A little over a week ago, Knicks fans experienced an emotion that they probably haven’t felt in a long, long time in the middle of May. Unless of course you want to count NBA Draft Lotteries.

Knicks fans were re-introduced to the feelings of pain, anguish and heartbreak that sometimes come with the territory of playing NBA Postseason Basketball.

In many ways, the momentum of the Knicks-Hawks series was dictated by Game 1.

In Game 1, Trea Young broke the hearts of Knicks fans and stunned the hostile Madison Square Garden crowd with a game winner with less than a second to play. Young’s theatrics in embracing the fired up, sold out Madison Square Garden crowd have not exactly put him in the good graces of Knicks fans, but his statement in the first game of this series was a simple one.

Young’s play basically proclaimed right out of the gate two simple truths in this series. I’m the best player on the floor and there’s not one Knickerbockers player who can stop me.

It’s been painfully obvious watching the first four games of the Knicks-Hawks series that the Atlanta Hawks are the more talented basketball team.

I underestimated the Hawks’ talent going into this series, but the results of the first four games have not been a fluke in any way. Atlanta is more explosive, they are built better for the modern day NBA and oh yes, they clearly have the best player on the floor.

Trea Young has been able to do whatever he has wanted in this series. He’s gotten to the rack, he’s finished around the basket, he’s set his teammates up and oh yeah he’s hit a ton of outside shots.

Young has left his mark in this series and Julius Randle the best player on the Knicks has not. Randle’s play has not come close to resembling the excellence he displayed on the court throughout the regular season.

Randle has been inefficient and has looked uncomfortable going up against Atlanta’s Defense in the first four games of this series.

The Knicks relied on Julius Randle all season and he delivered an incredible season. The NBA’s Most Improved Player has not played the part so far in this series. So when you ask why the Knicks are one game away from elimination, the answer is pretty simple.

Atlanta’s more talented, better built for the modern day NBA and their best player has outperformed the Knicks best player.

The end result has been a simple equation to figure out. Sadly for Knicks fans, the math is a lot more complicated when it comes to figuring out a way back in this series…

After the Yankees were humiliated by the Detroit Tigers right before Memorial Day, the entire team stressed the urgency of their most recent home stand.

Four games with the Tampa Bay Rays and three games with the Boston Red Sox.

To say the Yankees failed miserably in their most recent homestand doesn’t even do justice to what we watched last week at Yankee Stadium. The performance of the team goes beyond the 2-5 homestand in which they saw their deficits grow in both the American League East and the Wild Card Race. It’s become pretty obvious to anyone watching over the first two months of the year a simple truth regarding the Yankees.

They are broken.

It’s funny to think about the 2021 Yankees as the Vegas front runner to win the American League. Vegas assumed like I did, that this would be a Yankee team that would be able to score a whole lot of runs and would hit the ball out of the ballpark pretty consistently.

Two plus months into the year, the Yankees are dead last in the American League in runs scored.

Look up and down the lineup, aside from Aaron Judge. Where is the production?  There are plenty of guys underperforming for example, who in their wildest dreams could’ve imagined DJ LeMahieu’s start to this year.

The Machine has turned into the ground ball machine and has been a shell of the player he was in 2019 and 2020.

DJ is not alone though, because the overall construction of the Yankee lineup is flawed.  They are too right handed, too reliant on the home run and they’re not hitting the home run.

This lineup loves to do two things especially well over the first two months of the season. Strikeout and hit into double plays. However, the Yankees miserable start two plus months into the year goes beyond the lack of hitting and the roster construction.

They have been an insanely sloppy team.

They lead baseball in getting thrown out on the basepaths. They have played a terrible brand of defense throughout the diamond and have way too many mental mistakes. The sloppy play in many ways falls at the feet of Yankee manager Aaron Boone.

Aaron Boone is a likable guy. He’s a good man, but sadly his team has reflected his personality and not in a good way. The Yankees continue to make the same mental mistakes over and over again and it seems there is a major lack of accountability from their leader. Boone’s nice guy act after games and the constant cliche’s postgame have become tiring.

Over the weekend, the difference in the Boston Red Sox from a year ago was on full display.

The biggest reason for the Sox turnaround is the presence that Alex Cora has provided in returning to manage the team. He’s given the team instant credibility and it’s obvious they are back to playing a different winning brand of baseball since his arrival.

I see the impact that Cora has provided the Red Sox and it’s the opposite with Aaron Boone with the Yankees. With Boone in the final year of his contract, his seat could not be any hotter going into the summer months.

The scrutiny for the Yankees poor play shouldn’t stop with Aaron Boone. Longtime General Manager Brian Cashman must take responsibility for the flaws within the team and the way they have been built.

The Yankees appeared to have a Championship Window starting in 2017 after a feel good regular season and a surprise trip to Game 7 of the ALCS.

Four years later, the Yankees seem further away and not closer to a championship.

Sure, there’s a lot of baseball left. Yes, things can change, but remember this: the Yankees are in a stage of development where they should be World Series or bust.

This was supposed to be a down year for the American League, the Yankees time to capitalize. They’ve done nothing but fizzle and disappoint for two plus months. If it’s more of the same over the next four plus months, wholesale changes up and down the organization are needed.

For now, we’ll see if Cashman, Boone and the Yankees can put the pieces back together.

By: John Jastremski

After the Yankees were humiliated by the Detroit Tigers right before Memorial Day, the entire team stressed the urgency of their most recent home stand.

Four games with the Tampa Bay Rays and three games with the Boston Red Sox.

