Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Terry Lyons

TL’s Christmas Notebook | Dec 25th

by

While We’re Young (Ideas) Wishes You a Merry Christmas

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

BOSTON – Merry Christmas 2023 to all who celebrate the day. To others, this columnist wishes you sincere best wishes and joy for 2024 with peace in the holiday(s) you celebrate.

May we all wish for Peace on Earth and Goodwill Towards Men (and women)!

As in years past, this Christmas-themed column carries the torch of the legendary writings of the late, great Shelby Strother. It also takes a look back at 2023 with a week-by-week listing of what was covered by While We’re Young (Ideas). Also in years past, there’s been some details written about Shelby and his family. Check it out HERE, from this antique December 2013 column.

Let’s get to it.

Each Christmas Day Contains the Past, Present and Future

By SHELBY STROTHER

It did not matter that the wind-chill was life threatening. It was Christmas morning, and a bright sun stabbed the frozen land. And children were playing.

The decision over which to play with – the official World Cup soccer ball or the Turbo Football – never materialized. With all the snow, a soccer match was out of the question. So spirals of pink and black performed in the most sincere imitations of Rodney Peete and Joe Montana floated back and forth in the yard.

What a nice sight.

The Annual Second Chance is near – it’s called New Year’s Eve. It is the window of opportunity where the hopes and fears of all the year (not to mention the mistakes) can be erased.

But Christmas Day is a time of reinforcement and the essence of tomorrow. And children playing with toys are the finest examples of what that tomorrow looks like.

I look out the window. I’ve been in that yard. All young boys have. Sports become such a part of childhood. Santa is aware of all of this, naturally.

This particular day is exquisite, I think to myself. I take personal inventory, not only of blessings and personal satisfaction, but of the presents of Christmas past. Still the kid, I suppose.

I got my first basketball when I was six. I made my first basket a year later. There was a tetherball set; I must have been eight. And a football helmet when I was ten. A Carl Furillo-model baseball mitt at eleven. There were tennis rackets and fishing poles and boxing gloves and shrimp nets and a Mickey Mantle 32-inch Little League bat and one time, even a badminton set.

Every Christmas, I’d play out my dreams and my mind would fly over the rainbow, imagining my propulsion. Of course, I would become a major-leaguer, an All-Star, an all-time great, a Hall of Famer. We all would. My vision extended well beyond the day.

My athletic ability, alas, never kept stride. It was not the worst realization I would ever make.

But I have noticed a direct correlation between Christmas gifts and sporting dreams. The dreams are for the young. So are the gifts. Usually, the two disappear in unison. The rare few who project into greatness discover they do not need imagination to make those lofty flights of fantasy. Hope is not the co-pilot. Expectation is.

It must be a wonderful view.

I was thinking about all of this when another memory nudged me. My 17th Christmas I got a typewriter.

It was about the same time that I’d maneuvered my fantasy a few extra miles. I’d received a baseball scholarship to pitch at a small school in Florida. There were other opportunities, other colleges available. But none that would allow my athletic vision to continue.

I had expected a Christmas of more games in the yard. More dreams to celebrate. I got a typewriter instead.

“What am I going to do with a typewriter?” I asked.

My mother said I’d need it for college. But she also said, “Sometimes you get too old to play games. But you never get too old that you can’t use your imagination.”

Sometimes Christmas is taken for granted. Almost always, in fact. I think Christmas music, and I hear bells. I turn on the radio and I hear someone named Elmo and Patsy lamenting their grandmother’s head-on collision with a reindeer. I think of the meaning of Christmas, and I think of the most special birthday in the history of the world. But I turn on the TV and there are all these Claymation raisins doing Doo-Wop homages to the joys of buying machines wherein a microchip can seize command of entire generations.

Christmas (will soon) be gone, 364 days to go. But children still play. They chase the wonderful image of themselves as they would like to be seen. Christmas is their favorite arena. But they settle for lesser stadia.

But remember this – the present is sometimes confused with the package it comes wrapped in. Sometimes the gift is simply the freedom to imagine. There may be no greater one.

It was a great typewriter. I still play with it.

– A column by Shelby Strother

Digital Sports Desk was founded on January 1, 2012 and was redesigned October 1, 2016. For Sunday Sports Notes columns posted on Christmas or Christmas Eve over the many years, I’ve alternated by posting memorable columns from a few of my all-time favorite writers. This column is, by far, my favorite column of all-time so read on my friends and “followers.” Here is to Shelby Strother and a Peaceful Christmas to his widow, Kim, and to all.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Let’s take a look back at 2023 with Part One to follow and Part Two to come in next week’s missive. Here’s January to June 2023:

Part One – January

1st

  • New Year’s wish for World Peace – the difficulties of today and tomorrow
  • Sentry Tournament of Champions Preview
  • Salute to David Bowie

8th

  • Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin Injury
  • Hamlin’s Toys for Kids charity went from $3,900 to $8,327,000 in four days
  • Duke vs BC at Chestnut Hill
  • College Football Playoff
  • NFL Tanking

14th

  • MSG – World’s Most Famous Arena
  • Favorite Moments/Events at The Garden
  • KC Chiefs Top NFL Power Rankings
  • Salute in Memory of Jeff Beck

22nd

  • Prediction: Red Sox = Cellar Dwellers
  • Boston Bruins = Leading the NHL
  • Major League Pickleball
  • LIV Golf Schedule

29th

  • Pointing fingers at Bill Belichick
  • AFC/NFC Championship Preview
  • Chef of ‘da Future
  • EPL Franchise Valuations

February

5th

  • Dog Days of Winter; 19 NBA Ts in five Days
  • Marty Walsh to NHL Players Association
  • Charlie Baker to NCAA
  • Sports Catch Phrases – “Just Like That”

12th

  • Super Bowl LVII Preview (KC vs Phila)
  • PGA Tour’s Phoenix Open – LODR than LOUD
  • World Baseball Classic
  • Tennis Player Younes Rachidi Banned for Life

19th

  • Mass shooting and murder on campus of Michigan State
  • Coach Ed Cooley Feature
  • 40th Anniversary – Marvin Gaye National Anthem at ’83 NBA ASG

26th

  • PGA Tour Load Management
  • NBA Load Management Issue
  • Ideas for a Better NBA All-Star Weekend – None
  • Music: One Hit Wonders

March

5th

  • Memorial Tribute to David Benner

12th

  • Timeline of the 2023 BIG East Basketball Tournament

19th

  • St. Patrick’s Day Salute
  • March Madness Upsets
  • World Baseball Classic

26th

  • Willis Reed Memorial Tribute
  • Rick Pitino Hired by St. John’s
  • National Lacrosse League Playoffs
  • MLB Opening Day

April

2nd

  • Opening Day at Fenway Park
  • Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes
  • Jim Nantz’ Last NCAA Final 4 Broadcast

9th

  • The Masters
  • LIV vs. PGA Tour Golf
  • MLB and Austin Meadows’ Mental Health

16th

  • Boston Marathon
  • Amazing Shohei Ohtani
  • Bruce Springsteen and Last Man Standing

23rd

  • The Curse of the NHL President’s Cup
  • NHL Team Valuations
  • NBA Playoffs and Injuries
  • Suggestion: LIV World Team Golf

