What's The 411Sports hosts Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about the hottest sports stories of the week:
On Sunday, October 23rd, the Giants will be across the pond for a showdown with the L.A. Rams in London. Set your alarms, because game time is 9:30 AM Eastern time. Meanwhile, the NY Jets host the Baltimore Ravens at 1:00 PM, also on Sunday, October 23rd.
The MLB World Series starts on Tuesday, October 25th.
The NBA regular season is upon us and the Brooklyn Nets face the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, October 26; and the Nets’ first home game of the regular season is against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, October 28. We hope the crowd gives former Brooklyn Nets player, Thaddeus Young a warm reception.
Former NFL linebacker Quentin Groves has died at the age of 32. Reports indicate that Groves died of a heart attack, perhaps brought on by Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which causes rapid heartbeats. Groves had what was described as a minor heart surgery between the Combine and the draft after WPW was discovered during the combine medical tests.
Also, Dennis Byrd, who played for the New York Jets in 1989-92, was killed in a head-on collision near his home outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Olympic track star Tyson Gay’s 15-year-old daughter, Trinity, was struck and killed by a stray bullet at a restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky.
Our condolences go out to their families and may they rest in peace.
New York Mets reached a one-game National League wildcard playoff against the San Francisco Giants.
All the Mets had to do was win one game to go one to the multiple game playoffs, the NL Division Series. Instead, the Mets lost to the Giants 3-0, at Citi Field.
So, no chance for a World Series appearance in 2016.
How did it happen?
Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, aka Thor, pitched seven shutout innings.
Syndergaard was so good, he pitched two hits and striking out a postseason career-high 10 batters.
And, what did closer Jeurys Familia do with a 0-0 tie game?
Familia gave up a three-run home run in the top of the ninth to San Francisco Giants third baseman Conor Gillaspie, and that was all she wrote.
Well, there’s always next year.
We salute the Met’s 2016 season and look forward 2017.
“It was tough. Like you said I thought we came out with great defensive presence and energy, and we sustained it for the most part. The third quarter has been key for us the past couple of games and I thought while the Celtics made their run we responded, which is something that hasn’t happened in the past two games.”
“Yeah, no question. I think the process will definitely continue over the regular season as well. You know we have so many new guys, new faces that we are getting to know each other and know the system. We are learning on the fly, but we have lots of intelligent, smart and selfless guys here, so we are picking it up quick and we’re enjoying playing with each other.”
“ It’s been great. You know, he makes everyone on the floor better, he makes me a better player no question. He’s just such a great influential presence out on the floor for us.”
“Absolutely, we made a point that on the road we need to come out with energy, but we need to do the same at home, you know, we need to come out and be the aggressor. That’s where we’re going to be an advantageous position, that’s where we are going to find out solidarity within each other, playing with energy, playing together.
And, there is more in the video.
“Yeah, we could have managed it a little better – I think communication and getting on the same page on what we’re gonna do. It’s going to be a great thing for us to look at film and what we’re gonna do in certain situations. So, you know, getting on the same page, coaches and players. We obviously could have gotten better shots at the end of the game, and then we lapsed in defensive transition, I thought, once or twice at there at the end too, which I thought was a little disappointing.”
“First of all, defensively, I was really happy. Just our energy, our activity and just the way the guys competed. It’s just a big improvement, and that’s what we’re looking for now is improvement from the last, especially the last two games. But I will bring up, I don’t know, that third quarter I think they got us again. So I think we have to figure out that third quarter. Coming out I think they had 30 points or something in the third quarter. So again, stringing those defensive possessions for 48 minutes, it’s a good challenge for us.”
“Yeah; well, I’m not sure. But we definitely did want to see our guys together for longer periods of time obviously. And then I’m glad we did it. And next game, you might see something different. But we thought tonight, especially after our couple of performances that were a little subpar, I think we all felt that, you know, let’s see our group together. And it could be somebody else in that group too, we’re still evaluating, but it was good. We did it make it a little bit of a push there seeing our guy – the kind of guys we’re thinking about getting regular season minutes – in there together.”
