NEW YORK, NY — With all the excitement and thrill of the 2026 World Baseball Classic as well as the lead up to College Basketball’s March Madness, the National Football League also began a significant stretch in its respective season.
The 2026 NFL free agency period has begun. One player, who will be returning to the New York Jets, whether he likes it or not, is running back Breece Hall. The Jets announced last week they are slapping the “franchise tag” on Hall, which means he will be paid millions of dollars by them, and thus will be precluded from becoming a free agent.
Breece Hall is one of the best running backs in the game, and the Jets are cognizant of his value. The last thing they want is for Hall to leave them, to a division rival, the way Saquon Barkley left the Giants as a free agent in 2024 to go down the New Jersey Turnpike to join the Philadelphia Eagles who then proceeded to win a Super Bowl.
Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Hall, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in 2025, admitted he is frustrated with the Jets’ chronic losing. Jets fans can certainly commiserate as it has been fifteen years since their favorite team has taken part in a playoff game. To give you an idea of how long ago that was, high-definition television did not exist.
Aside from the economics, Hall feels his statistics are not as gaudy as they should be, because of the Jets’ poor personnel. For years, they had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL which is deleterious for a running back’s success.
The Jets, to their credit, improved their offensive line in 2025, but their awful quarterback play meant that opposing defenses could key in on the run since the Jets rarely completed a long pass. Hall had to battle twice as hard as most NFL running backs to gain yardage.
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If the Jets hope to retain Breece Hall past this coming season, then they are going to have to find a quality quarterback. Justin Fields and Brady Cook are not going to cut it.
Starling Marte signs one-year deal with Royals
Outfielder Starling Marte, who played for the Mets from 2022 through 2025, signed with the Kansas City Royals as a free agent last week.
Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns had considered bringing Marte, who is still a productive hitter, back to Flushing, but he did not have a roster spot for a 37-year-old player. That is understandable considering he needs to keep right field open for rookie Carson Benge, veteran Mike Tauchman, or the very flexible Brett Baty. With all the recent talk about Mets captaincy, it was Juan Soto who surprised many, but not me, saying he considered Marte to be the Mets’ leader.
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Marte played hurt and never complained. He made it a point to speak with media who were not granted access to the Mets clubhouse. He was always smiling and giving fist bumps to fans and the press.
Marte will be missed.
NBC set to debut its “Sunday Night Baseball” package later this month as MLB’s regular season approaches
NBC will be debuting its “Sunday Night Baseball” package at the end of the month. Last week it named terrific Detroit Tigers play-by-play television voice Jason Benetti to be its main voice.
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The Peacock Network had previously announced recently retired baseball stars Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto, and former Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo to serve as studio analysts.
Mark Teixeira wins Republican primary contest for a Texas Congressional seat
Speaking of former Yankees first basemen, Mark Teixeira won his Republican primary contest for a Texas Congressional seat last week. A Democrat has not represented Texas’ 21st Congressional District in nearly fifty years, so it is safe to assume we will be calling him Representative Teixeira come January.
NBC holds “Throwback Thursday” game featuring the Spurs and 76ers
Last Tuesday, NBC, which regained the rights to NBA telecasts this year after losing them over twenty years ago, held a “Throwback Tuesday” game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Image Credit: NBA
It featured the graphics of the early 2000s, as well as its NBA announcers back then: Jim Gray, Doug Collins, Mike Fratello, and Astoria native Bob Costas.
Costas humorously introduced his colleagues as a reunion of “Crosby, Stills, Nash, but definitely not Young!”
Wrexham Soccer growing on exposure month by month
Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the down-on-their luck Wrexham British soccer team a few years ago, inspired by the success of Apple’s “Ted Lasso,” which stars their friend, Jason Sudeikis.
Their celebrity has not surprisingly changed the fortunes of the Wrexham soccer team for the better, both on the field, and in terms of worldwide marketing interest. “Welcome to Wrexham,” a documentary series starring the famed owners, has run on FX since 2022. This Friday, March 13th, the Paramount Plus streaming service will televise a match between Wrexham and Swansea City with the Reynolds and McElhenney providing commentary. On July 29, Yankee Stadium will host a match between Wrexham and the Beatles’ childhood team, Liverpool FC.
St. John’s Men’s Basketball honors the late Shannon Forde
Last Tuesday, during their game with the Georgetown Hoyas at Madison Square Garden, the St. John’s University Red Storm men’s basketball team honored the late Shannon Dalton Forde.
