VIDEO: Robinson Cano Receives Award from Latino Sports Writers and Broadcasters

What's The 411TV correspondent, Andrew Rosario, catches up with Robinson Cano, MLB's 2011 Home Run Derby King and New York Yankees' second baseman, at the Latinos Sports Writers and Broadcasting Association luncheon.

Mr. Cano is this year's winner of the Latinos Sports Writers and Broadcasting Association's Latino MVP Award.

Good and bittersweet in Cali: Warriors tie the Chicago Bulls 1995-96 most wins in a season and Kobe Bryant is set to take his last dribble as an NBA player

In this episode of What's The 411Sports recorded on April 12, 2016, What's The 411Sports hosts Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about the:

Outcome of the Augusta National Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia;

Adam Schefter's interview with Greg Hardy;

Johnny Manziel;

Golden State Warriors;

Kobe Bryant;

The New York sports report;

The Golden State Warriors tied the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls winning season record at 72 games;

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant NBA playing days coming to an end;

NY Jets left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson retired

NY Yankees

NY Mets

Brooklyn Nets

NY Knicks; and

Louisiana Tech women’s head coach Tyler Summit resigns, as he should, and is now on the What’s The 411Sports bench

Events coming up in the What’s The 411Sports pipeline are:

• The NY Mets will play in Cleveland on April 15-17.
• The Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 18.
• The NY Yankees will meet up with former teammate Robinson Cano when the Yankees play the Seattle Mariners on April 19 – 21 at Yankees Stadium.
• The Kentucky Derby, the first leg of a potential triple crown in horse racing is on Saturday, May 7.

US Women’s Soccer Filed Suit Against US Soccer Federation; Warriors Lose to Celtics But Still Want 73 Wins, 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame Class Named

In this episode, the What’s The 411Sports team of Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about and asking lots of question about recent sports news and events.

Congratulations to the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2016:  Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Sheryl Swoopes, John McClendon, Darell Garretson, Tom Izzo, Zelmo Beaty, Yao Ming, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Cumberland Posey.

Five members of the US women’s national soccer team including notable names like Hope Solo and Alex Morgan have filed a wage discrimination action against the US Soccer Federation. The action was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming that while the women’s team generated approximately $20 million more in revenue than the men’s team, the women were paid about 25% less than their male counterparts.

San Francisco 49er’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick met with John Elway, executive vice president of football operations and general manager of the Denver Broncos, signaling that Kaepernick could be headed to Denver. Would this be a good move for Colin Kaepernick?

After a 54-regular-home-game win streak, the bubble burst and Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors lost at home to the Boston Celtics 109-106 on Friday, April 1 (no April Fools joke).

NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament definitely put the “madness” in March Madness; at the buzzer, Villanova beat UNC 77-74.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin returns to lineup as the Clippers face the Washington Wizards at the Staples Center. It will be the first time that Griffin will play since Christmas after a tearing his quadriceps. His absence was further extended after a hand injury due to an altercation with the team’s assistant equipment manager which garnered a four-game suspension. And, Griffin’s quadriceps isn’t completely healed. Is this a good move for Griffin to play before complete healing?

Who on the current Brooklyn Nets team will be back next season? Both Keisha and Mike would like to see the return of Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. However, Keisha would also like to see newcomer Sean Kilpatrick in a Brooklyn Nets uniform next season.

The YES Network and Comcast are at war.

Can the New York Mets get back to the World Series, and do the New York Yankees have a chance to win the AL East?

New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey is on the bench for his childish behavior towards the New York sports media following the New York daily newspapers' reports on his urinary tract issues.

Yankees comeback slugger receives curtain call after moving into 4th on all-time home run list

New York Yankees Alex Rodriguez, passed Willie Mays’ 660 career home runs, hitting his 661st homer in the Yanks’ 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

VIDEO: Jason Schott gives his predictions for the 2nd half of the Major League Baseball season for the Mets and Yankees

Do you agree with Jason Schott's report?

The New York Yankees will host the Seattle Mariners in the rubber game of that series, on Sunday, July 19 at 1:00 p.m.

The New York Liberty will take on the Seattle Storm Tuesday, July 21st

The WNBA All-Star game will take place next Saturday, July 25th at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

The AAU Golf National Championship will be held on July 23-26, 2015 in Millington, TN.

The New York Red Bulls have numerous events coming up; check out the New York Red Bulls schedule. 

U.S. Tennis Association's Connecticut Open is August 21 -29 at Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale in New Haven Connecticut.

The US OPEN for tennis will be held on August 31 – September 13.

We are at the midway point in the Major League Baseball season and here’s my report card on the Mets and the Yankees thus far, and how I see these teams going forward.

Matt Harvey's a winner and Alex Rodriguez is gaining fans

In his first regular-season start since 2013, New York Mets ace, Matt Harvey, returned to the mound in respectable fashion. In his first outing, Harvey shut out the Washington Nationals for 6 innings as the Mets won 6-3, which was the rubber game of the series.

