Mickey Togs

David Ortiz appears to have a new business venture days after his Baseball Hall of Fame enshrinement.

The Boston Red Sox legend is teaming up with Massachusetts-based cannabis company Rev Brands to launch a new line called “Papi Cannabis,” the company announced.

“Once I embraced the flow of the flower everything changed,” Ortiz said. “Cannabis has helped me relax, sleep better, manage stress and heal physically after a lifetime of playing ball, and I look forward to sharing Papi Cannabis and my personal journey to help people understand its benefits.” 

Papi Cannabis’ first product be a “Sweet Sluggers” line, which will include what Rev Brands referred to as Ortiz’s “favorite strains” such as “Black Mamba #7,” “Lava Cake #7,” “Motorbreath #15” and “Bootylicious #4,” to be sold at recreational dispensaries in Massachusetts, with others products expected to be released later this summer.

Ortiz was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native finished his MLB career with a .286 batting average, 541 home runs and 1,768 RBI.

Ortiz began the fourth Dominican native to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, joining Juan Marichal (1983), former Red Sox teammate Pedro Martínez (2015) and Vladimir Guerrero (2018) upon induction.

The true test may come in October, but for now, the Mets are kings of New York.

Starling Marte hit a walk-off single against Wandy Peralta in the ninth inning Wednesday, leading the Mets to a 3-2 victory and a two-game series sweep of the Yankees at Citi Field. The series marked the first time in history the Mets and Yankees both entered a regular-season Subway Series in sole possession of first place.

The winning rally began when Eduardo Escobar hit a leadoff double and moved to third on Tomás Nido’s sacrifice bunt. Following a Brandon Nimmo infield hit, Marte lined a single into left field to walk it off.

Max Scherzer gave the Mets seven scoreless innings on his 38th birthday, twice striking out Aaron Judge with two men on base (and joining Oakland’s Frankie Montas as the only pitchers to whiff Judge three times in a game this season). But after Scherzer departed, the Mets — with a short bullpen — turned to starting pitcher David Peterson, who allowed a game-tying homer to Gleyber Torres on his fifth pitch.

Seth Lugo entered from there and retired five of the six batters he faced, including Judge, who finished 0-for-5.

The New York Mets bats awoke in an 8-5 victory over the Padres. The bonus for Buck Showalter’s crew was a Braves loss earlier in the day, allowing the Mets to extend their NL East lead to 1 ½ games. 

Alonso blasted a three-run homer as part of a sixth inning in which the Mets scored five times. In the seventh, Alonso just missed another homer — it went for an RBI double that completed his night of reaching base three times. The four RBIs gave Alonso 82 for the season, moving him one ahead of Aaron Judge for the MLB lead. 

“Our team is extremely good and we can win in a bunch of different ways. Tonight it was a great offensive and pitching job,” Alonso said.

Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco delivered five shutout innings, but it wasn’t easy for him: he allowed eight base runners and threw 92 pitches. But the right-hander got the Padres to hit into double plays in the third and fourth innings after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first. 

The choppy (but effective) outing gave Carrasco an 11-inning scoreless streak over his last two starts. Over his last four starts, Carrasco has pitched to a 1.21 ERA. This extended a team record to 14 straight games in which a Mets starting pitcher allowed two runs or fewer.

Longtime WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon officially announced his retirement in a post shared on his verified Twitter account.

“At 77, time for me to retire,” McMahon tweeted. “Thank you, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Forever. Together.” 

McMahon’s decision comes one month after his announcement to voluntarily step down from his responsibilities amid an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct and would be replaced by his daughter, Stephanie, on an interim basis.

The announcement also comes after his son-in-law, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque announced he would will resume his executive position as WWE’s EVP of talent relations effective immediately.

Braxton Berrios, who signed with the Jets for two years at $12 million this offseason, is all in on the youthful revival of the team.

“We have a lot to do,” Berrios said. “We have all the tools to be able to do that, absolutely.” 

MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands will be one of 16 stadiums that will host World Cup games in 2026.

“The biggest sporting event in the world is coming to the biggest stage, and New York City cannot wait to welcome the world to our region,” Mayor Eric Adams said.

It’s unclear how many games or which ones will be played at the stadium. However, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said it’s a thrill for the region.

“We are honored to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup with our neighbors  across the Hudson, and we are fully prepared to deliver the world-class experience that the beautiful game deserves,” Governor Murphy said.

When Bruce Springsteen heads out on tour in 2023, he’ll be performing five shows in the New York area.

The first local date is April 1st at Madison Square Garden, followed by a show at Barclays Center on April 3rd. Springsteen will play a pair of shows at the UBS Arena on Long Island on April 9th and 11th. He’ll conclude the U.S. leg of the tour on April 14th at the Prudential Center in Newark.

People will need to register with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan system for the opportunity to buy tickets.

For more information visit https://brucespringsteen.net/

One of the best quarterbacks in the NFL said a racial bias against black QBs still exists.

Lamar Jackson, who starred at Louisville as the signal-caller and then was asked to run receiver drills at the combine in 2018, suggested he still has to prove himself partly because of his skin color.

During an appearance on LeBron James’ “The Shop,” the conversation turned to times in which the NBA star feels disrespected, and James brought the topic to Jackson.

“It’s dying off, but it’s still there,” James said about a bias against black quarterbacks. “It’s still there,” Jackson agreed. “That’s why I need that championship.”

DJ LeMahieu has won the Yankees many a game over the last four years with his stellar fielding and consistency at the plate. However, on his 34th birthday, LeMahieu gave the Yanks a boost with his legs en route to a 7-6 win in 10 innings over the Reds Wednesday night.

Starting the bottom of the 10th as the automatic runner on second, LeMahieu was primed to be the winning run with the heart of the order coming up. Following an Aaron Judge strikeout and an intentional walk of Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton stepped into the box looking to send an exuberant Yankees crowd home happy — but he never got the chance.

After Stanton fell behind in the count 0-2, Reds reliever Alexis Díaz bounced a slider allowing LeMahieu to get to third base. On the very next pitch, with Yankee Stadium still buzzing with anticipation, Díaz spiked another slider. LeMahieu immediately took off down the line, with fans roaring as he slid into home plate with the winning run before being mobbed by his teammates. Even a usually reserved LeMahieu couldn’t hold back a smile as he was showered with high fives.