gives it major impacct on which NFC team makes the Super Bowl.d

NEW YORK -- Mets second baseman Neil Walker has been diagnosed with a herniated disk in his lower back that has caused some weakness in his foot.The initial medical recommendation is that Walker will do no additional damage by playing through the issue. Still, Mets officials and Walker are playing it safe by having another doctor review the MRI on Wednesday before potentially having him return to the field.Walker has missed the past three games because of the latest flare-up of the back issue. He experienced a similar issue, including the foot weakness, back in 2012 while with the Pittsburgh Pirates.Anytime you have a back issue, you can be symptomatic in various ways, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. He doesnt have any pain. There is some weakness but not significant enough to prevent him from playing. I think the big concern is: Can he further injure his back? Thats the reason for the second opinion.Alderson suggested anybody portraying the injury as career-threatening is uninformed.I think the currently circulating story is a little overblown, Alderson said. Based on the information we have currently, Neil can play. And the notion that what he has currently is career-ending is a fabrication at this stage. I dont want people to become too concerned about where we are, but were getting a second opinion, as we do in a lot of these cases, and well know more today. But as of right now, we dont think its as serious as has been portrayed.Hes got a disk [issue], which is pretty routine, the GM continued. So were not talking about something thats career-threatening in my judgment, based on what Ive heard from the doctors.Mets manager Terry Collins said the weakness caused by Walkers herniated disk is causing numbness in one of his feet and that is what is keeping him from playing.So we are waiting for the second opinion to find out if surgery is necessary immediately. If not, are we waiting? How long? Hes got to get some strength back in his leg in order to play, Collins said. So, yes, he could play. But do we take him out in the sixth inning? The other night it flared up on him. We end up winning the game, and he said, Im not sure I could have gone extra innings.That is where we stand right now. Until the second opinion comes back, we are hesitant to put him out there.Walker isnt the only player getting an additional medical review on Wednesday. Steven Matz is having his balky left shoulder re-examined. The Mets had hoped Matz would return from the disabled list to make a start on Thursday, but an impingement is still leading to rotator cuff irritation.Alderson said there is no immediate thought to shutting down Matz for the remainder of the season, despite the fact Matz already will require offseason surgery to remove a bone spur from his pitching elbow.Im pleased with the way in which these issues have been handled, Alderson said. Steven has pitched through the elbow issue over the last couple of months admirably. We certainly are going to be very careful about the shoulder, just as we have, I think, been about the elbow as well. Were not at the point yet where we say, Look, it doesnt make any sense to continue. Until a doctor tells us that or we determine that in discussions with Steven, hes still part of the team.Alderson insisted the mounting injuries have not been frustrating given the teams play of late. With young pitchers such as Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman having stepped into the rotation, the Mets (68-64) have moved to within 2? games of the St. Louis Cardinals for the National Leagues second wild-card spot.Were 8-2 the last 10 games, so its a little hard to be frustrated, Alderson said. Its challenging for Terry and the staff. Its challenging for the players. Its challenging for us. But, as an organization, I think were meeting the challenge. Well see what happens over the next 10 games, but Im very pleased with the way some of our young players have stepped up.Alderson did not rule out acquiring a reliever on Wednesday -- the final day a player can be obtained from outside the organization and be eligible for the postseason roster. Still, Alderson did not portray such a scenario as likely.Were still working on it, he said. We still have some things that are going on. I dont really expect that well be able to do anything significant. Its possible that well do something. But, you know, weve been happy with the young pitching as its developed over the last week or 10 days. Well have plenty of numbers.Really, at this point, its a matter of evaluating and assessing what we have internally available to us versus what we think we can get and what it would cost us in players. We have the players to make a deal. Its just a question of whether we think its worthwhile. Nicholas Castellanos Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Alec Mills Jersey . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. https://www.cheapcubs.com/870t-albert-almora-jr-jersey-cubs.html . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Jonathan Lucroy Jersey . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. Carlos Zambrano Cubs Jersey . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. NFL football is a Thanksgiving tradition. Important games on Thanksgiving are not. Thanksgiving football has seen a lot of one-sided contests over the past few years. It doesnt help that the Detroit Lions are usually out of contention by this point. Years of 8-8 Dallas teams gave us some Turkey Day turkeys as well.Well, not this year. Just in time to help you avoid talking politics with the family members you disagree with, the NFL has delivered a trio of games with major playoff ramifications. Grab that second helping of pumpkin pie and get back on the couch as soon as possible.The opener, Minnesota at Detroit, is the most important game of the week for determining which 12 teams make the NFL playoff field. In fact, its the most important game of the year so far. If the Lions win, they become the NFC North favorites, making the playoffs 62.4 percent of the time, while the Vikings make it only 43.4 percent of the time. But if the Vikings get a win on the road, their playoff odds climb to 86.1 percent while Detroits odds fall to 18.9 percent.The next game, Washington at Dallas, is less important for making the playoffs since Dallas has almost clinched a spot. But its hugely important to determining seeding, which gives it major impacct on which NFC team makes the Super Bowl.dddddddddddd The Cowboys are 33 percent more likely to make Super Bowl LI if they win this game; the Redskins are more than twice as likely to make it with a win.The nightcap brings us the No. 1 team in the AFC North race (Pittsburgh) against the No. 2 team in the AFC South race (Indianapolis). Each team would add between 12 and 15 percent to its playoff odds with a win on Thanksgiving night.Youll find our playoff odds for all 32 teams below. For a full explanation on how we calculate each teams playoff odds,?see the bottom of the article.AFC PLAYOFF PREDICTIONSFAVORITES1. New England Patriots (8-2)Odds of making playoffs: 98.4 percentThe Raiders are currently the AFCs No. 1 seed based on the strength of victory tiebreaker. Thats not a very good one for the Patriots, since they had both Cleveland and San Francisco on the schedule. But its unlikely to come down to that by the end of the season. New England has been the better team on a play-by-play basis and has the easier schedule down the stretch (with two games against the Jets and a home game against the Rams). ' ' '