SNY's The Warm-up: MJ in MSG — Jamal Adams — Thor's greatest hit

Get Today’s New York Sports Here Tweet of the Day --------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning, 👋 and welcome to The Warm-Up! The V-Mets lost yesterday to the V-Braves, 15-3, which meant a weekend sweep for Atlanta. The Virtual Mets won eight straight before that, though, and are 19-15 overall (18-8 since Conforto and Cespedes were activated from the IL). Tonight: Mets vs. Reds, 7 p.m. TOMORROW: Mets vs. Reds, 7 p.m. with GARY, KEITH, AND RON back in the booth (plus special guest JEFF MCNEIL!) --------------------------------------------------------------- New SNY originals... BNNY: Living Room Edition - [Who will be the Mets' catcher in 2021?]( Loud Mouths: The Great Debate - [Were the Knicks Michael Jordan's greatest rival?]( FNNY: Living Room Edition - [It's time to give out NFL Draft grades]( Sports Squared: New York's Sports Crossword - [The 2009 Yankees]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's word count: 670 words (about six minutes) --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. No one loved MSG like Michael Jordan NBA/YouTube As expected, a sizable chunk of episode six of "The Last Dance," which aired last night on ESPN, was devoted to the formidable 1990s Knicks, mainly the New York-Chicago Eastern Conference Finals matchup in 1993. Pleasantly surprising was the time in the documentary devoted to Michael Jordan's love of Madison Square Garden. - One [story featured]( was during Jordan's last game in MSG as a Bull, in 1998, when he decided to wear his Air Jordan 1s -- then a technological dinosaur -- to essentially partake in his own nostalgia. - Of course, Jordan scored 42 points despite his brittle 1s making his feet bleed, while saving some time to trash talk Spike Lee. - He [had some words]( for Patrick Ewing, too: "I had to go back to all the way to '84 to whip y'all a**." [Here's Jordan,]( on playing at MSG: - "It's always been a place, or an area, where basketball enthusiasts can notice a fake basketball player. ... If you just a hype, you can't fool them. That's like stepping on stage with an act. People can see if it's an act, or it's talent." Some of his best games/moments at MSG: - The 33 points he scored [in his first-ever]( game there. - The baseline dunk on Ewing in 1991, GIF'd above. - The 55 points he scored at MSG only 10 days after returning from his first retirement. - The game-winner [he hit against the Knicks]( as a 38-year-old Wizard. Overall, he has the most 40-point games in MSG as a visiting player, with six, according to [Basketball Reference](. --------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY TRIVIA Who is the Jets' franchise leader in interceptions thrown? 2. By the numbers SNY graphic: Mets prospect Brett Baty 28 percent chance A reminder that should the NBA call off the rest of its regular season, the Knicks would have a 28 percent chance at a top-three pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and a nine percent shot at No. 1 overall. (FYI: The lottery has been postponed. The NBA Draft, scheduled for June 25, is also likely to be pushed back.) $9.9 million Assuming he's still on the team by then, the Jets will owe Jamal Adams $9.9 million for the 2021 season. Whether to keep or trade the Pro Bowl safety is the topic of [this deep dive](. 92 MPH Mets infield prospect Brett Baty, 20, clocked 92 off the mound in high school. Read our deep dive on the potential future All-Star and 2019 first-rounder [here](. 35,000 people On this day 101 years ago, the New York Giants played the city's first-ever legal Sunday game, after blue laws were dropped earlier in 1919. The Phillies beat the Giants, 4-3, in front of 35,000 fans at the Polo Grounds. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Highlights from the archive MLB/YouTube GIF'd above: That time, one year and two days ago, that Noah Syndergaard hit an opposite field home run, pitched a complete game shutout, and beat the Reds almost entirely by himself, 1-0. His final pitching line: - 9 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 10 Ks, 104 pitches. As far as individual regular season Mets games go, it is arguably the best (or, at least the most unlikely). According to Baseball Reference, the home run-shutout combo by a pitcher in a 1-0 game [had only happened seven times]( before in the history of the major leagues. Syndergaard's effort on 5/02/2019 was the first such instance since Bob Welch did it with the Dodgers in 1983. (The two before Welch's came against the Mets.) Also: How much would you pay for a ticket to a day game at Citi Field right now, and why did you settle on $1,200? --------------------------------------------------------------- 4. The New York Minute - SNY is reliving the Mets' 1969 run to the title all week. Details [here](. - According [to a report]( some NHL teams are not on the same page as the league, which wants to proceed with the draft in June. - Henrik Lundqvist, on what [his future might hold]( "Nothing lasts forever, you have a goal image and dream, but one must also adapt to the surroundings and reality." - [Here's]( Gary Cohen on what a shared division for the Yankees and Mets could mean for the rivalry. - Buck Showalter [sees himself]( in Mets manager Luis Rojas. --------------------------------------------------------------- Trivia answer: Joe Namath, with 215. That's the buzzer, folks. Stay safe and enjoy your Monday. This email was sent by: SportsNet New York (SNY) 150 Greenwich st 50th floor New York, NY 10007 US [Unsubscribe]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Facebook](