Dear hope,

Thank you for being born. Thank you for giving us a week of your time. I know how difficult it must have been for you to visit the New York Giants, a once-respected franchise that has become the joke of the NFL. I know your power can only extend so far, and once the Giants committed their fifth turnover on Sunday, you had to catch a plane to Buffalo. I hope the Patriots enjoy you as much as we did for one week in New York.

For as bad as the Giants are, and as disappointing as their 14-26 Week 5 loss to the New Orleans Saints was, the then-worst team in the NFL, it feels like this Giants team has the pieces to be successful. It’s their coaching staff that isn’t good enough, from Brian Daboll to Mike Kafka to Shane Bowen.

It’s still unclear what the 100th season of New York Rangers hockey will bring, but a 3-0 shutout is not the ideal way for the Rangers to start their season. This is the second straight Opening Night shutout loss for the new Rangers’ head coach, Mike Sullivan. Last year, he underwent the opposite result, with the Rangers shutting out his Penguins in Pittsburgh.

“I think my first observation is we’ve got a long way to go to become the team we want to become,” said Sullivan. “I thought we had moments in the game where we were playing the game that we envision that we can play more consistently, but it’s not nearly consistent enough.”

You can only fend off elimination for so long before it beats you. The 2025 New York Yankees fell 5-2 to the Blue Jays tonight, and their season is over. For the 16th consecutive year, the Yankees have failed to win the World Series.

This is the hardest part of the season. Writing about an elimination game. It’s an incredibly difficult fate to accept, especially for a team like the 2025 New York Yankees that had so much promise.

Last night was magical, but the Yankees’ backs are still very much against the wall tonight in Game 4 at 7:08 PM (6:08 PM CDT) (FS1, FOXONE). Will there be more fireworks in the Bronx, or will the Yankees’ season end?

The Yankees will send their rookie righty Cam Schlittler (4-3, 2.96 ERA, 75 K) to the mound tonight as he looks to match the eight scoreless innings he posted against Boston last Thursday. Schlittler has his work cut out for him, though, because the last time he faced the Blue Jays, they forced him out of the game in less than two innings.

For years and years, Yankees fans have waited for this moment. For Aaron Judge’s moment. For the captain to come up clutch in a high-leverage postseason situation. Last night, King Judge launched a 100-mph fastball toward left field, and it kept climbing higher as it soared down the left field line. It looked like it was going to hook foul, but then it “doinked” off the foul pole for a three-run home run. Suddenly, the Yankees had transformed a 6-1 deficit into a tie game.

“I guess a couple of ghosts out there helped kind of keep that fair,” Judge said. His doink highlighted a memorable October night for the Bombers.

This season has been filled with promise and championship expectations. On paper, this Yankees roster is the most well-rounded since the 2009 World Championship team. But here they are, the 2025 Yankees, with their backs against the wall for the third time this postseason.

Will they be able to survive another day?

It’s been nearly six months, but New York Rangers hockey is back! This season, the Rangers will be celebrating their centennial anniversary.

Last month, the Rangers named JT Miller to the role of captain. After things ended badly with Jacob Trouba last year, the Rangers’ locker room was in disarray. Now, the coaching staff has been revitalized, with Mike Sullivan at the helm and David Quinn, Joe Sacco, and Ty Hennes by his side.

It feels like the New York Yankees are incapable of matching the Toronto Blue Jays’ insatiable desire to win. Their offense is relentless. They don’t strike out, and they come up clutch in the biggest moments. Plus, their pitching is sensational. All they do is strike the Yankees out.

With a 13-7 Game 2 loss in Toronto, the Yankees are facing elimination in a second straight series this postseason. And this time, it doesn’t feel like they have a chance to come back and win.

The last thing the Yankees need is to return to the Bronx facing elimination. Today, all the pressure is on the lefty ace Max Fried, who has been the stopper of the Yankees’ dreams all season. Despite six scoreless innings against Boston on Tuesday, though, the Yankees couldn’t get the win. Today, with a depleted bullpen, another six silent frames from Fried might not be enough for the Yankees.

Up to this point in his career, Max Fried’s postseason stats are not anything to write home about. But he did have that sensational start in the 2021 World Series in which he threw six scoreless innings to help the Atlanta Braves win the Commissioner’s Trophy.

The Yankees must hope Max Fried will give them length when he starts Game 2, because Game 1 was a disaster. The Yankees allowed 10 runs to the Toronto Blue Jays on 14 hits, and after Luis Gil got pulled in the third inning, the Yankees’ bullpen caved in. The Blue Jays’ win marked their first in the playoffs in nine years, and they showcased their dominance over the Yankees.

Aaron Boone’s decision to pull Gil early forced him to exhaust his bullpen. Gil had allowed a couple of solo home runs to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – his first homer since September 5 – and Alejandro Kirk, so his struggles on the mound were evident. However, he was locating his pitches much better in the third inning, and he was finally generating lateral movement on his slider. Then, with two outs in the third inning, he gave up a single to Guerrero, which ended his afternoon at 48 pitches.

It was Cam Schlittler’s destiny to beat the Boston Red Sox in the postseason. It was his destiny to put his teammates on his back. It was his destiny not just to beat Boston, but to dominate their entire lineup through eight scoreless innings.

With a 4-0 win in the decisive game of their Wild Card series, the Yankees have advanced to the ALDS. They are the first team in the current MLB Wild Card format to win their series after dropping the first game, and this victory snapped a three-game playoff series losing streak to Boston dating back to 2003.

