Nets Lean on Moritz Wagner to Fix Defensive Communication
The Brooklyn Nets are leaning on veteran center Moritz Wagner to help solve a communication problem on defense. Head coach Jordi Fernández says his players talk plenty off the court but need to carry that chatter onto it, especially while rotations and coverages are still being ironed out. Wagner, newly adjusting to the Nets' system, scored 15 points in Tuesday's overtime loss in Boston. Fernández praised his willingness to direct teammates from the bench and on the floor despite still learning the playbook, calling him a reliable veteran presence. After Thursday's practice, center Day'Ron Sharpe pointed to small defensive breakdowns — reaching in, failing to get back, overhelping — as costly mistakes the team needs to limit. He noted the Boston film showed promise, with players like Noah Clowney and Chaney Johnson hustling back from the corners and teammates covering for each other's rotations. Forward Michael Porter Jr. echoed the sentiment, saying the group took a step forward in staying connected and communicating through good and bad stretches of the game. Fernández has set incremental defensive goals, aiming to climb from the bottom of the league rankings to 20th, then 15th. Getting there, he says, depends on Wagner and his teammates making that in-game communication a habit rather than a highlight.
Nov 1, 2026
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NYPD Sergeant Runs NYC Marathon Cancer-Free After Years-Long Battle
This year's New York City Marathon marks a milestone for more than just the race itself, which turns 50 on Sunday. NYPD Sergeant Tatiana Simons will cross the start line cancer-free for the first time in years after battling the disease through her last five marathons. Simons, promoted to sergeant on Friday, began racing with New York Road Runners back in 2014 while still at the Police Academy. Running became both a professional asset — useful for chasing suspects as a patrol officer — and a personal coping tool during treatment, she said, describing the rhythm of her feet hitting pavement as a release for difficult emotions. Her determination showed most clearly in 2025, when she ran the Boston Marathon and underwent a double mastectomy the very next day, despite others urging her to skip the race. Simons credits her father, a retired NYPD sergeant whose badge she now carries, as a source of her work ethic. On Sunday, her husband, an NYPD Harbor Patrol lieutenant, her two young sons, and her father plan to cheer her on. The marathon runs 26.2 miles from Staten Island through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx, finishing in Central Park, with roughly 60,000 runners from over 140 countries expected.
Nov 1, 2026
NYC Marathon Weekend Kicks Off With 50th Anniversary Celebration
Race weekend for the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon officially began Friday evening with New York Road Runners' annual Opening Ceremony at the finish line in Central Park. This year's event marked the 50th anniversary of the marathon's five-borough course, first run in 1976. The ceremony, presented by United Airlines, inducted women's running pioneer Lynn Blackstone and marathon co-founders George Hirsch and the late Percy Sutton into the NYRR Hall of Fame. Late Olympian and coach Jeff Galloway received the 2026 Abebe Bikila Award. NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer and Race Director Ted Metellus gave opening remarks, followed by a Parade of Nations featuring runners from around the world, honorary grand marshals, past champions and youth program participants. More than 50 former marathon winners attended, including Kathrine Switzer, Gary Muhrcke, Sharon Lokedi and Tegla Loroupe, alongside veterans of the original 1976 race like Fred Abramowitz and Dave Obelkevich. The marathon itself runs Sunday, with defending champions Hellen Obiri, Benson Kipruto and wheelchair star Marcel Hug leading a field stacked with Olympians and national record holders. Eyewitness News anchors Liz Cho and Mike Marza will also run, raising money for the Alzheimer's Association in support of former colleague Bill Ritter. Coverage begins at 7 a.m. Sunday on Channel 7.
Nov 1, 2026
Knicks' Turnover Woes Deepen Early in Title Defense
The reigning NBA champion Knicks are off to a rocky start, sitting at 2-4 through six games, and turnovers are a big reason why. New York has coughed the ball up 93 times this season, including 13 giveaways in a 98-93 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Philadelphia on Friday. That total puts the Knicks among the league's worse offenders alongside Detroit, Brooklyn, Minnesota and Houston, a surprising slide for a team that ranked among the NBA's stingiest with the ball last season. Head coach Mike Brown said players are pressing too hard for big plays instead of simple, safe ones, describing it as trying to "hit a home run" on every possession rather than settling for "singles." Captain Jalen Brunson echoed that sentiment, saying hesitation and overthinking have led to risky, low-percentage passes. The team has also been adjusting its offense to run more through Karl-Anthony Towns, who is seeing more touches and longer possessions than last season but has also averaged over four turnovers a game so far. Forward Josh Hart said the team needs to be more careful and deliberate with its decision-making. Backup guard Jose Alvarado has missed recent games with an ankle injury. Despite the slow start, Brunson expressed confidence the team will clean up its mistakes as the season progresses.
Nov 1, 2026
80-Year-Old Manhattan Runner Set for 20th NYC Marathon After Heart Scares
An 80-year-old Manhattan woman is preparing to run her 20th New York City Marathon on Sunday, just weeks after doctors treated her for a second heart arrhythmia in as many years. Laverne Johnson, who moved to New York in the 1990s and began running the marathon that year, will compete alongside her daughter, Lori Milhaven, 60, a two-time cancer survivor, as part of a mother-daughter team. Johnson has set a personal goal of finishing 20 marathons before turning 80. Last year, Johnson was hospitalized at Mount Sinai West on the Upper West Side after suddenly struggling to walk just a few blocks to dinner with her daughters. Doctors diagnosed severe heart failure caused by an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, worsened by her intense training. Cardiac electrophysiologist Dan Pugliese performed an emergency procedure to stabilize her heart rhythm but cleared her to keep running once she recovered. She went on to complete her 19th marathon weeks later under a run-walk plan. Doctors recently caught a second arrhythmia earlier and treated it with another cardioversion procedure. This time, Johnson says she has no restrictions and plans to run the entire course. Johnson, originally from Missouri, took up running as a young single mother and now also runs a corporate training business in the city.
Nov 1, 2026
11,000 Runners Hit the Dash Before NYC Marathon's Big Day
Thousands of runners gathered on Manhattan's East Side Saturday for the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K, the traditional warm-up race ahead of Sunday's TCS New York City Marathon. About 11,000 athletes ran the 3.1-mile course, which started near the United Nations building, wound through Midtown, and finished in Central Park on the marathon's actual finish line. Habtom Samuel won the men's open division in his New York Road Runners debut, crossing in 13:31 to extend his unbeaten rookie professional season. He edged 2024 Olympian Edwin Kurgat and 2025 Dash champion Amon Kemboi. On the women's side, Rachael Rudel, fresh off a USATF 20K national title, took her first Dash crown in 15:35, ending a three-year win streak by Annie Rodenfels. Americans swept the podium, with Josette Andrews and Ednah Kurgat close behind. The race also honored the marathon's 50th anniversary. Gary Corbitt, son of marathon course co-founder Ted Corbitt and this year's Honorary Grand Marshal, ran alongside past NYC Marathon champions Hendrick Ramaala, Meb Keflezighi, Uta Pippig and Franca Fiacconi. Leaders from the Berlin, Boston, London and Tokyo marathons also competed in a friendly showdown. The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon airs Sunday starting at 7 a.m.
Nov 1, 2026