30th

  • Sports Gambling in Massachusetts
  • NBA Moves Up Finals Start Times
  • QB Aaron Rodgers to J-E-T-S
  • NCAA, Committees and Charlie Baker
  • Death of Boston Celtics’ veep Heather Walker

May

7th

  • Future Days for Saudi Basketball
  • Euro Soccer Team Valuations
  • Kentucky Derby Review

14th

  • Michael Jordan Barcelona Olympics Jacket Auction
  • Buzzword Bingo
  • MLB’s Oldest Ball Parks

21st

  • World’s 10 Highest Paid Athletes
  • Troubles of NBA’s Ja Morant
  • Beginning of the End for the PAC-12
  • Baseball Buzzword Bingo
  • Set Tribute to Meatloaf (RIP)

28th

  • Send-off to TNT’s Very Best (Tara, TK)
  • Brandel and Brooksie Mix It Up for PGA Tour/LIV
  • Busy Summer of ’23 Listings
  • SBJ Awards
  • TNT’s “Yes” Man

June

4th

  • Connor McDavid, Jack Michael and Nikola Jokic
  • Stanley Cup Final or NBA Finals – “s” or no “s”
  • Sox Chris Sale Out Again
  • NHL Stadium Series – NY/NJ Style

11th

  • Surprise of Potential PGA Tour/LIV Merger
  • Most Beloved USA Athletes
  • Harvard’s/WCVB-5 Mike Lynch Inducted Mass Broadcasters Hall of Fame

18th

  • NYC Father’s Day Fire
  • Ja Morant More Trouble – 25-game suspension (ended 12-19)
  • The Four’s is Closed
  • Bradley Beal shipped to PHX
  • Sports Hall of Fame Line-ups

25th

  • PGA Tour: The Traveler’s Championship
  • 2023 NBA Draft
  • No. 1 Pick: France’s Victor WembanyamaSlamBall is Back (and on ESPN)

(Tune-In Next Week for the rest of 2023 Look Back – July 1st through December 31st)

TIDBITS: You’ve heard of World Team Tennis which debuted in 1974 with Billie Jean King leading the way as player-coach of the Philadelphia Freedom, runners-up to the champion Denver Racquets, coached by Tony Roche. The league had talented stars such as Jimmy Connors who led the Baltimore Banners. Here in Beantown, we had the Boston Lobsters. The team played at the Walter Brown Arena and lost about $300,000 in its first year of operation … Fast forward to the conclusion of the 2021 WTT season and you’ll note the tennis league vanished. The following July, the WTT announced it was seeking expansion franchises at $1 million a clip. That news release was the last we heard of World Team Tennis. “World TeamTennis, the nation’s only professional, mixed-gender team tennis league, has announced that it is accepting expansion proposals from prospective ownership groups and markets that are interested in acquiring a WTT franchise.” … With WTT in the history books, tennis fans now have the World Tennis League, based in Abu Dhabi. Saturday morning, the Tennis Channel aired Taylor Fritz’ extra time match vs Daniil Medvedev and the new version of team tennis, featuring the Kites and Hawks, the Falcons and Eagles. The new league is big on entertainment and concerts, but short on match results and realtime stats. … Sports Business Journal’s media mind John Ourand announced he’s leaving the post he’s held since 2006 to join Puck.

MLB: A week ago we wrote of the urgent need for Major League Baseball to enact a form of maximum team salary after the LA Dodgers broke the bank and the concept of deferred compensation with a $700 million deal to pay for the services of Shohei Ohtani. This week, the Dodgers landed prized free agent in Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto who scored a 12-year, $325 million deal Thursday, per multiple media reports. Yamamato’s deal out-distanced New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole’s deal by $1 million, making it the largest contract for a pitcher in major league history. The Dodgers will also pay $50.6 million in a posting fee for Yamamoto. … A posting fee is MLB terminology for a transfer fee.

Celtics: Kings for a Day

by

SACRAMENTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jaylen Brown and Derrick White scored 28 apiece and the Celtics bounced back from an overtime loss 24 hours earlier in San Francisco to thump the host Sacramento Kings 144-119 on Wednesday.

Playing without Jayson Tatum, who sprained his left ankle Tuesday at Golden State, and Al Horford, who got a night off in the second game of a back-to-back set, the Celtics overcame a 41-point Kings first quarter with improved defense over the final three periods.

Kristaps Porzingis returned to the Celtics’ lineup and scored 24 points. He was rested on Tuesday. Boston snapped a four-game road losing streak and won for the sixth time in seven games overall.

De’Aaron Fox produced a game-high 29 points for the Kings, whose three-game winning ended.

Getting three 3-pointers from Fox and two from Keegan Murray, the Kings sprinted out to a 23-11 lead in the game’s first 5:09.

The Celtics got within 41-38 by period’s end, then held Sacramento to 25 and 24 points, respectively, in the middle two periods while running out to a 113-90 lead by the end of the third quarter.

Despite shooting 47.3 percent overall and 47.7 percent on 3-point attempts, the Kings never posed a threat over the final 12 minutes, adding just 29 points to their total.

In accumulating its second-biggest point total of the season, Boston did the hosts better in both shooting categories, making 55.4 percent overall and 52.4 percent of its 3-point tries. The 22-for-42 night from beyond the arc came one night after the Celtics went just 17-for-58 (29.3 percent) from long distance against the Warriors.

White’s 28 points consisted mostly of 3-pointers, as he went 6-for-9. Payton Pritchard buried six of 11 3-point shots off the bench en route to 20 points, while Jrue Holiday went 4-for-6 from long range as part of a 21-point, 10-assist performance.

Porzingis was Boston’s leading rebounder with nine. He made seven of his 11 shots.

While the Celtics had five players score 20 or more points, the Kings had just Fox with his 29. He made six of his eight 3-point attempts, while his teammates were just 15-for-36 (41.7 percent).

Domantas Sabonis pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go with 13 points and eight assists for Sacramento. Murray (13), Keon Ellis (12), Trey Lyles (11), Harrison Barnes (10) and Malik Monk (10) also scored in double figures.

–Field Level Media

NFL: Week 15 Primer

by

LAS VEGAS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Holiday shopping season has been a smashing hit.

We found Buffalo and Josh Allen to be profitable last week, along with the Rams (+7.5) taking the Ravens into OT before losing on a punt-return TD (but LA covered!).

Our player prop, Texans QB CJ Stroud under 226.5 passing yards also hit.

This week we’ll go high and low, with a three-team teaser as our main selection.

See how the primary play developed, along with a bonus play and a player prop below.

THE HEADLINER

The big three betting lines:

Dolphins -8.5 vs. Jets
Rams -6.5 vs. Commanders
Chiefs -7.5 at Patriots
(per DraftKings)

We’ve assembled a tasty plus-money three-team teaser, fading the revenge factor while considering one particular facet of the weekend weather.

First, we are teasing the Jets’ number to a whopping +17.5. It’s not because we believe in a Zach Wilson renaissance; rather, it’s that we don’t believe the Dolphins are dramatically better than they showed in Monday night’s upset at the hands of the Tennessee Titans.

