Steve Serby

Jets fans only can hope Zach Wilson will be better than this

Kadarius Toney can become 'dangerous' weapon Giants have waited for

Jets' Cameron Clark's injury reminder football can end suddenly

Giants' Dexter Lawrence doing whatever it takes to be 'legendary'

'Unique' Zach Wilson shows why Jets can be hopeful in bounce-back day

With each step now, with each cut now, with each wheel route he runs now, with each passing day now, the sight of Saquon Barkley looking more and more like Saquon Barkley, feeling more and more like Saquon Barkley, makes the hearts of Giants race and sing.

When there is a bounce in No. 26’s step, there is a bounce in every Giants’ step.

They are all sick and tired of the agony of defeat, from the owners on down, and it is a triumphant return to the playing field by Saquon Barkley nearly one year after his devastating torn ACL that will send a jolt of electricity through the entire organization.

Removed from the PUP list at last, a grueling rehab still in progress, the Giants can suddenly dream the sweet dream of getting their dawg back on the field for Week 1. And Barkley can dream now, too. “You’re definitely hopeful,” he said.

On a hopeful Monday afternoon: One small step for Saquon, one giant leap for Giantkind … eventually.

As desperate and as famished as the Giants are to make their fans proud again, to be Giants again, they will continue to err on the side of precaution and do right by their franchise running back, and no one will complain.

The Giants, common sense would tell you, aren’t interested in any fleeting Willis Reed moment of inspiration.

They’re interested in Barkley chasing the “gold jacket” career that GM Dave Gettleman envisioned when he stiff-armed the analytics crowd and made Barkley the second-overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.

It is why they must keep him in mothballs until the games begin to count … or until the designated time when Barkley no longer has to be protected from himself.

Judge was asked if he would be all right playing Barkley in a preseason game.

“Theoretically, yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I am, absolutely.”

Judge referenced his time in New England and added: “And to be honest with you, I’ve had experience with this. Look, there was a day I had to walk in and tell Josh Gordon, Demaryius Thomas and Julian Edelman, ‘Hey, all three of you are going to play against the Giants in preseason Game 4 because you haven’t done anything competitively in training camp.’ ”

I believe that when push comes to shove, Judge will say to hell with that theory.

Rams head coach Sean McVay said a couple of days ago that there is “zero chance” his new quarterback, Marthew Stafford, will play in the preseason. Bingo!

“The thing is, before you get hit in the first game at full speed when the speed does elevate, we want to go out there and just get you used to the tempo of the game, the pace of the game. Get you a catch, get you hit, get the feel of being tackled,” Judge said. “So, am I looking to put Saquon into something that’s not going to be in his best interest? Absolutely not, but at some point the doctors say, ‘He’s ready to play,’ and if we have the opportunity to get him in at a certain point, we will. But I’m not going to press that timetable.”

Good. It would be folly to press it. Barkley is the franchise’s crown jewel, franchise face and invaluable investment, and Judge and everybody else knows it.

Barkley himself conceded that he would be comfortable for Week 1 without any preseason action. There were no preseason games in 2020, of course.

“The year before that, I don’t think I played in one,” he said. “My rookie year I played in one, had like two carries. So I wouldn’t really be worried about that if I didn’t play preseason because I know that the coaches and the training staff and the strength staff wouldn’t let me out there if I didn’t show ’em something that I’m capable of going out there and, one, keep myself safe, and also go out there and compete at a high level for my teammates.”

Judge is smart enough to simulate practices enough to prime Barkley for the real thing.

“One thing about me, I’m all for whatever’s gonna help the team win,” Barkley said. “If they feel that’s what I need to do to get myself back for whenever I’m able to come back for my team, I’m willing to do that.”

He trusts Judge and the medical men and the strength and conditioning staff implicitly. Does he think he can be ready for Game 1?

“I don’t know,” Barkley said. “Obviously you guys know how I am as a competitor. I’m pretty sure you guys know what my thought process is, but at the same time, I’m very fortunate to play for an unbelievable coach and an unbelievable organization that is actually thinking about me and thinking about the rest of my career and the longevity of my career, and don’t feel forced.”

He wore white leggings over those freakish Saquads and moved well at his customary 230 pounds. You couldn’t tell that he underwent surgery less than 10 months ago. But he’s not in football shape yet and he’s not as confident in his right knee — no brace — as he will be.

He has been champing at the bit to fight alongside his brothers. And happy to run laps and do push-ups with them as a team leader following the infamous team brawl.

“I do believe we will have a very special year,” Barkley said. “I think that’s one of the things we’re gonna be able to point back to, I’d say that really helped bring us together.”

Barkley in his blue No. 26 jersey was a sight for sore Giant eyes. He joked that he felt like a rookie again. They busted his chops. Barkley, with a big smile: “ ‘Whoa, who’s that?’ Shaking my hand, introducing themselves.”

He needs no introduction. Only the football, and not before the games start to count.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Kadarius Toney can become 'dangerous' weapon Giants have waited for

Jets' Cameron Clark's injury reminder football can end suddenly

Giants' Dexter Lawrence doing whatever it takes to be 'legendary'

'Unique' Zach Wilson shows why Jets can be hopeful in bounce-back day

Zach Wilson has humbling Day 1 with the Jets

They came to praise Zach Wilson, not bury him, on the night MetLife Stadium opened its arms again to Jets fans for the first time in 594 pandemic-tormented days.

It was only the annual Green & White Practice, and maybe 15,000 festive fans were in the house, so this was no occasion to bury Zach Wilson.

They sure could have if they had wanted to, though.

Wilson was intercepted twice, nearly was picked off a third time and could not get his team in the end zone.

Because this was the official start of his honeymoon, the boobirds were not inclined to introduce him to New York the way they will once the games begin to count.

Backups Mike White (two TD passes) and James Morgan (one TD pass) were the ones who got the crowd roaring.

Wilson wore his ever present white headband and chomped on gum as he faced the music on the podium in the interview room.

When he was asked to assess his performance, he was more accurate than he was on too many of his throws.

“Not great,” he said. “I have high expectations for myself and this offense. I gotta lead those guys, I gotta make better decisions. … Of course I’m gonna be frustrated with myself, but I’m gonna go back in the film room and find out what I can learn and get better from it.”

Mama Wilson said there’d be days like this. So did head coach Robert Saleh.

“These moments are priceless for him,” Saleh said. “He had some good moments and obviously he had some rookie moments.”

The communication between Wilson and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur up in the box will take time, of course. Advantage, Gang Green. Disadvantage, Wilson’s receivers.

“Many times tonight we weren’t on the same page,” Wilson said. “I just gotta make good decisions. Ninety-five percent of a quarterback’s job is just decision-making.”

Saleh wondered whether Wilson’s first exposure to Jets fans might have affected him. Heaven help Wilson and everyone else if that was the case.

“The biggest learning jump for him was that it was under the lights, it was a bigger crowd,” Saleh said. “I believe the young man wanted to do his absolute best.”

Yes, he wanted to do his absolute best. No, this isn’t a kid susceptible to any stage fright. “Awesome,” was how he described the atmosphere. Asked if jitters played into his performance, Wilson said: “No. Not at all.”

It is always the rookie franchise quarterback who inspires the biggest hope for a better and brighter tomorrow.

Some fans might remember that Richard Todd started six games as a rookie in Joe Namath’s last season as a Jet … they had to wait a year for Ken O’Brien before then-coach Joe Walton traded Todd to New Orleans … they had to wait more than two seasons for Chad Pennington to take the baton from a fading Vinny Testaverde and prayed that he could one day be Joe Montana Lite, but no … they cheered when then-general manager Mike Tannenbaum traded up to land Mark Sanchez, who was Rex Ryan’s Week 1 starter and their Boy Wonder for the first two years of his career before the wheels came off … Geno Smith was never their Boy Wonder … they cheered again when then-GM Mike Maccagnan maneuvered to move up for Darnold, who was Todd Bowles’ Week 1 starter and was expected to take flight under Adam Gase, but of course never did.

From afar, from too far away, from their living rooms or wherever they settled to watch or listen to the games last season, Jets fans stopped pulling their hair out following an 0-13 start only because they were the front-runners in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. But then, without fired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams available to call an ill-timed, inexplicable Cover Zero, the Jets shocked the Rams on the road, and then the Browns at home, and there went that dream.

So the faithful got to watch Wilson up close and personal for the first time under the lights, and from here to eternity, however long eternity lasts, they will hope he can show them everything that compelled GM Joe Douglas to make him the first quarterback taken after the Jaguars won the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes.

They hope that Zach Wilson will grow into more than a consolation prize.

They hope that Zach Wilson, who will be their Week 1 starter, was the right pick over Trey Lance and Justin Fields and Mac Jones.

They hope that they can marvel at the improvisational magic they have heard so much about from Wilson’s right arm. They hope they can one day gawk at Wilson making the kind of throw they have seen from the likes of Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes. They hope they can watch a flick of his wrist become a deadly missile strike for a touchdown.

This was not that one night.

“It’s part of the process,” Wilson said.

Jets Hall of Fame fan Ira Lieberfarb was at the scrimmage with his wife Linda.

“He has all the tools to be a top quarterback,” Lieberfarb said. “He and the Jets have to groom him the right way. He needs to put in the work, and the Jets have to do something with a quarterback that they haven’t done in a long time and coach him up the right way.”

What, Wilson worry? With five weeks left before the regular-season opener?

“We’ll be ready for Week 1,” he said. He can ask any of the rookie franchise QBs who preceded him: Honeymoons don’t last forever.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Q: How good is this Yankees team, and how good can it be now? 

A: Talent-wise, I’ve never been a part of a team like this, and [as] I look at the lineup and the pitching … I don’t see why we can’t make a real run at a World Series. 

Q: An old tweet of yours: “Point the biggest skeptic I’ll make him a believer.” What prompted that? 

A: That one must have been a loooong time ago. 

Q: I think it was 2012. 

A: That was obviously young Joey that tweeted dumb stuff that (chuckle) just came to his mind. But that was when all the scouts were telling me I was not good enough to be drafted by their team, and then that I should be a pitcher, and that made me really angry. I remember tweeting something like that. I knew that they were wrong on me, and they didn’t see the potential in me that I knew I had. 

Q: Another tweet: “Don’t care what they say. You reach for the stars.” 

A: These people are gonna think I’m some inspirational speaker now (laugh). … I don’t really remember tweeting that stuff, I should probably go clean up my Twitter a little bit. The whole draft experience for me, I remember when I was 18 leaving high school was a whirlwind, because I had a lot of people coming to your house, and eventually scouts and whatnot telling you that you’re not good enough for their pick, and they like somebody else better. When you’re 18, you think, “Ah man, you’re wrong.” I just always believed that I was better than what people told me I was. 

Q: Is there more pressure being a New York Yankee? 

A: Not really yet to me, I don’t think. I just try to play the game to the best of my abilities. I think it helps actually, we have a lot of really good players around — one guy’s not playing up to capabilities, we have so many other guys that can carry the load. It’s just exciting, honestly. 

Q: Why do you like the New York stage? 

A: You always want to play for the Yankees, most kids, and I grew up a Yankee fan, so it’s kinda surreal for me. But you always want to play for a team that has a chance to win a World Series every year, and I think the New York Yankees are the best example of that. 

Q: Your on-field mentality? 

A: I like to think of myself as like a grinder. I just play the game hard, and I just want to win, and do whatever it takes to help the team. I respect the game, and play as hard as I can, and leave no regrets on the field. 

Q: What drives you? 

A: To be World Series champs, and especially being here in New York, that’s a realistic goal, that’s exciting. 

Q: You hit a home run out of Target Field, correct? 

A: Yeah, that was like in the Futures Game. 

Q: Maybe you’re the guy to hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium. 

A: Yeah I don’t know, Yankee Stadium is set up a little bit differently than Target Field was so (chuckle), I’m not gonna put any bets on that. But I guess you never know, we got a few guys that might be able to do that. 

Q: What did you think of Pete Alonso’s Home Run Derby performance? 

A: It was tough to watch for me, I didn’t do too great in it, but he was locked in. Pete was ready for it, and his pitcher (Dave) Jauss was locked in. They knew the drill. You could tell just by the way they approached the whole thing. It was impressive, very impressive. 

Q: Left-handed sluggers you liked to watch? 

A: Barry Bonds was one of the big sluggers that was amazing to watch. 

Q: Favorite Rougy (Rougned Odor) memory from Texas? 

A: I think everybody knows the most well-known Rougy memory, obviously the Toronto Blue Jays incident (when Odor punched Jose Bautista in the face in 2016). That was kinda a unique baseball moment. And then (2017) Opening Day he hit two home runs, I think we were facing (Corey) Kluber, I think it was my first Opening Day, I was just like, “Wow, what a great player he is!” 

Q: Whatever comes to mind: Kluber? 

A: No-hitter … against us. That’s the most recent one (chuckle) that comes to mind. 

Q: Aaron Judge? 

A: Larger-than-life baseball player (chuckle). 

Q: Gerrit Cole? 

A: Oh s–t. 

Q: Thoughts on the shift? 

A: Hopefully they take it away. 

Q: You’ve never liked it, have you? 

A: Yeah, it’s not fun to hit a ball to right field and be out every time. It’d be nice to hit balls to right and get hits again. 

Q: Does striking out bother you less than it used to? 

A: I don’t think anybody likes to strike out, I know I’m gonna strike out more than most people — power hitter, and the way you get pitched to — but it’s not fun. When you go 0-for-4 and you strike out three times, it’s different than going 0-for-4 and grounding out four times. Striking out feels different. It’s never fun. 

Q: It’s nice to have Yankees fans on your side, though, right? 

A: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It’s different being out there. … When I was out there in the outfield on the road, it’s a little bit different of an ovation (chuckle) when you’re standing out there. So it’s nice for them to be cheering for you. 

Q: If you could go back in time and face any pitcher in MLB history? 

A: I’d want to hit off a guy like Cy Young or something like that, just to see like the difference in pitching now and from pitching back in the day, like the best of the best back then. I think it’s interesting how the game has evolved, and how much better pitching has gotten. 

Q: If you could pick the brain of any slugger in MLB history? 

A: Probably Ted Williams. To hit with him in the cage for an hour would be probably pretty cool. 

Q: If you had bumped into Derek Jeter in Miami, what would you have told him? 

A: I would say, maybe like, “I looked up to you ever since I was a little kid, you’re my idol, thanks for everything you’ve done for the game.” And ask him if he can sign a jersey for me (laugh). 

Q: Dan McCarty (a Las Vegas boy who suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta — a brittle bone disease)? 

A: Amazing battle. Amazing triumph. I got to meet him through Miracle League, that was back in high school, and as I kept coming up the ranks, he came and saw me play in the minor leagues. My dad knows his family still really well. We talk here and there. 

Q: You were an inspiration to him. 

A: Yeah, I like to think so. And now he’s coaching, he’s actually coaching I think in college. Pretty amazing story. 

Q: So he’s an inspiration to you in a way. 

A: Oh, yeah. 

Q: Favorite Bryce Harper memory as a kid? 

A: I hit behind him in the lineup, so I got to see him hit some ridiculous home runs at like 9, 10 years old. Hitting 350-feet with a metal bat (chuckle), those are some pretty crazy memories. 

Q: As a Knicks fan, what do you think of them signing Kemba Walker? 

A: That’s awesome. I’ll definitely be more interested in following the Knicks a little more highly [now] that I’m here. That’s gonna help the team a lot, to bring in a talent like that. 

Q: Who were your favorite Giants? 

A: Eli Manning was always great, and I remember when I was younger, I got a Jeremy Shockey (chuckle) jersey when I was in middle school, he was one of my favorites as well. I thought Jeremy Shockey was really cool. 

Q: Favorite Yankees besides Jeter? 

A: (Mariano) Rivera, (Andy) Pettitte, Tino Martinez … the list really goes on and on with those guys, I thought they were all amazing. 

Q: The Las Vegas shooting tragedy? 

A: It was a crazy moment and such a sad tragedy for our city. I remember I was in Texas at the time and like right after the season and talking to a bunch of friends that were there and the horrors we went through. It brought together Vegas, and brought together the community. I’m proud to be from Vegas, so … 

Q: What is it going to be like being one of New York city’s most eligible bachelors? 

A: I’m not really thinking too much about that, honestly. I’m just trying to go out there and help the team win. We don’t have really much time to do any of that stuff, so I’m not too worried about it. 

Q: I saw a video where you said your worst fear was not settling down and getting married. 

A: Yeah, that was a couple of years ago. … My thoughts have probably changed a little bit on that. I’m not really worried about that anymore, that was a while ago. 

Q: Why do dogs mean so much to you? 

A: They’re just so loveable, I used to get scared of dogs, like deathly scared, and then I got one and I realized how amazing they were. They’re such great partners. 

Q: What’s the name of your Labrador retriever? 

A: (Laugh) His name’s Ranger. 

Q: Are you still helping dogs find homes? 

A: We were doing that when I was with Texas, so I’m gonna have to keep following through with that. That was through the Rangers and we would work with a bunch of shelters. 

Q: Why was pediatric cancer a cause for you as a Ranger? 

A: We would go and visit children’s hospitals and whatnot. I thought it was just so inspiring how happy you can make these kids just by showing up and talking to ’em, and playing games with ’em. It means a lot. When you have a platform, you try to use it to the best of your abilities. 

