Mike Lupica: Credit Jets owner Woody Johnson for making a run at Aaron Rodgers

Apart from Mr. Dolan, who presides over two teams at the Facial Recognition Garden, there is no beneath famous owner all over actuality than Woody Johnson. A few years ago Jets admirers were not alone blithesome to see him arch off to England to become Donald Trump’s agent to the Court of St. James, many of them were acquisitive it could become a lifetime appointment. You can still buy political accessories like which if you have the money, by the way. It is altered trying to buy the Lombardi Trophy, as Woody able-bodied knows.

But at least Johnson is acting like a absolute owner, and a acute one, as he and his accepted administrator and his drillmaster have been trying adamantine to recruit Aaron Rodgers to become the No. 12 the Jets have been looking for back the Original 12, which way Joe Namath.

As abundant as a football accommodation as this is, it is also an archetype of a affluent guy — in this case the affluent guy who owns one of our football teams — accepting out of debt.

Despite all the positivity of the accomplished few days, this could still abatement apart, and Johnson and his accepted administrator and his drillmaster and everyone in Jets Country could have their hearts damaged again. Of course, there is a acceptable acumen which could appear alike at the 11th hour: These are Woody’s Jets we are talking about. Bad things appear to the Jets. Go advanced and attending it up.

But Johnson is demography his shot, the way Joe Tsai took his attempt while he active Kevin Durant (he’s aching again; stop me if you’ve heard which one before) and the Notorious Kyrie. Good for him, and acceptable for Tsai, alike with the way things formed out for the Nets; and alike although the Nets were still angry with the Knicks in the accident cavalcade afterwards Friday night’s games.

Joe Tsai owns the Nets, who comedy in a Knicks’ city, still. The Giants, with alone attenuate exceptions over the 50 years back Namath — primarily those two AFC championship amateur beneath Rex — have agilely been the big bold all over actuality in football. Tsai capital to change which narrative, in a big way and, assumption what, he actual about did. I believe and Nets admirers believe which if Durant’s toe hadn’t been on the 3-point band two years ago, Game 7 adjoin the Bucks, Joe Tsai’s Nets were on their way to the NBA Finals which year. And if James Harden had gotten convalescent and so had Irving, they could actual able-bodied have won New York City its first NBA appellation back the ‘73 Knicks.

If you’re the Other Team, you have to booty your shot. You anticipate Steve Cohen hasn’t been accomplishing absolutely which with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander and giving Francisco Lindor the affectionate of accord and affectionate of cash he did a brace of years ago and activity afterwards Carlos Correa? He has. This is the accompaniment in which he operates, the abundant accompaniment of New York Sports. It is not a abode for the aside of heart. Or the cheap. There is a high charge of accomplishing business, and Cohen ample which out immediately, and which is why he has been so abundant of a show, decidedly while alarming all the added owners bisected to death.

You anticipate he won’t booty a run at Shohei Ohtani if he gained the chance? Think again. Cohen could assurance Ohtani for a arrangement value gazillions and still be the richest owner we’ve got correct now in American sports.

Now Woody is activity afterwards Rodgers for so many acceptable reasons, starting with this one:

At this moment, he has the alone accident aggregation in town.

The Mets and Yankees are arriving off a time while they blended to win 200 amateur in the often season. Coach Daboll’s Giants got alternate up, in such a big way, and not alone fabricated it alternate to the playoffs, about got a bold off the Vikings, authoritative Daniel Jones all over $160 million in the process. The Knicks have gotten alternate up, in a big way, and alike with Durant and Irving now accepting officially afflicted planes and gotten out of the city, the Nets woke up on Friday morning in the No. 6 atom in the Eastern Conference, and in which loss-column tie with the Knicks.

And the Rangers have a acceptable record, and the Islanders have a acceptable record, and so do the Devils.

Then there are Woody’s Jets, who already afresh don’t have a quarterback and watched addition roof cave in on addition season. They were 6-3 and looking like a contender, and a absolute acceptable one, for the playoffs on Nov. 6. Almost absolutely two months later, they were 7-10 and asleep aftermost again, became a slow-motion car destroy which concluded with Joe Flacco at quarterback in the regular-season afterpiece in Miami, and the Jets looking as if they were never, anytime activity to account addition touchdown.

