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NEW YORK — New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was sitting before a room filled with reporters and TV cameras a day before he was set to start Game 1 of the American League Division Series versus the Kansas City Royals. He had just been asked something he had never thought about before.

Is there extra pressure to win a World Series this year since there’s no guarantee that star right fielder Juan Soto won’t leave via free agency in the winter?

Cole paused for a moment.

“I’ve just been kind of enjoying it, especially while we have him,” he said. “And he can’t go anywhere right now.”

It wasn’t the only time Soto’s future was brought up just hours before the Yankees’ biggest game of the season. The impending sweepstakes for his services, which could top $500 million, has been a hot topic.

Manager Aaron Boone talked about it. Soto discussed it. Center fielder Aaron Judge reflected on what it’s been like hitting behind the Dominican Republic-born slugger for an entire regular season.

“Oh,” Judge said, “it’s been a treat.”

Soto, who will be 26 next season, just finished perhaps the most productive regular season of his career — and at the perfect time.

In 157 games, he hit a career-high 41 home runs while leading the league in runs scored (128), batting .288 and driving in 109 runs. His .988 OPS was third best in the majors behind Judge and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, the presumptive favorites for the AL and National League MVPs.

The Yankees will be among the many teams battling to give Soto a contract that could set a record for a position player. Last week, The Athletic exclusively reported that Soto met privately with owner Hal Steinbrenner in July and that the pair discussed how Soto has enjoyed his time in the Bronx and what, if anything, could be made better from a player’s point of view. The Athletic’s Tim Britton recently projected that Soto could net a deal worth $560 million.

“I think he’s loving being here,” Boone said, “and being part of this team and knowing what’s at stake and what he has an opportunity to do.”

Really? Why does Soto love being part of the Yankees?

“I just interact with him every day on some level,” the manager said. “And to me, it seems like he’s enjoyed his time here.

“I’d probably enjoy my time, too, if I walked out with that skill set every day. Watching him interact with his teammates and just watch his ease with which he moves through the room. And in my view, the (comfort) he has in our room, that’s what tells me that.”

A taste of #postseason in The Bronx for Juan Soto, narrated by Nick Swisher 🗽 pic.twitter.com/Un68g8dMji

— MLB (@MLB) October 4, 2024

Soto was asked if Boone’s assessment was correct. He didn’t say no.

“I’ve been enjoying my time here,” Soto said. “It’s always great to be on a winning team. I will say that. It’s always fun to be on a winning team with a winning group. That’s the only thing we want to hear, is win. I think that’s what every player is looking forward to being their whole life, their whole career. Just to be part of a winning team.”

Soto added that he’s not thinking about his free agency even though it’s just a month away.

“Right now,” he said, “we’re focused on the playoffs. We’ve been talking about trying to get another championship to do our best together.”

Judge said his biggest takeaway from playing with Soto has been how much he’s helped him at the plate. Judge said Soto routinely sees lots of pitches and opponents throw their best stuff at him. It all gives Judge a peek into how that pitcher might attack him when it’s his turn at the plate.

“He’s just the ultimate team player,” Judge said, “ultimate guy you want up there at the top of your lineup. Looking forward to hitting behind him for a while in this postseason.”

Boone recalled his first conversation with Soto as a member of the Yankees.

It was soon after the team had acquired him from the San Diego Padres in December. Boone called Soto from his house in the hallway outside of his bedroom. Since then, Boone said, Soto has only ingratiated himself further with the Yankees.

“I grew an appreciation for his love of the game that you can tell he has, and obviously, he’s just been a really good teammate and person in our (clubhouse),” Boone said. “He obviously came in here with a ton of attention and all the attention that goes with him being a free agent at the end of the year, and you’ve never felt that. It’s been about being part of this team, and he’s fit in perfectly. It’s been a lot of fun to get to know him and to see how much he cares about his craft.”

Will Boone and the Yankees get a chance to know Soto beyond this season? Even before the Yankees’ most important game, it was a question that loomed as large as it had all year.

(Photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)

It was only 22 months ago that Sonny Dykes and TCU could do almost nothing wrong.

The Horned Frogs were the surprise story of the 2022 season. Their unlikely run to the College Football Playoff national championship game — which included a 12-0 start, heart-stopping finishes, the “Hypnotoad”, psychedelic postgame victory videos and a Fiesta Bowl upset of Michigan — endeared them to casual fans. They were the pesky perpetual underdogs who kept finding ways to win.

Halfway into the 2024 season, it seems as if nothing is going right. TCU’s 30-19 loss on Friday night to Big 12 cellar-dweller Houston is just the latest example. Lately, the Horned Frogs keep finding ways to lose.

Behold a sampling of their recent misfortunes:

• On Sept. 14, TCU coughed up a three-touchdown second-half lead and a double-digit fourth-quarter lead to lose 35-34 at home to UCF.
• A week later, crosstown rival SMU — which TCU has played since 1915 but is choosing not to after the current series contract ends in 2025 — dropped 66 points on the Horned Frogs and beat them by 24. Dykes was ejected after earning two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for berating the officials.
• On Friday, the Cougars traveled to Fort Worth having not scored since Sept. 14 and holding the nation’s least productive offense in points per game, scoring rate and points per drive, according to TruMedia. The Cougars roared to 24 first-half points and an 18-point halftime lead.

“That was a total …” Dykes said Friday as he rubbed his nose, shook his head and let out a long exhale, “disaster of a football game.”

Since getting humbled by Georgia 65-7 in the 2022 title game, the Horned Frogs are 8-10: 5-7 last year and 3-3 so far this season. Those eight wins came against six Football Bowl Subdivision teams with a combined record of 26-33 and two FCS squads. Only one of the TCU’s 2023 victories came against a team that finished with a winning record (SMU), and none of its FBS wins this year are over teams currently above .500.

Any honeymoon period that Dykes enjoyed after his magical first season is completely over as far as TCU fans are concerned. The Horned Frogs’ slide in the last 18 games has resulted in Dykes burning through virtually all of the positive vibes built up from 2022.

TCU’s trends are troubling. Since the start of the 2023 season, the Horned Frogs are minus-17 in turnover margin, which ranks 130th out of 134 FBS teams in that span. Only Louisiana Tech, Rice and Temple are worse.

The Frogs have averaged 57.3 penalty yards per game in their last 18 games, which ranks 59th out of 70 teams in the Power 4.

The biggest disappointment, a jarring one for those who have followed TCU’s rise through three conferences to college football’s adults table for the last 25 years, is how inconsistent the Horned Frogs are defensively.

• Since the start of 2023, TCU has allowed 32.1 points per game to FBS opponents, which ranks 111th nationally.
• The 43.1 percent third-down conversion rate TCU allowed to FBS opponents in that span is 112th.
• The defense’s 407.8 yards per game allowed to FBS foes since the start of 2023 is 92nd nationally.
• According to Pro Football Focus, the Horned Frogs have pressured opposing quarterbacks 27.9 percent of the time in the last 16 games against FBS competition, which ranks 110th.

Under former coach Gary Patterson, the Horned Frogs built their identity on elite defense. Dykes fired his initial defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie  and hired former Boise State coach Andy Avalos last offseason. Now it’s unclear what type of performance that unit will offer on a given week.

On Friday night against the Cougars, TCU committed four turnovers, which contributed to 10 Houston points. But the Horned Frogs yielded 208 rushing yards and had trouble corralling Houston quarterback Zeon Chriss, making his first start for the Cougars. In the losses to UCF and SMU, the Horned Frogs gave up 289 and 238 rushing yards, respectively.

Offensively, TCU has been unable to consistently get its run game going, which was a key part of 2022’s success. The Horned Frogs rushed for just 66 yards on Friday night, 65 against SMU and 58 against UCF, despite coordinator Kendal Briles’ history of productive rushing attacks.

Beyond the on-field failings, fans have grown frustrated with the lack of answers for the issues. After the SMU debacle two weeks ago, Dykes told reporters he was “surprised” with what transpired because his team practiced well heading into the game. On Friday, he said “I’m not quite sure exactly why” TCU has played the way it has, again expressing frustration in his team’s inability to play under the lights the way it did in practice.

After Friday’s loss, Dykes said he thought the Cougars were the “more excited” team of the two.