Add the weather factor: It’s going to be windy in Miami. Deep throws to Miami speedsters might not be readily available, and the Jets would like to control the clock – similar to the Titans’ scheme.

Next up, the Los Angeles Rams. We can’t quit them. As their collective health improves, so, too, does their record. In another must-win game, LA can’t afford to play carelessly against the wobbly Commanders – but we’ll tease ourselves a little cushion just to be sure.

Finally, we already jumped off the Kansas City Chiefs bandwagon and can see others doing the same. The “KC will figure it out” crowd is thinning, and Sunday’s opponent, the Patriots, have nothing to lose (except a prime draft position).

The Chiefs don’t appear to have the hammer anymore. We think the talented Patriots defense can keep this close enough to cover, and hope that Bailey Zappe doesn’t throw a couple of pick-6s.

The bet, a three-team teaser parlay (+105 at DraftKings):

Jets +17.5
Rams +3.5
Patriots +14.5

THEY SAID IT

“It’s tough man. It’s real tough, and all we can do is bounce back and just try to go out there and give everything we have. We’re playing a tough, tough team this next week that plays really good defense.”

– Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on the critical Kadarius Toney offside penalty that helped doom KC last week.

BONUS COMBO

Falcons at Panthers, 1 p.m. ET

The line: Falcons -3, total 34 (FanDuel).

The one feels too easy.

The Falcons need the victory to continue chasing the NFC South title, while the Panthers are in experiment mode under interim head coach Chris Tabor.

The quarterback matchup, Atlanta’s Desmond Ridder vs. Carolina’s Bryce Young, is a mismatch. Momentum is going the Falcons’ way.

Ridder threw for 347 yards last week while Young hit only 13 of his 36 pass attempts for 137 yards.

The forecast has rain and some wind, so while Ridder has some scrambling ability and a stronger arm, Young will be challenged again.

Atlanta receivers Drake London (10 catches) and Kyle Pitts (a touchdown reception!) are finding their form.

The play: Tease Falcons down to -2.5 (-148 at FanDuel).

PROP CORNER

Rachaad White, the talented Tampa Bay running back, had success last week in a 29-25 win over Atlanta, and has posted rushing totals of 100, 81 and 102 yards over the past three games.

The Bucs are on the road for the second consecutive week, this time at Green Bay, and face an angry group of Packers.

There isn’t much fear from the Packers regarding QB Baker Mayfield, so there should be added focus on the ground game.

The Bucs’ rushing success recently can be seen as a bit of a mirage, too, as they are better than only two NFL teams in rush success rate and were 24th in EPA per rush entering Week 15.

White is due for regression and, after 45 carries the past two games, he’s likely to see fewer carries as well. The number was 81.5 early Thursday but had been bet down to 80.5 by Thursday afternoon.

Prop play: Buccaneers RB Rachaad White under 80.5 rushing yards (-115 at BetMGM, FanDuel).

– Field Level Media

Zappe Leads Patriots Over Pitt

by

PITTSBURGH – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Bailey Zappe threw for three touchdowns and the New England Patriots held off a fourth-quarter rally by the host Pittsburgh Steelers to earn a 21-18 victory on Thursday night.

Embed from Getty Images

Trailing 21-10, Pittsburgh (7-6) blocked Bryce Baringer’s punt and took over at the Patriots’ 26-yard line with 13:23 left in the game.

Two plays after a defensive pass interference penalty moved the ball to the New England 1, Steelers quarterback Mitchell Trubisky plunged into the end zone. He then found Pat Freiermuth on the ensuing two-point conversion, trimming the Patriots’ lead to 21-18 with 11:44 to go.

The Steelers ended up getting three more possessions, with their penultimate drive beginning with 2:44 remaining. They worked up to their own 49 but failed to convert a fourth-and-2, and New England (3-10) ran down the clock, giving the ball back to the hosts with just 15 seconds left.

A pair of deep passes got Pittsburgh into New England territory, but the second completion came as the clock hit zeros.

Zappe completed 19 of 28 passes for 240 yards and was picked off once. Ezekiel Elliott totaled 140 yards from scrimmage (68 rushing, 72 receiving) for the Patriots, who snapped a five-game skid.

New England’s JuJu Smith-Schuster hauled in four catches for 90 yards against his former team, while Hunter Henry caught a pair of touchdown passes.

Trubisky logged 190 yards, one TD and one interception on 22-of-35 passing. Najee Harris was held to 29 yards on 12 carries as Pittsburgh lost for the third time in the past four games.

After losing 6-0 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, New England scored just 3:48 into the Thursday game when Zappe found Elliott for an 11-yard touchdown.

Chris Boswell capped the Steelers’ ensuing drive with a 56-yard field goal to make it 7-3.

Jabrill Peppers picked off Trubisky to open the second quarter, and two plays later, Zappe found Henry in the end zone for an 8-yard TD to put the Patriots up 14-3 with 14:14 left in the first half.

Zappe then connected with Henry for another score — this time from 24 yards out — to give New England an 18-point cushion with 7:38 remaining until the break.

Trubisky threw a 25-yard scoring strike to Diontae Johnson around five minutes later to pull Pittsburgh within 21-10 entering halftime.

–Field Level Media

Lakers Advance Over Suns

by

LOS ANGELES – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – LeBron James scored 31 points with 11 assists, Anthony Davis scored 27 points with 15 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the semifinals of the NBA in-season tournament with a 106-103 victory Tuesday over the visiting Phoenix.

Austin Reaves scored 20 points for the Lakers, who will face the New Orleans Pelicans in one semifinal game Thursday at Las Vegas. The Milwaukee Bucks will face the Indiana Pacers in the other semifinal, also on Thursday at Las Vegas, with the final set for Saturday there.

Los Angeles improved to 5-0 during in-season tournament games.

Kevin Durant scored 31 points for the Suns, who lost for the third time in their past four games after a seven-game winning streak. Phoenix lost two of its five games in the in-season tournament, both against Los Angeles.

Devin Booker and Grayson Allen each scored 21 points for the Suns, with Booker grabbing 11 rebounds. Phoenix head coach Frank Vogel, who was the Lakers’ coach when they won the 2020 NBA title, is 0-3 this season against his former team.

The Suns took a 95-94 lead on a 3-pointer from Durant with 5:45 remaining, but then they went more than four minutes without a field goal as the Lakers took a 102-97 lead with 2:20 remaining after six consecutive points from James.

Durant ended the field-goal drought with a short jumper to bring Phoenix within 102-99 with 1:02 remaining, and Booker brought the Suns within a point at 102-101 on a layup with 30 seconds left.

After missing his first five shots of the fourth quarter, Reaves buried a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left for a 105-101 lead. Durant made a quick layup to get the Suns within 105-103, with Davis making a free throw with 6.6 seconds remaining. Durant missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

The Lakers stormed out to a 33-23 lead after one quarter, assisted by nine Suns turnovers. Los Angeles led 59-47 at halftime after Davis scored 20 points with six rebounds.

After the Suns opened the second half on a 14-0 run, the Lakers’ lead was trimmed to 83-82 through three quarters.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | On Jets’ Aaron Rodgers

by

Embed from Getty Images

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

FLORHAM PARK – Whether you’re playing poker or watching NFL football, the old adage remains the same. “If you’ve been playing in the game 30 minutes and don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.”