After a year-long suspension, Alex Rodriguez, is rising to be the New York Yankees best player. A-rod hit his first home-run in a 6-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. A-Rod is five homers away from Willie Mays home-run record of 660. Should this be a cause for celebration?

VIDEO: Brian Smith, New York Yankees, Senior Vice President Corporate/Community Relations, Gives Scoop on Yankees Involvement with 3rd Annual Major League Diversity Summit

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Brian Smith: Good to see you, we're honored to be here today, this is an amazing event as you can see the turnout, tons of people here, jobseekers and vendors and we're looking forward to be a productive two days here at this summit.

Glenn Gilliam: Were you guys instrumental at all in making sure it came to New York this year?

Brian Smith: We had some conversations in house and we went back and forth with MLB and we decided that this is something we're committed to on a day in, day out basis and it would be a great thing to bring it here to NY. We were excited to partner with MLB, Wendy and her team to make it happen.

Glenn Gilliam: Are the Yankees involved in outreach to other diverse pockets like RBI?

Brian Smith: Across the board there's a push to promote and sustain an inclusive environment and when we mean that, it's not only for the job seekers, for the vendors, it's for our neighbors. We have to provide access and if you don't you're not a productive neighbor and we're committed to being a productive member of our community. We do that by hosting events at the Stadium, I was talking to some teachers a couple of weeks ago and they said the most exciting classroom in New York City is Yankee Stadium, where we host diversity business initiative, where we engage local youth to expose them to careers in the professional sports field.

In addition, through our program such as Healthy Home Plate, where we take young people in from our community who are recognized, you know unfortunately our community is recognized for a number of areas where we're in first place where you're not excited about. For example there's Juvenile Diabetes, Stage 2 Diabetes in Youth, obesity and asthma. We came up with this Healthy Home Plate initiative where we turn Yankee Stadium into a classroom, to educate these young people on healthy lifestyle initiatives, where we bring them in on a consistent basis. So these types of programs and that ongoing commitment by the organization and that push from the ownership down to be a productive member and a cordial and cooperative neighbor, that's our day to day focus.

Glenn Gilliam: Are you a native New Yorker?

Brian Smith: I am from NY, I grew up in Mt. Vernon, NY and because of our organization providing access, a young African American male that grew up on the south side of Mt. Vernon has the opportunity to talk to you today as the Senior Vice President Corporate & Community Relations for the NY Yankees.

Glenn Gilliam: Are you friends with fellow Mt. Vernon, Yankee fan, Denzel Washington?

Brian Smith: No, he's a little older, more around my sister's age, but I know he is a big Yankees fan and we appreciate it and I've seen him around with the NY on his hat and we thank him for that.

Glenn Gilliam: Where did you go to school?

Brian Smith: I'm a graduate of Mt. Vernon HS and I went to undergrad and grad school at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.

Glenn Gilliam: What took you out to Oklahoma?

Brian Smith: I was fortunate as a student-athlete I excelled playing and did decently in the classroom and excelled as an athlete on the football field and I was provided the opportunity to get a full football scholarship to the University of Tulsa and I was recruited by a number of other schools and I said I'm going to get away. And the young kid from New York went to Oklahoma and it all worked out well.

Glenn Gilliam: Where were you before coming to the Yankees?

Brian Smith: When I finished grad school I was briefly with SoBRO, South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, I was a case manager and a teacher but I knew I wanted to get into the sports industry. I still had that drive to work and be involved with sports and I was able to make some contacts and got in front of some Yankee personnel and got my foot in the door as an intern.

Glenn Gilliam: What do you expect from this summit and where do you hope it goes for future years?

Brian Smith: As far as this summit, I wish everybody in attendance a productive two days, I want to see people coming out of here with not only securing jobs opportunities and vendors securing opportunities, I want people to come out of here saying this is amazing, how can I continue this push and this drive and just to be a part of that is incredible. We want to see this grow not only today but on an annual basis.

On September 26th, 2013, the New York Yankees hosted the Tampa Bay Rays in front of a sellout crowd of 48,675. With the Yankees playoffs fate sealed, the sellout crowd's interest focused on other reasons. This was Yankees closer Mariano Rivera's final game and his departure from the game as he retired his last batter featured one of the most touching and heartfelt signature moments for Major League Baseball as well as the Yankees organization.

The Rays were ahead four to the Yankees nil in the top of the ninth inning. On a 1-0 count with 1 out in the inning, Rivera threw a pitch to Rays SS Yunel Escobar, popping him out recording the final out of his career. It was time for Rivera to exit this inning, the mound, the Yankees, and his career as a Major League Baseball player. Usually, Yankees manager Joe Girardi makes his call to the bullpen and walking out to the mound to retrieve his pitcher, but on this night, acknowledging the moment, Girardi sent two of the men who began their careers alongside Rivera in pitcher Andy Pettitte and shortstop Derek Jeter. These two faces were all too familiar for Rivera, and when they finally reached the mound, as Jesus once did, Rivera wept as he was embraced by both Pettitte and Jeter. Rivera left the mound to a standing ovation which he ultimately deserves from the Yankees faithful, as well as, the entire baseball community for the excellence he exhibited throughout the duration of his career.

