newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Yankees’ Gerrit Cole can help lift baseball out of its funk

Caden Cole ’ s arrival on the final day of June supplied ...

Count Gerrit Cole as one of the few people who, during this profound economic downturn, received a promotion.
He arrived in The Bronx last December with the mission of saving (or at least elevating) his new team. He kicks off his second pinstriped spring training on Saturday, at Yankee Stadium once again, as a savior of his entire sport.
The $324 million right-hander became a father on Tuesday, and little Caden Gerrit Cole won’t be the only person looking to him for much-needed guidance, leadership and fun. With Major League Baseball having taken the ugliest path possible to an attempted restart from the coronavirus shutdown, its biggest stars must bulldoze the most dirt to get the game back on track. MLB appreciates this reality well enough that it wants Cole’s Yankees debut to occur in prime time July 23 at the home of the defending champion Nationals.
“I’m here to take that burden on and take it in stride,” Cole said Friday in a Zoom call. “I’m honored to do it, and I’ve prepared this entire summer to be put in that position. So I fully expect to be ready to go.”
He spoke — and broke the news of his new family member — shortly after reigning American League Most Valuable Player Mike Trout of the Angels, whose wife Jessica is expecting, shared his own mixed feelings about playing through these unprecedented conditions. Cole said he and his wife, Amy, are on board with his playing, offering the caveat, “If there’s obviously some significant breakouts or something that would really kind of put us in danger, we may adjust.”
No judgments here for anyone who opts out from this perilous endeavor.
As long as baseball gives this a shot and features willing participants, though, Cole belongs to a cadre of elite and compelling players — throw in Cole’s Yankees teammate Aaron Judge as well as the Mets’ Pete Alonso and Jacob deGrom, the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts, Trout and his fellow Angel Shohei Ohtani, the Nationals’ Juan Soto and Cole’s old Astros pals Jose Altuve and Justin Verlander — who can begin to raise the game out of its funk the way Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did in 1998, only with fewer steroids. Without paying fans, these guys can be must-see TV. They must.
“Obviously when negotiations spill out into the public forum where the public is used to try to create leverage against one side or another, it’s not going to be pretty. It’s especially not pretty, I think, under the backdrop of the pandemic,” Cole said of the highly contentious reboot negotiations between the players and owners. “… I think it leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths. But we’re in the second half of the year. I guess I’m kind of an optimist. It’s behind us, so hopefully we can learn from this, from both sides and hopefully we can do a better job in the future.”
“… [F]rom where I’m looking at it now, I think we’ve got 60 games ahead of us, so that’s kind of in the past for me. Our focus is on trying to come out hot and win some ballgames.”
As he cited the popularity of ESPN’s recent documentary on Michael Jordan, Cole said, “There is a desire across the country to watch baseball. Just driving into the Stadium the last few times, when people recognize you they get really excited and they wave and they smile. There’s just not enough of that going around. I think as players, we want to be able to provide that if we can.”
That opportunity may not arrive until next year, if ever, although Friday’s announcement of 38 positive COVID-19 tests out of 3,185 actually encourages. Should the fates allow it to happen, the Yankees appear to have found themselves a guy who embraces the responsibility of putting a sport on his back and carrying it to safer ground (which could crumble with a 2022 work stoppage, but let’s not harp on that right now).
If he succeeds at getting the Yankees their first title since 2009, Cole’s industry should rise concurrently, the promotion for which he didn’t apply fully validated.


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Inside look at Mets’ coronavirus protocols at Citi Field

The line began forming outside the Hodges gate at Citi Field before 8 a.m. on Friday .
Reporters and photographers with access to the ballpark — a number limited to 35 as part of MLB ’ s COVID-19 protocol — were greeted by a Mets employee who explained the entrance procedures .
First , there would be a standard bag check .
But then came the new twists : a quick temperature scan , followed by a waiver that needed to be signed releasing the Mets from responsibility should you become infected by the coronavirus on the premises .
Masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provided extras if needed .
In all , it ran smoothly , with the entire line processed within about 10 minutes of the gates opening .
But with elevators limited to a one-person capacity as part of the protocol , reporters and photographers were encouraged to use the stairs .
Reporters were confined to the press box , with photographers allowed to shoot from the lower grandstand .
Another change : the restrooms in the press box were restricted to one person at a time .
To ensure there wasn ’ t confusion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with images of players that were placed on the restroom door when a person entered .
The magnet got removed when somebody left the restroom .
Players and managers are conducting interviews on Zoom .
Other than a technical difficulty that delayed Edwin Diaz ’ s press conference by several minutes , the process ran smoothly .

The line began forming outside the Hodges gate at Citi Field before 8 a.m. on Friday. Reporters and photographers with access to the ballpark — a number limited to 35 as part of MLB’s COVID-19 protocol — were greeted by a Mets employee who explained the entrance procedures.
First, there would be a standard bag check. But then came the new twists: a quick temperature scan, followed by a waiver that needed to be signed releasing the Mets from responsibility should you become infected by the coronavirus on the premises. Masks were required for entry. The Mets provided extras if needed.
In all, it ran smoothly, with the entire line processed within about 10 minutes of the gates opening. But with elevators limited to a one-person capacity as part of the protocol, reporters and photographers were encouraged to use the stairs.
Reporters were confined to the press box, with photographers allowed to shoot from the lower grandstand. Another change: the restrooms in the press box were restricted to one person at a time. To ensure there wasn’t confusion, Mets media relations officials distributed magnets with images of players that were placed on the restroom door when a person entered. The magnet got removed when somebody left the restroom.
Players and managers are conducting interviews on Zoom. Other than a technical difficulty that delayed Edwin Diaz’s press conference by several minutes, the process ran smoothly.


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant giving ‘brutally honest’ input on Nets coaching hire

After the NBA ’ s long coronavirus layoff , the Nets are ramping ...

Nets general manager Sean Marks admits he’ll pick Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s brains on the team’s coaching situation. But that was never going to be from firsthand experience at the NBA restart in Orlando, Fla. That’s a risk Marks just didn’t feel worth taking.
“[Irving] is doing well. But like Kevin, you have to look at the risk-reward. When you have a lot of money and your future tied to a couple guys — the whole team, but these two guys are an integral part of it — they haven’t had the appropriate buildup,” Marks said Friday on WFAN. “The last thing you want to do is put these guys out there when they haven’t had the appropriate workload and buildup.”
And Marks won’t ask his stars to expose themselves to COVID-19 in Orlando to evaluate the work of interim coach and perceived frontrunner Jacque Vaughn, either.
“It would not be smart of us if we were not to involve some of these key players in this decision,” Marks said. “Kevin, Kyrie, we’re going to pick their brains on what they’re looking for in a leader, what they need. They’ve been brutally honest so far.
“I’m not going to be asking Kevin to come down to Orlando to evaluate anybody. When you get to the level of those elite players, they have ultimate goals in mind. They want to be held accountable. Kevin and Kyrie have told me they want to win a championship in Brooklyn.”
But the decimated Nets are realistic enough to know that title isn’t coming this season. They’re playing the long game.
Even if the word tank never ushered from Marks’ lips, there are reasons to be prudent. If the Nets miss the playoffs, they would retain their lottery-protected first-round pick, currently bound for Minnesota.
“We’ll be strategic in how we play down there and how we compete,” Marks said. “But again this is much, much bigger than the game of basketball. This transcends that.”
The reference was obviously to coronavirus, with DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Dinwiddie having both tested positive, and Jordan having already ruled himself out of the restart. But with Wilson Chandler and Nic Claxton also out, the Nets are a shell.
It’s easy to see why the Nets would be leery about the prospect of oft-injured Caris LeVert — their best young talent, and a potential trade chip if they want to land a third star — getting hurt trying to shoulder too much of the load.
“Absolutely, we have to be smart in how we go down there and how we compete and the team we put out there. We’ve been evaluating and continue to evaluate … who’s playing and who should play and who shouldn’t play,” Marks said. “The players have to make the decision on their own. It’s not entirely up to me. I can certainly direct them in ways we think will be beneficial, but we’re going to take their safety and health and injury risk [seriously].
“That’s a priority not just for this season. We’re looking two and three years down the road.”
LeVert averaged 24.1 points, 5.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds in the last 16 games before the shutdown, hitting 41.3 percent from deep. He admits to COVID-19 concerns, but says the Nets’ team decisions are above his head.
“As a team, the Nets as an organization? I don’t make those decisions; I feel like that’s outside of me. That’s Sean and ownership. That’s not really my job to think of those things,” LeVert said. “Myself individually, that’s definitely a thought in my head. When thinking about personal health and things like that outside of coronavirus and social justice and comfortability down there in the bubble, that’s definitely something I have to consider.
“But as an organization, I don’t think that’s my call to say we’re not going down.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Colin Kaepernick rips 4th of July as ‘celebration of white supremacy’

It ’ s no holiday for Colin Kaepernick , who slammed the Fourth of July as a “ celebration of white supremacy , ” in a tweet .
“ Black ppl have been dehumanized , brutalized , criminalized + terrorized by America for centuries , & are expected to join your commemoration of ‘ independence ’ , while you enslaved our ancestors .
We reject your celebration of white supremacy & look forward to liberation for all , ” the former NFLer star tweeted .
The activist , who was infamously shunned from the league after kneeling during the national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video which combined images of slaves , police brutality , the KKK , the Declaration of Independence and lynchings along with Frederick Douglass ’ “ What to the Slave is the Fourth of July ” speech , as narrated by actor James Earl Jones .
“ Fellow-citizens , pardon me , allow me to ask , why am I called upon to speak here to-day ?
What have I , or those I represent , to do with your national independence ?
” Jones reads .
“ Are the great principles of political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in that Declaration of Independence , extended to us ?
” Jones continues in the short clip .
“ … This Fourth of July is yours , not mine .
”

It’s no holiday for Colin Kaepernick, who slammed the Fourth of July as a “celebration of white supremacy,” in a tweet.
“Black ppl have been dehumanized, brutalized, criminalized + terrorized by America for centuries, & are expected to join your commemoration of ‘independence’, while you enslaved our ancestors. We reject your celebration of white supremacy & look forward to liberation for all,” the former NFLer star tweeted.
The activist, who was infamously shunned from the league after kneeling during the national anthem, paired the message with a video which combined images of slaves, police brutality, the KKK, the Declaration of Independence and lynchings along with Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” speech, as narrated by actor James Earl Jones.
“Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?” Jones reads.
“Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?” Jones continues in the short clip. “… This Fourth of July is yours, not mine.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Finding value plays in fantasy baseball matters more than ever

So , we meet again .
We ’ re still in uncharted territory , and ...