To say the Yankees failed miserably in their most recent homestand doesn’t even do justice to what we watched last week at Yankee Stadium. The performance of the team goes beyond the 2-5 homestand in which they saw their deficits grow in both the American League East and the Wild Card Race. It’s become pretty obvious to anyone watching over the first two months of the year a simple truth regarding the Yankees.

They are broken.

It’s funny to think about the 2021 Yankees as the Vegas front runner to win the American League. Vegas assumed like I did, that this would be a Yankee team that would be able to score a whole lot of runs and would hit the ball out of the ballpark pretty consistently.

Two plus months into the year, the Yankees are dead last in the American League in runs scored.

Look up and down the lineup, aside from Aaron Judge. Where is the production?  There are plenty of guys underperforming for example, who in their wildest dreams could’ve imagined DJ LeMahieu’s start to this year.

The Machine has turned into the ground ball machine and has been a shell of the player he was in 2019 and 2020.

DJ is not alone though, because the overall construction of the Yankee lineup is flawed.  They are too right handed, too reliant on the home run and they’re not hitting the home run.

This lineup loves to do two things especially well over the first two months of the season. Strikeout and hit into double plays. However, the Yankees miserable start two plus months into the year goes beyond the lack of hitting and the roster construction.

They have been an insanely sloppy team.

They lead baseball in getting thrown out on the basepaths. They have played a terrible brand of defense throughout the diamond and have way too many mental mistakes. The sloppy play in many ways falls at the feet of Yankee manager Aaron Boone.

Aaron Boone is a likable guy. He’s a good man, but sadly his team has reflected his personality and not in a good way. The Yankees continue to make the same mental mistakes over and over again and it seems there is a major lack of accountability from their leader. Boone’s nice guy act after games and the constant cliche’s postgame have become tiring.

Over the weekend, the difference in the Boston Red Sox from a year ago was on full display.

The biggest reason for the Sox turnaround is the presence that Alex Cora has provided in returning to manage the team. He’s given the team instant credibility and it’s obvious they are back to playing a different winning brand of baseball since his arrival.

I see the impact that Cora has provided the Red Sox and it’s the opposite with Aaron Boone with the Yankees. With Boone in the final year of his contract, his seat could not be any hotter going into the summer months.

The scrutiny for the Yankees poor play shouldn’t stop with Aaron Boone. Longtime General Manager Brian Cashman must take responsibility for the flaws within the team and the way they have been built.

The Yankees appeared to have a Championship Window starting in 2017 after a feel good regular season and a surprise trip to Game 7 of the ALCS.

Four years later, the Yankees seem further away and not closer to a championship.

Sure, there’s a lot of baseball left. Yes, things can change, but remember this: the Yankees are in a stage of development where they should be World Series or bust.

This was supposed to be a down year for the American League, the Yankees time to capitalize. They’ve done nothing but fizzle and disappoint for two plus months. If it’s more of the same over the next four plus months, wholesale changes up and down the organization are needed.

For now, we’ll see if Cashman, Boone and the Yankees can put the pieces back together.

The Rockland Rowing Association recently announced that Charlotte Buck, of Nyack, was selected to the U.S. National Rowing Team. She will be competing in the women’s eight-person race in Tokyo.

Buck began rowing with the Rockland Rowing Association during her transition from Nyack High School to Columbia University. She went on to captain her team and continued coaching the sport in Rockland after graduating from Columbia.

Last year, Buck competed in virtual competitions and finished second to the women’s world record holder. She was then invited to U.S. training camps for the women’s team, and is now rowing in the seven-seat of the U.S. Women’s eight.

The Rockland Rowing Association is planning to host a viewing party at its new venue in Rockland Lake State Park. Buck’s parents will be in attendance. More information about the viewing party will be announced soon.

The Rockland County Department of Health (RCDOH), Good Samaritan Hospital, and the NY Boulders have announced that COVID-19 vaccines will be available at Boulders Stadium in Pomona from June 21 – June 27 on;

• Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9:00am – 7:00pm

• Wednesday from 1:00pm – 7:00pm

• Friday from 11:00am – 1:00pm and 5:00pm – 6:00pm

• Sunday from 11:00am – 1:00pm

This will coincide with some local and regional graduations and is open to people with a ticket to the event(s). The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be administered to anyone age 12 and older interested in vaccination. Registration will be on-site.

Each individual receiving a COVID-19 vaccination during these pop-up clinics will be able to choose from three ticket packages for a game during the 2021 New York Boulders baseball season:

• Two Suite Level Tickets to any game

• Four Loge Level Tickets to any game

• Six Field Level Tickets to any game

Youth ages 12–17 receiving the vaccine must have a parent or guardian with them to give consent. The parent or guardian must show some form of personal identification, such as a driver’s license. If you have health insurance, please bring your benefit card with you. The vaccine is free; however, the health department can collect an administrative fee from insurance plans.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine uses mRNA technology which continues to prove to be safe and effective for individuals 12+. This vaccine is an important public health tool that protects you from getting sick or severely ill with COVID-19 and may also help those around you.

“My thanks to the Boulders for the tickets and to the Town of Ramapo for the use of their space,” said County Executive Ed Day. “We will continue to work together with our community partners to do all we can to increase the local vaccination rate. I urge all of our residents over the age of 12 to get vaccinated to protect themselves and our entire community from COVID-19.”

“We are excited to be able to offer these tickets and help encourage vaccination. As we continue to welcome fans back to Boulders games and have them spend their summer with us, we are committed to protecting their health and safety. Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself and your community from COVID-19, and we are proud to be a partner in this process,” said Team President Shawn Reilly.

