Terry Lyons

Sox Salvage Series with a Win

June 15, 2023 by Terry Lyons

BOSTON – Dodging thunderstorms and downpours, the Boston Red Sox put together a five-run seventh inning to help them end a five-game home losing streak with a 6-3 victory over Colorado. The Red Sox salvaged the finale of a three-game series.

Embed from Getty Images

Rob Refsnyder‘s triple was the big blow in the inning as it scored Jarren Duran and Connor Wong and broke a 2-2 tie. Justin Turner followed with a single that scored Refsnyder, and then Alex Verdugo hit a double that drove in Turner to give Boston a 6-2 lead.

Red Sox starter Garrett Whitlock (4-2) limited the Rockies to two runs on six hits in seven innings. Rockies starter Austin Gomber (4-6) yielded three runs on six hits in six-plus innings.

Today is a rare off-day for the Sox who will welcome in the New York Yankees for a weekend set.

Red Sox Return Home for Rockies

June 12, 2023 by Terry Lyons

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – In search of more offense, the Boston Red Sox return home to open a three-game home stand against the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.

Embed from Getty Images

Although Boston won two of three games against the New York Yankees over the weekend, the Red Sox were held to seven runs in the series. Boston has scored three runs or fewer in eight of its last nine games and has a 3-6 record over that span.

“We have traffic,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of the Red Sox’s ability to get on base following Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Yankees. “We’re working the counts, but obviously we’re not scoring runs. We’re not finishing anything. The two-out hits … they’re always important in this game and we’ve just got to find a way to get it going, finish the at-bats.”

Monday’s contest will be the start of a 10-game road trip for Colorado, which ended a six-game losing streak by beating San Diego 5-4 Sunday. That victory also ended the team’s five-game losing streak at home.

Ryan McMahon hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning for the Rockies, and, after a 1-hour, 25-minute rain delay, Nolan Jones hit a game-winning home run later in the ninth.

Colorado also got a home run from second baseman Coco Montes in his major league debut.

Left-hander James Paxton (2-1, 3.81 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for the Red Sox on Monday. He’s 1-3 with a 4.82 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies.

Paxton struck out nine and gave up two runs in seven innings during his last start to help the Red Sox defeat Cleveland 5-4 last Tuesday.

“We feel really confident whenever Paxton is taking the bump right now,” Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder said. “He’s got pretty special stuff as you see. A high 90s fastball, kind of just bearing in. He gives us ace-caliber stuff.”

The Rockies will be looking for another strong start from right-hander Connor Seabold, who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to San Francisco. The no-hit bid ended when LaMonte Wade singled with one out in the sixth.

Seabold (1-2, 5.10) limited the Giants to two runs on two hits in six innings before departing in and ultimately receiving a no-decision. He struck out four and walked two.

“That’s the version that you’d like to see out of Connor and his stuff,” Colorado manager Bud Black said following that game. “Four pitches — fastball command to both sides of the plate, good changeup, slider, a couple of curveballs. A mix of pitches, changing speeds, disrupting timing of the hitters, crowding some guys on their hands.”

Before facing the Giants, Seabold allowed one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings against Arizona on June 1. He struck out five and walked two in that game — also a 5-4 loss in which he did not get a decision.

The Rockies acquired Seabold from the Red Sox in January. He spent most of the 2022 season with Triple-A Worcester, where he went 8-2 with a 3.32 ERA. Seabold has never pitched against the Red Sox.

Colorado catcher Elias Diaz was not in the lineup Sunday after he was hit in the mask by a foul ball during Saturday’s game. Catcher Brian Serven was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque for Sunday’s game against San Diego, though he did not play.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes: June 11th

June 11, 2023 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – From the perspective of a present day columnist and former PR practitioner there’s a problem when a press release – dropped out of thin air – has been written by the lawyers.

Yes, this week, the good folks at the PGA Tour and LIV Golf decided to drop a little news on the sports world. They did so with an early morning news release that was grabbed by CNBC News, questioned as to its validity by The Dan Patrick Show a few minutes after 9:00am on the morning of June 6, 2023. It was verified by this publication when the third source was the homepage of PGATour.com itself.

You’d have thought they were trying to bury the story in quick sand.

From this columnists’ viewpoint, the news release had these qualities, of lack thereof:

It was a major story but dropped on the global media as if it were a minor story, ready to be put out with the trash.
It created more questions than it provided answers.
After it was issued, instead of one solid spokesperson (a la PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan), it prompted conflicting commentary from a minimum of six people, including: PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, players such as Phil Mickelson (LIV), Rory McIlroy (PGA Tour), and PGA TOUR Policy Board member Jimmy Dunne.
Every player hitting golf balls at the Pro-Am and practice rounds at the RBC Canadian Open was thrust into a barrage of questions – most Tour members left not knowing exactly what was going down.
LIV Golf Commissioner Greg Norman was apparently “caught by surprise” and unavailable.
The news release ended with a paragraph that said nothing and everything about the announcement. It read: “All parties will work in the months to come to finalize terms of the agreement, with details to be announced in due course.”

Ya think?

Here are just a few storylines created – including business reporters digging into the Tour’s longtime structure and Congress diving into the study as well – as the story advanced and more and more people felt the need to comment:

