Less than 24 hours after their gripping 121-117 win against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals best-of-seven series, the Knicks publicly revealed that center Mitchell Robinson, who underwent surgery to his left ankle in December and missed nearly 50 games before returning in late March, has a stress injury in the same ankle is effectively out for the rest of this season.

Robinson sat out Game 4 on April 28 versus the Philadelphia 76ers due to soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle in an opening round series the Knicks ultimately won 4-2. Robinson will be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks. The Knicks faced the Pacers in Game 2 last night (Wednesday) with Games 3 and 4 in Indiana tomorrow and Sunday respectively.
Injuries have been a major storyline and subplot for the Knicks as well as other playoff teams. New York’s All-Star and All-NBA forward Julius Randle had his season end of January 27 when he suffered a dislocated right shoulder versus the Miami Heat at the Garden. Then in Game 4 against the 76ers, key reserve forward Bojan Bogdanovic was injured diving for loose ball when his left foot was caught under Philadelphia forward Nicolas Batum, who also plunged to the court pursuing the ball. Bogdanovic subsequently had season-ending surgery on his foot.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau had already constricted the Knicks rotation to eight players, with Robinson and guard Miles “Deuce” McBride allocated the bulk of the minutes off of the bench with forward Precious Achiuwa, who has been highly productive when called upon, experiencing a markedly reduced role this postseason. Achiuwa played in only Games 3 and 4 in the Knicks’ previous series against the 76ers and just four minutes in Game 1 facing the Pacers. The Pacers bench had a massive advantage on Monday, as their four reserves outscored Robinson, McBride and Achiuwa 46-3.

Now, by necessity, Achiuwa will once again need to be a prominent piece to the Knicks altered lineup and Thibodeau will need to reach deeper down his bench as the series progresses. The challenge will be a continuation of the test of the Knicks’ will, resolve and physical fortitude as they have battled attrition for three-plus months.

The Knicks starters already log exhaustive minutes and logically will begin to show signs of fatigue. But guard Donte DiVincenzo, who played 44 minutes in Game 1 against Indiana, asserted the cumulative allotment has neither been prohibitive nor overly taxing.

“I think it’s maintainable,” said DiVincenzo. “Come in tomorrow, watch some film, take care of your body and be ready to go the next day. At this time of the year, it’s less about the wear and tear of your body [and] more about preparing for the next game mentally.
“Watching film, adjusting that way, kinda walking through plays rather than running through stuff. So minutes aren’t a factor right now…Minutes can fluctuate throughout the game [and] throughout the series.”

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* This article was originally published here

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum will celebrate the opening of its new exhibit, “The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball,” by hosting the inaugural Hall of Fame East-West Classic: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Game on Saturday, May 25. Replacing the traditional Hall of Fame game, MLB has curated a collection of Black players who have made an impact on the game for decades to take part in this event.

Josh Rawitch, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, didn’t hide his excitement when speaking about the event: “We are thrilled to host many of the game’s biggest stars of the last two decades for the Hall of Fame East-West classic, a tribute to the heroes of Black baseball who showcased their talents for years in the annual Negro Leagues All-Star Game. The incredible enthusiasm from players participating in this legends game—players who faced their own challenges while helping to build on the diversity that has flowed through our national pastime for more than a century—will make this a must-see event in Cooperstown.”

This modern-day iteration of the historic East/West All-Star Game, which took place from 1933 until 1982, will be coached by Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Ozzie Smith. CC Sabathia, a Black Ace who will grace the HOF ballot for the first time in 2025, is the captain of the West Team, while former outfielder Chris Young will captain the East squad.

Sabathia, who works with Major League Baseball to continue growing its presence in the African American community, knows the importance of events like this to keep the legacy of Negro League legends alive.

Ryan Howard

Howard has the most career home runs of any participant, hitting 382 bombs in his 13-year career in Philadelphia. The 2006 NL MVP and 2008 World Series champion finished his career with 1,475 hits, 277 doubles and 1194 RBI. Howard set the Phillies single-season home run record in 2006 when he hit 56 homers and led the Majors twice. 

Dontrelle Willis

Dontrelle “D-Train” Willis burst onto the scene with the Florida Marlins in 2003 when he went 14-6 in 27 starts with a 3.30 ERA and 142 strikeouts. Willis earned an All-Star berth and Rookie of the Year honors en route to the first World Series championship in Marlins’ history.