“They played harder than we did, certainly, in the first half,” Dykes told reporters. “They were better prepared than we were and they kicked our tail.”

Give new Houston coach Willie Fritz and his team credit. The Cougars were energized, played fast and looked like the better of the two teams, despite coming into the game last in the Big 12 standings.

“Some of the stuff that happened tonight is just inexcusable,” Dykes said. “It falls on me. Obviously, I did a poor job of getting our guys ready to play.”

Dykes must endure the sprouting narrative that his greatest TCU success came thanks to players largely recruited by his predecessor, Patterson. Some may even wish for the good old days of GP, conveniently forgetting how mediocre the team had become before the program legend was ushered out: TCU went 21-22 overall and 13-19 in Big 12 play in Patterson’s final three-plus years in charge.

It is true that Dykes succeeded with a core — one that included quarterback Max Duggan, running back Kendre Miller, receiver Quentin Johnston, linebacker Dee Winters, cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, among many others — that was largely brought in by Patterson. But Patterson got middling results with that roster, which is why he ended up out of a job.

Dykes, who revived SMU before taking the TCU job, pushed all the right buttons in his first season in Fort Worth. The fresh voice and new direction unlocked the program’s potential and showed how far the Horned Frogs could go.

But the wrong buttons have been pushed too many times since. Despite the solid talent on the roster, the results are lacking. Something is broken at TCU.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Dykes said Friday night. “I don’t really have an answer for why we played the way we did.”

Can Dykes fix it? The fact that the question must be asked less than two years after one of the best seasons in program history is shocking.

TCU is off next week before traveling to Utah on Oct. 19. There’s a little bit of time for the Horned Frogs to lick their wounds, but righting this ship, based on their recent trajectory, doesn’t appear to be an easy fix.

“I’m disappointed for our fans,” Dykes said. “They deserve better than this. We’ve got two weeks to figure this out.”

(Photo: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)

Erik Ainge’s best moments for the New York Jets in 2009 had nothing to do with the passes he threw. That’s life as a third-string quarterback — especially then, on a Jets team that often carried four players at the position.

During the 2009 season, Ainge would spend most of his days studying film, taking notes, working with the scout team. One of his most important jobs was to help starting tight end Dustin Keller with his routes, and to study opposing defenses. He was competing to be the third stringer — but really, he was just competing for fist bumps. That was currency.

Ahead of a Patriots game that season, Ainge noticed something on film about New England’s secondary and how they’d adjust their safeties based on a certain look the offense was showing. Ainge suggested getting to play-action when the Patriots showed that look. The Jets used it in the game, and it worked: Mark Sanchez completed a long pass down the field. Ainge got his fist bump.

That was the closest Ainge could get to throwing a touchdown pass in a meaningful game, with Sanchez locked in as the starter and Kellen Clemens second on the depth chart. Those moments popped up every once in a while for Ainge. They happened much more frequently for the other quarterback joining him at the bottom of the depth chart: Kevin O’Connell.

“I took pride in it,” Ainge said. “Kevin took so much pride in that.”

When O’Connell was a Jets quarterback — during the 2009 and ‘10 seasons, and then again in 2011 — his teammates and coaches often referred to him as “Coach O’Connell,” though back then he didn’t love the nickname. His playing career wasn’t over yet, after all, and he wanted to be taken seriously as a player. He was laser-focused on doing his job to the best of his ability, namely running the scout team and working in service to others, namely Sanchez.

“Having to start out with that of, ‘If you guys have any questions, I’m here because I think Mark’s doing O.K. at the quarterback position. I don’t think they’re going to be calling my number any time soon, so I want to try to help the team win,’” O’Connell said this week. “It kinda morphed and grew from there to more than just about that one particular opponent. I just started to see, Hey, you turn on some tape, pair that with the information you know already, and maybe you can help one play. Maybe you can help one player on that one play have success. And maybe that led into falling in love with that aspect of it. Now, it’s just on a little bit bigger scale.”

O’Connell saw the field in a handful of preseason games for the Jets. (Mary Ann Chastain / Getty Images)

O’Connell is now in his third year as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, 4-0 this season as O’Connell earns raves for his work with quarterback Sam Darnold, another former Jet. He’s the early favorite to win Coach of the Year as the Vikings prepare for their Week 5 game against his old team, the Jets, in London.

Last year, the Vikings lost Kirk Cousins when he tore his Achilles in Week 8. The Vikings traded for Josh Dobbs two days later — and then five days later, O’Connell threw him into the lineup mid-game. Minnesota won back-to-back games with Dobbs at quarterback. This season, O’Connell has Darnold playing at a level the Jets envisioned when they drafted Darnold third overall in 2018. The Jets traded Darnold away in 2021 to make room for Zach Wilson. He bounced around the league, and then O’Connell unlocked his potential.

O’Connell has built up a reputation as a top-level play-caller, but even more than that, he’s earned praise for his ability to put quarterbacks — seemingly any quarterback — in position to succeed.

Just like he used to for Sanchez as a third- or fourth-stringer for the Jets, O’Connell’s tenure in Minnesota has been one full of fist bumps.

“When you have a young quarterback in the formative years of their career in New York like Mark, you want people like Kevin O’Connell,” said former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who traded for O’Connell in 2009. “He is smart, level-headed, he’s going to come in on a Monday and you don’t know if we won or lost. You need that especially in a market like New York.”

It’s working in Minnesota too.

Tannenbaum had his eye on O’Connell in the 2008 NFL Draft. O’Connell had all the tools: size (6-foot-5), athleticism (4.61 40-yard dash), arm talent and smarts. The Jets didn’t own their third-round pick after a trade earlier in the offseason but had picks in the fourth and fifth rounds. O’Connell was taken before they could get him, scooped up by the Patriots at the end of the third, 94th overall, with a goal to develop him as Tom Brady’s long-term backup.

The Jets turned to Ainge, out of Tennessee, in the fifth round, a developmental arm to bring into camp to compete with Clemens to be Sanchez’s backup. O’Connell only lasted a year with the Patriots, landed with the Lions during the 2009 offseason, and the Jets acquired him after training camp that year for a seventh-round pick.

Tannenbaum loved his competitive fire — and the desire to make his teammates better.

“He was tough, he was smart,” Tannenbaum said. “Between my time (as GM) with the Jets and Dolphins I worked with coaches and one of my favorite clients was (NBA coach) Steve Kerr. He was not a ‘what you see is what you get’ guy. Steve comes across as very affable but he’s a world-class competitor. Kevin has those exact same traits. He’s a good person, he’s nice, but from a competitive standpoint he wants to rip your throat out. That’s a rare combination.”

O’Connell never played a down in the regular season for the Jets but still made an impact. Initially, he was acquired with an eye toward adding insight ahead of a Week 2 game against the Patriots.

O’Connell’s time behind Brady was short lived, but the Jets believed O’Connell played a role in upending Brady’s Patriots later on. (Jim Rogash / Getty Images)

Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine called O’Connell into his office that week and asked for intel. That’s common practice — picking the brain of a player who played for an upcoming opponent — but doesn’t always bear fruit. But that day, O’Connell critiqued the Jets’ defensive game-plan, looked at the scouting reports and even drew up a blitz for Pettine to use in the game — it was successful in the game, leading to a sack of Brady. Pettine renamed the playcall “K.O.” after O’Connell. The Jets won that game, holding Brady without a touchdown pass.

This helped teach O’Connell the power of speaking up. “I look back at a lot of those times where I didn’t really know: ‘Should I say something? Should I not? Hey, what do you guys got going on?’” O’Connell said.

Those Pettine-O’Connell meetings became a weekly occurrence, which helped O’Connell to find his coaching voice. It’s no coincidence that Pettine gave O’Connell his first coaching job in 2015, three years after his playing career ended, as the Cleveland Browns quarterbacks coach. Pettine is currently on O’Connell’s Vikings staff, as assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach.

“Building that relationship with ‘Pett’ was one of the most impactful things that took place along my football journey because there was a coach, a really successful defensive coordinator in this league, who was willing to have just a no-name quarterback come in and talk a little football,” O’Connell said. “I learned a lot from him. I learned a lot from all the coaches who were in New York.”

