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Archives for March 2026

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conf ’26

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – For a forward-looking group of MIT mathematicians, scientists, data-divers, sports analysts and masters of business candidates, there’s quite a bit of reminiscing done each year when the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC) tips-off each March, here at The Seaport in Boston. Looking backwards to find opportunities going forward is not a bad thing, so let’s look at the typical pontifications of veteran SSAC attendees:

  1. There’s the “I was there when it started group.” That’s a reference to a very small handful (136 people) of MBA candidates who were on hand for the inaugural 2006 SSAC, launched by Jessica Gelman and Daryl Morey, and staged in classrooms and common space on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
  2. There’s a group, called “the visionaries” by Gelman. Together with ESPN’s buy-in and the inevitable desire for growth, a group of sports industry icons, media, luminaries and even the President of the United States of America got the place jumping over the massive growth periods for the conference – call it 2009-present.
  3. ESPN’s commitment coincided with massive participation by the sports network’s talent, including executives like John Walsh, John Kosner, and Marie Donoghue, along with columnists and writers such as Bill Simmons, Jackie MacMullan, Marc Stein, John Hollinger, and Henry Abbott. The influx of ESPNers improved the conference make up, including everything from moderating panels to in-depth interviews conducted on stage.
  4. It was Simmons who tagged the conference Dork-a-Palooza and the moniker was seconded by Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and former owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks who relished in the vibes of analytics. The Dork has out-paced the lifers, so maybe Dork-a-Palooza is an expression to forever be retired from this column.
  5. Add Bill James (Society for American Baseball Research, aka SABR), Michael Lewis (Moneyball), Nate Silver(writer/analyst at Baseball Prospectus and later the founder of political online site FiveThirtyEight), and Jonathan Kraft (President of the New England Patriots, an early investor in Boston-based Draft Kings fantasy sports/gambling site), and you were looking at the “the growth stage.”
  6. By the time 2014 rolled around, we were treated to an amazing “meeting of the minds” when author Malcolm Gladwell sat down to interview NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The SSAC had hit the big time, unless you think a panel with President Barack Obama might top the Gladwell-Silver “above the title” flick.
  7. Yes, while Obama was visiting his oldest daughter, Malia, at Harvard University, he stopped by for an “off the record” chat with conference co-founders Gelman and Morey. (How could you expect them to delegate that interview to Bill Simmons)? – That might been the zenith for the once quiet, quaint sports analytics conference.

Along the way, the frequent complaint was whether the team owners, general managers and coaches would ever respect the analytics side of the equation enough to incorporate the number crunching into the strategy. That question was answered emphatically, especially in baseball and basketball as along came the relief pitchers and along came Golden State’s Steph Curry and the three-point field goal barrage that literally changed Dr. Naismith’s game.

If you were paying attention, the likes of Shane Battier, Sue Bird, Elton Brand, JJ Reddick, Steve Kerr, or Steve Nash, were there to tell you about the changing games, as were coaches like Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown, Dave Joerger, David Fizdale and a host of team GMs and basketball operations gurus to map out the strategies. Reddick even focused on the jobs of former players who were plumbers or firemen.

Panel discussions delved into everything from improvements in the NBA refereeing systems to a total overhaul of the NBA’s schedule-making – an undertaking when all the great ideas were plugged into the state-of-the-art computers to find out it would only take 20+ years for the program to run and spit-out the perfect schedule for the games to be played, starting some seven months later.

Whether you look at it as good news or bad news, 2,500 participants from 31 countries, 630 different organizations, and representatives from over 80 teams and leagues will come together for the 20th edition of the MIT SSAC ‘26 which starts tomorrow morning at 8:30am with Opening Remarks by Gelman and Morey in a packed “Bill James Room” at the Seaport.

