Archives for April 2023

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | April 16

April 16, 2023 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at The Week That Was, the 127th Boston Marathon, and Trying to Move On; Recognizing and Respecting our Mortality | And, The Boss!

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – It’s the pipes. Much like the playing of Taps at a military funeral honor ceremony, the bagpipers tear your heart and soul out as they led the procession down Boylston Street in the Back Bay to honor the victims of the senseless 2013 Boston Marathon bombing – now a full decade in the past.

On Saturday morning, the pipes played and time stood still. The memorial services hurt more than they ever can help. We try to move on, but with every running of the Marathon, from here to eternity, we’ll close our eyes and see eight-year old Martin Richard’s face. Then, we see his family photo with his surviving siblings at his side. One is Martin’s sister, Jane, who lost a leg standing alongside her little brother – both innocently watching the 2013 race and the mid-range runners all crossing the finish line on a beautiful afternoon in Boston.

It all ended in 14 seconds and 200+ yards apart. It was sheer terror, smoke and carnage.

There were others who perished nearby. Lingzi Lu of China was here in Boston studying. She went home in a body bag after being torn to bits, dying from blood loss because of massive injuries from shrapnel, plastic bits and pellets, nails and other deadly propellents stuffed into a pressure cooker and concealed in a backpack. Lu will forever be a 23-year old in our mind’s eye.

Bostonian Krystle Campbell was killed by one of the two explosions purposely set-off in the areas where innocent people were enjoying one of America’s finest and longest standing sporting events. Campbell will forever be 29 years old, smiling that wonderful, endearing smile. She was the best of friends to those lucky enough to be within her inner circle.

Sean Collier, an MIT police officer and Boston Police Sergeant Dennis “DJ” Simmonds died in the aftermath of the terrorist bombing. Collier was assassinated by the two morons, shot at point blank range as he sat in his squad car on patrol on university grounds in Cambridge. He had no chance. They wanted his gun. They didn’t get it and the manhunt was on.

The final victim, Simmonds, was injured during a firestorm shootout in nearby Watertown after police identified the bombers and began the manhunt, the largest and most organized police detail every undertaken in one of America’s oldest, most beautiful and symbolic cities. Simmonds died of his wounds a year after that terrible day when the entire city of Boston was shut down as its citizens were instructed to shelter in place.

One of the terrorists was killed in the shootout in Watertown. He was then run over by the very S.U.V. being driven by his younger brother who was trying to escape but was later found bleeding and cowering in a winterized pleasure boat parked right in our backyards. The younger of the two domestic terrorist, the guy who chose to lay his backpack right next to the Richards family, was tried by his peers, convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He awaits, sleeping on the USA’s dime on death row in a SuperMax prison in Colorado. I am very much against the Death Penalty. I do not think it acts as a deterrent to the criminal mind. However, there are exceptions. Regardless, I never want to see or hear about this guy ever again.

This Saturday afternoon, the bells tolled at the Old South Church in Copley Square at precisely at 2:49 p.m. to mark the time of the first explosion ten years ago. The cold, cruel facts of the domestic terrorist event and names of the victims are spoken and written today, over-and-over again to be sure we never forget. We have to remember their faces, those family smiles from the images. We have to recognize the overall importance of the victims to us all. Their diversity in age, occupation and nationality, symbolize what all that is great about Boston, a small college town with a huge heart and an extraordinary love of sports – from the Marathon to the Head of the Charles. The citizens of New England and all who come to run, visit and study here, will be out in force on Monday. After all – paraphrasing what David “Big Papi” Ortiz once said, “This is our F’ing city,” and we’ll all agree, “It’s our F’ing Marathon, too.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While the lead-up to the 2023 Boston Marathon has taken on a somber note as the 10-year anniversary is marked this weekend, there was a certain complexity to the entire week just concluding.

This week began on Easter Sunday – and for those who believe – it was a day to reflect on death, resurrection and eternal life. The week continued – for this writer – with attendance at one of the most moving rock shows ever staged. It was a week when abortion rights were turned upside down by courts throughout the land, only to have the Supreme Court call a temporary “time out” for the very issue they tossed into the air last June 24th after 50 years of law settled the issue.

