Somehow this song is already almost 10 years old. Fun spring weekend song!
@YouTheReader last Saturday Sports&Life was “I’m On One”, now it’s 2 On. Get it?
**Crickets** I also want it Noted that @Zuck doesn’t have Drake’s remix to this song. Alright on to sports…
TD15 Current Kings of New York Sports
This terrible list compiled by GQ inspired this TD15…
Honorable Mentions
Kate Upton’s Husband and Gerrit Cole. Mrs. Upton’s Husband hasn’t thrown a pitch for the Mets and Gerrit Cole was brought to New York to pitch in October.
Prince of New York: Anthony Volpe
I can’t give King status to AV, but at the moment, the newly 22-year-old is the clear favorite for the Week to Week Notes’ Prince of New York ‘23 Award. We’ll see how the season shakes out.
15. Ben Simmons
What is more kingly than getting dressed up for public appearances and then sitting on your ass as you collect $31,685.68 per minute played in ‘23.
14. Patrick Kane
The fact that Patrick Kane, after just getting traded to the Rangers and playing 20-something games shows just how sad New York sports has been the past decade. Kane is on here because he is a future Hall of Famer and has won Stanley Cups.
13. Anthony Rizzo
Anthony Rizzo, like Patrick Kane, is on here because he has actually won a championship. Just like Kane, Rizzo won in Chicago but has been a Yankee fan favorite ever since he was brought to New York.
12. Tom Thibodeau
The Knicks’ head coach was the NBA Coach of the Year in ‘20-’21. Sometimes coaches in New York can fit right into the City and Thibodeau’s raspy voice while demanding great defense sounds exactly like a ton of the guys I hear while drinking pints of Guinness in New York City bars.
11. Ilya Sorokin
The Islanders, despite being eliminated last night, don’t even make the Stanley Cup Playoffs without the excellent play of Sorokin this past season. @YouTheReader I needed to represent all sports teams of the Major 4 sports.
10. Mike Francesa
@YouTheReader you really think I was going to make a Kings of New York Sports list and not include the Sports Pope? Cop on yourself, fuggedaboudit.
9. Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson has been as advertised and maybe even a bit more since signing with the Knicks last summer. The Villanova alum is the team’s floor general and has the Knicks in the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs for the first time since ‘13.
8. Aaron Rodgers
The new #8 and franchise QB for the New York Jets. He has been the biggest news story in The City for well over a month. Yeah he hasn’t played a down with the Jets, but it’s my list so kick rocks.
From here on out, the list is all home-grown…
7. Jack Hughes
The #1 Overall pick from the ‘19 NHL Draft has lived up to top pick status. Hughes will be turning 22 years old in 2 weeks and this past regular season had 43 goals which ranked him 8th in NHL. If he keeps it up, he’ll be ranked higher next go around.
6. Pete Alonso
Ever since the Polar Bear’s arrival and Jacob deGrom’s departure, Alonso has been the face of the New York Mets. The already 2-time All-Star has a shot at being ranked higher the further up the Mets all-time leader in homeruns he becomes.
5. Rick Pitino
@YouTheReader I had to throw you another curveball, I can’t help myself. Slick Rick is about to bring the St. John’s basketball program back to life. Pitino with the Johnnies will make college basketball in The City as interesting as it’s been in my lifetime and that is saying something because I’m old as shrimp.
4. Sauce Gardner
We don’t even have to talk about the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year or All Pro status. It doesn' get talked about enough that Sauce Gardner went into Green Bay, locked down the city of a Cheesehead, took said Cheesehead back to NY, and then burned the Cheesehead as he recruited Aaron Rodgers. Alpha. If he wasn’t just 22 years old and coming off a rookie campaign I may have made him even higher.
3. Saquon Barkley
No Danny Dimes on my list. @GiantsFans you can’t be mad at me though, I put Saquon over Sauce because Barkley’s been around just a bit longer. Barkley is a top selling jersey for Big Blue and coming off an excellent ‘22 campaign.
