Game 7 of the second-round series between the No. 6-seeded Indiana Pacers and the No. 2-seeded Knicks is scheduled to tip-off today at 3:30 pm ET,.

Each of the first six games have been won by the home team. The Knicks, who pushed and pushed at the end of the season, earned the right to host a game of his magnitude. On Friday night, the Pacers avoided elimination with a 116-103 win. The Knicks will look to use that and respond in front of their home crowd, where they are 5-1 this postseason.

Pacers Starting Five (Projected)

PG: Tyrese Haliburton

SG: Andrew Nembhard

SF: Aaron Nesmith

PF: Pascal Siakam

C: Myles Turner

Knicks Starting Five (Projected)

PG: Jalen Brunson

SG:Donte DiVincenzo

SF: Josh Hart

PF: OG Anunoby

C: Isaiah Hartenstein

Injury News

Hold your breath Knicks’ fans. Josh Hart (abdomen) and OG Anunoby (hamstring) entered the day questionable. Hart suffered what is being described as an abdominal strain in the first quarter of Game 6 on Friday. Prior to the game, he indicated to reporters he would play. He is officially listed as active and will start.

Anunoby’s status has changed quite a bit in the last 12-to-18 hours. For the better part of the last week, the expectation was that he would only return if the Knicks were to advance to the conference finals. But on Saturday night, reports said Anunoby want to be out there with his teammates in a win-or-go-home scenario at home. He has not played since suffering the hamstring injury in the third quarter of Game 2, back on May 8. Anunoby is active and is scheduled to start.

Things To Watch For

1. OG Anunoby: If OG Anunoby is cleared to suit up and play (which he has been), his role in this game will be critical, regardless of the minutes he ends up playing. In the first two games of this series, he did a great job defending two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam. Since Anunoby went out with the injury, the Pacers forward has averaged 21.8 points on 57.6 percent shooting from the field. Limiting Siakam will be a major point of emphasis for the Knicks’ frontcourt.

2. Miles McBride: Bench scoring is one of the many reasons why the Pacers have gotten to this point. In the regular season, they led the league in that statistic, with 46.8 points per game from their second unit. In their wins, T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin have made their stamp. The Knicks bench unit will likely include Miles McBride, who started the last two games. His scoring off the dribble will be needed if the team wants to survive minutes when Jalen Brunson is off the floor.

3. Tyrese Haliburton: Tyrese Haliburton has been superb in the three home games in the series. But, at Madison Square Garden, he has been more up-and-down. In the three games in New York, has scored six points, 34 points, and 13 points, on 52.9 percent shooting. He has been efficient, but he took six shots in Game 1 and nine shots in Game 5. Pacer fans will hope he is more aggressive today. If he does look for his shot more often, the Knicks cannot afford to let him get comfortable on that end.

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The Marlins and Mets took the field around 7:10, with Dominic Smith and Billy Hamilton leading the way for New York.

All of the players took their positions, then removed their caps for 42 seconds of silence.

Then both teams walked off the field, leaving only a Black Lives Matter t-shirt covering home plate.

This comes one day after three MLB games and all NBA playoff games were postponed as players across sports came together to call for racial justice.

NBA players said Thursday they would resume the playoffs, while the NHL, after facing criticism for playing Wednesday, will reportedly postpone its second-round playoff games, including Game 3 between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders.

MLB announced that these other games were postponed:

– Red Sox-Blue Jays
– Twins-Tigers
– Phillies-Nationals
– Rangers-A’s

Late this afternoon, GM Brodie Van Wagenen was caught lamenting the situation over a hot mic.

In the discussion he could be overhead saying MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wanted the players to take the field, then symbolically leave the field at 7:10 PM and then return to play at 8:10 PM.

But the players weren’t having it.

On Wednesday night, Mets first baseman Dominic Smith gave a raw and emotional interview after being asked to describe what’s been the most difficult part of these last couple of months.

“The most difficult part is to see people still don’t care. Being a Black man in America, it’s not easy.”

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Updated August 26th, 11:40 p.m.

After the Mets 5-4 victory over the Marlins, Dominic Smith met with media and was asked to comment on what the last few days have been like for him. Here is a clip of Smith’s response.

Dominic Smith is a remarkable young man. Listen to what he says. Feel his emotion. It doesn’t have to be this way. pic.twitter.com/0KcRw3G5Li

— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) August 27, 2020

Original Post:

Prior to tonight’s game, Dominic Smith took a knee during the national anthem for the first time this season. Smith had previously chose to stand for the anthem, saying that the action of kneeling simply was not enough.

That changed however after the events of Wednesday, as games across the country were boycotted and postponed to bring attention to the fight for social justice. The Milwaukee Bucks players made a big statement when they chose to boycott Game 5 of their playoff series against the Orlando Magic. Since then, all NBA teams followed suit and the playoffs were effectively postponed.

In baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners were just a few of the handful of teams that chose to postpone their games as well, in solidarity with the NBA. Black players like Jason Heyward, chose to sit out of their team’s games in support of the protest.