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund which oversees LIV Golf and dozens of investments in sports and acquiring talent to play in Saudi-based sports interests will potentially invest in the PGA Tour as an exclusive investor. The PGA Tour is currently registered as a charity with separate business arms. The Tour has four related 501(c)(3) organizations—PGA Tour Charitable & Education Fund, PGA Tour Charities Inc, PGA Tour Employees Emergency Relief Fund and Pro Caddies Assistance Foundation—whose assets cannot be transferred to any for-profit entity.
According to Laura Neal, Senior Vice President of the PGA Tour, as told to “InsideSources” that the PGA Tour organization “is a membership-based nonprofit” that complies with IRS rules, including making large charitable donations. A securities industry executive called the Tour a walking contradiction as its core business is registered with the IRS as a ‘business league’ but operates under nonprofit status. As has been reported over the years, that status allows the PGA to avoid hundreds of millions in taxes over the last few decades as its stages tournaments in locales where volunteers help stage the tournament and a significant dollar amount is targeted towards local charities in the city of each tournament. That has resulted in the PGA Tour donating some $3.64 billion to charity. (Way back in 2013, Forbes examined the PGA Tour structure – (link)
It was said – prominently in the “news” release that “separately, PGA TOUR Inc. will remain in place as a 501(c)(6) tax exempt organization and retains administrative oversight of events for those assets contributed by the PGA TOUR, including the sanctioning of events, the administration of the competition and rules, as well as all other “inside the ropes” responsibilities, with Jay Monahan as Commissioner and Ed Herlihy as PGA TOUR Policy Board Chairman. PIF’s Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will join the PGA TOUR Policy Board. The DP World Tour and LIV Golf will retain similar administrative oversight of events on their respective Tours.”
It was said a few days after the “news” broke that “the loyal” PGA Tour players would “get equity” in the new structure. Seemingly, that would be a “make-good” for the loyal players who turned down the tens of millions and multi-million offers to jump ship and play a year of 54 (LIV) golf.
The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets, it was said that the PGA Tour claimed “it could not afford to keep battling the billions of dollars PIF could place behind LIV Golf and its continuing efforts to lure more players to the renegade tour.
Commissioner Monahan reportedly told employees of the Tour that they “were outmatched” by the Saudi investments.
On Friday, PGA Tour honcho Jimmy Dunne felt it necessary to explain some of the intricacies of the new deal to ESPN.com, stating, “The new [company] would grow, and the [current PGA Tour] players would get a piece of equity that would enhance and increase in value as time went on,” Dunne said. “There would have to be some kind of formulaic decision on how to do that. It would be a process to determine what would be a fair mechanism that would be really beneficial to our players.”
Other players started getting into the act, most notably Bryson DeChambeau said, “I do feel bad for the PGA Tour players because they were told one thing and something else happened. On our side, we were told one thing and it’s come to fruition.” DeChambeau went on to address the deepest of issues in the relationship of the sport of golf to the 9/11 Families United, stating to CNN’s Caitlin Collins in a live, two-way interview, “I think we’ll never be able to repay the families back for what exactly happened just over 20 years ago and what happened is definitely horrible,” said DeChambeau. “I think as time has gone on, 20 years has (sic) passed, we’re in a place now where it’s time to start trying to work together to make things better together as a whole. I don’t know exactly what they’re feeling. I can’t ever know what they feel, but I have a huge amount of respect for their position and what they believe. Nor do I ever want anything like that to ever occur again. I think as we move forward from that, we have to look toward the pathway to peace and forgiveness, especially if we’re trying to mend the world and make it a better place. I think this is what they’re trying to accomplish, LIV is trying to accomplish, PIF is trying to accomplish. We’re all trying to accomplish a better world for everybody with entertainment for everybody around the world.
DeChambeau was asked by Collins about human rights violations and the CIA verified killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, an act that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered for assassination of the provocative and critical journalist. “It’s unfortunate what has happened and something I can’t necessarily speak on. I’m a golfer,” DeChambeau added. “But what I can say is that what they’re trying to do, what they’re trying to work on is to be better allies because we are allies with them. I’m not going to get into politics, I’m not specialized in that. What I can say is they’re trying to do good for the world and showcase themselves in a light that hasn’t been seen in a while. Nobody’s perfect, but we’re all trying to improve in life,” said the man who pocketed $150 million in a signing bonus to play LIV Golf.
Said Vox’ Jonathan Guyer on the overall impact and resulting aspect of the (PGA Tour claims not to call it a) merger: “The golf course is perhaps not the arena that immediately comes to mind when you’re thinking about geopolitics. But with one proposed golf business deal, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, just hit the geopolitical equivalent of a hole-in-one.”

And, so, the story goes.

See you at next week’s U.S. Open in Los Angeles where there will be more than 100 new spokespeople for the continuing saga of “How the PGA Tour & LIV Worlds Turn.” Surely, the USGA is thrilled with the consequences of staging a major 10 days after the world of professional golf was turned inside out, upside down and sideways without any clear path made public.

After all, nobody’s perfect, right?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: How about a few Red Sox notes to begin? … Since the start of 2022, 11 of 20 games between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have been decided by one run, including six of 11 at Yankee Stadium. … Boston 3B Rafael Devers hit his 11th career Home Run at Yankee Stadium Saturday night. The only other Red Sox players to hit as many as nine homers against the Yankees in New York prior to the age of 27 are Babe Ruth (10) and Ted Williams (9). … The Sox are in a stretch of playing 13 games in 12 days from June 3 to June 14, including the scheduled day-night doubleheader against Tampa on June 3. … They are scheduled to play 23 games in 23 days from June 3-to-25.

NEGRO LEAGUE MOTION PICTURE: (Report from Official News Release) – Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sam Pollard, working with executive producer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the Oscar-winner of “Summer of Soul,” Tariq Trotter of Descendant, and produced by RadicalMedia, THE LEAGUE celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball’s triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century.

The story is told through previously unseen archival footage and interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil – whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era in Major League Baseball. They all created a platform for celebrated Baseball Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron who started their baseball careers in the Negro Leagues.

From entrepreneurial titans Cumberland Posey and Gus Greenlee, whose intense rivalry fueled the rise of two of the best baseball teams ever to play the game, to Effa Manley, the activist owner of the Newark Eagles and the only woman ever admitted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, THE LEAGUE explores Black baseball as an economic and social pillar of their local communities and a stage for some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game.

MOST BELOVED USA ATHLETES: The mention of both Hank Aaron and Willie Mays calls for a listing of many of the Most Beloved Athletes to Ever Play Sports:

Jack Nicklaus
Jackie Robinson
Willie Mays
Michael Jordan
Arthur Ashe
Babe Ruth
Bobby Orr
Hank Aaron
Roberto Clemente
Arnold Palmer
Jesse Owens
Julius Erving
Lou Gehrig
Joe DiMaggio
Wilma Rudolph
John Havlicek
Muhammad Ali
Ernie Banks
Wayne Gretzky *Canada
Mark Spitz
Althea Gibson
Richard Petty
Eric Heiden
Chris Evert
Tiger Woods
Michael Phelps
Roger Federer
“Babe” Didrikson Zaharias
Reggie White
Walter Payton
Jerry Rice
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Barry Sanders
Pele *Brazil
Serena Williams
Cathy Rigby
Guy LaFleur *Canada
Dorothy Hamill
Sugar Ray Leonard
Simone Biles
Rod Laver *Australia
Annika Sörenstam
Kerry Strug
Olga Korbut *Russia
Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
Charles Barkley
Mickey Mantle
Kathy Whitworth
Lee Trevino

TID-BITS: With the recent news of Angel Salcedo being hired by Channel 5 (Boston) as the newest sports reporter in this city, there’s cause to reminisce as we witness the changing of the guard for many of Boston’s local sports anchors. Salcedo fills a slot vacated by longtime anchor/reporter Bob Halloran’s retirement. The WCVB mainstay who recovered from a scary brain aneurysm seven years ago is the latest to retire from the local nightly newscasts. … Joe Amorosino, a sports reporter and anchor with WHDH Channel 7 for 25 years, is leaving the station after his contract expires at the end of June. In a decision entirely made by the 53-year old, Amorosino will focus on his family’s business and real estate interests. … Back in 2014, WCVB-TV’s Mike Dowling moved on after 28 years of sports reporting, many of those riding shotgun with the great Mike Lynch who decided to step-away from the nightly broadcasts in 2019. Lynch, too, suffered a stroke in 2022. He fully recovered from the episode but decided to step aside from the nightly grind after 38 years on the job.