Q: Mike Bryant? 

A: Mike was my first hitting coach, and he did a pretty good job, he got me and Kris [Bryant] in the big leagues (chuckle). He was kind of ahead of his time in terms of guys hitting the ball in the air, so I have to thank him for teaching me how to hit the ball in the air at a young age. 

Q: Three dinner guests? 

A: Derek Jeter; Abraham Lincoln; Babe Ruth. 

Q: Favorite movie? 

A: Pulp Fiction. 

Q: Favorite actor? 

A: Will Ferrell. 

Q: Favorite actress? 

A: Jennifer Aniston. 

Q: Favorite singer/entertainer? 

A: Drake. 

Q: Favorite meal? 

A: Chicken parmigiana. 

Q: Are you living in a hotel? 

A: It’s a little different, but it’s a nice hotel. It’s just kinda what happens when you get traded (chuckle) to a new city, you don’t have a place, so … kinda used to living in a hotel as a baseball player though. 

Q: Your mom’s meatballs. 

A: Yes, they’re amazing, 

Q: What’s amazing about them? 

A: Just the texture, how thick she makes them. I can eat about 10 of ’em, and still feel like I want to eat more. They’re the best meatballs I’ve had. 

Q: Why would the 5-year-old version of you be proud of where you are now? 

A: If the 5-year-old version of me knew I was playing for the New York Yankees, he would not believe it. But I think to stay with that goal and that dream that I’ve had since I was a little kid and never give up on it and keep battling through to make it here, I would hope I always think about me as a little kid that I would be shocked and delighted that I’m actually here in the major leagues. 

Q: Your message to Yankees fans about Joey Gallo and about this Yankees team? 

A: I play the game hard, and I try to respect the game, and I know I’m not gonna hit .300, I’m sorry, I probably strike out a little too much, I’m sorry about that as well. But I’m gonna give you everything I got every time I’m on the field and represent the Yankees the best I can. 

This team, they really want to win. It’s nice to be a part of an environment like that, and they’re doing everything they can to bring 28 back to New York. 

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Jets' Cameron Clark's injury reminder football can end suddenly

Giants' Dexter Lawrence doing whatever it takes to be 'legendary'

'Unique' Zach Wilson shows why Jets can be hopeful in bounce-back day

Zach Wilson has humbling Day 1 with the Jets

Jets and Zach Wilson now can get back to business

Very few of them show up as polished and NFL-ready as Saquon Barkley.

Most of them have no idea what the transition from college to the pros entails, which is why Kadarius Toney is fortunate he landed at Joe Judge’s Finishing School For New York Football Giants.

The Giants drafted Toney in the first round because they couldn’t help but notice that he is a wickedly dangerous man with the ball in his hands, the kind of weapon Daniel Jones has not had in his arsenal. Eli Manning would throw Odell Beckham Jr. a slant, and just like that … touchdown Giants!

Toney is by no means the second coming of Beckham, but with his COVID isolation behind him, with his one-cleat minicamp faux pas behind him, the Giants are ramping up Toney’s practices and drooling over the prospect of what he can be once he learns his lessons and graduates from Joe Judge’s Finishing School For New York Football Giants.

One day perhaps, albeit with a different skill set and style, he can become Odell Beckham Jr. Lite.

What he can be, what he should be, is a nightmare for defensive and special teams coordinators given no fewer than 10 touches per game as a receiver and returner.

“At any moment, a great moment” was once a Yankees slogan.

This is precisely what the Giants see in Kadarius Toney.

“He’s got some skill set to play inside, outside, backfield, jet sweeps, reverses, he can do it all,” wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said.

And: “He’s a dangerous run-after the-catch type of guy.”

The password along 1925 Giants Drive for Toney seems to be twitchy.

“Whatever you want to call it, your twitch, your suddenness, cut and separation whatever it is,” Tolbert said, “when he has the ball in his hand, he’s elusive enough to make people miss, and he’s a strong runner, breaks tackles. We just gotta get the ball in his hands and see what he can do.”

By no means do the Giants have buyer’s remorse for favoring Toney over Elijah Moore, the talk of Jets camp. For now, Toney is a tantalizing piece of unmolded clay.

“Guys like him play high school quarterback, and he started at Florida as a quarterback, so he’s behind the eight ball from a lot of guys who played receiver all their life,” Tolbert said, “but he has definitely the physical tools to work with.”

Tolbert mentioned Roscoe Parrish in Buffalo and Anquan Boldin in Arizona.

“Anquan Boldin was a high school quarterback, he was Mr. Florida in football,” Tolbert said. “I had him in Arizona, he was Rookie of the Year. I’m not saying Kadarius is gonna be Rookie of the Year, but guys like that who are athletes and do a lot of things. … I’ve had those kinds guys, and everybody learns different.”

Judge and Tolbert have been impressed with Toney off the field.

“He’s really attentive in the meetings, answers a lot of questions,” Tolbert said. “If I ask five questions in the meetings, three of ’em are geared toward him, he’s on it. Sometimes if I ask somebody some questions, he’ll answer for him.”

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett: “We’re excited about Kadarius. … You can tell he’s someone who picks up football easily, we saw that in the rookie minicamp.”

Judge doesn’t care who you are or who you think you are or where you are from. And neither does special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.

“Kadarius is just like all the rest of these rookies, he’s gotta earn his way. He’s no different than a rookie free agent out of Georgia Southern,” McGaughey said. “He’s gotta earn our trust, he’s gotta earn his teammates’ trust, and that’s just the reality of the situation.”

Toney was Big Man on Campus at Florida. Not in East Rutherford. Certainly not yet.

“He has speed, he has quickness, all of those things, but … this ain’t the Swamp, this is the Meadowlands, it’s a little different,” McGaughey said.

“You want to see it in the meetings, you want to see it in the practice field, but ultimately it’s gonna be there” — and here McGaughey points behind him at MetLife Stadium — “it’s gonna be right there in that stadium when the lights are shining the brightest. Let’s see what they do.”

Toney wore a black balaclava and flashed his diamond-studded silver grill in his abbreviated media session.

“You say am I behind?” he asked a reporter who suggested he was behind.

“Catching up.”

“Nah, I feel like I’m getting better every day, learning the playbook day by day more.”

During practice, Judge squibbed some punts to him.

“That was kinda exciting honestly like having hands-on with the coach. … That’s the kind of relationship you would like to have,” Toney said.

Me: ‘Why is returning so much fun for you?”

Toney: “I don’t really know.”

Me: “You like the ball in your hands, that’s why?”

Toney: “Not really. I ain’t really selfish. I’m a team player.”

What, the kid never read Keyshawn’s “Just Give Me The Damn Ball”?

“I think the biggest thing for him is being a pro,” Tolbert said. “There are guys who come into the league and just don’t know how to be a pro, used to having a lot of structure, people telling ’em what to do all the time. Here in the NFL, you’re here for a little bit, then you’re off 6:30, 7 o’clock wherever it is, and you’re on your own a lot. So doing the right things when you’re away from here, eating right, getting your proper rest, all that stuff, getting treatment. And for him, he was behind the eight ball a little because of COVID, so that was unfortunate.”

Fortunately for Kadarius Toney, Joe Judge’s Finishing School for New York Football Giants is in full session. Here comes Kadarius Toney.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Zach Wilson has humbling Day 1 with the Jets

Jets and Zach Wilson now can get back to business

Vaccinated Leonard Williams ready to make another big Giants statement

No more excuses, it's time for Giants to be feared again

Mets' fun-loving attitude even pays off on a bad night like this

Hope wore No. 2. Not long ago, Hope wore No. 14, and No. 6 before that, and No. 10 before that, and No. 7 before that, and No. 14 before that, and of course No. 12 way back when.

Zach Wilson wore No. 2 Saturday as a small portion of a tortured fan base, which so often has sagged into hopelessness, watched his every move, his every throw, and wished upon a star yet again.

The young franchise quarterback is the symbol of hope for a better and brighter tomorrow, and so with 1,000 Jets fans filling the stands for the first time since the pandemic began, and others lined up behind a fence overlooking Field 1, Zach Wilson’s honeymoon began, a love affair that will last long enough for the Jets to end a playoff drought that has already spanned a decade.

You saw Sam Darnold No. 14 jerseys, Chad Pennington No. 10 jerseys, and of course Joe Namath No. 12 jerseys and Wilson No. 2 jerseys among the faithful.

A great roar went up each and every time Wilson flashed some magic, pocket magic and improvisational magic.

The highlight was an 80-yard missile launched down the right sideline for a touchdown to precocious rookie receiver Elijah Moore, after which left tackle Mekhi Becton patted his new franchise quarterback atop his helmet.

From the stands: J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS.

“I always give him confidence in everything he does, so I always try to keep his head up, for sure,” Becton said.

The kid didn’t look like he needed any kind of pep talk. Day 2 (14-for-20 passing) went a lot smoother than his rusty Day 1.

“There’s a lot of stuff he’s out there doing that you don’t expect him to do,” Becton said. “I can’t key in on one thing.”

Allow me to:

Escaping pressure to his right, Wilson throws a dart to Denzel Mims.

Wilson backpedals, throws a strike over the middle to Lawrence Cager.

Wilson flicks his wrist and throws a low, catchable ball over the middle that a diving Braxton Berrios could not handle.

“He can throw off his right, left, sidearm, whatever motion, platform you want to talk about, that’s what kinda makes him unique,” head coach Robert Saleh said.

Ideally, Wilson will stand tall in the pocket — only slightly taller than Drew Brees, mind you — behind Becton and be the surgeon.

“But at the same time,” Saleh said, “there’s a clock that’s gotta go off in the sense of, ‘All right Coach, you put me in a jam here, save us.’ And that’s where those elite quarterbacks are able to improvise and make something out of nothing. But the discipline to not just look at his first read and just bail. There’s a lot of those out there.”

Wilson’s leadership style is evolving. But he has made a good first impression.

“The guys love him, and that’s the main thing, having the rest of the team embrace you,” Marcus Maye said,

Needless to say, the Jets desperately want to embrace him.

Fan Kyle Geddes was wearing a Wilson jersey. “I love watching him. I really can’t wait for the season,” Geddes said from behind the fence. “The long pass to Elijah Moore was, like, perfect.”

This was a sun-splashed day that could have caused the most rabid Jets fan to rent a limo and offer to take Wilson to Canton to pick up his gold jacket and pose for his bust.

Saleh was referencing every rookie when he said: “There’s gonna be a lot of hair-pulling moments, there’s gonna be times where they look like they’re Pro Bowlers, there’s gonna be times where they look like they’ve never been coached before.”

Ah yes, the inevitable turbulence. What would life be like without turbulence for the Jets and Jets fans?

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

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It is pass-fail now for Daniel Jones.

When a franchise moves heaven and earth for the express purpose of giving its franchise quarterback everything he needs to succeed, then it is on that franchise quarterback to stand up and deliver.

Jones, blessed as he is with the Eli Manning temperament, offered no excuses during his sophomore slump: not for the Week 2 loss of Saquon Barkley, or the overall absence of quality protestors and playmakers, or the new offense coordinated by Jason Garrett that was not as friendly as advertised, or the hamstring injury that kept him from being a dual threat.

He won’t be offering any excuses now, and there are none.

Because as training camp arrives for the 2021 New York Football Giants, the future is now for Daniel Jones.

Jones was drafted with the sixth-overall pick to one day lift the Giants out of the muck, whether the head coach was Pat Shurmur or Joe Judge, and one day has arrived.

John Mara’s “Just win already, Baby,” proclamation falls more at Jones’ feet, and on his right arm, than on anyone else.

Sam Darnold could not overcome his coaching or the men in his huddle in his third season with the Jets, and general manager Joe Douglas unloaded him to Carolina.

The Giants have done everything in their power to make sure the specter of Darnold’s third season need not serve as a cautionary tale for Jones as he enters his third season.

His mandate: Stamp himself without a shred of doubt as Judge’s quarterback or run the risk of losing his dream job as desperately as the franchise wants to sign him to a second contract.

Force the Giants to make a long-term commitment, from Danny Dimes to Danny Dollars.

Former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi gifted Manning, who had started seven games as a rookie, the big target he craved in Plaxico Burress in 2005. From 2005-07, before he accidentally shot himself in the leg, Burress was targeted 423 times and caught 209 passes for 3,227 yards with 29 touchdowns. And one Super Bowl-winning catch.

Giants GM Dave Gettleman has gifted Jones with Kenny Golladay, a 6-foot-4 target who was 135-2,253-16 with the Lions in 2019-20. He signed veteran tight end Kyle Rudolph. He drafted receiver Kadarius Toney in the first round.

If Gettleman miscalculated on his young offensive linemen (83 sacks across the QB’s 26 starts), if Barkley isn’t close to being Barkley, it will nevertheless be on Jones to mature into enough of a battlefield commander to weather the storm and keep hope alive in his huddle and find a way to win in the fourth quarter.

The franchise quarterback can be the great deodorant. Jones was not the great deodorant in 2020 (11 TDs, 10 INTs).

Jones will have the benefit of a defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, who more often than not will keep the game close.

Now it is time for Daniel Jones — no longer Diaper Danny — to go win the damn game.

His owners, his front office and his teammates, to a man all believe wholeheartedly in him. They believe he will be the shining light who leads them out of the darkness that has kept them from the postseason for four consecutive seasons.

Following in the steps of a franchise icon has not been too big for Jones. He is bigger and stronger and more athletic than Manning, throws a deadly deep ball when asked, and is better suited for today’s game because his legs can escape trouble and be a weapon.

None of it guarantees he will deliver a fifth Lombardi Trophy for the display case in the lobby at 1925 Giants Drive.

Gettleman passed on Darnold and Josh Allen and Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson in 2018 because he was smitten with Barkley. Then he fell in love with Daniel Jones and handpicked him a year later to be the new Mann.

Manning will have his No. 10 retired at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 26 — the perfect day for his successor to try to convince everyone that the New York Football Giants are in good hands.

“It’s on all of us,” Jones said in May. “It’s on all 11 guys to do their job every play. That’s how we’re going to make big plays, is everyone doing their job. It’s not on any one person more than the other.”

It is never 1-on-11, of course.

But he knows full well (as does everyone else) that it is on the franchise quarterback more than the others, and he is the 1.

It is by no means overdramatic to state that he is the one who holds his fate, as well as that of the man who bet on him, in his 24-year-old hands.

They called him Danny Dimes when he was a precocious rookie (24 TDs, 12 INTs).

He has worked tirelessly on cutting down his disturbing fumbling problem (18 as a rookie, 11 lost; 11 last season, six lost).

Now it is time to get his team in the end zone and win.

The Giants can win the NFC Least. They somehow would have a year ago if then-Eagles coach Doug Pederson hadn’t handed the division to Washington.

They can’t afford for Jones to fumble this moment. And neither can he.

He wanted this stage, this market, this team. He wants to be a Giant for life.

It’s time for him to be Danny Dollars.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Q: The Knicks are drafting at Nos. 19 and 21. Who could be available for them in that area?

A: There are going to be those kind of players like a Saddiq Bey who went in the late teens [19th] who ends up being on the all-rookie team. And so there are going to be a handful of guys, depending on what the Knicks need, that are going be staring them in the face with those picks, and have a chance to be good NBA players.

Q: Who are some names in that area who might be appealing to the Knicks.

A: Chris Duarte from Oregon, a 6-foot-6 guard who’s really a baby Klay Thompson. He may be as ready as any player in this draft to play right away for a team, which would certainly appeal to Tom Thibodeau. … The only downside of Chris Duarte, he’ll be one of the oldest, if not the oldest player (24) taken in the first round. Another kid, depending on how he’s looked at from a medical standpoint, Jared Butler is a 6-3 point guard who is a great shooter, who is a playmaker, plays with toughness. That’s another kid who’s a 22-year-old junior who could come in and help the Knicks immediately, if they’re looking for the maturity, let’s say, of somebody that they can count on right away. Otherwise, you’re taking a project who may be a freshman or sophomore like an Isaiah Jackson from Kentucky who’s a not-yet 20-year-old 6-11 power forward-center who’s like a Nerlens Noel type. So when you’re taking somebody in that range, what’s going to be there for you is the older veteran player who the rebuilding teams in the lottery are shying away from, or the kid that is still available and you say, “Listen, we just hope this kid’s going be a good player in 2-3 years.” That would be Isaiah Jackson of Kentucky. One more interesting name for the Knicks is Usman Garuba, who plays at Real Madrid. He’s a Spanish kid of Nigerian ancestry who at 18 and 19 years old the last couple of years, has played in the second-highest league in the world, and he handled himself well. He’s an OG Anunoby- type athletic and a defensive-minded 3-4 man.

Q: Would Tre Mann make sense for them?

A: He’s not my flavor of the month. To me, he’s one-dimensional, but that dimension is pretty good. He’s not a playmaker, he’s not overly athletic, but he does have good size, and he is, I would say, among the top three shooters in this draft.

Q: Ziaire Williams?

A: Ziaire Williams is the perfect example of a kid who you’re projecting 3-4 years out. He’s so skinny, he could slip through a wet straw and come out dry. He’s a 6-9, 180-pound string bean. If the Knicks are looking for somebody to develop for the long term, Ziaire Williams is in their wheelhouse.