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Take the New York JAY-EEE-TEE-ESS for example: If you’ve been watching since QB Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles’ tendon four snaps into his debut with the Green Team on September 11th, you know the giant thud the NFL season took even though New York defeated the favored Buffalo Bills, 22-16, that night in overtime. The prognosis for the 40-year old Rodgers was not good. Even a man half his age might struggle with such a gruesome injury.

After pulling off the upset that Monday night, the Jets went into a three-game tailspin but course-corrected to a 4-3 record when the beat their cross-corridor rival NY Giants as October turned to November. Then? Another four-game death spiral to their current 4-7 record in the AFC East and less than a 1% chance of making the NFL Playoffs.

With those odds, in a hand of poker or a season full of football, who is this patsy we speak of?

It’s us.

Rodgers played us like a fiddle.

Rodgers directed a four week gaslight of the gullible media (and NYJ fans) better than George Cukor could’ve imagined on his best day.

Rodgers picked the first game (Nov. 6-7, loss vs LA Chargers) of the Jets’ current four-game slide to seed the thought and the media ate it up.

“Jets’ QB Rodgers Talks December Return”

Of course social media and the hook-line-and-sinker Jets fans took it to new levels before Rodgers could light the gaslight by walking it back in a weekly (paid) interview with ESPN radio man Pat McAfee.

“Obviously, that was said with a little tongue-in-cheek there,” Rodgers told McAfee. “It’d be nice to be able to be back in a couple weeks. That’s probably not anywhere near a realistic timeline.

“It’ll be a few fortnights,” Rodgers said, to set the table for even more speculation and sports talk.

Rodgers did so as he ditched a walking boot or crutches and displayed a no limp policy as he tossed 50-yard bullets with little to zero effort – letting the B-roll flow.

Why?

It’s quite simple: Rodgers was doing what he could do to take the heat off the Jets disappointing season. Obviously, he didn’t know the Jets would skid times four, but he certainly had an idea the meat of the 2023 schedule (vs. Chargers, @Raiders, @Buffalo and v. Dolphins) would be a test far too difficult to allow inexperienced QB ZachWilson to go it alone, never mind letting the New York media hounds and the fans devour Coach Robert Saleh before Thanksgiving.

Rodgers positioned the deflector shield as the weeks of November passed by with Wilson being benched for career back-up Tim Boyle, a fifth-year man out of Eastern Kentucky. All-the-while Rodgers fueled daily stories of jogging, eyeing practice, setting a 21-day practice ‘window’ to convince team doctors he was ready to go, despite his near-record early return and the Jets’ less than 1% chance of playing a meaningful football game.

He knew the media would fall for it, and they did. After all, there was nothing else for Boomer to blabber or for SI to program in Chatbot ai until another 70 days when pitchers & catchers report.

As the jury returns, WWYI will call the smoke-screen a success as Rodgers and the Jets qualified for the Gaslight Bowl. Maybe the game’ll be orchestrated by the late director, Cokor, but they’ll need to resurrect Charles Boyer and the most beautiful Ingrid Bergman in order to stage the show,

Maybe they won’t?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While in the prime of his longtime run as lead NBA writer at Sports Illustrated, Jack McCallum switched assignments to the weekly Scorecardcolumn and within the creative gems of wacky weekly stories was the mainstay: It was entitled: Sign of the Apocalypse.

The only thing funnier in the entire magazine was Steve Rushin’s closing piece.

Can it be duplicated? No.

Can it be copied? Yes.

Maybe this column should leave the word Apocalypse for McCallum’s legacy, thus pointing a synopsis on oddities in the Year(s) 2023-24 to have a new title? How about “Clues of the Cataclysm” to adorn WWYI for the year ahead?

We’ll start today: Can you BELIEVE what they’re doing to the publication we once loved? Sports Illustrated was a treasure of sports writing, sports and investigative journalism, the best of the best in sports photography and a serious record of the weekly activities in the world of sport.

Walter Iooss Jr. to Manny Milan to John Iacona to John McDonough on the photo trail were rarely matched. The SI photographers fought for access and they were usually rewarded with access. Access beyond anyone’s imagination. The late, great Lou Capazolla made sure everything went well from a technical standpoint. Freelance greats, like the NBA’s Andrew D. Bernstein or Nat Butler often earned cover shots and inside double-truck spreads.

Articles in “SI” were well reported, well written and well edited and fact checked. If I stayed-up late on 100 Sunday nights fact checking with Hank Hersch, I stayed-up another 1,000 nights (and some Monday mornings) with Franz Litz.

Not only were the stories well reported, the writers always seemed to come up with that gem. Every article had a great note or quote that you’d never heard before and it provided insight to the subject being interviewed. SI never failed.

Until now.

From this week’s New York Times: Sports Illustrated has struggled to “adapt to the digital age,” and Monday’s revelation of alleged Artificial Intelligence (generated) articles were “just the latest sign of drift at Sports Illustrated, exacerbated by a relentless pursuit of engagement with the site’s non-journalistic entities,” according to Nerkar & Draper of the Times. SI’s stewardship by Authentic Brands and the Arena Group has been “particularly rocky,” they wrote. Arena’s options for generating revenue are “somewhat limited, encouraging a daily churn of articles.” Employees have “complained publicly” that Arena has been “dismissive of concerns about article quality and a lack of editors — made worse in February when 17 members of the staff were laid off — all while enforcing weekly quotas from writers.” Authentic Brands bought SI’s intellectual property in 2019 and sold a 10-year license to “publish Sports Illustrated to TheMaven, (sic)” which has since been rebranded as the Arena Group. Since 2019, there have been “repeated rounds of layoffs” at SI and “reductions in the circulation” of the print magazine. Hundreds of sites dedicated to individual teams — helmed by non-staff writers (who are) “paid small sums — were created with little oversight and diluted what it meant for ‘Sports Illustrated’ to write something.” … SI’s problems “began before Authentic Brands and Arena,” wrote the NYT. Under its original owner, Time Inc., there “were layoffs — including the last remaining staff photographers at a publication celebrated for its sports photography” — and it went from “being a weekly print magazine to a monthly”

After an initial $1.00 come-on for the first month, a new subscription to Sports Illustrated will run $95.88 for 12 issues with both digital and print access for readers, or digital only at $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year, billed annually. Print only runs $20 for a year (12 issues) or $30 for two years (24 issues).

The result in a damn shame. A once beloved and iconic product/brand in the sports world has been reduced to alleged horse fodder.

It hurts. Yes, it hurts for anyone who thought Sports Illustrated’s best use of AI meant there was a great story upcoming on Allen Iverson.

The BIG EAST and OTHER ASSORTED COLLEGE ITEMS: St. John’s center Joel Soriano, the lone holdover from last year’s team, scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Johnnies to a 79-73 victory over West Virginia on Friday night in the Big East-Big 12 Battle. St. J newcomer Chris Ledlum added a season-high 17 points and Nahiem Alleyne had 12 of his 14 points in the second half for St. John’s (5-2), which has won three straight. … St J’s RJ Luis Jr., a talented swingman who returned in last Saturday’s rout of Holy Cross, is back on the IL. The UMass transfer is suffereng from shin splints and will be out a month, said coach Rick Pitino after the Johnnies’ win over West Virginia.