“We are happy to be able to host so many local graduations without charge to the school districts and are proud to provide space for the ongoing vaccination efforts. We hope families will take advantage of this chance to get vaccinated next week and come back to see a Boulders game with these complimentary tickets,” said Town of Ramapo Supervisor Michael Specht.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine requires you to get a second dose 21 days/3 weeks after your first dose. You will be given an appointment for your second dose, at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona or you may go anywhere the Pfizer vaccine is offered. For more information or questions, call 845-238-1956 from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Friday (except holidays).

Vaccine clinics are available at the Rockland County Department of Health in Pomona; visit http://rcklnd.us/covid19 for upcoming scheduled clinics. Visit the New York State Am I Eligible webpage or Vaccines.gov to find a vaccine near you.

The schedule makers of Major League Baseball gave New York baseball fans a major pick me up going into a Holiday Weekend scheduling the first installment of this years Subway Series.

It was the perfect weekend to draw a pretty simple and straightforward conclusion about the two clubs.

The Mets and the Yankees are two teams headed in opposite directions at the midway point of the year. The Yankees struggles have been well documented in this column over the last few weeks, but this past week at Yankee Stadium featured two of their worst home losses in a long, long time.

Before the Subway Series even began, the Yankees subjected their home fans through two Wednesday rain delays and turned a four run ninth inning lead into a seventh spot for the Anaheim Angels in the final inning.

It was a meltdown that seemed too over the top for Hollywood.

Following Wednesday’s nightmarish effort, Yankee Owner Hal Steinbrenner spoke to the media for the first time all season. He put the blame of the Yankees terrible first half of the players and basically ensured that there wouldn’t be in season wholesale change regarding their General Manager Brian Cashman and Manager Aaron Boone.

Well, so much for the Yankees backing up the comments of their owner.

They lost two of the three to the Mets, but the Yankee problems go beyond that.

The one trick pony nature to the right handed hitting lineup remains problematic, but over the weekend two of the greatest strengths have officially become two of their biggest problems.

In the first two months of the season, Gerrit Cole and Arodlis Chapman were legitimate Cy Young candidates.

Over the last month, Cole and Chapman have been abominable.

Sunday, Cole yucked up a 4-1 lead and couldn’t make it out of the 4th inning.

Chapman, after Wednesday night’s meltdown, surrendered a game tying homerun to Pete Alonso and did not register an out. The Yankees have enough problems, adding both Cole and Chapman to the list of issues only adds insult to injury. Bottom line, the Yankees at 42-41 are the biggest disappointment in baseball and look like a team going nowhere.

On the other hand, the New York Mets are a team that appears destined to play October Baseball.

The Mets have not had a perfect first half by any stretch, but they’ve been resilient, gritty and resourceful. Despite three months of offensive struggles, the Mets left the Subway Series with a comfortable first place cushion in a very mediocre National League East.

Over the past week, the Mets slumping lineup has finally started to show the signs of life that were expected at the start of the season.

The return of Brandon Nimmo to the lead off spot has lengthened the lineup and it’s only a matter of time before guys like Jeff McNeil and Dom Smith kick it into high gear.

The Mets may be fortunate to be in the National League East, but with the best pitcher on the planet combined with a whole lot of grittiness, they are in an excellent spot halfway through the year.

The first installment for the 2021 Subway Series was rather symbolic.

One team chugging along thinking about a path to the postseason, the other having trouble simply staying on the track.

By: John Jastremski

It’s been well documented in this column and throughout town that the New York Yankees have been baseball’s disappointment in the first half of the 2021 season.

They are too right handed, too reliant on right handed power and lack the sort of athleticism and balance that is needed to field a championship team in 2021.

Despite their obvious flaws , the Yankees have a pulse for two reasons.

A winning west coast road trip and the fact that Major League Baseball has two Wild Cards.

The Yankees find themselves 4.5 games behind the Oakland A’s for the second Wild Card and are eight games back of the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

Personally, I don’t see a viable path for the Yankees overcoming that sort of deficit in the division. However, if you want to hold onto that dream do yourself a favor, pay close attention over the next two and a half weeks.

Right after the All Star Break, the Yankees will play the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays 11 times before the month of August.

If the Yankees have any prayer of making the division race competitive, they have to play their best baseball of the season starting on Thursday.

There is no tomorrow, not just for Yankees manager Aaron Boone, but for this Yankee core as we know it.

Realistically, the Yankees need a big second half if they’re to simply qualify for the postseason.

In the first half of this year, they’ve come nowhere close to resembling a playoff team.

After all, think about three of their losses right before the All-Star Break.

It’s impossible to think of three regular season losses that were as soul crushing as yucking up not one, not two, but three ninth inning leads including leads of 4 and 5 runs against the Angels and Astros respectively.

To add insult to injury, the other loss was against the crosstown Mets.

It will be very difficult to change the fabric of the Yankees lineup midseason, but it’s time to see if the team that was supposed to slug their way to the American League pennant can actually find a way to do exactly that.

By the end of July, you’ll know as a fan if there will be an August or September worth fighting for.

Put up or shut up time indeed…

The past year has been difficult for many. Faced with economic hardship, political tensions, and a viral pandemic, the average American is under a fair amount of stress these days. The calamitous physical effects have been draining; however, we as a community can not fail to consider the mental afflictions as well. Job loss, housing instability, and food insecurity have caused some of our most vulnerable populations to experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia according to an April COVID-19 mental health report from the National Institute of Mental Health. Unfortunately when faced with such trials, many abuse illicit substances which in turn, worsen their issues. It is crucial that we search for alternative methods to alleviate our stressors, and one of the most favorable applications is the practice of yoga and mindfulness. By implementing yoga into our daily health regimen, one can achieve lasting physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. 