Q: Jaden Springer?

A: His dad, Gary Springer, is a New York City high school legend. Jaden is a big, strong combo guard. … He reminds me a little bit of Jalen Brunson, he’s a little bit more offensive-minded as far as less playmaking and more scoring, but coming out as a freshman, he will be one of the youngest players in the draft and essentially will play his entire rookie year as a 19-year-old. Again, you’re looking at player development because the likelihood of him impressing Tom Thibodeau and the coaching staff and playing right away on a veteran team would probably be minimal.

Q: Is there a tenacious defensive player that Thibs might covet? A Davion Mitchell, for example?

A: Unless they move up, he’s not gonna be there for them. The three best defensive players in my mind in the first round would be Davion Mitchell, Keon Johnson and Usman Garuba. The likelihood is all three could be gone, the guy that could slip to the Knicks at 19 would be Garuba. He’s about 6-8, 230 [pounds], and he’s got the ability right now to guard 2, 3, 4, maybe small 5s.

Q: Maybe they try to package 19 and 21 to move up?

A: The hard part about packaging 19 and 21 is you’re trying to convince who might be picking like 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 to roll the dice with two gambles later in the first round compared to the guy who’s usually more of a sure thing.

Q: Would Collin Sexton make sense for the Knicks?

A: Collin Sexton would be a great fit in New York. He’s a talented 22-year-old who believes he’s the best point guard in the NBA. While that is not a realistic viewpoint, being in Thibs’ culture would help his development as a winning player, something that was not the case in Cleveland.

Q: The Nets pick 27th.

A: When I’m picking 27th, unless two guys are exactly equal, I am not picking for position, I am picking for NBA talent. Who is the best NBA talent on the board that may have escaped the first 26 picks? … Ayo Dosunmu, perfect. Chris Duarte, perfect. Jared Butler, perfect. If they need a big guy, Neemias Queta, 7-feet, 250 [pounds], agile, big kid who you can develop, like a young DeAndre Jordan … Quentin Grimes, Trey Murphy.

Q: Some metropolitan locals: Seton Hall’s Sandro Mamukelashvili?

A: Likely second round but more likely to make a team. He’s too physically gifted, too smart a player, too tough not to make somebody’s roster next year. He’s a versatile 6-foot-10, can play small-ball center, can play power forward. He’s been too inconsistent with his shooting but four years of high-level, intense coaching, good league, big games, pressure games, I’d be shocked if he’s not on a roster and then someday playing in a rotation.

Q: Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl?

A: Villanova guys always get undervalued. This kid is going be in the league 12 years. He may not go in the first round, he’s not overly athletic, but he’s already a very smart, versatile big man.

Q: Why was it a good decision by the Rutgers kids, Geo Davis and Ron Harper Jr., to go back to school?

A: They’re both going to eventually scrap and claw to make NBA teams. Both of those guys are going be grinders who could eventually make rosters.

Q: Pitt’s Justin Champagnie?

A: He’s really an athletic in-betweener. He’s a high-jumping, high-energy, rebounding undersized 4 man. He has some potential down the road to be a P.J. Tucker-type of player. His shooting has to continue to improve. I think he’s going get drafted, but more importantly, he’s going make a team, there’s no doubt in my mind.

Q: Did Julian Champagnie make the right decision to return to St. John’s?

A: I think so, he’s not as polished as the Pitt twin.

Q: What are your thoughts on the St. John’s program?

A: I’ve always been a Mike Anderson fan. St. John’s got a meat-and-potatoes, blue-collar coach that fits what the school’s culture is all about. It’s a school with middle-class kids. It’s a school with kids who are paying for student loans and first- and second-generation college kids, I always felt, which is why I liked my time at St. John’s. There’s a grittiness about the university that fits Mike’s style of play and fits what I’ve seen on the court from his teams in his first two years, and I think the talent level’s getting better and better for him.

Q: Who is one sleeper nobody is talking about who you’re high on?

A: A kid that was off the radar coming into the year — because he was considered a failure at Kansas, then he transferred to Houston to play for Kelvin Sampson and help lead them to the Final Four — is Quentin Grimes. He’s going be taken somewhere in the late first round-to-early second, and he’s definitely going to play in the league because he’s 6-5, he’s a 2-guard, he can shoot, he plays with toughness, he looks the part. Some guys that were hiding in plain sight in November and December were Davion Mitchell, Kai Jones, Quentin Grimes, Jason Preston, but many of the mock-draft guys didn’t figure it out until March along with everyone else.

Q: Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham?

A: Cade Cunningham is not Luka Doncic, but he is a big, physical, power forward-looking point guard. Cade Cunningham was to the Big 12 what Luka Doncic was to the Euro League. He has the IQ of a smart, seven-year NBA veteran, he has great court vision, he can play in any system, he is tremendous in pick-and-roll, he will shoot it in the NBA at a high level. The question mark with him, like Doncic coming in: Is he going be athletic enough to dominate games? And Luka Doncic kind of put that to rest. Cade is the safest of the top four or five picks. It’s hard to see him failing because of his size, his skills and his unique basketball acumen.

Q: USC’s Evan Mobley?

A: He could be Chris Bosh’s little brother. Long, athletic, skilled two-way big man, shot-blocking ability, ability to face up, ability to score inside. The only thing he lacks is physical maturity. He’s 20 years old, he’s 215 pounds and he’s desperately in need of getting to 235. Then you’ll have a 7-foot, multi-skilled, two-way big man.

Q: Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs?

A: Mark Few told me he’s the most competitive kid he’s ever coached at Gonzaga. Jalen Suggs is a big point guard who can play off the ball, he defends, he can run a team, he can make shots. When you talk about mid-to-late career Chauncey Billups, you’re talking about borderline Hall of Famer, this kid has a lot of different areas of guard play to hang his hat on.

Q: Jalen Green out of the G-League?

A: Jalen Green could end up being the best player in this draft. I think he’s going be in that Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook, Dame Lillard, Zach LaVine area where he’s going be like a 28- to 30-point scorer once he hits his prime. He’s your classic bucket-getter. He should be an NBA All-Star wing player. There’s a chance for generational greatness here, like a once-every-15- years kind of greatness, but at worst he’s going be a high-level scorer in the league.

Q: The G-League’s Jonathan Kuminga?

A: Looks like Tarzan, but we’re not sure yet whether he’s gonna play like Tarzan or Jane. When they make the prototype of an NBA player, it’s Jonathan Kuminga. He’s athletic and agile, he has a good shooting stroke, the only thing he lacks right now to me is he is not a great ball handler. If there’s a question mark with him, [it] is, can he create his own shot? He has more of the fail factor than the other four, but he also has tremendous upside. He’s a feast-or-famine. Likely more feast than famine, but I wish he was a better ball handler and shot creator and play creator.

Q: Florida State’s Scottie Barnes?

A: One of the best kids you’ll ever meet. It worries me that he’s not a great shooter. I think he’s gonna be a good NBA player because he’s only 20 years old. He’s not as dynamic an athlete as Ben Simmons was, but a similar type of game.

Q: UConn’s James Bouknight?

A: I love James Bouknight, I think he’s got a chance to be a very good NBA scorer. Creating your own shot in the NBA is a skill, even more so than having someone set you up for a shot, because as Chuck Daly used to say: “What will the player do when the play breaks down? Because the play will break down.” And when the play breaks down, James Bouknight’s going be able to get his own shot. He’s going to get better and better. He loves the game, and he’s been coached tough by Dan Hurley, and he’s got a prototypical NBA go-get-your-own-shot type of game.

Q: Australian Josh Giddey?

A: He has literally come out of nowhere in the last 18 months from Down Under. He is a 6-foot-8 point guard, plays with lots of confidence, lots of moxie. He starred in a league that is a grown-up league. I don’t think he’s going be an All-Star, but I think he’ll be a very good play-making guard in the NBA. His outside shooting has to be more consistent, but to do what he did at 18 is very similar to what LaMelo [Ball] did in that league a year ago.

Q: Does Davion Mitchell remind you at all of Donovan Mitchell?

A: Yes. Donovan is a little bit more of a high-flyer. Davion is a little bit more of a speed merchant. But they’re both elite athletes. They both could masquerade as NFL All-Pro corners. Davion has incredible speed and incredible start-stop ability which makes him really effective both defensively and offensively. And he is a gym rat and an off-the-charts kid. Donovan’s a playmaking 2-guard, this kid’s a point guard who can shoot it hopefully like Donovan. He may be as good of a defensive player as we’ve seen in the draft in the last 3-5 years.

Q: Arkansas’ Moses Moody?

A: He has the potential to be a very good shooter, and right now his strength is his ability to score around the basket for a wing. Moses Moody reminds me of a less seasoned, less polished “Iso Joe” Johnson. Ironically, they both played at Arkansas.

Q: Texas’ Kai Jones?

A: The best running big man in this draft. He is boom or bust. He’s more projection than production. He’s a 6-11 string bean, a stretch-4 man who is a terrific athlete. Improving skills, especially away from the basket, and potential to be a multi-positional defender. He’s going to go anywhere between 8 and 20.

Q: Michigan’s Franz Wagner.

A: Jack of all trades, master of none. In the scheme of NBA athleticism, which is the best in the world, he’s an average athlete. He’s a smart player, he’s a reasonably skilled player but he only shot 34 percent from 3. He doesn’t really do it for me.

Q: Winthrop’s Keon Johnson?

A: He’s the second-best defender in this draft. A relentless, high-energy defender. He’s an elite wing athlete with a great motor. A chance to be a good offensive player in time. A lot of long-term potential because he just turned 19 and he also missed his senior year of high school with an injury.

Q: Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert?

A: Plug him in right away from Day 1 and he’ll be in your rotation making shots. I think he’s more advanced than Joe Harris was coming out of Virginia. I think Corey Kispert’s the best shooter in this draft. He’s more athletic than people realize, he’s got a great feel for the game, he’s high-character, great leader. That’s a kid that the Knicks would love to have him drop, but I don’t think he will. I think he could end up being a borderline NBA All-Star.

Q: Alperen Sengun from Turkey?

A: If you watch him play, you see big, slow Turkish kid. There were 30 former NBA players in the Turkish League this year. This was an 18-year-old kid who was the MVP of the league. He looks methodical, but he is a very crafty low-post scorer, has a great feel for the game, and he’s going to be a guy that can stretch the floor some day. If I had to compare him to somebody in the NBA I would say Nik Vucevic.

Q: Duke’s Jalen Johnson?

A: Not a fan, and not because he quit the team at Duke. He’s an NBA athlete, his skill level has to improve and his motor has to improve.

Q: LSU’s Cameron Thomas?

A: High-volume shooter and scorer who in a perfect world for him, he’s gonna be an off-the-bench scorer in his prime for a good team.

Q: Auburn’s Sharife Cooper?

A: An acquired taste. Maybe 6-feet tall. Elite speed, elite passer, maybe the best passer in this draft. He is a non-shooter. He’s got a little bit of De’Aaron Fox and a little Celtics vintage Isaiah Thomas in him. He’s a specialist, he’s a third-down back. A team will love him as an off-the-bench point guard who can create havoc with his speed.

Q: Virginia’s Trey Murphy III.

A: High-character kid, great standstill shooter, good athlete.

Q: Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu?

A: He’s one of those kids that stayed in college three years and will be more ready to play for an NBA team than most of the one-and-done kids in the first round. He is a big guard, he’s an improved shooter, he’s a playmaker, he gets to the basket, he’ll be in the NBA a long time. And he’ll be devalued because he’s almost 22.

Q: How good of a defensive player is he?

A: Very solid. He’s long and lanky, he’s 6-5 about 195 [pounds].

Q: Would he appeal to Thibodeau?

A: Oh, he would definitely appeal. That’s a perfect example of a kid who can be a 6-5 point guard, you can pair him with [Immanuel] Quickley, would be a long backcourt. He’s absolutely in the Knicks’ wheelhouse. Thibodeau would love him, he’s been hard-coached because when you get on him, he’s not gonna wilt.

Q: How would you describe the quality of this draft?

A: There’s no such thing as a “bad” draft. There’s always perceptions of a draft being bad. When I think back to when Giannis [Antetokounmpo] got taken 15th [in 2013], it was the “the Anthony Bennett” draft, nobody was really sure who the No. 1 pick would be. The perception of the 2021 draft is that it’s very good at the top, and that’s deserved. There’s five kids at the top of this draft that nobody would be surprised if someday were five of the best players in the league. There’s going be a bust out of that group of five, but right now it looks like it’s a strong class at the top.

Q: What do you think of Team USA?

A: We’re at a stage in the history of basketball where no matter how good our talent is, without the benefit of a 2-3 week training camp, and an immersion into FIBA rules, it’s just a different game that our great NBA players have to get used to. This USA team is talented enough to still be the prohibitive favorite to win the gold. We just have to face facts that the basketball globe has shrunk. … The Dream Team in ’92 changed the face of basketball around the world. … Nearly 25 percent of the NBA’s players were born outside the United States right now.

Q: Who is the biggest threat?

A: I would say Australia just because of their great chemistry, camaraderie and toughness. They know how to play Team USA. They play the FIBA physical style of play which is reminiscent of NBA circa 1990s, and our Americans are used to touch fouls and two free throws. It’s something I think we’ll figure out by the time we get to Tokyo.

Q: Does Kevin Durant have to carry this team to the gold medal?

A: Probably yes. He’s the perfect go-to player for this USA team.

Q: What do you think of Bradley Beal, now on the COVID list, missing the Olympics?

A: With three Olympic players in the NBA Finals and, now, Beal’s situation, this is disconcerting for a team that is trying to build continuity.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: [Vince] Lombardi, Ulysses S. Grant, Saint Paul.

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Denzel Washington.

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Jennifer Garner.

Q: Favorite singer?

A: Billy Joel.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: Chicken parmigiana.

Q: How old were you when you became a basketball junkie?

A: As somebody who grew up in Flatbush, I loved every sport in season going back to the time I was 8 years old. But sometime around ’69-70, I became a basketball junkie, so I would have been 12 years old. I knew watching my New York Knicks, and then as a kid that played in every playground in Brooklyn seemingly, I fell in love with the game of basketball. I have thought about basketball every single day of my life since I was about 12 years old. I have not worked a day in my life.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Tyson Etienne honors friend's basketball dream by chasing his own

This Subway Series loss is damning Yankees commentary

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The patient still has a fever, and hasn’t left the infirmary.

Aaron Boone’s Yankees have a long recovery to a clean bill of health ahead of them.

They made the bed.

If they are who they still believe they are, if they are who they told us they were in the spring, they will get out of bed, and with a vengeance.

Completing a three-game sweep of the Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Thursday for their wounded collective psyche would have been just what Dr. Hal would have ordered.

Except these Yankees, 4-0 losers, are not in a place where you can expect them to sustain success, however fleeting it might be.

You hit them early, and they stay hit. Or they don’t hit.

And when the Mariners hit Jordan Montgomery early, with home runs in the first two innings by Kyle Seager and Dylan Moore (a hanging changeup), the Yankees served another reminder that they don’t know how to be Comeback Kids.

They know how to make their fan base weep:

Sweepless in Seattle — and 3-8 attempting to complete a sweep.

“I think it’s hard to sweep in this game,” DJ LeMahieu said. “It’s very hard.”

On a day when the Yankee hitters made 6-foot-6 rookie right-hander Logan Gilbert look like Jacob deGrom Lite, when Gilbert yielded only a Giancarlo Stanton double in the second inning and retired 18 Yankees in a row, Montgomery (nine strikeouts) could not afford a single mistake.

“Two mistakes, two homers,” Montgomery said.

If the meek shall inherit the Earth, the Yankees’ hitters stated their case to inherit the Earth against the fireballing Gilbert.

They were one-hit wonders.

Boone: “Certainly frustrating.”

LeMahieu: “Frustrating game for us.”

With Gerrit Cole ominously somewhat diminished by the crackdown on sticky stuff, and Corey Kluber and Luis Severino still on the shelf, Boone will need Montgomery to raise his game after the All-Star break.

Montgomery settled down to last into the seventh inning Thursday, throwing a much-needed lifeline to the bullpen and keeping the game within striking distance, but there are no medals for trying.

Steinbrenner’s Underachievers remain easy to identify:

Gleyber Torres: He has had some clutch moments, but more often than not he has looked lost at the plate. Remember his 38 home runs in 2019? He has hit six HRs in his last 464 at-bats. There were always going to be questions about his defense … questions that Didi Gregorius didn’t have to answer. Torres did manage to drive the ball Wednesday night and again in the second inning against Gilbert, but Marcus Thames hasn’t completely fixed him yet.

DJ LeMahieu: The even-keeled, stoic second baseman got his dander up after Kendall Graveman threw inside on Rougned Odor and then on him in the ninth and stared at him: “It looked suspicious.” The Machine has spoiled us. The six-year, $90 million contract he signed in the offseason was a well-deserved reward for leading MLB in hitting. Maybe as pitcher spin rates decline, LeMahieu will again prove that he is a Savage in Boone’s box. His Yankees numbers: .327/.375/.893; in 2019 and 364/.421/1.011 in 2020. He’s batting .270 with a .713 OPS in 2021. Maybe Graveman glared back at him when the game ended because he didn’t recognize him. “Not as consistent as I want to be,” LeMahieu said.