On Tuesday, Providence used a 13-1 run late in the first half in an 86-52 handling of Wagner. Guard Ticket Gaines scored a team-high 21 points, all on 3-point field goals. Bryce Hopkins added 20 points and six rebounds. The Friars (6-1) held the Seahawks to 27.7 shooting from the field. … ESPN has six BIG EAST teams penciled-in to its early 68-team bracket predictor, namely: UConn, Marquette, Villanova, Creighton, Xavier and Providence. … Xavier has fallen to (4-4) overall while Creighton and Providence have surged to (6-1) on the early season.

Conference leader and defending NCAA champion Connecticut lost to Kansas, 69-64, in its BIG EAST vs BIG 12 showdown on Dec. 1.

HOLIDAY SPIRIT: In the spirit of the holidays – (Psst, Christmas is 22 days away) – you might need a unique gift for your favorite sports (or GOLF) fan. There are two options. First a subscription to this weekly publication. – “While We’re Young (Ideas)” which brings a full column of notes, some great quotes, newsworthy stories or opinions about an issue in the news – usually sports industry news. Secondly, the popular e-Newsletter PGA Tour Brunch will be publishing again – usually six days a week – when the Tour cranks it up at The Sentry in Maui – January 4-7, 2024. Sign-up for one, both or get in touch if you have something else in mind (a business deal for the sports news or golf industry – hint, hint). For insight and an easy navigation tool to follow the Tour —> Click HERE.

NFL POWER RANKINGS: As of the completion of Thanksgiving Weekend competition, there are very few elite teams in the National Football League. While there might be a chance for some team from the middle to become a Cinderella Story, that chance is slim. Here are the best teams:

1. Philadelphia Eagles

2. San Francisco 49ers

3. Baltimore Ravens

4. Kansas City Chiefs

5. Miami Dolphins

6. Dallas Cowboys

NFL PARITY or MEDIOCRITY: The vast majority of the NFL squads this season are in the valley of unmistaken, god-awful mediocrity. It’s as though NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell snuck into Lester Bangs’ mind (played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in the fabulous motion picture, Almost Famous), crept into the hellish cages of every football coach every made and stole both the concept and quote of: “You’ll meet them all again on the long journey to the middle.” Yes, the middle of the NFL – too high for. atop draft selection and too low for serious playoff contention. Here are my inglorious middles of each NFL Conference:

AFC: Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans.

NFC: Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams,

NFL BEYOND HOPE in 2023: These clubs are horrible and will compete for the top one, two or three picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, but the teams are so deplorable not even the No. 1 pick will help much. They are not divided by conference but listed by inverse order of ineptitude:

8. New York Giants

7. Tampa Bay Bucs

6. Washington Commanders

5. New York Jets

4. Chicago Bears

3. Arizona Cardinals

2. New England Patriots

1. Carolina Panthers

EARLY NBA LOOK: NBA teams are approaching the 20-game mark and, by now, the preseason prognostications have been thrown out with the trash. It is time for the NBA Look with More Perspective.

In the East, there are three teams with a very good chance of making it to the 2024 NBA Finals and they are:

1. Boston Celtics

2. Milwaukee Bucks

3. Philadelphia 76ers

In the West, there’s only one team – the Denver Nuggets – and – setting aside serious injuries – they are a lock.

1. Denver Nuggets

Everyone else is playing for a losing bid in the Western Conference Finals.

IN-SEASON TOURNEY: As written once before, there might be a competitive advantage to teams eliminated from the Knock-Out round of the first NBA In-Season Tournament. The teams advancing theoretically play the better teams, while the teams eliminated will play their make-up games against other eliminated clubs.

As noted up top, as fans face a deep and dark December, there is hope on the horizon as we prepare for Pitchers & Catchers reporting day on February 14, 2024 and the first Grapefruit and Cactus League games on February 24, 2024. (2/24). Other important dates for the upcoming ‘24 MLB season are:

March 20-21 – MLB Seoul Series ((Dodgers vs Padres)

March 28 – Opening Day

April 15 – Jackie Robison Day

April 27-28 – MLB Mexico City Series (Astros vs. Rockies)

June 8-9 – MLB London Series (Mets vs Phillies)

June 20 – MLB at Rickwood Field (Birmingham) – (Cardinals vs. Giants)

July 12-16 – MLB All-Star Game Festivities – (Arlington, Texas)

September 15 – Roberto Clemente Day (MLB-wide)

NBA Round Up: Dame Beats Blazers

by

MILWAUKEE – Bucks all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo tipped in Bobby Portis’ missed shot with 18.1 seconds remaining for the game-winning points, and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied past the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 108-102 Sunday in Damian Lillard‘s first game against his old team.

Lillard totaled 31 points and capped his big game with four clinching free throws for his sixth 30-point game of the season.

The meeting was the first since Portland ended an 11-year relationship with Lillard, dealing him to the Bucks in the offseason in a three-team deal that brought Jrue Holiday, Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara to the Trail Blazers along with a 2029 first-round pick.

The win Sunday was Milwaukee’s seventh in its last eight games, while Portland lost for ninth time in its last 10 outings.

Nets 118, Bulls 109

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points as host Brooklyn hit an NBA season-high 25 3-pointers and stormed back from a 21-point deficit for a victory over skidding Chicago.

The Nets gave up the game’s first 13 points and trailed 30-9 with 4:37 left in the first quarter. Brooklyn outscored the Bulls 109-79 the rest of the way and 99-73 over the final three quarters. Brooklyn finished two shy of the team record set Feb. 15, 2021, in Sacramento and set a record for 3s in a home game. The Nets also finished four shy of the NBA record set by Milwaukee on Dec. 29, 2020.

Royce O’Neale and Lonnie Walker IV added 20 apiece. The duo combined to shoot 12-of-20 from 3-point range as the Nets hit 20 of their 3s after the opening quarter. DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 27 but the Bulls lost their fourth in a row and seventh time in eight games. Coby White added 23 while Patrick Williams and Zach LaVine contributed 20 apiece as the Bulls made 13 of their first 21 shots and eight 3s in the opening quarter and finished at 48.2 percent overall.

Suns 116, Knicks 113

Devin Booker sank the tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left for visiting Phoenix, which squandered a 15-point lead before edging New York.

Booker scored 20 points in the second half and finished with a double-double (28 points, 11 assists) for the Suns, who have won seven straight, including the last two games without Kevin Durant. The 13-time All-Star warmed up beforehand but sat out his second straight game with a sore right foot. Eric Gordon scored 25 points while Jordan Goodwin (14) and Nassir Little (11) got into double figures off the bench.

Jalen Brunson had 35 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost two of their past three games. Julius Randle scored 28 points and reserve Immanuel Quickley added 18.

Magic 130, Hornets 117

Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony scored 30 points apiece as Orlando extended their winning streak to seven games, beating visiting Charlotte.

Paolo Banchero had 23 points, Jalen Suggs scored 12 and Goga Bitadze contributed 11 points and seven rebounds for Orlando, which has won seven consecutive games for the first time since the 2010-11 season. Moritz Wagner added 11 points and seven rebounds. Franz Wagner and Anthony recorded season-high point totals for Orlando, which shot 54 percent from the field and 37 percent (10 of 27) from 3-point range.