On Friday, Lynch was inducted to the Massachusetts Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

CH-CH-CHANGES: Duke Castiglioni now heads up the sports desk at WCVB-5. The Marshfield High School and Stonehill College grad started at the station in 2018, working weekends. Duke’s father is the long-time voice of the Boston Red Sox, Joe Castiglione. … In January of this year, WBZ-TVwent so far as to run their weekday 6pm newscast without a sports segment. Sports director and anchor Steve Burton had his report nixed for some additional news and weather. Add to the mix the changing of the guard at WEEI-Radio where Glenn Ordway worked afternoon drive-time. Now, FM 98.5 dominates the morning and afternoon radio in Boston.

NBA Finals: Heat’s Spoelstra Focused on Return to Miami

June 11, 2023 by Terry Lyons

DENVER – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra isn’t hanging his head after seeing his team lose both of its home games in the NBA Finals. Although the Heat are facing elimination as they head to Denver to play Game 5 this Monday, Spoelstra remained confident that his charges would extend the series to Game 6 back in Miami.

“All we’re focused on — I told the guys, feel whatever you want to feel tonight. It’s fine. You probably shouldn’t sleep tonight any amount of time. I don’t think anybody will,” Spoelstra said following the Heat’s 108-95 setback on Friday.

“We have an incredibly competitive group. We’ve done everything the hard way, and that’s the way it’s going to have to be done right now, again. All we are going to focus on is getting this thing back to the 305. Get this thing back to Miami. And things can shift very quickly.”

The Heat know that all too well, especially since they saw their 3-0 lead over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference final go by the boards. They righted the ship by winning Game 7, however.

“You take it one game at a time,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said. “We’ve seen a team come back from 3-0 firsthand. So we just have to believe, and one game at a time.”

Jimmy Butler had 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Adebayo amassed 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat. Kyle Lowry scored 13 points while Kevin Love and Duncan Robinson added 12 apiece for Miami.

The Heat are still holding out hope that they can become the second team to recover from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers rallied to beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 Finals.

“It’s the same thing that it’s always been — it’s a game at a time,” Butler said. “Now we’re in a must-win situation every game, which we’re capable of. We’ve got to correct some things, but it’s not impossible. We got three to get.”

–Field Level Media

Stanley Cup: Panthers Alive and Well

June 9, 2023 by Terry Lyons

SUNRISE – The Florida Panthers are right back in their chase for the Stanley Cup Final after a come from behind, 3-2, overtime victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. However, as much as the Panthers have to celebrate with their comeback win, they still trail the best-of-seven series 2-1 and are aware of the importance of following it up with another victory when they host Game 4 on Saturday.

“That’s a big momentum game for us,” Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, whose late third-period goal forced overtime, told Sportsnet. “Now we’ve just got to win one more game.”

Embed from Getty Images

unloaded a long shot from just inside the blue line that found the mark at 4:27 of overtime to cap a back-and-forth affair. It was his seventh of the playoffs and his fourth career overtime winner.

“We had to find a way,” said Verhaeghe, who added an assist.

With his team on the verge of falling behind 3-0 in the series, Tkachuk — who missed most of the first period because the concussion spotter pulled him from the game after the forward was on the receiving end of a hard check — scored yet another clutch goal.

Tkachuk buried a loose puck with 2:13 remaining in regulation while goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled for an extra attacker.

“Probably the gutsiest win I’ve ever been a part of,” said Tkachuk, who notched a franchise-record 11th goal of the playoffs and added an assist. “Proud of the team. We’re not done yet.”

Brandon Montour also scored for the Panthers and Bobrovsky made 25 shots in a strong performance. Bobrovsky’s biggest stop came on a third-period attempt from Michael Amadio while Vegas held a 2-1 lead.

The Panthers recorded their first ever Stanley Cup Final win. They were swept in their only other appearance, 1996 against the Colorado Avalanche.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 4th

June 4, 2023 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The 2015 NHL Draft had two gems right at the top. With the No. 1 pick, Connor McDavid was selected by the Edmonton Oilers. The No. 2 pick – Jack Eichel – was a no brainer and fell right into the lap of the Buffalo Sabres.

McDavid, out of Richmond Hill, Ontario, is often referred to as the best player in the NHL. There are rarely arguments, but McDavid has only advanced his team to the Conference Finals.

Eichel has taken a different path, call it the Scenic Route, to the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final.

A native of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, the Boston University product took home the prestigious Hobey Baker Award as a freshman. The award recognizes the best player in all of NCAA men’s ice hockey and Eichel was the second freshman to ever receive the award, following NHL legend Paul Kariya.

For BU, Eichel was the Most Valuable Player in Hockey East. He led the Conference in scoring, was voted Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, First Team All Conference, First Team All-Rookie. Eichel scored 26 goals and had 45 assists for 71 points for BU, all while playing for the USA Hockey Developmental team. In 2015, he turned pro and signed a three-year entry contract with the Sabres.

All was not sunny in Buffalo.

Eichel was the top goal scorer for the Sabres and No. 2 on the team in points, quickly rising to accept the team’s captaincy, an honor usually reserved for the most NHL-tested veterans.

Despite an NHL All-Star appearance and an eight-year $80 million contract extension, Eichel fought through two severe ankle sprains and played 67 of 82 games in 2018. He hit the 100-goal mark and 300 points mark as the NHL plowed its way through a COVID-19 season. By late April 2021, Eichel required surgery for a spinal disc herniation.

The scenic route was getting pretty ugly and he sparred with the front office and direction of the Sabres. By September of 2021, Eichel had failed his team physical, was stripped of the team captaincy and placed on the Sabres’ long-term injury list. The division was enough to force the Sabres to trade him and his $10m a year contract to the Vegas Golden Knights.

After the six-year sojourn in Buffalo, Eichel turned the page and started anew in 2022-23 as the Golden Knights were doing the same with their new coach, former Boston Bruins man, Bruce Cassidy. The stars began to align and Vegas qualified for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, defeating Winnipeg, Edmonton (bye-bye Connor McDavid) and the Dallas Stars to earn their place in the Stanley Cup Final. (Game 1: Saturday, June 3).

While Vegas played its Jack, the Denver Nuggets played a Joker, as in center and former NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.

Born in the north of Serbia, Jokic played 2012-2014 out of Belgrade with Mega Basket, the Clip Show of Belgrade to the more Lake Show Partizan club. Jokic played in Serbian League games and Adriatic League games and caught the eye of Denver Nuggets Assistant GM/scout Arturas Karnisovas, a former Seton Hall star and Lithuanian national team player, now the president of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls.