Gary Sanchez: Streaky as hell (.218), but 0-for-11 versus the Mariners. “He probably had our best at-bats overall today,” Boone said.

Clint Frazier: He’s on the injured list (vertigo), the latest tale of woe in a lost season for him. As much as the Yankees were practically begging him to own the left-field job, Frazier lost it to the defensively challenged Miguel Andujar. His slash line is .186/.317/.633. Down goes Frazier!

And, most recently:

Aroldis Chapman: For now, Chad Green is the closer. For now. It is imperative that Boone and pitching coach Matt Blake get Chapman right. Right now, they don’t trust him. After surrendering leads in three consecutive high-leverage appearances, who can? The guy is a basket case right now. Green has been a godsend, but he is not on the same level as a dominant Chapman.

At least there are a couple of promising signs. Aaron Judge (20 HRs) is feeling quite dangerous in the box. Luke Voit started the day on a 7-for-10 hot streak. Torres is getting the ball out of the infield. Jameson Taillon has pitched beyond the sixth inning in two of his last three starts, and lowered his ERA from 5.43 to 5.05. So there’s that.

But no Yankee and no Yankees fan should dare holler: Bring on the Astros!

“We need to try and win some ballgames to get ourselves in position going into the break to make a run,” Boone said.

For the Yankees now, it is one pitch at a time. One game at a time. One series at a time. It ain’t over ’til it’s over, right? Or something like that.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

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If Hal Steinbrenner was aggravated, frustrated and angry before the Mets reduced his Yankees to Subway Bums, imagine what he must be feeling today.

That thunderous sound Somebody Up There heard late in the afternoon after Mets 8, Yankees 3 was probably his father, the Boss, hurling a chair or two further than former Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen ever could.

The even more aggravated, frustrated and angry Yankees fans enjoyed one fleeting moment: third inning, Mets on first and second, Pete Alonso at the plate, when they drowned out the “Let’s Go Mets” chants with “Let’s Go Yankees,” and then Jordan Montgomery struck out Alonso and escaped. And a second fleeting moment. when Aaron Judge socked a sixth-inning home run — the first hit surrendered by Taijuan Walker — to spark a three-run inning.

Mets fans ended up with the last laugh, because everyone who hates the Yankees is laughing at them right now.

That the Mets looked like the more desperate team was damning commentary on the Yankees, following Judge’s players-only meeting and Son of Boss’ pointed message to the players to start giving him the bang for his bucks that he and GM Brian Cashman and everyone in The Bronx expected.

The Bronx Is Burning.

The Mets, their woeful offense sparked by the return of leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo, looked like a first-place team.

The 41-40 Yankees, 10 games behind the first-place Red Sox entering Saturday night, and with no relief in sight, looked like a fourth-place team.

Now imagine this: Should a highly motivated Marcus Stroman outduel Gerrit Cole in the matinee on Sunday, the Yankees will be a .500 team just in time for ESPN “Sunday Night Baseball.” With Nestor Cortes on the mound.

You might recall that Cashman explained why he wasn’t interested in Stroman at the expense of Clint Frazier at the 2019 trade deadline this way: “We were interested in Stroman, but we didn’t think he would be a difference-maker. We felt he would be in our bullpen in the postseason.”

Stroman, not including Cole or Luis Severino, eventually said: “There’s no current Yankee pitcher who will be anywhere in my league over the next five-to-seven years.”

Cashman desperately needs to hit a home run before the trade deadline. Since Mr. October isn’t available, can Cashman find a Mr. July with lefty power for that 314-foot right-field porch? Joey Gallo? Shohei Ohtani (LOL)?

He took calculated risks on the injury-plagued Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon, and Kluber’s no-hitter is a distant memory now that he’s on the injured list.

And who hijacked Gleyber Torres? Why isn’t DJ LeMahieu The Machine? Frazier? Never mind. Will the backs of all those baseball cards ever awaken?

You better believe it’s getting late early in and around The Bronx.

Since sweeping the White Sox in late May, the Yankees are 13-21.

The good news: the season is half over.

“The history of this game is littered with teams overcoming larger obstacles than this with half a season to go,” Boone said. “But I would say that’s like completely getting ahead of ourselves. We gotta go play good baseball and become a great team to put ourselves in position to even think about that.”

When Boone left the dugout to yank Montgomery in the fifth, that wasn’t “BOONE” you heard from the Stadium crowd.

Boone has the perfect temperament for New York, a class act all the way, every day. But he isn’t paid solely to keep the clubhouse together. He is paid to win, and win big.

“We’re all pissed off about it, obviously,” Boone said. “We’ve set a much higher bar in there, and we haven’t to this point lived up to that.”

Sometimes in sports, when you knock on the door year after year after year and you cannot open it, you never get a chance to get back in position to knock on it again.

“This team is really good,” Luke Voit said.

Don’t tell us. Show us.

Where is that spring training hunger the Yankees were certain would carry them to the top of Manfred Mountain at last?

Walker, until he tired in the sixth inning, didn’t merely pitch like an All-Star. He pitched like Jacob deGrom and earned a standing ovation from the jubilant Mets fans in attendance.

After two successive rainouts, Boone should have prayed for rain.

“We can talk about it till we’re blue in the face,” Boone said. “We’ve gotta put together complete games, especially when we’re going up against good opponents.”

The Yankees are well aware that it is past time for every one of them to look in the mirror. They can’t possibly like what they see if and when they do.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Q: What would be the Over/Under number on “Yes, and it counts!” ?

A: It depends how often it happens in a game. You don’t get that many 3-point plays, and sometimes I don’t use it on that. So I’d say the Over-Under would be … 2.

Q: I meant for your career.

A: (Laugh) [If] I could pick a number, I could dart-board it . .. Over-Under for my career … 322 (laugh).

Q: How about the Over-Under on “Yes!” in a game?

A: Eight … but for a big game, 12 (laugh).

Q: When did you start using the word facial?

A: It just came to me. I save it for only certain dunks where the defender is defenseless. It’s like the person who is putting it down, it’s almost like it’s in his face.

Q: Who was the first facial, do you remember?

A: My brother Al was a gifted leaper, and I was on the wrong end of several facials in our schoolyard game.

Q: Extensive garbahje, aka garbage, time?

A: I use it more carefully now, maybe it’s more compassion. Because as soon as the subs come in, you realize they’re really getting a shot to show their stuff even if the game is out of hand. In my radio days, if a game was out of hand, I didn’t want to say garbage. I felt garbage really made it bad.

Q: Changing on the fly?

A: I used to listen to a lot of the Canadian announcers, Danny Gallivan and Foster Hewitt. I must have picked that up. When I was a kid I had a shortwave radio and I’d listen to the Montreal and Toronto announcers, and it was such a thrill to eventually meet them when I was first starting out.

Q: Would you consider the 1969-70 Knicks a top-10 team of all time?

A: It’s so difficult to compare what took place in the ’60s and ’70s with what takes place now. … When you think back to the Celtic teams and the Golden State Warriors present day and the Laker teams, they’re somewhere in there, but in the latter part of the top 10, being objective about it. … Even the great Celtic teams of [Bill] Russell and [John] Havlicek and go back further, [Bob] Cousy and [Bill] Sharman, all the guys, I think a lot of them, if they played now, would have evolved into great players because their bodies would be different, as I think what they would do in terms of shooting would be different.

Q: What is the best NBA team you’ve ever seen?

A: The Showtime Lakers were phenomenal. I felt the Warriors in recent years were among the top teams of all teams when they had Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and [Kevin] Durant — and Draymond Green — that’s pretty good. LeBron’s Miami team when they had LeBron [James] and [Dwyane] Wade and [Chris] Bosh is right there. Those Celtic teams would be there. It’s just so hard because of the eras to say this team is the best of all time.

Q: What about Michael Jordan’s Bulls?

A: They are there, but it was Michael, it was Scottie Pippen and [Toni] Kukoc and a lot of good role players. If Michael’s on the team, you give him a shot always to win even if we’re present day, because I think he would have been different, he would have become a 3-point shooter too, you know? They were dependent on a lot of the perimeter shooters like Steve Kerr — not because he was my longtime broadcast partner — John Paxson, Craig Hodges, guys like that, and Michael, when he became a great player, learned how to set people up, he didn’t have to always take the shot. Even though they won six championships, I think some of these other teams were really better than they were. … Michael’s teams might have beaten them anyway, though, because of him.

Q: If you could go back in time and broadcast any game in NBA history, which game would you pick?

A: These are very good questions. Are you getting help with these? I would say it would be Game 7 Knicks-Lakers, 1970.

Q: How about a game you didn’t do?

A: It would have been one of the Laker-Celtic games. … If you look at the lineups, Magic [Earvin Johnson] and [James] Worthy and Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] going up against the Boston teams — [Kevin] McHale, [Larry] Bird, [Robert] Parish, that group.

Q: If you could pick one NFL game?

A: I’d say the Jets beating the Colts in the Super Bowl [III].

Q: One boxing match?

A: [Muhammad] Ali-[Joe] Frazier I. I was at the fight. I did a lot of stuff with Ali for Channel 4, he was great. And then even later on, going to his house. I just found him enticing. He was very smart, too.

Q: Did he do any magic tricks for you?

A: He says, “You know, I can levitate.” I said, “Right.” He tells me he’s levitating. I said, “I don’t see it.” He was trying to convince me and the producer I was with that he was levitating. He was on the ground (laugh). It was unbelievable.

Q: What are your top five New York sports moments?

A: I’d put Willis [Reed, 1970 Knicks-Lakers] first; the Rangers winning the [1994 Stanley] Cup second; the Jets winning the Super Bowl; the Giants beating the Patriots, the [David] Tyree game [Super Bowl XLII] — I did that on radio — and then the Mets beating the Red Sox in ’86.

Q: What were your emotions when the Rangers finally won the Cup?

A: It was almost like I couldn’t believe they actually did this. It was an emotional moment for me. As a kid I was a big Ranger fan, my father would take me to the games all the time.

Q: The All-Marv NBA team?

A: I can give it to you, but it’s hard to separate from the present day, so I would say apologies to people as I give it to you. I would have Bird and LeBron as the forwards, with Durant right there also as a hedge, OK? I’d have Kareem as the center, and the backcourt is Jordan and Magic … with apologies to Kobe [Bryant], Steph Curry, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Julius Erving. … It’s so hard, but I’d go with that team. But Durant should be mentioned. I think Durant will eventually be the alltime guy in that forward spot.

Q: Wasn’t Jordan among your best interview subjects?

A: He’d sit with us for sound-bites for the game, and it was always terrific to listen to what he would say.

Q: Who were some of the others?

A: Ali … boxers were always good. [Marvin] Hagler was really good. … Steph Curry is excellent … Peyton Manning … “The Hammer” Dave Schultz … he was tremendous to talk to after games. The enforcers were always really good talkers. … Darryl Strawberry was very good. … Ricky Henderson would say anything.

Q: What was it like working with Bill Parcells?

A: It was a joy because, first of all, it was an education, just talking football. He had a great sense of humor that I did not even realize before I really got to know him. … We just had a lot of laughs, I must say.

Q: Wilt Chamberlain?

A: He had a great sense of humor. If he were playing today, he would be extremely popular as a guest on pregame, postgame. I can’t imagine the kind of money he would be making. He’d be on “Inside the NBA” and those video shows without question.

Q: Red Auerbach?

A: He and Marty Glickman were best friends, two Brooklyn guys, I got to know him through Marty. In fact, we did a couple of games together. … He’d see things that nobody else would see. He had such great stories.

Q: Bernard King?

A: He would spend a lot of time psyching himself for games. On the day of a game, no one talked to him. He had that look. What I admired about Bernard, and I say the same thing of a guy like Kevin McHale and Steph Curry, they always came back — and LeBron is like that and Michael was like that — with another move or two after the summer offseason. And Bernard came back with moves all the time.

Q: Willis Reed?

A: One of the most respected athletes amongst his teammates that I’ve ever seen, aside from his skill, and he was feared in the NBA. Nobody messed with Willis.

Q: Walt “Clyde” Frazier?

A: He was very quiet as a player. Always loved working with him as a broadcaster. I used to love the way he played because everything was so efficient. He would set up players, even if he knew he had had a steal, say, in the second quarter, he would be kind of a decoy at it, and then would wait till the big moments of the game down the stretch and come up with a big steal.

Q: Dave DeBusschere?

A: He was just great to be around, he had a great sense of humor. I admired him as a player. If he played today with that long shot, he would be one of the top 3-point shooters in the league. His defense was off the charts. We spent a lot of time on buses just talking about non-basketball subjects.

Q: Bill Bradley?

A: He’d carry his books around all the time when we were on buses or planes. When he was in Oxford, I remember him telling me he would sit around on the basketball court, he’d announce to himself. And I said, “Can you give me a sample of what that sounded like that?” And he said, “I would but it would break your heart.”

Q: Dick Barnett?

A: Dick was really one of the best interviews after games. Latrell Sprewell was like that. You ask him a question, there was no couching it.

Q: Phil Jackson?

A: Phil was also terrific to talk to. He had a lot of questions about hockey, because even to this day, he sees different patterns in terms of the coaching and the way players are set up, he equated it with basketball. That was such an intelligent team on and off the court. We’d travel with them, we’d sit with them, it was different than it what it is now, where there’s complete separation, so that made it even more fun because that was just a fantastic group to be with.

Q: How far away are these Knicks?

A: It’s tough to tell, because they have a lot of moves they still have to make. I thought they had a terrific, surprising season because of [coach Tom] Thibodeau. They’re several players away. They’ve gone from being a non-contender to at least in the picture. The thing is: Can they attract players you’d want to have on your squad? Because they could not in recent years. I think it’s a very good front office now and with Thibodeau there. It changes the picture.

Q: Jim Dolan?

A: We had, let’s say, philosophical differences in how a game should be broadcast.

Q: What is the importance, in your view, of objectivity?

A: Very, very important. I know particularly out of town, a lot of announcers are really encouraged to be homers, and I just feel I personally could not do that. Particularly on radio, where you are the game. … Why would people believe you if you are not telling them when times are bad, that either someone’s not playing well or the team is not playing well when they are playing well? And on television, people see it. So if you’re saying something that is really not happening, you look foolish. You don’t have to kill, but if something’s bad, you have to say it.

Q: What were your feelings about no tribute at the Garden for your last game there?

A: I didn’t expect it, I really did not. The Nets did it. … I thought it was awfully nice what they did. I was really taken aback by that, I was surprised.

Q: Will the Nets win a championship with their Big 3?

A: If they keep them together, definitely. Sean Marks, the general manager, really knows what he’s doing. They can win a championship, and they will be a major contender.

Q: Describe the electricity inside the Garden when Jordan and Kobe played there.

A: There was nothing like it when Michael played there, which is the reason he loved it. Kobe felt the same way. The other one is my current [TNT] partner Reggie Miller, who couldn’t get enough of the Garden. I love his enthusiasm, which led to his celebrations involving Spike Lee and all that kind of stuff when he had those big games at the Garden. … I asked him, “What happened when you’d go out on the street?” He said he’d never leave his hotel room. He said he sent Mark Jackson out to check the streets first.

Q: Joe Namath?

A: It was such a kick for me to work with him. When we’d go to practice, like, on a Friday preparing for a TV game, the practice would stop, and all the guys would stare. They couldn’t believe it’s Joe Namath. They were enthralled just to see him. I didn’t know Joe when he played, but he’s one of the nicest people that I ever worked with.

Q: David Letterman?

A: David always liked to call me “the Emergency Backup Guest” for his show. At NBC, his studio was across the hall when I was doing 6 and 11 [p.m.] sports shows, so I was on a lot as a guest. It used to be a battle between myself and Regis Philbin as to who had more guest appearances. Regis said I had a lot of bits and they shouldn’t really count as guest appearances. So I was the emergency backup if somebody would fall through the cracks. [Letterman] was a huge sports fan, but he had a distorted view (laugh) of the world of sports. If you were on the show, you’d go with it. To me, he was like the greatest talk show host ever.

Q: You were also on with Johnny Carson?

A: One time. That was one of the thrills of my … life. I would always watch him as a kid. I’d play the Albert Achievement awards, the bloopers, and then I came to the couch and he had a conversation with me and I made him laugh. And I’m thinking: I made Johnny Carson laugh! This is unbelievable! Comedians would go on, and if they’re invited to the couch, and they make him laugh, like that’s your career, you know? The other guests when I was on were [Jerry] Seinfeld and Julio Iglesias.

Q: How did you keep your voice in working order?

A: Basically I have like a throat spray. I use a lot of Cepacol. I had to be very careful. I also owe a debt of gratitude to a very helpful throat doctor who handles many top-level singers. As the years went on, I try not to talk the night before a game. Which my wife enjoys.

Q: Does your son Kenny’s style remind you of you?

A: Shades of it, but I think he has his own style. His hockey is terrific, and he does a really good job in basketball. He started out the same way I did, by doing games off the TV set with a tape recorder, and my brothers Al and Steve did the same. We’d have a crowd record in the background. His room back home was like a studio.

Q: Sal “Red Light” Messina?

A: He was a combination of a sense of humor, someone you could really kid around with on the air, and also was so knowledgeable about the game.

Q: John Andariese?

