Neil Best

New York, United States

Reporter at Newsday

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Articles

Yankees' Schmidt eager to make 2025 debut Wednesday

1 week ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

Clarke Schmidt made his major league debut for the Yankees in 2020, so he has been around long enough to know how things work around here. He expects fans will be pleased to see him on Wednesday night when he makes his 2025 debut against the Royals, given the starting rotation’s early struggles. And knows that they will be less pleased if he is not up to the challenge. “If you don’t [succeed], you get booed,” he told Newsday with a laugh before Tuesday night’s game against Kansas City.
Kenny Albert to replace Sam Rosen on Rangers' MSG Networks telecasts, source confirms

1 week ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

Kenny Albert will succeed Sam Rosen as the Rangers’ primary television play-by-play voice, a source confirmed on Monday. Albert, 57, has been the lead radio play-by-play voice for Rangers games since 1995-96 and has been the prohibitive favorite for the TV job since Rosen announced in August that this season would be his last. Albert, who grew up in Sands Point, is the lead hockey national play-by-play man for TNT Sports. He also has frequently filled in on Knicks telecasts.
Yankees' Stroman gets just two outs in ugly first inning

1 week ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

Marcus Stroman insisted in February that he is a starter, not a relief pitcher, and thanks to injuries in the rotation he got his chance early this Yankees' season. Now it is unclear how much longer he will stay in that role. On a cold, rainy Friday night at Yankee Stadium, the Giants knocked Stroman out of the game after he had recorded only two outs and allowed five runs and four hits, walking three.
Islanders-Rangers feels meaningless at end of lost seasons

2 weeks ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

Before we get to the bad news, let’s give the early 2020s their due as a good time to be a hockey fan in these parts. The Islanders and Rangers have combined to reach four conference finals over the past five seasons. The Rangers won a Vezina Trophy and a Presidents’ Trophy. The Islanders opened a spiffy new arena that just the other day hosted a historic hockey event in Alex Ovechkin’s 895th career goal for the visiting Capitals.
On a day to witness history, all hockey fans went home happy

2 weeks ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

To Anders Lee, the day had a unique vibe from the start. “It felt similar to an outdoor game, where there’s that extra buzz in the building, something bigger than the game,” the Islanders captain said on Sunday after a 4-1 victory over the Capitals at UBS Arena – with the one Washington goal being Alex Ovechkin’s record 895th. “It was cool to be a part of, cool to have so many people there for warmups, even,” Lee said.
Yankees' Carlos Carrasco turns in decent start vs. Arizona

2 weeks ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

No one would have predicted in mid-February that come early April, the Yankees would turn to Carlos Carrasco as their starting pitcher in a key game. But there he was when Thursday night’s game against the Diamondbacks began at Yankee Stadium, charged with helping avoid a three-game sweep by Arizona. Expectations were low, but if Carrasco could prove worthy of the task, he would at least buy himself some time and benefit of the doubt to stick around a while.
Stan Fischler's books and Isles: Latest chapter in a long story

3 weeks ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

Stan Fischler always has had books. Lots of books. He writes them. He reads them. He collects them. He gives them away. For all his decades of work on television, books are central to his brand. Now they are part of another tale in his long journey as a hockey journalist. Fischler, who turns 93 on Monday, has donated about 80 of them to the Islanders, who since 2022 have hosted a display of his memorabilia on “The Stan Fischler Press Level” at UBS Arena.
AppleTV+'s 2024 World Series gives insights into the Yankees' loss to the Dodgers

4 weeks ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

Spoiler alert: It is likely Dodgers fans will enjoy the new Apple TV+ documentary, “Fight for Glory: 2024 World Series,” far more than Yankees fans will. The three-part series, which premieres on Friday, recounts in excruciating detail the Dodgers’ triumph in five games and the many failed chances the Yankees had to change that outcome. The fact that Derek Jeter is one of the executive producers, via his CAP 2 Productions, makes the whole thing even more awkward from a Yankees fan’s perspective.
Citi Field's 2025 menu: Not just chicken tenders

4 weeks ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

Jason Eksterowicz, senior executive chef at Citi Field, has been working on the menu . . . for 2026. “Yes, as crazy as that sounds,” he told Newsday on Tuesday. Sure, first up is the matter of the 2025 home opener on April 4, and the fact that Eksterowicz was speaking at the annual “What’s New at Citi Field” event tied to this season, not next. “But from [April 4] on, we’re going to focus on, OK, what does 2026 look like?” he said. “How are we going to do better?
Where are they now: Yankees broadcaster Bill White

1 month ago | newsday.com | Neil Best

WARRINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Bill White always has been a serious man. In high school, he was president of his class and salutatorian. In college, he was pre-med, and to this day he regrets not becoming a doctor. In professional baseball, he spoke up against the racist attitudes and policies of his era and emerged as a five-time All-Star and a World Series champion in 1964. He was the major leagues’ first Black play-by-play announcer, and later the first Black league president.