tried to go the distance with the eventual champs. 

In the end, their hopes rose and fell on that court with Haliburton banging his fist in frustration, knowing what had happened to him. The next day, there were a lot of what ifs stated regarding the Indiana star. Unfortunately, basketball games aren’t subject to conjecture, nor should Haliburton’s injury—when he was excelling on the floor while playing with a supposed calf strain that wasn’t limiting him until the fateful moment his tendon decided otherwise—tarnish in any way what the OKC team achieved. 

The Thunder are the champions and they should be celebrated—like Oklahomans did in the near 100 degree heat at the victory parade. And heading into the NBA off-season, OKC is the odds on favorite to repeat as champions. 

What struck me about Haliburton’s injury is that Achilles tendon tears are becoming more frequent. Just in this playoffs alone, Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee’s Damion Lillard both suffered the gruesome injuries which seemingly led to their teams’ demise. Overall, seven NBA players went down with Achilles tendon injuries in 2024-25. 

With Haliburton and Tatum, their injuries were reminiscent of those suffered by Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. Had neither player gone down, Golden State’s dynasty might have been mentioned in the same breath as the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, as the Warriors were likely to have won two more crowns.

Tatum, Haliburton and Lillard will not play next season. While age and rehabilitative measures favor the first two, Lillard is 34 and may now see the beginning of a downward turn in his efficiency. 

Not everybody comes back the same for the type of injuries—no matter how skilled the surgeons are with the most up-to-date techniques. Durant is still an elite player, (now playing in Houston after Phoenix engineered a trade) but Thompson has lost a step in his Hall of Fame career. It is not like Tommy John surgery in baseball, where pitchers seemingly recover and sometimes are even better than before the injury. 

Yet both sports are plagued by an epidemic of injuries taking away stars. Look at Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees; he’s out for the season after elbow surgery. Elbow repair kept Shohei Ohtani from pitching for his Los Angeles Dodgers until recently. 

And it happened to Aaron Rodgers, then of the New York Jets, in the first series of his first regular season game with the team. NYJ plummeted to another losing season after so much optimism and is still searching for a way to return to the playoffs. 

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has commissioned a study as to why these injuries are happening. I suggest that they start with looking at the history of two of the players involved. 

Haliburton and Tatum both played on the gold medal-winning United States Men’s Basketball Team. Tatum played in the NBA Finals prior to the Olympics when the Celtics won it all. Haliburton and the Pacers made it to the Eastern Conference finals in 2024 before reaching the championship round this season. 

That sounds like chronic overuse and training. In a sport which requires peak performance—jumping, sprinting, maneuvering. All of the stars initially complained about calf strains, yet chose to play on until the ruptures occurred. A University of Florida study led to the conclusion that the stress on the tendons will lead to micro tears and a weakening of the tendon from the repetitive activity., citing the years of play and the impact it has on athletes from their youth to the pros. 

So if the study wants to prevent these untimely injuries from becoming chronic, stricter rules must be implemented when there is a hint of a calf injury. Without clearer diagnoses, more players are going to fall onto a floor in a heap, writhing in pain. 

While the NBA is against load management for players and especially stars, they need to look at the number of games which seemingly is too many in a season and will wear a player down. Lebron James is beginning to suffer more and more leg injuries as he is in his 40’s. He is a tremendous physical specimen and he, like Golden State’s Steph Curry, both devote themselves to off-the court training to withstand the rigors of multiple NBA seasons. But still suffer lower body injuries. 

The last thing Silver and the worldwide array of NBA fans wants to see are elite players on the sidelines, their careers in jeopardy. Unfortunately, this study won’t lead to a reduction of the number of games in a season. 

Meanwhile, Eastern Conference powers Boston, Indiana and Milwaukee now have to take different paths with their leaders out for the season. Boston has already made trades. Nobody really knows what the Pacers are going to do, other than they exchanged their 2025 draft pick (#23) with New Orleans to reacquire their 2026 first round pick. And there is a lot of speculation concerning Giannis Antetokoumpo remaining with the Bucks now that Lillard is down for 2025-26. 

Will it 2025-26 be Cleveland’s year? Could the New York Knicks actually win the East—provided they make the right choice for the team’s next head coach? Or will Detroit, a young and hungry squad, take the next steps on the ladder to success? Unless those teams lose a star to another debilitating injury. 

It was a sad ending to the NBA season with Haliburton’s injury somewhat overshadowing what OKC showed us all. I hope the players take good care of their bodies in preparation for next season—and the teams take extra precautions to guard their investments.

The NBA Draft took place over two days this past week. As expected, Cooper Flagg of Duke went to Dallas as the top pick and Rutgers’ freshman star Dylan Harper joined San Antonio as the second selection. On draft night, Harper received a welcoming call from teammate Victor Wembanyama; the potential for the duo to shine for many years to come has to excite Spurs fans. 