A: One of my best friends. He was a basketball fanatic, he was a very good player at Fordham — although I used to refer to him as the 54th all-time leading rebounder in Fordham history, he would laugh. He was so good on the air, and so knowledgeable, and had a great sense of humor. I need someone who has a sense of humor. I felt that was very important.

Q: What is your funniest on-air moment?

A: Basically just talking to the Czar, Mike Fratello, would supply that. His knowledge of course was off the charts as a former coach, but he’s a walking punchline.

Q: Some Brooklyn memories: the 1951 “Shot Heard ’Round the World” Ralph Branca-Bobby Thomson game.

A: I was a big Brooklyn Dodger fan growing up in Brooklyn. I got home in time to watch it on TV. It sickened me as a kid. And then I got to know Bobby Thomson pretty well in his later years, he was a great guy. I had a different view when I stopped becoming a fan. People still come up to me and say, “Who do you root for?” —whatever the sport. I said, “I really don’t root.” I’m so used to looking at it straight down the middle. I like the New York teams to do well, but I really don’t root.

Q: Johnny Podres beating the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series?

A: That was a big deal for me. We had the thought in those days that the Dodgers would never win a World Series, particularly against the Yankees.

Q: The Dodgers leaving Brooklyn?

A: That’s actually when I worked for them. I was in the ticket office. I remember getting a form letter from [owner] Walter O’Malley that was sent to me, I was in high school: “If you’d like to come to L.A. to work for us, we’d love to have you.” I showed it to my parents, and they said, “That’s a great idea, you go out there as an office boy working for the Dodgers.” (chuckle). Obviously, Walter O’Malley was not a popular figure making the move, and then taking Horace Stoneham and the Giants with him to the West Coast. As a fan, that too was very disappointing.

Q: Coney Island?

A: I loved to go there. My grandfather used to take me, my father would take me, and my brothers would come, and I’d just go to Nathan’s, going on the rides and all that. Bataway was there at the time, used to do that. That was a special event when we’d go to Coney Island on a Saturday or a Sunday.

Q: Did you go on the Cyclone?

A: I did once, not as a kid. I just wanted to do it, so I did. That was enough.

Q: How about the Parachute Jump?

A: One time. My father challenged me so I did. He went on it.

Q: Where was the best egg cream in Brooklyn?

A: There was a corner drugstore in Manhattan Beach that made the greatest … was a guy named Moe. I haven’t had one in a while.

Q: Describe your wife Heather.

A: The love of my life. … We both had a lot in common, and then some things not in common, which is good. We have great understanding of each other. And we both love pugs. And, it’s just a great life.

Q: What are the names of your pugs?

A: Trixie and Madison. Now, in terms of my retirement, Trixie and Madison are thrilled to have me around at home as much as possible. Heather is on the fence. She could go either way on that. Trixie and Madison are professional sleepers, basically.

Q: Did you ever feel the pressure of being the soundtrack of New York basketball and hockey?

A: No. I’ve always loved what I do. There’s always a drop of anxiety before you do the game, and I think that’s good. I like the fact that I still get that, and I enjoy the preparation, I really do.

Q: What would you say you’re most proud of?

A: I would say my kids, my grandkids. They’re a great bunch, they really are, and I’ll be able to see them a little more. I’ve been traveling so much for years.

Q: What do you hope your legacy is?

A: That’s always hard to say. … It’s hard to talk about that stuff about yourself like that. … I hope people enjoyed what I did, and they knew that I was being objective, and that it helped influence other broadcasters in the way I was influenced … by people like Marty. Do you remember Les Keiter? He was the one that gave me the crowd record that I was able to use in the background, ’cause when the Dodgers and Giants moved away, he would do recreations of the games from the West Coast.

Q: You must have liked listening to Red Barber too, right?

A: He was a different type of style. Yes, I enjoyed [Vin] Scully, I enjoyed Barber, I enjoyed Mel Allen. … If someone wants to be a sportscaster, you really have to listen to as many people as possible, and you pick and choose what you think is good or things you don’t like.

Q: What is your definition of legend?

A: I think the term is tossed around sometimes a little bit too much. But I think someone who people have great respect for and they admire what they do … be it a basketball player or football or whatever, Hall of Famer in sports … or an announcer (chuckle) I guess, I don’t know … or a newspaperman.

Q: How would you sum up what it’s been like being Marv Albert?

A: As I mentioned before, I’ve loved every minute of what I do. I think I’ve been very fortunate to be able to do what I do, and … I wish I could start all over again. At a much younger age, please (laugh).

Q: When the Eastern Conference finals end and the horn goes off, what do you suspect your emotions will be and you know that your retirement has begun?

A: I know it’s gonna be strange. It’s gonna be surreal. Even when I feel the game is like counting down, it’ll be like counting down (chuckle) on my conclusion, you know? It will be a very weird feeling knowing that it’s ending. It wasn’t until recent years I even thought … I just never pictured that because I’ve been enjoying so much what I do. It’ll be a little strange, I think.

Q: You’re taking a piece of so many of our youths with you.

A: People have been so nice over the years. … When Scully retired, of course I wasn’t hearing him on a regular basis when he’s in L.A., but I had such great feeling about his work. Yeah, I’m sure he’s missed. … Al Michaels told me the other day, remember this: Keith Jackson retired and then came back six years later. Barbara Walters came back twice (laugh). … I don’t think that’s gonna happen.

Q: What will you miss most?

A: I love every minute of what I’m doing, it’s what I wanted to do from the third grade on. That’s what I said I wanted to be. I realize how fortunate I’ve been to be in the right place for so many iconic events. You really have to have that kind of luck. I really will miss the preparation, and getting ready for big games. When the NBA season starts in late October, early November, I’ll miss it, but I’ll be OK because I felt the pandemic, even though it was obviously horrible for a lot of people, a lot of families, it was like a rehearsal for retirement. I feel 55 years of doing NBA basketball … that’s just about right. That’s enough. I still can’t believe it, but I turned 80. But you know 80 is the new 79.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Q: What would you say drives you?

A: Well, I want to win a Stanley Cup. I never [have] won a Stanley Cup. I enjoy the game, I still have a lot of fun coming to the rink, and I got two grandboys, 4 and 5 years old, and they’re pretty happy to see grandpa coaching an NHL hockey team. They’re at that age where they’re starting to watch the highlights and all that. They remember Vegas [2017-20] a little bit, but now they’re at a perfect age, and they’ll watch those highlights every night, so I’m looking forward to that.

Q: Tell me about your Stanley Cup dream as a kid.

A: It goes back to those days, every day you’re playing in the driveway and hope you’re playing for the Stanley Cup. I was fortunate enough to get a chance to be close to ’em as a player, and even closer to it with Vegas in the finals. I obviously had a couple of parties with it with the Red Wings when they won after I was done playing with them. It was enjoyable, but it’s still not the same until you win one yourself.

Q: Did they let you drink out of the Cup?

A: They wanted me to, but I didn’t. You’re not supposed to touch it unless you win it, so I just had the party and it’s fun, but I never drank out of it.

Q: How good of a coach do you believe you are?

A: Well, there’s 32 coaches in the NHL, and I’m just trying to be one of those coaches, get our team ready to play. I take a lot of pride in my team being the hardest-working team on the ice. I don’t care if I’m the worst coach or the best coach in the NHL, it’s just about us winning and being ready as a team to play. You get judged by your wins and losses, but I don’t really care what people think if I’m the best coach or the worst coach in the league, it’s just you come do your job, you have fun at it, try and get as many wins as you can, and the ultimate goal is to win a Stanley Cup.

Q: Describe your ideal hockey player.

A: A guy that comes to work every night, shows up to play 60 minutes as many nights as he can 82 games a year, and I love seeing a guy that can play a 200-foot game. He plays hard, he’s good offensively, he’s good defensively, he can stand up for himself. You don’t gotta do everything great, but do everything good. That’s a great hockey player for me.

Q: If a team takes on the personality of its coach, what would you want this team’s personality to be?

A: Very competitive. Again what I just described as a hockey player, that’s the way I tried to play every game. So being ready to play every night. But, come to work and be ready to work. My goal, ever since I’ve been a coach and a player is I’m in the NHL, the best league in the world — let’s have fun every day, but let’s work hard every day and keep it fun.

Q: Will the word abrasive fit this team?

A: That’s a good word. You watch the playoffs now, and I think every coach knows you have to have some guys that are ready to be abrasive. You can’t have every player doing that, obviously, that’s not the NHL today, but you gotta have every player standing up and competing for themselves and playing hard. … But abrasive’s a great word.

Q: As a player, you would get into scraps early in games.

A: The NHL back then there was a lot more fighting, and I found I played a lot better hockey when I got involved early in physical play. Back then there wasn’t a whole lot of numbers and analytics, but I found when I fought in the first period, I always scored that game, a good portion of the time I scored.

Q: You were 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, but you weren’t afraid of anybody.

A: I wasn’t scared of anybody. It’s just the way you were brought up, when you’re from a big family. I enjoyed the fighting part of that game in that era. Sometimes you bit off a little more than you can handle, that was OK, ’cause you never got hurt back then.

Q: How do you motivate?

A: You know what? It’s part of the game now, you get guys ready to play. But honestly, I think what’s really important for me is you have your good veteran players, your leadership guys. I don’t think a coach should have to come in there and motivate players. For me it’s about having great leadership in your locker room, and they take control of your locker room, and I think that’s a big part of motivation. We prepare every day, we prepare for practice and get the team ready, and I think the players and the leadership take over from there.

Q: What is playing the game the right way?

A: You can’t have 13 guys who play real good defensive hockey … and seven guys who are gonna be your offensive players. Good teams take 20 players to win any given night. You gotta be working defensively, you gotta be working hard offensively, and I think the good teams all do that. I don’t think you can say, “Well we got an offensive team here.”

Q: What won’t you tolerate?

A: I don’t like undisciplined hockey. I like to play a hard game and a physical game, but I don’t like to see guys taking undisciplined, unsportsmanlike penalties. And to be honest with ya, I won’t be satisfied if I’m watching guys not working hard on the ice, that’ll be the biggest thing for me. You can work hard for 45 seconds and you can rest on the bench. The big thing for me is when you’re on the ice, if you don’t got the puck, let’s go get the puck. Let’s work hard the 45 seconds, then you can change and you can rest for a minute-and-a-half so. … I don’t like lazy hockey players.

Q: What’s your No. 1 rule?

A: Respect’s a big word for me. We’re gonna respect our players, we’re gonna respect our organization, all the people that work in the organization. That’s really important to me. That starts from the top with our group. It’s not gonna be allowed that you’re gonna be late for practice, you’re gonna be late for this — we’re not gonna stand for that. So, respect everybody’s time and let’s have some fun. I don’t like to put a whole lot of rules in place, but I like people to respect each other, and respect your teammates, and respect the people you work around every day.

Q: Who are leaders you admire?

A: The one I’ve been around a lot as a player was Steve Yzerman. … Obviously there’s a Mark Messier with the Rangers. … And then a leader don’t gotta be guys that are talking all the time. Leaders lead by example on the ice, that’s what’s important.

Q: What do you remember about Messier and that ’94 championship Rangers team?

A: I remember Messier from playing against him before that, in the ’88 and ’89 playoffs when we were in the semifinals when I’m with Detroit. Just the way he came and played every night and showed his leadership and character. Good person, competes every night. He made that Ranger team go, obviously. He took control of that series — New Jersey [in the conference finals], obviously. He was a great leader, and he came to play and he backed up his words. He showed it on the ice every night.

Q: What is your definition of toughness?

A: In today’s game in the NHL, you can compete, you can battle hard, you go win the puck battles in the corner, you’re first on pucks, you’re not waiting for the other team to get the pucks. Toughness isn’t all about fighting, it’s about winning those puck battles and getting to pucks first.

Q: When you watched the May 3 Artemi Panarin incident, when Tom Wilson injured him, what was your gut reaction?

A: I just didn’t like it at all. I didn’t think it should have happened. You’re not gonna go over the whole incident, but I liked the way the Rangers responded to it. Tom Wilson’s a tough hockey player, every team would love to have that type of hockey player, but you can’t allow that to happen.

Q: Who are coaches outside hockey you admire?

A: The San Antonio coach, [Gregg] Popovich. I like the way he handles himself, he carries himself. He’s been a winner. He’s been in San Antonio for a long time, and it looks like he enjoys what he does.

Q: After you were surprisingly fired by the Panthers, there was an infamous photo of you tracking down a cab. What was that like for you seeing that photo?

A: It was actually funny two weeks later when I saw the photo. The whole thing about that is, too, that got blown way out of proportion. The taxi was driving by, I was sick of waiting for the town car to come, so me and my assistant coach Mike Kelly, I said, “Flag that taxi over, let’s jump in that.” It just happened to be there was a bunch of people out there taking pictures and everything.

Q: Who are athletes outside hockey you admire?

A: I’ve always liked baseball. I was a big Yankee fan when I was a kid growing up. I was always a Ron Guidry fan, a Don Mattingly fan, the Yankees back in that time, Reggie Jackson fan. Obviously I did admire Michael Jordan and those guys for what they’ve done.

Q: What drew you to the Yankees?

A: Back then, there was no Canadian teams, I think the Expos were starting. … They were like the Montreal Canadiens, they were winning, so I wanted to pick the winner at that time. But it was fun watching Reggie Jackson because he was hitting all those home runs at that time. I just liked the makeup of the team. Thurman Munson was a guy that I really liked, good catcher, played hard.

Q: What made Steve Yzerman so special?

A: He wanted to be a special player. He worked really hard in the offseason. He competed every day. Early in our career, when we were a real bad team in Detroit, we didn’t have much of a chance to win, and that really bothered him and he just wanted to get better every day. Early on he was a star offensive player, but when he became one of the best players in the league — he was blocking shots, he was killing penalties, he was doing all the little things — and that’s when they started winning their Stanley Cups. So his game changed a little bit, but that’s just the way Stevie was, whatever it took to win that’s what he did.

Q: Whatever comes to mind: Bob Probert?

A: Toughest guy ever. Great friend.

Q: Mike Keenan?

A: Good coach. Tough-ass coach.

Q: Brian Leetch?

A: Unbelievable skills, great all-around player.

Q: Billy Smith?

A: Scored my first goal against him … competitor … battler.

Q: Jacques Demers?

A: Great coach for me, I had my best four seasons under Jacques Demers … emotional guy … fiery guy … great man.

Q: Chris Drury as a player?

A: Good, solid two-way hockey player.

Q: Jaromir Jagr?

A: Unbelievable player. Great person. I enjoyed my three years with Jagr in Florida.

Q: Describe your emotions leaving the Red Wings as a player in 1993.

A: Real tough. I mean, I was there nine years, drafted by them, and when it was time for me to go — I was a free agent and I knew they didn’t want me back — so it was a real, real tough day. At that time, I would have taken any contract they would have offered me even though I got a pretty good deal with Tampa Bay, but … it was the toughest day of my life that time.

Q: Describe coaching the QMJHL Saint John Sea Dogs.

A: That was three outstanding years [2009-11], we had the top team in Canada for three years in a row, and it was fun to coach. There were nights we knew we were gonna win by seven or eight goals. It was too easy at times. I was happy when we lost once in a while because our kids were so talented, so you could get them a little hard work at practice the next day.

Q: Why was Mike Bossy one of your boyhood idols?

A: He was one of the best scorers of all time, and back then when I was a kid growing up in PEI [Prince Edward Island], they [the Islanders] had a real good team at that time obviously with Bossy, [Bryan] Trottier, [Clark] Gillies and all those guys, and we had a guy from PEI, [Billy] MacMillan, that played on the team also, so I cheered for them, and I wanted them to beat the Montreal Canadiens because Montreal was so good back then, when a team finally beat Montreal I was happy. I always cheered for the team that could beat Montreal.

Q: What stood out to you about Bossy?

A: Just his goal scoring. He could score from anywhere he’d shoot the puck. When you’re playing roller hockey, I was either Trottier, Bossy or Gillies — that was my favorite line back at that time in that era, and he was just a guy that scored all the goals.

Q: Why did you wear No. 9 in Juniors?

A: Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe were my favorite players as a kid growing up, and I always liked the No. 9. Obviously when I got to play at Detroit, I wasn’t getting No. 9.

Q: What was it like growing up as one of 11 children?

A: That was a lot of fun, there was always people around, brothers and sisters playing roller hockey. We grew up in a small town, and you knew everybody in the town. We always got what we needed, money and everything wasn’t important, but you enjoyed what you were doing. It was fun running around the dinner table trying to get something to eat.

Q: Which number were you of the 11?

A: I was nine.

Q: Who started calling you “Turk”?

A: One of my older brothers, I don’t even really remember when it started. I was 2 or 3 years old, my uncle had a clay basement, I used to go down to his basement. He raised turkeys, so I used to chase ’em in the basement.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: I enjoy my buddies. I come home every summer and I got eight buddies that I grew up with and eight buddies that I play poker with every weekend. They’re as good as anybody.

Q: Eight dinner guests then?

A: Exactly.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “Shawshank Redemption.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Clint Eastwood.

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Sharon Stone.

Q: Favorite singer or entertainer?

A: Shania Twain. Favorite band’s AC/DC.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: I’m a steak and potatoes guy.

Q: Message to Rangers fans?