It was a week of extreme weather, deadly tornadoes in the Midwest and South and floods in Ft. Lauderdale while thousands of acres remained underwater from equally terrible flooding in California. It was a week when one of our own national air guardsman leaked classified documents and put the United States’ national security at risk, once again.

But, with all the upheaval and all the trouble lurking, we must endure and move forward as that is the only solution. “Survive and advance,” we said so confidently during March Madness. Now, we have to live by that saying. Yes, we will.

This week, the entire City of Boston will rally and move forward, as it must do to make any sense of the mental anguish of a monumental event in the city’s history now a full decade ago.

What might be a personal salve for the challenge as the anniversary comes along? Boston’s Sports will get the job done. The Celticws, the Bruins and the Red Sox will remember the best of times as they pay respect to the worst of times with ONE Boston Day celebration and day of service. After all, the Boston Bruins just completed the most successful regular season in National Hockey League history and one of its stars, David Pastrnak, netted 61 goals in his 82 games played. Things are looking good in 2023.

The Bruins and the NBA’s Boston Celtics (57-25) will embark on an every-other-day playoff march and it will be coupled with the Boston Red Sox attempt to compete in the ultra-tough AL East. Just 14-games into the 2023 season, the Sox (7-8) find themselves in last place in their division and trailing the first place Tampa Bay Rays by 6.0 games. Nevertheless, Fenway Park will be filled with hopefuls, especially Monday with the traditional 11:10am first pitch.

Here’s a sampling of what we’re up to, if the beer-guzzling, Sam Adams-loving, 26.2 chugging crowds can endure and the word “upset” isn’t uttered in this town until June:

Saturday April 15th:

2:30pm – Boston Marathon Opening Ceremony
3:30pm – NBA Playoffs, first round, Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics (112-99)
4:10pm – MLB, LA Angels and Shoehei Ohtani at Boston Red Sox (9-7)

Sunday, April 16th:

1:35pm – LA Angels at Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park
Eve of Pasta and Pastrnak!

Monday, April 17th:

8:30am – The running of the 127th Boston Marathon
11:10am – LA Angeles at Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park
7:30pm – NHL Playoffs, Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins

Tuesday, April 18th:

7:00pm – Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics, Game 2
7:10pm – Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park

Wednesday, April 19th:

7:10pm – Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park
7:30pm – Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins at TD Garden

And, on we’ll go.

OHTANI’S IN TOWN: As noted, Major League Baseball’s two-way (pitcher and batter) sensation and most talented player, Shohei Ohtani, is in town this weekend and is scheduled to be the starting pitcher when the Angeles face the Sox on Patriots’ Day and that 11:10am (ET) start. (That’s eight in the morning for the Southern California crew).

The Sho is a fantasy baseball player’s dream and nightmare, especially in weekly leagues. Do you start him as a batter or a pitcher? Will he get two starts this week, with the first coming Monday morning?

A lefty batter, can he wrap a shot around the Pesky Pole or will he go with his picture-perfect stroke and line one out into left center field for a single? Will he steal a base or two? Will MLB superstar, but oft-injured OF Mike Trout be on base for Ohtani to knock-in, like a pinball wizard?

Friday night saw the Angels draw the devilish imprint of the game of baseball. They committed three costly errors, tossed wild pitches and allowed passed balls, all resulting in a 5-3 Boston victory. The Angels left 11 runners on base. The great Ohtani went 1-for-4 with two strike-outs. Boston only had five hits to produce the five runs needed to win. Saturday, the Angels were felled by consecutive catcher interference botch-ups. LA was winning 7-6 in the 8th and lost, 9-7. The Angeles are 2-for-2 in handing away wins.

LAST MAN STANDING:

“Faded pictures in an old scrapbook

Faded pictures that somebody took

When you were hard and young and proud

Backed against the wall running raw and loud”

BRUCE AND THE E STREET BAND: “It was 1965 and I was 15 years old,” began Bruce Springsteen this past Tuesday at the New York Islanders brand-new UBS Arena situated alongside the greatness of Belmont Park Race Track. Springsteen was doing an intro to the key song of his latest LP, the most important and telling song on the album. “I’d been playing guitar for about six months when one summer afternoon I heard a knock on my front door. It was George Theiss (The Castiles). “He was an old friend of mine and he was dating my sister at the time. She told him I was playing some guitar and he asked me to audition for his band. So that weekend, I followed him to a small shotgun shack of a house, just one block from the town’s road mill. It was there at that little house that I embarked on the greatest adventure of my life. I joined my first real rock ‘n roll band. And, we lasted for three years! That’s a lifetime for teenagers. We lasted from 1965-66-67, an explosive time in American history and an incredible moment to be in a rock band.