Springtime is in the past, Opening Day is right in the middle of the “dog days of summer,” and there isn’t enough time to debate hot and cold starts or sample sizes of data when constructing your fantasy baseball roster.
You need to be careful not to look too far into the future, whether you are drafting right now or getting ready for your first waiver period. In a normal season, those late-round draft picks or early free-agent claims can be spent on high-upside hopefuls, but this year is all about accruing as many at-bats and innings as possible and those can be found late in players often overlooked.
With the NL adopting the DH, there are few better role-players to draft than Washington’s Howie Kendrick. He was slotted to be the team’s primary DH this season, then teammate Ryan Zimmerman opted out of the season due to health concerns, so Kendrick also becomes part of the first-base platoon with lefty-swinging Eric Thames.
Normally a part-timer, Kendrick now brings his .294/.337/.431 slash line into a starting role with everyday at-bats and, as an added bonus in fantasy, also qualifies at first, second and third base, along with the middle- and corner-infield positions.
Other players still being overlooked can be found in those who were expected to miss significant time in the first half due to injury. Though everyone is looking at marquee names like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in the earlier rounds, keep a watchful eye late for outfielders Aaron Hicks and Yoenis Cespedes.
Hicks underwent Tommy John surgery last October and was expected to miss the entire first half of the season. With the delay, he is not only ready to return, but he will hold down a starting job in the outfield while Stanton takes his cuts as the designated hitter. Cespedes has now had more than enough time to recover from his double heel surgery and is expected to be the Mets’ DH on Opening Day. Both players have a current average draft positions in the mid-300s, which translates closer to a final-round pick in most leagues.
If you really want to dig even deeper, the delayed season and DH option has opened the door for Milwaukee’s Logan Morrison. After a solid spring start, the journeyman first baseman has used the extra time to change his diet and build more muscle and upper-body strength. The Brewers have him in their 60-player pool, and he is just the type of streaky player who can get you off to a white-hot start in the power categories.
The names are far from sexy, but this is now the world in which we live. Fantasy baseball is all about accruing numbers, and those with the opportunity from Day 1 will be the ones you need to start your season on the right foot.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at Fantasy-Alarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 5-7 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy baseball advice.


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Raging car fire erupts on Manhattan Bridge in NYC

The drama unfolded at 5:45 p.m. outside the Nathan 's on ...

A raging car fire ground traffic to a halt on the Manhattan Bridge.
Stunned New Yorkers looked on early Saturday evening as flames and dark clouds of smoke began billowing from the hatchback shortly after 6 p.m., the FDNY said.
“Stay safe new york city. caught this fire on manhattan bridge, feels like out of a movie,” one Twitter user posted with a video of the fire.
The car, stopped near the middle of the span on the Brooklyn-bound side, was completely engulfed in flames before firefighters could place the blaze under control around 7:30 p.m.
No injuries were reported. It’s not immediately clear what caused the fire.


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Man tased by NYPD cops outside Nathan’s in Coney Island

Michael Conforto ’ s stress level surged during baseball ’ s layoff , well beyond ...

A man who apparently lunged at cops in Coney Island late Saturday was quickly tasered, according to witnesses and police radio reports.
The drama unfolded at 5:45 p.m. outside the Nathan’s on Stillwell and Surf avenues, not far from where the 104th annual Hotdog Eating Contest had been staged inside hours earlier.
Nearly 50 police officers flooded the scene following calls for assistance.
The cops tased the man after he launched at them, witnesses told The Post.
The man was cuffed and taken to Coney Island Hospital for observation, the police radio report said. The man was also placed on a stretcher and given oxygen.
No further information was immediately available.
Additional reporting by Paul Martinka


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Who’s afraid of Ghislaine Maxwell? Everyone on this list

She befriended girls by asking about their lives and taking ...

It’s the Top Ten list no one wants to be on.
Moments after the feds busted Ghislaine Maxwell Thursday for allegedly roping in underage girls for pal Jeffrey Epstein’s perverted pleasure, fireworks started going off in the lives of certain billionaires and playboys who palled around with the two.
And not the happy Fourth of July kind.
Since no one was closer to the multimillionaire pedophile than Maxwell, whose network stretched from New York to France, Israel, Buckingham Palace and the Caribbean, those in the know are undoubtedly fretting over the dirt she could dish to keep herself out of jail.
Particularly after prosecutors vowed to “bring justice” to other potential enablers of Epstein’s sex abuse and trafficking.
A friend, TV host Christopher Mason, said he believes she had access to videotapes from all of Epstein’s properties — and the footage has gone missing.
“I’m sure she has access to the videos,” Mason said. “A lot of powerful people will be more than a little worried.”
So who among Epstein’s infamous black book will need a good lawyer if “G-Max” — the alias Maxwell used when moving around money — starts singing?
At the top of the list are the usual scandal magnets, Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Alan Dershowitz. They all hung around with Epstein, but each has a history of slithering out of jams.
Other Epstein associates with less experience in the hot seat might start to squirm.
Billionaire hedge fund owner Glenn Dubin, for example, who is one half of an accomplished Manhattan super-couple: His striking wife, Dr. Eva Andersson-Dubin, founded the Dubin Breast Center of the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Mount Sinai Medical Center.
They have three children and live a life of glossy luxury, all private chefs and private jets, with homes in Palm Beach, Westchester County, Sweden and a ranch in Gunnison, Colorado.
But Dubin’s friendship with Epstein and Maxwell ran deep.
His wife dated Epstein for a few years before she married Dubin in 1994, and Andersson-Dubin stuck up for the perv predator after his 2008 conviction on prostitution charges, saying she was “100% comfortable with Jeffrey Epstein around my children,” who were minors at the time.
The Dubins flatly deny assertions by sex-abuse victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who in a 2016 deposition claimed Maxwell sent her to have sex with Dubin after her “training.”
There’s also the beautiful, high-flying countess whom investigators reportedly want to question in the wake of Maxwell’s arrest.
Clare Hazell, now known as the Countess of Iveagh, was once just a regular, under-the-radar Ohio State University student (albeit with tuition reportedly paid by Epstein). Then she married Edward Guinness of the famed brewing family in 2001.
Hazell, 44, could be of interest to prosecutors because she worked for Epstein in the 1990s and flew on his Lolita Express jet at least 32 times between 1998 and 2000. She could have witnessed Maxwell’s dealings with other wealthy pals.
Larry Summers, Sheryl Sandberg’s one-time mentor and the former Harvard president, helped bolster Epstein’s reputation, taking $30 million from the multimillionaire to create Harvard’s Epstein Program for Mathematical Biology and Evolutionary Dynamics, according to Slate.
Epstein reportedly only agreed to have his name attached after being persuaded by Summers himself.
Summers appeared in Lolita Express flight logs, and Epstein’s private charity funded a nonprofit that produces a TV show hosted by Summers’ wife, the Daily Beast reported last year.
Married politician Ehud Barak, 77, the former prime minister of Israel, has watched current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu beat back seemingly every accusation and political challenge, while Barak’s ties to Epstein dog him constantly.
Barak found himself targeted by Netanyahu, who has tweeted articles and photographs of Barak exiting Epstein’s townhouse in 2016.
He once said he met Epstein “more than 10 times and much less than a hundred times, but I can’t tell you exactly how many. I don’t keep count. Over the years, I’ve seen him on occasion.”
Barak admitted that he visited Epstein at two of his New York homes and flew to Epstein’s notorious Pedophile Island hideaway once, though he denied participating in any sex parties or orgies at the swanky retreat.
Leslie Wexner, the billionaire owner of Victoria’s Secret, has never been charged with anything. But one has to wonder why the titan would reportedly hire Epstein, who was then little more than a glorified former high school math teacher with just a few years on Wall Street, as his financial adviser in 1987, and then give him power of attorney over his fortune.
“It’s a weird relationship,” a Wall Streeter who reportedly knew Epstein told New York Magazine at the time. “It’s just not typical for someone of such enormous wealth to all of a sudden give his money to some guy most people have never heard of.”
To his credit, Wexner pulled the plug on their connection in 2007, saying, “I would not have continued to work with any individual capable of such egregious, sickening behavior as has been reported about him.”
A representative for Wexner called The Post after a reporter left messages regarding his client’s ties to Epstein, but declined to comment further.
He was smoother than some reps for boldface names who sounded uncharacteristically desperate when reached by The Post, alternately threatening legal action and begging not to be mentioned in print.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, 72, and former US Sen. George Mitchell, 86, probably never envisioned being part of a sex scandal so late in their lives and careers.
In Mitchell’s case, the irony was supreme. He was known for overseeing the Philadelphia Archdiocese compensation fund for victims of clergy sex abuse in 2018.
Richardson would rather be remembered for pushing through the world’s first purpose-built spaceport when he was governor.
Now the two are doing all they can to distance themselves from Epstein, especially after the arrest Thursday of Maxwell in the tiny town of Bradford, NH, where she was living in a luxurious, multimillion-dollar hideaway in the woods.
Both have denied claims by Giuffre that she was “instructed” by Epstein and Maxwell to have sex with them, including one incident in which she said she gave Mitchell a sexual massage at Epstein’s mansion in Palm Beach, where her “body was put on the banquet menu.”
“I have never met, spoken with or had any contact with Ms. Giuffre,” Mitchell told Fox News last summer.
“In my contacts with Mr. Epstein I never observed or suspected any inappropriate conduct with underage girls. I only learned of his actions when they were reported in the media related to his prosecution in Florida. We have had no further contact.”
Richardson, too, was swift to issue a forceful rebuttal last summer, saying he had only “limited” interactions with Epstein and never in the presence of young or underage girls. He also denied ever having been on Pedophile Island or meeting Giuffre.
Top Ten list of Ghislaine Maxwell’s alleged pals
Additional reporting by Paula Froelich


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Joe Judge carrying Bill Belichick leadership-council model to Giants

Finding the proper , or at least appropriate , work-life balance is ...

