The New York Jets are capable of winning a football game in the fourth quarter, after all. 

A monstrous nine-reception, 198-yard, two-touchdown game from wide receiver Davante Adams sparked the Jets to a 32-25 victory over the Jaguars in Jacksonville to improve to 4-10 on their lost season.

Coming off a 109-yard game in Week 14, Adams and quarterback Aaron Rodgers have been turning back the clock to the days when they were one of the most dynamic duos in all of football with the Green Bay Packers. 

“Yeah [it felt like old times],” Rodgers said. “Tae is a fantastic player.”

Gang Green had to overcome what has become the familiar sight of coaching malpractice to hold on to the win. With the game tied at 25, a 41-yard completion to Adams gave the Jets the ball at the Jaguars’ 1-yard line with 1:22 left in regulation.

Rather than run the clock out and force the Jaguars to burn their remaining timeouts, interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich called a run play up the gut for Breece Hall, who scored with little resistance with 1:05 remaining.

Luckily for New York, Sauce Gardner picked off Jacksonville quarterback Mac Jones inside the final minute to clinch a rare victory and to pick up his first interception since 2022.

“A lot of people hate on me, that’s not a secret,” Gardner said. “That’s just what people do because of the things that I’ve accomplished and the things that I’ve done. It was great to just be able to make that play.”

In each of the Jets’ previous three games, they carried a lead into the fourth quarter but found comically new ways to lose. It appeared as though that might be the case again on Sunday when Jones hit…

QUEENS, NY — Juan Soto admitted that no clear favorite existed throughout his free-agency process. So much so that his decision to sign with the New York Mets over his former club, the Yankees, and three other suitors “came down to the last second.”

“I really had a good time with the Yankees,” Soto said during his introductory press conference with the Mets on Thursday at Citi Field. “I really enjoyed every bit of my Yankees experience. I can’t even describe it. It was incredible. It was really tough to go away from it. [My family and I] tried to figure out how things were going to be, here and there, and as a family, we decided on the Mets.”

Besides the $765 million contract and the on-field product that had Soto talking about building the Mets into a dynasty — the obvious reasons why he ultimately jumped across town — the 26-year-old four-time All-Star was also drawn to Queens by the family-first feeling that trickled down from Steve Cohen and his family.

“They are the right family: A family that wants to win, but they definitely want to take care of their players and their families and stuff,” Soto said. “That’s one of the things I always like. It was interesting for me to look forward to that.”

Soto’s family has taken on a considerable role throughout his free-agent production. While the Cohens preached accommodations for his loved ones both inside and outside the ballpark — an effort led by Steve’s wife, Alex — reports surfaced in recent days that owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman would not offer Soto’s family a suite in the Bronx ballpark and he would instead have to pay for it. Another report accused an overzealous security guard at Yankee Stadium barring the Soto family from certain areas.

It very well could have been one of the…

Go West, young Nets.

Off to a dismal 4-13 start against Eastern Conference opponents, the youth-oriented, rebuilding Brooklyn Nets have made an early season habit of getting well when they venture toward that other coast.

They’ll try to continue that mind-boggling trend when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night at FedExForum.

Brooklyn (10-14) has won its first five games out West for the first time in franchise history. They are 6-1 against non-conference opponents overall, including a 2-0 mark thus far vs. the Grizzlies (17-8).

The Nets last visited the “Home of the Blues” on Oct. 30 after losing three of their first four games of the season to teams from the East.

Point guard Dennis Schröder torched the Grizzlies for 33 points and eight assists in that encounter and former Memphis forward Ziaire Williams added 17 points.

Schröder has been Brooklyn’s most reliable player this season, and is fast-emerging as its most attractive to potential trade suitors.

His last performance in Memphis made him the first Net ever to hit at least five 3-pointers, hand out five assists and put up at 25 points or more in three straight games.

“At one point he said, ‘Just give me the ball. I’ll take care of this.,” Brooklyn rookie coach Jordi Fernández said of Schröder following his first career road win.

“That’s what he does. He’s a leader. He puts everybody in place. If he has to score, he scores.”

Fernández’s Nets are 5-8 away from Barclays Center, with those wins coming at Memphis, New Orleans, Sacramento, Golden State and Phoenix.

Schröder did his best to help Brooklyn get a home win against an East opponent on Sunday, putting up 34 points and handing out 10 assists.