“Now, if you cut forward – cut forward 50 years from that summer afternoon – on another summer day, I found myself standing at the side of George’s deathbed. George had been in a terrible battle with lung cancer in the last years of his life and he only had a few days left to live.

“I realized with his passing, it would leave me as the last surviving member of that small group of guys that got together in that little corner house that afternoon. It will give you pause to think. It’s like you are standing on the tracks with the white, hot light of an oncoming train, bearing down upon you. It just brings a certain clarity of thought. Death’s final and lasting gift to the living is an expanded vision of life itself.

“It gives you another chance to look at life – to look at your life – to look at the lives you and your friends are leading.

“It was shortly after that afternoon when George passed away, just a little while later, I wrote this song. It’s just about the passions you follow as children, not knowing where they’re going to lead you. And, how at 15, it’s all tomorrow and tomorrow and hello and hello. And, later on, there’s a lot more yesterdays and good-byes.

“It made me realize how important living every moment is. So, be good to yourself. Be good to those you love and to this world we live in.

“This is Last Man Standing”

During the many years (48 for yours truly), watching Springsteen evolve into the man he is today, he told many a short story as he introduced new songs and gave listeners deep insight into his song-writing processes. But, never have I witnessed a very deep introspective viewpoint such as what he chose to share this past Tuesday night in Elmont, New York. While he reached into his soul every night as he performed Springsteen on Broadway, this week, he paused in the middle of his two hour, fifty minute rock show to lay his mortal soul on the line, warning us all of the fact death is inevitable.

Put simply and very clearly: “It kicked my ass.”

To the many aging, gray haired, gray bearded faithful in the audience, it was as much an awakening as it was a death knell. After all, that train is coming – for some of us sooner than later – for some – unexpected and quick – while others might suffer the fate that George Theiss suffered, fighting dreaded lung cancer for years to the end.

“Rock of ages lift me somehow

Somewhere high and hard and loud

Somewhere deep into the heart of the crowd

I’m the last man standing now”

SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND’S SET LIST: The April 11, 2023 concert’s set list for the Boss & his E Street Band reflected his journey since that summer day in ‘65 and guided him through a lifetime of great success coupled with personal challenges which included immediate family issues and a very public break-up and divorce.

Unlike most concert trails, Springsteen has stuck with a core of meaningful songs which all tell of the journey he’s been on with his Band. The dedication of his passion and belief in his music via “No Surrender,” to the pursuits of the “Promised Land.” The April 11th show was not a “Farewell Tour” of all the greats in chronological order. No, it was a life lesson.

He remembered some of our darkest days of “The Rising,” and performed a version – like always – that provided inspiration if not relief. A first time in a LONG time was the insertion of “Born in the USA,” which reminded us of the tough times in these United States when a country was divided and George Theiss’ Castiles were performing during the heat of the Viet Nam war.

In a Michael Jordan “Last Dance” timeline kind of way, the concert waves (or was it sways) back and forth, to insert the glorious rock anthem of “Because the Night” intertwined with memories of New Jersey days gone by “Wrecking Ball” or additional Springsteen anthems like “Badlands,” “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run.”

Just when you’d think he had performed the greatest song of all-time in “Because the Night,” you were reminded of the iconic lyrics and ass-kicking rock of “the night bustin’ open and two lanes will take us anyplace.” When Springsteen was ready, he brought forth the greatest of ‘em all.

“Born to Run” reminded us of that fact, “The amusement park rises bold and stark, Kids are huddled on the beach in the mist, I wanna die with you, Wendy, on the street tonight, In an everlasting kiss.”

But, there was still time for a little “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” a purposeful look back again via “Glory Days,” a vision of Courtney Cox “Dancin’ in the Dark,” and a tribute to The Big Man himself, Clarence Clemons via his nephew, Jake, playing “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” as a contemporary and equal of Springsteen, not a fill-in any more.

