10 NY Sports Questions for ‘24

In 2023, our beloved, forsaken sports teams competed intensely. Unfortunately, it seemed each was determined to look more pitiful than its predecessor. Only the New York Liberty of the WNBA distinguished itself locally.

Let’s hope that 2024 will give us fans of the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets and Rangers can give us a reason to cheer and not read the back page of the NY Post or the Daily News without wanting to barf. And here’s hoping that the Liberty, who lost to the Las Vegas Aces three game to one in the championship in 2023, can keep on keepin’ on under head coach Sandy Brondello and star Breanna Stewart in 2024.

1) Will the Yankees stop the bleeding? The Bronx Bombers had a horrendous record of 82-80 in 2023 and added slugger Juan Soto in an off-season blockbuster trade. As always, the Yanks will hit a lot of home runs. But the team’s pitching and defense must improve if Aaron Judge can play in a World Series, finally.

2) Will Steve Cohen put up or shut up? The Mets have made a lot of noise since Steve Cohen bought the team. He is trying very hard to take the town back from the Yankees, a tall task. So far, Cohen’s lavish spending has not come close to giving the Mets a World Series berth. The Los Angeles Dodgers made the biggest off-season splash of all, signing the mind-boggling slugger/pitcher Shohei Ohtani for $700 million,m even though it turns out all but $2 million a year is deferred. The Mets were in the hunt for the second biggest prize, Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but that ended when the 25-year-old signed a 12-year, $325 million deal to play for the Dodgers.

3) Will the Knicks play like an elite team in the playoffs? The Knick s tantalize us. They play their butts off every night. They are fundamentally sound and well coached. But darn it, there is an undeniable talent gap. The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson puts up nice numbers but is he in the class of a LeBron? Or Tatum? Or Steph? Or Embiid? Or Giannis? Or The Joker? Until he outplays one of those superstars in a seven-game series, the Knicks, who have not won a title since 1973, will, ultimately, continue to disappoint us.

4) Will Brooklyn become a destination for local pro hoops? The Nets play in the Knicks’ shadow, pure and simple. And as the game on Dec. 20 at the Barclay Center, in which the Knicks dominated their crosstown rival, seemed to have as many Knicks fans as Nets fans in the arena.

5) Can the Rangers, the city’s best team, win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 30 years? The Rangers look poised to go deep in the playoffs. The team has handled opponents playing every style of play and, notably, are 2-0 against the Boston Bruins, who beat them three straight times last season and now figure to be the Rangers’ biggest challenge in the playoffs.

6) What will become of Daniel Jones? The Giants quarterback signed a golden deal paying him $40 million a year. Jones didn’t make it through half the regular season in 2023 before neck and knee injuries shelved him. Now, with the Giants likely to have a high 2024 draft pick, Jones’ future with the Giants looks uncertain, to put it charitably.

7) And Whither “Tommy Cutlets?” When third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito took the helm for the Giants, he was mocked as a Jersey guy who had the same name as Joe Pesci’s character in “Goodfellas.” But after some inspiring games, the man known as “Tommy Cutlets” showed he could be, at least, a reliable back-up quarterback in the NFL. Will he have that position with the Giants next season?

8) Remember Aaron Rodgers? Anyone? Rodgers had the most frustrating season imaginable in 2023. After the Jets acquired him from the Green Bay Packers, where he had built a surefire Hall of Fame career, Rodgers came to the Jets amid tremendous fanfare. He promptly tore his Achilles on the fourth play from scrimmage of the opening game. If that heartbreak, alone, doesn’t scream J-E-T-S JETS JETS, then, I’m afraid, nothing does. The Jets won the franchise’s only Super Bowl on Jan. 12, 1969, and have not even qualified since for a Super Bowl appearance. The team has a strong defensive unit and a few promising playmakers on offense. But if Rodgers fails to make a full comeback next season, 2024 will prove to be another maddening season for Jets fans.

9) HOW DID WE GET HERE? At no point in my lifetime have so many New York sports teams stunk at the same time. How did this happen? It’s a combination of hubris, mismanagement, miscalculations and bad luck the siren song of a fan who cheers out of habit for a terribly run franchise. Will any of our teams overachieve in the 12 months ahead?

10) What will emerge as the feel-goof sports story of 2024?DeVito made his mark on a dismal landscape in 2023. But it would be nice if we could root root root for the home team, which is actually contending for a championship, instead of warming our cold hearts with a modern-day Rudy or Hoosiers story line.

Enjoy the year ahead, sports fans. You deserve to smile!