By Joseph Brandwen
INTRODUCTION: Hello readers. My name is Joseph Brandwen and I am a new member of the MCSM RamPage team. I would like to write articles about professional sports in our great city of New York. I am brand new, so I’d appreciate reader feedback sent to the email address listed at the end of this column.
Football
The Giants:
On Sunday the Giants crushed the Carolina Panthers 25-3 with Devontae Booker and Dante Pettis scoring touchdowns and Graham Gano with 5 good field goals. This win was a big turnaround for the G-Men, after allowing 82 points in their last 2 games. This improves the Giants record to 2-5 for the season, as Carolina loses their 4th straight game. Next week on Monday night, the Giants travel to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City to face the Chiefs. The Giants hope to bolster their roster at the trade deadline, as they want to achieve “Long Term Success”
Jets:
On the other hand, the Jets got demolished by the Patriots 54-13. The Jets rookie Quarterback, Zach Wilson had to be taken out of the game with a sprained ACL, and will have to miss 2-4 weeks with this injury. So far, the Jets have not been having an easy season, with their record dropping to 1-5. As a matter of fact, the Jets have had a rough past few seasons and it hasn’t been looking up so far this year. Next week, the Jets go back to New York and play the Cincinnati Bengals. Jets fans don’t have much to look forward to in the future, as they’re consistently placed in the bottom of the NFL. Their now injured rookie quarterback now makes the season look pretty bleak.
Basketball
Nets:
Opening day for the Brooklyn Nets has been mostly overshadowed by the controversy surrounding star point guard Kyrie Irving, and his decision not to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and has thus been banned from playing in the NBA until he does. Nets fans have been getting increasingly agitated and angry for the NBA’s refusal to let their star player participate in games. They even went as far to try and storm into the Barclays Center, where the Nets play their home games. The whole controversy has gained national attention, and anti-vaxx groups are attempting to turn Mr. Irving to a martyr for their cause. This news surely can’t be good for Nets fans, as his controversy is definitely going to affect the Nets play, as they’ve started the season 1-2 in 3 games, despite their projections for a 1st place finish this season.
Knicks:
The Knicks have started the season to a 2-1 record, with Julius Randle scoring 86 points over his first 3 games. The Knicks first game was a wild 138-134 win over the Boston Celtics. Veteran player Kemba Walker, who grew up a Knicks fan, in his first year with the Knicks says “It’s the most unreal feeling”. The Knicks aren’t favored to have the best record, after their defeat in the Postseason last year by the Atlanta Hawks, yet their season is looking good so far, with Julius Randle being the star of the show, and hoping to improve the team from their shortcomings last year. The Knicks have come very far from being the laughing stock of the NBA they were years ago, and hope to go big and bring glory to Madison Square Garden once again.
Baseball
Yankees:
The 2021 MLB season was an excruciatingly painful season for Yankees fans around the world, myself included. In the 2021 offseason, the Bronx Bombers hope to try and fix their problems by bringing in new coaching staff, and new players. The Yankees’ usually strong offense decided to play dead for the majority of the 2021 season which proved to be their undoing. At the trade deadline, they attempted to fix their problems by bringing in power hitting, which failed miserably. They just barely made it to the wildcard game, before being slapped around by the Red Sox in humiliating fashion. Fans are also displeased by the front office’s decision to bring back unpopular manager Aaron Boone for another 3 years, which I myself criticize as a Yankees fan. The future for the Yankees looks interesting, but uncertain.
Mets:
Mets fans are used to failure, and it yet again came in the 2021 MLB season. With a mostly secure 1st place lead in their division for most of the season, while battling through debilitating injuries, the Mets had high hopes, and their fans were excited for success. This did not happen, as the Mets on field play took a sharp decline, as they started to lose game after game, their lead dwindled until they no longer had 1st place, and they were down and out and wiped from the postseason. The disgruntled fans didn’t like what they saw and boo’d every single thing that happened. The Mets players themselves started to point their thumbs down at the crowd, which sparked anger and outrage throughout the fanbase. After the regular season came to a close, the Mets fired their manager Luis Rojas, and their future remains uncertain for 2022.
Well that concludes this month’s edition for “NY Pro Sports”. If you have any questions or would like for me to add something to next month’s edition, all feedback (sent to josephb457@nycstudents.net ) is welcome and appreciated.
Thank you.