Dad Interests

WHOLE LOT OF SANDLOTS

Betty got so into The Sandlot franchise she painted this picture of some original characters playing ball. While I’ve been quoting Sandlot at my kids their whole lives, I had never seen the sequels. The second one obviously tries to recreate the best moments of the original movie while introducing girls to the team. The third installment includes time travel and out of body experiences. I highly recommend the original. —MV

PIECING IT TOGETHER

After school ended and I needed to keep kids occupied, I broke up Boom’s Christmas present. Everyone helped get it started, but then it started to become more and more of Kal’s thing. I put it on a black board so I could move it out of the way as it was coming together—but then banged the board into a doorway and lost one piece. For what felt like a month, the puzzle was one piece away from being complete. Luckily I did find the piece on a book shelf and glued it all together. Now we have Mandalorian wall art. —MV

Luis breaks down where 2K went wrong

As much as I hate 5-out and playing against people who use 5-out in NBA 2K, I enjoy the grind and all the benefits of beating those people online. Then the developers made everything worse: they made shooting difficult and stopped rewarding the grind.

I had played NBA 2K almost every year since its release, but never played the “MyTeam” mode until 2K16 became the free game of the month for Playstation Plus. Having the game at the end of the season allowed me to explore modes I’d never tried before. “MyTeam” fuses card collecting and game

simulation to make a perfect blend of nostalgic

gameplay. If you are a child of the ’80s, you can find a version of Magic Johnson and pair him with LeBron James or any of your current faves. It was an amazing game mode and I was completely hooked.

Over the next four years, I played “MyTeam” more and more until it was my absolute go-to game. It seemed to reach its pinnacle in 2K20. As the world

locked down, 2K released phenomenal content in

a fun, attainable grind for some of the best cards available: GOAT Kobe, Larry Bird and Steph Curry.

On Sept. 4, 2020, NBA 2K21 debuted. 2K had completely revamped the shooting modes and defensive AI. Using buttons (as in every previous version) was no long the way to shoot. You had to

use the right stick in an exaggerated motion to

simply shoot the ball. From the launch the game was impossible and not fun to play. 2K patched shooting four times in the first month. They kept noodling, but never seemed to get it right.

Between the poor shooting and nonsensical rotations of defense (controlled by AI) to the mind numbing grind of earning so little xp while having to win upwards of 90 games to advance, the game seems to have been created with an eye towards only the most hard core of 2Kers. The casual gamer

was left out in the cold.

Things only got worse when the PS5 launched in November, the dawn of “The City,” a fully immersive Park player gaming mode exclusive to the PS5. 2K

basically turned their back on the PS4 users as

well as the “MyTeam” users. It was a slap in the face. The developers seemed to care about “MyTeam” in one way: releasing more and more packs available only with real money. New cards were released in smaller quantities multiple times a week, but hidden behind pay walls. It was down right disrespectful. It was almost impossible to create a team no money spent. All in all, 2K21 was a huge step backward for the franchise.

I haven’t pre-ordered 2K22, and have no intention to until I get a first look at gameplay and hear about any improvements made to the AI and content releases in general. This game should be accessible to all players regardless of how much you want to spend. Until 2K reprioritizes gameplay over

making money in micro transactions, the game will continue to suffer.

CONE HEAD The one Met Luis liked

Growing up in New York meant you had to plant your fl ag fi rmly in the camp of either the Yankees or the Mets. My father would often say, “The Mets are the poor man’s team. That’s why I like them. The Yankees are the money team. That’s what I want for my kids.” Even though I was raised Yankees, we still were fed a heavy dose of Mets.

I was not a fan of the ’86 Mets. The team was fl ashy and hard-partying... things I was taught were not baseball. That squad wasn’t for me, but they played my all-time least favorite team, the hated Boston Red Sox, in the World Series—and beat them. They became the darlings of New York, but I couldn’t fi nd a single person on that team I liked. That all changed in 1987.

When David Cone was promoted to the big club in Flushing in ’87, he seemed smaller than Doc Gooden and Sid Fernandez, but he had this tenacious bulldog-like mentality. I instantly had a favorite Met. While his rookie season was up and down (5-6 record with a 3.71 ERA), a bona fi de star was born his second season. Cone went 20-3 with a 2.22 ERA and an astounding eight complete games. He fi nished third in the Cy Young voting to the unbelievable season Orel Hershisher had with the Dodgers (who beat the favored Mets and A’s in the post season).

The June 22, 1992, Sporting News featured Cone on the cover. I happened to have a subscription and received the issue on my way to a Mets game. Our seats were great, down the right fi eld line, right by the Mets’ bullpen. Pitchers commonly sign autographs between innings. As I lowered the issue down, Cone grabbed it and said, “Hey, kid, I haven’t read this one yet. You mind if I read it? I’ll bring it right back when I’m done.”

“Of course,” I answered. Not only did he return my issue with a signed cover, but he also tossed me a signed ball. If I didn’t already love him, I sure did then.

Cone was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays where he cemented his big game bulldog mentality by leading them to a World Series victory. Cone then signed as a free agent with his hometown Kansas City Royals. In 1994, he won his only Cy Young award. He was traded back to Toronto to make another run at the post season, but it wasn’t till the following season that my love affair with Cone was complete.

In 1995, with the Yankees in contention for the post season (for the fi rst time since 1981), they pulled the trigger and traded for Cone. He was an absolute beast the rest of the way, going 9-2 and leading the Yankees to a fi rst round match up against the Seattle Mariners. Even though the team fell short, it was apparent that Cone was the missing ingredient. The team made him a priority that off-season and signed him to a long-term deal. Cone became the ace of the staff and set the tone on the mound for the teams that would go on and win World Series in ’96, ’98, ’99, and 2000.

On June 18, 1999, Cone had the best individual performance of his career. I was supposed to play softball that day, but due to a gnarly forecast, my game was cancelled. The team went bowling instead. The Yankees game was not cancelled and happened to be on in the bowling alley. I spent most of my time at the bar instead of the lane as I realized Cone was working on a masterpiece. He pitched the rare perfect game. It was absolutely magical, easily one of the best pitching performances I’ve ever witnessed.

His career ended in 2003 with a short stint back on the Mets. He won at a high level everywhere he pitched (.606 winning percentage) and has fi ve rings. He’s defi nitely a pitcher I think never gets the HOF love he so clearly deserves. Maybe one day soon, he can take his rightful place in Cooperstown.