When it was time to close it down, Springsteen did so with an acoustic guitar and a good-bye (for now, as he heads to Europe from April 28 to June 28 for a 20 concert, 13 city, 11 country tour segment) with a message of “I’ll See You in My Dreams.”

Here’s hoping it’s not a dream with a locomotive and a single bright light bearing down upon him.

To end this column of deep thinking … How about some SUN.

PARTING WORDS & MUSIC: From the morning weather reports not more than 10-days ago, we awoke to hear it was 19-degrees on The Vineyard. Twenty-five degrees in Boston with the wind blowing. It was not pretty, as March came in like a lion and went out like old T-Rex.

Now, the 10-day forecast had smiley sun faces after smiley sun faces, temperatures in the 60s, 70s and maybe 80s. Sadly for tomorrow, Marathon Monday – more commonly known as Patriots’ Day in these parts – we’re looking at 45-to-67-degree temps and a 51% chance of rain in the morning but 14 mph SxSW winds which can provide a tailwind for the runners.

Generally, it’s Springtime in Boston and the Sun is King. It’s a great time of year. We’ll leave this column with an upside of inspiration, written by the great George Harrison and performed here by bass player extraordinaire Will Lee and The Fab Faux.

PGA Tour: Final Round at RBC

April 16, 2023 by PGA Tour Brunch

By TERRY LYONS

HILTON HEAD – As the final round begins today, 15 players, including four major championship winners, are within four strokes of the lead. The 2022 U.S. Open champion – Matt Fitzpatrick – holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead on Tour for the third time while seeking his second win on the circuit.

The RBC’s 2022 runner-up Patrick Cantlay is seeking to become the first player to win a tournament one year after losing it in a playoff since 2008 while defending champion Jordan Spieth trails by two in bid to successfully defend on the Tour for the first time in 12 attempts.

Six-time PGA Tour winner and 36-hole leader Jimmy Walker sits three back in search of his first pro title since the 2016 PGA Championship.

Mark Hubbard, Tommy Fleetwood and Hayden Buckley are players among the Top 15 on the leaderboard without a PGA Tour victory.

Currently T-4 in his RBC tournament debut, World No. 2 Scottie Schefflerwould move into the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking with a victory this week regardless of where current No. 1 Jon Rahm finishes today.

RBC Heritage Leaderboard After 54 Holes

Matt Fitzpatrick 66-70-63—199 (-14)

Patrick Cantlay 69-65-66—200 (-13)

Jordan Spieth 68-67-66—201 (-12)

Five players 202 (-11)

Red Sox Take Advantage of LA Angels

April 15, 2023 by Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Reports) – Boston shortstop Yu Chang went 2-for-4 with a home run and the game-winning single as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Los Angeles Angeles for the second consecutive game. Both Boston wins were the result of unforced mental and physical fielding errors by the Angels.

Embed from Getty Images

After Enrique Hernandez hit a leadoff single and two catcher’s interference calls loaded the bases to begin the eighth inning, Chang flipped the score Boston’s way with a two-run knock through the left side. Angels reliever Ryan Tepera (1-1) walked Rob Refsnyder to force in an insurance run as Boston earned its second straight win to begin the four-game series.

Refsnyder and Rafael Devers, who homered in the first inning, had two RBIs apiece. Ryan Brasier (1-0) earned the win after a scoreless eighth inning. Kenley Jansen recorded his second save in as many days. Gio Urshela hit a first-inning grand slam and had five RBIs to lead the Angels. Mike Trout was 3-for-4 with two doubles, including the 300th of his career.

PGA Tour Heads to Harbor Town

April 13, 2023 by PGA Tour Brunch

By TERRY LYONS

HILTON HEAD – The RBC Heritage tees-it-up this morning and features a strong field including seven of the Top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and 38 of the Top 50). As the Tour turns towards the warmer weather months, 28 of the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings and 19 of the 20 players that have won on Tour this season are playing the old school Harbor Town golf course.

World No. 2 and reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler is making his tournament debut. Scheffler has eight Top-10s in 11 starts this season, including four as the defending champion in a nine-week stretch. Scheffler successfully defended his title during the first opportunity (WM Phoenix Open), then finished T-4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and fourth at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. He concluded his fourth title defense attempt with a T-10 at last week’s Masters Tournament.

