Jets, Mets, Nets

Trivia, who was named first, the Nets, the Jets, the Mets? Nowadays, which one is truly in quest of a championship, the Nets in the National Basketball Association, the Jets in the National Football League, the Mets in Major League Baseball?

Who was named first? Well it was in this order, the Mets, the Jets, the Nets. The Mets were formally the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Jets the New York Titans, the Nets the New Jersey Americans,

Now who is right now making plans to win a title and parade down perhaps Fifth Avenue?

First, who isn’t? Well, just look at the NFL standings, and there are the hapless, winless Jets, the Green Machine without someone to steer it. Eleven games, eleven defeats, some embarrassing, and fortunately for them in home games, the coronavirus pandemic has limited the attendance.

Sad, but true. The Green and White has about had it with their No. 1 pick, quarterback Sam Darnold. He was somewhat effective in his rookie season of 2018, but since than hasn’t run the offense the way the Jets wanted. He’s rather slow in the pocket, his throws have more bad than good, and he’s been injury-prone. He’s back now as veteran back-up Joe Flacco took over, but in last week’s 21-3 loss to the visiting Miami Dolphins, a field goal was all Darnold could account for.

You’d expect at this time of the dismal campaign there would be some improvement, some changes, but on offense, there’s no quality running backs, and on defensive they also fall short. Both sides of the lines have been average, very average.

Number one, the head coach must be replaced, number two, they need to at least bring in a new look, and with the No. 1 or 2 picks in the college draft, there’s an excellent choice of taking All-America Trevor Lawrence, who led Clemson to the national championship last season, or All-America Justin Fields, who has led undefeated Ohio State to a probable berth in the college football playoffs, the Final Four.

There’s a long list of quarterbacks in this draft, Jamie Newman of Georgia, Sam Howell of North Carolina, Kyle Trask of Florida, Mac Jones of top-ranked Alabama, D’eriq King of Miami, and Zach Wilson of unbeaten Brigham Young, which plays Saturday at also undefeated Coastal Carolina after Liberty had to cancel out.

Of course, there are many other gaps for the Jets to fill, but first things first, and it’s a quarterback they need most. That should be easier then the flack the franchise got when it moved from Shea Stadium in the borough of Queens to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

On to the Mets and their new ownership. The new man in charge, long-time Mets fan Steve Cohen, paid $2.5 for the franchise, and he’s worth something like $18.4 billion as the wealthiest of all MLB owners. He admits to piecing together a roster that will be among the best in the game, bringing in free agents and making some trades, with a World Series his main road.

He’s willing to spend, and after signing free agent and former Minnesota Twins’ relief pitcher Trevor May. to a 2-year deal on Monday, May’s reaction was that it was “A no-brainer.” to sign. Now the Mets are seeking another quality pitcher in back of two-time Cy Young Award winner, Jacob de’Grom. They no doubt have in mind last season’s National League Cy Young winner, righthander Trevor Bauer, a free agent who didn’t resign with the Cincinnati Reds.

They already have a capable cast on the roster, are seeking a centerfielder and on their mind is former Houston Astos’ George Springer, now a free agent. And you can add the need for a new catcher, and presently they are talking to free agent James McCann, who had been with the Chicago White Sox, was on the All-Star team in 2018, was twice on the Gold Glove Award list, and whose hitting has rapidly improved. He’s 30 and would welcome a starting spot after sharing it with the Chi Sox.

But while the Jets could hardly wait for this season to end and the Mets are about two-three months from spring training, the Nets, Brooklyn’s  Barclays Center Nets, are set to tap off in the regular-season opener Dec. 22, and they will play host to the Golden State Warriors. Before that, they have a few exhibition games that begin on Dec. 12.

They have a new head coach in basketball Hall of Famer, Steve Nash, plus former Nets head coach Jacques Vaughn back as the official lead assistant under Nash, and long-time NBA coach Mike D’Antoni among others who Nash chose.

There is already a light at the end of the tunnel for a team that made the playoffs last season and returns five starters, including 6-foot-4 sharpshooting guard Kyrie Irving, who was on the injury charts for the last half of last season, but is back and with 6-11 Kevin Durant recovered after spending last year recovering from a strained ACL injury.

That’s an excellent one-two punch joining up with four other returning starters, versatile and entertaining 6-7 guard/forward Caris LeVert, 6-11 center Jarrett Allen, only two years out of coming out after his freshmen year at Texas, is now regarded as a very good big man who runs the court well. He’s quick, agile, rebounds, blocks shots, and is tough inside with his ability to follow-up missed shots and stuff the ball.

Then there’s recently signed Joe Harris, the 6-6 guard/forward out of University of Virginia who is one of the better 3-point shooters, handles the ball well, provides leadership, and is smart on defense. And

6-4 Spencer Dinwiddle, who, when on a run, can toss in the 3s. After Irving became sidelined, Dinwiddle became the team’s leading scorer on many occasions, and with numerous contests of 30 points or more.

Pretty good glance at these Nets, but there’s more, and Nash could probably go about a dozen deep. Currently, there’s 21 players at the training camp and among them are returning 6-11 center DeAndre Jordan, who has the talent and experience to even start some games. Same with 6-6 guard/forward Jeff Green, who became a free agent after being with the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Another first man off the bench reserve is 6-8 forward Taubean Prince, same with 6-2 guard Chris Chiozza, newly signed free agent Bruce Brown, and backcourt talents like Tyler Johnson and Landry Shamet, with all of these on the depth chart.

Looks good, should be very good for the Brooklyn fans. They are not regarded anything like the die-hard New York Knick fans across the Brooklyn Bridge at media giant Madison Square Garden, but maybe they will chant louder for this team, catch on for a team that should be among the best in the league, and this includes the courtside seats where they must improve their support.