A: We’re gonna be a very competitive team, and you know what? We’ll do the best we can. And cheer loud! They’re a big part of what we’re gonna do.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Q: Did you have any fear stepping into the batter’s box the first time after your nose was fractured in May by a 94.5 mph fastball?

A: No, matter of fact I didn’t. You really don’t know until you get back in that box. I had to remind myself during my rehab process and wanting to come back, that I’ve had almost 3,500 at-bats in my professional career … that what happened to me was a very, very rare occurrence and it doesn’t happen a lot. I think that’s how I had to tell myself that, that there shouldn’t be any fear what happened.

Q: How do you feel about your teammates viewing you as an inspiration?

A: I don’t see it as something that’s inspirational, I think it just shows my commitment and my love and my willingness to want to help this team win. I feel like I’m part of a special group of guys that’s been able to overcome a lot of things this year.

Q: How do you feel about being a fan favorite?

A: Obviously it’s humbling. It’s exciting. I don’t think that’s like a goal of mine everywhere I go, is to become liked or a fan favorite, but I think it speaks to the way that I go out and play every single day, and the amount that I care about winning, and what I’m willing to do to help teams win games. I think fans have been able to understand that, and see past some of the raw statistics, and understand that there’s better things that make people winning players besides hitting 40 home runs.

Q: What is your definition of toughness?

A: Just not making excuses, and having the willingness to kind of have mind over matter when it comes to injuries, when it comes to soreness, when it comes to, in baseball, lacking confidence. Just gotta figure out a way to put all that stuff behind you and then just try to go out and perform to the best of your ability.

Q: Where does that mentality come from?

A: Both my parents are pretty much wired like that. They get up and go to work every single day, they go to the gym every single day. My dad was a race pro, motocross, in his younger days, continued to run his motorcycle up until maybe four, five years ago. He’s told me stories. I’ve seen firsthand of him tearing his ACL and loading his own bike into the back of his truck. I’ve seen my mom puking all night sick as a dog, and then waking up first thing in the morning and showing up at work.

Q: What is it like playing on the New York stage?

A: It’s been a learning curve. New York is built a little differently, the New York fans are built a little differently.

Q: How so?

A: I would say, respectfully, a little bit more emotional. They live and die with every pitch a little bit more than anywhere than I’ve been. Every day has had a little bit more Game 7 feel than anywhere that I’ve ever been. That just shows that they care and that they want to see us do well. They’ll let you know if you’re not performing well, or if the team’s not performing well, and you had to get used to getting booed at home and stuff like that.

Q: What intangibles are unique to this Mets team?

A: I think camaraderie, I think clubhouse chemistry. I think the expectation of our team to show up every single day and win, you can’t really buy that stuff. I think a lot of people had expectations for the Mets because there was a lot of talent on the roster, but we just have a lot of good people, and we’ve jelled all together, and we’ve got some good leaders and some good leadership and guys willing to listen to leaders.

Q: What would you want to say about manager Luis Rojas?

A: Luis is calm, cool and collected. He’s just a nice, genuine human being, and very even-keel[ed]. He’s great because he had a lot of these homegrown Met guys which make up a majority of our roster in the minor leagues, so there’s comfort and there’s trust with those guys. And it didn’t take him very long to form that relationship with myself and a lot of these other new guys. You just don’t see any panic from him. It’s a blessing that he’s here.

Q: What makes Jacob deGrom, Jacob deGrom?

A: I didn’t get a chance to know him very well in spring training until maybe the last couple of days — for no reason except for the fact that he’s the best pitcher on the planet, I’m not a pitcher, and I was somewhat intimidated by him even though he’s not a very intimidating person. I just kind of stayed in my lane. It wasn’t until maybe the last couple of days of spring training that we found some common ground, and it just opened up the universe to each other. We became close friends immediately after finding some common ground. He’s just so unique, and not just his ability to have damn near perfect mechanics and throw 100 miles an hour. But he’s just so competitive, and he’s so unlike any other pitcher that I’ve ever played with in the sense that even hours leading up to his starts, he is in there talking about wakeboarding or goofing around. We were talking about playing the guitar the other day, watching someone play a song on the guitar. Then in the dugout after the first inning after striking out the first three guys, most pitchers would have this mean-mugging game face on, don’t talk to ’em, they have a no-hitter going on. Jake wants to know what the pitcher’s got and how he should take his at-bat. … Jake treats it like any other day, he just happens to be pitching that day. … It’s refreshing.

Q: What was that common ground?

A: We started talking about wakeboarding, honestly. That was like kind of the first little icebreaker for me and him to get past just saying hi to each other or small talk. I found out he loves wakeboarding, and I grew up wakeboarding and enjoy wakeboarding and it opened Pandora’s box for us.

Q: Do you have a Pete Alonso anecdote?

A: Polar Bear’s perfect for him ’cause obviously he’s a big, white, hairy man that resembles a Polar Bear. But despite him being big and crushes baseballs, he’s like a teddy bear, he’s very loveable and soft-spoken, and he’s just a nice, nice human being. So I think the Polar Bear sums him up perfectly.

Q: Describe Francisco Lindor.

A: Leader.

Q: How was he during his struggles emotionally?

A: The same as always — upbeat, a big smile on his face, didn’t allow his offensive struggles to carry over to defense, didn’t allow his early-season struggles to take away from him being a leader. Celebrating the good moments his team had. … It’s hard to do when you have all these expectations after signing the big deal and coming to a big city and not getting off to the best start. It would be very easy for a lot of people to kind of sulk, but he’s the leader of our clubhouse and gathers the troops after every single game. … I think we’re gonna see him as we go through the National League for the second or third time, I think you’re gonna see Francisco be the Francisco that we all expect.

Q: Marcus Stroman?

A: Obviously super-competitive, unbelievable work ethic, but he is doing a great job in growing the game of baseball, being an ambassador for making baseball fun and exciting, and bringing personality and kind of getting away from this very old-school, stoic type of way that baseball’s played for a long time and trying to make our game more entertaining, and he’s one of the leaders of that.

Q: Dom Smith?

A: Very talented baseball player that has so much more in the tank, and I think his best years are still in front of him, and I’m excited to see what kind of player he develops into and turns into. He’s just scratching the surface of what he’s gonna be able to accomplish in this game.

Q: Taijuan Walker?

A: I think this is Taijuan’s coming-out party. Taijuan’s been a guy that’s had a ton of hype in his career and dealt with some injuries, I think we’re seeing the best version of Ty right now.

Q: Edwin Diaz?

A: We have an elite closer that is, as a hitter, it’s terrifying to face, and I know hitters feel that way when he steps on the mound. When he comes into the game, they blow the trumpets, and it’s just kind of an iconic thing for him — it’s a Latino song that plays trumpets. It’s pretty fitting for him. I feel like anytime I’ll hear a trumpet play, it’ll remind me of Edwin Diaz.

Q: What was it like leaving Toronto in 2019, after seven seasons with the team?

A: Emotional. One of the most sad days of my career.

Q: You robbed Tim Beckham of a home run in Toronto in 2015.

A: Life-changing! That was something that put me on a worldwide stage, and it was kind of my moment, it was kind of my arrival where I would say it went from starting left fielder on the Toronto Blue Jays that maybe a handful of people knew to a household name overnight. That play changed my life.

Q: What is it like being called Superman?

A: Humbling, exciting, it’s a huge honor. It was shortly after that catch that people referred to me as Superman.

Q: Your first major league hit came against a Yankees pitcher in 2013?

A: Phil Hughes.

Q: What was that moment like?

A: It was more relief than it was exciting. I was 0-for-my-first-17, I think.

Q: Stealing home against the Yankees in 2018?

A: Dream come true, honestly.

Q: Who was the pitcher?

A: It was my [current Mets] teammate, Dellin Betances. And I happened to steal second and third in the same inning.

Q: What is the key to being a base stealer?

A: Instincts. I don’t steal as many bases as I once did. I think that’s also an evolution of the game doesn’t value stolen bases and they really frown upon getting thrown out. And I’ve also just learned that you can still be a great base runner without stealing bases. I still really feel like when I’m at first base, I’m still in a squat position I can score on doubles, I can go first to third, put pressure on defenses when I’m on base, and I just learned to pick and choose my spots a little bit better.

Q: Describe your first walk-off home run against Edwin Diaz.

A: Once again a dream come true, it was Mother’s Day 2016, I believe, and I had my mom and dad in the stands, and it was an unbelievable moment to have my first career walk-off homer against an elite closer, at home, on Mother’s Day, pink bat, pink uniforms with my mom there. It was just really, really cool.

Q: If you could test your skills against any pitcher in MLB history, who would it be?

A: Sandy Koufax. We just grew up in L.A., grew up a Dodger fan, and he’s arguably the greatest pitcher of all time.

Q: If you could pick the brain of any hitter in MLB history?

A: Maybe a prime Ken Griffey Jr. He obviously was so talented, but had so much fun playing the game.

Q: What was your most memorable dirt-biking accident?

A: I was probably 13 or 14 years old, had braces, went out on the adult track, and my dad’s rule was always to take the first lap or two slow, because on those type of tracks you really never know what’s around the next turn, you don’t know what’s on the other side of a jump. … I hit my head, my face with a helmet on, on the crossbar, and it rips my braces off. I went back to the trailer, showed my dad what happened, and my dad just pulled my braces off with pliers, and we just kept riding the rest of the day, and went and saw the orthodontist the next day.

Q: What drives you now and what drove you as a boy?

A: As a younger me, I think competition is always what drove me. I think having an older brother and wanting to keep up with him and his friends. What ultimately led me down the path of playing baseball is this insane kind of mindset or this insane willingness to want to try to master a sport that’s impossible to master … chasing perfection … perfection never happens, is what kind of always motivated me in baseball. As an older me, I still think I have more in the tank. I think I’m still growing as a player, I think I’m getting better as I’ve gotten older. I think I’ve mentally matured, I’ve physically matured, I still have this willingness to want to be great. I’m also motivated by wanting to keep my job as long as I can.

Q: What words would you use to describe your emotions when you were a 32rd-round pick by Toronto in 2011?

A: I would say confused. … I would say disappointment. … I heard my name called, and I just felt like I just needed to get my foot in the door and I would run with it and make the best of my opportunity.

Q: Your father told me that gave you a huge chip on your shoulder.

A: Yeah, without a doubt. He knew it, I knew it. Everyone that I played with growing up from maybe when I was 4, 5 years old all the way through college knew that I would have this massive chip on my shoulder … to go out and prove to all 29 other teams that they passed on me 32 times. That motivation carried me with, without a doubt, to get to the big leagues and survive in the big leagues for a couple of years. I don’t think that chip ever goes away, but I did have to find new ways to get motivated once I was kind of established in the big leagues. Then I had to really figure out how to be a big leaguer and how to impact winning and be an impact player.

Q: Whatever comes to mind: Cal Ripken Jr.?

A: Iron man.

Q: Jackie Robinson?

A: Iconic.

Q: Visiting the 9/11 Memorial?

A: Emotional.

Q: When did you do that?

A: 2015 was my first year that I made the Opening Day roster. So I was able to come to New York for Opening Day, have my wife, her family, my parents were all here for Opening Day. Unbelievable museum and unbelievable display of history of this country. Especially me being 32 years old, something I remember very vividly, and something that really in some ways changed the course of this country. You just can’t help but to feel something when you’re there. It’s hard to describe, but it’s very emotional. It’s just a very well-done museum, and I highly recommend it to people who haven’t been.

Q: The rise in anti-Semitism?

A: Scary. I’m more fearful of what might happen or what could happen with my kids, unless something drastically changes.

Q: What have you personally experienced?

A: I’ve never really experienced anything first-hand, but I’ve obviously been told by teammates and colleagues and friends that have experienced, whether it’s anti-Semitic or racism, they all kind of fall under the same category for me. Obviously things need to change, and I feel like over the last year or so, me personally and maybe people I’ve been around have gotten more comfortable asking the uncomfortable questions and trying to empathize and sympathize with maybe people of different colors or ethnicities or religions.

Q: How has fatherhood changed you?

A: It has made me separate my job from my home life a lot more. I feel like when I’m at the field, I’m a Major League Baseball player, but as soon as the uniform comes off, I have a more important job, and that’s taking care of my two kids and my wife and being present and being a father for them, too. This has allowed me to not take work home as much. I’m not perfect, I don’t think any baseball dad is, but it’s definitely helped me with that transition of leaving the bad stuff and even the good stuff at the field, and just coming home and understanding that my 3-year-old and my 1-year-old don’t really give a s–t if I hit a home run or struck out three times. They’re just happy to see their dad.

Q: How does Kobie’s personality compare with Jett’s personality?

A: Kobie’s a little bit older, so she’s got a little bit more personality. I think she’s got a lot of similarities to myself. She’s very athletic, she’s very stubborn, and she just seems very motivated in whatever she’s trying to accomplish. Jett is just 14 months, but he definitely reminds me of his mom. He seems a little bit more silly, a little bit more goofy like his mom.

Q: Describe your wife Amanda.

A: She gives me a sense of home no matter where this crazy journey of baseball takes us.

Q: Kobe Bryant?

A: Role model. Icon.

Q: And that’s why you named Kobie, Kobie?

A: Yes.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Kobe Bryant; I’d bring my grandfather back; Babe Ruth, because I’m not 100 percent sure that he’s real or not.

Q: Why your grandfather?

A: He was the glue of our family. He never got to see me play in person.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “The Departed.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Denzel [Washington].

Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?

A: Eric Church.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: Any sort of Mexican food.

Q: Describe your hunger to win a World Series.

A: At this point of my career, yes there are some things that I want to accomplish individually, I have some milestones that I’m coming up on. I want to reach 10 years of service time. I’m coming up on hitting my 100th career home run and 100th career stolen base. I don’t think I’m too far away from getting 300 doubles. It’s just some small little milestones. For me, from where I started, to sit back five, six, seven years from now and look at the back of my baseball card and see that I was able to hit 100 major league career home runs, pretty special to me. It’s a big reason I came here to New York even though I still feel like I could play every single day — I felt like I had the best opportunity to come here and win a World Series. To me, winning is everything at this point of my career.

Q: What do you hope Mets teammates say about you?

A: This guy played hard every single day, he showed up, gave his best effort whether I go 4-for-4, 0-for-4. I’m emptying out the gas tank every single day, whether I got half a tank or a full tank.

Q: What’s your message to Mets fans?

A: I think from top to bottom, the infrastructure’s in place with a great owner, with a great GM, great manager and a lot of talent. And I think this organization values winning, and I think, whether it’s this year or next year or the next upcoming years, I think this team is built to win. It’s not every organization values that above everything else. I think this one does.

Q: Can this team win a World Series this year?

A: Yes.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

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After all the fawning and gushing over Zach Wilson that you heard from the Jets as minicamp ended on Thursday, you might have expected Joe Namath to pick him up in a limo and take him directly to Canton.

It is a rite of spring and summer, of course, especially before a single game is played — a franchise rallying around its new franchise quarterback because he, more than anyone, represents a new hope for a better tomorrow.

Because Wilson was the second-overall pick, right behind Trevor Lawrence, he will bask in the sunshine of a passionate honeymoon — at least until his first interception, or until he is overheard on a hot mic saying he sees ghosts.

Bill Parcells used to remind everyone that you don’t truly find out about your quarterback until he is battered and bloodied and gets off the canvas and never stops being the battlefield commander.

But you only get one chance to make a first impression, and Zach Wilson has made such a boffo first impression that no one, not GM Joe Douglas, not head coach Robert Saleh, not long-suffering Jets fans, should worry about the kid getting thrown to the wolves, or the Panthers, in the Sept. 12 opener in Charlotte, N.C.

And here’s why:

It isn’t merely the eye-opening arm talent that seduced the Jets decision-makers, although of course without it, Wilson wouldn’t be the new franchise quarterback.

JaMarcus Russell had eye-opening arm talent, too. As did Jeff George. As did Browning Nagle.

Douglas, through his due diligence, fell head over heels for Wilson for his head and his heart in addition to his arm. There has never been a great quarterback who lacked intangibles. And Wilson oozes intangibles.

The kid clearly has a passion for the game, and he appears born to play quarterback. New York doesn’t scares him in the least. To him, it’s just a place to play football and relentlessly hone his craft. He is comfortable in his own skin. You saw him laughing along with beer-chugging guard Dan Feeney cheering for the Islanders at the Barn. Sam Darnold was one of the guys during his three years as a Jet. Wilson is one of the guys now. You wouldn’t want your quarterback not to be.

If your quarterback isn’t a gym rat, you have the wrong quarterback. Wilson is a film junkie. The game is his obsession. He will know the playbook inside and out. And in his words: process in chaos.

Now, he doesn’t have the same team around him that Ken O’Brien or Chad Pennington or Mark Sanchez did, but he will have more playmakers and protectors than Darnold did.

And do not underestimate what it will mean for him to have offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur by his side and in his ear. LaFleur will keep things simple enough so Wilson can play as freely as possible. They will be one mind in two bodies. It is the kind of benefit that Darnold was supposed to have with Adam Gase.

Wilson’s playmaking instincts might actually compel some to recall the Robert F. Kennedy quote: “Some men see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and ask, ‘Why not?’ ” There will undoubtedly be occasions when his fearless athletic arrogance will get him in trouble. There will be other occasions when the improvisational timing of his footwork and gunslinging accuracy might move Patrick Mahomes to send out a congratulatory tweet.