Among the highlights this year at the 2026 SSAC:

  • ESPN and Draft Kings Reshape Sports Betting for the Fan – Discussion with Stephen A. Smith, Kevin Neghandi and Burke Magnus of ESPN along with Draft Kings CEO Jason Robins.
  • What Six Years of AI Taught Us – SeatGeek’s Derek Zhou
  • The Next Play – AI’s Impact on Emerging Sports
  • A Conversation with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, led by Sue Bird
  • Where the Game Grows: Venues, Markets and Global Strategy
  • The Re-Invention of Golf
  • The Next Generation of Content |Unlocking Immersive and Interactive Sports Content
  • Unconventional Thinkers – a think tank panel of Morey, Sue Bird, Jay Sugarman (Philadelphia Union) and Nate Silver, moderated by Boston’s own Jackie MacMullan.
  • Innovation in Sports Leagues with Jessica Berman (Commissioner of NWSL) and Valerie Camillo (Chair of WTA), with Contessa Brewer, CNBC
  • A 1-on-1 with MLS Commissioner Don Garber, speaking with Jessica Gelman
  • Men in Blazers and the EPL
  • The Future of Hockey – Engineering the Next Era of Growth, with Bill Daly (NHL Deputy Commissioner), Warren Zola, Exec Director, BC’s Chief Executive Club, Marty Walsh, Executive Director of the NHL Players Association and Meghan Chayka, Co-Founder and CEO of Stathletes
  • Hot Takes: Celebrating 20 Years of SSAC
  • And, a Pablo Torre Finds Out Podcast, Live from the SSAC

Among many, many other interesting panels, break-outs, competitive research paper reviews and presentations.

It’s all packed into two fun-filled days at the Seaport Convention Center, a small gathering of your 2,500 best friends.

Personal Note: I’ve enjoyed the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference from its second year on. Coincidentally, the first year, I was asked to speak at Boston University’s sports management symposium which was held at the same time with the nightcap being my first “Hot Stove, Cool Music” concert at The Paradise.

(Where’s Eli “Paperboy” Reed when you need him)?

Two quick take-aways:

  1. Over the years, I’ve met so many smart and interesting people both within and out of the sports industry. The wide-ranging knowledge brought to sports is simply amazing, often ground-breaking and sometimes, just not enough to crack the big time.
  2. The Conference has grown so much that it’s become difficult to meet-up with colleagues, all being pulled in different directions for different panel discussions and topics. At first, I stayed in the “basketball lane,” but in recent years, it’s been more of a deep dive into everything else. … Think of it: Sports Gambling in the USA was just the “concept of a plan” when we first sat down at MIT Sloan. Now?

There will be more to come – depending on what merits coverage – with columns on Digital Sports Desk or maybe this week’s edition of TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook (available on Substack).

Bruins to Hear Music at Trade Deadline

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NASHVILLE – (Wire Service Report) – Less than 24 hours before the NHL trade deadline, the Boston Bruins take their playoff-chasing show on the road to close out the season series with the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.

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Boston is on an 11-game home win streak, but treks to Nashville having won only two road games this calendar year and need to break a five-game road skid (0-2-3). Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins gave the Bruins a three-point lead for the final Eastern Conference wild-card playoff spot.

The Bruins’ latest victory came in come-from-behind fashion, as Marat Khusnutdinov and Casey Mittelstadt scored within a 50-second span in the first period to erase an early deficit.

Jeremy Swayman continued standing tall, making 34 saves.

“We’ve got to be comfortable in these kinds of tight games, especially down this playoff push,” Swayman said.

Coach Marco Sturm hopes that his Bruins can carry that type of effort and attitude to the road, where they will play 13 of their final 22 regular-season games.

“We feel very comfortable, very confident at home. Even down a goal, no problem,” Sturm said. “Sometimes, it feels a little different on the road. When the other team scores, the crowd gets into it and now we have to react. … We have to get better on the road.”

Thursday marks the Predators’ third  game in four nights, their first since dropping both ends of a back-to-back. Their most recent game was a 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, who are currently the first team outside the playoff cutoff in the East.

Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly lit the lamp to give Nashville a 2-1 lead after two periods before Columbus used a two-goal final frame to gain the upper hand.

Tuesday was difficult on more than just the scoreboard, though, as two Predators forwards were traded. Michael McCarron — an “amazing teammate” and “one of those glue guys,” as captain Roman Josi described him — was dealt to the Minnesota Wild during the game, while Cole Smith went to the Vegas Golden Knights after the game concluded.

“We’re going to miss two great people, two big parts of our culture in what they bring every day,” Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. “… Sad to see them go, but at the same time, hoping for the best. They’re going to go to places that have a good opportunity to have a long run, further their career, but we’re going to miss them.”

In the midst of a playoff race, the Predators have little time to dwell.