2. Chris Kreider
With a goal tonight, Chris Kreider would become the 2nd player in NHL history to have 16 career elimination game goals. He would join Mark Messier. Kreider has been the longest tenured athlete in NY and the unsung captain of the New York Rangers for over a decade. The fact that GQ didn’t have him on the list is a joke and a travesty. Stick to fashion @GQ.
1. Aaron Judge
This is the most obvious #1 Ranking you may ever read from Week to Week Notes. No funny business here. The Captain of the New York Yankees is always the King of New York.
Local Ice Pond - Playoffs ‘23
The Devils have risen back from Hell, winning 3 in a row since last Friday. After a heartbreaker in Game 3 and being outplayed in Game 4, Game 5 was tough watch for Rangers fans as Jersey nearly doubled Pucks on Net 43 to 22. Tonight is a night where Showtime has got to show up and as previously mentioned above, expect Kreider to to play well when the the pressure is on. The series shifted as soon as the Devils turned to Akira Schmid at goalie in Game 3. The 22 year old rookie from Switzerland has stopped 57 of 59 shots (.966 save percentage), including all 10 against eight New York power-play opportunities.
Wanna Be A Baller (Local NBA)
(5) New York Knicks vs (8) Miami Heat
Jalen Brunson could move up from #9 as the King of New York with another good playoff series. RJ Barrett started playing well as soon as Stephan A. Smith called him out. Julius Randle is still coming back from the ankle injury, but should be getting healthier as the playoffs unfold. Josh Hart has been the scrappy undersized guard that battles for boards, which New Yorkers love. If Quickley could quickly get out of the shooting slump he has been on so far these playoffs, he could provide excellent minutes off the bench along with Obi Toppin’s electric contributions. Mitchell Robinson’s rim protection will be on display.
Jimmy Butler had one of the greatest playoff performances of all time in Game in Game 4 against Giannis and the Bucks. He only followed that up with 42 points in the Game 5 clincher. It’ll obviously be paramount for the Knicks to contain Butler in this series. Bam Adebayo’s guard skills at center will cause some mismatches but Mitchell Robinson has the athleticism to deal with him. Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin, and Duncan Robinson are all deadly from 3. Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry provide excellent veteran depth. The Knicks are catching a break with Victor Olidipo and Tyler Herro both out with injuries.
Playoff History
The Knicks and Heat will be reigniting a rivalry that was formed in the 90s, which included some brawls. These two teams first met in the 1997 Playoffs where the Heat won in 7. In 1998, the Knicks beat the Heat in Game 5 of a best of 5 - this was the series that saw Jeff Van Gundy on the floor hanging on to Alonzo Mourning. In 1999, the Knicks again beat the Heat in Game 5 of a best of 5. The two faced off again in ‘00, where the Knicks again won in Game 7. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh best the ‘12 Knciks in 5 games. In the 29 playoff games between NY and Miami, the Heat win the All-Time Record 15-14.
‘23 Prediction: @YouTheReader well, I’m not mushing the Knicks, I’ll take the Heat in 7.
Henry To’oTo’o earned first-team All-SEC honors from the league coaches. He was a true leader on a Nick Saban defense which almost certainly stands out for NFL scouts. Like most Saban LBs, To’oTo’o seems to have good instincts at linebacker which makes up for him being a bit undersized. He has some real athleticism but didn’t have much production in either pass coverage or pass rush.
Kayshon Boutte’s best season was arguably his freshman year when we made the ‘20 Freshman All-SEC. LSU entering the season wrote this up about him, “One of the nation’s top receivers. Outstanding player in every phase of the offense. Creates matchup issues for any defense. Great hands and rarely drops a pass. Ability to score anytime he gets the ball in his hands. Playmaker who thrives with the ball in his hands and with space to work with.” (Source: LSU)
Karl Brooks was the ‘22 PFF first-team All-American. Brooks at Bowling Green was a 2-time Team Captain. He played 5 years at Bowling Green and racked up 27.5 sacks in 52 career games. This past ‘22 season he had 10 sacks, a career-high. Just a shot in the dark, but I see a bit of young Mo Wilkerson in him. (Source: Bowling Green)
YouTube Rabbithole
1998 NBA Playoffs ECR1 Game 4 - Heat vs Knicks - Final minutes