The practice of yoga began in India 4000 years ago, and was designed to attain spiritual enlightenment or ‘awakening’ of the practitioner. It is for one to ‘reconnect’ with their highest self, while enriching the body.

“Here in the West, the vast majority of people practice yoga to focus mainly on the physical aspect of the practice – the postures, breathwork and to a lesser degree, meditation and mindfulness,” said Beatrice Mattaway, owner of Willow Tree Yoga in Bardonia, an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (ERYT). Some of the physical benefits of yoga include increased motion and flexibility, improved balance, strengthened lungs, increased breathing capacity, lubricated joints, and strengthened bones, according to Mattaway. In addition, yoga helps release tension and tightness in muscles, alleviates common aches and stiffness in the back, the hips, shoulders, and the neck. 

One of the most central advantages of yoga is that it works on both body and mind to help stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our ‘rest and digest’ mode, according to Chaya Spencer, owner of Shree Yoga in Saddle River. “Yoga benefits the body through poses that stretch, tone, massage and heal it,” said Spencer. “For the soul, which I think is the most important part, yoga helps to connect us to what is already inherent within us.  Yoga is a practice that connects us more deeply to the essence of ourselves and honors our differences and acknowledges our similarities and connection to one another.” 

Most classic yoga classes are based on 84 traditional yoga asana/physical poses, said Mattaway. The traditional ‘Hatha’- meaning force- yoga class focuses on a form of centering practice to begin the session, followed by a warmup, and often moving to a more heated practice, which can be the combination of seated, standing, or prone poses, along with ‘pranayama’ (breath work), winding down, and finishing in a prone meditation, ‘savasana’, shared Mattaway. The other types of yoga include ‘Vinyasa’ which is similar to ‘Hatha’, but instead of focusing on a few poses for a longer time, a series of poses are strung together to allow for a more fluid practice; ‘Ashtanga’, a style that follows preset poses done in a specific order; and Hot yoga, derived from ‘Bikram’ yoga, where the room is heated to 105 degrees and 40 percent humidity, and students move through an intense set of poses. 

To decide on the type of yoga that works for you, Spencer suggests finding the type that best suits your particular needs. “Are you looking for fitness? Then maybe a flow, power flow, or heated class,” recommended Spencer. “Are you physically challenged in some way?  Then look for an alignment based class where teachers are familiar with your condition and the other students are working slowly and carefully – maybe a chair class or a gentle class.  Are you looking for stress release?  Then perhaps a class that focuses on meditation, restorative or yin yoga.  If you’re not sure, call up a studio and speak to the owner to get guidance.  Be a good consumer and do your research to find the right studio for you.  Take a class or two and see if you feel comfortable and if your needs are being met.  How is the community?  Do you feel welcome?  Is the teacher taking an interest in you and what your needs and wants in relation to yoga are?” 

The implementation of mindfulness and mediation is also crucial to attaining wellness through natural and healthy methods of stress release. A program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) significantly helps with this process. Katie Stoeckeler, owner of Peace in Piermont, is currently working to become a certified teacher of MBSR through the Brown Mindfulness Center. “I believe adamantly in this program because it’s secular, empirically based, and offers effective tools to those who suffer from stress, anxiety, pain, and depression,” said Stoeckeler. “It can be easy for us to feel good during and after a class, but it’s not always easy to sustain our calm when stressors arise in our every-day lives. This program has helped me the most with embodying mindfulness. Embodiment allows us to respond to a situation rather than react; it allows us to let go of things easily and focus more on pleasant experiences (than unpleasant).” 

The most effective way of incorporating yoga into your health routine is by paying close attention to your breath. “Notice your breath and follow it, from the time it enters the nostrils,” suggests Mattaway. “What does the air feel like? What temperature, quality? How far does your breath naturally flow? Does it stop in the throat or the chest? Or does it seem to travel all the way down to your belly?” After you establish your breathing patterns and learn beneficial techniques, you can begin to learn some poses. The best and safest way is to attend classes with yoga teachers who have gone through training and are certified yoga teachers (RYT), recommends Mattaway. “If you are not able to attend classes in person, there are many classes offered online, as well as many great books that can give you detailed anatomical cues for each pose. But as a beginner, having a trained teacher that can help you make adjustments and answer your questions regarding each pose in a way that is safe and most effective for your particular body and ability is truly invaluable.”

Integrating mindfulness and meditation in addition to yoga is a fruitful way to take command of your career, relationships, academic pursuits, and overall health. “As humans, we tend to overcomplicate wellness,” said Stoeckeler. Her advice for achieving mindfulness? “Soften your gaze or close your eyes and go inward. Check in with yourself—how are you feeling? Where are you feeling it? Is there a stretch or pose you can do to find relief?; Place your hands over your heart and check-in with your heartbeat. Think of a few things you’re grateful for in that moment; Repeat (mentally or aloud) an affirmation to uplift yourself (i.e. I am safe, I am supported, I love myself unconditionally, etc.); Get outside (and disconnect) as much as possible. Mindfulness is cultivated by being here now with curiosity… so, while you’re walking, take a different route than usual and engage your senses!”

Lastly, it is vital to stay hydrated throughout the summer, especially where the higher temperatures sap our bodies of fluids faster than we realize, advises Mattaway. “Try having a jug of fruit infused water in your fridge at all times, with the fun flavors (think watermelon, mint, citrus fruits or berries).” 