Another Yankees Dynasty Ends

The MLB 2013 regular season is over, and with its closing introduces the MLB 2013 postseason, a postseason the Yankees aren't apart of for the second time in 19 years, which raises numerous questions beginning with Why? Why didn't the Yankees make the postseason this year? I think I have the answer and it's pretty simple actually so here it is: The Dynasty is over. Yes I just said that. "The Sandman's" exit symbolizes what once was and used to be the base of the ingredients: Their core, which has been unable to solve the enigma that is father time which will and always be undefeated. Jeter is 39 years of age, Pettitte announced his retirement on September 20th, 2013, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada recently retired last year, and Rivera has just completed his Goodbye tour this year, leaving Jeter as the lone member remaining of this dominant group. This four also known as "The Core Four" all made their major league debuts during the summer of 1995 and since that summer, have produced 34 All-Star appearances, 5 world series championships, 2 World Series MVP awards and the MLB record for career saves. Four players can never make up for what the significance and strength lies within an entire team but if there were ever a group of four players to lead and help further establish the prestigious brand that is the Yankees organization, it what this group. This four contributed once and a lifetime experiences and are probably responsible for the Yankee fitted being universally recognized.

Back to reality. The Yankees lineup that management envisioned struggled to stay on the field battling injuries which resulted in midseason utility player rentals and you guessed it, poor play. With the initial breaking of his left ankle in game 1 of the AL Championship series against the Detroit Tigers last postseason, Jeter experienced those longing effects into the 2013 season acting as a hangover as he found himself on the DL countless times this season due to a tight right quadricep, a strained right calf and an injury to his left ankle allowing him to generate only 17 games this season accumulating a .190 average, a homer and seven RBI's.

Former All-Star 1st basemen Mark Texeira slightly tore the tendon sheath in his right wrist while playing for team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Texeira made his regular season debut late in May only to provoke the same injury in June in which he elected to remove himself from the show deciding to have surgery in July, ending his season with a .151 average, three home runs and 12 RBI's in 15 games.

Outfielder Curtis Granderson, "The Grandy Man", adds to the list of fallen Yankees aching with an injury from a Spring Training game before the 2013 season began by breaking his right forearm in a hit-by-pitch, a fate he suffered once more breaking his left pinkie in another hit by pitch, two injuries which cost him to miss most of the season but playing more games than the previously mentioned individuals, making appearances in 61 games, ending the season with a .229 average, seven home runs and 15 RBI's.

The Yankees also witnessed a number of departures to their ball club due to injuries and free agency including first basemen Kevin Youkilis, SS Eduardo Nunez, Catcher Francisco Cervelli, and others including most notably Raul Ibanez, Nick Swisher, Russell Martin and Eric Chavez. It's safe to say that the Yankees are no longer the "Bronx Bombers", but what will the team that leads MLB in championships won do moving forward into the future. Jeter's days are numbered and a number of players that have contributed to the Yankees success in previous years have reached free agency which include pitchers Phil Hughes, Hiroki Kuroda, Boone Logan and Joba Chamberlain. Second basemen Robinson Cano, a player who was once expected to receive the torch from the most recent prominent Yankees to lead the next generation of a possible Yankee resurgence, is awaiting free agency to test the market, looking for a contract that will induce a sum of money that our economy needs more than he.

What was special about the dynasty that the Yankees enjoyed for the duration of almost two decades was the fact that they won from within. The "Core Four" were all products of the Yankees farm system, talents that were so superior that each version of their previous championship runs were all built around those four stars. The Yankees' solid farm system still prevails, boasting catcher Gary Sanchez, pitcher Manny Banuelos and Outfielders Mason Williams and Tyler Austin.

However, what happens to the Yankees from this day forward lies in the hands of General Manager and Senior Vice President Brian Cashman, the man behind the construction of the five world championships. There are not many GMs with five world championships on their resume in baseball today. Nevertheless, if the late former principal owner and managing partner George Steinbrenner were alive and well today, he would make it known that Cashman's job and position in the organization were on thin ice. The "what have you done for me lately" owner would be incensed that the Yankees last World Series visit and win came in 2009.

Brace yourself, Yankees fans as it may be a long time before we see the equivalent success that the "The Core Four" have enjoyed. The farm players previously listed are promising, but have yet to step foot on the biggest stage. Consequently, the Yankees future for now is an unknown, which makes it even more painful when discussing what used to be, and that is quite frankly greatness.