But the Nets’ defense failed them down the stretch as Giannis Antetkounmpo and the visiting Milwaukee…

Ball players are remembered for different things. Some pitchers were known to throw at a batter’s head (Sal Maglie, Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson). Some ball players were wizards in the field (Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, Ozzie Smith), and others on the base paths (Maury Wills, Pete Rose). George “Shotgun” Shuba was known for a handshake, a handshake dubbed, “The Handshake of the Century.” But we get ahead of the story.

Born Dec. 14, 1928, George Shuba, son of Czech immigrants, was one of 10 children. He was born, lived but for his years in Brooklyn, and died in Youngstown, Ohio. He played an injury-shortened seven big league years, all for the Brooklyn Dodgers. This is his story. Let’s start at the end and work forward to the handshake. First, his career.

He was brought up July 2, 1948, at 23 years of age, after a sensational year in the minors. Dodgers President and General Manager Branch Rickey didn’t think he had enough power and played good enough defense and sent word that Shuba shouldn’t be a starter. He was a utility outfielder and pinch-hitter. Baseball Research gives us his career numbers. Shuba had 814 career at-bats. He managed 211 hits, 24 of which were home…

The New York Red Bulls’ decision to trade defender Andres Reyes to expansion side San Diego FC had nothing to do with his late scratch before the 2024 MLS Cup Final on Dec. 7, a source told amNewYork on Wednesday. 

New York sent Reyes to San Diego for $750,000 in general allocation money, a separate source confirming first reports from Tom Bogert of Thet Athletic. 

The 25-year-old Colombian was an important part of the Red Bulls’ backline and appeared in 23 matches this MLS season. He scored the lone goal in the Eastern Conference Final against Orlando City, a 47th-minute header that quickly became one of the most important goals in franchise history. It lifted the Red Bulls to their second-ever Eastern Conference title and MLS Cup Final appearance. 

Just moments before kick-off on Saturday against the Los Angeles Galaxy, though, Reyes was deemed a late scratch due to what the team described as an illness. This forced head coach Sandro Schwarz to turn to 22-year-old Swedish center-back Noah Eile, who was directly involved in conceding each of the Galaxy’s two goals in the game’s opening 13 minutes. New York lost the game 2-1 as their first-ever MLS championship continues to elude them. 

Speculation has arisen recently that Reyes’ absence was not due to an illness, though Schwarz maintained that was exactly the case during Tuesday’s end-of-season availability.

“We were also very surprised,” Schwarz said. “When he came in after our warm-up in our locker room, he said he felt sick, and it was not possible for him to play… We only had three, four, five minutes time to make a decision. We tried everything; the whole medical team tried everything, but it was not possible.”

Less than 24 hours after Schwarz’s…

Cam Johnson is questionable, Ziaire Williams and Dorian Finney-Smith are out, Ben Simmons expects to play and Cam Thomas, Noah Clowney and Jaylen Martin are still on the mend.

An ever-growing injury report has been the most consistent part of the Brooklyn Nets’ first season under coach Jordi Fernández.

But the 41-year-old Badalona, Spain, native believes in a “next-man up” mentality.

“I’m gonna go into every game believing that we have a chance to win,” Fernández insisted following Monday night’s 128-102 loss in Chicago.

After last week’s 3-0 west coast swing had the Nets (9-13) believing they could start climbing the Eastern Conference standings, they dropped two in a row at home to Orlando and got drubbed in the Windy City.

Only Sunday’s narrow defeat to the Magic qualified as a competitive NBA game during this skid for Brooklyn, which will try to avert a season-high fourth consecutive loss when it hosts the Indiana Pacers at Downtown’s Barclays Center Wednesday night.

But the fiery rookie coach isn’t into making excuses. Especially after his shorthanded team gave up 72 points in the second half of Monday’s blowout defeat.

“I don’t care who’s playing,” Fernández said. “If they are wearing a Nets uniform, I’m gonna go out there and believe that we’re gonna fight, compete, and we’re gonna have a chance.”

They just might against the Pacers (9-13), who have also dropped three straight overall and seven in a row on the road.

Indiana will arrive on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush off Tuesday’s 122-111 loss in Toronto.

Tyrese Haliburton put up 30 points for the Pacers, who are winless away from home since Nov. 4, and hardly resemble the team that went to the conference finals a season ago.

“The product we’re putting on the floor right…

Former New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones has signed with the Minnesota Vikings, per multiple reports on Wednesday. 