In some ways, it is remarkable how much responsibility Bill Belichick heaped on Joe Judge.
Take a look at Judge’s assignment for the 2019 season: fill the demanding job of special teams coordinator and, oh, by the way, also add position coach duties (wide receivers) to the already-crammed hours in his day. This is not common practice, giving a coordinator a duel role — coaching the receivers on an NFL team is a full-time gig.
There was even more, under the surface, Belichick at times asked Judge to handle during Judge’s eight years with the Patriots. Belichick comes off like a curmudgeon, but he understands the value of keeping the lines of communication open with his players. To that end, Belichick formed a leadership council in New England and assigned Judge as the main liaison from the coaching staff to interact with that select group.
So, it comes as no surprise the first-time head coach will carry over that concept to the Giants.
“We definitely will,’’ Judge told The Post recently. “Nothing’s been formally structured right now. Normally those start to emerge in the spring. Really with our new exposure to these players, we wanted to go ahead and get through a spring.’’
The spring and early summer was filled with all sorts of COVID-19-driven virtual and remote dissemination of football information, as well as several discussions on the social justice issues sparked by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Mostly, Judge discussed this with a few of the older players on the roster.
“But it’s not going to silence anybody’s voice,’’ Judge said. “All the conversations are open to all the players.’’
Team captains for Judge’s first season with the Giants will be elected by their peers in the locker room.
“They need to represent the team, and you want to emphasize to them it’s not a popularity contest,’’ Judge said. “You’re electing people to represent you.’’
Judge, with feedback from his coaching staff, will select the players to make up his leadership council. This will get done in training camp or closer to the start of the season.
“We’ll grab some guys we believe represent a larger part of the team,’’ Judge said. “We don’t have a specific number narrowed down. I’ve been exposed to all different ways of doing that, whether it’s one guy per position or guys of different ages. For us, we have to identify the makeup of our team in training camp and see what the best fit we can do with that.’’
Heeding a “suggestion’’ — more like a directive — from co-owner John Mara, Tom Coughlin created a leadership council after the 2006 season, and it helped him save his job.
It will be interesting to see which players make Judge’s cut. Two longtime Giants leaders and captains, Eli Manning and Zak DeOssie, are recently retired. Given the abundance of youth and the lack of success in recent years, there are few slam-dunk choices.
Saquon Barkley is just 23 and entering his third NFL season, but he is a natural candidate. Daniel Jones, also 23, is the starting quarterback but probably not ready yet. Receiver Sterling Shepard, incredibly, is the longest-tenured Giants player, at five years, and is well-respected.
Nate Solder or Kevin Zeitler are possibilities from the offensive line. Defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson is solid but might not fit the personality profile. Jabrill Peppers is a fierce competitor and could gain admission in only his second year with the Giants. Inside linebacker Blake Martinez will make the defensive calls, but he is a newcomer, as is James Bradberry, the high-priced free agent cornerback.
Nate Ebner, a special teams ace signed this offseason, was part of the leadership council with the Patriots and thus has great familiarity with what Judge wants and expects.
It is a delicate balance. Judge wants players representing the totality of the locker room, young and old, top of the roster to the bottom, individuals who have something to say and are willing to say it. In New England, the leadership group was not made up of a bunch of Tom Brady-types. At various times, Ebner and Matthew Slater were on it, as was Devin McCourty.
Belichick entrusted much of the formation and implementation of his leadership council to Judge and Jack Easterby, the Patriots’ team development director and character coach. Judge and Easterby spent six years together in New England. Easterby left for the Texans in 2019 to become their executive vice president of team development.
“To me, the biggest thing is, who’s willing to talk to you?’’ Judge said. “You can tell the players willing to walk into your office and sit down across from you and tell you the thing that’s the tough thing to say. That’s the guy who normally needs to be representing the players, because he’s not afraid to speak up on what needs to be said.
“There’s no secrets within the team. The locker room knows. Some guy may be a Pro Bowler or he may all that’s being written about in the papers, but everybody knows the guy who’s really the guy.’’


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Michael Conforto spent ‘frustrating’ MLB pause as Mets’ union voice

The Mets ’ 2020 season is set to begin just as ...

Michael Conforto’s stress level surged during baseball’s layoff, well beyond the concern of his strained oblique or the coronavirus outbreak that threatened the season.
As the Mets’ union representative, Conforto was charged with conveying information to his teammates in May and June as the MLBPA and owners battled over an economic plan that would allow an abbreviated season to commence.
Conforto described himself as “the voice of the majority of the team” on the issues. Brandon Nimmo, Jed Lowrie, Pete Alonso and Jacob deGrom were the teammates Conforto says were most involved in relaying information to Mets players.
“It was an experience — I have never been involved with any of that bargaining-type stuff,” Conforto said Saturday as spring training 2.0 continued at Citi Field. “It was stressful at times. It was frustrating at times.”
Ultimately, commissioner Rob Manfred imposed a 60-game season, after the sides couldn’t reach an economic agreement on a possible longer season. At issue was the pay reduction owners wanted the players to accept for games held without fans in the ballpark.
It sets up a potentially ugly fight between the sides when the collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2021 season. Conforto said he’s trying to put the past several weeks behind him, but gleaned something from the experience.
“It showed me the power of our union, the unity of the players,” Conforto said. “As we went closer to this 60-game area that we ended up in, the guys kept getting more and more unified and it was kind of incredible to watch. Speaking for the Mets in general, we became more unified, but also player leadership on those calls and the union as a whole.”
Conforto says he is fine physically after straining an oblique in March that would have jeopardized his readiness for Opening Day had it started as scheduled. The focus now is following MLB’s safety protocols, with social distancing as the primary means for avoiding a coronavirus outbreak.
“We have kind of gone above and beyond what MLB has mandated, as far as Brodie being around to remind us six feet apart, he likes us to stay more like 10 feet apart, making every effort to not have a point-of-contact type thing,” Conforto said, referring to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.
“It’s been real crazy, but it’s encouraging. We’re starting to see how we can make this thing work, we can still get our work in and we’ve got to be responsible, we have got to make sure that we follow the rules and also get our work in at the same time.”
Four Braves players, including All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman, were revealed Saturday to have tested positive for the coronavirus. Conforto was asked about his own level of fear about contracting the virus.
“All of us understand what a positive test does, and really it’s going to shut you down for over probably something like three weeks, so obviously it’s something we worry about,” Conforto said. “That is kind of the reason we are going above and beyond in these protocols.
“I did see some big names in there. Anybody in our family who gets it, we feel terrible for, but it’s kind of coming down to this is a big part of the season where the healthier the team can stay it really increases your chances of winning games when we do get to the season. We have to be real vigilant and responsible to make sure we have all our guys out there when the time comes.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Trump praises Founding Fathers, military in fiery 4th of July speech

President Trump took the stage Saturday for a second night to celebrate America ’ s birthday and praise first responders , the military and the country ’ s prospects .
“ Our country is in great shape , ” the president told an audience filled with soldiers and medical workers on the South Lawn of the White House .
“ Our military has never been stronger , ” he said , promising , “ Next year will be one of the greatest years we ever had.
” As for the coronavirus pandemic , Trump predicted the U.S. will “ likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end of the year.
” Much as he did in his Mount Rushmore speech Friday night , the president extolled the nation ’ s Founding Fathers in the face of the anti-cop unrest and statue desecrations prompted by the police killing of George Floyd — describing protesters as “ angry mob [ s ] .
” “ The patriots who built our countries were not villains ; they were heroes whose courageous deeds improved the Earth beyond measure , ” Trump said as squadrons of US military aircraft roared overhead .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you believe in freedom , if you believe in peace , then you must cherish the principles of our founding , ” he added .
Trump went on to attack the media “ who falsely and consistently label their opponents ‘ racist . '
” “ We want a clear and faithful defense of American history , ” the president added , accusing journalists of “ slander.
” “ When you level these false charges , you not only slander me ; you not only slander the American people , but you slander @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for America , ” Trump said .
The US Air Force Thunderbirds and the US Navy Blue Angels made a long-range flyover of cities that played a role in the American Revolution — from Boston and New York to Philadelphia and Baltimore — as part of the federal government ’ s “ Salute to America ” program before they appeared over the nation ’ s capital .
A 35-minute fireworks show of more than 10,000 rockets and sparklers followed as darkness fell .
The US Department of the Interior promised to have 300,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ viewers in an around the National Mall to prevent the spread of coronavirus — after DC Mayor Muriel Bowser critiqued the party plans .
Trump said the US has “ made a lot of progress ” fighting the coronavirus even as daily cases increases to levels never before seen in the country .
“ We ’ ve made a lot of progress .
Our strategy is moving along well … We have the finest testing in the world , ” Trump said .
“ With respect to remedies , we are now doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump launched the Independence Day festivities by setting off his own rhetorical incendiaries Friday night at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota , with a speech torching what he called a “ left-wing cultural revolution ” taking aim at America ’ s historical figures .
“ We will not throw our heroes .
We will honor them and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice , ” he said Saturday .