Denver spent its first-round pick (No. 11 overall) on guard/forward Doug McDermott, the sharpshooter out of Creighton. As the draft progressed, Chicago took Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic with the 16th pick and Michigan State guard Gary Harris at No. 19. Both players were shipped to Denver as part of the deal.

Karnisovas pressed the brass at his post in Denver to select Jokic with the club’s second-round pick which came along at No. 41. They grabbed him after Spencer Dinwiddie, Jerami Grant and Glenn Robinson III went ahead of Jokic with picks No. 38-40. No. 41 should’ve come gift-wrapped.

Interestingly, Dario Šarić (Orlando at No. 12), Jusuf Nurkić (Chicago at No. 16) and Bogdan Bogdanović (Phoenix at No. 17) were all drafted ahead of their European counterpart, much to Denver’s delight.

After being voted to the All-Rookie team in 2016, Jokic has five All-NBA selections, three on the first team, five NBA All-Star appearances, and two NBA Most Valuable Player awards. He fell to second in the MVP voting this season behind Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.

Eichel took the scenic route to the NHL Stanley Cup Final from his No. 2 selection while Jokic took a non-stop, direct flight to stardom with the Denver Nuggets and is playing in the 2023 NBA Finals. Jokic started his Finals experience, becoming only the second player in NBA history to record a triple-double (27, 10 and 14 assists) in his first Finals game. The other was guard Jason Kidd with the NJ Nets.

Anyone in the NBA care to re-draft?

BY THE WAY: Why is it the NHL Stanley Cup Final but the 2023 NBA Finals?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: USA Basketball will have two teams in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup semifinals for the second time in event history (2016). In their quarterfinal matchups Saturday evening in Vienna, Austria, the men defeated France 21-19 followed an hour later by the women overtaking Austria 21-17.

Kareem Maddox, Dylan Travis, Jimmer Fredette and Canyon Barry make up the USA Basketball men’s team.

On Sunday, the women will take on China, who defeated Germany in the quarterfinals, at 8:30am (ET). The men will face Brazil, who stunned Poland on a last-second two-pointer in the quarterfinals at 10:05am (ET).

The 3×3 World Cup is streaming live on FIBA’s 3×3 YouTube. Game times are subject to change.

FIBA HALL of FAME: This week, USA Basketball legend Katrina McClain was been selected to the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2023. McClain is one of 12 members of a class that also includes NBA great Yao Ming (CHN), and former WNBA’s star Penny Taylor (AUS).

SALE OUT: The Boston Red Sox placed oft-injured, left-handed pitcher Chris Sale on the 15-Day Injured List due to left shoulder inflammation. Sale, 34, has made 11 starts for the Red Sox this season, going 5-2 with a 4.58 ERA (30 ER/59.0 IP). In Friday’s start against the Cincinnati Reds, he allowed one run on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 3.2 innings, before exiting the game in the fourth inning due to left shoulder soreness.

The left-hander is 45-27 with a 3.23 ERA (225 ER/627.0 IP) in 106 career games with the Red Sox, and is 119-77 with a 3.08 ERA (370 ER/1,737.0 IP) in 334 career games (254 starts) with the Chicago White Sox (2010-16) and Boston (2017-23).

TIDBITS: Former Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Kansas City Kings Public relations Director Julie Fie will receive the 2023 Bell Tower of Fame at opening ceremonies of the annual Bell Tower Festival, Friday, June 9.

Tower of Fame recipients are chosen for their international, national or statewide personal or professional efforts that bring awareness and pride to Greene County. Awardees must have lived in Greene County sometime in their lives. Julie is being recognized for her outstanding NBA public relations career.

STADIUM SERIES: Just prior to the face-off of Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, the National Hockey League said the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ will take place Feb. 17-18 at MetLife Stadium, the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and New York Football Giants. The event will feature four teams – the Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and New York Islanders – in two NHL regular-season outdoor games. On Saturday, Feb. 17, the Devils will play host to the Flyers, and on Sunday, Feb. 18 the Rangers will face off against the Islanders.

ROCKPORT = ROCK BOTTOM: The Rockport Company LLC has submitted a state notice that it is shutting down its Newton, Massachusetts headquarters and could layoff nearly 150 employees.

In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN) notice filed on May 9, the shoe company indicated it plans on laying off 148 employees sometime between July 8 and July 22.

Rockport was founded in Marlborough, Massachusetts in 1971 by Saul L. Katz and his son, Bruce R. Katz. The business was acquired by Reebok in 1986 and then sold thirty years later in 2015. The Rockport Company moved to its Newton home in 2017, before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018.

PARTING WORDS & MUSIC: It’s Game 2 of The 2023 NBA Finals and tonight, it’s all about the Joker – Nikola Jokić – He’s a Joker, a picker, a grinner, a roller. He gets his love in on the run. No one calls him Maurice.

Red Sox: Sale Back to IL

June 2, 2023 by Terry Lyons

BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox placed oft-injured left-handed pitcher Chris Sale on the 15-day injured list due to left shoulder inflammation on Friday.

Sale left his start Thursday night against the Cincinnati Reds after 3 2/3 innings due to soreness in his pitching shoulder. He had allowed one run on five hits while walking one and striking out six.

Embed from Getty Images

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Sale had an MRI Friday morning and the results were not back yet.

Since making at least 25 starts in each of his first three seasons with Boston, Sale’s career has been riddled with injuries. Thursday marked just his 22nd start since the beginning of the 2021 season, after he missed the entirety of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Last season was also a disaster, as Sale began 2022 on the 60-day injured list due to a rib stress fracture. He returned in July, only to fully get through one start. In his second outing, Sale took a come-backer on the mound and fractured the pinkie finger on his pitching hand.

The Red Sox then announced in August that Sale had surgery on his right wrist after a biking accident.

“It sucks,” Sale told reporters in Boston Friday. “I was actually kind of getting used to sitting in front of you guys talking about good stuff. It’s been a rocky road. I felt like I was over the hump. I really did. I felt like I was back to being myself. And for something like this to happen, it’s obviously deflating.”

Sale is 5-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 11 starts this season. He’s thrown 71 strikeouts to just 15 walks in 59 innings.

In a corresponding move, Boston reinstated right-handed starter Corey Kluber from the paternity list.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 28th

May 28, 2023 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) Thank-You to TNT, Tara and T.K

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The Eastern Conference Finals will come to a close on Monday with what could be a history-making series for the Boston Celtics or an epic march to the NBA Finals for the Miami Heat. One thing is for sure, with the final game of the Eastern finals, the crew at TNT will turnover the reigns of the NBA Playoffs to ABC/ESPN, the broadcast rights holders for the 2023 NBA Finals.