In the hectic world we live in, it is important to search for healthy mediums of solace and wellness. Yoga is an option for everyone; it unites students under the core belief of spiritual unity and a higher awareness of the world surrounding us. It might take some searching to find your yoga niche, but once you find your personal fit, you will be delighted to be part of a community that values health and centeredness.  In the words of Katie Stoeckeler, “If you can breathe, you can practice yoga.” 

Rockland sends congratulations to its own baseball star, Patrick Kivlehan, a member of the USA Baseball team who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. Kivlehan is a former Rutgers star and West Nyack native who is the son of retired Clarkstown Police Department (CPD) Detective Pat Kivelhan.

“I always thought the pinnacle would be playing in the big leagues until this opportunity presented itself,” said Kivlehan. “I never thought this opportunity would be possible.”

The U.S. played Japan for a final match in the men’s tournament, with Japan winning 2-0.

Japan had never before won a gold medal in the men’s baseball event. Japan’s victorious outcome was due in large part to their right-handed starter Masato Morishita. Team USA, meanwhile, won the gold in the Sydney 2000 Games. Saturday represents the Americans’ first silver medal. Previously, Team USA won the bronze in both 1996 and in 2008.

Baseball will not be included in the next summer Olympic games, set to take place in 2024 in Paris, as the host nation decides which events are to take place. That means the U.S.’s next chance for gold in the national pastime will not be until the 2028 Olympics, which are to be held on its home turf in Los Angeles.

“We couldn’t be prouder of how you and your teammates represented the U.S.A.!,”  commended the CPD in response to Kivlehan and Team USA’s endurance.

I spend a lot of time giving the decision makers of Major League Baseball plenty of grief, but I will give credit where credit is due. The decision to schedule the Yankees and the Mets on the 20th Anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11th was nothing short of brilliant.

Twenty years ago, New York City was in mourning and was in need of healing. Sometimes, there’s no greater healing power than the power of cheer, laughter and yeah, baseball.

Twenty years later, folks across New York City certainly felt the gravity of the anniversary. The reminders were everywhere, and it felt like the ballpark in many ways was the perfect place to pay tribute to the folks who lost their lives and the first responders who did such heroic work at the time of the attack.

Twenty years ago, Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium was a place of healing. Fast forward twenty years, the new ballpark Citi Field was a place of remembrance.

The pregame tribute struck the perfect cord, and it just felt right to have the Yankees and Mets playing baseball over the course of the weekend.

On the field, the heavy hearts turned into fired up emotions from both the Mets and the Yankees. Saturday and Sunday were two heart stopping, back and forth, terrific baseball games.

Saturday, the Yankees provided late drama, with Aaron Judge providing the power.

On Sunday, the Mets 300 million dollar man Francisco Lindor reminded New York City of how dynamic a baseball player he can be.  Lindor has been much maligned and has delivered a very disappointing first year in a Mets uniform.

In addition, last month’s thumbs down fiasco had to make Mets fans wonder if Francisco Lindor had the right makeup to handle the scrutiny of playing in New York City. At that time, as critical as I was of Lindor, I also was pretty clear. If you start performing, those boos will turn to cheers pretty quickly.

Fast forward a month, Francisco Lindor delivered a 3 homer performance including a game winning bomb in the bottom half of the 8th inning.

The end result of a Lindor 3 homer night, well a curtain call!

It’s the sort of effort that should calm Mets fans down regarding his status with the team in the long term. Lindor is a star performer. He may have been overpaid, but if he is able to stay on the field, he will produce. Will his heroics in the Subway Series be a turning point in his Mets career, stay tuned for that one.

On the 20th anniversary of one of the darkest days in the history of New York City, it was refreshing to have something to be excited about.

From a drama standpoint, the Subway Series lived up to the billing and then some.

With a 3-0 win over the Community College of Rhode Island in the Northeast District Tournament last Saturday, the Rockland Community College women’s volleyball team made history, advancing for the first time ever to compete in the 2021 NJCAA DIII Volleyball National Championships. The Championships will be played in Rochester, Minnesota, at the Rochester Regional Sports Center, from November 11-13, 2021. Twelve
teams from around the country will be featured.
The Lady Hawks, now Northeast District B champs, finished their season with an overall 15-6 record. They have been named the 11 th seed for the championship, and will face off first against the Butler County Pioneers (16-1), from the Mid-Atlantic B District.
During Saturday’s win, Rockland displayed a full team effort to defeat the Region 21 champion Knights of Community College of Rhode Island. Region award winners Brianna Almonte and Gabrielle Faulcon led the way for RCC, each with 15 kills during the match. Kendra
Faulcon led both teams in assists with 27. By earning a spot at Nationals, first-year Head Coach Sara Hayward has led Rockland to its most successful season in school history.
“The women’s volleyball team has had an amazing season. The team’s first-ever trip to the NJCAA DIII National Championship Tournament is a testament to the hard work they put in each day,” said Ed Bajor, Director of Athletics Arena Management for RCC. “First-year HeadCoach Sara Hayward has done an incredible job with this team in such a short amount of time. Considering that we didn’t have a season last year due to the pandemic makes this
accomplishment that much more impressive!
“The women’s team had a dominant season in the region—they earned their spot at nationals
with a lot of hard work and great coaching,” he added.
Jolie Santiago, 19, a New City resident who is middle hitter for the Lady Hawks, felt the excitement first-hand. “I’m so proud of my team,” she said. “We are the smallest team in the league and two of us are even playing with injuries but it’s our heart and teamwork that has made it possible for us to get to nationals and compete against the best teams in the country.”
Santiago is optimistic about the team’s chances for next week: “I know we can win this!”

Sunday’s bizarre and off the rails NFL action was truly something to behold.