Back then, Tannenbaum said, head coach Rex Ryan would rave about O’Connell’s mind, calling him the Jets’ best defensive coach. It’s why O’Connell stuck around even after that Patriots game — and why they wanted him back in 2011 after cutting him in 2010.

“Rex and the defensive coaches, they would pick his brain because he was so smart,” Tannenbaum said. “I remember talking to Kevin when he was a player and it was so clear he had the ability to be a head coach. To see all his success now is no surprise at all.”

Tannenbaum, and Ryan, also inadvertently contributed to the moment that set him on a path toward becoming a head coach: They cut him. Twice.

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Matt Mulligan, a Jet from 2009-11 and Patriot in 2013, remembers how stressful it would be getting into a huddle with Brady, how he’d look around at his teammates and simply say: You know what you’re doing, right?

That’s not how O’Connell operated. He’d figure out if a teammate was struggling with a play-call, and he’d quickly get them on the right track. “He’d do it in those split seconds,” said Mulligan, a Jets tight end. “You think about it now and say, ‘Look how great of a head coach he is, can you imagine having him as a teammate?’ For him to be on that sideline and for us basically having another coach that’s a player — at the time you might not have known it but the way he looked at the game was nothing but beneficial for Mark Sanchez and anyone he worked with.”

Mulligan had the benefit, as a backup tight end, of getting a lot of reps with O’Connell when both were members of the scout team. But others, like wide receiver Brad Smith and offensive lineman Damien Woody, didn’t get to spend as much time with O’Connell, even if they fully understood that they were bearing the fruit of his labor on offense, the work he was doing behind the scenes.

“He was always helping receivers out, helping the other quarterbacks out when they were playing, understanding, learning,” Smith said. “You could tell he was studious, he put his head down, asked a lot of questions. Just looking back on it and seeing where he’s at now, the dude was just always coaching. Those are the people that make teams great. You need really good players and you need lots of talent, but you combine the talent with the selflessness and the willingness to put the team first and that’s what makes teams really, really good. He really helped us to set the tone.”

Added Woody: “Kevin was quiet. But I think the one thing about Kevin is you could see this dude could be a coach. Smart guy, absorbed things quickly, those are the type of guys that typically transition into coaching. He wasn’t the most talented guy but he came through the ranks the right way.”

In college, O’Connell used to keep a journal that logged everything he saw in a given week — coverages, game situations, how he performed in those specific situations. He brought that method with him to the NFL. On the sideline, O’Connell always had a clipboard and he’d chart coverages. During the week, he’d work on cut-ups for offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and he was at the Jets facility every day, along with Ainge and the other Jets quarterbacks, throughout his tenure. He was responsible for analyzing third down, red-zone and two-minute drill situations, invaluable practice for when he eventually became a coach.

Ainge recalled some mornings when wires would get crossed and he and O’Connell accidentally worked on the same cut-up. “So we’d buckle down like kids scrambling for a test. Yes, Rex Ryan was called a players coach, ‘one of the guys.’ Yeah, O.K., that’s if you do what you’re supposed to. If you don’t — he was very much not a players coach,” Ainge said, laughing. “It only happened a couple times.”

After some long days, Jets receivers would come into the quarterback room asking for someone to throw them some passes back on the practice field. O’Connell always said yes.

“It’s a little different when you’re not competing to be the guy who’s playing on Sunday. We had it a little easier,” Ainge said. “Our job was to be good teammates. It was, ‘Yes sir, what do you need next?’ We both kind of lived that. It was more just fun. I don’t think we ever felt like we were competing with each other. We were just guys that were helping.”

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O’Connell walked into Tannenbaum’s office in 2010 and the GM pointed to a chair and said “sit right here.”

Tannenbaum didn’t even wait for him to sit down before blurting out: “We’re gonna let you go.”

The reasoning: Tannenbaum and Ryan felt like Clemens had outplayed O’Connell for the third quarterback job behind Sanchez and Mark Brunell. The harsh moment was shown on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” for millions to see.

“We really had hope when we traded for you that you’d turn into our long-term No. 2 and unfortunately that hasn’t happened,” Tannenbaum told him. “That was really at the end of the day, the difference was there is more of a trust that Kellen, if he had to go play, he has a better chance of operating our offense than you do.”

O’Connell nodded his head, disappointed. “I wanted to be here,” he said. “This is going to be really tough. Thank you for the opportunity.”

Well, the Jets signed him back in 2011 after some injuries at quarterback … and then cut him again in 2012 to make room for Tim Tebow. O’Connell still has a voicemail from Ryan saved on his phone, where Ryan told him of his release. It was a turning point in O’Connell’s career, the moment he started to seriously consider pursuing coaching.

“[Ryan] had good news and bad news,” O’Connell told Ryen Russillo on his podcast. “The bad news is it probably wasn’t going to work out for me to continue on as a quarterback for the New York Jets. But the good news was he couldn’t wait to tell me about the coaching opportunity he had for me, which coincided with him telling me multiple times, ‘I don’t think much of you as a quarterback.’ But he told me multiple times, ‘Your life’s work is gonna be coaching.’” (Ryan declined an interview request through an ESPN spokesman for this story.)

“Not always what you want to hear when you’re lacing them up and trying to get better every day,” O’Connell continued. “But what it did is (it) gave me confidence that even the three years that I was there, I was probably more of a coach than a player, in all reality, whether it was helping with the defense or helping in the quarterback room with Mark Sanchez.”

Tannenbaum says now that “when a player is not playing, there’s always a vulnerability. It is what it is.” Ultimately, Tannenbaum insisted, the Jets were better when O’Connell was on the roster.

“When you bring 53 jigsaw puzzle pieces together you want the best team you possibly can have,” he said. “Having Kevin on your team gave you that.”

O’Connell was McVay’s offensive coordinator during the Rams’ Super Bowl season three years ago. (Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

A few years later, Pettine hired him. He was with the Browns for a year, worked “special projects” for Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers in 2016, and was hired as Washington’s quarterbacks coach in 2017. He helped Mulligan get hired by Washington as a strength coach, and so Mulligan got to see O’Connell at the infancy of his coaching journey.

Mulligan marveled at how O’Connell was “the same guy every day”. Every morning, he’d go to the strength room, Nitro cold brew drink in hand, and he’d “yap it up with all the strength coaches, then he’d go do his business.” Washington’s quarterbacks at the time were Colt McCoy and Case Keenum — not exactly Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers — but he had them “playing out of their shoes”, Mulligan said. When O’Connell spoke, players listened, even if they weren’t in the quarterback room.

O’Connell quickly rose to offensive coordinator in Washington in 2019 and spent two years in that role working under Sean McVay, coaching Matthew Stafford during the Rams’ Super Bowl season before the Vikings hired him away. He led the Vikings to a 13-4 record and the playoffs in his first year. Now, he has Darnold playing out of his shoes, two former Jets quarterbacks — plus another, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown — working in complete harmony.

O’Connell’s journey to this moment, thriving, started with some fist bumps on the Jets sideline. There will be some more if the Vikings win again on Sunday against New York.

With the Jets, “I just started to see, Hey, you turn on some tape, pair that with the information you know already, and maybe you can help one play. Maybe you can help one player on that one play have success. And maybe that led into falling in love with that aspect of it,” O’Connell said. “Now, it’s just on a little bit bigger scale.”

(Top photo: Al Pereira / Getty Images)

NEW YORK — The moment that defined a rivalry came 47 years ago Sunday. It was a cool fall night in the Bronx, Game 2 of the 1977 ALCS, and Hal McRae stood on first base. The Kansas City Royals were trailing the New York Yankees 2-1 in the sixth inning, but McRae had an idea, so he hollered over to teammate Freddie Patek, who was on second.

“I motioned to Freddie,” McRae, now 79, said from his home in Florida on Friday. “If we got a ground ball, I was gonna take out the middle infielder.”

Sure enough, the Royals’ George Brett slapped a grounder to Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles, who fired to second baseman Willie Randolph, and that’s when it happened, that’s when — BOOM! McRae didn’t so much take out Randolph as obliterate him — a rolling body block that began with McRae catapulting himself head first into Randolph’s thighs and both players landing in a heap at least 10 feet from second base. The collision caused Randolph to drop the ball, which allowed Patek to scamper home, which caused Yankees manager Billy Martin to fly out of the dugout in a rage and Randolph to scream something at McRae.