Image Credit: MLB/SNY
She worked in the Mets media relations department for 22 years after graduating from SJU. She valiantly fought breast cancer for many years before succumbing to the disease ten years ago this week.
Former Mets relief pitcher, and fellow St. John’s alum, John Franco was at the game, as was Shannon’s beloved longtime Mets boss, Jay Horwitz.
Metta World Peace to be honored by St. John’s during this week’s Big East Tournament at MSG
The St. John’s Athletics department announced one of its greatest players in its history, Queensbridge’s Metta World Peace, who was known as Ron Artest, when he played there, will be honored during this week’s Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament.
USA Hockey Men’s & Women’s Stars Go on Saturday Night Live
Hillary Knight and Megan Keller from Team USA Women’s Hockey, and the Hughes brothers, Jack, and Quinn, from Team USA Men’s Hockey Team, all scored key goals to help the US beat Canada for Olympic gold last month.
Image Credit: NBC Olympics
Legendary “Saturday Night Live” executive producer Lorne Michaels, who grew up a big hockey fan in Toronto, As he has done with heroes in the past, he had all four players take part in the host’s opening monolog in the February 28th episode which was the first “SNL” since it was off the air for a month because of the Winter Olympics. Michaels also wanted the four Olympians on his stage since the host was Connor Storrie, who is the star of HBO’s steamy series about gay hockey players, “Heated Rivalry.”
One complicating factor was that Jack Hughes’ NHL team, the New Jersey Devils, had a game in St. Louis that afternoon which ended around 7:30 EST. Michaels chartered a private jet to get Hughes to 30 Rock in time, although it did mean he would miss the 8PM dress rehearsal. Luckily for all, there were no weather delays, and there were no traffic delays from Teterboro to midtown Manhattan. Despite not having a chance to practice together on stage before the show, all four players hit their marks perfectly.
CBS begins airing “Tracker,” while ABC does the same for “Will Trent” and “High Potential”
The completion of the Winter Olympics has unofficially ushered in broadcast television’s spring season. CBS has started airing new episodes of its most popular scripted show, “Tracker,” while ABC did the same for two of its popular procedurals, “Will Trent,” and “High Potential.”
ABC debuts “RJ Decker” starring Scott Speedman
ABC also debuted a series they have been promoting in ads for months, “RJ Decker,” starring Scott Speedman as the title character.
Image Credit: ABC
RJ is a former newspaper photographer who wound up serving two years in a Florida prison after being unjustifiably convicted of assault. After his release, he became a private investigator.
The show takes place in Fort Lauderdale, and it is fun to see the various sides of Broward County, from the tall condominiums which align the beaches to the trailer parks in the western part of the county near the Everglades. Speedman’s RJ Decker is a raffish, yet very likable anti-hero. The support cast of characters is not the typical kind you see in most TV comedies or dramas. The show is also helped by the writers adding necessary humorous touches.
“RJ Decker” airs Tuesdays at 10PM on ABC, and the next day on demand on Hulu.
The 2026 New York Restaurant Show and Coffee Fest at the Javits Center
The three-day 2026 New York Restaurant Show began at Javits Center on Sunday. While all the exhibitors were there to seek business from the dining industry, many were promoting their products for retail consumers.
Image Credit: ABCPOS
Eddie’s Pickles, which has been in Queens for over 70 years, gave out samples of its kosher dill pickles, which were thankfully not very salty or saturated with brine. La Tourangelle, located in the Northern California town of Woodland, displayed cans of its extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil. Oregon Fruit Company, located in that state’s capital city, Salem, was touting its various canned fruits and “pourable fruit” bottles. For some reason, they were careful not to call it juice.
Skechers, the famed athletic shoe company best-known for its slip-on shoe ads featuring NFL legends Tony Romo and Howie Long, smartly had a huge exhibit of its various shoes, for restaurant workers because many are on their feet for lengthy periods.
Coffee Fest was taking place in the neighboring Javits Center exhibit hall from the New York Restaurant Show. While Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts did not have booths, many small roasting companies did. Interestingly, there were almost as many matcha tea producers as there were coffee companies.
Jamaica, Queens-based Bartlett Dairies touted its shelf-stable line of Farmland miles, while another company which got its start in Queens, Elmhurst Milked, displayed its wide array of nut milks which can be stored at room temperature.
You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.