Now five points back of the West’s final playoff spot, Nashville is 1-2-1 since returning from the Olympic break and has scored more than two goals in only one of its last five games.

“We’ve got to move on,” Josi said. “Obviously, it’s not an easy time for a lot of guys, but all we can control is our play. You have to accept the business side. It’s part of it and it’s not fun, but all we can do as players is to play and hopefully get some wins.”

O’Reilly left Tuesday’s game after taking a stick to the eye during a faceoff, but there has been no update on his status.

The Bruins won 3-2 in overtime when the teams played Jan. 27 in Boston. David Pastrnak scored the game-winning goal.

–Field Level Media

Hornets Easily Handle Celtics

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Charlotte rookie Kon Kneuppel tossed in 20 points as the visiting Hornets beat the Boston Celtics 118-89 on Wednesday for their sixth consecutive win. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller each added 18 points for Charlotte, which received 17 points and six assists from Coby White. Moussa Diabate finished with nine points, nine rebounds and six assists.

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Each victory in the Hornets’ six win streak came by at least 16 points as Charlotte (32-31) moved over the .500 mark for the first time since they were 2-1 in October. The Hornets lost 14 of their first 18 games.

Charlotte, which has a 16-3 record in its past 19 games, scored the first eight points and never trailed.

Boston’s Derrick White led all scorers with 29 points. Jaylen Brown added 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, but he shot 7 of 19 from the field. No other Boston player scored more than nine points.

The Celtics’ Payton Pritchard missed each of his six field-goal attempts and failed to score. Pritchard entered the contest averaging 17.1 points per game.

Boston, which had won 12 of its previous 14 games, finished 30 of 79 (38%) from the field.

Grant Williams (knee) and Tidjane Salaun (knee) didn’t play for Charlotte. Salaun was injured in the Hornets’ Tuesday victory over the Dallas Mavericks. The Hornets elected to not play Williams on the second night of back-to-back contests.

Charlotte had a 35-23 advantage after one quarter and led 64-43 at halftime. The Hornets made 12 of 25 3-point attempts in the first half.

Boston cut its deficit to 14 points with 7:44 left in the third on two free throws from White, but a 12-2 run put the Hornets up 82-58 when Knueppel sank a layup. Charlotte had a 91-68 lead after three quarters.

The Wednesday contest opened the teams’ three-game season series. Boston will play at Charlotte on March 29, and the Hornets will visit the Celtics on April 7.

–Field Level Media

Lou Holtz, Dead at 89

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ORLANDO – Famed college football coach Lou Holtz, who won the 1988 national title at Notre Dame, died Wednesday at 89, his family said.

Holtz died while under hospice care in Florida, supported and surrounded by family members.

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The College Football Hall of Famer is best known for his 11-season run at Notre Dame from 1986-96. He coached five other programs and also had a disastrous 13-game stint with the NFL’s New York Jets in 1976.

Holtz began his coaching career in 1969 at William & Mary and also coached North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota and South Carolina, compiling a career record of 249-132-7 in 33 seasons.

Holtz went 10-12 in a two-year run at Minnesota (1984-85) before landing the Notre Dame job.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Lou Holtz. Lou and I shared a very special relationship. He welcomed me to the Notre Dame family immediately, offering me great support throughout our time together,” current Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said in a statement. “… Lou’s impact at Notre Dame has gone well beyond the field.”

As his reputation improved, his popularity soared and Holtz restored the Fighting Irish from a mediocre program back to the national elite.

In his third season, Holtz went 12-0 and won the national title. A memorable 31-30 upset of No. 1 Miami opened the door and Notre Dame wrapped up the season by beating West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.

In 1989, Notre Dame (12-1) finished second in the final rankings. The Irish (11-1) also were second in 1993.

Holtz went 100-30-2 in South Bend before resigning following the 1996 season.

A West Virginia native, Holtz’s fist head-coaching job was at William & Mary from 1969-71. He moved on North Carolina State for four seasons (1972-75), twice winning nine games.

He took the Jets job in 1976 and he went 3-10 before being shown the door before the NFL season was over. Holtz struggled with the pro game and with dealing with the egos of NFL players.

Holtz returned to college football at Arkansas and went 11-1 with a No. 3 final ranking in 1977. The Razorbacks put up an impressive 31-6 takedown of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl to wrap up the season.