World No. 4 Patrick Cantlay has only finished outside the Top 10 once in five starts at the RBC Heritage (T-3/2017, T-7/2018, T-3/2019, MC/2021, P-2/2022). Cantlay, the 2021 FedEx Cup Champion, fell to 2015 FedEx Cup Champion Jordan Spieth on the first extra hole (No. 18) of the 2022 RBC Heritage, marking the first playoff in the FedExCup era (est. 2007) between two FedExCup champs. The last player to win a tournament a season after losing it in a playoff was Ryuji Imada at the 2008 AT&T Classic (Zach Johnson def. Imada in 2007).

Preview | The RBC

COURSE: Harbor Town Golf Links, Hilton Head, South Carolina

ARCHITECT: Pete Dye

YARDS/PAR: 7,213 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $20,000,000/$3,600,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jordan Spieth

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @RBC_Heritage #PLAIDNATION

Duvall Sidelined with Broken Left Wrist

April 10, 2023 by Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Red Sox placed outfielder Adam Duvall on the 10-day MLB injured list due to a left distal radius fractured wrist. To fill Duvall’s spot on the active roster, the club recalled infielder Bobby Dalbec from Triple-A Worcester, said Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom.

Duvall, 34, started in center field in eight of the Red Sox’ first nine games, making his debut with the club and batting .455 (15-for-33) with five doubles, one triple, four home runs, 11 runs scored, and 14 RBI. The right-handed hitter is tied for the MLB lead in RBI while leading qualified players in slugging percentage (1.030), on-base plus slugging (1.544), extra-base hits (10), and total bases (tied, 34). He was signed by Boston as a free agent on January 24, 2023.

Dalbec, 27, began the season with Triple-A Worcester, batting .261 (6-for-23) with one double, one triple, one home run, six runs scored, and five RBI over seven games. The right-handed hitter played in 18 Grapefruit League games for the Red Sox before being optioned to Worcester on 3/27. During spring training, he hit .235 with an .814 OPS (12-for-51, four doubles, two triples, two home runs), 11 runs scored, and six RBI. Dalbec has hit .232 (189-for-814) with 45 home runs and 133 RBI over 273 career MLB games, all with Boston from 2020-22.

Three Down, Now Three Up

April 9, 2023 by Digital Sports Desk

DETROIT – Boston’s rookie first baseman Triston Casas homered and added an RBI double as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1 on Sunday to take a three-game sweep immediately after they dropped three straight to Pittsburgh in their opening home stand.

Embed from Getty Images

“This is what we came here to do,” Casas said. “We knew we underperformed in (a three-game sweep at) Pittsburgh, and we couldn’t let that happen again. The offense was great, the pitching was great and so was the bullpen. This is how we are capable of playing.”

Boston starter Kutter Crawford (1-1) allowed one run and five hits in five innings. He struck out six without walking a batter.

“Kutter did what we need, which is what we got from the starters in all three games, and the bullpen was terrific,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Triston put two really good swings on the ball and helped us win the game.”

Red Sox outfielder Adam Duvall, hitting .455 with four homers and 14 RBI, left in the ninth after injuring his left wrist while diving for Spencer Torkelson’s bloop single.

Duvall, who had surgery on the same wrist in 2022, was having X-rays after the game. Cora said the team was still waiting for results.

Rob Refsnyder reached base three times, scored once and drove in a run for the Red Sox, who outscored Detroit 24-9 in the series.

Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his second save. Detroit loaded the bases with one out, but Zach McKinstry flied out and Akil Baddoo struck out.

“We kept fighting all the way, and we had some chances late in the game,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’re still chasing a little bit and that keeps coming back to haunt us. We have to get more balls into play.”

Matthew Boyd (0-1) yielded two runs on five hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings as Detroit fell to 2-7.

“I could have been a lot better,” said Boyd, who hasn’t gotten out of the fifth inning in either start this season. “I just had a couple spurts where I lost my rhythm and delivery.”

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first with some help from Boston’s defense. With two outs, shortstop Kiké Hernandez threw wide to first on Javy Baez’s infield single, and Kerry Carpenter reached when the third strike got away from catcher Connor Wong. Torkelson followed with an RBI single.

