NYC Sports, Stand up!

Morning Dose: Monday, March 17

☀️ Good Morning:

The last time St. John’s won the Big East Championship, the Mets were embarking on a season that would bring them to the World Series against the hated Yankees.

It was a good time to be a New York sports fan when we had names like Erick Barkley, Bootsy Thornton and Lavor Postell in our vernacular. NYC basketball felt as alive as ever, with the Knicks ready to make another deep playoff run. New York football was competitive (imagine that), with the Johnnies cutting down the nets at MSG in the wake of Bill Parcells turning around the Jets and the Giants only months away from beginning a season that would take them to the Super Bowl.

The Year 2000 also marked an ending of sorts: St. John’s waited 25 years to earn back the Big East crown; the Knicks entered into the post-Ewing dark ages; and the Mets didn’t make the playoffs again until 2006.

Let’s hope 2025 marks the start of something special in the city that never sleeps.

We are only one sleep away from the Major League Season formally beginning in Japan.

☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!

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📊 Mets Fix Poll

Thanks to everyone who responded to our first Mets Fix fan poll. The majority of you view Luisangel Acuña as the most suitable replacement for Jeff McNeil at second base to start the season.

With Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, and David Peterson as locks to start the season in the rotation, who should be the #4 and #5 starters?

Keep in mind, of the obvious candidates (Tylor Megill, Griffin Canning and Paul Blackburn), only Megill has a minor-league option remaining. And Mike Puma of the NY Post reported on Sunday that the front office is discussing the idea of opening the season with Blackburn in the bullpen.

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By Peter Kauffmann

You may have seen headlines last week that Steve Cohen’s dreams of opening a casino in the CitiField parking lot moved one step closer to reality, with the City Council voting 41-2 in favor of several zoning changes that were needed for the $8 billion casino project to move forward.

The reality is that this minor procedural step will have little impact on whether or not Cohen gets one of three available licenses to build a casino in the NYC metropolitan area.

Cohen’s project, a partnership with Hard Rock Entertainment, still must pass through a process at the state level to allow any changes to the parking lot. The parking lot is technically considered to be parkland, so “parkland alienation” legislation would have to be passed in Albany before anything can be built on the site. By law, this would require the developer to find a replacement for the 50 acres of “parkland” within close proximity. Traditionally, great deference is given in Albany to the wishes of local legislators on these issues, and State Senator (and Mets fan) Jessica Ramos has signaled her opposition.