“When I was walking off the field,” McRae said, “he threw the ball at me.”

To watch the clip now is to take a portal to a different dimension of baseball, one before phrases like big market and small market, before players fraternized like country club pals, when a rivalry could be measured in hatred, punches and public broadsides. More than four decades ago, the Yankees and Royals faced off in the ALCS four times in five years. On one side was the Bronx Zoo-era Yankees — Billy Martin, Thurman Munson, and later Reggie Jackson — the game’s glamour franchise. On the other was an expansion team from flyover country with a Hall of Famer at third base and speed to burn. The result wasn’t a baseball series; it was closer to a blood sport.

“It’s a (expletive) war,” Brett, the Royals Hall of Fame third baseman, said Friday, standing near the third-base dugout at Yankee Stadium. “That’s what it was back then.”
The old rivalry is over, but the postseason series resumes on Saturday night when the Yankees host the Royals in Game 1 of the ALDS, the first postseason series between the clubs since 1980. Gone are Brett and Martin; enter Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt. Jr.

For many of the old Royals, the history brings to mind a mix of emotional scar tissue — from three ALCS losses in 1976 to 1978 — and salvation after a breakthrough in 1980. But after more than four decades, it has also forged a common bond: They were the team that gave the Yankees their best shot. They waged a baseball battle in the Bronx and lived to tell the tale.

“We hated each other,” former catcher Buck Martinez said. “That’s all there is to it.”

“They were the empire,” former catcher Jamie Quirk said, “and we were the new ones on the block.”

“It was just classic stuff that you’ll never forget,” former outfielder Clint Hurdle said. “It was almost like we were able to play a game in the wild, wild west.”

Hal McRae, shown here after stealing 2nd in 1978, was a catalyst in the Yankees-Royals rivalry. (Focus on Sport / Getty Images)

In the moments before Game 1 of the 1976 ALCS, Brett was next to Martinez inside the home clubhouse in Kansas City. They had been roommates in the minor leagues and teammates with the Royals, but this was their first playoff game.

“We were both sitting there really nervous as hell,” Martinez said. “And I asked him: ‘Are you nervous?’ He goes: ‘Yeah.’ I said: ‘So am I.’ ”

A few minutes later, Brett made two errors in the first innings. Martinez, behind the plate, yelled over to third: “You’re OK now.”

The Royals, in their eighth season as a franchise, were finally in the postseason after toppling the Oakland A’s in the AL West. The Yankees, meanwhile, had broken a dry spell and reached the postseason for the first time since 1964. Compared to the series that would follow, the 1976 ALCS was a relatively tame affair, most famous for its dramatic Game 5 in the Bronx.

With the score tied 6-6 with two outs in the top of the ninth, the Royals put runners at first and second before Jim Wohlford hit a slow bouncer to third and Royals outfielder Al Cowens was forced out at second on a controversial call. For reasons that still confuse Martinez, the third out of the inning caused Yankees fans to litter the field with toilet paper streamers and trash. As Royals pitcher Mark Littell headed to the mound to warm up in the ninth, the game was delayed as the grounds crew tried to clear the field.

“We were on the field, it seemed like an eternity,” Martinez said.

Brett still isn’t sure if the delay affected Littell, but he does know what happened moments later: Littell threw one fastball to New York’s Chris Chambliss, who took a violent cut and blasted a game-winning homer to right-center field. When the ball cleared the fence, hundreds of New York fans began pouring onto the field. Brett made a beeline for the third-base dugout. Martinez sprinted in from home plate. But McRae, out in right field, had no clear path to the dugout, so he sprinted across the outfield, where he found refuge in an open gate in left field.

“The door was open, so I ran to that area,” McRae says. “It was a scary feeling. Because the fans were pouring on the field, and I didn’t know what was gonna happen.”

Yes, this was the tame series.

The next year, in the fall of 1977, the Royals and Yankees would meet again in another five-game classic, one filled with collisions, brawls and pages and pages of verbal fisticuffs. At one point during the series, Martin, the Yankees’ fiery manager, made it a point to tell writers that he was excited to face pitcher Larry Gura, a former Yankee, in Game 4.

“My only worry I have is that he doesn’t get hurt on the way to the ballpark,” Martin told reporters, over and over. “I mean, in an accident or anything. Maybe I ought to send a bodyguard to his home.”

And that was nothing compared to what transpired before Game 4, when the Yankees’ Cliff Johnson, still furious over Randolph getting destroyed, spent most of batting practice yelling at the Royals’ McRae.

A 32-year-old in his ninth season, McRae was unfazed. He had come up in Cincinnati, where he had learned to emulate the playing style of teammate Pete Rose. He sprinted on every ground ball. He held teammates accountable. Whenever teammate Dennis Leonard made a start, McRae would hold up a few fingers as Leonard walked to the bullpen to warm up. That was how many runs the Royals would score that day.

The cross-body block, however, was his own invention.

“Because I knew I could make contact and he wouldn’t be able to throw to first base,” McRae said.

Suffice it to say, McRae was not the kind of man who had time for Johnson, a backup player.

“I told Cliff,” McRae said. “I’m not gonna get into a fight with an ‘extra man.’”

Nevertheless, the Yankees won Game 4 in Kansas City, which set up a winner-take-all Game 5 made famous for its first-inning brawl between Brett and Graig Nettles. Brett hit an RBI triple and came in hard to third base. Nettles gave him a little kick. More than a little perturbed, Brett threw an overhand haymaker, setting off a wild skirmish that included Yankees catcher Thurman Munson covering up Brett at the bottom of the pile — “He just kind of protected George on the ground,” Martinez said — and starting pitcher Ron Guidry jumping into the fray.

Graig Nettles and George Brett fighting at third base (Getty Photos)

“I remember George came back to the dugout and goes: ‘He kicked me,’ ” Quirk said.

Nobody got thrown out.

“The umpires dust everybody off,” Martinez said. “And then they said: You guys done now? OK, let’s go.’”

This time, the Royals took a 3-2 lead into the ninth. But the Yankees struck for three runs, winning a second straight AL pennant on their way to their first World Series championship since 1962.

“That was probably the one that was most heartbreaking for us,” starting pitcher Dennis Leonard said. “Because I honestly felt we had the best team in baseball. But they won. What are you gonna say?”

The Yankees would win again in 1978. It didn’t matter that Brett hit three homers off Catfish Hunter in Game 3; the Yankees won the game 6-5 and took the series in four. The Royals and Yankees would both miss the playoffs in 1979, but they met for a fourth time in 1980. This time, the Royals had a closer: Dan Quisenberry. Brett homered off Goose Gossage in Game 3. They took the series in three games.

The 1980 Royals would lose the World Series to the Phillies in six games, and it would take another five years to finally win their first World Series. But for many of the players, beating the Yankees at last was almost as good as winning it all.

“I was playing right field when Dan Quisenberry struck out Willie Randolph for the last out,” former Royal John Wathan said. “That’s the first and only ever time I’ve cried in baseball.”

A funny thing happened one summer day in the 1990s. Wathan attended a charity golf tournament that featured a collection of old Royals and Yankees from the late 1970s, two groups that had spent four Octobers hating each other.

“You actually realize they’re pretty good guys,” Wathan said, laughing.

Friendships have bloomed. War stories have been traded. Hurdle lives near Bucky Dent in Florida and still marvels at the competitiveness of Lou Piniella and Munson, who died 10 months after the 1978 series.

“Because all they wanted to do was beat your ass,” Hurdle said. “And looking at those two, what better guys to have on your team than guys that just want to beat the other team’s ass.”

Nearly a half-century later, Brett has made a similar peace. He doesn’t hate those players anymore. But he still hates the Yankees. He can’t help it.

McRae takes it one step further.

“I don’t think we hated the guys,” McRae says. “We hated the Yankees. Because they had all the advantages, we felt. They had the resources to sign players. We were jealous that they could do things that we couldn’t do. And I think that was the essence of it.”

On the eve of another playoff battle between Kansas City and New York, McRae told another old story, one that is not quite as famous as Randolph getting taken out or Brett and Nettles brawling. When the final out was recorded in 1977, after the trash-talking and brawls were done, a few Royals walked over to the Yankees clubhouse.

“We went over and we sat around and congratulated them,” he said. “It was over. The war was over.”

