This fall, some of the best sports in town can be found at the Brooklyn Museum.
The traveling exhibit “Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History, 1843 to the Present” features historic images of sports and athletes captured by shutterbugs from Richard Avedon to Andy Warhol. The museum says the collection of more than 200 photos captures “the universal appeal of sports, highlighting unforgettable moments of drama and excitement from around the globe.”
The exhibit will be housed at the museum (brooklynmuseum.org) through January. And if you can’t make it out to see the stills, there’s plenty of live sporting action happening this fall.
Coupled with the Nov. 6 running of the NYC Marathon — with more than 50,000 finishers, it’s the largest in the world — the city’s autumn sports landscape is as crowded as the Verrazano Bridge will be the day of that race.
Superstar goalie Henrik Lundqvist holds down the net at Madison Square Garden.
There’s even a virtual tournament headed for the city. The two-day ESL One New York tournament at Barclays Center Oct. 1 and 2 will include a $250,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competition featuring the top eight top teams from around the world on stage at the East Coast’s biggest esports event.
Fall in New York features 12 pro teams in action and a long list of local games and events that could provide a new iconic image for that museum exhibit.
METS and YANKEES
Don’t forget about the Islanders, led by captain John Tavares.
Will they or won’t they? A roller coaster 2016 summer winds down for New York’s two baseball teams this fall. By the end of September, we’ll know if one, both or neither of them make it to the playoffs.
For the Mets, falling short would be a colossal disappointment. After reaching the World Series a year ago, the Mets came into this year primed for another run to the Fall Classic. A summer of injuries and blunders may cost the Mets a shot at the postseason — but they enter the week still well in the hunt for a wild card spot.
Amid a rare rebuilding project in the Bronx, the Yankees went into the final month of the season with a shot of making something out of what appeared to be a lost season. The team said goodbye to Alex Rodriguez in August and made a slew of deadline deals to shed veterans for a trove of young prospects. Catcher Gary Sanchez has been a revelation.
A healthy Derrick Rose is the Knicks’ newest pickup.
(Mary Altaffer/AP)
The Yankees ( yankees.com ) close out the regular season with three-game series at the Stadium against the Red Sox and Orioles, Sept. 27 to Oct. 2. The Mets ( mets.com ) play their last regular season home games at Citi Field from Sept. 16-25 against the Twins, Braves and Phillies before finishing on the road.
JETS and GIANTS
New York is a baseball town, but football reigns supreme when the leaves begin to change. The Jets and Giants began their seasons on Sept. 11 with relatively high expectations based on the quarterbacks they will not face this season.
The Nets still exist.
The Giants ( giants.com ) stand to benefit from facing young QBs against division rivals Dallas and Philadelphia, who began the season with rookie starters. The Giants home schedule through November features games against the Saints, Ravens, Rams, Eagles, Bengals, Bears and Washington.
Though they don’t face them until later in the year, the Jets ( newyorkjets.com ) hope to create some space between them and the Patriots while Tom Brady serves his four-game Deflategate suspension to start the season. Gang Green’s fall home schedule features some of the NFL’s most fearsome defenses — including Seattle, Baltimore and the Rams before closing out Thanksgiving weekend with a Sunday night showdown Nov. 27 against Brady and the Patriots.
NETS and KNICKS
Check out Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s beard at MetLife Stadium.
In Brooklyn, the Nets ( nba.com/nets) are rebuilding under new head coach Kenny Atkinson and a revamped front office that is hoping for a dose of Lin-sanity at Barclays Center this season after bringing in star point guard Jeremy Lin to pair with big men Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovic. The fall schedule features must-see matchups with the Celtics, Pistons and Bulls — as well as the Nets’ crosstown rival Knicks on Oct. 20.
This fall, we’ll also see if Phil Jackson’s summer free-agent acquisitions of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah bring some buzz to Carmelo Anthony’s playoff-starved Knicks. The Knicks have one playoff series win in 16 years and are coming off three straight losing seasons. If there’s nowhere to go but up, the ascent will begin Oct. 4 with the start of the regular season. LeBron James and the champion Cavs visit the Garden Dec. 7.
ISLANDERS, RANGERS and DEVILS
Breakout Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. expertly dodges defensive backs and Lena Dunham.
If early regular-hockey season is your thing, the three local NHL clubs are in action all through the fall.
The Isles ( islanders.nhl.com ) — which feature New York’s best hockey player in center John Tavares — brought playoff hockey to Brooklyn for the first time in 2016 as they advanced to the second round before falling to the Lightning. They play host to three preseason games at Barclays Center before their regular season home opener Sunday, Oct. 16 against the Ducks.
After getting bounced in the first round by the Penguins this spring, the Rangers ( rangers.nhl.com ), behind goalie Henrik Lundqvist, host three preseason games at the Garden in late September and early October before starting the regular season at home against their rival Islanders Oct. 13.
Fans can check out Yankees slugger Gary Sanchez in action.
And in Newark, on Oct. 22, before they host the Wild, the new-look Devils ( devils.nhl.com ) will dedicate a statue of goalie Martin Brodeur that will sit on Mulberry St.
NYCFC, RED BULLS and COSMOS
Autumn is a great time of the year for soccer and if you have kids playing in fall leagues, there are several opportunities to take them to see the pros play.
Yoenis Cespedes led the Mets on a captivating World Series run last season.
(L.E. Miller)
The long Major League Soccer regular season concludes in late October.
NYCFC (nycfc.com) games are played at Yankee Stadium and there are home matches Sept. 17 against FC Dallas, Sept. 23 against the Chicago Fire and Oct. 23 against the Columbus Crew.
The Red Bulls (newyorkredbulls.com) host three home games at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. On Sept. 24 they square off with the Montreal Impact, on Oct. 1 they reunite with the Philadelphia Union and Oct. 16 they face Columbus.
The Cosmos (nycosmos.com) close out their fall NASL home matches at Hofstra against Fort Lauderdale Oct. 2 and Miami FC on Oct. 22.