President Trump took the stage Saturday for a second night to celebrate America’s birthday and praise first responders, the military and the country’s prospects.
“Our country is in great shape,” the president told an audience filled with soldiers, medical workers and their families on the South Lawn of the White House.
“Our military has never been stronger,” he said, promising, “Next year will be one of the greatest years we ever had.”
As for the coronavirus pandemic, Trump predicted the U.S. will “likely have a therapeutic or vaccine long before the end of the year.”
Much as he did in his Mount Rushmore speech Friday night, the president extolled the nation’s Founding Fathers in the face of anti-cop unrest and statue desecrations prompted by the police killing of George Floyd — describing protesters as “angry mob[s].”
“The patriots who built our countries were not villains; they were heroes whose courageous deeds improved the Earth beyond measure,” Trump said as squadrons of US military aircraft roared overhead.
“If you believe in justice, if you believe in freedom, if you believe in peace, then you must cherish the principles of our founding,” he added.
“American heroes defeated the Nazis, dethroned the Fascists, toppled the Communists, saved American values, unheld American principles, and chased down terrorists to the very ends of the earth,” he said.
“We are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters and people who in many instances have absolutely no clue what they are doing.”
Trump went on to attack the media “who falsely and consistently label their opponents ‘racist.'”
“We want a clear and faithful defense of American history,” the president added, accusing journalists of “slander.”
“When you level these false charges, you not only slander me; you not only slander the American people, but you slander generations of heroes who gave their lives for America,” Trump said.
In a tweet early Sunday, he condemned CNN’s coverage of the speech. The network accused the president of “comparing” radical protesters and Nazis.
Throughout Saturday, the US Air Force Thunderbirds and the US Navy Blue Angels made a long-range flyover of cities that played a role in the American Revolution — from Boston and New York to Philadelphia and Baltimore — as part of the federal government’s “Salute to America” program before they appeared over the nation’s capital.
A 35-minute fireworks show of more than 10,000 rockets and sparklers followed as darkness fell.
The US Department of the Interior promised to have 300,000 face masks on hand to distribute to viewers in an around the National Mall to prevent the spread of coronavirus — after DC Mayor Muriel Bowser critiqued the party plans.
Trump said the US has “made a lot of progress” fighting the coronavirus even as daily cases increases to levels never before seen in the country.
“We’ve made a lot of progress. Our strategy is moving along well … We have the finest testing in the world,” Trump said.
“With respect to remedies, we are now doing unbelievably well,” he added.
Trump launched the Independence Day festivities by setting off his own rhetorical incendiaries Friday night at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, with a speech torching what he called a “left-wing cultural revolution” taking aim at America’s historical figures.
“We will not throw away our heroes. We will honor them and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice,” he said Saturday.


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa test positive for coronavirus

Two Yankees have tested positive for coronavirus before coming to New York , manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Saturday @ @ @ @ @ of the Yankees ’ top hitters , and spot starter and reliever Luis Cessa have @ @ @ @ @ They both are isolating at home .
Boone said LeMahieu is asymptomatic while Cessa has @ @ @ @

DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa both tested positive for COVID-19 and are self-isolating outside New York, Aaron Boone said Saturday.
The Yankees manager said LeMahieu has been asymptomatic, while Cessa has experienced “very mild symptoms.”
Boone added he was “hopeful” the two would only be out a short time.
Neither player had been placed on the COVID-19 injured list because they had yet to go through the MLB-administered intake screenings.
Aroldis Chapman and Gary Sanchez were also not at the first day of the Yankees spring training 2.0 in The Bronx, but Boone said that was because they were still awaiting test results.
“It’s not good or bad,’’ Boone said.
As COVID-19 cases spike across the nation, the league is trying to figure out how to play a season during a pandemic. Stars such as the Angels’ Mike Trout have expressed misgivings about playing, while the Dodgers’ David Price announced Saturday he would opt out.
LeMahieu is slated to be the Yankees’ starting second baseman after a stellar first season in The Bronx after signing a two-year deal prior to last season.
With Gleyber Torres sliding over to shortstop after the departure of Didi Gregorius to Philadelphia, LeMahieu’s role is set. Cessa has been a serviceable right-handed arm in the bullpen and figures to be called upon again if he’s healthy, with teams needing plenty of arms in their 60-player pool in the shortened season.
So far, no Yankees have opted to not play the abbreviated 60-game regular season due to coronavirus fears.
The Yankees have had experience with COVID-19 since March, when a pair of minor leaguers tested positive and they had to shut down the minor league complex in Tampa. They had four others test positive since then, as well, though LeMahieu and Cessa are the first known positives on their 40-man roster.
They recently signed Matt Duffy to a minor league deal to add to their infield depth, which they might need if LeMahieu is out for any length of time.
Jordan Montgomery said he had no hesitation about whether he would show up for the season.
“It was a no-doubter I would play,’’ Montgomery said Saturday during a Zoom call. “I haven’t pitched in two years [following Tommy John surgery]. Everyone feels the same. We’re too good to waste a year.”
Aaron Hicks, who welcomed a new baby into his family with his girlfriend, also had no hesitation.
“We understand what’s at stake here,’’ Hicks said. “Being able to do my job, play baseball, is something I always want to do.”
Hicks said his family would stay in Arizona for the season.
Though the Yankees could have an advantage if LeMahieu isn’t out long and no other players choose to sit out, Boone declined to look too far ahead.
“It’s gonna be a long process,’’ Boone said. “We have to get through camp, through Opening Day and through the season. It’s really a day at a time.”
He likes his team’s attitude so far, but Boone understands what lies ahead for his team, as they try to navigate this season unlike any other.
“We’re taking it day-by-day,’’ Boone said. “Our guys have an excited frame of mind. We understand the challenges in front of them and the daily protocols we have to follow. They’re very eager and ready to go.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Ghislaine Maxwell could be back in New York in days, report says

Ghislaine Maxwell could be back in New York as soon as Sunday — but not in the Manhattan jail where her pedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein died , according to a report .
Instead , Maxwell — nabbed Thursday at a secluded New Hampshire estate after months on the run from child sex abuse charges — is expected to be held at Brooklyn ’ s Metropolitan Detention Center before a possible court appearance early next week , said The Daily Mail .
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead of an apparent suicide in August 2019 in the Manhattan Correctional Center .
U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Manhattan prosecutors to warn that “ No harm must come ” to Maxwell , a source told the tabloid .
“ After the debacle with Epstein nothing can happen to her , ” said the source , who added a plea deal is possible if Maxwell “ has proof which will lead to the conviction of bigger fish.
” The FBI nearly had Maxwell caught least once in the past year , during an extended “ high-stakes game of cat and mouse ” which costs millions but didn ’ t kick into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against her , sources told the Mail .
“ This has taken millions of dollars and hundreds of man hours .
At least five million bucks , maybe more .
The FBI has been tracking her for a year .
They had her , then they lost her , ” according to the Mail ’ s source .
“ She was in Colorado and Wyoming , then they lost her until she showed up in New Hampshire .
“ They had to build a case and put it in front of a grand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
She slipped through the net once but as soon as the grand jury came back with an indictment 10 days ago , it was on , ” the source added .
The socialite was so stunned when the dozens of officers stormed the mansion , dubbed “ TuckedAway , ” that she didn ’ t even seem to be aware of the handcuffs .
“ Let ’ s just say , we didn ’ t knock politely on the door .
It was smashed down , ” an officer told the Mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the living room , wearing sweat pants and a top .
Strangely she didn ’ t seem to have much reaction .
It was like it wasn ’ t registering with her .
“ She was turned around quickly and cuffed .
She was in custody in a matter of seconds .
”

Ghislaine Maxwell could be back in New York as soon as Sunday, but not necessarily in the Manhattan jail where her pedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein died, The Post has confirmed.
Instead, Maxwell, nabbed Thursday at a secluded New Hampshire estate after months on the run from child-sex-abuse charges, may be held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center before a possible court appearance early next week, according to law-enforcement sources.
Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in August 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.
US Attorney General William Barr “personally called” Manhattan prosecutors to warn that “no harm must come” to Maxwell, a source told the Daily Mail.
“After the debacle with Epstein, nothing can happen to her,” said the source, who added a plea deal is possible if Maxwell “has proof which will lead to the conviction of bigger fish.”
The feds pursued Maxwell from Colorado to Wyoming to New Hampshire during a “high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse” that cost millions, but didn’t kick into high gear until the feds secured an indictment against her 10 days before her arrest, the Mail’s source said.
The socialite was stunned when dozens of officers broke down the door to her hideaway, the source added.
“Maxwell was up and dressed, in the living room, wearing sweatpants . . . Strangely she didn’t seem to have much reaction . . . “She was turned around quickly and cuffed.”


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Catching up with legendary Mets broadcaster Howie Rose

According to multiple sources familiar with Mets sale saga , the ...