(Top photo of Yankee catcher Thurman Munson trying to block George Brett from scoring: Focus on Sport / Getty Images)

As Howie Rose’s call of Pete Alonso’s season-saving home run began playing over the public address system on the New York Mets’ joyous charter flight out of Milwaukee, the veteran broadcaster briefly cupped his hands to his ears.

From his seat on a plane full of Mets players and staffers, Rose, 70, was embarrassed. No broadcaster, he’d later say, wants to be present as people listen to their words. It’s weird. Uncomfortable. That’s true no matter how good the call was, and Rose’s call was epic.

“I wanted to crawl under the seat when that thing was playing,” Rose said.

They played @HowieRose’s call on the plane and it was EPIC! #LGM pic.twitter.com/JBU3udddBl

— x – New York Mets (@Mets) October 4, 2024

Instead, Rose got up. You see, had Rose continued to cover his ears with his hands, he may have succeeded in blocking out his words. But he had no chance against the accompanying raucous ovation from the players in the back of the plane. They hooted and hollered, clapped so loudly for Rose and gave him a standing ovation.

“I wanted to acknowledge it,” Rose said. “I really wanted to embrace Pete because he’s a guy I’ve known since he came up.”

After Rose stood from his seat and looked toward the back of the plane, he saluted the players. He pointed in Alonso’s direction. Then Rose did something he had never done before. He wandered to the back rows, where the players reside.

Generally, on a baseball team’s plane, players and the traveling party (which includes the radio and television broadcasters) are cordial, but there’s an inherent understanding of space. As Rose put it, the parts of the plane might as well be different zip codes. Not late Thursday night.

“Under normal circumstances, it would never ever, ever happen,” SNY’s Mets field reporter Steve Gelbs said. “But in this instance, it would’ve actually been weird if it didn’t happen.”

With each row Rose passed, he received a pat on the back or a high five. When he reached Alonso, Rose leaned in and told him, simply, “I’m really, really happy for you.”

“With one sentence,” Rose said, “I wanted him to know that I’m in his corner.”

That’s Rose. He doesn’t overdo it. He doesn’t have to. He understands moments. And he nails them with a tasteful blend of the right words, observations and emotions.

“It was Pete’s and the team’s night, but Howie enhanced it,” Gelbs said. “There was so much genuine love and appreciation for Howie’s ability to provide the perfect soundtrack to an all-time moment for the franchise.”

With the Mets oozing Team of Destiny vibes, Rose delivered Thursday night, presenting a how-to in the art of calling a big play.

Rose got it all. And that’s saying something. A few days earlier, on another astounding call, Rose captured the aura of Franciso Lindor’s home run that helped the Mets clinch a playoff spot. As fans replayed it over and over in awe, Rose was somewhat irked he neglected to mention Michael Harris II climbing the wall. Yes, that’s the kind of detail, kind of level Rose strides for when making these calls. He’s a perfectionist.

The Alonso call may have been perfect. Before the home run, Rose had introduced the idea of the Mets’ season as a “fairy tale.” He’d remember to use that word again. On the call, he mentioned Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick jumping at the wall. The emotion came out raw. He accurately called it Alonso’s most memorable home run. He captured Alonso’s emotion running the bases. He relayed the score within the pandemonium. He acknowledged the rarity of everyone “pouring out” of the Mets’ dugout. He shared the scene at home plate. Then Rose capped it off, saying, “Pete Alonso keeps this fairy-tale season going with the fairy-tale swing of his career — 3-2 New York!”

This might be the most perfect radio call I’ve ever heard, via the great Howie Rose. pic.twitter.com/AepTdRqm2c

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 4, 2024

Alonso helped send the Mets to the National League Division Series, which starts against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. The moment instantly joined the list of all-timers for the franchise. Behind so many of them has been Rose.

“It’s very much a case of being a reporter,” Rose said. “I’m charged with the responsibility of doing it succinctly, accurately, and hopefully, in the best-case scenario, somewhat eloquently. And you know, when I listened back, I think as emotional as I was, I think I checked all the boxes I wanted to check.”

A predictable understatement, to be sure. Rose crushed it. Within hours, clips of the call had ricocheted throughout social media, racking up thousands of shares.

More than any other sport, baseball gives team broadcasters the most chances to connect with audiences whether at home, in an office cubicle or the car.

The connection starts in the spring and lasts through the entire summer. Then, come October, that link is abruptly severed. For the playoffs, national broadcasts displace the ones produced locally, and the voices that guide fans through most of the season go silent. That’s the case on television.

But not so on the radio. This is why Rose, a familiar voice to New Yorkers, was behind the mic for one of the most memorable moments in franchise history.

“When it’s done right,” Rose said, “it’s art.”

Before Rose’s call replayed over the plane’s public address system, so many people, including Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza, approached him, not just to congratulate him on the call, but to thank him as well.

Rose has endured as one of radio’s most polished practitioners. He has called Mets play-by-play on radio or television since 1995. In 2022, Rose began to cut back his schedule, following health issues. Rose, a native New Yorker who grew up a Mets fan and basically doubles as a walking encyclopedia of the franchise, views this year’s run as special. The Mets keep rising to the occasion. Rose keeps matching them. Fans of the club would have it no other way.

“They know that I’m invested, and that makes us kindred spirits,” Rose said. “And what’s more important than that, though, is that I think, over time, and, obviously I’ve been doing this for a long time, I’ve built the kind of trust that enables me to say something, whether it’s critical or opinionated in any way, and know that the listener understands where I’m coming from. I’m not trying to short-sell them or sell them a bill of goods. I’m just saying it as I see it, and they trust me. And the added advantage I have is that I’m emotionally invested in this team because I was a fan of theirs from day one. And a lot of those fans will say they’ve been fans since their earliest baseball memories. So again, I like to use the phrase we are kindred spirits.”

(Photo of Pete Alonso after his Game 3 home run: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)

Amid a currently undefeated season with the first-place Orlando Pride and high-profile retirements from Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair, Brazilian superstar Marta said she plans to play professional soccer for at least two more years.

“I don’t know if I’m gonna be in Orlando. But my thought is like, play at least two more years,” she told The Athletic. Her current contract with the Pride is up after the 2024 season.

Marta has scored seven goals and recorded two assists in 19 games this season, and the Pride are seven points clear of second-place Washington Spirit, whom they face on Sunday. If they win, they will clinch the NWSL shield, awarded to the team with the highest regular season point total.

In 2023, Marta had four goals, all from penalties, and played a more central attacking midfield position. This season, head coach Seb Hines has moved Marta higher on the field to play alongside Barbra Banda.

“To run after Barbra, you need to work hard. You need to be in good shape,” Marta joked by way of explaining the energy she has exhibited on the field this year.

This has been a season of revitalization for Marta, who won a silver medal with Brazil at the Olympics in France before retiring from international soccer. “I won’t walk away from football. I want to help this generation in some way,” she said after that game, which Brazil lost 1-0 to the United States.

GO DEEPER

Marta’s legacy is defiance, hunger and joy. But how will it end at the Olympics?

For club, and with the Pride season going so well, Marta said she was happy with her decision to come to Orlando in 2017.

“I feel good that I decided to stay here for so long and need to go through all of these situations year by year,” she said.

“I came to Orlando because I want to be close to my country, be close to my friends and family, be able to see them a little bit more often. I came here, and then I met good people. The community, it’s amazing. We have almost everybody from everywhere — Latino, Europe. So I feel so comfortable with this. And I started to visualize my life here in Orlando not just for one or two years, but for a long time.”

Since 2017, the Pride have had six head coaches, including interims, and after Marta’s first year with the club, in which they finished third overall, have since never finished higher than seventh or qualified for playoffs. In 2024, the Pride were the first team to mathematically clinch a playoff position, with Marta averaging 78 minutes played per game.

“I always have in my mind that if I put myself in this situation, I need to do the best,” she said. “I want to play because I still have something to give to the team. I still have the energy that the team needs for me and the quality that the soccer world asks for… I feel good.”

After beating Bay FC 1-0 in September, Marta told the post-match media: “I want to do more. I want to break more records, no matter what, so nobody can catch us.”

(Top photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck / Imagn Images)

Ask any forward tagged with the ‘super sub’ label if they take pride in it, and you’ll get the same response.