It doesn’t seem that long ago when NBA Commissioner David Stern informed us that the NBA on TBS (Turner Sports’ “Superstation,” would be passing the torch for the NBA and many sports to its new sister station, a station nobody had heard of and no cable system carried at the time.

Memories of giving the late NBA Commish a hard time upon checking into an Orlando Omni hotel and – No TNT. “Don’t worry, said Stern, “it’ll come,” as he added “Go complain to the front desk and ask them to get TNT.”

Wouldn’t you know? One of the latest reports shows TNT in some 89.573 million U.S. households and it is the jewel of Turner Sports. (See more thoughts on TNT and the Inside the NBA crew below). Stern was very rarely wrong when it came to predicting where Cable TV and the media industry, in general, were going and he knew it long before anyone else.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: A couple weeks ago, the spotlight was on Michael Jordan’s ‘92 Olympic Gold Medal Ceremony jacket, now it’s a multi-million dollar bid for MJ’s game-worn Olympic uniform.

One of Michael Jordan’s autographed jersey from the Barcelona Olympic Games, featuring the famed “Dream Team,” sold for $3.030,000. The jersey was part of a collection consigned by Dream Team member Karl Malone, with Jordan writing on the jersey, ‘To Karl, Good Luck, Michael Jordan #9.”

Goldin Auctions, orchestrating the deals, said other Dream Teamers’ jerseys sold from the collection included Larry Bird ($360,000), Magic Johnson ($336,000) Charles , Barkley ($230,400), David Robinson ($116,400), Clyde Drexler ($91,200), Scottie Pippen ($80,400), Malone ($58,800), John Stockton ($55,200), Patrick Ewing ($39,600), then-collegian Christian Laettner ($39,600) and Chris Mullin ($37,200).

Jordan’s Olympic medal ceremony jacket is part of a Sotheby’s auction and is on display and online this month until the auction takes place in late June.

KOEPKA’s COACH STRIKES BACK: Claude Harmon III, the golf coach of recently crowned PGA Champion Brooks Koepka got into quite a pissing match with former PGA Tour player and current Golf Channel anchor Brandel Chamblee in the last two weeks.

When discussing the upcoming Ryder Cup, Chamblee had made it clear that he doesn’t believe that Koepka or other players on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour should be on the team.

“Brandel is a paid actor by NBC and Golf Channel. All he’s trying to do is get his lines and shows for the Golf Channel,” Harmon III said. “He’s just trying to get lines for Brandel … And I mean, I love him, I think Eamon is a fantastic writer, but for Eamon Lynch and Brandel Chamblee, who worked for NBC to utter the words ‘sports washing’ when the company they work for televised the last two Winter Olympics in Russia and China with the same leaders that they’ve had. It’s not like they were good leaders back then. It’s not like Putin was a good guy, right?”

Chamblee countered with a very lengthy post on Twitter that read:

“The farrago of what-about-isms that inevitably accompanies any discussion on sports washing, attempts, in answering a condemnation with an accusation, to impugn the credibility of the accuser and to distract from having to deal with the complexities of the question. Much like sports washing, its sole goal is to obfuscate. Of course it is usually accompanied by an ad hominem attack most notably by calling someone a hypocrite or most recently as directed at me, a paid actor to recite my lines.

The accusation that I am just a proxy for the opinion of my employer is a curious one to me, and while the natural back and forth with colleagues certainly informs my opinion, no one for whom I work with or for has ever tried to influence what I am going to say. I’d like to think that they trust whatever opinion I have, whether it agrees with their’s or not, I’ve done the research to back it up. Which is more than I can say for those who suggest that because there is evil everywhere, all evil is relativized and unless all of it can be addressed at the same time and in the same way, it should all be ignored.

Especially, as in the case of the person who called me a paid actor, if they can somehow profit from the evil. This is where the debate crashes headfirst into the nexus of politics, sports and narcissistic greed. Where those who want to escape it most often cloy at what-about-isms, to stop the discussion with a pejorative accusation because they don’t want their motives to be discovered.

And we must impute motives to see the evils clearly.

To raise the question whether LIV has been good for the PGA Tour is to miss the very human and most important point of the whole issue of sports washing. It is bad for the people who continue to be oppressed by the man who funds LIV Golf. And as I have said many times, like the pollution that hangs over our biggest cities, its darkness is better seen from a distance and its stench is too easily dismissed as the smell of commerce. It poisons and dulls our sensibilities making it easy to forget that many a bad movement owes its greater success to the apathy of conformism.

So while Brooks Koepka’s win at the PGA Championship was impressive, it should not distract us from the simple fact that LIV players are being used for the benefit of some very bad people and to the detriment of a great many more good people. That LIV Golf, with its inability to develop stars and seeking to buy them like high performance cars, is undermining the dignity intrinsic in golf.

Dignity that was most profound in watching the play of Michael Block, the club professional who stole the show at the PGA Championship with his gratitude and joy and of course with his incredibly sharp game. He was a stark reminder of what is missing in LIV Golf and even what will be missing in the PGA Tour’s no cut, small field, designated events next year.

Because golf has always been and hopefully will always be, more about hope than heroes.”

WHAT’s AHEAD: As a competitor, it’s always a good idea to “stay in the moment,” and not look nor regret the past while never worrying about an uncertain future. That’s also sage advice for every coach on the planet. “The Next Play” is of concern, not the previous two or three when the team didn’t execute, took terrible shots, remained scoreless or turned the ball over.

For fans in the sports world, it’s smart to look ahead and circle some important dates on your calendar from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Let’s call it:

The Sports Highlights of the Summer of ‘23.

May 28: Indianapolis 500
May 28: At Noon, Boston College will take on No. 1 seeded Northwestern in the women’s NCAA lacrosse National Championship game in Cary, NC.
May 28 – June 11: French Open
May 29: At 1pm (ET), No. 1 Duke will face-off against No. 3 Notre Dame in the men’s lacrosse National Championship game at The Linc in Philly.
June 1: Start of NBA Finals
June 8: Start of Stanley Cup Finals
June 10: The Belmont Stakes
June 10: UEFA Championship (Final) – (Greece)
June 15-18: U.S. Open (Golf) – (Winged Foot, Westchester, NY)
June 18: Last possible date (Game 7) of NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals
June 22: NBA Draft (Brooklyn)
June 24-25: MLB London Series – Cubs vs. Cardinals
July 1-23: Tour de France
July 3-18: Wimbledon
July 9-11: MLB Draft (Seattle)
July 10 – August 20: Women’s World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)
July 10: MLB Home Run Derby (Seattle)
July 11: MLB All-Star Game (Seattle)
July 16-23: The Open (Royal Liverpool)
July 23: Baseball Hall of Fame Induction (Cooperstown, NY)
August 1: MLB Trading Deadline
August 3-6: Enshrinement Week at Pro Football Hall of Fame (Canton, OH)
August 11-14: FedEx St. Jude Championship (1st Round FedEx Cup Playoffs)
August 12: Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductions (Springfield, MA)
August 18-21: BMW Championship (Wilmington, DE) – 2nd Round FedEx Cup
August 19-27: IAAF World Championships (Budapest, Hungary)
August 25-28: Tour Championship (Atlanta) – FedEx Cup Championship
August 25 – September 10: FIBA World Cup (Asia)
August 28 – September 10: U.S. Open (tennis) – (Flushing Meadow, NY)

Notes: The last day of the regular season for MLB Baseball is October 1 and the 2023 Ryder Cup for golf is September 29-October 1st.