For a player that has often been the only black player on the Mets roster across his career, Smith changed his previous stance on standing for the anthem and took a knee to join the protest.

pic.twitter.com/tsQkIZ9Ras

— Roger Cormier (@yayroger) August 26, 2020

Last month, Smith sat down with SNY’s Steve Gelbs and had an open conversation about his experience as a black man in America.

“It’s not fair. I treat people equal, wholehearted, and I just try to show love. I don’t understand why the world and people can’t do the same.”

On Friday, Major League Baseball was supposed to celebrate the legacy of Jackie Robinson with Jackie Robinson day. It will be very interesting to see what actions the league, teams and players take this year, as the importance of Robinson should loom larger than ever.

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Updated August 26th, 7:20 p.m.

The Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres agreed to postpone their game on Wednesday night, joining the Brewers and Reds in not playing after the NBA player’s boycott.

Original Post:

The Milwaukee Bucks were set to tip off against the Orlando Magic at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, but the players never made it out to the court. Instead the Bucks decided to put the focus back on the fight for social justice by boycotting their playoff game to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Ever since the NBA restart began, the league has tried to make Black Live Matter a focal point of their broadcasts. The message is prominently featured on the court and players have messages for social justice on the back of their jerseys. Yet even with all of the attention the NBA has tried to give to these issues, the playoff games continued to overshadow that message.

That is until the Bucks stepped in by boycotting.

Players and coaches around the league have tried to push the narrative away from the games and back to the issues that matter whenever they speak to the media, but the focus still rests on basketball. By boycotting their playoff games, NBA players are trying to get control of the narrative again.

When George Floyd was murdered back in May, there were no sports to distract away from the injustice that took place. In the case of Blake, there was playoff basketball games, as well as countless other sports taking place to draw attention away from the shooting.

After the Bucks players boycotted their game, the players from the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to do the same with their game as well. Then the league quickly announced that they would postpone all games.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that all NBA players in the bubble have been invited to a meeting at 8:00 p.m. tonight to discuss how they will proceed after these boycotts.

In response to the Bucks boycott, the Milwaukee Brewers have also decided to not to play tonight against the Cincinnati Reds according to baseball insider Jared Diamond. ESPN’s Jeff Passan is reporting that some other teams may follow suit, with the Seattle Mariners being among those discussing the possibility of not playing.

We will continue to monitor this story and update this post as more news develops.

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Major League Baseball announced that they will cancel spring training and delay the 2020 regular season by at least two weeks due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) within the United States. In addition, World Baseball Classic Qualifier games will also be postponed indefinitely.

MLB stated, “MLB and the Clubs have been preparing a variety of contingency plans regarding the 2020 regular season schedule. MLB will announce the effects on the schedule at an appropriate time and will remain flexible as events warrant, with the hope of resuming normal operations as soon as possible.”

The league owners held a conference call Thursday afternoon to formalize a plan before the suspension was announced.

The NBA was the first major sports league to suspend its season on Wednesday night after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.

MLS followed on Thursday morning and announced the league will also suspend all its games for 30 days “as the league continues to assess the impact of COVID-19 with its medical task force and public health officials.”

NHL canceled all morning skates and practices Thursday morning before officially announcing the suspension of the 2019-20 season on Thursday afternoon.

When any of these leagues will resume play remains to be seen. While MLS has implemented a 30-day suspension and MLB has pushed games back two weeks, those numbers are arbitrary at this point as we don’t know how long before things are contained and when any of these sports are deemed safe to play.

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As the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic, the sports world is taking action with the NBA, MLS, and NHL among the organizations suspending their current seasons.

Major League Baseball is now expected to suspend Grapefruit League play according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has asked local authorities to consider canceling or postponing all large gatherings.

The NBA released the news of their season being suspended on Wednesday night, as it was reported that Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus.

On Thursday, we learned that another Jazz player, Donovan Mitchell Jr. has tested positive as well. Mitchell’s dad, Donovan, is the Mets director of player relations and community engagement.

The NCAA announced on Thursday that March Madness games would be played, but with no fans. The AAC, SEC, and Big Ten Tournaments all announced their cancellation on Thursday.

Opening Day for Major League Baseball is two weeks away, with the Mets scheduled to play on March 26 against the Nationals at Citi Field. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mets have told their scouts to head home.

Please check out the CDC website for information about the coronavirus. 

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Good morning, Mets fans!

The Mets offense remained quiet as the ball club tied the Miami Marlins 1-1 on Monday afternoon at Roger Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter.

Today, the Mets will face off against the Houston Astros at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches of West Palm Beach. Rick Porcello will be starting for the Mets, while the Astros will be starting Framber Valdez. Today’s game will not be televised nor available via radio.

Latest Mets News

According to Newsday’s Tim Healey, Michael Conforto tweaked his side while making a catch in right field during Monday’s game.

Healey of Newsday, also reported that pitching coach Jeremy Hefner has implemented the use of motion capture technology with the Mets pitching staff.

Mets skipper Luis Rojas said Eduardo Nunez will begin to see time at shortstop — a position he hasn’t played regularly since 2013.