Miles Bridges paced Charlotte with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Terry Rozier collected 22 points and nine assists, Brandon Miller had 20 points, P.J. Washington 13 and Mark Williams added 12. Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball had seven points before exiting midway through the second quarter with a right ankle strain. Ball had to be helped to the locker room after colliding with Banchero near the basket.

Timberwolves 119, Grizzlies 97

Anthony Edwards scored 24 points and Minnesota held host Memphis to just 38.6 percent shooting from the floor in sending the Grizzlies to their fourth consecutive loss.

Every Minnesota player who saw action scored, with five reaching double-figures. Mike Conley shot 6-of-9 from 3-point range, leading to the Wolves’ 15-of-34 shooting (44.1 percent) from the beyond arc, and finished with 18 points. Conley also dished a game-high 10 assists.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 18 points and three blocks, Desmond Bane scored 13 and Santi Aldama had 14 points with a team-high seven rebounds.

Nuggets 132, Spurs 120

Nikola Jokic had a season-high 39 points along with 11 rebounds and nine assists, Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points and host Denver beat San Antonio.

Reggie Jackson had 20 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 16 points and Julian Strawther added 10 points for Denver. The Nuggets played without forward Aaron Gordon, who sat with a right heel strain. With Jamal Murray sidelined since early November, Denver was without two starters.

Victor Wembanyama had 22 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and four blocks, Devin Vassell scored 19 points, Malaki Branham added 15 points, Julian Champagnie finished with 13 points and Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones scored 10 each for the Spurs, who dropped their 12th straight.

Cavaliers 105, Raptors 102

Darius Garland scored 24 points and Cleveland defeated visiting Toronto.

Max Strus scored all 20 of his points in the third quarter for the Cavaliers, who had lost their two previous games. Donovan Mitchell added 10 points for Clevland. Evan Mobley had 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Jarrett Allen chipped in with 18 points.

Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl each scored 18 points for Toronto. Poeltl added 13 rebounds. Scottie Barnes had 15 points for the Raptors, who had won their two previous games. Dennis Schroder scored 15 points, Gary Trent Jr. had 13 points and OG Anunoby added 11.

-Field Level Media

Filed Under: NBA Tagged With:

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Nov 26th

by

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Giving Thanks in 2023

By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief

NEW YORK – It’s Thanksgiving Weekend 2023 and we’re here to make some important statements. “We’re back to normal,” and “Thanksgiving of 2019 seems so long ago.” That conjures up ill-fated memories of the horror, death and overall separation felt by most from March of 2020 to this past May 2023, after the Delta and Omicron variants of the virus subsided.

While it seems to be a trend to downplay the virus and knock Dr. Anthony Fauci with many pointing fingers as though Fauci, alone, was responsible for a global pandemic, the opposite is true. Remember now, COVID-19 hospitalized 6,484,329 Americans and killed 1,153,910 poor souls with the numbers posted by the World Health Organization through November 21st. To the informed, there’s an honest realization that Fauci did his best to forecast and curtail an on-going virus that was ignored by his bosses – an administration that – literally – wanted to dismiss cruise ships at sea from docking in the USA just to “keep our numbers down.”

Worldwide, the number of deaths from COVID-19 are daunting as 6,979,786 souls (and counting) are gone due to the virus with severe spikes realized and tracked in January 2020, January 2021 and 2022. With WHO public numbers updated through November 16th, there are 772,011,164 confirmed cases and they’ve been treated with 13,534,602,932 doses of the various anti-COVID vaccines.

You’re sick of COVID, we all know, so why do all these facts and figures head up a sports notes column on Thanksgiving Weekend? Because sports fans need to be more aware and thankful for Science. It is something to truly appreciate, despite the fact it’s outside of the world of sports.

Please be thankful for the researchers who worked so tirelessly – under pressure – on a dangerous public health issue beyond what any of us could fathom. I’m thankful for the doctors/nurses, medical workers, first responders and all who teach them. I’m even thankful for the lawyers who backed their work. That has to date back to 1948-1955 when the polio epidemic and Dr. Jonas E. Salk and his colleagues researched and developed a polio vaccine that treated some 16,000 cases of polio in 1955. By 1994, polio was eliminated in the Americas.

As it relates to the all-important research, I urge all readers of WWYI to be aware of the likes of the JIMMY Fund and Pan Mass Challenge (research work at the Dana Farber Institute) that raised $72 million this year and a total of $972 million since 1980. Those incredible amounts of money are enough to endow every single cent to go towards the research which saves lives on a daily basis and someday might save your life, especially if you’re suffering of the dreaded disease of cancer.

It did mine.

David Glucksman, GM of West End Johnnies, who together with “The Boys” train and ride the Pan Mass Challenge from Sturbridge out in Western Mass. to Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod (Photo courtesy: Pan Mass Challenge)

MORE THANKS: Yes, there’s poverty, crime, lawlessness, and mass murders by the week (maybe by the day). There’s war – terrible wars in Ukraine/Russia, the Middle East and genocide in Sudan – but you don’t hear much about Congress arguing over funding for the Sudanese wars, do you? But, for one second, stop your crazy life and think.

There’s so much to be thankful for in 2023. Again, I please note science, research and education are the foundation of health – and remember, “the greatest wealth is health” or think of the Arabian proverb, ““He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.”

MORE THANKS II: In 2023 and beyond, let’s be thankful for former NY Islander Pat LaFontaine and his Companions in Courage foundation. Executive Director Jim “JJ” Johnson just noted CiC helped their 1,000,000th patient. JJ needs some help from us now and the support from Holy Trinity is and will be at the highest possible point as ‘23 turns to ‘24. … How about a thanks to coach Bob McKillop? Add: Lou Carnesecca and John Kresse. ,,, Here’s a few more: The McIntyre family and their ability to care for a jacket, Val Ackerman and John Paquette of the BIG EAST, the end of the UAW and SAG strike, Boston College – athletics and resident assistants, and the same for Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville.

Thanks, Norah and the CBS News, the entire WBZ-TV news team (David Wade) and the entire sports crew, led by Dan Roche in the Red Sox press room, then Kevin Doyle, PR and press room attendant at Fenway, Jeff Twiss at the Celtics, Brian Olive, too. Travis Basciotta and Annie Kew at the Bruins. Abby Murphy, Justin Long, Devin Benson, Raleigh Clark and Carlos Villoria Benitez at the Sox. And to Zineb Curran on the corporate side. The coolest thing about Zineb – aside the fact she excels at her impossible/never ending job – is that she’s from Casablanca (Morocco). She recently announced Boston Common Golf and reps bud, Mark Lev, amongst the FSG and Sox hierarchy. … Skip Pernham, Joe Fav, Audrey, Sammy, Tony Fay, Kevin Sully Sullivan, and Josef Volman. To Will Ahmed, and Jonathan Jeffrey of Whoop, Joe Malone, Mark Sage, Bobby and Greg Pannell, Billy Ess, Dennis, Chuck, Johnnie D, Pat Hogan, Goldy, Scoot, Barney, Rick H, Harold – Harry O. Mugs and Mary, Godmothers Barbara – who always remembers the important dates, and Barbara and Bryan, too. By the way, Billy’s son, Matthew, made the team at Kellenberg! Forgive me if I overlooked a few.