TID-BITS: Isn’t it (Curtis) strange that the (Charles Schwab Challenge) at Colonial is staged over Memorial Day weekend, but The Memorial is staged the weekend afterward? … The Memorial, founded and hosted each year by Jack Nicklaus at his Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, could take a page from the PGA Tour/FedEx Cup Playoffs days of yesteryear and start The Memorial on the Friday before the national holiday and finish on Memorial Day. … That worked great when the Deutsche Bank Championship held down the Labor Day weekend here in Boston. … Just sayin’ …

SBJ AWARDS: Ready for even more awards? The great team at the Sports Business Journal held their annual awards dinner and presented the “ABE-Ys” (pronounced ABE-EEZE), a fictional tribute to the highly competent leader of SBJ, Abe Madkour. Here are the results:

Deal of the Year — Michele Kang’s acquisition of the Washington Spirit
Best in Sports Betting — FanDuel
Best in Sports Social Media — Bleacher Report: Hero Ball
Best Talent Representation — Wasserman
Sports Event of the Year — U.S. Open Tennis Championship
Athletic Director of the Year — J.D. Wicker, San Diego State
Best in Sports Media — Fox Sports
Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services — Elevate
Sports Sponsor of the Year — T-Mobile U.S.
Sports Facility of the Year — Fenway Park
Sports Breakthrough of the Year — NHL Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards
Best in Agency Creativity and Innovation — MKTG Sports + Entertainment
Sports Team of the Year — Angel City FC
Sports Executive of the Year — Eric Shanks, Fox Sports
Sports League of the Year — NFL
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman received SBJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Actor Jon Hamm, a St. Louis native and lifelong hockey fan, presented the award

Notables include the honor of Facility of the Year in Boston’s own Fenway Park, America’s Most Beloved Ballpark. While not the jewel of MLB in terms of State of the Art tech and a brand new look, Fenway Park never fails to amaze fans. It’s a treasure to be savored like a fine red wine. … A surprising result was Fan Duel’s win over Boston-based Draft Kings. … Let the competition begin for the 2024 version of that award. May the most lucrative bookie win.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | May 21st

May 21, 2023 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) on PGA/LIV; NCAA Crisis

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – With apologies to the late Ian Fleming, the famed British writer who created the wonderful and exciting series of James Bond (books and subsequent movies) and the great Sir Paul McCartney of The Beatles, this column will start with take-off of Fleming’s second novel but will be slightly edited to state: LIV and Let Die.

This weekend, the best of the best golfers in the world traveled to Rochester, NY to play the 105th PGA Championship. When it was time to tee-off Thursday morning at the Oak Hill Country Club, there was the welcome site of Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson who – among others – were eligible for the PGA Championship alongside the best-of-the-best from the PGA Tour.

The players as a whole voiced their tidings of joy and happiness as they renewed old friendships with those who chose to leave the PGA Tour grab gobs of LIV money. For two LIV golfers, the Saudi-based payoff placed them on Forbes’ List of the Top 10 moneymakers in the sports world.

Forbes Magazine The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes in 2023

$136m – Cristiano Ronaldo
$130m – Lionel Messi
$120m – Kylian Mbappe
$119.5 – LeBron James
$110m – Camillo Alvarez
$107m – Dustin Johnson ($102m of $107m bonus plus on golf course)
$106m – Phil Mickelson ($104m of $106m bonus plus on golf course)
$100.4 – Steph Curry
$95.1m – Roger Federer ($95m off the court)
$89.1m – Kevin Durant

When LIV golf began play in June 2022, the organization attempted to tossed aside initial criticism – much from the families of 9/11 victims bridging the Saudi Public Investment Fund money with 15 of the 19 September 11th terrorist attackers hailing from Saudi Arabia. LIV Golf failed to secure a big-time TV network right fee and played in obscurity much of the season. LIV settled for streaming tournaments on Facebook and YouTube, along with their own site.

While the tournaments were well organized and competitive, crowds were sparse and patrons seemed more interested in post golf concerts than the names on the leaderboard. Meanwhile LIV Golf communications, public and media relations were double-bogeying every hole at every tournament. They triple-bogeyed the lead up to their first-ever event in London, England.

This week, there was more of the same as the organization stopped making public its TV ratings on the CW Network, a desperate time buy on the little-known USA-based TV network. According to multiple reports, including the highly respected Sports Business Journal, LIV “quietly stopped publicly reporting its TV ratings, reversing course on an early-season strategy,” and a “sign that the league could be struggling to generate sufficient viewer interest,” according to James Colgan of GOLF.

PR 101 teaches “if you want them to cover the ‘good news and positive stuff,’ you’d better be transparent and accessible when facing the bad news.”

The people who run LIV Golf, including Greg Norman, its Commissioner, consistently fail by turning a blind-eye to their dilemmas as they fumble one PR crisis after another.

The CW broadcasts suffered mightily when the LIV Tour made its way to Australia and Singapore, and will suffer again in June and July when the LIV golfers play in Spain and England. But, consistency and ‘“facing the music” is as much about professional sports as the X’s and O’s of each game played.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant is “in the news” once again. Here’s The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill to explain:

“In an apology statement on Tuesday after his latest suspension for apparently brandishing a gun on social media, the NBA star Ja Morant declared, “My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”

The Memphis Grizzlies point guard is right: His promises can’t be trusted. On Saturday, an Instagram Live video appeared to show Morant recklessly waving a firearm while riding in a vehicle’s passenger seat. In response, the Grizzlies indefinitely suspended him on Sunday from all team activities. In March, after another Instagram Live video showed Morant holding up a gun inside a Denver-area nightclub, the NBA suspended Morant for eight games without pay for conduct detrimental to the league.”

Said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to ESPN’s Malika Andrews during the league’s annual Draft Lottery broadcast:

“The consequences there, an eight-game suspension, was pretty serious and something that he — at least to me — seemed to take incredibly seriously in that time. I mean, we spoke for a long time about not just the consequences that could have on his career but the safety issues around it. [He] could have injured, maimed, killed himself, someone else with an act like that. And also the acknowledgment that … he’s a star, he has an incredibly huge following, and my concern — and I thought he shared with me — that millions, if not tens of millions, of kids globally would see him as having done something that was celebrating in a way that act of sort of using a firearm in that fashion. And so I at least was left with the sense that he was taking this incredibly seriously.