Casas tied it with an RBI double in the second, and the Red Sox took the lead in the fifth when Wong doubled and scored on Refsnyder’s single.

The Red Sox took a 3-1 lead in the seventh. Refsnyder walked, went to third on a single by Rafael Devers and scored on Justin Turner’s sacrifice fly.

The Tigers had runners on second and third against Chris Martin in the eighth, but Carpenter grounded out to first.

Casas led off the ninth with a long homer to right-center.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | April 9

April 9, 2023 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

Can you imagine plotting and planning, scheming and teaming-up with some buddies to score tickets and attend The Masters at Augusta National only to have it rain? Worse that rain, it’s raw, damp and unpleasant … a.k.a “inclement weather,” which has suspended play in the mid-afternoon or both Friday and Saturday’s rounds.

The Masters is the jewel of professional golf’s Major tournaments, outclassing the PGA Championship, The Open and The U.S. Open. It is to golf what Wimbledon is to tennis or what the Boston Marathon is to long distance racing. It is the best.

With that tag, it is a very tough ticket.

That’s the way current Augusta National head honcho Fred Ridley and his predecessors – all good olde boys from the South – in Clifford Roberts (1931-76), Bill Lane (1977-80), Hord Hardin (1980-1991) – it was under Hardin’s era when the first black member of Augusta was approved – Jack Stephens (1991-98). Hootie Johnson (1998-2006) and Billy Payne(2006)-2017) – all wanted it.

The Masters evolved and improved with age. It awkwardly navigated the prejudicial ways of the past regarding African-American members and membership for women, as it wasn’t until Billy Payne’s watch when the first female members were introduced.

Despite it’s flaws, and its old-school policies all fighting modern technology and 24/7 sports coverage, the Masters remains pure and has proven-out the “less is more” theory of sports broadcasting.

Nowadays, there’s streaming coverage of the Amen Corner and Featured Groups, but the TV right are only in the pocket of CBS Sports. They’ll be on at 8:30am this morning and 2:00pm this afternoon to cover a rain-soaked tournament and hopefully tuck it in before “60 Minutes” starts at 7:00pm in the east.

Thankfully, unlike college basketball, CBS sports anchor Jim Nantz will stay on with his coverage of The Masters.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Masters – as stated above – is truly one of the “Bucket List” events for any sports fan. What are the others? Here’s a list facing this reporter and a list of Bucket List items already checked-off.

BUCKET LIST EVENTS to COME (Hopefully):

The Masters
Winter Olympic Games
Super Bowl
Pebble Beach golf
Kentucky Derby
French Open and Australian Open

FIVE BUCKET LIST EVENTS CHECKED OFF:

Summer Olympic Games (Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens)
NCAA Final Four
World Series and Stanley Cup Final
U.S. Open (golf and tennis)
NHL Winter Classic

(Note: The BIG EAST Tournament in New York and the ACC Tournament (1990 in Charlotte) are high on the list, as was a UCLA vs USC game at The Rose Bowl). There are far too many NBA events to list, but I might place the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando with Earvin Magic Johnson’s return to play as No. 1 and the 2004 NBA China Games in Shanghai and Beijing with Yao Ming as No. 2).

LIV vs PGA TOUR: The playing of the 2023 Masters re-united the best golfers in the world as members of the upstart LIV Golf tour were permitted to compete alongside their former colleagues on the PGA Tour. “It’s good to be back,” said Phil Mickelson on his return as he’s currently T-8 with 71-69 in the books and EVEN par.

Off the course, LIV and the PGA Tour will still do battle in the court of law, as this past Friday, Judge Beth Labson Freeman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated a Jan. 11, 2024, trial date and pushed back the start of the trial at least four months, citing reasons of the need for more time for discovery stemming from the coffers of the Saudi Public Investment Fund which has bankrolled LIV golf to absurd lengths of signing bonuses and payoffs for 54-hole tournaments.

The disputes involve eleven LIV Golf players who filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour on Aug. 3, 2022, accusing the tour of using its monopoly powers to squash competition.

