Decade later, ex-Mets recall night Osama bin Laden was killed: ‘I still get chills’
NY Post
PHILADELPHIA — A decade later, the Mets coincidentally were back at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday night for another ESPN showcase game.
Saturday had marked the 10-year anniversary of the teams unforgettably facing each other on national television while President Obama unexpectedly announced the death of Osama bin Laden, nearly a decade after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Those Mets in uniform that night “will remember it for the rest of our lives, but not for baseball reasons” according to former manager Terry Collins.It was only a three-second glimpse, but Matt Rempe, finally, showcased offensive strides. The ones he started talking about in the preseason — after a summer’s worth of work — and kept doubling down on, even when he fluctuated in and out of the Rangers lineup and shuttled back and forth to AHL Hartford.
In a different time, in a season to come, we may be inclined to wax poetic about the way this one played out. In a different time, in a season to come, the Nets will be seeking to stack wins and not losses, will be fighting for playoff seeding and not for a few extra ping-pong balls in the draft lottery this spring.
The NBA has an All-Star Game problem. Despite Adam Silver’s efforts to inject juice into the February showcase — including a format alteration to the 2025 game that is too confusing to attempt to understand before it’s inevitably changed again — there’s little interest in watching teams eschew defense for a series of layup line highlights. That also means the most entertaining part of the NBA All-Star Game is just like the Pro Bowl — debating over who should get a spot.