“I hate it,” says Adam Le Fondre, who scored eight of his 12 Premier League goals after starting as a substitute. “I have always thought I am good enough to impact the game from the start.”

Some see it as football’s most backhanded compliment. For strikers, the select few that did not get pushed back to midfield or defence in youth football, it’s even more of a kick in the teeth. They have gone through their footballing lives as the leading player, only to become known for their contribution from the bench.

But the truth is that super subs are almost always a pivotal part of wider club success.

“Having four good strikers is a fantastic position to be in,” former Premier League manager Harry Redknapp tells The Athletic. “When you’ve got someone on the bench, you can look around and think, ‘Yeah, he can get me a goal’. When you’re sitting there with nothing on the bench and no goalscorers, it’s a very difficult situation.”

At Tottenham Hotspur, arguably the most successful period of his 34-year tenure in football management, Redknapp developed a reputation for stockpiling and rotating top-class strikers. During his spell in north London, Redknapp had Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Darren Bent, and Robbie Keane, all of whom have scored over 100 Premier League goals, as well as Roman Pavlyuchenko.

“I was lucky that I knew the strikers I had well, and they were great guys and professionals,” says Redknapp. “I’d worked with Crouch previously and known Jermain since he was 14. Strikers are desperate to get on the pitch. They’re bursting to score a goal. The lads I had were not sitting there sulking. They want to get on the pitch to prove they should be playing in the first place — almost to stick two fingers up to you for not starting them. That’s what you want.”

Redknapp valued impact substitutes throughout his managerial career (David Cannon/Getty Images)

As if to prove the point, Defoe, Crouch and Pavlyuchenko are three of seven players to have scored a record five winning goals as a substitutes in the Premier League. Of Defoe’s 162 Premier League goals, 24 came from the bench, another competition record. During Redknapp’s tenure, his strikers fired Spurs to the Champions League alongside Gareth Bale and Luka Modric, the first time they had reached Europe’s premier club tournament since 1962.

This season, Jhon Duran has emerged as the Premier League’s standout super sub. The Colombian forward has scored six goals in nine games in all competitions for Aston Villa this season, with his second-half goal from distance in Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League among the best of a spectacular collection.

His goalscoring return would be outstanding for the 20-year-old if he were Unai Emery’s main man in attack, but he has spent just 28 per cent of the available minutes in the Premier League on the pitch and has scored five of the six after beginning the game on the bench.

Duran has only started three times in the Premier League for Villa since moving from Chicago Fire in MLS in 2023 and is not yet seen as a 90-minute player by the Birmingham club. He is direct, confident to take risks, eager to use his powerful shot from distance, and quick enough to exploit the space left when the game opens up in the second half.

Replacing Ollie Watkins, a ferocious presser who sticks to the game plan and tires out defences, the conditions are perfect for “captain chaos” to profit from the England striker’s hard work.

“(For substitutes), a lot of the time it’s about trying to get them to understand their role within that team,” says Sammy Lander, a dedicated substitution coach and consultant who has worked with various club and national teams, including the USMNT. “Aston Villa are a really good example of that. You can easily identify squad roles within their team.

“I work with clubs where we recognise specific quiet periods for existing starters, and that’s when we target appropriate substitutes. Being deliberate with subs is important. Emery is not just turning around to look at a player, sticking him on in attack and hoping for the best. There are processes.

“For a lot of clubs, it’s still an overlooked area of the game where you’ve got an opportunity to bring in new tactics, players and solutions. When I started my role, I did a big questionnaire with managers and staff and found a recurring answer: that substitutes were often done with a gut instinct. I’d be very surprised if Villa are operating on that level. It appears they have much more of a process with Duran, which is why they’re being so successful.”

Duran had another successful intervention against Bayern in midweek (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Emery backed up that thinking in his post-Bayern press conference. Before the game he spoke to his assistants and players about Duran’s ability to shoot from long range being a potentially effective tactic to exploit Manuel Neuer’s positioning, as the German ‘keeper often comes out far from his line. He also linked it to a goal he scored against Hibernian in the qualifying rounds for last season’s Europa Conference League, where Pau Torres played a similar pass to his assist for Duran against Bayern.

While no forward is ever completely content with limited contributions from the bench, coming on to benefit from tired legs can often be a route to goals. Le Fondre, who made his name as a prolific striker in the EFL, got his Premier League break in 2012-13 with Reading and scored 12 goals in his only season in the top flight. Of that number, eight were scored from the bench, the joint-fifth highest proportion of substitute goals in Premier League history.

Like Duran, he benefited from the hard work of another forward occupying the central defenders before he often came on and made an impact from the bench. In his case, it was the 6ft 2in (188cm) Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak.

“When I’m on the bench, I’ll be watching defenders and assessing their tendencies,” says Le Fondre, 37, who now plays for FC United of Manchester in the seventh tier of English football. “If someone’s not having a great game, I’ll know that’ll be the defender I’ll pick on. I’ll watch for spaces to see if I can exploit them when I get on.

“Naturally, if I was coming on, we were either chasing a game or trying to find a winner. With that mindset, the team changes the way it plays. We’re going to take more risks and put the ball into dangerous areas much more, so I’m obviously going to gain off the back of that. Playing on the front foot and being a little more assertive will always help.”

Le Fondre after scoring the second of two late substitute goals against Chelsea in 2013 (Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

A positive team culture is an essential component in ensuring ‘super subs’ do not become frustrated with their diminished role. Manchester United’s treble-winning squad of 1998-99 had Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in attack, four international strikers who could have easily found moves elsewhere to become starters. But Alex Ferguson created an environment at Old Trafford where competition was strong, driving each other on.

“The problem is not when you have too many, it’s when you don’t have enough of them,” says Redknapp. ”The competition fires the players up — the best motivation is when you know ‘If I don’t do something soon, the manager will bring me off’.

“Watkins is playing very well, and he’s a top player, but he must be thinking, ‘Hang on. Every time the other fella comes on, he keeps scoring a goal. How much longer will he keep starting me and not bringing him into the starting line-up?’. It pushes whoever’s got possession of that shirt. They know they’re under severe pressure if the subs come off the bench and score to keep their place in the starting line-up.”

Pioneered by Eddie Jones, the former England and Australia rugby union head coach, Duran’s role in the Villa side is best described as a “finisher”. The concept of starters and finishers, which takes inspiration from closer pitchers in baseball, spins the negative connotations around substitutes and uses positive language, highlighting the essential job players from the bench have in winning matches.

Manchester United’s treble-winning side in 1999 has strong competition up front (Alex Livesey /Allsport)

Former England boss Gareth Southgate adopted the language ahead of England reaching the final of Euro 2020, describing Jack Grealish’s impact using those terms. Eberechi Eze, who came off the bench three times in England’s run to the final this summer, had a similar role at Euro 2024.

“It’s not just about the 11,” Eze told Mail Online in the summer. “It’s about the whole team, the culture, the collective. You win the tournament as a collective.

“It’s putting your ego to the side and focusing on what’s important for the team. If you have that type of culture, which we do, you’ve got the best chance. The manager spoke about ‘finishers’. We call them finishers. We know that. The players that come onto the pitch there is a mentality about it; there’s a way to go about it. That role is important. It’s not just about the 11.”

Still, it’s one thing to adopt that role for a short time during a summer tournament for your national team and another to accept it in the long term at the club level. Le Fondre was willing to put his ego aside to contribute from the bench as Reading unsuccessfully tried to stay up in the Premier League, but was back to playing a more primary role again the following season in the Championship.

Villa have a long-term plan to incorporate Duran and Watkins in the starting line-up, but there is awareness that Duran can only be a super sub for so long. He’s a precocious talent with confidence in his ability to back it up, and suitors will try their hand at his signature — as they did in the summer when he was linked heavily with numerous clubs including West Ham and Chelsea.

“(Duran’s) getting more wanted by the week,” says Redknapp. “His performances from the bench are making clubs look at him for when the next window’s coming around. He’s in a good position right now under Emery, but he won’t want to sit around for a year doing what he’s doing. He’s going to want to start.”

(Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)

Kyshawn George was raised in Switzerland so he never expected he’d get to play an NBA game in front of a “hometown” crowd.

But because his Washington Wizards are starting the pre-season against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in Montreal, where his dad was raised, he’s getting that chance.