Longtime radio sports announcer Howie Rose, who is the current Mets play-by-play man for WCBS 880-AM, makes the call to do some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.
Q: What are your thoughts on the 60-game MLB season?
A: It will be with the most trepidation I’ve ever approached an Opening Day, to be sure. When we get to there, when I’m sitting in the booth — even if there’s no one in the stands, but I can look out on a beautiful green baseball field and see players and see the Mets and know that it counts — my adrenaline’s gonna go sky high, it’ll be through the roof. I’m just going to take the leap of faith that the measures that they take and the protocols that are in place will enable us to get to the finish line of this season without too many speed bumps. But there certainly figure to be some, and I hope they don’t have any tragic consequences.
Q: Describe this Mets team.
A: With a DH in the National League, they’ve got a really deep lineup. The bullpen has a lot of questions, and if you answer a few of them in the affirmative, you’ve got a pretty good back end there. If they can figure things out without Noah Syndergaard, then I like their chances to go a long way.
Q: What do you think of Pete Alonso?
A: I’m amazed how someone that young and that inexperienced at the major league level can be so attuned to the sensibilities of being a prominent athlete in New York. … Social media being what it is now provides the opportunity for players to reach out and become part of the community in ways that they never were able to before, and Pete has mastered that. He is the face of the franchise — along with Jacob deGrom. But I think what Pete Alonso has done is unprecedented, maybe in New York history for a young player.
Q: Yoenis Cespedes?
A: If all he’s got to do is swing the bat, let’s face it, he’s motivated to get a contract for next year. Can he turn it on going from first to third without breaking down again? That remains to be seen.
Q: Can Jeff McNeil win a batting title?
A: He absolutely can.
Q: How often are you reminded about your “Matteau, Matteau, Matteau!” call in Game 7 of the Rangers’ 1994 conference finals victory over the Devils?
A: I would say, when people recognize me, 25-35 percent of the time that will come up.
Q: How do you feel about that?
A: Incredibly flattered. You always, I think, in a private moment, would admit that you’d like to leave an imprint in whatever endeavor you pursue professionally, and if that’s mine, I’m pretty proud of it.
Q: What was your reaction when Sal Messina wondered on air whether it might have been Esa Tikkanen’s goal?
A: I literally was afraid that it was gonna be Tikkanen’s goal. So I was relieved when they called it Matteau’s. But then when I heard the call back on the postgame show, I had never heard myself that out of control. And when I walked out of the Garden that night, I was a little disappointed. I said, “Man, this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment, and I think I sounded like a hyena.” I feel a lot better about it now than I did that night.
Q: Describe the night you were on the ice when Mark Messier lofted the 1994 Stanley Cup.
A: I was fighting back tears. That night was the culmination of 28 years of being a Ranger fan and then becoming a broadcaster and hoping they’d win the Cup, and hoping I could be a Ranger broadcaster some day. … I called what proved to be the Stanley Cup-winning goal. You know about that sign “Now I Can Die in Peace.” Well, I understand it.
Q: What were your emotions when the ’69 Mets won the World Series?
A: As a person who considers himself reasonably articulate, virtually indescribable. It was a gift. It was beyond anything I’d imagine happening that soon. It was the greatest ride I’ve ever been on.
Q: What were your emotions when the 1986 Mets won it all?
A: ’86 was a relief. ’69 was pure unadulterated joy. There’s no better age to be when your team wins it all than 15. You could put school on a shelf for a couple of weeks and hopefully get back on track. … Your pursuit of the opposite sex, if so inclined, is not as fervent necessarily or as well-developed as it would be when you’re a little older.
Q: What was it like watching Mookie Wilson’s roller through Bill Buckner’s legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series?
A: I was in the auxiliary press area down the right field line. I was at CBS Radio. They would roll tape back in the newsroom, and I would just be on the phone letting ’em know what was going on until the game ended, and then I would go 3-2-1, do a 30-second voicer and head downstairs and do all the interviews. … I wished they would have saved that thing ’cause I don’t know, I mighta yelled “Holy s–t, I can’t f—–g believe what just f—–g happened!”
Q: Describe the Mike Piazza post-9/11 home run.
A: A few moments after the home run, I think I was able to put in perspective in somewhat prescient fashion that this was gonna endure in Mets or New York baseball history for a long time. And I’m kind of proud of that, because you don’t always recognize those things in the moment.
Q: What did you think of Roger Clemens throwing the sawed-off bat toward Piazza in Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.
A: Utterly bizarre. He thought it was the ball? I had better excuses to teachers when I didn’t do my homework.
Q: Describe Fred and Jeff Wilpon.
A: When I met Fred Wilpon in 1980, I told him that my goal was to someday broadcast for the New York Mets. He and his family allowed that dream to come true and I am forever indebted.
Q: What do you think of Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez as potential Mets owners?
A: Intriguing. I have a feeling that if that ever happens, things will rarely be dull in Metsville. If they do buy the team, do I have to adjust my favorite actress and entertainer answers?
Q: Tom Seaver?
A: As a player, he taught me how to comport oneself on the field, regardless of the situation. As a broadcast partner of mine he once called a balk before the umpire did! Pretty astute. I was privileged to spend a few hours at his vineyard a few years ago and it was unforgettable. I think of him constantly and my thoughts are with Tom [who has dementia], Nancy and their family.
Q: Does Gil Hodges belong in the Hall of Fame?
A: More than anything, he represents everything good about the game of baseball. A true role model. His omission from the Hall of Fame is a significant oversight, which needs to be corrected.
Q: Describe the young Dwight Gooden.
A: I thought we’d uncovered the greatest pitching gem that had ever been found.
Q: The young Darryl Strawberry.
A: Prodigious. Everything he did was big. He was Reggie [Jackson] after Reggie. Not as braggadocio as Reggie, but he was the same kind of lightning rod.
Q: The rise and fall of Matt Harvey.
A: Mercurial and sad.
Q: How nerve-wracking was calling the ninth inning of Johan Santana’s 2012 no-hitter, the first in Mets history?
A: Extremely. My broadcast parter than night was Jim Duquette, working his first game on the air! He never said a word in the ninth inning. As tense as it was, Johan quickly recorded the first two outs, which helped. The last at bat by David Freese felt like it took about an hour-and-a-half.
Q: Describe the Mets winning the 2015 pennant.
A: The most emotional call I have ever made. When those words, “The Mets win the pennant!” came out of my mouth, I found myself in a vicious battle to maintain my composure. After about 30 seconds, you can actually hear my voice crack just a bit. Those were words I literally dreamt of saying as a Mets broadcaster when I was a kid.
Q: Bobby Valentine, and his dugout mustache.
A: Always a step ahead, an inning ahead, or an at-bat ahead. As far as the mustache, one of the most entertaining things I’ve ever seen at a sporting event. I give him all the credit in the world for having the guts to do it.
Q: Bobby Bonilla.
A: Rich man.
Q: What was it like watching Carlos Beltran taking strike three in Game 7 to end the 2006 NLCS against the Cardinals?
A: Bitterly, bitterly painful. He’s taken an unfair beating about that because that was one helluva pitch, and Adam Wainwright deserves most of the credit.
Q: The Endy Chavez catch robbing Scott Rolen of a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning of that game?
A: Thought he won the game for the Mets right there.
Q: Pete Rose versus Bud Harrelson in the 1973 NL playoffs?
A: Buddy was just playing rope-a-dope. My heart goes out to him [Alzheimer’s], too.
Q: David Wright and Jose Reyes?
A: You can’t find a better person than David. The Mets have never had a player as deeply involved in the community who brought more joy to individuals’ lives upon meeting him than David. That’s before you talk about his wonderful playing career. It’s sad that injuries took the toll that they did. I’m not sure that the Mets have ever had a more exciting player than Jose. In his prime, he was a difference-maker who could beat you in multiple ways. I wish those two could have won more together than they ultimately did.
Q: Rusty Staub?
A: A hero in every sense of the word, because we tend to use that term irresponsibly with regard to athletes or ballplayers. But what Rusty did, to better the lives of so many people in this city with his charitable work, has gone above and beyond anything you would expect even the most charitable player to do. He was a wonderful player on the field, and an even better person off of it.
Q: The Islanders’ first Stanley Cup in 1980?
A: I was just so euphorically thrilled to see the Stanley Cup in person being won by a New York team. Long Island was such a special place then because it probably was the closest that we’ve come in the New York market to replicating what Brooklyn was when the Dodgers were winning.
Q: Watching Super Bowl III in your living room with your dad?
A: I could probably make a strong case for Joe Namath being my absolute all-time sports idol. What boy our age didn’t wish he was either Joe Namath or Walt Frazier, right?
Q: The 1986 Super Bowl XXI Giants?
A: I was pissed off when both teams moved to New Jersey, so I kind of understood where, at the time, Mayor Koch was coming from. But in retrospect, they really should have had a parade.
Q: What were your emotions when Bucky Dent hit the home run in that one-game 1978 playoff with the Red Sox?
A: My father passed away [Alzheimer’s] in early June [that year], and he was such a big Yankee fan, and that was the year that they fell behind the Red Sox by 14 ¹/₂ games, and then come back and win the whole thing, and I’m convinced that he had something to do with that. I was just so happy for him; he wasn’t around to see it. He wasn’t around to see me accomplish anything, which really embitters me to this day, but that’s the way it goes, I guess.
Q: If you could broadcast any event in history, what would it be?
A: I think having never experienced the magnitude of Babe Ruth, I would love to have called his 60th home run. I think, as macabre as this might sound, I would love to have been broadcasting that game on Dec. 7, 1941, when news came through that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. I would love to have been part of a broadcast that was prominent in history.
Q: How might you have broadcast the Bobby Thomson’s 1951 Shot Heard ’Round the World off Ralph Branca if you were working for the Giants?
A: I guess, if we consider the information that we now have at our disposal, there’s a good chance that when the ball landed in those lower left field seats of the Polo Grounds, I probably would have been yelling “Thomson! Thomson! Thomson!”
Q: What are your thoughts on Roger Maris.
A: 1961, first year I was a fan, Maris and [Mickey] Mantle, the home run chase. I took to Maris a little bit more because he was left-handed [batter], I was left-handed, but Mickey Mantle was larger than life. I played Little League at age 10, 11, 12 in Bayside, Queens, and although all of us had perfectly healthy knees, we all ran with this little bit of a limp the way Mantle did.
Q: The Emile Francis Rangers.
A: That was a team that dictated my moods as a teenager.
Q: What was it like having Marv Albert critique your early tapes over the phone?
A: You can’t pay Harvard or Yale or any Ivy League school for the level of education that I got as a broadcaster from those conversations with Marv.
Q: Where did you sit at the Garden when you would do play-by-play into your tape recorder?
A: 429 G11, last row of the building. This was 1970-71, my first season ticket. Marv literally had to walk by my seat on his way to the booth to do a game, and he would give me a copy of that night’s media notes so I had some background information and I could kind of sound like I knew what I was talking about.
Q: Describe late Mets broadcaster Bob Murphy.
A: Legend … beloved. He always found a way, even in the darkest times, to make you feel good about the Mets. And I’m not at all ashamed to say that I have endeavored to do the same thing. And, when people are nice enough to say that I am to this generation what Murph was to theirs, I hope that’s what they mean.
Q: Lindsey Nelson.
A: Jackets. When the game was on the line, he could capture the drama, and I’ve tried to emulate that too.
Q: Being a guest on “Kiner’s Korner.”
A: It was so pure. It was so organic. It was the last game of the season. And so Ralph introduces me, and I said, “Hey Ralph, I thought you had to get a few hits or pitch a shutout to be on ‘Kiner’s Korner.’ ” And Ralph gets this little kind of Cheshire cat’s grin at the corner of his mouth. He says, “Yeah, come to think of it, you’re the worst guest we’ve ever had.”
Submit questions on your favorite New York teams to be answered in an upcoming mailbag
Q: Gary Cohen.
A: As close to perfection doing baseball on the radio as is possible.
Q: Ron Darling.
A: He’s brilliant, but perceptive, and an unfailing ability to find something that most of us can’t, or don’t.
Q: Keith Hernandez.
A: Unfiltered and unparalleled.
Q: Wayne Randazzo.
A: On the fast track.
Q: Your father’s favorite, Mel Allen.
A: Mel was a guy when I fell in love with baseball I would walk around imitating.
Q: When the 1962 Mets were born, you rooted for both them and the Yankees?
A. Gary Cohen can’t believe it, that some of my friends and I were Met fans, but we didn’t hate the Yankees — they never played each other. Until 1969, one was no threat to the other, we could only dream of a Subway Series.
Q: Three dinner guests?
A: John Lennon, [Winston] Churchill, [Richard] Nixon.
Q: Favorite movies?
A: “The Graduate,” “Annie Hall,” “Animal House.”
Q: Favorite actor?
A: Foghorn Leghorn. A vastly underrated performer.
Q: Favorite actress?
A: Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?
A: The Beatles.
Q: Favorite meal?
A: Sushi is the new pizza.
Q: Why did you decide to join Twitter earlier this year?
A: I was always asked, “When are you gonna go on Twitter, when are you gonna go on Twitter?” And I said, “Well, you know what? I guess a global pandemic oughta do they trick.” The day that I officially went on Twitter and tweeted for the first time, was April 11. Would you believe that April 11, 1962, was the day that the Mets played their very first game?