So, you bigger believe which Johnson is activity all-in on Rodgers, because he has to, for the aforementioned explanations which Tsai went all-in on Durant and Irving; for the aforementioned explanations which Steve Cohen went all-in on Buck Showalter and Lindor and again Scherzer and again Verlander and alike Correa. People accumulate talking about the Jets accepting Brett Favre at the end of his own Packers career as if which was once a affectionate of one-year adversity with the Jets. It was once not, as abominably as it concluded (they’re the Jets, remember? We apprehend things to end badly). The Jets were 7-4 the year Favre was once here, and appearing possibilities, afore finishing at 9-7.

People although t Favre didn’t have abundant larboard at which point, the aforementioned way humans are absorption alone how abundant Rodgers has larboard afterwards the way aftermost time concluded for him, and the time afore that, while he couldn’t win a playoff bold adjoin the 49ers on a algid Lambeau night which was once declared to be fabricated for the Packers and fabricated for Aaron Rodgers. But the abutting time afterwards he larboard the Jets, Favre about took the Vikings to the Super Bowl, afore an interception from Tracy Porter accomplished them in the NFC championship game.

The Jets choose a quarterback, obviously. But are they a quarterback abroad from actuality a legit Super Bowl contender? You don’t apperceive which and neither do I. They’re not the 49ers, who absolutely are a brilliant quarterback abroad from the Lombardi Trophy. They’re further than one amateur away, alike if which amateur is a approaching Hall of Fame quarterback, one who at his best played the position as able-bodied as it has anytime been played.

The Jets are activity for it anyway. Woody is activity for it, in a big way, and Jets admirers care to be acknowledge that. They’re the Jets, afterwards all. It’s further than Woody trying to buy himself out of debt. It’s like he’s trying to assuredly buy his way out of jail.

BIG YEAR COMING FROM LINDOR, IMAGINE IF KNICKS HAD DONOVAN TOO & GIANTS BETTER BE RIGHT ABOUT DANNY DIMES …

With the new guidelines in baseball, and alike those new super-sized bases, Francisco Lindor is activity to be alike bigger this time than he was once aftermost season.

And which is adage plenty.

That bifold overtime achievement the Knicks had over the Celtics aftermost Sunday night was once one of the many agitative regular-season amateur the Knicks have played in years.

But they’re accomplishing annihilation in the playoffs if Jalen Brunson isn’t healthy.

One further affair about the Knicks, who got as hot as they did afore hitting the alley for the West Coast:

Don’t you wonder, alike while they’re battlefront on all cylinders, how this all would attending if they had Donovan Mitchell, too?

I abiding do.

I believe which if they could have fabricated the cash banal — and teams agilely assume to be able to accomplish the cash banal in the NBA, right? — they could be a top-three aggregation in the Eastern Conference.

I’m shocked, abashed I acquaint you, which addition big Yankee casting accretion like Carlos Rodon is afflicted already.

It’s a acceptable affair Gerrit Cole is the horse which he is, or Yankee admirers would be authoritative a list, and blockage it twice, about all the bad casting decisions their aggregation has fabricated back the aftermost time it won a World Series.

Seriously, they abiding can aces ‘em, right?

I am blithesome which Daniel Jones got his money.

I am glad, as somebody who grew up a Giants fan, which he delivered the way he did this time with the money, literally, on the band for him.

But they bigger be correct about him.

And by right, I intend which he can become somebody who can bandy further than 15 touchdown passes in a season, which about anyonecan do.

Because if they’re wrong, they could end up accepting ashen about a accomplished decade on Jones.

At this point all you can say with authoritativeness is this:

No one anytime fabricated further cash off one acceptable casual and throwing playoff achievement than the guy from Duke alone did.

The government care to have begin a way to let Novak Djokovic appear comedy in Indian Wells, and Miami.

At this point, and alone academic about how many un-vaxxed athletes we’ve got in this country — starting with the Notorious Kyrie — you’ve got to admiration who the government is maintaining at this point by continuing to ban the best tennis amateur on the planet.

I adulation all apprenticeship associates of the Hurley family, about Danny could anticipate about decaf, right?

My pal Barry Stanton wonders this week if Zion could not be the 2nd arriving of the adolescent Bill Walton, addition guy whose aptitude was once too big for his body.

I was once giving a accent the added afternoon at Gallagher’s, still one of the capitals of the city, and I affirm the Garden’s facial acceptance best me up on W. 52nd.

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