A few weeks ago, it felt like favorites could do no wrong. The premiere teams in the sport were winning and covering at an extremely high rate. Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen three double digit favorites go down. Last week it was the Cincinnati Bengals against Mike White and the New York Jets. This week, the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills suffered the Bengals fate.

Halfway through the season, the NFL is totally wide open. It’s impossible to tell at this point who exactly would be the best team. You could’ve made the argument for Buffalo and then they proceed to lose to the Jaguars.

The NFL expanded their postseason field a year ago to 7 teams in each conference and this year they expanded the regular season by a game.

The league is going to get exactly what it envisioned when they expanded their postseason field and regular season. A whole lot of excitement and meaningful football heading into late December and early January.

It’s the NFL, it will be electric, but will there be a local feel to the festivities.

The New York Giants are the only local team that somewhat has a postseason pulse and trust me I say that very very loosely. After their victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Giants improved to 3-6 on the season and that really doesn’t feel like you’re anywhere close to the postseason.

However, the NFC Playoff Picture shakes out in a way where there are basically five postseason locks and the race for the final wild card is going to involve a very mediocre team.

If the season were to end today, the 4-4 Atlanta Falcons would be a playoff team.

Sure there are tons of teams currently ahead of the Giants in the middle of November, but with a favorable 2nd half schedule and a mediocre group of teams, do I rule out the possibility of getting teased?

I don’t and I understand that it probably won’t do Giants fans a whole lot of good. I’m sure many of you are worried that a strong second half will fool the franchise into thinking that they are much better than they actually are.

That’s a discussion for a later date, I’m just here for the numbers and the math.

The math says there’s a chance. And if this year in the NFL has taught us anything it’s that something wacky is probably going to go down between now and the middle of January.

Any given Sunday indeed….

A few weeks ago I was a panelist on Baseball Night in NY on SNY, and we were all doing an off season fantasy draft for the Mets.

I had the first pick, and naturally it was an easy call. Go get Max Scherzer.

As easy of a call as that might have been, I prefaced my answer with the disclaimer that I didn’t believe there was a chance in hell the Mets would land one of the best pitchers of his generation.

Well, fast-forward a couple of weeks and the Mets and a whole lot of Steve Cohen’s money convinced Scherzer to come back East.

I was in a state of shock hearing the news on Sunday night that the Mets had become the front runners to acquire Scherzer. The expectation all summer and fall was that Max Scherzer preferred to stay on the West Coast. I guess those preferences can change when you are offered more than 40 million dollars a year over the next three seasons.

I’m sure there are plenty of folks wondering if it’s practical for the Mets to go and give a 37-year-old pitcher 40 plus over the next three seasons.

With the current resources of Steve Cohen and the New York Mets, it was an absolute no brainer.

The Mets needed a difference making starting pitcher to pair with Jacob deGrom and no disrespect to any of the other pitchers on the open market, but none of them have the same sort of presence as Max Scherzer. Scherzer loves to compete. Scherzer wants the ball. Scherzer wants to win.

The idea of pairing Max Scherzer alongside deGrom in a postseason series is as frightening as it gets for opponents throughout the National League.

If healthy, it is hands down the best 1-2 punch in baseball.

Can deGrom and Scherzer duplicate the success Scherzer had with Stephen Strasburg in winning the 2019 World Series?

Can deGrom and Scherzer be the 2022 version of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson for the Mets?

It is impossible to find elite starting pitching in this modern day era and the Mets have two bonafide studs. There have been a few instances where the Mets have made moves that have seriously put them on the map in an offseason.

I was not on this earth when the Mets acquired Gary Carter, but I do remember the day the Mets traded for Mike Piazza and the winter they brought in Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. The energy, excitement and positivity amongst the fan base is a quite contrast to what it was just a week ago.

The Mets signed Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Cahna over the weekend, three terrific players, but it was the under card.

The Mets flexed their financial muscle to land the seemingly unattainable big fish, so will it lead to big results?

I’m putting my money on yes.

Especially considering the Mets aren’t done shopping! It must be nice for a franchise that spent too many years shopping at the discount racks to now be shopping at Tiffany’s.

It will be tough for Mets fans to get a better holiday present than Max Scherzer under the tree…

As I sit here from my hotel in Los Angeles, I won’t sugar coat it. I’m geeked out.

It’s my first ever Super Bowl Week. I’m thrilled that I took my podcast New York, New York on the road where it belongs at the Super Bowl.

There’s a sense of anticipation, there’s a buzz and rightfully so. Sunday’s matchup between the Bengals and the Rams is unique. It’s a very different Super Bowl match up, which is exactly what the league is looking for. Being here out in LA, it’s all about the story line.

The story line to me is a simple one.

A changing of the guard at the quarterback position across the league. The NFL has said goodbye to a good amount of Hall Of Fame quarterbacks over the past six seasons. Manning, Brees, Manning & now Roethlisberger and Brady have sailed off into the sunset. The next generation of quarterback is front and center with Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Burrow won a National Title at LSU and in his second season has taken the Bengals to the Big Dance. He has poise, yet is full of swagger and has been a joy to watch over the course of the season. His career trajectory goes to a different level if he is able to lead the Bengals to their first ever Super Bowl.

For the Rams, it’s pretty simple.

They’re all in. They went all in the minute they traded for Matthew Stafford in the off season. It’s no secret, they wouldn’t be in the Super Bowl without that trade. In addition, the mid-season moves of Von Miller and our old pal Odell Beckham Jr. have taken their team to the next level throughout the postseason.

The Rams knew they were close, they needed the right veterans to push them over the top. We will see if that validation is there come Super Sunday. I find myself conflicted for Super Sunday. I’ve picked every Rams correctly throughout the postseason, but on the flip side I’ve been on the wrong end of every Bengals game.