A high Five for Madison Square Garden and Fenway Park – my favorite room and ball yard. Add, the Beacon Theatre, Bar & Books on Hudson, the old Corner Bistro and Villanova Tommy (Ret.), along with Bruce Hornsby, Billy Joel, Mark Riviera, Southside, Rich Pagano, Will Lee, and Jeff Kazee. Jeff’s the man on December 20th at the new and larger venue, The Cutting Room.

High 5’s for the great Matt Winick, loyal reader Rich Hussey, David Goldberg and Tom Junod (Trinity’s best two writers), Rob DiGisi, Joshua Milne aka Mr. Carolina. Thanks to Matt Doherty, Brian Moran and our Rebound Live zoom cast. … The Cross Sound Ferry, a Padron Anniversary ‘64, Angel Gallinal and Rob Levine. HT friends, one and all: Min, Tony Luisi, St I contingent: Audrey, Dianne, Mary Civ, Clare Krummenacker-Crossley (who has a Sweet J from the perimeter), Debbie and her Mom who ran the bookstore. Robert Bed, Ray, Speels, Tony Pagano, George, Paul LoPresti, Barbara Kobel, Joe Koch, Dougie, Murph, Jim Dige, Ernie L, Bill Macedonia – my HS gym locker-sharing bud, and John Geerlings. Add: Joey T and Kathy L, Atta, John Murray, Mario, Regina C(fellow St J’s) and Carole Ann Catapano (thanks on the house assist, as it was gut-wrenching). Hundreds of others – all still one – Remember “The Black,” Mike Blackie Blackwell, and we’re all Titans forever.

Closer to home, thanks to Joe D, Stephen Riley, Tod Rosensweig and the recently retired DJ all deserve a Boston-based mention. … Best to Bob Ryan – the Commish, Jan Volk and The Tradition. … Johnnie, Dave, Arty, GM Dana and GM Higor along with the entire West End Johnnies (and Fenway Johnnies) operation. Congrats to Dana and his bride on their recent nuptials.

Here’s to John Kosner, who is always there for for our friendship and for sound business advice. Buddy Gumina – Grant Ave Partners, Boston VC Sports crew and especially to Ken Adelson via Pivottv Media.

I’m thankful for my neighbors. If the pandemic did ONE thing, it solidified the relationships for many of those who live on our street. Special thanks to Tucky and Matt and Jen, to Rachel for organizing the best damn block party in the history of the Commonwealth. Crap! Even, the Mayor showed up! … And special thanks to Margo and the late golden retriever Deacon. … Deacon was a great dog – went out, got cancer and was gone in a blink of an eye. He was our dog, Penny (Lane)’s role model. … While we’re at it, let’s thank the good dog, Billie, and his Dad, Kevin and all the other members of our little play group that has Penny – somehow sensing it’s Saturday and/or Sunday and going bonkers all morning until she sees my Yeti travel mug and knows it’s PLAYTIME!

By the way, let’s give thanks and a warm welcome to Max. He’s the new pup on the block and Penny’s little brother. He’s been fully adopted by the Lyons/Martin crew and is calling our home his home, as of this weekend. Which brings us to the finish line for this year’s THANKS … to Clare and the girls and all of our wonderful immediate and extended family (Tom and Mom).

Max, you can call him Mighty Max, or the guy with the Silver Hammer

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: There’s a special trio of new books to recommend as Holiday gifts for your favorite basketball fan. Let’s list them in no particular order and highly recommend you buy/read/gift them all.

David Hollander wrote, “How Basketball Can Save the World.” Hollander stresses the powerful aspects of the sport of basketball and how it teaches very important messages in the simple manner in which the game is played. Let’s focus for a second on teamwork, being in sync with one-another, and a realization of being one small part of a concept much larger than any one of us.

Consider how basketball teaches everyone important messages about gender and equity, inclusion and resilience. As we know, there’s a lot going on to help a basketball team at any level become one. The buzz-phrase is to put “trust in each other” and, as coach Larry Brown always preached, “to play the right way.”

Taking those messages and the basic concept to the world is what Hollander hopes and truly believes can make the sport an international language for peace and understanding. He works and provides guiding principles for reimagining what might be possible to correct the course the world is on today.

The United Nations took one of Professor Hollander’s ideas and declared December 21 – the date that Dr. James Naismith invented and played the first game – as World Basketball Day. Among the ways to celebrate the day are:

  • Hand someone a basketball
  • Join or host an “open run” (scrimmage)
  • Attend a game (Live-any level)
  • Watch a game on TV or a screen somewhere
  • Gift a Nerf-hoop to a college student
  • Simply hold a basketball

Along the same lines, there’s a great new book by friend and colleague Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff entitled, “Basketball Empire: France and the Making of the Global NBA and WNBA.”

Krasnoff, who earned her Ph. D at the City University of New York, is both a student and teacher of sport and basketball as a tool of diplomacy. Her book and her lifelong research delved into the rise of the sport of basketball in France. She taught the concepts of Sport and Diplomacy at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Institute of Global Sport (where yours truly has lectured) and later became a Research Associate and Co-Director of Basketball Diplomacy-Africa for (School of Oriental and African Studies) SOAS University of London.

Her research led her to write her first books, “The Making of Les Blues: Sport in France, 1958-2010” and “Views from the Embassy: The Role of the U.S. Diplomatic Community in France (1914). Krasnoff combined efforts with Mr. Boaz Paldi and the United Nations’ Development Programme where Paldi works as the Chief Creative Officer. Together, they tackled tough issues on how sports and public relations can play important roles in the problems humanity faces in times of crisis.

Basketball Empire is a good read for a fan seeking a deep dive into the history of basketball or an academic looking for clear results from extensive research in the field of diplomacy.

Three recently published and “Must Read” Sports Books, all great for a 2023 Holiday gift (photo by Digital Sports Desk

Lastly, a fun read for any New York sports fan or for any fan who appreciates some of the greatest sports stories in history is “The 20 Greatest Moments in New York Sports History (Our Generation of Memories – 1960 to Today) by Todd Ehrlich and Gary Myers.

While the book is a must read for any New Yorker born from 1959 through modern days, it is so well done, it’ll be appreciated by all.

The book begins with a forward by former New York Giants wide receiver, David Tyree, and if you remember, it was Tyree who made one of the most unexpected, difficult and impactful catches in Super Bowl history. (Super Bowl XLII (2008) when Tyree made what is commonly called, the “Helmet Catch.”

It was the last catch of Tyree’s career and it miraculously extended the game-winning drive in the Giants’ 17-14 victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots. The moment was voted “Play of the Decade” (2000s) by NFL Films and it tips the hand on the type of memories described marvelously by Ehrlich and Myers throughout the book.

“20 Greatest Moments in New York Sports” is a great gift for your 20-to-60 something sports fan and the concept of the book is sure to spread to other cities and even college campuses as Ehrlich expands his research and writing team(s).