“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw this weekend that video,” Silver added. “Now, we’re in the process of investigating it, and we’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can. Again, the video’s a bit grainy and all that, but I’m assuming the worst. But we’ll figure out exactly what happened there.”

A number of media reports defended Morant’s rights to own a gun and brandish it any way he chooses, citing Constitutional rights. However, the Second Amendment addresses a USA citizen’s rights to bear arms with no Government interference so that defense does not apply to Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies franchise not the NBA, which is a joint venture partnership – certainly not the Government.

“Those guys are just, they’re just freaking idiots,” Charles Barkley said Wednesday on TNT of the Morant defenders in the media. “I only say ‘freaking’ because y’all won’t let me say what I want to say.

“Man, when you’re making $100 million a year to play sports, your life changes,” Barkley noted. “There are certain rules and regulations you have to live by, plain and simple. You can’t do stupid stuff. That’s the trade-off. Now, if you want to do all that stuff and give the money back, more power to you.”

It IS important to note, Morant did not break any laws, according to Tennessee and Colorado local state law as reported by several media outlets. But, his employment as a player in the NBA and the uniform player contract he signed (as Kenny Smith pointed out on TNT’s award-winning Inside the NBA this past Wednesday night) holds him to higher standards which were Collectively Bargained by the National Basketball Player’s Association.

And, that is the question once again. Where is the NBA Player’s Association on this?

There’s been little or no word spoken publicly on the issue from NBPA Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio. No word from the head of the NBPA licensing arm – THINK450 – Que Gaskins.

Morant has done just as much damage to the NBA Player’s version of Name, Image and Likeness marketing as he has to the league as a whole. The NBPA and THINK450 should be taking more action – not punitive – but in publicly calling out the action(s) of Morant and offering counseling and safety advice.

That advice might come from a former NBA player, Jayson Williams, who, in 2002, was fooling around with a shotgun at his posh New Jersey home when it discharged a round and killed Williams’ limo driver, Gus Christofi. Williams served time for attempting to cover-up the shooting and he also pled guilty to aggravated assault when the case went to court in February 2010 and was sentenced to an 18-month prison term he served until April 2012.

“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morantsaid in a statement. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”

TIDBITS: This week, the NLRB issued a complaint against the NCAA, Pac-12 and USC, alleging they have unlawfully misclassified college athletes as student-athletes rather than employees in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, according to USA Today. … What does that mean? The NCAA, Pac-12 Conference and the University of Southern California will go before an administrative law judge on November 7. At that hearing, according to USAT, the “NLRB’s general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo will be seeking an order requiring those three entities to ‘reclassify the Players as employees rather than as ‘student-athletes’ in their files, including, but not limited to, their handbooks and rules, and notify all current Players that they have done so,’” according to the complaint.

Concludes USAT, this formal complaint was inevitable once the Regional NLRB Director found merit to the unfair labor practice charge back in December. Unless USC had settled the case (which was highly unlikely), this complaint was coming.

WWYI questions, why draw the line at football, men’s and women’s basketball?

On 3 – the self proclaimed “Bloomberg” of College Sports noted ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips on the need for a Federal Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) standard: “As it relates to name, image and likeness, there has to be agent registration. There has to be a standardized contract. There has to be a registry. And then four there has to be education on campus. And that should just be open, that should be — that should be available for schools to see. Each other, etc. And I think it allows at least a little bit of disclosure that we’re not seeing in that space. The standardized contract, again, just everybody fills out the same thing whether it’s a $500 name, image and likeness opportunity or a $500K name, image and likeness opportunity. So, that’s part of it.” Phillips added, “Student athletes should absolutely be able to monetize their [NIL]. But at the end of the day, if you’re going to have intra and interstate competition, there has to be some level playing fields on that.” On the tampering that has reportedly pervaded the space, Phillips remarks: “We all know that [NIL] was never meant to be an inducement. It was really meant to be a serious and an honest way for young people that have great talents and a likeness and an image, that they could monetize it. That they’d be able to do that. But the two have been connected like a magnet, which is disappointing. And so that’s going on all across the country.”

Newly employed NCAA President and former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has his hands full on these issues and more. The influence of major college football still rules, limiting the influence of the NCAA office. … On another financial front, multiple college/athletic department marketing partner LEARFIELD was forced to renegotiate terms of marketing deals with six of its multimedia rights partners as the company deals with $1.1B in debt maturing this year, according to Sportico. … Adding it all up, college athletics are under siege and there doesn’t seem to be a simple solution to solve the major issues. Why? The very make-up of college athletics doesn’t allow for any one entity (or person) to take charge and do what’s best for everyone. The schools – all different sizes, in different Divisions (Div I, II… and so on), in different locales (States), in different Conferences – some with their own lucrative Network deals, others with nothing – have no interest nor desire to do what’s good for the others. Each sport provides the NCAA with different opportunities and challenges with the revenue-producing sports at the top of the pecking order because of the multi-million – make that multi-billion dollar rights fees being tossed about by ESPN, CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and so on.

Here’s the latest: Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, drafted new legislation titled the “College Sports NIL Clearinghouse Act of 2023.” The draft has been circulated to the various stakeholders of collegiate athletics and, of course, it was leaked. The draft calls for another version of the NCAA to oversee the name, image and likeness activity in all of collegiate athletics, further limiting the powers college athletics’ governing body. … The clearing house would act more like an enforcement agency (see NCAA compliance department). The essence of the bill is to return some power to the college conferences, and to a lesser extent the schools with the purpose to undercut the business agencies and the NIL collectives popping-up all over the country.

It’s not pretty and the legal battles to be fought, beginning this winter, might further complicate the issues and set the NCAA back 50 years.

LAX is LIFE: If NCAA Women’s Lacrosse were to be compared to NCAA Men’s Basketball in consecutive Final Four appearances, only John Wooden’s legendary UCLA teams (1967-1976) would rank ahead of the Boston College Eagles. This week, in Newton, Mass., BC clinched its SIXTHconsecutive trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four after their 20-6 shellacking of Notre Dame. BC will advance to beautiful Cary, North Carolina (25 minutes from Duke (Durham) and 40 minutes from Wake Forest, NC. No. 3 ranked Boston College will play No. 2 Syracuse in a national semifinal and be joined by No. 1 ranked Northwestern vs. No. 5 Denver, in the other semi.