“I never thought about it,” said George after a lengthy practice on Friday. “I didn’t even know that it was a possibility that existed.

“But yeah, I’m blessed that I have the opportunity to do that.”

His father Deon George was born and raised in Montreal but played professionally in the Swiss league, so Kyshawn — pronounced kee-shawn — was born in Aigle, Switzerland. The younger George went to high school in France and then played a year of U.S. college basketball for the Miami Hurricanes.

The six-foot-eight George averaged 7.6 points, three rebounds, 2.2 assists over 31 games for the Hurricanes last season. He started as a backup swingman but was promoted to a starter due to injuries.

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Because Kyshawn’s grandmother, aunts, and cousins all still live in Montreal, mainly in the west island neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges, he knows the city well. It also means that, although he’s played for Switzerland’s under-16 basketball team, he’s been treated as a returning hero ahead of Sunday’s pre-season game against the Raptors at Bell Centre.

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He said that all the media attention hasn’t been that weird because he doesn’t know any better.

“I mean, it’s my experience. It’s my first time. I have nothing to base myself off of,” he said in a phone interview. “I’m just super grateful to have this opportunity and I think it comes with it.

“Being an NBA player, you get great people around you and you have responsibilities too.”

George was selected 24th overall by the New York Knicks in the NBA Draft this past summer.

However, he was immediately traded to Washington for the 26th and 51st overall picks in the same draft. He signed with the Wizards within the month.

He’s part of a major rebuilding project in Washington. The Wizards also selected French centre Alexandre Sarr second overall and guard Carlton Carrington 14th in the 2024 draft.

“It’s great, though, it’s great,” said George. “We have a great group of young guys who all care for each other, great coaching staff, and this is a great experience overall.”

He added with a laugh: “Working a lot.”

The biggest adjustment George has had to make so far hasn’t actually been the physical or strategic side of the game, but instead improving his vocabulary.

“We all know that now I’m playing against grown men, but mostly the terminology,” said George on the differences between playing in the NCAA versus the NBA. “The habits you need to get to be able to play at a high level.

“At the end of the day, it’s just basketball. It’s about getting the reps in.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2024.

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press

Nashville Predators star Filip Forsberg heard the rumblings. Steven Stamkos was unlikely to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Music City was a possible destination. 

Forsberg’s teammate, defenceman Luke Schenn, won back-to-back Stanley Cup with the Tampa captain and franchise icon in 2020 and 2021. The veteran blueliner was dialed in. 

“(Schenn) texted me,” Forsberg recalled of the start of NHL free agency on July 1. “Just like, ‘Hey, Stammer’s coming.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, all right, awesome.’” 

Predators’ general manager Barry Trotz then made two more big splashes, adding defenceman Brady Skjei and winger Jonathan Marchessault. 

“Really good day for the franchise,” Forsberg said. 

Like every NHL off-season, plenty of players were on the move. The Canadian Press takes a look at some of the big names changing addresses this summer as a new season is underway.

STEVEN STAMKOS 

The forward signed a US$32-million, four-year contract with the Predators following a public divorce with the team that selected him No. 1 overall at the 2008 draft. Stamkos, 34, led Tampa to three straight finals and those two victories, and twice won the Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal-scorer, with a high-water mark of 60 in 2011-12. 

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BRADY SKJEI/JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT 

Skjei, 30, signed a $49-million, seven-year deal to join a Nashville blue line led by Norris Trophy winner Roman Josi following his departure from the Carolina Hurricanes. Marchessault, 33, agreed to a $27.5-million, five-year pact after the Vegas Golden Knights allowed one of the few remaining original “Golden Misfits” to walk. 

JAKE GUENTZEL 

The plug-and-play replacement for Stamkos signed a $63-million, seven-year contract with the Lightning. Guentzel, 29, should benefit from suiting up alongside the likes of Hart Trophy finalist and Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov after starting his career in Pittsburgh with Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. Veteran defenceman Ryan McDonagh, who won two Cups with Tampa, is also back with the Lightning after a spring trade with Nashville. 

JAKE DEBRUSK 

The winger signed a $38.5-million, seven-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks after spending his first seven seasons with the Boston Bruins. DeBrusk, 27, had just 40 points in 80 games in 2023-24, but Vancouver is banking on him finding West Coast chemistry with Elias Pettersson.

JACOB MARKSTROM 

The New Jersey Devils hope they finally have their goaltender. The club acquired Markstrom from the Calgary Flames in a long-rumoured deal that should solidify New Jersey’s crease behind a talented core led by star centre Jack Hughes. The Devils also stiffened their defence with the additions of Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon. 

ELIAS LINDHOLM 

The Bruins added the centre on a $54.25-million, seven-year pact to play alongside David Pastrnak on Boston’s top line. Lindholm, 29, should see a bump in production after registering 44 points in 75 combined contests with Calgary and Vancouver last season. 

BRANDON MONTOUR 

The defenceman barely had time to celebrate a Stanley Cup win with the Florida Panthers before making a big decision on his future. Montour, 30, inked a $50-million, seven-year deal with the Seattle Kraken to be their anchor on the back end. Seattle also signed centre Chandler Stephenson, 30, to a $43.75-million, seven-year contract. 

MIKHAIL SERGACHEV 

The defenceman was dealt from Tampa to the Utah Hockey Club — formerly the Arizona Coyotes — in the hours before free agency opened to clear salary cap space. Sergachev was hampered by injuries last season, but should provide Utah a strong presence in its new market. 

CHRIS TANEV 

The Toronto Maple Leafs made their big move by acquiring the hard-nosed defender’s rights from the Dallas Stars ahead of free agency. Tanev, 34, then agreed to a $27-million, six-year contract with his hometown team in a move that should strengthen a Toronto blue line that’s been among the club’s weak spots in recent years. The Leafs also added defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson on a four-year deal worth $14 million after he won the Cup with Florida. 

&copy 2024 The Canadian Press

Avoid the HOV lanes, and get yourself a Jer-Force One. That’s what I learned this week.

Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner who’s turning 82 in a few days, made quite an entrance by landing his chopper right on the field during practice.

But hey how about a helicopter at practice… (fanbase triggered) pic.twitter.com/mYNV10CwN0

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) October 2, 2024

If only the Cowboys could avoid injuries to their key players as well as their owner avoids traffic. Micah Parsons is out with a sprained ankle, a significant blow to the defense. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks is battling a knee infection that could keep him sidelined for a few games, and DeMarcus Lawrence is out for at least four weeks due to a foot injury.

The Pittsburgh Steelers know Dallas struggles running the football, and they have only one dynamic weapon outside, in wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. If only an All-Pro receiver was looking for a new team to help lift an offense and its $60 million quarterback.

The Cowboys have told the world they are passing on a trade for 31-year-old Davante Adams, with EVP Stephen Jones calling it “a long putt to sink” despite the receiver’s interest in playing for Dallas. (You can add the rest of the NFC East to teams that are out on the Adams sweepstakes as well.)

The reason? I’m told it’s the same reason Dallas passed on running back Derrick Henry last offseason: money.

Adams is owed $13.5 million for the rest of this season. (That drops by $970K per week.) Tough timing for a chopper landing, as far as Dallas fans are concerned. The Cowboys’ 2024 motto is “all-in,” but I still don’t know what that means.

Now, the Jets are the team working like they’re all-in. New York has been eyeing Adams since last year, and now it’s getting a real shot. Trade talks could heat up next week as Aaron Rodgers has been clear with owner Woody Johnson, general manager Joe Douglas and coach Robert Saleh that he wants his former teammate in green. The Jets have been in touch with the Las Vegas Raiders all week, and while I don’t sense the Jets are anxious to get this done as soon as possible, the Raiders and Adams want to get a move on.

While Adams would like to be reunited with his former QB, I was told he has some concerns about Rodgers’ plans to stay in New York past this season. Adams doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his current deal, so he has no choice in where he lands. It’s all about the best deal for the Raiders, who are looking for a future second-round pick. However, the sense around the league is Las Vegas will probably get a third-rounder when the trade is complete. (The value is similar to the Bills-Texans Stefon Diggs trade, which was the value of a third-rounder.)