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Swiss zookeeper killed by Siberian tiger inside enclosure

A Swiss zookeeper was killed Saturday after she was attacked by a Siberian tiger in front of horrified visitors at the Zurich zoo .
The onlookers raised an alarm after watching the tiger , named Irina , attack the 55-year-old keeper , according to The Associated Press .
Other zoo workers rushed to the woman ’ s aid and lured the tiger out of her enclosure as first responders tried to revive the zookeeper .
“ Sadly all help came too late .
The woman died at the scene , ” Zurich police spokeswoman Judith Hoedl said according to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been launched into the incident , including why the keeper was in the enclosure at the same time as the tiger .
The was tiger born in 2015 at a zoo in the Danish city of Odense and transferred to Zurich a year ago , according to Severin Dressen , the zoo ’ s director .
“ Our full sympathy is with the relatives of the victim , ” Dressen said , adding that the keeper had been a long-term member of the staff .
He said visitors and workers who saw the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ zoo had recently reopened after a coronavirus-related shutdown .

A Swiss zookeeper was killed Saturday after she was attacked by a Siberian tiger in front of horrified visitors at the Zurich zoo.
The onlookers raised an alarm after watching the tiger, named Irina, attack the 55-year-old keeper, according to The Associated Press.
Other zoo workers rushed to the woman’s aid and lured the tiger out of her enclosure as first responders tried to revive the zookeeper.
“Sadly all help came too late. The woman died at the scene,” Zurich police spokeswoman Judith Hoedl said according to the AP.
Hoedl said an investigation has been launched into the incident, including why the keeper was in the enclosure at the same time as the tiger.
The was tiger born in 2015 at a zoo in the Danish city of Odense and transferred to Zurich a year ago, according to Severin Dressen, the zoo’s director.
“Our full sympathy is with the relatives of the victim,” Dressen said, adding that the keeper had been a long-term member of the staff.
He said visitors and workers who saw the attack were receiving psychological counseling.
The zoo had recently reopened after a coronavirus-related shutdown.


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--How Ghislaine Maxwell once sat on Buckingham Palace thrones with Kevin Spacey

In this newly surfaced photo , Ghislaine Maxwell , the just-captured accused madam of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein , sits on Queen Elizabeth II ’ s throne during a 2002 private tour of Buckingham Palace .
At her side in a matching , plushly upholstered throne of his own is actor Kevin Spacey , who would face sex assault allegations of his own in the UK and US , though all would eventually be dropped .
The two visited the palace with former President Bill Clinton — a pal of Spacey ’ s who also has weathered a sex scandal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all there at the palace at the invitation of Prince Andrew , the Telegraph reported Saturday , in releasing the startling snap , obtained by The Post .
Andrew , of course , has been accused by Epstein ’ s alleged “ sex slave ” Virginia Giuffre of bedding her at Maxwell ’ s behest when she was only 17 .
The thrones sat upon by Maxwell and Spacey were used by the Queen for her 1953 coronation — and it is considered a breach of royal protocol for anyone outside her majesty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in them , the Telegraph notes .
The Throne Room is only accessible through public tours of the palace or during state visits and official royal functions , the paper says .
Clinton , who was making the trip across the pond for an address before Britain ’ s Labour Party , was joined by Maxwell for the jaunt , aboard Epstein ’ s private jet — nicknamed the “ Lolita Express ” for the underage girls often found on board .

Her majesty would not be amused.
In this newly surfaced photo from 2002, Ghislaine Maxwell, the just-captured accused madam of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, sits on Queen Elizabeth II’s throne during a private tour of Buckingham Palace.
At her side in the matching, plushly upholstered throne of Prince Philip, is actor Kevin Spacey.
Then the artistic director of London’s Old Vic Theatre, Spacey would face sex assault allegations of his own in the UK and US, though all would eventually be dropped.
The two visited the palace with former President Bill Clinton, a Spacey pal who has also weathered his share of sex scandals.
And they were all there at the palace at the invitation of Prince Andrew, the Telegraph reported Saturday, in releasing the startling snap, obtained by The Post.
Andrew, of course, has been accused by Epstein’s alleged “sex slave” Virginia Giuffre of bedding her at Maxwell’s behest when she was only 17.
The thrones sat upon by Maxwell and Spacey were used by the Queen and Prince Philip, Andrew’s mum and dad, for her 1953 coronation — and it is considered a breach of royal protocol for anyone else to sit in them, the Telegraph notes.
The Throne Room is only accessible through public tours of the palace or during state visits and official royal functions, the paper says.
“Going anywhere near the thrones is a total no-no,” a source told the Sunday Times of London.
Clinton– in London at the time for an address before Britain’s Labour Party –flew to the UK with Maxwell aboard Epstein’s private jet, nicknamed the “Lolita Express” for the underage girls often found on board.


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Midway’ on HBO, Roland Emmerich’s CG-Explosion Homage to a Handful of World W

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Midway’ on HBO, Roland Emmerich’s CG-Explosion Homage to a Handful of World War II Heroes

In celebration of Independence Day , HBO debuted Midway , the action-packed dramatization of a crucial World War II battle , directed by the guy behind , um , Independence Day .
Question : is there anyone who really loves Roland Emmerich ’ s films , which consist primarily of CG-addled large-scale-disaster blockbusters such as 2012 , The Day After Tomorrow and the indefensibly lifeless Godzilla reboot ?
Some hate them ; most accept them with a shrug and write them off as flimsy escapism .
So we ’ ll see how he does with the German director ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MIDWAY ’ : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT ?
The Gist : Dec. , 1937 .
Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ( Etsusushi Toyokawa ) levies a threat at U.S. intelligence officer Edwin Layton ( Patrick Wilson ) : Threaten our oil reserves , and we will attack .
Almost exactly four years later , you damn well know what happens : The Japanese bomb the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor .
America is officially at war .
A series of key small missions ensued , but the big one would occur in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guys figured out the Japanese were mucking around in the Midway Atoll , and organized a surprise strike against the bad guys ’ naval fleet .
There were some guys involved in this .
Some were higher-ups , e.g.
, Layton , who works to overcome his intel failures at Pearl Harbor , and powwows with Admiral Chester Nimitz ( Woody Harrelson in a distracting shock-white hairpiece ) to suss out the Japanese navy ’ s probable plans .
William “ Bull ” Halsey ( Dennis Quaid ) commands an aircraft carrier full @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and guide submarines and launch torpedoes and man machine guns and drop bombs and generally kick some Japanese ass .
Key among the lower-downs is Dick Best ( Ed Skrein ) , a hothead pilot who flies like he don ’ t care if ’ n he lives or dies , possibly because his best buddy was murdered at Pearl Harbor ; Dick has a wife ( Mandy Moore ) and daughter at home , worrying and fretting .
He gradually moves up the ranks , as does his commander , Wade McClusky @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( Nick Jonas ) shows crazy bravery in battle and jumps from deckside to cockpit gunner .
Jimmy Doolittle ( Aaron Eckhart ) leads a raid on Tokyo that results in a crash landing in China .
What are the chances all these guys will live through this harrowing battle ?
Never tell me the odds .
What Movies Will It Remind You Of ?
: Well , you ’ ve got the 1976 Midway with its cast of nobodies , including Heston , Fonda , Coburn and Mifune ; and the sequences @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Tora !
Tora !
Tora !
.
But the real reference point is more obvious .
Emmerich directing a movie about the Battle of Midway is like Michael Bay making one about the attack on Pearl Har… oh .
Right .
Well , in Emmerich ’ s defense , directors with little sense of taste or decorum at least should stick with dramatizations of events that are more triumph than tragedy .
Performance Worth Watching : Has Emmerich ever allowed any cast member to fight through his very expensive displays of visual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level of depth or nuance ?
Nope .
Not yet .
Memorable Dialogue : Take your pick of these generic quotes by generic characters : “ GOD DAMMIT , DICK BEST.
” “ GOD BLESS THOSE BOYS.
” “ YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A HERO , NOW ’ S YOUR CHANCE.
” “ THE HELL WITH IT — FOLLOW ME , BOYS !
” Our Take : Midway is an exhaustingly average movie , from its adherence to the broader facts of history to its solid performances to its not always entirely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a bunch of stuff , keeping the pace brisk for 138 minutes .
It includes everything we expect from cornball rah-rah war movies : Sequences of divebombing pilots gritting their teeth as they jockey the control stick .
Lulls for strategic debriefings or check-ins with the homefront where furrowed-brow women fix sandwiches for their stressed-out fellas .
Go-get- ’ em speeches .
So so many go-get- ’ em speeches .
And wowsers mega-scale shots of smoke-caked , zinging-artillery , explosion-heavy battle peppered with the usual exhortations : “ INCOMING , ” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ THIS ONE ’ S FOR PEARL , ” co-pilots shouting altimeter readings , etc .
Midway is exactly the kind of movie in which a Japanese commander says , “ WE WILL CRUSH THEM ” milliseconds before the roar of unexpected American fighter planes gets clearer and closer — a cliche that doesn ’ t succeed in rousing us to cheer like Emmerich hopes .
The film doesn ’ t quite pass off the mass death of the Japanese as entertainment , so its jingoism is muted a little , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can levy at it .
It holds together somewhat competently , although Emmerich and screenwriter Wes Tooke shorthand details about whys and wheres ; the narrative gives us a bunch of subtitles telling us how many miles this place is from another place without ever bothering to properly orient us .
It chops along — the Doolittle-led raid sequence feels tossed in for no logical reason — adequately and repetitively , more focused on spectacles of bravery spiked with bad dialogue delivered via Quaid ’ s cartoonish frogthroat , Lucas ’ generic hoo-rah-isms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no-baloney tone .
There ’ s no real depth to these characters , who are all based on real war heroes .
Maybe they deserve better .
But this maddeningly average film does just enough justice to them without really elevating their heroism to a profound level .
It tells us their names , but doesn ’ t compel us to remember them .
Our Call : SKIP IT .
Just because a movie is thoroughly watchable doesn ’ t mean it ’ s particularly good .
John Serba is a freelance writer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Michigan .
Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter : @ johnserba .