Here’s a benefit to starting the clock immediately on the Wilson Era: He can get a leg up in experience on fellow No. 1 draft Mac Jones if Bill Belichick goes with Cam Newton early in New England. Tua Tagovailoa started nine games as a rookie in Miami last season. Josh Allen is the GOAT of the AFC East, and the sooner Wilson can close the gap on him, the better for the Jets.

And then there’s this: When it all begins for real, the pressure won’t be on Wilson as much as it will be on Darnold, at home against the organization that discarded him. Then again, from every early indication, Wilson embraces pressure, wants the ball in his hands at the end of the game.

It’s too early to check the critical physical and mental toughness boxes, and in the meantime, look for the Jets to explore the Nick Foles backup quarterback option for veteran insurance behind Wilson.

Something Wilson said Wednesday about precocious rookie wide reciever Elijah Moore spoke volumes about his own mindset and his own drive.

“He’s someone I want to be around because he wants to be great,” Wilson said.

They’re all saying the same exact thing about him.

In Zach Jets Trust.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Blake Martinez already loves these Giants

Saquon Barkley taking his ACL rehab 'one day at a time'

Giants have no excuse not to win NFC East

Luis Rojas' role in Mets' success should not be underestimated

Giants' fancy new pieces may not matter if offensive line gamble fails

Jacob deGrom is more than the best pitcher in baseball, it is time to recognize him as the best player in baseball.

That is why it was virtually impossible not to hear a Cy of relief from Mets owner Steve Cohen on down to the fan base that worships deGrom when a precautionary Saturday morning MRI exam confirmed the optimistic diagnosis on the right-hander’s flexor tendinitis.

“It just came out clean,” manager Luis Rojas said.

So far, so deGreat.

Because for the Mets, 2021 is about deGrom’s wing, and the prayers of a championship-starved franchise and its fans.

There used to be a time, a more innocent time, a more united time in this country, when a news bulletin would interrupt regular television programming if the president, whomever he was at the time, had a cold.

We were reminded on Friday night, when the euphoric fans returned with a joyous vengeance and filled Citi Field with electricity, that deGrom is the incumbent president of any Mets championship campaign.

We were also reminded that, as much as it doesn’t appear that way, deGrom’s inhuman 0.56 ERA arm is human, just like everyone else’s.

So it was big news when deGrom soft-tossed on Saturday — before Marcus Stroman, victimized only by a Fernando Tatis Jr. home run, deGromed the Padres 4-1 — and remained on track to make his next start.

“It’s something that we want to take day-by-day … we still want to pay close attention to it,” Rojas said.

It would be both negligence and madness not to, especially after deGrom was shut down twice earlier this season with right-side tightness.

“Any elbow injury in a pitcher is concerning,” David J. Chao, known on Twitter as @ProFootballDoc, tweeted on Saturday. “Hopefully the flexor tendonitis is mild with no UCL involvement.”

The magnitude of deGrom’s star shines brightly now in that Queens constellation, which neighbors the Brooklyn constellation where Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden are based.

“We feed off the GOAT, man, for sure,” Stroman said. “He’s truly the best of our generation. I think he’ll be the best to ever do it once it’s all said and done.”

We have seen this kind of adulation around here from time to time … Tom Seaver, aka The Franchise and Tom Terrific … Dwight Golden, aka Dr. K (for a fleeting period) … Matt Harvey, aka The Dark Knight … and to a lesser degree, Noah Syndergaard, aka Thor.

When deGrom (five RBIs, four earned runs allowed) is pitching for them, Mets fans do not fret about sticky foreign substances on the deadened baseball … they are too busy being Metsmerized by the exhilarating sight of exasperated, flailing hitters looking more helpless against this strikeout machine than against anyone else in the game. DeGrom the batter probably couldn’t hit him.

When deGrom is pitching for them, it is an event.

An “MVP, MVP, MVP” revival.

Through my mask on the field on Saturday, I asked a masked Rojas what he remembered his dad, Felipe Alou, telling him about facing the young Seaver.

“He told me a story that he got a single off of him first time he faced him,” Rojas said, “and he was at first, and he was just like looking in the outfield, looking everywhere, and all of a sudden, he caught Seaver’s eyes looking at him from the mound. And my dad told me, ‘Luis, he was looking at me like, ‘You’re lucky you got that one.’ As a youngster. He thought that a kid with that confidence and that stuff, he was just meant to be special.”

What Reggie Jackson was once quoted as saying about Seaver would certainly apply to deGrom: “Blind people come to the park just to listen to him pitch.”

Rojas’ father, who enjoyed success against Sandy Koufax, also told him about facing Bob Gibson.

“The intimidation,” Rojas said. “Just about how he got in your head. And not only that he got in your head on how intimidating he was, but how fired you he got if somebody got a single off him, or even hit a homer off him, of course.”

Rojas was asked how deGrom is intimidating for batters.

“You don’t know what he’s thinking, you don’t know what’s going on, he’s not emotional on the mound,” Rojas said. “And then he has all these specialties, right, in the pitch menu. This guy’s throwing triple digits throughout a game, and then his secondary pitches are not too shabby. You put that all in a package, and that sounds pretty intimidating to me.”

You can add killer instinct as well. Even in his two Cy Young seasons, deGrom never imposed his will on a game the way he does now.

“I think he’s mastered the body control of pitching, along with his perfect anatomy to pitch, probably, he’s got the long extremities, he creates easy torque with his delivery. … His arm action is probably the cleanest in baseball,” Rojas said.

The connection between deGrom and Mets fans is something to behold.

“He enjoys the roar,” Rojas said, adding with a chuckle, “as much as he doesn’t probably share it. … I think he feeds off of it, he missed it last year like everyone did, including me. You’re not gonna get an emotional response from him. You’re not gonna get a wave or anything like that, but in the inside he is responding to them and their support.”

The stress deGrom puts on his arm is monitored closely by the Mets. It is part of the reason why he has not thrown more than the 85 pitches he threw in his six innings against the Padres on Friday night.

“We want to have Jake the entire season, right?” Rojas said. Right.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Saquon Barkley taking his ACL rehab 'one day at a time'

Giants have no excuse not to win NFC East

Luis Rojas' role in Mets' success should not be underestimated

Giants' fancy new pieces may not matter if offensive line gamble fails

'Sick to my stomach': Kevin Pillar's parents relive horrifying moment

It has already happened again for Blake Martinez.

“I’ve been in the huddle calling the plays, I’m looking around, I’m like, ‘Wow! This is an awesome huddle right here!’ ” Martinez told The Post when the Giants minicamp ended on Thursday. “ ‘OK, this is gonna work out.’ It’s always good to have those feelings going into each and every year.”

If you are interested in the state of the Giants’ defense, you go to one of two men: safety Logan Ryan or inside linebacker Blake Martinez.

We’ll let Martinez call the plays out loud this time for the Giants fan:

“For us, we think the sky’s the limit. Once that Sunday comes around at home with a full stadium, everyone’s gonna see, and it’s time for us to show-up-or-shut-up type of thing,” Martinez said.

For Big Blue, a second year under brainiac defensive coordinator Patrick Graham means it is time to show up. Show up the way proud Giants defenses of yesteryear always showed up.

“It’s allowed us to continue building that foundation that we built,” Martinez said, “and top of that, it just adds in the ability to add an extra check, kind of extra flavor to the stuff we already did last year that worked, and just allows us to keep being multiple and add new things and not allow offenses to know what we’re attacking ’em with.”

Martinez broke down for The Post his observations on some of the key members of his brotherhood and several of the newcomers:

Mountainous nose tackle Danny Shelton, the 2015 Browns’ first-round pick who replaces Dalvin Tomlinson: “It’s just gonna make my job that much easier. I messed with the coaches saying that no wonder he was a first-rounder, ’cause he’s basically three guys in one, so basically with one pick you got three guys.”

Dexter Lawrence’s Hog Mollieness compared to Shelton: “Dexter Lawrence is another freak of nature, he basically is just a little taller, so he kind of looks a little more thinned out. We call him the ‘Juggernaut.’ As in the Marvel Comics character: He pretty much runs through anything and nothing can stop that dude.”

Outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter, who missed the last 11 games in 2020 with an Achilles tendon injury: “Just knowing him as a person, I knew he was gonna come back ready to go. It’s just been cool and been amazing to see him back the way he’s moving, the way he’s looking out there.”

Second-round pick OLB Azeez Ojulari: “He’s a freak. He’s just obviously raw coming out, and once again one of those guys that came in, knew he had to put the work in, and he’s been doing that every single day and just extremely excited to see him grow, and once it clicks, it’s gonna be pretty scary.”

Fourth-round pick OLB Elerson Smith: “I call him ‘Gumby.’ He’s like 7-foot-9, but he can move like a gymnast out there. It’s the same thing as Azeez. Once both of those guys get it and they click for ’em, they’re gonna be a scary duo.”

Inside linebacker Reggie Ragland: “One of the athletic big men I’ve seen. Awesome guy in the locker room. He’s extremely smart, obviously he’s has had a bunch of experience in the league. It’s been great to kind of just bounce off different ideas with him.”

Safety Xavier McKinney, who broke his foot in his rookie training camp last August and played in six games: “He came in locked in bigger than ever, moving really well, just excited for him this year.”

Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson: “A guy that just shows up ready to work, lock in on his assignment.”

A forever-hungry defensive lineman Leonard Williams, the $21 million man: “There’s no way our defense would allow any complacency across the board.”

Shelton (345 pounds before breakfast), sandwiched between Lawrence and Williams, are the brawn in front of the brains, Martinez and Ryan.

“Every person understands the defense just as much as us,” Martinez said, “but we’re the communicators out there. We’re the guys that if anything funky happens, we get everyone lined up, everyone in the right check, calling out certain things that we see, and once again, awesome to have Logan on the team, ’cause he’s helped me grow as a player immensely.”

Martinez was third in the league last season with 151 tackles.

“Finding ways to even be one or two steps quicker on certain things, see things faster, get people in the right checks quicker,” he said of himself. “Get as close to perfection as you can.”

Joe Judge: “Whether it’s a coach or a player, he’s gonna make sure he’s getting the best out of everybody. … His number one thing is he believes that every single person could be even better than what people expect. There’s a lot of people out there that would pat us on the back last year. But all of us as a team know we’re competitors and we want to be playing further into January and continuing our season. … There’s no complacency anywhere at any point, any tier of this team, and it starts with him and all the way down.”

On the other side of the ball, Daniel Jones: “He’s a guy that’s gonna step in the locker room, everyone’s gonna listen. He steps in the huddle, every player is listening to him. He’s demanding, he knows how to compete. We don’t have a quarterback, we have a number one leader of this team and a number one leader in the NFL.”

Kenny Golladay: “The guy’s an animal. Once again, excited he’s on my team. It’s kind of the Saquon [Barkley] effect. I’m glad we have these guys on our team.”

The young offensive line: “They’ve been training this offseason together, they’ve been doing multiple things together, bonding, working with the new [O-line coach Rob Sale]. It’s gonna be exciting to see that growth. When they click as a unit, I think they’re one of the best out there.”

Giants fans: “Everyone should be just as excited as we are. The ability to have the Giant fans’ energy at the stadium this year is just gonna heighten it even more. They’re gonna be able to have just excitement of us out there playing and seeing how much fun we’re having, and on top of that, that resiliency and that grind for competition to go out there and compete every single week and come up successful.

“I can’t wait.”

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Luis Rojas' role in Mets' success should not be underestimated

Giants' fancy new pieces may not matter if offensive line gamble fails

'Sick to my stomach': Kevin Pillar's parents relive horrifying moment

Alarming Yankees must wake up for teams 'they hate'

Nets' Big 3 learned it will take all them to beat Celtics

Year after year after year, the Giants sing the same old song about the high expectations mandated by a standard set by the likes of Charlie Conerly and Frank Gifford and the four Super Bowl championship teams of Bill Parcells and Tom Coughlin.

And year after year, the Giants wind up singing the blues.

But as the 2021 Giants — one and all, veterans and rookies — gathered together for the first time at Tuesday’s minicamp, only the booming voice of Joe Judge sounded louder than the opportunity that is knocking for them this season.

The NFC Least is ripe for the taking, and the most talented Giants team certainly in the 15-33 Dave Gettleman Era — that’s not saying much, granted — has no excuse not to take it.

The 2021 Mets have shown us what camaraderie can mean for a team’s fortunes, and Judge established the right culture and the right locker room as the precocious rookie head coach.

Camaraderie can only take you so far. Camaraderie can help turn a 4-12 team into a 6-10 team.

With his second-year quarterback learning a new offensive system, with Saquon Barkley sidelined for the last 14 games, with a rookie left tackle on a vulnerable offensive line temporarily buckled by the firing of its offensive line coach, with cornerback DeAndre Baker self-destructing, the Giants were more Little Engine That Could than Big Blue Locomotive.

The Giants haven’t won a division crown since the 2011 season, and Tom Brady and Bill Belichick might recall how that season ended.

It is time to win one.

This is no six-win team. Barring bad fortune and grievous personnel miscalculations, particularly on Daniel Jones and the offensive line, there is no reason why this cannot, should not, be a playoff team.

For what it’s worth, of the 22 current Giants starters, 11 have been drafted in the first and second rounds. That doesn’t count 2021 first-round pick receiver/returner Kadarius Toney or second-round outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari or 2020 second-round pick safety Xavier McKinney, all of whom figure to have important roles.

The Giants are in that large group of teams with a number of ifs … but if the power brokers didn’t think that it was finally past the time to consider themselves in rebuilding mode, they wouldn’t have splurged in free agency on WR Kenny Golladay ($72 million) and CB Adoree Jackson ($39 million).

The biggest if is Jones. If he cannot make a significant third-year leap now armed with Golladay and Toney and the eventual return of Barkley, then the Giants will miss the playoffs for a fifth straight season.

I believe he is made of the right franchise quarterback stuff and will be the leader and distributor the Giants need him to be.

“That’s my boy,” Golladay said.

His boy won’t say it publicly, but this is make-or-break for him.

“We’ve all got to perform in the NFL, and you’re expected to perform at a certain level,” Jones said. “So certainly understand that, but right now, the only way to get there is to focus on what we’re doing here every day at practice.”

Of course, kid, of course.

Then: If the young offensive line grows up together. If Barkley returns close to who he was.If offensive coordinator Jason Garrett feels emboldened by his new toys and shows up with more nerve and creativity.

If Lorenzo Carter or Ojulari or Oshane Ximines can bring the heat. If Leonard Williams can ignore the pressure of being a $21 million man and build on his breakout 2020 season.

If Toney, who didn’t finish practice, can figure out how to stop slipping. “He’s a real twitchy and explosive athlete,” Jones said.

The Cowboys welcome Dak Prescott back, but will left tackle Tyron Smith at 30 return healthy and hold up following neck surgery? Can new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn manufacture a pass rush behind DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory? Is there a quality free safety in the house. Can Ezekiel Elliott stop fumbling? Is coach Mike McCarthy the answer for Jerry Jones?

The Washington Football Team features 38-year-old journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, he of the Fitzmagic-Fitztragic split personality. Is second-round draft pick Samuel Cosmi the cure at left tackle? The last team to repeat as NFC East champs was the 2004 Eagles.

I peg the Eagles last in the division. There is a question mark at cornerback opposite Darius Slay, and though first-round pick WR Devonta Smith is the real deal, the biggest question mark is quarterback Jalen Hurts. Who will miss tight end Zach Ertz when and if he is traded.

The strength of the Giants is their secondary, with Logan Ryan supplying peerless leadership, and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.

“We definitely got some more horses in the stable this year as you know,” Ryan said, “but it’s a team sport. I mean, you have to come together and execute. To me it’s about execution and details and want-to and winning games is all that matters. I don’t play this game to have losing records and try to get one game better than 6-10. We have to take it one step at a time and the message is to build a foundation and embrace it.”

The foundation was built last season. It’s time to house a division championship at 1925 Giants Drive.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Giants' fancy new pieces may not matter if offensive line gamble fails

'Sick to my stomach': Kevin Pillar's parents relive horrifying moment

Alarming Yankees must wake up for teams 'they hate'

Nets' Big 3 learned it will take all them to beat Celtics

These looked nothing like your Knicks, Tom Thibodeau

What an exhilarating ride this has been. A baseball team populated with replacement dreamers scratching and clawing and fighting together to hold the fort until the cavalry returns.

The Boys of Spring.

One Next Man Up after the Next Man Down. If it wasn’t Cameron Maybin, bless his heart, it was Johneshwy Fargas. If it wasn’t Fargas, it was Jonathan Villar. If it wasn’t Villar, it was Jose Peraza. If it wasn’t Peraza, it was Patrick Mazeika. If it wasn’t Mazeika, it is Billy McKinney. If it isn’t McKinney, it is Brandon Drury. If it isn’t Drury, it is Mason Williams. If it isn’t Williams, it is Travis Blankenhorn. If it isn’t Blackenhorn, it is Kevin Pillar, who had his nose rearranged by that bloody 94.5 mph fastball and wouldn’t stay down. Just as this team wouldn’t stay down.

