Our decline in playoff fun and excitement continues in the New York City area. The Mets and Yankees have taken care of business this week and are gearing up for their championship series. And in the WNBA Finals, the New York Liberty face their first major challenge of the postseason.

Sports reporter Priya Desai joined Weekend Edition’s David Furst to take stock of what lies ahead. A lightly edited transcript of their conversation is below.

Furst: Let’s start with the Liberty. They will try to bounce back from a tough overtime loss in Game 1 on Sunday in Brooklyn.

Desai: That game, David, is one of the best WNBA playoff games of all time.

Oh, just one foul shot away. They could have done it within the regulations!

It was a tough loss for the Liberty, but an absolutely improbable comeback for the Minnesota Lynx. The Liberty had a 15-point lead with just over five minutes remaining. And the chance, David, that the Lynx would win the game at that point was less than 1%.

Wow.

It seems like the Liberty took their foot off the gas towards the end, and it cost them, as you said, Libs All-Star Brianna Stewart missed a free throw to win the game. They were then forced to work overtime. And if you remember a few weeks ago, I told you that the Lynx are the team no one was really focusing on heading into the playoffs.

Yes, I remember that. So you know what you’re talking about.

I like being right. Meanwhile, you know, the Lynx have been quietly winning games all season and have the second-best defense in the league. Lynx star player Nafisa Collier was defensive player of the year and her performance in overtime helped cement that victory, and the Liberty were simply outcoached by the end of the game.

Okay, so two great teams. What will it take for the Liberty to get things right in Game 2?

The saying goes, it’s not a series until a team wins on the road and the Lynx win big on the road. So Game 2 is a must for the Liberty before the series heads to Minnesota.

To their credit, Liberty started off strong. They overshot, blasted away, and deflected the Lynx back. John Quayle Jones had a double-double. They entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Like this is their season, right? But never count on being an underdog. And that’s how the links have been labeled, which I think is quite unfair. And if you’re new to the WNBA, the links are a championship-winning franchise. And their coach, Cheryl Reeve, is a legend. She already has four titles with the links. That’s why I said earlier that coming into the second half of Game 1, the Liberty may be outcoached, and they need to prepare mentally, more than physically, for the next game.

Well, maybe there will be a wake-up call. We’ll have to see how things go in game 2.

Now let’s talk about baseball in October. The excitement continues: the Mets and Yankees are both in their respective championship series, and while these two teams have come the same distance, there’s a different vibe in each fan base, right?

Oh yes. Another underdog story, but this time with the Mets, who really are underdogs – and no one could have predicted this a month ago, and it was a lot of fun. Maybe it’s stressful to watch sometimes. I thought there was no chance in this series against Philadelphia, who had the second-best record in the league – and then the Mets, they do it in just four games and a grand slam in game 4 from Francisco Lindor?

Incredible.

You like to see it – if you’re a Mets fan. They’re going to LA now to face the Dodgers and I feel like I’m copying and pasting my conversation with you when they took on the Phillies. The Dodgers have a dominant pitching staff. They have the best record in the league. And yes, they have the best player in the game, Shohei Ohtani – but Mets magic has gotten them all the way to this point, and as they say, it’s anyone’s game in playoff baseball.

Mets are the underdogs and they’ve certainly had a rough start to the season, but their record in the second half of the season has been incredible.

Yeah, and I think they’re really taking that and running with it. But they must be tired, you know?

Well, they’re getting their first rest now, so we’ll see, we’ll see.

But then they have to fly to LA, and as we know, that’s a long flight.

That’s a long flight. That starts tomorrow night in Los Angeles.

Now to the Bronx. The Yankees are still waiting to see who they will face on Monday. It will be the Detroit Tigers or the Cleveland Guardians. We will know this (Saturday) afternoon. But the story of how the Yankees got here is different.

(Update: The Guardians 7-3 triumph over the Tigers Saturday sees them face the Yankees in the ALCS)

It was interesting to see the Yankees progress in the playoffs because there wasn’t the same type of offense. I think I’ve heard a few Yankees fans say they’re a little jealous because they don’t really have the same energy, but the Yankees as an organization are generally more guarded.

However, there are questions surrounding Aaron Judge, who has really struggled this postseason. Juan Soto is a pending free agent. This postseason feels a little tough, but you know what would help? A World Series win.

Sure, sure. That helps a lot!

While we have you, the Jets in the NFL are playing the Buffalo Bills on Monday night with a new coach on the sidelines.

Yes, the Jets made a Jets move and fired head coach Robert Saleh, and have now promoted defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. This was a team that talked about the Super Bowl in the preseason, so is this what they need to get close to the Super Bowl? I mean, it’s an absolute mess.

And to top it all off, Aaron Rodgers has an ankle injury. What is his status?

Yes, it is a lower ankle injury sustained in the last match. It seems like he’ll probably play, but you want Your QB, who has a new offensive coordinator and a new head coach, to be practicing, right?

Yes. Well, we’ll have to see how that all unfolds.

Meanwhile, the Giants play at the Meadowlands on Sunday night, taking on the Cincinnati Bengals. Sports reporter Priya Desai. Thanks again. Thank you.