Without spoiling the contents of the book, the key aspect of the storytelling is the magnificent way a single moment/memory is backed-up by the steps taken by the team or individual to get to that meoment in sports history.

Additionally, there was not a moment missed – and in an unusual manner – there might not be a valid argument to top the 20 moments chosen by the authors. How rare is that in the age of sports talk radio and arguing over every single day in sports?

You can purchase the books:

  • 20 Moments in NY Sports HERE
  • Basketball Empire HERE
  • How Basketball Can Save the World HERE

TIDBITS: Some early observations from college hoops: After beating No. 1 Kansas in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational this past Tuesday, the Marquette Golden Eagles lost 78-75 to No. 2 Purdue in the title game of the tourney. The Golden Eagles (4-1) were down 15 points before making a late surge and having a chance to tie the game in the game’s final possession. Tyler Kolek led MU with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. … UConn’s Tristen Newton recorded his third career triple-double on Friday and No. 5 Connecticut (6-0) routed Manhattan College, 90-60, to win its 23rd consecutive non-conference game. … Each of those 23 non-conference wins, including all six in the last NCAA Tournament, have come by double digits. That gives the Huskies a tie with the 2008-2009 North Carolina Tar Heels for most consecutive victories in non-conference play.

 

NBA: Round-up from Saturday

by

SAN FRANCISCO – Chet Holmgren hit a game-tying 3-pointer in regulation and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 10 of his 40 points in overtime as the Oklahoma City Thunder swept two games from the Golden State Warriors with a 130-123 victory on Saturday night in California.

YouTube player

Holmgren finished with a season-best 36 points and Jalen Williams had 22 for the Thunder, who used 19 3-pointers and 59.4 percent shooting from behind the 3-point arc to outgun the Warriors 128-109 on Thursday.

Chris Paul countered Gilgeous-Alexander’s first hoop of overtime with a 3-pointer to give the Warriors one final lead at 120-119 before the Thunder star hit three mid-range shots and a layup.

Andrew Wiggins went 5 of 8 on 3-pointers as he scored a season-high 31 points for Golden State, which got Stephen Curry back from a two-game absence due to a sore knee. Curry also hit five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points.

The Thunder were able to send the game into overtime when Holmgren caught an inbounds pass in the left corner with 1.6 seconds remaining and buried a 3-pointer for a 117-all tie.

Bulls 102, Heat 97

DeMar DeRozan hit the go-ahead jumper with 21.9 seconds left and scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as host Chicago rallied from a 21-point deficit to earn a victory over Miami.

The Bulls did not get the lead until Alex Caruso hit an open 3-pointer from the left side to make it 97-94 with 51.8 seconds left. After Jimmy Butler sank a game-tying 3-pointer with 42.7 seconds left, DeRozan made a turnaround 18-footer from the left elbow over rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. to make it 99-97.

Nikola Vucevic added 15 points for the Bulls, who outscored Miami 101-75 over the final 41-plus minutes. Butler led the Heat with 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting. The Heat sped out to a 22-1 lead as they made nine of their first 11 shots.

Grizzlies 120, Spurs 108

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 27 points and visiting Memphis turned the game around with an 18-0 run in the fourth quarter, roaring from behind to beat hapless San Antonio.

The Grizzlies trailed 99-93 with 10:01 to play but swept to the lead with their 18-0 outburst over the ensuing 5 1/2 minutes, with Ziaire Williams capping the surge with a 3-pointer. San Antonio missed all eight of its shots in that pivotal stretch.

Desmond Bane added 26 points for Memphis, with Santi Aldama racking up 17 points and 10 rebounds. Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 22 points. Victor Wembanyama added 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots.

Knicks 122, Hornets 108

Jalen Brunson poured in 32 points and Donte DiVincenzo drained seven 3-pointers on the way to a season-high 25 points as New York kept rolling by defeating host Charlotte.

Julius Randle provided 21 points as the Knicks won for the sixth time in their past seven games. New York has also won three straight road games.

LaMelo Ball tallied 34 points, aided by eight 3-pointers, and rookie Brandon Miller had a season-best 29 points, but the Hornets were saddled with their fourth loss in a row.

Timberwolves 121, Pelicans 120

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 points, including a game-winning field goal with five seconds left, and Minnesota overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat host New Orleans.

Anthony Edwards added 23 points and Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolves.

Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pelicans. Zion Williamson was given the night off as New Orleans completed a back-to-back amid a stretch of four games in six days.

Bucks 132, Mavericks 125

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 40 points on 18-for-26 shooting from the field to help rally Milwaukee to a win over visiting Dallas.

Damian Lillard added 27 points for the Bucks, who won their fourth consecutive game and their second in as many nights. Milwaukee outscored the Mavericks 43-27 in the final quarter and rallied after trailing by as many as 12 in the second half.

Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 39 points, 33 in the second half. Luka Doncic had 35 points for Dallas, which has now lost two of its past three games, and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 17.

–Field Level Media

Sports Biz: The Pac-Two?

by

WASHINGTON STATE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Oregon State and Washington State earned a legal victory on Tuesday that gives them control of what remains of the Pac-12 Conference.

Whitman County (Wash.) Superior Court Judge Gary Libey granted the schools’ request for a preliminary injunction that strips representatives of the conference’s other 10 schools — all of whom are leaving for other conferences next season — of votes on the Pac-12 board.

Libey said he made his ruling, after a 2 1/2-hour hearing, based on the fact that Oregon State and Washington State could experience “irreparable harm” if the exiting universities would remain in control of the Pac-12’s assets.

“Voting will be by the remaining two board members, but this is not a shutout,” Libey said, according to The Athletic. “The preliminary injunction will be modified or whatever you want to call it to make sure that the other 10 schools are still treated in a fair, open manner. Nobody is going to take advantage of somebody else. If that starts to happen, I’ll either hear about it here or somebody down the street will. I do not believe that the two plaintiffs here, the two members of the board that are left, will do anything directly to harm the other 10 members.”

Washington State president Kirk Schulz and athletic director Pat Chun said in a joint statement, in part, “It has always been our view that the future of the Pac-12 should be determined by the remaining members, not by those schools that are leaving the conference.”

Oregon State president Jayathi Murthy and athletic director Scott Barnes added in a statement, “We look forward to charting a path forward for the Pac-12 that is in the best interest of the Conference and student-athletes. Our intentions are to make reasonable business decisions going forward while continuing to seek collaboration and consultation with the departing universities.”

The schools departing the Pac-12 — Washington, Oregon, Cal, Stanford, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Southern California and UCLA — responded in a statement: “We are disappointed with the decision and are immediately seeking review in the Washington Supreme Court and requesting to put on hold implementation of this decision. As members of the Pac-12, participating in ongoing and scheduled competitions, we are members of the board under the Pac-12 bylaws.

“We have the right to the revenue earned by our schools during the 2023-2024 academic year, which is necessary in order to operate our athletics programs and to provide mental and physical health services, academic support, and other support programs for our student-athletes.”

According to CBS Sports, Oregon State and Washington State plan to compete as a two-team football league next year, though the two schools have contacted representatives of the Mountain West Conference, Sun Belt Conference, American Athletic Conference, Conference USA and Mid-American Conference as they seek games for 2024.

–Field Level Media