I’m banking on the Rams pass rush to be the difference in the game.

I’ll take the Rams laying the points and won’t think twice.

After a week in Los Angeles, my body clock was totally thrown off coming back to the NY area on Wednesday night. I thought I was back to normal until Sunday hit. I rolled out of bed, a little past 1030 in the morning, and wondered. Holy moly, what are we supposed to do today?

Now, football fans understand full well. After Championship Sunday, the routine is totally thrown off.

A bye week and a 630 Super Bowl Game will do that to you, but consider this. For almost twenty plus Sundays, from 100 until about 1130 at night. My day is spent dialed in, on the couch, TV’s on full blast with games galore. It was bizarre having a Sunday to run errands, go for a run, enjoy a meal. It was all well and good, but I miss the action.

So what’s next for us sports fans?

Well, it’s slim pickings on a baseball front, because it’s becoming more and more likely that the regular season will not start as scheduled.  On the hoops front, the Knicks season is over and for the Nets it’s far more wait and see about the return of Kevin Durant and the arrival of Ben Simmons. Oh and can Kyrie Irving play in home games? That would be nice…

The Rangers are having a terrific regular season, but the playoffs are not until late April.

So the question is this. What will get my juices flowing the most over the next few weeks? It’s a pretty easy call, it’s the end of the College Basketball regular season into Conference Tournament Week. I think for a good amount of sports fans, the research of March Madness brackets takes place post Super Bowl right into Selection Sunday, for better or worse.

The opportunity to research the full slate will be on full display right in our backyard in two weeks with the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden and the ACC Tournament at the Barclays Center. It’s highly unlikely my alma mater Syracuse will go on one of their usual bubble runs to a Sweet 16, but it won’t take away from me quite possibly my favorite event in sports. I may be down, not having football as a part of my Sunday’s until September.

Will that post football hangover be there over the next couple of weeks? Absolutely.

When will it end? Pretty simple. Sunday March 13th… When I hear that CBS NCAA Tournament music.

Let the countdown begin!

Last year, the New York Knicks were the feel good story in town.

They were a ton of fun to watch, ended up as a top 4 seed, and exceeded every possible expectation imaginable. The 2021-2022 season has been the polar opposite of the feel good ride. It’s been rotten and vile. A lot of blown leads, a lot of terrible rotations, a lousy roster and a lousy season.

The first two games right out the All Star Break against the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers established the harsh reality for the Knick’s present and near future. They are far, far away in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks need stars, after all, the NBA is a star driven league.

After this season, it’s pretty obvious. Julius Randle, not the player he was a season ago.

So, is there a glimmer of hope for Knicks fans for this year and beyond? Yes, and his name is RJ Barrett. RJ Barrett was the third pick in the NBA Draft back in 2019 and has done exactly what you want a young player to do. He’s gotten better and better every single season.

Barrett is averaging a career high 18.7 points per game and flashed with a career best 46 points on Friday night. The performance against the Heat drew high praise from star forward Jimmy Butler.  Butler proclaimed that he believed Barrett has a chance to be the next face of the New York Knicks.

For me, forget about that. I’d sign for RJ Barrett to have a career similar to Butler’s! Barrett works hard, plays hard and has the right attitude to thrive in New York. He has the potential to be an All-Star caliber player down the road. The Knicks need more players like RJ Barrett.

Is RJ Barrett Ja Morant? Sadly, no he is not.

Morant was the selection right before Barrett in the 2019 NBA Draft, and he profiles as a legitimate # 1 superstar. I don’t know if Barrett has that kind of upside, but for a franchise that has whiffed on picks for the better part of two decades, it’s nice to hit on a guy who can legitimately play.

Look, this season has stunk from a Knicks perspective. No getting around that, but man I like the idea of RJ Barrett growing as a Knick in the years ahead.

Let that be a silver lining… After all, after this season, we all kinda need one!

Madison Monahan, one of the top  volleyball players from North Rockland High School, began her recruiting process in 2015 as a sophomore. She worked with Chicago-based recruiting service Next College Student Athlete (NCSA) throughout her recruitment. When the recruitment process began, NCSA helped Monahan with committing to play at Palm Beach State College, a junior college in Florida.

It all started there in 2018, when Monahan’s uncle, Barry Kramer, who had known about NCSA originally, reached out to them in attempts to grow Monahan’s career – despite getting injures she suffered during her senior year at NRHS. But no injury was not going to let Monahan stop herself from excelling towards her dreams of playing Division One. One of the first to reach out to Monahan through NCSA was Amable Martinez, the head volleyball coach for St. Francis.

She was invited to watch one of their games when she was a sophomore at Palm Beach State and eventually pursued her undergraduate career with St. Francis.

“We went to a tournament in Washington D.C. and there were about seven head coaches who were watching her team,” Monahan’s mother, Rhonda, told the Rockland County Times. “All of the players who were also top notch players were asking how she got so many coaches to visit, and it was all through NCSA, what a ride!”

However, before Monahan could even begin her D1 career, her season was shortly canceled due to COVID. The Rockland County Times asked Monahan if she could give any advice to athletes who are having a hard time jumping back into their sport post-COVID. “It’s finding that spark again. It’s finding that spark that really got you loving the sport and got you into the sport, you just have to find that again,” said Monahan.

After completing her undergraduate degree at St. Francis, Monahan was very eager to get back on the court. Fortunately, she had another year of eligibility due to COVID. Additionally, hoping to begin pursuing her master’s degree, Monahan once again turned to NCSA to help her find the right opportunity.