In Utah, there are questions why the franchise selected Harper’s former Rutgers teammate Ace Bailey with the fifth pick. Bailey has been an enigma this entire time leading up to draft day. He wouldn’t work out for teams, citing his NBA Combine visit and his college resume as sufficient proof of how talented he is. Bailey’s advisers told at least one team in the top five picks not to bother to take him. 

Once selected, Bailey seemed anything but thrilled that he was going to Salt Lake City. Bailey doesn’t have to report until Sunday or Monday at the latest. I truly wonder if he will in fact show up, and if he does, will he even be willing to participate in workouts and play in the NBA Summer League. 

I don’t know what the end game is for Bailey and his advisers—are they same ones involved with Andrew Cuomo’s unsuccessful New York City mayoral campaign?. Ace left a lot of money on the table as his draft stock tumbled. He reminds me of Ben Simmons, another misguided youth who was told how great he was and never panned out—injuries notwithstanding. 

Let’s leave this week’s installment with a nice nugget (no, not referring to the Denver franchise). Brooklyn selected two Israeli players in the NBA Draft. Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf are now Nets, playing in a borough which is synonymous with Judaism. The pair are the first Israeli-born players chosen in any NBA Draft. 

Good choices for the former New Jersey franchise. Israel seems to be having a good week in its relations with the United States. As opposed to a bad week for Indiana. 

For My Sake: "Let's Go Mets!"

  Raise your hands if you thought that the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder would still be playing for the NBA title this first weekend of Summer? Thought so—not too many hands up. 

Did I think it was possible? Yes. Did I believe it was likely? Not really. And heading into Game 7 on Sunday night, the oddsmakers are leaning towards OKC by 8.5 points. 

To which I ask those betting gurus—do you guys know what you are doing? Have you watched the wild swings in games thus far? Indiana winning Game 1 on the road. OKC returning the favor with its own road win in Game 4, then pulverizing the Pacers in Game 5—only to have Indiana rout the Thunder on Thursday night to force the deciding Game 7. 

I know that Indiana’s Mr. Clutch—Tyrese Haliburton—has been hobbled by a calf injury. Yet he managed to play just fine in Game 6 and his teammates contributed mightily with a tenacious, swarming defense which rattled the Thunder repeatedly. The 108-91 final score was not at all indicative of how badly the Pacers put a hurtin’ on the Thunder. 

Will the massive home court advantage that the very boisterous OKC fans have created be enough to spur their team to victory? Or can those road warriors from Indianapolis conjure up just enough to take home the franchise’s first league trophy since the ABA days? (That’s in the long ago American Basketball Association which gave the NBA franchises in Indiana, San Antonio, Denver and the then-New Jersey Nets, now residing in Brooklyn; along with stars like George “The Ice Man” Gervin and Julius “Dr. J” Erving) Oklahoma City’s roots were in Seattle, where the SuperSonics won the franchise’s only title in 1979 before relocating in Oklahoma in 2008 The Sonics weren’t the only franchise to leave the Pacific Northwest—MLB’s expansion Seattle Pilots stayed for one season in 1969 before finding a home in Milwaukee as the Brewers. 

I digress. Logic points to the firepower of OKC having an edge on the Indiana pressure. M.V.P. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging an outstanding 36 points per game along with 5.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists. His running mate, Jalen Williams, is averaging 25.8 ppg, 5.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. 

That’s a dynamic duo which has brought about comparisons with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on those championship Chicago Bulls teams. No greater an expert on the subject than Scottie Pippen himself weighed in on the topic. 

Pippen didn’t waffle about the question. He felt that Williams has a greater upside than he did alongside Jordan. Pippen added that this era is far different than when he played, as there is much more free movement in the offensive schemes, thus permitting a player like Williams to thrive. 

So much so that, while SG-A has drawn so much attention, there are those who say that Williams is the actual Finals M.V.P., negating the strong performance from his teammate. If Williams has another 40 point outburst like he did in Game 5, then yes, he is the Finals M.V.P. As long as OKC wins. 

I stated this before and I stick with it going into Game 7. The person who decides which team emerges as the winner isn’t SG-A, Williams or necessarily Williams. 

It is Haliburton. He is the one who drives the Indiana offense and can ignite the defense. Forward Pascal Siakam leads the team in scoring and rebounding; Haliburton sports the highest average per game in assists. If he is on his game, then the oddsmakers might be losing some serious cash. 

Sticking with the NBA for two more items. First, the NBA Draft is this week. Former Rutgers forward Ace Bailey had refused to workout for teams after the NBA Combine, where he measured 6’7”, not 6”10” as advertised. 

He may be shooting himself in the monetary foot with the advice he Is receiving. Bailey believes he can star now, and he is searching for a team where that can happen (Washington at  No.6?). Be careful for what you wish for, young man. The NBA is for adults and they let you know it if you aren’t ready. 