On Sept. 29, the PGA Tour filed a countersuit against LIV Golf, accusing it of interfering with its contracts with players. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan suspended more than 30 players for competing in LIV Golf tournaments without conflicting-event releases.

Meanwhile with LIV golfer Brooks Koepka at the top of the Masters leaderboard, it bodes well for the rival tour and its competitive business model.

The 2023 Masters Tournament Preview

April 6, 2023 by PGA Tour Brunch

By TERRY LYONS

AUGUSTA – The 2023 Masters Tournament is the first major championship of the 2023 pro golf season and second event that offers 600 FedEx Cup points to the winner. In 2022, Scottie Scheffler earned his first career major championship title and fourth win of the 2021-22 season with a three-stroke victory over Rory McIlroy. Scheffler went on to win the Jack Nicklaus Award as PGA TOUR Player of the Year while McIlroy captured his third career FedEx Cup title. They enter this year’s Masters as the two highest-ranked players in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Scheffler has two wins this season, including THE PLAYERS Championship.

Three players have successfully defended a title at the Masters Tournament: Jack Nicklaus (1966), Nick Faldo (1990) and Tiger Woods (2002). Scheffler is 1-for-3 in title defenses on Tour this season, with a victory at the WM Phoenix Open and Top-5 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (T4) and WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (4th).

The only player to win THE PLAYERS and the Masters in the same year is Tiger Woods in 2001. Woods is also the last player to successfully defend multiple titles in the same season, doing so four times in 2007.

The Masters 2023 | Special Discount | Best offer of the PGA Tour Season

Preview | The Masters

COURSE: Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, Georgia

ARCHITECT: Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones Jr.; Perry Maxwell in 1937

YARDS/PAR: 7,475 yards/Par 72

2023 PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: At least $15,000,000/$2,700,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Scottie Scheffler

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 600

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @The Masters

TV COVERAGE: Special coverage of the Par Three Tournament today from 12:00 Noon (ET) on The Masters site. ESPN will provide tournament preview coverage 3:00pm to 5:00pm (ET).

Tournament Info and How to Watch/Stream The Masters: (NBC Boston)

How to Watch Par 3: In case of changes, visit: (Masters.com)

The Basics:

Tournament site: The Masters

The Masters – Tee Times start Thursday at 8:00am (ET) and go to 2:00pm (ET).

Weather: Thursday’s forecast is for cloudy skies. Temperatures range from 67-to-84 degrees with a 17% chance of rain. Winds at 8mph. Weekend forecast is calling for rain with a 64% chance of rain on Friday, a 96% chance on Saturday and 79% chance on Sunday.

Notes:

Three-time FedEx Cup Champion Rory McIlroy will try to become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam with a win, joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen. McIlroy was the only player to finish in the Top 10 at all four Majors in 2022 (2nd/Masters, 8th/PGA Championship, T-5/U.S. Open, 3rd/The Open).

2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth holds the lowest scoring average of any player in tournament history (min. 25 rounds) at an average of 70.71 (Others: Second-lowest: Tiger Woods, 71.05). Spieth also holds the tournament records for low opening 36-hole score (130, 2015) and low opening 54-hole score (200, 2015; tied with Dustin Johnson, 2020). Spieth has three top-10s on the season, highlighted by a T3 at the Valspar Championship.

Six players have six or more PGA TOUR wins in the last five seasons, including Patrick Cantlay (seven wins in that span) and Max Homa (six) are the only two among the group that have not won a Major championship in their careers. At No. 4 (Cantlay) and No. 5 (Homa) in the Official World Golf Ranking, they are also the two highest-ranked players in the world without a win in a major. Cantlay has made six starts at the Masters and earned low-amateur honors in 2012 (T47) while Homa is making his fourth appearance after making the cut for the first time in 2022 (T48).

Although they went to great lengths to avoid controversy during Masters Week, the LIV Golf tour and the PGA Tour managed to make some waves when Augusta National decided against inviting former multi-time Majors winner and Masters runner-up Greg Norman to the tournament. Norman is currently serving as Commissioner of LIV Golf. (link)

Red Sox Drop Three to Pirates

April 5, 2023 by Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Three up, three down.

Pittsburgh’s starting pitcher Mitch Keller struck out seven, Carlos Santana homered and Bryan Reynolds knocked in his seventh run of the season as the Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Red Sox with a 4-1 win Wednesday.