"We kinda had it planned out; it was like a plan. He’ll get his shot again and other guys will rest. Just part of the plan; wasn’t any reaction to having a so-so game, that’s not how we are. We got a plan in place and we’re sticking to it."
"I really want to establish our motion offense, to come down and run a pick-and-roll every time…obviously, we’re going to need that, we’ll need it in important times. I think right now we’re trying to get the ball moving, trying to get the ball side-to-side, getting everybody with touches. Brook and Jeremy, they’re both going to have to learn how to work within that dynamic; when it’s crunch time, we can think about drawing up special plays for them and getting into a pick and roll with those two, but we still have to progress with our offense, so that’s where we are, so we’re not going to rely on that…”
After the Brooklyn Nets' 100-97 preseason loss to the Boston Celtics, Jeremy Lin and other Brooklyn Nets players spoke with the media.
A reporter from an Asian media outlet asked Lin about Donald Trump's locker room talk.
After the Brooklyn Nets preseason game against the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets guard Jeremy Lin spoke with the media.
The Boston Celtics won 100-97
At Brooklyn Nets Media Day today, Brooklyn Nets forward Anthony Bennett says he is "in a good vibe all around."
Bennett says everyone gets along very well, as he talked about Brooklyn Nets team culture and winning expectations.
Last week, Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks and head coach Kenny Atkinson met with the media and stated that they were not going to judge this season on wins and losses.
Upon hearing Marks’ and Atkinson’s public position about the Nets’ upcoming season, Bennett responded, "obviously as a player, I want to win, not trying to have a losing record, just take it day by day."
In Episode 79 of What's The 411Sports, the panel of Keisha Wilson, Mike McDonald, and Sydney Wayman, are talking about:
Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker took the ball to the hole a little too forcefully, so the rim hit back
Carolina quarterback Cam Newton is still in concussion protocol
Legendary golfer Tiger Woods pulls out of the Safeway Open
Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy is hanging up his football cleats for Mixed Martial Arts
The return of Tom Brady after serving an NFL four-game suspension for deflated footballs
MLB Playoffs - in particular, the Chicago Cubs; can the Chicago Cubs take it all?
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will come under center in NFL Week 6;
Not everyone can successfully make the transition from college football coaching to coaching in the NFL. So we ask the question, is the NFL a right fit for San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly?
The NFL is cracking down on all end zone dances. Has the NFL become the No Fun League?
Professional tennis player Maria Sharapova's suspension from tennis is reduced to 15 months from 24 months. Did Sharapova special treatment?
Michigan blows out the Rutgers football team 78-0, should Rutgers be in Division 1A?
What's The 411Sports New York Sports Report:
New York knicks guard Derrick Rose for the information coming out at his sexual abuse civil trial.
It’s NBA preseason and the Brooklyn Nets came out the gate with a win, beating the Detroit Pistons 101-94 at the Barclays Center.
A symbolic victory, but no time to gloat because preseason only counts in that it is a tune-up for the regular season. It’s a time to take stock of where the seepage is located, measure the size of the hole, and determine how to fill it. As a player, it is also the time to give it your best shot in an attempt to make the final roster.
The Pistons had 24 turnovers, which helped the Nets shoot 69 percent in the first quarter.
As a team, the Nets hit 35-of-78 (.449) from the field and 14-of-34 from deep. Defensively, the Nets got out to a rough start, allowing the Pistons to shoot 58% (25-of-43) from the field in the first half, falling behind 59-57 at the break. But in the second half, the Nets tightened up, holding the Pistons to 35 points.
“We struggled in the first half against a good team, a good offensive team, but on the positive side, they only scored 35 points in the second half,” Coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We picked up our activity. I think we were just more active. We got in passing lanes, we caused a lot of havoc out there and that was a real positive defensively.”
Jeremy Lin led the team with 21 points, shooting 7-of-11 including 5-of-8 from deep in just over 17 minutes.
Lin said after Thursday’s game that he knows he won’t be getting eight open 3s every night,
Other Nets players with points in double digits were Joe Harris with 12 points and Luis Scola scored 10. Justin Hamilton and Trevor Booker led the team in rebounding, grabbing five each.
For the Pistons, Andre Drummond and Marcus Morris led their team in scoring, cashing in on 17 points each.