The 27-year-old was released by the Giants last week, at his request, following his benching during the team’s Week 11 bye. 

Jones was 2-8 as the team’s starter this season and 3-13 over the last two years. The struggles solidified the impending choice that general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll would exercise the team’s opt-out in his four-year, $160 million contract following this season. 

After being demoted to fourth-stringer ahead of the Giants’ Week 12 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jones requested his release, which was granted by co-owner John Mara. He passed through waivers and became a free agent on Monday. 

Jones prioritized going to a contending team over potentially starting elsewhere. The Las Vegas Raiders offered him a chance to start, but he turned it down. 

In Minnesota, Jones will back up Sam Darnold, who has taken full advantage of his opportunity to start after rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy went down in preseason with a season-ending knee injury. The former Jet has gone 9-2 as the Vikings’ starter, completing 67.6% of his passes for 2,717 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He has already set a career-high in passing touchdowns through 11 games. 

While Jones joined a team amidst a playoff push, the Giants fell to even further depths upon his departure. Quarterback Tommy DeVito was promoted from third-string to starter and was overwhelmed by the Buccaneers in an embarrassing 30-7 loss. 

He is dealing with a forearm injury that could force him out of Thanksgiving’s matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, which could make Drew Lock — who…

Sometimes a ball player is so interesting, so highly regarded, so off-the-wall, that the writer has to bend the rules a little rather than be patient. This piece about Rabbit Maranville fills that bill. He spent but one year playing in Brooklyn and did so when the team wasn’t even called the Dodgers. It was called the Brooklyn Robins after its manager Wilbur Robinson. Every month I write about Dodgers who had careers with the team both during the Deadball era and the Boys of Summer era. One year? Well, it counts. He was a November baby and this is November. Maranville grabbed my attention because, as SABR intimates, he was known as much for his zany escapades and funny stories as for anything he accomplished on the diamond, but his outstanding glove work kept him in the big leagues for 23 seasons and eventually earned him a plaque in Cooperstown. He’s worth writing and reading about.

“Character” seems to be the word that best fits this Hall of Famer, who played for the Robins in 1926. Called by sportswriter historian John Holway, “The Joe Garagiola” of his era, Maranville, was a superb shortstop, and a born prankster. Writing in the Sports Arsenal, Sandlapper Spike (I kid you not) wrote this: “Maranville once got a hit off Carl Mays by making him laugh so hard he couldn’t maintain his control.  He was in the dugout during the infamous Babe Herman-three men on third base play; when Wilbert Robinson asked Maranville what had happened, Maranville said, “There’s three men on third and if they hang on long enough I’ll go down and make a quartet out of it.”

Once during a pitcher-vs.-batter fight, Maranville distracted everyone, including the fans, by going into the first base coach’s box during the fracas and pantomiming a fight against himself, pretending to knock himself out.  (Judge Landis…

A 2024 MLS Cup second-round playoff tie arrives in the form of the most crucial Hudson River Deby in New York soccer history. New York City FC (NYCFC) host the New York Red Bulls at Citi Field on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET. 

It will be the first Hudson River playoff derby in its eight-year history and the 30th iteration, in which the Red Bulls hold a 15-10-4 record advantage over their crosstown rivals. This season, NYCFC holds onto the Hudson River derby trophy after doing the double over the Red Bulls. In May, Monsef Bakrar scored the winner to decide a 2-1 match in Flushing, and a 5-1 demolition in Sept. in New Jersey ensured the Big Apple was blue.

The Red Bulls had been in a rut of form in the second half of the season, winning three in 18 matches and falling to seventh from a fourth position that looked solidified before June. They haven’t made it past the first round since 2018. 

Head coach Sandro Schwarz and his team pulled off an upset, though, defeating Columbus in two games: a 1-0 win in Ohio and a 2-2 result, which RBNY won 5-4 in the penalty shootout. 

Carlos Coronel made three successive saves to deny the Crew’s last three takers to complete the upset over the MLS Cup reigning champions and win man of the match. Coronel also made a playoff club-record eight saves in Game 1 to keep his fifth clean sheet in the MLS and deny Cucho Hernandez. He scored 19 goals in the season and was nominated for the MLS Player of the Year award alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. 

Schwarz ensured his side remained organized and was more than happy for his opponents to have the ball. The Red Bulls sat deep and frustrated the Crew, and when the ball was won, looking to immediately play it to…