Holtz spent seven seasons with the Razorbacks before the short stint at Minnesota.

“We are saddened by the news of Coach Holtz’s passing,” the Arkansas football program said on social media. “He had a legendary tenure as the Head Hog from 1977-83. Our thoughts are with his family and all those who loved him.”

He had a two-season hiatus after his Notre Dame stint before returning to the field at South Carolina. He went 33-37 in six seasons with the Gamecocks before retiring.

Holtz also served as a television analyst for ESPN.

Skip Holtz followed in his father’s footsteps, spending 17 seasons as the head coach (2005-21) at East Carolina, South Florida and Louisiana Tech.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Blitz the Bucks

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MILWAUKEE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the court after missing 15 games with a strained right calf, but his Milwaukee Bucks fell 108-81 to the visiting Boston Celtics on Monday night. Boston’s Payton Pritchard had a team-high 25 points and nine assists for the Celtics, who received 18 points and 16 rebounds, both career highs, from rookie Hugo Gonzalez.

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Derrick White added 18 points and nine assists for Boston, which made 20 of 50 3-point attempts. The Celtics played without leading scorer Jaylen Brown (illness) and starting center Neemias Queta (rest). Brown is averaging 29.0 points per game, and Queta had 27 points and 17 rebounds in the Celtics’ Sunday win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Antetokounmpo, who played for the first time since Jan. 23, produced team-high totals of 19 points and 11 rebounds. He entered the game averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists this season.

Milwaukee failed to score more than 23 points in any quarter and was outscored 25-16 in the fourth. The Bucks, who shot 27 of 74 (36.5%) from the field, received 13 points from Ousmane Dieng and 12 from Bobby Portis. Kyle Kuzma was a healthy scratch.

Milwaukee scored the game’s first seven points but trailed 30-20 after one quarter. Boston built a 22-point lead in the second quarter on a White 3-pointer and had a 57-43 advantage at halftime.

The Bucks cut the deficit to nine points early in the third quarter, but a 15-0 run gave Boston a 74-50 lead with 6:22 remaining in the quarter after a fastbreak layup by Gonzalez. Milwaukee scored the next 10 points, but the Bucks trailed 83-65 after three quarters.

Boston had its largest lead, 102-71, following a Pritchard 3-pointer with 4:06 to play.

The game was the third meeting between Boston and Milwaukee this season. The Bucks earned a 116-101 home victory on Dec. 11, and the Celtics prevailed 107-79 at home on Feb. 1.

–Field Level Media

Echavarria Wins on Home Golf Course

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PALM BEACH GARDENS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Nico Echavarria, who together with his wife, on Monday, closed on a new home on the grounds of PGA National,  then played a steady final round of 5-under-par (66) and benefited from late struggles from Ireland’s Shane Lowry to win the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches on Sunday.

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Echavarria, who trailed by three strokes on the backside, turned in a 17-under 267 at PGA National’s Champion Course for his first PGA Tour victory since 2024 and his third overall. He held a two-stroke edge on Lowry, Austin Smotherman and Taylor Moore.

Lowry, who posted 68, appeared heading toward a victory until double-bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 cost him. His tee shots on both holes ended up in the water.

Until then, he was 6 under for the round without a bogey.

The first double-bogey allowed Echavarria, who was in the process of notching a birdie on No. 17, to pull even. The next series of miscues handed Echavarria the lead.

Moore also shot 68. Smotherman, who began the round tied for the lead with Lowry, had a birdie on the last hole to register 69.

Ricky Castillo, with a final-round 68, finished fifth at 13 under.

Brooks Koepka had a notable final day as his 65 was tied for the best score of the round. Koepka ended up at 10 under in a ninth-place tie. Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard also had 65, putting him at 11 under in a sixth-place tie with William Mouw (67) and Keith Mitchell (68).

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | March 1

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – March is upon us. Madness awaits, as we’re about two weeks away from one of those great sports days of the year – “Selection Sunday.”