Miracle Mets? Amazin’ Mets? Lol no, we’ll check back in October to see if they can win a World Series first, OK?

But fans streaming back to Citi Field to cheer deSeaver on Friday night, the rich new owner tweeting his heart out … Marcus Stroman securing a 6-2 win over the contending Padres and a series split on Sunday … pinch me, says the Mets fan, I must be dreaming.

If these walls could talk, what would they be saying about Luis Rojas?

That anyone can manage Jacob (Franchise II) deGrom? No doubt.

That anyone could trot out a defense so adept at saving runs? Probably.

That anyone would relish this kind of suffocating bullpen? No doubt.

But if these walls could talk, they would also have to tell you that Luis Rojas is a first-place manager.

No one is saying he could one day be The Next Miller Huggins. Or The Next Gil Hodges or Davey Johnson. He is still learning on the job, still learning how to handle a pitching staff, still learning how the big boys are expected to do it. Still two games under .500 at 55-57 since inheriting the job that belonged to Carlos Beltran until the Astros sign-stealing consequences doomed him.

The jury on whether Rojas can deliver sustained success for Steve Cohen is out, of course. Cohen inherited Rojas and has made it clear that he harbors championship expectations sooner rather than later.

But in the meantime, do not underestimate the job he has done this season:

Rojas is 29-23, three games ahead of the Braves, 3 ¹/₂ ahead of the Phillies.

And what makes this all the more remarkable is that he is still waiting for Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Davis and Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard to heal … and Pete Alonso (hand) returned at the start of this 4-3 road trip after a visit to the 10-day IL. Seth Lugo (elbow) returned at the same time from the 60-day IL. Robinson Canó (PED), you ask? Wait Til Next Year.

It was only two weeks ago when Cohen felt compelled to tweet: “Anybody want to suit up?”

“This team is incredible,” Stroman said Sunday. “I know we’ll battle through any adversity. What we’ve been doing is truly remarkable with having such prominent guys on the DL, and to have these guys step in and dominate, it’s been amazing to see.”

Rojas has checked the critical boxes of communication, relationship-building and leadership.

When you are a manager or a coach of a New York team, you better be able to weather storms, because they will come, and feel like hurricanes if you are not steady and poised in their eye. His unflappability has been a godsend, and his baseball knowledge and savvy have helped earn him respect in the clubhouse. He is the same guy every day. He is principled. He does not shy away from making the tough decisions every manager must make during the course of a marathon season.

And it has been more than the absence of Soft Tissue All-Stars: there was the Jared Porter sexual harassment fiasco and Zack Scott replacing him as acting GM … the hellish slump of $341 million man Francisco Lindor and the silly manufactured rat-versus-raccoon debate … the shocking firing one month ago of his hitting coaches, Chili Davis and Tom Slater, replaced by Hugh Quattlebaum and Kevin Howard.

“I don’t think you can think of the big picture,” Rojas said. “We want to win every day.”

The Padres, trailing 2-0, had loaded the bases in the fourth before Drury backhanded a hard grounder, tagged third base with his glove and fired to first from his knees to double up Webster Rivas.

“Pitching and defense has been the formula,” Rojas said.

Before the season, Rojas (+900) was an afterthought for NL Manager of the Year honors.

“On the professional side, managing a game, I think that he will be better,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said when Rojas was brought back for his sophomore season.

If Rojas can keep the Mets in the hunt through the All-Star break, when more of the stars begin to appear again in the blue-and-orange sky, he’ll be more than an afterthought.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

'Sick to my stomach': Kevin Pillar's parents relive horrifying moment

Alarming Yankees must wake up for teams 'they hate'

Nets' Big 3 learned it will take all them to beat Celtics

These looked nothing like your Knicks, Tom Thibodeau

Knicks need Julius Randle to be their star again

The Giants spent years looking to identify Eli Manning’s successor, passing on Sam Darnold and Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson until they anointed Daniel Jones as the king to the franchise quarterback throne.

Over the offseason, the Giants sent a loud and clear message that they are no longer rebuilding, with John Mara telling the Big Blue world that it is Winning Time finally, after all the post-Super Bowl XLVI misery.

And of course it is critical that the Giants are as right about who follows Manning as they were wrong about who followed Tom Coughlin, until Joe Judge showed up.

And so the organization’s mission statement — HELP DANIEL — manifested itself in a checklist that should have made Jones both smile from here to Durham, N.C., and recognize that the stakes are PUT UP OR SHUT UP, as they should be by now in his third season:

The Big Reciever: Plaxico Burress wore No. 17 for Manning. Golladay, who was in attendance at Friday’s organized team activities, will be wearing No. 19 for Jones. Check.

The YAC (Yards After Catch) Threat: Meet No. 1 draft pick Kadarius Toney. Check.

The Red Zone TE: Meet veteran Kyle Rudolph (49 career TDs). Check.

The Gold Jacket Guy: The Giants have their fingers crossed and are optimistic that Saquon Barkley (torn ACL last September) will be Saquon Barkley again. Check (until proven otherwise).

Offensive line: Timeout, please.

You see, the Giants did nothing, other than welcoming back 2020 opt-out veteran swingman tackle Nate Solder, to upgrade the men entrusted with keeping Jones upright to weaponize his best arsenal to date and clearing paths for Barkley.

No one would dare call it resting on their laurels.

The Giants cut veteran guard Kevin Zeitler, and in the first round of the NFL draft passed on Rashawn Slater, who can play any and all positions on the offensive line. They didn’t draft an offensive lineman. They signed center-guard Jonotthan Harrison and guard Zach Fulton to one-year free-agent deals.

Just as they believe in Jones more than some outsiders do, they believe in their young offensive line more than some outsiders do, which for now lines up this way:

Left tackle Andrew Thomas, left guard Shane Lemieux, center Nick Gates, right guard Will Hernandez and right tackle Matt Peart.

Three second-year players … a second-year center … a fourth-year player (Hernandez) who battled COVID-19 last season and started only seven games after being replaced by Lemieux.

General manager Dave Gettleman, who vowed to fix the offensive line when he arrived in 2018, had better be right — both for Jones’ sake, and for his own sake. Because if Jones were to falter, the GM’s hot seat would become an ejection seat.

Gettleman’s Hog Mollies in front of Jones had better grow together and grow up — now.

From this guilty-until-proven-innocent perch, it has the look of a Gettleman Gamble. Luckily for him, his fail safe is Judge, who has summoned new offensive line coach Rob Sale, with assistant Ben Wilkerson, rover Freddie Kitchens and former Coughlin aide Pat Flaherty as a consultant in pursuit of some stability in the wake of last November’s stunning firing of offensive line coach Marc Colombo, who was replaced by Dave DeGuglielmo.

“You’ve just got to build a relationship with them and trust them,” Gates said. “Judge hired them for a reason, so if he trusts them, I’m going to trust them.”

He sounds sold on Sale. “He’s awesome, he’s a good teacher and good coach and good person,” Gates said.

Too many cooks spoil the broth?

“As long as they are all on the same page,” Gates said, “it’s not that difficult at all.”

Solder, naturally, is a resource.

“He just brings that knowledge of being in the league for so long,” Gates said.

Manning already had four-fifths of his Super Bowl XLII line intact heading into his third season. LG David Diehl, C Shaun O’Hara, RG Chris Snee and RT Kareem McKenzie were starting their second season together. Diehl moved from LG to LT to replace Luke Petitgout in 2007 with Rich Seubert moving in at LG.

In the 2020 opener against the Steelers, Jones’ line read: LT Thomas, LG Hernandez, C Gates, RG Zeitler, RT Cameron Fleming. Pro Football Focus ranked the Giants’ line 31st in pass blocking efficiency. Jones was sacked 45 times in 14 games.

Oh, and Barkley’s stat line that night: 15 carries, 6 yards.

“I have to be better,” Barkley said afterward. “I have to be better for the team. We have to get the running game going.”

Good idea.

This was Gettleman on his offensive line when a fourth straight season without a playoff berth ended:

“They’re big, they’re young, they’re strong and they’re tough and smart. This O-Line has a chance to be pretty damn good.”

Remember, this is Jones’ second year in coordinator Jason Garrett’s offense. It’s time to see that quarterback-friendly offense. It’s time for Jones to ascend. It’s time to win. One last critical item on the checklist remains: Daniel Jones’ guardian angels.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

Steve Serby

Alarming Yankees must wake up for teams 'they hate'

Nets' Big 3 learned it will take all them to beat Celtics

These looked nothing like your Knicks, Tom Thibodeau

Knicks need Julius Randle to be their star again

Marcus Stroman, Jacob deGrom have been Mets rotation saviors

It is every parent’s worst nightmare: their son sprawled out in a sea of his own blood, no one knowing for what seems like an eternity how a 94.5 mph fastball to the face would impact his career. Or life.

“I was sick to my stomach and I felt that I was gonna throw up,” said Kevin Pillar’s mother, Wendy.

“Probably the worst, what can I say, spectacle I’ve ever seen of someone bleeding that much,” said his father, Mike. “I watch a lot of UFC and boxing. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so much blood pouring out like that on anybody. I was kinda like, ‘Oh my God, I hope his whole face isn’t shattered.’ ”

The Kevin Pillar Story has had a happy ending, the Mets’ warrior persevering through his chilling scare on May 17 in Atlanta that required surgery to repair multiple nose fractures, and collecting a pair of singles in the Mets’ 7-6 victory over the Diamondbacks on a day when the bullpen stemmed the tide before Pete Alonso’s single drove in surging Francisco Lindor in the ninth inning.

Pillar’s older brother Michael had watched the incident live and immediately called his parents: “Kevin got hit.”

“And I’m like, ‘Oh OK,’ ” Wendy said. “I just assumed he got hit and he got on base. And then he said, ‘He got hit in the face.’ And then I’m like, ‘OK, OK, I gotta go.’ ”

The mother and father, who have worked for 42 years together at Mike Pillar & Sons Hardwood Flooring Inc. in Woodland Hills, Calif., tape the games, and they fast-forwarded to their son’s horrifying at-bat against Jacob Webb when they returned home.

Wendy Pillar feared that her son’s MLB dream might be over.

“It was scary,” she said. “I couldn’t believe that he didn’t get more damaged. But I think the initial hit with the pitch was worse than seeing the aftereffect. I could see his foot fluttering, you know? He’s pretty tough. He is one tough dude. I knew this was like, ‘Oh my God!’ You just saw so much blood on that poor face that it was hard.

“I thought this was the end of all.”

Kevin’s wife, Amanda, kept his parents in the loop.

“His wife Amanda was great,” Wendy said. “Two minutes after it happened, she called me and she was in complete contact with the doctor that was there, and Kevin happened to know the other doctor from the Braves. So Amanda reached out to him.”

At every opportunity, Kevin FaceTimed his parents.

“After he got to the hospital, while he was waiting to get the CT scan, he had FaceTimed us, and then he took that scan and then he called us back and told us everything was negative,” his mother said.

Said Mike Pillar: “He told us there was no brain damage or anything, or broken cheekbones or anything, it was just all nose. His nose was completely … crushed.”

The parents were somewhat relieved when they saw his face.

“He seemed a little more composed sitting,” Wendy said. “His nose was like crooked, and his eyes just started to swell.”

Pillar was activated off the injured list for the start of this road trip on Monday night and continued to be a source of inspiration to his manager and teammates when he singled in his first at-bat back.

Pillar’s courage and fearlessness goes way back. A generation, in fact.

“He grew up in a dirt bike-racing family,” his father said. “I raced professional motocross, and he also rode dirt bikes as well. Although he really didn’t pursue racing, but he did ride dirt bikes on motocross tracks. I was injured quite a bit — I broke my femur, I’ve torn my knee up four times, I’ve had three shoulder separations, broken clavicle, a fractured pelvis, and as soon as I was able to, I was back on the bike.”

Kevin learned his father’s sport the hard way.

“We were at this track,” Mike recalled, “and it was a track he hadn’t ridden before, and I said, ‘Make sure you go slow the first lap, learn the track, feel the jumps.’ So he gets out in the track, the first jump he goes over, he nails it, and he goes over the handlebars, he crashes big-time. He comes back to me on the motorcycle — he had braces at the time and they were hanging off his teeth, sticking straight out, and he was bleeding, and I ended up pulling his braces off with pliers, and stopped the bleeding, and he was fine the rest of the day.”

Kevin was a tailback, receiver, safety and linebacker in high school.

“I’ll never forget the very first game as a senior in high school,” Mike recalled. “They kicked off to him, and he should have called a fair catch, but he didn’t. He caught the ball and he got flattened! And the entire stadium, which was full, went silent for about 30 seconds til he got up. And then he played the rest of the game. He played defense, offense, both, he never came off the field.”

The father never had an inkling that the son dreamed of an MLB career. Kevin was drafted in the 32nd round out of Division II Cal State-Dominguez Hills by Toronto in 2011.

“That definitely put a big chip on his shoulders,” Mike said.

The chip never left.

“He’s my kid, but even if he wasn’t my kid, I just think he just goes out and lays it on the line every single day,” Wendy said.

Mother and father will be in San Diego when the Mets begin their four-game series there on Thursday night. Wendy Pillar has never missed a single day of work except for vacation. Of course she hasn’t. Kevin now wears a protective mask in the outfield and on the bases.

“Whatever’s gonna keep him safe,” she said.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby

OK, so maybe it took a 50-point explosion from Jayson Tatum to beat them, and lightning never strikes twice, but James Harden did score 41 points and Kevin Durant did score 39 more and it still wasn’t enough.

So this is the first real pothole the Big 3 has hit on the Yellow Brick Road to the NBA Championship, and they were trying to convince us and perhaps themselves that a little adversity never hurt anybody. Not even them.

And they could be right, as long as their Game 3 loss serves as a wake-up call that reminds them that for all the raging hype and all the hyperventilating that has followed them from the moment KD and Kyrie Irving joined up together even before Harden came along for the ride, the final and only destination of which must be the Canyon of Heroes, they have yet to win a single playoff series together.

At the very least, the Celtics have gotten their attention, and with COVID-19 restrictions in Massachusetts lifted just in time for Game 4 on Sunday night, a capacity crowd will be there to attempt to will the Celtics to a 2-2 series deadlock, and spew venom while they’re at it at Irving, their villainous traitor who broke his pledge to stay a Celtic forever and maybe one day join Russell and Satch and Cousy and K.C. and Bird in the rafters and allow old Red Auerbach to puff on his cigar somewhere up there in hoop heaven.

The moral of the Game 3 story: There can indeed be nights when the mighty Nets do not put their shorts on two legs at a time if the Big 3 is merely the Big 2.

There indeed will be nights when coach Steve Nash will be forced to confront and address the dangers of complacency seeping in on the kind of night when Irving is 6-for-17 from the floor and 2-for-6 from 3-point range for 16 points, with two assists, across 41 minutes.

If Kyrie Irving had played the way Kyrie Irving had been expected to play on Friday night, then Nash wouldn’t be gnashing his teeth over a troubling lack of effort and physicality and discipline against an underdog Celtics team playing with its hair on fire. A Celtics team that wanted Game 3 more, and will want Game 4 every bit as much, and believe impossible is nothing now.

Irving’s task will be to answer the question of whether the city of Boston is in his head, because he sure didn’t answer it in Game 3.

“I don’t want to necessarily make any conclusions that it was because of all the other chatter and the fans and all that,” Nash said, “that’s a question for Ky. We know how good he is, we know that he can handle that environment, and we know that he can play much better in Game 4.”

Because of his perceived betrayal and his otherworldly gifts, Irving undoubtedly would have been vilified even if he hadn’t invoked the “subtle racism” card for which he had braced himself from TD Garden fans.

Irving brushed it off following Game 3 as just another hostile environment he has encountered across his 11-year career, but he did implore the boobirds to bring it on with a wave of his hands when he first came out for battle.

“I’m not against it if that’s what gets him going,” Nash said.

It is somewhat amusing that after the Nets lost for the first time in these playoffs, the narrative changed from the beauty and luxury of having three star playmakers who can create on their own and kill you with iso to maybe more ball movement would be preferable when the Big 3 is the Big 2.

“Getting into some of our sets and just getting movement and getting some shots that way, sorta keeps them guessing,” Blake Griffin said. “When you have a heavy dose of iso, I think it’s a little bit easier for defenses to sorta get used to it and scheme around.”

The Nets aren’t built to be Red Holzman’s hit-the-open-man Knicks. One playoff loss and Nash suddenly finds himself scrambling to rid the offense of predictability.

“They’re so good in isolation that sometimes they’re having success in isolation,” Nash said, “but maybe it’s hard to see how it’s limiting the overall picture. So, we have to find that balance.”

The Nets aren’t built to be Pat Riley’s Knicks either. One playoff loss and Nash suddenly finds himself scrambling to address the lackadaisical pick-and-roll defense the Nets displayed against Tatum.

“He was able to get his catches in his spots too easy,” Nash said.

There was also the matter of offering little resistance to Tristan Thompson (13 rebounds) on the offensive glass, with Glue Guy Jeff Green sidelined. And shame on the Nets for letting shooting guard Romeo Langford grab six rebounds off the bench in 27 minutes.

These are secondary or tertiary issues or concerns when the Big 3 is a Big 3. Big Game 4 now. Big crowd. Big 2 waiting on Kyrie.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Steve Serby