Mickey Togs

The NFL announced its five planned international games, which includes three matchups in England and two in Germany.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have already appeared in the NFL International Series a record nine times, will appear in consecutive London games in October.

The full schedule of international games:

• October 1- Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London, U.K.
• October 8- Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur in London, U.K.
• October 15- Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans at Tottenham Hotspur in London, U.K.
• November 5- Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs at Frankfurt Stadium in Frankfurt, Germany
• November 12- Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots at Frankfurt Stadium in Frankfurt, Germany

The second half of the season has begun, but the Yankees’ offense looked a lot like the one they had in the first half of the season.

After Giancarlo Stanton’s two-run home run in the first inning, the New York Yankees went down quietly in a 7-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

The Yankees (49-43) led 2-0 after two batters, but managed only six hits the rest of the way and drew just one walk all night in Casey’s first game as hitting coach.

Instead it was the Rockies (35-57), owners of the third-worst record in the majors, who delivered the boom. 

Their offense, led by former Yankees assistant hitting coach Hensley Meulens, crushed three home runs — one off starter Carlos Rodon and two more off the bullpen.

The loss, coupled with the Red Sox’s win over the Cubs, moved the Yankees into a last-place tie in the AL East. It’s the first time since 1992 that the Yankees have been tied for last place this late in a season.

The All-Star break didn’t do the Mets much good. They opened the second half of the season with a total flop in a 6-0 loss to the Dodgers at Citi Field.

Justin Verlander delivered another lackluster start — he walked a season-high six batters in just five innings — and the offense was nowhere to be found against Dodgers lefty Julio Urias.

Fittingly, it all played out on what looked like a burnt-out cow pasture thanks to a concert that took place during the break. There were swaths of dead grass behind the left side of the infield, as well as in left-center field.

The Mets’ third straight loss dropped them back to seven games under  .500 at 42-49 and left them seeming less likely to make a run at the postseason, with the trade deadline just over two weeks away. 

They now are eight games back in the wild-card race and a season-worst 19 ½ games back of Atlanta in the NL East.

The New York Jets will be featured on the upcoming season of HBO‘s annual NFL training camp series Hard Knocks.

The NFL and NFL Films have selected the New York Jets to serve as this year’s team on Hard Knocks. The cameras will be rolling in full force at the Jets training camp. 

The Jets have been the focus of the off-season, having acquired four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers in a trade with the Green Bay Packers, as well as adding several notable free agents. New York is coming off a 7-10 finish in 2022, having missed the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year, but fielded a young, competitive roster expected to improve in 2023.

If the Yankees intend on meeting expectations this season, they will need a healthy and productive Aaron Judge.

Without him for the past month — and with no indication when he might return from the sprained big right toe — they have figured out a way to at least survive and keep themselves in position for the playoffs.

Another good day from the offense led to an 8-4 win over Baltimore in The Bronx, as the Yankees improved to 13-13 since Judge got hurt in Los Angeles.

As a result, they picked up another game on the Orioles, who are in second place in the AL East behind front-running Tampa Bay.

“I’ve been happy all year with the way we compete,’’ Aaron Boone said  after his team won for the seventh time in 10 games. “And it hasn’t been perfect. We’ve been banged up and it hasn’t always been easy for us. They’ve put us in a spot to have a really good season.”

Oreo expands its Frozen Treats lineup with a new, permanent addition: Oreo Mint frozen dessert.

The new Oreo Mint flavor features a mint-flavored base inspired by Mint Oreo Cookies with real pieces of Oreo cookies mixed in.

According to the brand, the Oreo Mint frozen treat recipe was perfected by Oreo to ensure the familiar and authentic taste of real Mint Oreo cookie flavor is infused into each and every bite.

The scoopable frozen treat will roll out in stores nationwide this month in 48-oz tubs for a suggested price of $6.99.

On too many occasions this month, the Yankees have needed their pitchers to be nearly perfect in order to have a chance to win because of their scuffling offense.

For the first time in weeks, that was not the case Wednesday night, but Domingo German achieved perfection anyway.

German threw the fourth perfect game in Yankees history and the 24th  in MLB history, dazzling as he retired all 27 batters he faced on 99 pitches with nine strikeouts in an 11-0 win over the Athletics that 12,479 witnessed at Oakland Coliseum.

German’s final offering in a six-pitch ninth inning was grounded to third base, where Josh Donaldson fielded it cleanly and fired to first before the Yankees mobbed German near the mound.

“When you think about the history of baseball and how many pitchers have done it, to be part of history now, it’s exciting,” German said through an interpreter.

On a night when he had his curveball working from the start — he went on to throw it 51 times and induced 12 whiffs — German was untouchable while working with catcher Kyle Higashioka. 

Just when Mets’ fans thought it couldn’t get any worse, the Mets followed up a miserable road trip with a loss at home to the Brewers 2-1 on Monday night.

Even having Justin Verlander on the mound couldn’t fix what’s ailing the Mets, as they dropped their fifth in the last six games — and 16th of 21 — as the season that began with enormous expectations continues to spiral out of control.

They are now a season-worst eight games under .500 (35-43), a season-worst 16 games back of the NL East-leading Braves and 8 games behind in the wild-card race.

“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,’’ Verlander said, seemingly stunned at what he’s become a part of.

On Monday, Verlander pitched five scoreless innings, but needed 100 pitches to get there and had to be replaced to start the sixth.

Drew Smith, fresh off a 10-game ban for violating the league’s sticky substance policy, entered with a one-run lead and gave up a two-run homer to Joey Wiemer to put Milwaukee ahead.

But as Buck Showalter said before the game, it’s impossible to point the finger at one area in which the team is lacking.

This time, the offense came up small against right-hander Colin Rea, scoring just one run — which was aided by an error by Milwaukee catcher  William Contreras.

Following a successful test run, KFC today announced it will launch new Kentucky Fried Chicken Nuggets nationwide.

Kentucky Fried Chicken Nuggets feature 100 percent white meat chicken, hand-breaded with KFC’s unique Original Recipe of 11 herbs and spices and fried up until crispy and golden.

Starting at $3.49, KFC Nuggets can be enjoyed as a 5-, 8-, 12- or 36-piece option. Combo options are also available, featuring Secret Recipe Fries, a biscuit and a medium drink.

The new nuggets can be paired with your choice of KFC dipping sauces, including KFC Sauce, Honey BBQ, Classic Ranch, Honey Mustard or Buffalo Ranch.