While the New York Knicks continue their meandering search for Tom Thibodeau’s replacement to lead the team, the Buss family has sold the Los Angeles Lakers to minority owner Mark Walter for a paltry $10 billion. Walter owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, and during his ownership, the team has won titles, always contended and is, along with the New York Yankees and maybe the Chicago Cubs, a marquee franchise in MLB.

The Dodgers are imbued with talent in the front office with experience in MLB and the NBA. It is no reach to believe that he won’t make the same magic happen at crypto.Com Arena for the Purple and Gold. Could LA Kings owner Philip Anshutz make similar things happen on the arena’s ice, making LA the capital of the sports world (I am tempering my thoughts about the Rams and Chargers)—even if the nation is focused on different happenings within Los Angeles County?

One more basketball note. Memo to WNBA leadership: take better care of Caitlin Clark. She is constantly being abused and roughed up. Your ratings and earnings are dependent upon how she and her Indiana Fever teammates do. Remind your referees, please. 

A quick stop for hockey. Florida took matters into their own hands at home and sent Edmonton packing for the second consecutive year. Talk of a dynasty remains premature. If the Panthers win again next season, then such admiration is appropriate. 

I cannot definitively say how good the Panthers are. Undoubtedly, they are the best team in the NHL once more.  

And I don’t know how good the rest of the league really is in comparison. Starting with Edmonton, which, without Connor Mc David scoring and passing, the defense become suspect and exposes the shortcomings in goal. 

Florida looks like a team with goal scoring punch and great goaltending. There are a bunch of Hockey Hall of Fame caliber players on the Panthers—Carter Verhaege; Sam Reinhart; Sam Bennett; firebrand Matthew Tkachuk; Aleksander Barkov; and Brad Marchand, along with goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. If they are so motivated for a trifecta, then it is distinctly possible. 

What those guys need to do is learn is how to celebrate better. In the aftermath of the 5-1 victory, somehow the Stanley Cup made it into a notorious bar on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Where it was dented after beer flowed from its bowl. C’mon, guys. This is the Stanley Cup. Stop acting like drunken hockey players for a moment? Oh, yeah—right—they ARE hockey players. 

Finally, baseball has gone sour in New York. The Yankees went on a six game losing streak and stopped hitting—which included miserable performances by Aaron Judge and shortstop Anthony Volpe. Judge broke out of his slump on Thursday night versus the Angels when NYY salvaged a win in the four game set. 

Baltimore came to town playing winning baseball and downed the Bombers on Friday night when closer Luke Weaver returned from his hamstring injury and looked abysmal. Why he didn’t have a rehab assignment boggles my mind. 

On Saturday, behind Clarke Schmidt’s seven no hit innings, the bats awoke on cue for the first day of Summer. Volpe had three hits including a home run, which was one of four slugged by New York in a 14 hit barrage. Or maybe it was simply that Manager Aaron Boone wore his pinstripe jersey for the first time an effort to drive the demons away. 

Am I impressed? Not until the bats continue to awaken on a more consistent basis. A neighbor who played Division I college baseball called this Yankees team “mediocre.” Right now, as the rest of the division closes in on the Yankees, there is serious need to improve. Quickly. 

Meanwhile, the team in Queens went through an almost similar 10 game span as their rivals in the Bronx. The seven game losing streak for the Mets vaulted a red hot Philadelphia Phillies team into first place. 

Like the Yankees, player batting averages are not very good. Outside of first baseman Pete Alonso, nobody is batting over .290. Alonso leads the team in home runs—if he shuts down, so does the team. Did you hear that, Juan Soto, who has been missing in action for awhile. 

The Yankees starting pitching wasn’t their problem. It was a bat meltdown. Ditto for the Mets. Maybe both teams come alive by the time they meet on July 4th at Citi Field. One can only hope. Don’t worry, Fan X, the Mets will play better soon. After hosting Atlanta for a four game payback series, they are off to Pittsburgh. 

While Shohei Ohtani finally ascended the Dodger Stadium mound on Monday after his elbow surgery and looks rusty (again, no rehab assignment where he could work on his pitches), both he and Judge might have legitimate competition for M.V.P. recognition in their respective leagues. More so in the American League. 

Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh is on fire. He has set the MLB record for most home runs before the All Star break by a catcher. And his 30th dinger on Saturday set a MLB record for most home runs before the ASG by a switch hitter. If he continues to set records, Judge will have a real competitor for the AL M.V.P. 

Ohtani is still head and shoulders above the rest of the National League. Watch Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies, along with Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstong of the Chicago Cubs as the season progresses. Especially if Octane’s numbers drop as he tries to reintegrate pitching into his game.

As for me, my Golfer’s Elbow has returned—I don’t know why. And I was talking with neighbors when I suffered a tick bite on my shin. 

I get why Ohtani and Weaver didn’t go on rehab assignments. With all that is happening, there is no time for me to go on the IL, either. 

See you next week after the annual visit to Camden Yards with Fan X. For my sake: “Let’s Go Mets!”