Willis’s success started early, but his most dominant performance on the mound came in 2005. Willis punched his ticket into the Exclusive “Black Aces” club, going 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA and a league-leading seven complete games.

Curtis Granderson 

The three-time All-Star Granderson is one of the best power hitters from the leadoff spot in MLB history. Curtis had 47 leadoff home runs in his career, enroute to 344 in his career. Granderson hit 20 or more homers 10 times in his career and topped 40 twice with the Yankees.

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* This article was originally published here

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum will celebrate the opening of its new exhibit “The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball” by hosting the inaugural Hall of Fame East-West Classic: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Game, on Saturday, May 25, in Cooperstown, N.Y. In replacing the traditional Hall of Fame game, MLB has curated a collection of Black players who have made an impact on the game for decades to take part in this event.

Josh Rawitch, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, didn’t hide his excitement when speaking about the event.

“We are thrilled to host many of the game’s biggest stars of the last two decades for the Hall of Fame East-West classic, a tribute to the heroes of Black baseball who showcased their talents for years in the annual Negro Leagues All-Star Game,” he said. “The incredible enthusiasm from players participating in this legends game—players who faced their own challenges while helping to build on the diversity that has flowed through our national pastime for more than a century—will make this a must-see event in Cooperstown.”

This modern-day iteration of the historic East/West All-Star Game, which took place from 1933 until 1982, will be coached by Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Ozzie Smith. CC Sabathia, a Black Ace who will grace the HOF ballot for the first time in 2025, is the captain of the West Team, while former outfielder Chris Young will captain the East squad.

Sabathia, who works with Major League Baseball to continue growing its presence in the African American community, knows the importance of events like this to keep the legacy of Negro League legends alive.

Participating stars

Ryan Howard has the most career home runs of any participant, hitting 382 bombs in his 13-year career in Philadelphia. The 2006 NL MVP and 2008 World Series champion finished his career with 1,475 hits, 277 doubles, and 1194 RBI. Howard set the Phillies single-season home run record in 2006 when he hit 56 homers and led the majors twice. 

Willis’s success started early, but his most dominant performance on the mound came in 2005, when he punched his ticket into the Exclusive “Black Aces” club, going 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA and a league-leading seven complete games.

Three-time All-Star Curtis Granderson is one of the best power hitters from the leadoff spot in MLB history. Curtis had 47 leadoff home runs enroute to 344 in his career. He hit 20 or more homers 10 times in his career and topped 40 twice with the Yankees.

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* This article was originally published here

Launched in 2020, Voice in Sport™ (VIS) is a resource for female athletes to openly discuss everything from training to self-esteem, leadership, nutrition, life after sport, and more. Among the podcasts produced by VIS are discussions about concussions, healthy sleep habits, disordered eating, and handling the rigors of competition. VIS also engages in advocacy work.

“We think it’s really important that young athletes have access to a diverse set of role models,” said Alexandra Suarez, platform manager for VIS. “What we’ve done is created the first global digital sport mentoring platform, which connects professional and current athletes with younger athletes. From there, we brought on teams and clubs.”

The VIS mentoring program enables young athletes to connect with established names in sports, like Allyson Felix, for sessions. All mentors are able to individually set their rates for mentoring sessions, so rates vary based on who is hosting a session.

“Separately, we’re offering a lot of free sessions because of our partnership with the WNBA Changemakers,” said Suarez. “They’re sponsoring 50,000 athletes with premium memberships and unlocking 144 mentorship sessions for free over the next year.”

Among the WNBA players available for mentoring are Aliyah Boston, Alysha Clark, Ariel Atkins, Betnijah Laney, and Nneka Ogwumike. These will be group sessions, such as for an AAU or club team. Some mentors have discussed dealing with an injury such as a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which numerous women’s basketball players have experienced.

In a recent session, Atkins spoke about building confidence and avoiding comparison. “She [described] to the athletes times in her life where she didn’t feel as confident as she does now, and I think the vulnerability is really inspiring for young athletes to see—[that] even the pros experience hardships and lack of confidence in their careers,” said Suarez.

Any athlete can join for free and free content is available on the VIS website (voiceinsport.com). There is also paid membership ($2 per month), which gives athletes broader access. Those individuals can view mentor profiles and request a one-on-one session or group sessions.