New Orleans is another team in the mix for Adams. Saints quarterback Derek Carr has a close relationship with Adams from their time with the Raiders and at Fresno State — Carr is why the receiver landed in Vegas in the first place — plus, Adams is close with Saints wide receivers coach Keith Williams, a family friend. Adams is open to a few teams, but he prefers the Jets and Saints.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who you may recall were interested in trading for Brandon Aiyuk before he signed an extension with San Francisco this summer, are also in touch with the Raiders’ front office. I’m told Pittsburgh is making an aggressive offer.

Teams like the Bills and Kansas City Chiefs are monitoring the situation and willing to jump in if the Raiders are willing to pay some of Adams’ contract. They see him as a one-year rental.

Raiders fans reading this might be telling themselves there’s no chance Vegas would trade within its division. I was reminded this week by NFL decision-makers that the best organizations get the best deals — they don’t worry about who gets the player. However, I still think the Chiefs are a long shot to land Adams.

This is what else I’m hearing this week:

• Chiefs’ next steps with Rashee Rice

• Diggs’ feelings about the Bills as he prepares to face his former team

• Maxx Crosby’s status for Sunday

• The rising coaching star helping spark Denver’s defense

• A players-only meeting in Cleveland — Browns’ woes beyond Watson

• Why the Browns, and quite a few other teams, didn’t want Joe Flacco

• “It’s only a matter of time before Mason Rudolph takes over”

So what will the Chiefs do at wide receiver?

I’m told it could be six weeks or six-plus months for Rice; it all comes down to this upcoming arthroscopic surgery. Rice was placed on injured reserve and will be out for four weeks, but next week he will have his knee scoped so they can decide if surgery is needed. The Chiefs are holding out hope, and once they get more answers they’ll determine if they have to replace their top target.

In the past two seasons, Kansas City has acquired wide receivers at the deadline: Kadarius Toney in 2022 and Mecole Hardman in ’23. Those trades paid off, too — each receiver played critical roles in Super Bowl victories a few months after being acquired.

The question now: Will the Chiefs roll the dice again as they chase a three-peat? Names I’m keeping an eye on before the NFL trade deadline:

• Amari Cooper, Browns
• Tee Higgins, Bengals
• George Pickens, Steelers
• Christian Kirk, Jaguars
• DeAndre Hopkins, Titans

As more teams start to consider selling off assets, this list could get longer. Speaking of big wide receiver trades …

Stefon Diggs will face the Bills this week in his fifth game as a Texan. (Tim Warner / Getty Images)

On the Stefon Diggs trade and bad blood — or not

Sometimes you just gotta go.

And sometimes you just gotta ask. That’s what Texans GM Nick Caserio did when he saw Bills GM Brandon Beane at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis eight months ago. The Texans viewed the offseason as an opportunity to upgrade the roster of a team that advanced to the divisional round for the first team since 2019.

Caserio asked Beane about their openness to moving Diggs, who caught 445 passes for 5,372 yards and 37 touchdowns over four years for Buffalo. Beane didn’t give an enthusiastic yes but also didn’t say no, so Houston stayed on it. Over the next few weeks, multiple teams, including Houston, contacted Diggs’ camp or the Bills about the possibility of a trade. Diggs knew what was going on. (Buffalo even received calls from teams two offseasons ago.) Diggs never demanded a trade or even requested one. However, both sides felt it was time for a change.

While there wasn’t some strong push from Diggs to get out, if he was out in Buffalo it was going to be for a team with Super Bowl aspirations and a QB to build around. The Texans have a promising young roster led by a respected recent player-turned-head coach DeMeco Ryans and rising star QB C.J. Stroud.

When I spoke to the soon-to-be 31-year-old Diggs over the summer about his new team, he was beaming with excitement. He talked about enjoying helping the young receiver room and sharing some mistakes he had made on and off the field. He was reflective and self-aware. His words were filled with vigor, not bitterness.

Is there bad blood between Diggs and the Bills? Nah. Sometimes, you just gotta go.

GO DEEPER

NFL player poll: Josh Allen for MVP; Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson as building blocks

Mighty Maxx

While the Raiders were beating the Browns last week, Crosby was on his couch. He was forced to get treatment for his high ankle sprain, so he watched the game on TV and live-tweeted. It was the first time Crosby had ever missed a game as a Raider, and it wasn’t easy; he says he was screaming at his television while he kept his leg elevated.

This week, he’s trying to get back in the lineup as the Raiders prepare for the Denver Broncos and their rookie QB, Bo Nix. I have a hard time believing Crosby will miss a division game, but ultimately it might not be up to him.

The men behind the blitz-happy Broncos

The Broncos made a daring move against the Jets last week, sending a bold statement by all-out blitzing Rodgers on the first play of the game. This aggression set the tone for the upset and showcased the Broncos’ fearless approach this season.

Denver spent most of its summer showing off Nix, and while Sean Payton works to get his young QB playing at a higher level, the team is grateful for Vance Joseph’s group. The Broncos’ secondary, led by cornerbacks Patrick Surtain and Riley Moss, has been able to shut down opponents’ top pass catchers, including Garrett Wilson, DK Metcalf, Pickens and Mike Evans.

Secondary coach Jim Leonhard, a former Broncos player and defensive coordinator at Wisconsin, has been getting rave reviews from his players and the staff. Payton actually coached Leonhard as a player and cut him in New Orleans — something Leonhard likes to remind his boss. So as we get closer to discussing the new batch of future NFL coordinators in the coming months, remember you read about Leonhard right here.

GO DEEPER

The Jaguars overestimated themselves. Did they overestimate Trevor Lawrence, too?

The Browns’ woes go beyond Watson

The intentions are always good, but it’s never a great sign when a team has a players-only meeting — as the Browns did earlier this week as they search for a spark after losing to a Raiders team without Crosby and Adams. This is the same week Nick Chubb, who won’t be playing against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, practiced for the first time since tearing an ACL last September. The star running back said it “felt like a dream.”

Cleveland’s season, however, has had more nightmarish overtones so far. Much of that has to do with franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson’s inability to come close to recapturing the form he once had for the Texans. However, many around the league said last week’s game against the Raiders was his best of this season. One Cleveland player told me over text: “He really gives us the best chance.”

The Browns’ struggles aren’t all on Watson; the defense has fallen off, too. Ranked No. 1 last season, that unit is now swimming in the 20s. They don’t have an easy task either, trying to slow a red-hot Commanders offense led by rookie sensation Jayden Daniels. Kevin Stefanski won his second NFL Coach of the Year award in 2023, but he has a situation on his hands.

Joe Flacco picked up where he left off last season. (Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

The good and bad of Flacco being good

It’s hard to discuss the Browns’ quarterback situation without mentioning Flacco, who stepped in last season for an injured Watson and led the Browns to the playoffs. The organization has received a lot of criticism for not even offering a new deal to the veteran quarterback. Flacco’s agent spoke with several teams during the free-agency period, including the Browns, Jets and Miami Dolphins (who could use a Super Bowl-winning QB right about now), and they all said no thanks.

While the Browns have never said publicly that the reason they passed on Flacco was related to Watson, there is an understanding around the league that the Browns had to give Watson a chance to succeed without any obstacles. While winning is the priority, the team has a massive investment in the quarterback and believes it’s giving him the best environment to be his best.

Once Cleveland (and others) passed, the Indianapolis Colts signed Flacco. He stepped in after an Anthony Richardson injury last week and led the Colts over the Steelers. Flacco prepared all week as the starter while Richardson is expected to be a game-time decision. In the meantime, if Flacco continues to win, Indy might be in the same position this offseason as Cleveland was: Do you want Flacco casting a shadow over your starter while he’s trying to find his footing?

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No QB controversy in Tennessee — yet

The Titans have a bye this weekend, and maybe a little time off will be good for them. It’s been a rough start, their offensive line is still struggling and, despite spending the most money of any team this offseason to construct a stellar roster, they’re 1-3.

First-year head coach Brian Callahan cleared up any chatter about a potential QB controversy after Mason Rudolph stepped in for an injured Will Levis and seemed to run Callahan’s offense effectively against Miami. Callahan says it’s Levis’ job, but a coach in their division shared: “It’s only a matter of time before Mason Rudolph takes over.”

Callahan may be facing his first hard decision as a head coach before we even get to Halloween.

(Top photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)