Embed from Getty Images

Ke’Bryan Hayes drove in a run with a perfectly-placed bunt in the sixth and Santana added an RBI double during a two-run seventh that put the Pirates up 4-0.

It was the Pirates’ first road sweep of an American League opponent since Pittsburgh took three at Detroit in 2018.

“That’s a good Red Sox team and they score a bunch of runs. I was really proud of our pitchers and how they did a good job of neutralizing them,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

Pittsburgh improved to 4-2 on a cold, gray and blustery afternoon at Fenway Park, where the game-time temperature was 41 degrees. The Red Sox fell to 2-4.

Keller (1-0) braved short sleeves despite the conditions and held Boston to one run on four hits, striking out seven and walking two in seven innings. He carried a shutout into the seventh, when Triston Triston Casas doubled with two out and scored on a single by Christian Arroyo.

“We had used a lot of our leverage guys and were a little short,” Shelton said of Keller. “For him to give us seven strong and finish was really important. Outstanding outing by him.”

Boston’s Corey Kluber (0-1) held the Pirates to one run on three hits over five innings. The only run charged to Kluber was in the fourth, when Santana pounced on an inside cutter and drove it out to right for his first homer of the season, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

“It’s good. Last night and today, I’m feeling much better,” said Santana, who was hitless in his previous 13 at-bats before the homer. “When you focus, something happens positive.”

John Schreiber started the sixth for Boston and faced Reynolds, who had homered in three straight games. He lined Schreiber’s first pitch for a double to left. Reynolds took third on an infield single by Andrew McCutchen and scored easily when Hayes dropped a bunt just a few feet inside the first-base line and ran it out for an infield hit.

Duane Underwood threw just five pitches in the ninth for his first save.

Keller and the Pirates had to weather a brief scare when a drive to right by pinch-hitter Reese McGuire with two on was initially called a home run, which would have tied it. The umpires briefly met and concluded it was foul, which was confirmed on a video review.

“That was kind of a crazy turn of events there,” Keller said. “I was watching the ball. I was kind of amazed that they called it fair.”

Sox Take Two of Three from O’s

April 2, 2023 by Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – (Staff Report from Wire Service Accounts) – After taking two of three from the visiting Baltimore Orioles on this 2023 season opening series, the Boston Red Sox know scoring nine runs in every game is satisfying — though not sustainable.

Embed from Getty Images

“We’re probably not going to average nine runs a game all year long,” Kiké Hernández said after collecting two of the team’s 14 hits in a 9-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. “But I do believe that’s what we’re capable of.”

Coming off a last-place finish in 2022 and predicted to finish at the bottom of the AL East again this season, the Red Sox opened by beating Baltimore two out of three — scoring nine runs in each game. They are the third team in baseball history to score at least nine in three straight games to start a season, joining Cincinnati’s 1976 Big Red Machine and the ’78 Milwaukee Brewers known as “Bambi’s Bombers.”

One day after amassing four hits, including a walk-off homer, Adam Duvall had three more hits — two doubles and a two-run single to break a fifth-inning tie. The free agent outfielder collected his sixth extra-base hit of the season, becoming the first player in franchise history with six in his first three games with the team.

“We all knew that he was going to love Fenway Park, he’s going to love the Green Monster being that close,” Hernández said. “He drives in runs; that’s what he does. And when he hits the ball he hits it very hard. So so far, that’s been great.”

Tanner Houck (1-0) lasted five innings – the longest outing for a Red Sox starter this season — giving up three runs, five hits and a walk while striking out five. Hernández hit a solo homer, and Rafael Devers, Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo each had two of Boston’s 14 hits.

Duvall played the first 10 years of his career in the NL before signing with Boston this offseason. But he already knew he liked Fenway Park, batting .407 with six homers and 12 RBI in six interleague games.

“He has done damage in this stadium before, and we’ve seen it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “But to do it with us means a lot. And to see that wall 81 times — hopefully plus — I think there’s a comfort level for him.”

After falling behind by six runs in each of the first two games, Boston led 3-0 after three innings. The Orioles tied it in the fifth with home runs by Adam Frazier and Cedric Mullins, but the Red Sox came back with three in the bottom half.