“We emphasize that mentors don’t have to solve each problem, but we encourage them open up, empathize, and share their journeys,” Suarez said. “For the younger athletes who are getting mentored, we hope that they will feel like they have somebody who believes in them and their success.”

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* This article was originally published here

Imagine having access to NYC’s pools for an additional two months!

Last week, City Councilman Shekar Krishnan introduced a new bill that would keep NYC public outdoor pools and beaches open from the second Saturday in May through the second Sunday in October from 8am to 8pm daily. If turned into law, the new guidelines would extend the city’s access to water-adjacent destinations by two months.

To put things in perspective, currently, beaches are open daily from 10am to 6pm starting Memorial Day weekend in May through the Sunday after Labor Day in September. The outdoor pool season, on the other hand, kicks off towards the end of June and wraps up in September, with access given to the public between 11am and 3pm and then again 4pm to 7pm daily.

When presenting his proposal, Krishan specifically mentioned that the effort would come hand-in-hand with other similar ones, including access to funding that would allow the city to offer even more people the free swimming lessons that were part of a previously passed legislative package. 

Don’t get too excited about the possibility of playing around in the ocean come October any time soon, though: according to the New York Post, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue made clear that moving forward with the suggestions would probably be too complicated at the moment. 

“We are very proud of our extensive lifeguard recruitment efforts,” she said during a hearing last week, referring to the much-chronicled shortage of lifeguards in the area. “But the stark reality is that we still face a very challenging environment for hiring, which means that the expansion of the beach and pool season and operating hours proposed by the legislation is unlikely to be feasible any time in the foreseeable near future.”

Looking for ways to be part of a possible solution? Check out our guide to becoming a lifeguard at a NYC public pool or beach. 

* This article was originally published here

Willie Mays turned 93 on Monday.

We often measure our own immortality and human finitude by the timeline and aging of those we revere and venerate.

For builders, the generation born before 1946; baby boomers, the demographic born between 1946 and 1964; and Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, Willie Mays is a measure of duration, continuity, and inevitability.

Mays is arguably the greatest baseball player in the history of the sport. His place at the top is decisive for many longtime followers of the game that has been dubbed America’s national pastime—an appellation, according to the Library Congress, that was coined in 1856 by the Sunday Mercury, a weekly New York newspaper published from 1839 to 1896. The impact of baseball on this nation’s complex existence is why Mays is a cultural icon.

Sports historian, journalist, and baby boomer Mel “Doc” Stanley has frequently made his case to this writer for Mays being unsurpassed.

“There is no one who has ever been as good as Mays as an all-around player,” Stanley said. “If you consider what he did as a hitter, fielder, and base runner, playing most of his career at Candlestick Park, from 1960 to 1971—one of the hardest stadiums to hit and field with the wind whipping off of the water (San Francisco Bay), Mays is hands-down the best of all-time.”

Mays retired in 1973 at third on Major League Baseball’s home run list, with 660—behind only Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. He averaged a remarkable homer every 15 at-bats at Candlestick.

“If Mays didn’t spend most of his career at Candlestick, he would have hit more than Babe (714) and Hank (755).”

Like his friend and contemporary Aaron, Mays was born in Alabama—Aaron in Mobile and Mays in Westfield. Both were products of the oppressive Jim Crow South and the Negro Leagues. (Aaron played just three months for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1951 before joining the Boston Braves, which later became the Milwaukee, then Atlanta, Braves organization.)

Mays roamed the outfield, primarily playing center field for the Birmingham Barons, New York/San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets, the latter from 1972 to 1973 when he was in his early 40s and well past his prime, a shell of his amazing height of eminence. 

Many Harlemites who grew up there in the 1950s can recall seeing Mays strolling through their neighborhoods, enjoying an evening at a local eatery, or famously playing stickball with them on their blocks. One of the most celebrated and recognizable figures in the United States of that era, “the Say Hey Kid,” as he was affectionately known, Mays embraced one of this country’s most prominent Black enclaves as his home.

The 2022 documentary “Say Hey, Willie Mays!” by filmmaker Nelson George illuminates and situates the various aspects of Mays’s indelible life; a life that has reflected many facets, hopeful and tortured, of the United States of America. 

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* This article was originally published here