In celebration of Independence Day, HBO debuted Midway, the action-packed dramatization of a crucial World War II battle, directed by the guy behind, um, Independence Day. Question: is there anyone who really loves Roland Emmerich’s films, which consist primarily of CG-addled large-scale-disaster blockbusters such as 2012, The Day After Tomorrow and the indefensibly lifeless Godzilla reboot? Some hate them; most accept them with a shrug and write them off as flimsy escapism. So we’ll see how he does with the German director’s display of rah-rah American patriotism.
‘MIDWAY’: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The Gist: Dec., 1937. Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (Etsusushi Toyokawa) levies a threat at U.S. intelligence officer Edwin Layton (Patrick Wilson): Threaten our oil reserves, and we will attack. Almost exactly four years later, you damn well know what happens: The Japanese bomb the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. America is officially at war. A series of key small missions ensued, but the big one would occur in June, 1942, when U.S. intel guys figured out the Japanese were mucking around in the Midway Atoll, and organized a surprise strike against the bad guys’ naval fleet.
There were some guys involved in this. Some were higher-ups, e.g., Layton, who works to overcome his intel failures at Pearl Harbor, and powwows with Admiral Chester Nimitz (Woody Harrelson in a distracting shock-white hairpiece) to suss out the Japanese navy’s probable plans. William “Bull” Halsey (Dennis Quaid) commands an aircraft carrier full of brave boys ready to pilot planes and guide submarines and launch torpedoes and man machine guns and drop bombs and generally kick some Japanese ass.
Key among the lower-downs is Dick Best (Ed Skrein), a hothead pilot who flies like he don’t care if’n he lives or dies, possibly because his best buddy was murdered at Pearl Harbor; Dick has a wife (Mandy Moore) and daughter at home, worrying and fretting. He gradually moves up the ranks, as does his commander, Wade McClusky (Luke Evans). Bruno Gaido (Nick Jonas) shows crazy bravery in battle and jumps from deckside to cockpit gunner. Jimmy Doolittle (Aaron Eckhart) leads a raid on Tokyo that results in a crash landing in China. What are the chances all these guys will live through this harrowing battle? Never tell me the odds.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Well, you’ve got the 1976 Midway with its cast of nobodies, including Heston, Fonda, Coburn and Mifune; and the sequences of Japanese war strategists rip a page from Tora! Tora! Tora!.
But the real reference point is more obvious. Emmerich directing a movie about the Battle of Midway is like Michael Bay making one about the attack on Pearl Har… oh. Right. Well, in Emmerich’s defense, directors with little sense of taste or decorum at least should stick with dramatizations of events that are more triumph than tragedy.
Performance Worth Watching: Has Emmerich ever allowed any cast member to fight through his very expensive displays of visual effects and show some humanity with any level of depth or nuance? Nope. Not yet.
Memorable Dialogue: Take your pick of these generic quotes by generic characters: “GOD DAMMIT, DICK BEST.” “GOD BLESS THOSE BOYS.” “YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A HERO, NOW’S YOUR CHANCE.” “THE HELL WITH IT — FOLLOW ME, BOYS!”
Sex and Skin: None.
Our Take: Midway is an exhaustingly average movie, from its adherence to the broader facts of history to its solid performances to its not always entirely phony CGI battle sequences. Emmerich crams in a bunch of stuff, keeping the pace brisk for 138 minutes. It includes everything we expect from cornball rah-rah war movies: Sequences of divebombing pilots gritting their teeth as they jockey the control stick. Lulls for strategic debriefings or check-ins with the homefront where furrowed-brow women fix sandwiches for their stressed-out fellas. Go-get-’em speeches. So so many go-get-’em speeches. And wowsers mega-scale shots of smoke-caked, zinging-artillery, explosion-heavy battle peppered with the usual exhortations: “INCOMING,” “GET ’EM OFF MY TAIL,” “THIS ONE’S FOR PEARL,” co-pilots shouting altimeter readings, etc.
Midway is exactly the kind of movie in which a Japanese commander says, “WE WILL CRUSH THEM” milliseconds before the roar of unexpected American fighter planes gets clearer and closer — a cliche that doesn’t succeed in rousing us to cheer like Emmerich hopes. The film doesn’t quite pass off the mass death of the Japanese as entertainment, so its jingoism is muted a little, and that might be the best compliment I can levy at it.
It holds together somewhat competently, although Emmerich and screenwriter Wes Tooke shorthand details about whys and wheres; the narrative gives us a bunch of subtitles telling us how many miles this place is from another place without ever bothering to properly orient us. It chops along — the Doolittle-led raid sequence feels tossed in for no logical reason — adequately and repetitively, more focused on spectacles of bravery spiked with bad dialogue delivered via Quaid’s cartoonish frogthroat, Lucas’ generic hoo-rah-isms and Skrein’s gun-chompin’ Joisey no-baloney tone. There’s no real depth to these characters, who are all based on real war heroes. Maybe they deserve better. But this maddeningly average film does just enough justice to them without really elevating their heroism to a profound level. It tells us their names, but doesn’t compel us to remember them.
Our Call: SKIP IT. Just because a movie is thoroughly watchable doesn’t mean it’s particularly good.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.
Stream Midway


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--9/11 Memorial reopens after closing amid COVID-19 outbreak

Some Yankees players were upset with video being circulated of ...

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The iconic 9/11 Memorial opened to family members of victims, first responders and frontline workers Saturday after being closed for nearly three months because of COVID-19.
The Memorial, which will now require masks and social distancing for visitors and employees, opens to the general public July 5, ending the temporary closure since early March. The Museum remains closed for now.
American flags were placed around the Survivor Tree to remember 9/11 survivors who died of COVID-19.
Mike Bloomberg, chairman of the Memorial and Museum, was on hand, along with Mayor Bill de Blasio, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Sen. Chuck Schumer.


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Yankees players outraged after terrifying Masahiro Tanaka video goes viral

Even before prosecutors announced they were likely shipping Ghislaine Maxwell ...

Some Yankees players were upset with video being circulated of Masahiro Tanaka on the ground after being drilled in the head by a Giancarlo Stanton line drive during Saturday’s simulated game at Yankee Stadium.
Aaron Judge could be seen and heard yelling at someone in the stadium about shooting video and later took to Twitter to voice his displeasure.
“I get that everyone has a job to do but continuing to film and zoom in on someone hurt and down in the stadium doesn’t sit well with me!,” Judge wrote. “Doesn’t matter who it is, teammate, coach, or fan! Praying for Tanaka!”
Gleyber Torres joined Judge, writing on Twitter: “I understand that people are doing their job and want to show everything we are doing, I understand that, but showing that exact moment that happened with our teammate does not seem right to us, we feel terrible to see the video in each part of social media.”
Interestingly, most of the video circulated came from the YES Network, which is owned by the team.
Previous 1 of 3 Next Advertisement Masahiro Tanaka on the mound after being hit by a line drive in July. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post Masahiro Tanaka walked off field today with the assistance of the Yankees' medical staff. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post Advertisement
Tanaka stayed on the ground for several minutes and left with the assistance of trainers after receiving medical treatment. The Yankees announced Tanaka had been taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for further evaluation and added the right-hander was “alert, responsive and walking under his own power.”
Later in the day, Tanaka tweeted out a note on his status, thanking the fans for their well wishes.
I appreciate all the support,” he tweeted. “I feel it a bit right now, but I’m all good. Going to try to get back on the mound ASAP! Thanks again for all the encouraging words!”


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--The questions that still need answering about Jeffrey Epstein’s death