Yoenis Cespedes continues to make progress in his rehab as he is now running to first base at full speed, per David Lennon of Newsday.

According to Justin Toscano of The Record, Tomas Nido hired Lorenzo Gardmendia and his team Gradum Baseball  to help him with his swing and to increase his plate production.

The current and former Mets (including minor leaguers) playing in Pools 1 and 2 of the Baseball World Classic are Mike Cervenak , Akeel Morris, Nelson Leon, Alberto Baldonado, Tim Tebow, Rhiner Cruz, per Metsmerized‘s Jacob Resnick. 

Latest MLB News

The MLB will join the NBA and NHL in closing clubhouses to media due to fear over potential spread of Coronavirus, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Passan of ESPN also reported that the Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan’s top league, has postponed the beginning of its season after its commissioner said the spread of coronavirus made the delay “unavoidable.”

According to Daren Wilman of MLB.com, the MLB has a new video search page on their website that has over 3 million videos.

The Athletic‘s Andrew Baggarly talked to Barry Bonds about his complicated relationship with the game of baseball.

The Tampa Bay Rays have opened extension talked with Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows.

MLB Pipeline released their first ever ratings of all 30 MLB farm systems.

Latest On MMO

Matt Musico believes that 2020 could be a breakout year for Steven Matz. 

Tim Ryder and Jacob Resnick reported directly from Mets Spring Training in Port St. Lucie on the latest episode of Simply Amazin’.

Brian Devine explains why the Mets should not rush Dellin Betances to be ready for Opening Day.

This Day in Mets History

Birthdays: Ken MacKenzie, Wayne Twitchell, Greg Pavlick, Mike Birkbeck, and John Cangelosi. 

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Today I discuss the slow Winter Meetings and whether MLB should impose deadlines to create more movement like the NBA and NFL. Mike Mayer of Metsmerized Online talks about his experience covering the meetings in Las Vegas. He recaps his conversation with Brodie Van Wagenen, Mickey Callaway, and the Rule V draft.

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USA Today

In 1992, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was passed by Congress, effectively ending all sports betting (both college and professional) outside the states of Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana. With a 7-2 vote Monday, the US Supreme Court has ended that ban.

“Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each state is free to act on its own,” Justice Samuel Alito said. “Our job is to interpret the law Congress has enacted and decide whether it is consistent with the Constitution. PASPA is not.”

This fight was being led by New Jersey, who had been pushing for the legalization saying the $100-$150 billion industry is mostly underground, and that bringing it to the surface legally would create more income for the state. This also opens up markets that were previously untapped such as international as well as younger crowds. Further, it opens up new revenue opportunities by lifting advertising restrictions on places such as casinos.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who left office in January, signed the state’s first law legalizing sports betting in 2012 after a 2011 vote overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state Constitution.

While this was a loss for the NCAA, MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL, who had successfully blocked New Jersey in lower courts, the favor for the PASPA has lessened in the 25 years since its enactment. The NHL has a team in Las Vegas, The Golden Knights, and the NFL’s Oakland Raiders are soon to move to Las Vegas as well. Further, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has endorsed sports betting, and MLB has invested in fantasy leagues.

This Supreme Court decision does not make sports betting legal, it gives individual states the power to make it legal at their casinos themselves. It remains to be seen which states will act on this, but New Jersey will without a doubt be one of the first to add sports betting to their casinos.

The post Supreme Court Ends Ban On Sports Betting With 7-2 Vote appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The worst thing that can happen to the Mets is them losing one of their pitchers for any period of time. With Matt Harvey‘s undisclosed and unknown medical situation, this fear is now a reality.

The scary part about it is how it has escalated. First, the Mets assumed he was hung over. Then, they thought it wouldn’t prevent him from making his next Spring Training start. Now, he’s flying back to New York for a more comprehensive examination. He’s most likely going to miss Opening Day. The players don’t know what’s going on, and they are praying for him.

The only thing we do know is Harvey’s arm is fine, or as only Terry Collins can put it, “His arm is fine!  His arm is fine!  Ok?  His arm is fine.”  This is leading to speculation as to what is wrong with Harvey, and there is no shortage of opinions.

This is because no one knows what’s happening. Part of that is HIPPA laws. Part of that is the Mets making an announcement before having all of the information. A large part of it is Harvey’s Bravo appearance and general assumptions fans have about him.

Hopefully, this is a relatively minor issue not only because of the Mets season, but more importantly, this is a man’s health we are talking about here. With that said, I’m reminded of other instances where a player’s health has postponed, derailed, or ended a player’s career.

As Mets fans, we have seen our fair share of problems. There was Ike Davis‘ bout with Valley Fever. Jose Reyes was found to have a thyroid condition. Just last year, there was David Wright and his spinal stenosis diagnosis.

We don’t know what Harvey’s medical issue is.  We may never know. The only thing we do know is no one wants to see something happen that will not only forever alter Harvey’s career, but also his life. So while we know his arm is alright, we don’t know if he’s alright.

Like Travis d’Arnaud and the rest of the Mets, all we can do is pray that Harvey will be alright.

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