Among the many storylines is Boston College grad student Melanie Welchwho is the captain of the BC lacrosse team and winner of the Welles Crowther award. Welch was a walk-on at BC but suffered and rehabbed through two ACL injuries and stuck it out to play lacrosse while enduring the setbacks of the global pandemic but also earning two graduate degrees and while honored as an Atlantic Coast Conference All-Academic team member.

Before her days at The Heights, Welch played midfield for Academy of the Holy Angels (Demarest, NJ) not far from her hometown of Pearl River, NY. Welch returned to Chestnut Hill this year as a second year Grad student to play defense in all 21 games of the (18-3) Eagles’ 2023 season.

At the Final Four, there’s a curve in the story as Melanie’s sister Kathryn is a freshman at top-rated Northwestern. Kathryn was recruited to play lacrosse at Northwestern after never playing the sport in high school and prep school. Kathryn was a standout ice hockey player but the NW coaches saw her play, knew her background and offered her a scholarship believing she would transition into a solid lacrosse player. As a first year, Kathryn has played in only seven of Northwestern’s 20 games (19-1) with their only loss coming in their opening game against Syracuse on February 11th.

Parents, Len and Kelly Welch, who follow both their daughters all season long, can enjoy their Saturday rooting for each of their favorite teams. Should both BC and Northwestern advance to the National Final, there’s potentially a choice to made on Monday night.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | May 14

May 14, 2023 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) Wishes Happy Mother’s Day to All the Wonderful Mothers and Families Honoring Mom Today

By TERRY LYONS

NEW YORK – “Here, I never want to see this again,” said USA guard Michael Jordan, adorned with a Gold Medal at the USA Basketball locker room door at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Jordan uttered the words as he handed his “Reebok” branded Olympic Medal Ceremony jacket to the head of the NBA’s Communications Group, Brian McIntyre, who had “drafted” Jordan in a pre-Olympic selection of the entire Dream Team players and coaches just before the Games began.

Actually, with McIntyre hailing from Chicago, Jordan was a territorial pick amongst the “Dream Team PR Team” for the Games by a man who would eventually be recognized with the John Bunn Award at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the highest honor a non-player can receive in the world of basketball.

Said the Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds this week: “The jacket that Michael Jordan famously and grudgingly wore while receiving an Olympic Gold Medal has been in (former NBA PR man) Brian McIntyre’s possession for more than three decades now.

He figures the time is right to let someone else enjoy it.

The red, white and blue Reebok jacket that Jordan — a Nike athlete — was forced to wear on the medal stand alongside the other members of USA Basketball’s (first) “Dream Team” at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics is headed to auction.

Sotheby’s, which has the offering that will run through June 28, estimates that the jacket could fetch anywhere from $1 million to $3 million. Other experts in the world of basketball and collective memorabilia think the bidding could go as high as $5 million, citing the fact game-worn Jordan uniforms have been valued north of $10 million and their are dozens of those available. There is only one Jordan-worn Olympic Medal Ceremony jacket and it has a history all of its own.

Many years later, Jordan signed it: “To Brian, Thanks for Everything, Michael Jordan.”

McIntyre kept it the last 29 years, wearing it occasionally. The jacket and Jordan’s reluctance to wear it was a big story in Barcelona and became a talking point again when “The Last Dance” documentary re-told part of the story with sound from Jordan in 1992 revealing his frustration with the situation.”

That said, anything involving that team, and those Olympics, has obvious historical value. It was the first time the NBA sent its players to an Olympics, and the game was forever changed.

“We watched the ‘Dream Team’ in the ’92 Olympics fast-forward the growth of basketball, by a lot,” McIntyre said. “I mean, it really helped develop the game worldwide — not just for the NBA, but in basketball in general.”

Sotheby’s is offering the auction online and will display the jacket in New York from June 24-28.

Sotheby’s went to great lengths to authenticate the Jacket, but they could’ve saved a lot of time and money. All they had to do was ask, because this reporter was posted-up right inside the locker room door – a few feet away from the historic “give and go.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: With the NFL Draft in the rearview mirror and the league schedule issued earlier this week, the odds-makers have placed the Kansas City Chiefs as favorites to win the 2024 Super Bowl. Here are the favorites, including the Chiefs and overall Top 5:

Kansas City Chiefs (+600)
Philadelphia Eagles (+700)
Buffalo Bills (+800)
San Francisco 59ers (+825)
Cincinnati Bengals (+850)

TIDBITS: With all this talk about Debt Limits, don’t we all face a rather daunting debt limit every month of the year? For years? Surely any family that’s been fortunate enough to have children attend some of the best Higher Educational Institutes in the country know a little about Debt Limits. … In 2023, surely there are Debt Limits that come into play when any fan tries to purchase game tickets to any sporting event, especially playoffs, Super Bowls, or major rock shows. So many times, these days, you simply have to take a pass, maybe watch on TV or read about the rock show in a critics’ review. … CNN’s Kaitlan Collins had her hands filled this week, hosting a CNN Town Hall meeting in New Hampshire with convicted sexual abuser and deviant Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Collins is used to tough assignments as she’s witnessed The University of Alabama face formidable opponents from the Southeastern Conference when the Crimson Tide play college football every Saturday in the Fall. … Collins needed an Air Horn to nip any and all blatant lies that flowed like active Hawaiian volcano lava during the Town Hall, which devolved into a Trump rally of sorts this past Wednesday evening. … It has been determined that the presumptive GOP presidential candidate is the Navage residue of Politicians.

BUZZWORD BINGO: We’re taking our sports commentary and studio analysis to a new level to create “NBA Bingo,” a new game that can be played in any single night, throughout a seven-game series or a single game of the 2023 NBA Finals. Here’s your very own game board.

FENWAY IS A TREASURE: It’s so wonderful to live in Boston and be a regular media member, covering the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Although it’s pushing 111 years, the improvements to the ballpark have come year-by-year to make it a joy to attend.

Major League Baseball’s Oldest Ballparks

Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox): 111 years old

Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs): 109 years old

Dodger Stadium (LA Dodgers): 61 years old

Oakland Coliseum (Athletics): 57 years old

Angel Stadium (LA Angels): 57 years old

Kauffman Stadium (KC Royals): 50 years old

Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays): 34 years old

Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays): 33 years old

Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago White Sox): 32 years old

Camden Yards (Baltimore Orioles): 31 years old

Note: It seems “like yesterday” when MLB hosted its annual Mid-Summer Classic at the brand new Camden Yards. This July 13th, it will be 30 years ago. On a deep bucket list of “Being There” and “Looking Live,” that 1993 MLB All-Star Game ranks high. It was also quite a pleasure to be in Baltimore frequently from 2015-2019 with the ability to tuck-in an Orioles game on many of the trips to Johns Hopkins to visit my daughter at school. Each trip brought back memories of that hot summer night in 1993, four years before my daughter was born. Oh, how the time passes. Treasure every minute, every day.