Even before prosecutors announced they were likely shipping Ghislaine Maxwell to the the scandal-plagued New York lock up where her pedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein died in custody last summer, alarm bells were pealing over her safety.
“I’m absolutely worried for Ghislaine’s safety,” said Christopher Mason, a journalist and TV presenter who is appearing in “Surviving Jeffrey Epstein,” a Lifetime documentary series beginning next month. “I kind of don’t believe he [Epstein] committed suicide… His death seemed exceedingly convenient for many.”
Those concerns are likely gripping Maxwell herself, according to a lawyer for some of Epstein’s victims, who predicted that the perv financier would die in jail last year.
“It may be that she can’t handle the fear of what’s going to happen to her and takes matters into her own hands or there will be people who are very afraid of what she has to say,” said Spencer Kuvin in an interview last week with the Daily Mail. “She knows too much.”
Epstein’s apparent hanging in his cell on August 10 sparked a storm of controversy.
Scandalous bungling at the Metropolitan Correction Center in lower Manhattan included guards failing to watch him despite a previous failed suicide try just two weeks beforehand.
There were also competing autopsy reports, with one suggesting that Epstein did not die by hanging but was the victim of a homicide.
Almost a year after Epstein’s death, it’s still not clear what exactly happened to him in his cell in the hours before he died.
***
The events that preceded the death of Jeffrey Epstein were “a perfect storm of screwups,” said US Attorney General William Barr. They actually began weeks before he was found unresponsive in his cell on the morning of August 10, and date to July 23 at 1:27 a.m. when Epstein was found on the floor of his cell in a fetal position and with bruises around his neck in what authorities said was an attempted suicide.
His cell mate at the time — a former cop charged in a quadruple homicide — claimed to have saved his life when he alerted prison guards. Nicholas Tartaglione, 51, said through his lawyer that he had become “good friends” with Epstein and denied previous news reports that he had beaten him in their cell.
Epstein was immediately placed on suicide watch on July 23, and by July 30 that watch was moved to “heightened psychological observation” which required that he have a cell mate, and guards monitoring him every 30 minutes.
But on August 9, an unidentified cell mate was removed from Epstein’s cell and transferred to another facility. At 7:49 p.m., Tova Noel, a 31-year-old federal prison guard returned Epstein to his cell after a meeting with one of his attorneys.
Noel had started work at 4 p.m. and was doing a double shift. She had already worked several overtime shifts at the prison that week, and by 10 p.m. she reported that the prisoners in 9-South, a special wing of the facility which housed inmates in protective custody, were locked in their cells for the night.
Noel was supposed to conduct an inmate count, but surveillance video showed that she and another unidentified guard failed to do so.
By midnight, Noel was joined by Michael Thomas, 41, another prison guard. During the night, Noel and Thomas surfed the internet and shopped for motorcycles and furniture, court documents say. At one point, both dozed off for two hours, according to surveillance video. They did not check in on Epstein as required, and later reported their negligence to a supervisor.
At 6:30 on the morning of August 10, the guards discovered Epstein unresponsive in his cell when they went to take him a tray of breakfast. In the minutes before a call was placed to emergency responders, MCC staff tried to revive Epstein, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Epstein was taken by ambulance to New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital by members of the FDNY and other emergency responders at about 7:30 am. As he lay on a gurney in his orange prison jumpsuit, seemingly lifeless, his pale, ashen face nearly matching the color of his white hair, and surrounded by FDNY, police and EMTs, New York Post photographer William Farrington snapped Epstein from a distance as an EMT used a purple breathing apparatus in an attempt to revive him. The image shocked the world — showing the most notorious pedophile in modern history in the moments before his death.
The photo immediately sparked conspiracy theories that Epstein had been felled by the powerful forces that wanted him silenced. An internet meme — “Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself” — exploded on social media and many observers noted that he had died less than a day after a tranche of more than 2,000 documents containing lurid testimony from his sex-abuse victims was unsealed in a case involving Maxwell.
As soon as the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed his death, the Justice Department announced an investigation by both the FBI and the Inspector General. Barr said he was “appalled” by the turn of events.
“Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered,” he said. “In addition to the FBI’s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein’s death.”
Within a day of those comments, the MCC prison warden Lamine N’Diaye was reassigned to a regional office pending the two investigations, and the two federal guards tasked with watching over Epstein were immediately placed on administrative leave.
In addition to the government probes into his death, Epstein’s brother Mark hired former medical examiner Michael Baden to accompany the autopsy at the city’s Office of the Medical Examiner. Baden had briefly worked as New York’s medical examiner in the late 1970s and led a panel that examined the assassination of President John F. Kennedy years earlier, and was often contracted by the families of victims who suspected foul play in their deaths.
On August 16, Barbara Sampson, the city’s chief medical officer, said in a brief statement that following “a careful review of all investigative information, including complete autopsy findings,” that Epstein had committed suicide by hanging.
Months later, on October 30, Baden made his own explosive analysis public. He found that Epstein had suffered a number of injuries, including a broken bone in his neck, that “are extremely unusual in suicidal hangings and could occur much more commonly in homicidal strangulation,” he said.
Previous 1 of 3 Next Advertisement Michael Thomas, one of two correctional officers who was on duty at the Metropolitan Correctional Center when Epstein died. EPA Tova Noel (center in yellow), one of guards at the time of Epstein's death. REUTERS Advertisement
“I think the evidence points to homicide rather than suicide,” said Baden, whose findings added fuel to the conspiracy theories that had been circulating for months.
At a federal prison oversight hearing in November, shortly after Baden’s findings were made public, Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, said drywall, Christmas ornaments and Epstein were “three things that don’t hang themselves.”
“That’s what the American people think, and they deserve some answers,” he said.
Barbara Sampson, the city’s chief medical officer, disagreed.
“I stand firmly behind our determination of the cause and manner of death in this case,” she told the New York Times. “In general, fractures of the hyoid bone and the cartilage can be seen in suicides and homicides.“ The bone is near the Adam’s apple, where Baden said that Epstein suffered three fractures.
Baden had found that the hyoid bone had been fractured in multiple places, and he insisted that the injuries were consistent with strangulation.
On November 19, the US Attorney’s Office announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Noel and Thomas with “conspiring to make false records and to defraud the United States by impairing the lawful functions of the Metropolitan Correctional Center.”
“The defendants had a duty to ensure the safety and security of federal inmates in their care,” said then US Attorney Geoffrey Berman. “Instead, they repeatedly failed to conduct mandated checks on inmates, and lied on official forms to hide their dereliction.”
Both Noel and Thomas pleaded not guilty and their lawyers said that their clients were being made into scapegoats for the mismanagement of the federal prison system that resulted in Epstein’s death.
Months after Epstein’s death, new questions arose. In January, the FBI found that surveillance video taken from outside Epstein’s cell during his first suicide attempt on July 23 had been erased.
The MCC “inadvertently preserved video from the wrong tier within the MCC and as a result, video from outside the defendant’s cell on July 22-23, 2019 no longer exists,” court papers say.
What happened to the video, and what is the explanation for the broken bones that Baden found in Epstein’s neck?
***
Like Epstein before her, Maxwell, 58, is widely expected to name names and expose powerful captains of industry, world leaders and even royalty in her defense. “She of all of those people knew who slept with whom, and who was assigned to whom,” said Mason.
Maxwell, the youngest daughter of disgraced British press baron Robert Maxwell, faces six felony counts of child sex-abuse in the indictment against her which alleged that she schemed with Epstein and lied about trafficking women, some as young as 14, between 1994 and 1997.
The charges include alleged sex crimes in her London townhouse where Prince Andrew has separately been accused by an Epstein “sex slave” of sleeping with her multiple times, beginning when she was 17.
Although some are worried about Maxwell’s detention at the same decrepit facility where Epstein died, at least one of her old friends isn’t overly worried.
“Whatever happens to Ghislaine Maxwell I hope there is justice for the victims,” said Christina Oxenberg, a writer and Serbian royal who has known Maxwell for years. “I think the greater risk is that her connections work for her and she walks.”
— Additional Reporting by Paula Froelich


newyorkpost--2020-07-04--Mets will open 2020 MLB season at home against the Braves

The Mets ’ 2020 season is set to begin just as the last one ended — with a home game against the Braves .
MLB is expected to release the official schedule this week , with the Braves at Citi Field on July 24 to kick off the Mets ’ season , The Post has learned .
The NL East rivals last faced each other in an opener in 2017 .
The Post ’ s Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand reported last week that MLB ’ s plan is to begin the season with Yankees at Nationals in a nationally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waited in announcing the schedule to allow for changes that could occur due to coronavirus concerns in certain regions .
In a 60-game season , the Mets are scheduled to face opponents from the NL East and AL East , reducing travel .
The Braves finished last season at Citi Field — a game won by the Mets on Dominic Smith ’ s walkoff homer in the 11th inning .
The original 2020 schedule , which was scrapped because of the COVID-19 shutdown , had the Mets opening at home against the Nationals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marcus Stroman haven ’ t been working out with the team , but manager Luis Rojas indicated he expects both players to begin participating “ soon.
” Stroman tweeted he will be with the team Sunday .
“ They are on progression and we expect them to come soon , ” Rojas said .
“ We might have them [ Sunday ] here .
We are staggering the guys , we are bringing the guys in three sessions and we are going on a daily-basis approach just to make sure that we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social distance.
” Rojas is enthusiastic about the veteran players added to the 60-man pool this week , a cast that includes Melky Cabrera , Gordon Beckham , Hunter Strickland and Jared Hughes .
“ Those guys have been successful at the big league level and they can be great assets for us , too , ” Rojas said .
“ We ’ re looking at the whole picture here of the guys in camp and have that vision that they can help us.
” The outfielder Cabrera is a candidate to play @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Rojas .
But the Mets are also well-stocked at the position , with Pete Alonso and Smith .

The Mets’ 2020 season is set to begin just as the last one ended — with a home game against the Braves.
MLB is expected to release the official schedule this week, with the Braves at Citi Field on July 24 to kick off the Mets’ season, The Post has learned. The NL East rivals last faced each other in an opener in 2017.
The Post’s Joel Sherman and Andrew Marchand reported last week that MLB’s plan is to begin the season with Yankees at Nationals in a nationally televised game July 23. MLB has waited in announcing the schedule to allow for changes that could occur due to coronavirus concerns in certain regions.
In a 60-game season, the Mets are scheduled to face opponents from the NL East and AL East, reducing travel.
The Braves finished last season at Citi Field — a game won by the Mets on Dominic Smith’s walkoff homer in the 11th inning. The original 2020 schedule, which was scrapped because of the COVID-19 shutdown, had the Mets opening at home against the Nationals on March 26.
Amed Rosario and Marcus Stroman haven’t been working out with the team, but manager Luis Rojas indicated he expects both players to begin participating “soon.” Stroman tweeted he will be with the team Sunday.
“They are on progression and we expect them to come soon,” Rojas said. “We might have them [Sunday] here. We are staggering the guys, we are bringing the guys in three sessions and we are going on a daily-basis approach just to make sure that we’re fulfilling the protocol of maximizing the social distance.”
Rojas is enthusiastic about the veteran players added to the 60-man pool this week, a cast that includes Melky Cabrera, Gordon Beckham, Hunter Strickland and Jared Hughes.
“Those guys have been successful at the big league level and they can be great assets for us, too,” Rojas said. “We’re looking at the whole picture here of the guys in camp and have that vision that they can help us.”
The outfielder Cabrera is a candidate to play first base, if needed, according to Rojas. But the Mets are also well-stocked at the position, with Pete Alonso and Smith.