The regular season champions will be crowned, then the various Conference Tournaments will be staged, providing us with non-stop college basketball coverage from March 4 to 15. The Sun Belt tips-off on March 3, and the Horizon League jump-starts the full schedule on March 4, followed right away by the Atlantic Sun, the Big South, the Summit, the MAAC, the Northeast and Ohio Valley Conferences. Soon to follow are the America East, the CAA, Missouri Valley, the Southern Conference (SoCon) and then we’re off to the races with the Big Boy conferences, including the ACC (Charlotte, NC), and the BIG EAST from March 11-14 at Madison Square Garden (Digital Sports Desk to be on-site once again).

By the time the Atlantic 10, Big Ten, the IVY, and the SEC conclude on March 15, we’ll be ready for the brackets.

Let’s take a quick look at the Top 16 seeds as it stands on the day we put February in the rear-view window.

  1. Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Iowa State
  2. Houston, Florida, UConn, Purdue
  3. Gonzaga, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan State
  4. Virginia, Kansas, St. John’s, Texas Tech

In the remaining group, certainly North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, BYU, Louisville and the likes of undefeated Miami (Ohio), all deserve mention and attention.

Duke’s impressive 77-51 victory over Virginia on Saturday clinched at least a tie for the Blue Devils as Atlantic Coast Conference champions. Barring an upset in the ACC tourney, Duke is very likely to ride the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA men’s Basketball Tournament which tips off with the First Four on March 17-18. The full tournament tips on March 19-20. The Final Four is scheduled for April 4-6 in Indianapolis.

While there are no secrets in college basketball, especially on March 1st, the teams that are peaking seem to be Duke, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee – all SEC schools with the exception of mighty Duke.

While St. John’s ran off 13 in a row, their one-side loss to UConn this past Wednesday put some doubt into the Red Storm’s path in March. Only a St. John’s run-of-the-table through the BIG EAST final on March 14 will keep the Storm in that Top 16 listed above. A single loss will drop them to the dreaded No. 5 vs No. 12 slot come bracketology time. Even if a No. 5 is successful in the opener, that No. 4 seed (the likes of Alabama) would await.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The NBA on NBC (and Peacock Network) will be going retro this Tuesday. It should be fun. Here’s what NBC had to say in its corporate news release: “Legendary sports broadcasters Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Mike “Czar of the Telestrator” Fratello, Jim Gray, Hannah Storm, Isiah Thomas and P.J. Carlesimo return to NBC Sports in a special edition “throwback” Coast 2 Coast Tuesday broadcast on Tuesday, March 3 (from) Philadelphia, when Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs visit Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers. The game, which will be called by Costas, Collins and Fratello alongside courtside reporter Gray, tips off at 8:00pm ET on NBC and Peacock. NBA Showtime precedes the game broadcast at 7:00pm ET on Peacock and will feature Storm as studio host and Thomas and Carlesimo as studio analysts.

“Costas, Collins, Fratello, Gray, Storm, Thomas and Carlesimo all served as NBA on NBC Sports commentators and analysts during the 1990s and early 2000s. Costas, Gray and Fratello, who was dubbed “Czar of the Telestrator” by Marv Albert, are Emmy Award winning sports broadcasters.”

All fine and good except – where’s Marv and Peter Vecsey (and maybe even Pat Riley,and a memorial tribute to the late Bob Ferry)?

Understandably, Albert might not be up to a full broadcast, but his voice-over to start the year was tremendous, so maybe they can work him in with a voice-over tease to the game?

When Marv’s introduction aired at the start of this season as the league welcomed back NBC Sports back to the family, I teared-up. No shame. Albert called the glory years for the New York Knickerbockers on MSG Network long before it was MSG Network (it frequently aired on WOR-TV 9 in New York. His contributions to NBA broadcasting are impossible to measure.

But, then again, so was Vecsey’s.

Peter Vecsey brought hard news and serious courtside and studio analysis to the NBA broadcasts. While the league might not’ve been ready for such scrutiny in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, by the time the NBA on NBC debuted and Vecsey led “The Insiders,” the league actually needed some tough love, while the fans dove into the news, trades, transactions and inner workings of the teams, league and player issues.

At that point in time, there was no one to rival Vecsey in terms of breaking news and notes.

When asked if he was contacted by NBC brass to join the fray this Tuesday, Vecsey replied, “Nope.”

SOUL SEARCHING: I was happy to watch the new docu-series on the American Basketball Association (ABA). A quick estimate is that the first 100 professional basketball games I witnessed in person were all ABA games at a combination of the Island Garden in Hempstead and the (then) brand news, spanking Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.

