It’s early. It’s still early in the 2026 Major League Baseball season.

That’s the mantra New York Mets fans must be repeating to themselves, considering what’s happened to baseball’s second most expensive team through the first three-plus weeks of the regular season.

The Mets started the season 7-4 through the first 11 games, taking three out of four from the San Francisco Giants. That series win came despite losing Juan Soto to a calf injury on April 3rd. Then they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks to win their fourth game in a row. That was April 7th. Since then, the wheels have come off.

And it’s culminated in a stunning 10-game losing streak, which got extended thanks to a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday afternoon.

They lost the final two games of the series against the Diamondbacks by a combined score of 14-3. Then they got swept by the Athletics at Citi Field, scoring just six runs in three games and getting shut out twice. New York then went to Los Angeles for a three-game series against the Dodgers. That went worse.

The Mets lost 4-0, 2-1, then saw their closer Devin Williams implode in an 8-2 defeat to finish out yet another sweep. After an off day, they went to Chicago to play the Cubs. And they’ve been outscored 16-6 en route to losing the series and extending the losing streak to 10 games.

New York even had a brief lead on Saturday, thanks to Mark Vientos’ solo home run to go up 1-0 in the second inning. Sure enough, the Cubs tied it right back in the bottom of the second. And then took the lead when Carson Kelly hit a three-run homer in the sixth.

Remember, this is a team that has a luxury tax payroll of roughly $381 million, plus a $126 million estimated tax bill, for total payout of $507 million. They are now 7-14, have lost 10 games in a row, find themselves in last place in the National League East, have the second worst run differential in the NL at -24, and are tied for dead last in all of Major League Baseball in runs scored.

It’s early. Right? Well, yes, to some extent, but the Mets’ brutal start has already severely impacted their probabilities for the rest of the season. Per Fangraphs projected playoff odds, the Mets peaked on March 27th with an 89% chance of playing postseason baseball. Just three weeks later, that number has fallen to 47.5%. 

There’s now a greater likelihood that the Mets miss the playoffs than there is of them reaching it. They’re 6.5 games behind the first place Atlanta Braves already, and 5.5 games out of what would be a wild card spot. Those deficits can be made up, but this hole they’ve put themselves in is getting serious in a hurry.

Almost nobody on the team is hitting. Top prospect Carson Benge is hitting .150 with a .217 slugging percentage. Big free agent signing Bo Bichette has struggled mightily. Jorge Polanco is hitting .179. Brett Baty has a .197 on base percentage. Marcus Semien, brought over for Brandon Nimmo, has just one home run and a .577 OPS. They’re so desperate for offense, they signed Tommy Pham. The Dodgers, as a team, have a 138 weighted runs created plus, 38% better than league average. New York? Entering Saturday, their team wRC+ was 81, 19% worse than league average.

They’ve scored 18 runs over the 10-game losing streak, just 1.8 per game. It’s ugly.

Yes, the Mets could recover and salvage their season, particularly with Soto expected back in the next 7-10 days. But this is a stark reminder than building a team isn’t an exact science, even with a gigantic payroll at or near the top of the league. The Dodgers make it look easy. The Mets make it look hard. Oh, and the funniest part? It’s all Zohran Mamdani’s fault. 

You’d think that an NBA legend like Shaquille O’Neal would constantly be trading texts with the current crop of NBA players.

I mean, he’s a legend. Who better to ask about navigating a career in the NBA than him?

But you’d be mistaken, and there’s a pretty simple reason why Shaq isn’t one to play digital pen-pals with current players.

In an interview with The New York Post, Shaq was asked who he keeps in touch with, and he didn’t hold back.

“None. I don’t like athletes or superstars because they’re a–holes,” he said. “I denounced myself from being a celebrity about 10 years ago because those people are weird. I’m not weird.”

I get that… but I didn’t realize you could denounce celebrity status or that Shaq had done this.

In fact, I was under the impression that he was still a celebrity.

I mean, the man has gummy candies in the shape of his head. They don’t just give those to anyone.

If they did, I’d have a giant sack of my own gummy heads sitting in my pantry right now.

I thought this was such an interesting take because it’s pretty common for former players — especially ones who have moved into a media role — but I find it weirdly refreshing to hear someone with the opposite approach.

In fact, that tells you that when Shaq gives an opinion on a current player or situation, he’s not couching it because he’ll have to face a barrage of angry text messages.

Nope, he can call balls and strikes with impunity.

Plus, he won’t have a–holes blowing up his phone, which is always nice.

Shaq also said that he just wants to be a regular guy, and that’s how he likes it when he shows up to the tech store tm:rw which he is a partner in.

“Whenever I come, it’s me and two guys. No entourage. There’s nothing but homeboys coming in,” he said. “We come in here, we take care of business… We sign autographs. We treat people with honor and respect… I want to be a regular guy.”

University of Oklahoma gymnastics star Faith Torrez came up with a clutch championship-winning routine for her team in the NCAA championships Saturday, extending the program’s dynasty.

Torrez nailed the final routine on the floor exercise as the last competitor on the final rotation to put the Sooners ahead for their fourth championship in five years. It was the last routine of her college career.

Torrez scored a 9.950 to give the Sooners a team total of 198.1625, just ahead of LSU at 198.0750. 

Florida was third, while Minnesota closed the best season in program history by finishing fourth.

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“It means everything. I’m so proud of this team,” Torrez said after winning the NCAA all-around title Thursday. “To do it with them, I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”

LSU initially surged to the front through three rotations thanks in part to a perfect 10 on the vault by Kailin Chio, the first perfect score awarded at the national championships since 2023.

The Tigers finished on the balance beam while the Sooners went to the floor exercise. At NCAA competitions, six gymnasts compete in each event, with the lowest score being dropped, and the top five scores added together to produce the team total.

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LSU’s slim 0.0750 lead left it little margin for error. A fall by Lexi Zeiss on the beam, which came after Zeiss was forced to endure a prolonged wait as judges worked on teammate Kylie Coen’s score, opened the door just enough for the Sooners to push through.

The Tigers rebounded behind Konnor McClain, the 2022 US Gymnastics national champion, and Chio.

The meet came down to the final two competitors, Torrez on the floor and Chio on the beam.

Torrez, who battled injuries all season and didn’t even compete in the all-around until nationals, put together a dynamic 90-second performance, forcing Chio to be perfect for the Tigers to win.

Chio, who had 13 perfect tens during the season, was dazzling, but her score of 9.900 was not quite enough to derail Oklahoma’s dynasty.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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