Through his eight spectacular innings in just his 15th career start, Schlittler struck out 12 batters without allowing a single walk. Miraculously, he posted a better stat line than Garrett Crochet, who allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings in Game 1. The Red Sox weren’t ready for Schlittler’s firepower, and the rookie starter became the first MLB pitcher in postseason history ever to toss eight or more scoreless frames while walking 12 batters without issuing a walk. And he averaged 99 mph on his fastball and sinker.

“A star was born tonight,” manager Aaron Boone proclaimed.

It’s October 1, and the Yankees’ backs are already against the wall. They are facing elimination tonight as they host the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the 2025 MLB Wild Card series (6:08 PM ET, ESPN).

“We’re going to keep playing our game,” Aaron Judge proclaimed.

Garrett Crochet limited the Yankees’ lineup to one run yesterday, a home run by Anthony Volpe, as he shoved 7 2/3 innings of four-hit baseball while striking out 11 batters and never allowing a walk. The Yankees’ offense is due to break out against righty Brayan Bello tonight, especially after leaving the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of last night’s ninth inning.

All the excitement.

All the anticipation.

Yankees-Red Sox. The greatest rivalry in sports.

The rivalry certainly benefited the Red Sox last night, but not the Yankees, who wasted 6 1/3 scoreless innings from Max Fried as they blew a 1-0 lead to Garrett Crochet, Aroldis Chapman, and the Boston Red Sox. The final score was 3-1, Boston. Now, the Yankees are facing elimination and the harsh reality that, in the current best-of-three MLB Wild Card series format, no team has ever recovered after losing the first game.

It’s been 11 months since Aaron Judge dropped that fly ball in center field, and the Yankees allowed five unearned runs in Game 5 of the World Series before watching the Los Angeles Dodgers hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy at Yankee Stadium. 11 months later, the Yankees have a shot at redemption.

This postseason is a continuation of last year’s playoffs. These Yankees have something to prove this year. The chip on their shoulder could not be larger. But they won’t get anywhere if they don’t win two games against the Boston Red Sox.

The New York Yankees did everything they could, but they couldn’t win their division. However, they beat Baltimore 3-2 for their eighth straight win, and finished their regular season tied with Toronto for the best record in the American League. The Yankees will face the Boston Red Sox in a best-of-three Wild Card series beginning tomorrow night in the Bronx.

It’s easy to remember all the tough Yankees losses this season, particularly to the Blue Jays, that have forced them to play a Wild Card series. But it’s also important to consider that the Yankees posted a league-best 29-12 record since August 12, including wins against top American League teams.

“A month-and-a-half ago, we were teetering,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone recalled. “To right the ship and then really solidify our position and then have a real shot at the East here all the way to the last day is hopefully something that serves us well.”

It’s coming down to the wire, and the wire could not be any shorter. With seven straight wins, including a series win over Baltimore, the Yankees remain tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the lead in the American League East. And there’s only one game left to play this season.

“It’s kind of crazy,” manager Aaron Boone remarked. “162 games, and it’s going to come down to the last day. That’s the beauty of our sport.”

It’s almost October. The playoffs are almost here. But for the Yankees, every game is a playoff game from here on out.

After sweeping the Chicago White Sox last night, the Yankees remain tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the division lead. Because Toronto holds the tiebreaker, the Yankees must finish at least one game ahead of them to win the American League East and receive a first-round bye. The only thing last night’s win guaranteed was home-field advantage for the Yankees if they play a Wild Card series.

Being a Giants fan is hard work.

Hard.

Work.

It feels like every game, something new happens, and somehow, it’s worse than what happened the week before. In Week 1, the Giants couldn’t score a touchdown. In Week 2, they couldn’t score enough touchdowns. And in Week 3, they couldn’t even kick!

“If they want New York to win, just tell me and give it to them already!”

The atmosphere in the American League East has gotten so heated that on Tuesday, Toronto’s George Springer – who once cheated his way to a World Series title – screamed this at a crew of umpires (Jomboy Media). The Boston Red Sox have taken two of three games from the Blue Jays to begin their three-game set. One Blue Jays loss tonight, coupled with a Yankees win, means the Yankees move into first place.

It’s hard to believe what we’re watching is real. Nine days ago, the Yankees sat five games behind Toronto for the lead in the AL East, and it felt like the Blue Jays had a lock on the division title. Yet somehow, the Yankees have climbed up the ladder to tie Toronto for the division lead. The Blue Jays own the tiebreaker over New York, but the division could go any which way.

“I always believed,” said Jazz Chisholm Jr. “Just looking at the names on this team and the talent around this clubhouse, how can you not believe in this team?”

What a weekend for the Bronx Bombers! They won three of four in Baltimore, and each game featured a monumental moment.

On Friday, the Yankees lost 4-2, but Jazz Chisholm Jr. became the third slugger in Yankees history to post a 30-30 season. Since the Yankees traded for Chisholm at the deadline last season, he’s hit to a .251 batting average with 42 home runs and 48 stolen bases. “I feel like [being in a winning atmosphere has] boosted my career, 100%, in different ways,” said Chisholm. “The winning mentality, the winning atmosphere, the way everybody in the front office, to the training staff, wants to win. This is how I felt like I grew up playing baseball, and what I needed to be around to be even more successful.”