Tickets went for $3.00 and the basketball was great.

The “Doc”-series dove deep into the usual themes of Spencer Haywood, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Ozzie and Daniel Silna – the owners of the Spirits of St. Louis, and EllieBrown, wife of John Y. Brown who owned the Kentucky Colonels.

The talent in the ABA was tremendous, especially if you focus on league all-stars like Erving, David Thompson, Artis Gilmore and Dan Issel, among many, many others. However, the documentary continually painted the NBA as a talentless league of 1950s jump-shooters.

Sure, Dr. J had style, but the documentary overlooked the fact that Walt “Clyde” Frazier was setting the standards of 1970s cool. The doc would show an amazing clip of Dr. J soaring to the hoop but then make a comparison to black and white footage of the NBA. Not once did they show Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, JoJo White, Jerry West or Elgin Baylor.

Yes, the ABA had the Floridians and a dance team, but let’s not forget “Dancin’ Harry”of Baltimore fame (then NYC when Monroe was traded to the Knicks).

Thus, “Soul Power” made many a factual mistake (at the worst) or the production was completely disingenuous (at best). I thought there was no reason for the slight of the NBA. Just tell the ABA story straight and it would’ve been great.

With the fact, Erving and Common were the executive producers, they should’ve known that and controlled it in production. Instead, it came across as a B-minus production, maybe two-stars. Watch it, but do NOT expect to learn a thing.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: I don’t like to get “political” in this column very often, but in making an exception today, I’ll ask one simple question: “Have you EVER seen one guy screw up two gold medal winning ice hockey teams?” … It’s incredible. … CoryAlexander did an incredibly nice job as expert analyst alongside Dave O’Brien (soon to return to Fenway Park). Alexander is a regular ESPN/ACC Network analyst who previously played for Virginia and served as an analyst for the Virginia radio network. Meanwhile, Molly McGrath did her usual A-level courtside reporting job.

FOLLOWING UP: To follow-up on an item from last week’s salute to the wonderful Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and the men’s ice hockey tournament, it must be known that a flip of the channels – from college basketball to the NHL on ABC Saturday afternoon – the Pittsburgh Penguins visited Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers and the first nine names I heard from the play-by-play man, Sean McDonough, was? … You guessed it … Zibanejad … Zibanejad … Zibanejad. Yes, Mika Zibanejad was all over the ice for the Rangers, including a non-stop 3×3 overtime period before the NHL rules called for a “spin the bottle” contest (shoot-out) to determine a winner.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: According to multiple media reports on Thursday, the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks announced plans to honor Magic City — which they called “the city’s iconic cultural institution.” However, together with the Gold Club, Magic City is best known as “one of Atlanta’s ’s most famous strip clubs.” The promotion will come during a March 16 home game against the Orlando Magic at State Farm Arena. The pro basketball club believes no dancers will take part in the festivities.

While the team tried to spin the promotion to be all about Magic City’s chicken wings, the truth of the matter is that an NBA team just cannot turn aside 50% of its audience by putting its female fans in an awkward position.

The shoot-yourself-in-the-foot promo reminded this columnist of the early days of the NLL Boston Blazers lacrosse team when three “scantily clad” women gave “Scorch,” the Blazers’ mascot a lap dance on the field of play during halftime. The promotion went downhill from there, and the Blazers were in crisis communications mode faster than you could say Mayor Menino.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP II: A sequel? The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers game Friday night was delayed for nearly 18 minutes in the third quarter by a blaring “horn” after a power surge caused the overhead scoreboard to malfunction. During a timeout with the Pistons leading 65-64 in their exciting 122-119 overtime victory, the horn sounded to signal the teams to return to the floor. However, it kept blasting away despite frantic work from clock operators, technicians, and arena workers at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The teams returned to their respective benches for a few minutes and were eventually told to go back on the floor to warm up. After 13 minutes, the staff shut down the entire overhead scoreboard and the horn stopped, as loud “Bronx” cheers erupted from the stands. From that point onward, the Pistons’ home scoring crew used a manual airhorn when needed. The NBA game officials brought Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson to midcourt for a brief discussion, before announcing the game would resume without the main scoreboard. However, moments after the game got back underway, the scoreboard came back on and all was well.