The thrill of this MLB hot stove season — and the shadow looming behind it
NY Post
After one of the most thrilling World Series in recent memory — or ever, really — and the first repeat champion in a quarter-century, get ready to savor something else you might not see for a while: a fun MLB offseason.
It began in earnest on Monday. As the Dodgers celebrated their title in Los Angeles after finishing off the Blue Jays in Toronto on Saturday, a handful of players triggered opt-out clauses to enter free agency.
Some, such as Pete Alonso, were never really in question. The Mets first baseman hits the open market for a second straight year coming off a much better season. As reported by The Post’s Mike Puma, he is said to be seeking a seven-year deal.
Other notable opt-outs that were considered likely included Cody Bellinger, who helped the Yankees win 94 games in his first season in The Bronx after his arrival in a trade from the Cubs to help offset the loss in free agency of Juan Soto.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting much-needed reinforcements for their secondary.
Mike Brown has placed a major emphasis on getting the Knicks to shoot more 3-pointers.
The usual exercise for most NFL coaches is to open midweek news conferences with injury updates — as much as the coach chooses to divulge (generally not much).
The first home victory of the season for the Rangers on Monday night was a huge turning point beyond just the 6-3 final score over the Predators.
Let’s start with the words of a man named Earvin Johnson, known to the world as “Magic,” who, when he speaks about the position of point guard, talks with the authority of J. Robert Oppenheimer on the splitting of the atom.
Jon Heyman’s GM Meetings Musings: Pete Alonso, Tarik Skubal and David Stearns’ Run Prevention Riddle
Jon Heyman has made his way to Las Vegas and is on the Strip publishing a video blog of all the GM Meetings musings. Not only are Mets fans interested in seeing what David Stearns and the Mets are up to, but so are other teams around MLB.
Julian Edelman knows the Giants “don’t really make crazy hires,” but tossed in a familiar dark horse anyway when speculating who could replace the fired Brian Daboll as head coach.
Nine months after the trade that rocked the sports world. Nico Harrison is out of a job.
LAS VEGAS — The easiest and cleanest domino to fall to set up the Yankees’ ideal offseason would be for Cody Bellinger to re-sign.
It was an “extremely emotional” day for the Cowboys, who gathered Monday for the first time in person following last week’s tragic passing of Marshawn Kneeland, who died by suicide at the age of 24.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ role on offense was much more defined under Mike Brown’s Knicks predecessor, Tom Thibodeau.
LAS VEGAS — There’s no Juan Soto in this free agent market, and certainly no Shohei Ohtani. The list is without an all-time great for the first time in three years, but it does contain a clear No. 1 guy (Kyle Tucker), an additional trio of interesting repeat positional free agents (Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman), a smattering of frontline starters (led by Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, and, assuming he’s posted, Tatsuya Imai) and a real strength at the back end (Edwin Díaz, Robert Suarez, Ryan Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Kenley Jansen and more).
No one was more pumped about the Dolphins’ upset win over the Bills on Sunday than Mike McDaniel.