The New York Mets and Yankees are preparing for the championship series – and Liberty faces a big test

Our decline in playoff fun and excitement continues in the New York City region. The Mets and Yankees have taken care of their business this week and are preparing for their championship series. And in the WNBA finals, the New York Liberty face their first big challenge of the postseason.

Sports reporter Priya Desai joined Weekend Edition’s David Furst to look ahead. A lightly edited transcript of their conversation is below.

Fürst: Let’s start with the Liberty. They will look to bounce back from a tough overtime loss in Game 1 on Sunday in Brooklyn.

Desai: This game, David, is one of the best WNBA playoff games of all time.

Oh, just a foul throw away. They could have done it in regulation!

It was a tough loss for the Liberty, but an absolutely improbable comeback for the Minnesota Lynx. With just over five minutes to play, the Liberty had a 15-point lead. And the odds, David, of the Lynx winning the game were less than 1% at that point.

Wow.

It seems like the Liberty took their foot off the gas towards the end and, as you mentioned, that cost them a free throw that Libs All-Star Brianna Stewart missed to win the game. They were then forced to work overtime. And if you remember, I told you a few weeks ago that the Lynx were the team that no one was really focused on getting to the playoffs.

Yes, I remember. So you know what you’re talking about.

I love being right. Meanwhile, the Lynx have been quietly winning games all season and have the second-best defense in the league. Lynx star player Nafisa Collier was Defensive Player of the Year and her overtime performance helped solidify that win, and the Liberty were simply dismissed from coaching late in the game.

Okay, so two great teams. What will it take for the Liberty to tie the score in Game 2?

Well, as the saying goes, it’s not a series until a team wins on the road and the Lynx have won big on the road. Therefore, Game 2 is a must for the Liberty before the series heads to Minnesota.

To their credit, the Liberty got off to a good start. They outscored, outscored and outscored the Lynx. John Quayle Jones had a double double. They came into the playoffs as number 1. Like this is their season, right? But never count out an underdog. And that’s what the links were called, which I think is pretty unfair. And if you’re new to the WNBA, the Links are a championship-winning franchise. And her coach, Cheryl Reeve, is a legend. She already has four titles with the links. That’s why I mentioned earlier that the Liberty may have been out of practice early in the second half of Game 1 and that they need to prepare more mentally than physically for the next game.

Well, maybe there’s a wake-up call. We’ll have to see what happens in Game 2.

Now let’s talk October baseball. The excitement continues: The Mets and Yankees are both in their respective championship series, and even though these two teams have come the same way, every fan base has a different vibe, right?

Oh yes. Another underdog story, but this time with the Mets, who are truly underdogs – and no one could have predicted that a month ago, and it was really fun. Maybe it’s stressful to watch sometimes. I thought, no shot in this series against Philadelphia, who had the second-best record in the league – and then the Mets, they do it in just four games and a grand slam in Game 4 by Francisco Lindor?

Incredible.

You’ll love watching it – if you’re a Mets fan. They’re now heading to LA to take on the Dodgers, and I feel like I’m copying and pasting my conversation with you when they took on the Phillies. The Dodgers have a dominant pitching staff. They have the best record in the league. And, well, they have the best player in the game, Shohei Ohtani – but the Mets’ magic got them to this point, and as they say, it’s anyone’s game in playoff baseball.

Mets are the underdogs and have certainly had a difficult start to the season, but their record in the second half of the season is incredible.

Yeah, and I think they’re really embracing that and moving forward with it. You must be tired though, you know?

Well, they’re just resting for the first time, so we’ll see, we’ll see.

But then they have to fly to LA, and as we know, that’s a long flight.

This is a long flight. That starts tomorrow night in Los Angeles.

Now over to the Bronx. The Yankees are still waiting to see who they will face on Monday. It will be either the Detroit Tigers or the Cleveland Guardians. We’ll find out this (Saturday) afternoon. But the story of how the Yankees got here is different.

(Update: The Guardians’ 7-3 win over the Tigers on Saturday means they will face the Yankees in the ALCS)

It was interesting to watch the Yankees progress in the playoffs because that type of offense didn’t exist. I think, you know, I’ve heard a few Yankees fans say they’re a little jealous because they don’t really have the same energy, but the Yankees as an organization in general are pretty buttoned up.

However, there are questions surrounding Aaron Judge, who has struggled mightily this postseason. Juan Soto is a pending free agent. This offseason feels a little heavy, but you know what would help? A win in the World Series.

Sure, sure. This helps a lot of things!

While we have you, the Jets are playing the Buffalo Bills on Monday night in the NFL with a new coach on the sidelines.

Yes, the Jets made a Jets move and fired head coach Robert Saleh and have now promoted defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. This was a team that was talking about the Super Bowl in the preseason. So is this what it takes to get close to the Super Bowl? I mean, it’s absolute chaos.

And to make matters worse, Aaron Rodgers has an ankle injury. What is his status?

Yes, it’s a lower ankle injury that he sustained in the last game. It looks like he’ll probably play, but you want your QB, who has a new offensive coordinator and a new head coach, to practice, right?

Yes. Well, we’ll have to see how this all plays out.

Meanwhile, the Giants play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night at the Meadowlands. Sports reporter Priya Desai. Thanks again. Thank you very much.