Now, after connecting with college coaches at Radford University, she will be finishing her career and earning her master’s degree there starting in July. Throughout her recruiting process, Madison sent over 700 emails communicating with college coaches on NCSA and received over $170,000 in scholarships from the three schools she attended. If it weren’t for that tenacity Monahan might have never made to the top of the sport, but holding out hope has helped her reach the next level.

At only 13 years old, Orangeburg resident, Joseph Russo is an outstanding football player who was just asked to play for the Dream All-American Bowl on June 12 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Standing at 6’3 tall, Russo has played for the Bergen All-Stars team since he discovered his love for the sport at the age of nine years old after watching an NFL lineup on tv.

“It was honestly a surprise to me at first.” said Russo. Although he did not personally see it coming, his family members did for sure. 

“When I see my Facebook memories pop up, he was already taller than me,” said Russo’s relative, Justin Candullo. Russo and Candullo currently work as a dynamic duo when it comes to training  – Russo puts in the work, and Candullo guides the teen on proper technique, maximizing the young athletes efforts. “Strong core, strong legs, it’s like building a foundation to a house,” explained Candullo.  

Russo is currently extensively training at the Powerhouse Gym in Nanuet to prepare for the Dream All-American Bowl. , “With the size that he has on him now, it’s truly remarkable because he can pretty much go as far as he wants if he continues to do the training he’s doing,” said Candullo. The would be trainer also explained the importance of Russo conditioning while preparing to play for the big game in June. 

Russo noted coach Carrion as one of the major influences of his football career. Carrion pushed the team as a whole and helped mend Russo’s personality as a player. “He’s a friend now. I talk to him daily and he really helps motivate me.”

Eager to succeed, Russo has also opened new doors for opportunity after he recently got in touch with former St. Joe’s, Rutgers, and NFL Detroit Lions player, Kevin Wilkins. Wilkins will be training Joe starting this week, teaching the teen the offense and defense moves he will need to compete in the upcoming game.

Russo’s father, Mike, is very supportive and proud of his son’s athletic endeavors. He shared a few amusing anecdotes from his son’s career with the RC Times including the occasion when Russo was deemed too large to play for the first team he joined, the Orangetown Patriots.  “That’s when we found the Bergen All-Stars.” He also recollected his son was once ID’d before being allowed on the field to ensure that his son Joe was really as young as he claimed to be. Mr. Russo was thrilled to share that ten colleges are already scooping out his son.  

.Russo will be attending Junior Night at Fordham University where he will have a chance to network with other schools. After his future journey with St. Joe’s, Russo has high hopes of committing to Ohio State, where he wants to also get invested in their wrestling program and to study plant medicine.  

As of this past winter, Russo just finished up the season with The North Jersey State team. Currently, his future plans include going into Saint Joseph’s Regional in fall. When Russo was ten years old, Head Coach from St. Joseph Regional, Dan Marangi said, “I’m going to see you in three years.” Russo ended up selecting St. Joseph Regional out of six schools because he believed it was the right fit for him both academically and athletically. 

Russo wears the number 74 for himself, also in honor of his mother’s birth year, who gracefully beat stage 4 Breast Cancer.  He is honored to be able to spread the word about the disease and his mothers miraculous turn around. 

Russo is one out of the four young boys picked out of New York to play the Dream Bowl. 

To learn more about the Dream Bowl, you can visit: https://www.dreambowlgame.com/all-american

Rockland County is ranked the seventh healthiest county in New York. On Tuesday May 10, MVP Health Care, the Village of Haverstraw, and National Fitness Campaign (NFC) announced a partnership to bring a free, outdoor Fitness Court® to the Village of Haverstraw. 

The Fitness Court, located adjacent to the Haverstraw Community Center, will open this summer with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The MVP Health Care Fitness Court will provide the community with increased access to outdoor exercise programs.

The MVP Health Care Fitness Court in the Village of Haverstraw is a result of a partnership between MVP Health Care and NFC to expand free access to high quality workouts for communities around the state. The Fitness Court is a free, open-air wellness center that allows users to leverage their own body weight to get a complete workout. Created with adults of all ages and ability in mind, the workouts are adaptable for all fitness levels and allow users to move at their own pace. Users can also download the free Fitness Court app, which acts as a coach-in-your-pocket and transforms the outdoor gym into a digitally supported wellness ecosystem.

“The launch of the MVP Health Care Fitness Court in the Village of Haverstraw is a step towards providing access to resources that can change the trajectory of someone’s health and wellness journey,” said MVP Health Care’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Del Vecchio. “As a leading health care services company, investing in our local communities and offering new, innovative wellness options like the Fitness Court reinforces our commitment to giving back to the people we serve and places we call home. We are proud to partner with NFC and the Village of Haverstraw to bring this unique opportunity to the local community and look forward to seeing you on the Fitness Court.”

“The Village is excited to see the MVP Health Care Fitness Court come to fruition and provide our residents with a free exercise alternative that can be used year-round in the fresh air,” said Village Mayor, Michael Kohut. “Although it has been a few years in the making, with assistance from MVP Health Care, and all our other partners, Haverstraw is ready to make this court a reality and start making a vastly improved outdoor recreation area next to the Haverstraw Center.”

“We’re excited to bring our campaign to make world-class fitness free to the Village of Haverstraw,” said Mitch Menaged, Founder of National Fitness Campaign. “Together with the Village and MVP Health Care, NFC is happy to be part of a wellness network growing across the nation.”

Construction of the Fitness Court has begun and will be completed early this summer.

To learn more about the MVP Health Care Fitness Courts, visit nationalfitnesscampaign.com/NewYork.