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Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Nov 27

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook on Acronyms in Sports/TV

NEW YORK – Whether we like it or not, we’ve chosen to live in a world full of acronyms. As per usual, the sports industry leads the way. After all, the National Basketball Association is known worldwide as the NBA – except in The New York Times where it is the N.B.A.. The other major North American sports follow suit, as in the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), all known globally.

At one point in time – ‘circa 1975-1980 – the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball attempted to market the sport as Baseball, but it never caught on with the masses because of the fact every player and fan knew of the major accomplishment of making it to the “Majors,” to the “Show.” Simultaneously, the popularity and value of minor league clubs was reason for MLB to create MiLB, the governing body and marketing arm for many of the minor leagues.

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The next level of sports organizations might challenge every fan with their numerous acronyms, especially in the world of golf and tennis. We’ll spot you a few:

  • PGA – (Professional Golfers’ Association)
  • PGA of America – Represents golf club professionals and hosts tournaments and hosts/organizes the annual PGA Championship.
  • USGA – (United States Golf Association) – The federation for golf in the United States; Reps golf courses, the rules of game, tracks golf handicaps to rate players and hosts the U.S. Open on annual basis.
  • PGA Tour – The league for men’s professional golfers
  • LIV Golf – Rival league to PGA Tour (54 vs 72 hole tournaments)
  • LPGA – The league for women’s professional golfers
  • USTA – (United States Tennis Association)
  • ATP – (Association of Tennis Professionals, also know as the men’s tennis tour)
  • WTA – (Women’s tennis tour)
  • MLS – (Major League Soccer)
  • NASL – (North American Soccer League)
  • PBR – (Pro Bull Riders)
  • NLL – (National Lacrosse League)
  • PLL – (Premier Lacrosse League)
  • WNBA – (Women’s National Basketball Association)
  • NWSL – (National Women’s Soccer League)
  • PHF – (Premier Hockey Federation) – Was launched as NWHL, as in National Women’s Hockey League
  • NCAA – (National Collegiate Athletic Association)
  • IOC – (International Olympic Committee)
  • USOC – now known as USOPC (United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee)

Within the Olympic and Paralympic Committee, we could go to the oomph degree with USATF (United States Track & Field) all the way to USAB (United States of America Basketball), formerly known as ABA/USA and other offshoots like the AAU (Amateur Athletic Association) or NWBA (National Wheelchair Basketball Association), and the NHSF (National Federation of State High School Associations).

Editor’s Note: If you dare, click on the previous NHSF link for a look at acronym hell.

On a Personal Note: Within the world of sports acronyms, this columnist would go out of his way to always write USA Basketball instead of taking the shortcut to USAB, which was born of shortening the title for subject lines within internal e-mails, quite the same as the World Championship of Basketball quickly became WCOB when the NBA league office was responsible for the staging of the 1994 Worlds in Toronto.

We’ll draw the line before mentioning Rugby, Cricket, eSports or a dozen others.

Outside of Sporting, the other industry guilty of the acronym wars is the broadcasting world. Again, let’s delve into just a few of the major network types:

First, there were three: ABC (American Broadcasting Company), CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) and NBC (National Broadcasting Company). Soon to be added were PBS (Public Broadcasting System), FOX (named after 20th Century Fox) which followed the demise of the DuMont Network. In those days, if your television went beyond 13 channels of VHF (Very High Frequency), you were lucky to receive a few UHF (Ultra High Frequency) stations.

Boston Celtics TV ad, complete with (L to R) Dennis “DJ” Johnson, Danny Ainge, then Larry Bird, Robert “The Chief” Parish and Kevin McHale

Boston’s sports fans are familiar with the UHF channels as Boston Bruins games were broadcast on Channel 38 (WHMB/WXEL/WHIS/WSBK) and the Boston Celtics games were featured programming on Channel 56, Boston’s oldest UHF station which began as WTAO-TV and continues until today as a CW affiliate which eventually secured rights to both the Bruins and the Celtics. The history of that broadcasting network was a combination of CBS and Warner Brothers, along with UPN (United Paramount Network), not to be mistaken with UPI (United Press International) which competed with AP (Associated Press) which syndicated news to the whole mess listed above.

In Europe, you can watch CANAL+ or FR-1 in France, TVE or Cadena Cope in Spain, or maybe you’d prefer “tele basura” which translates to Trash TV.

To conclude, this week I watched GMA (Good Morning America) on ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation) while I checked to see if Sunday’s NFL (National Football League) schedule has games on CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) or FOX (20th Century Fox, now owned by Rupert Murdock and his media empire, while I logged-in to the NYT (The New York Times) to double-check which game is on SNFonNBC (Sunday Night Football) and MNF (Monday Night Football) before I watched the SEC (Southeast Conference) Championship game to see who will compete in the CFP (College Football Playoffs) on NYE (New Year’s eve) as long as I pay my FIOS (Verizon’s Fiber Optic Service) bill and that will depend on whether a scored a NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deal for a client or if my investments did well on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) or NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) which surely will be chronicled by the WSJ (Wall Street Journal).

Whew!

NOW WHAT? With Michigan’s drubbing of No. 2-ranked Ohio State, there are two clear-cut leaders for the CFP Playoffs and two toss-ups. Let the arguing begin.

  1. Georgia
  2. Michigan
  3. TCU
  4. USC

The outside looking in are:

  1. Alabama
  2. Ohio St.
  3. Penn St.
  4. LSU

After that, it really doesn’t matter as Clemson lost at home to South Carolina (31-30).

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Aside from a ton of speculation on Rafa Devers and Xander Bogaerts, there’s been no official news from the Boston Red Sox aside from a Wednesday (Nov. 23) trade for infielder/outfielder Hoy Park from the Pittsburgh Pirates, in exchange for minor league left-handed pitcher Inmer Lobo. … Park, 26, played in 68 Major League games for the New York Yankees (2021) and Pirates (‘21-22).

Miguel Gurwitz, left, with TV partner Carlos Hermosillo

MUNDO CLASS: Telemundo’s Miguel Gurwitz might be the busiest man on earth this weekend and he’s halfway done. Gurwitz, who is anchoring all Telemundo’s World Cup coverage while calling some matches behind the legendary Andres Cantor, will take on a marathon of broadcasting only rivaled by the late, great Jerry Lewis on his Labor Day Telethon. Beginning Thursday, the native of Mexico and current Miami resident, the regular play-by-play voice for NBC Telemundo’s Sunday Night Football Games, was on-air for the better part of 18 hours on Thanksgiving Day.

Beginning at 11am, Gurwitz anchored all of Telemundo’s World Cup soccer coverage, and then as day turned into night, he switched from futbol to football, calling the SNF on NBC/Telemundo primetime game between the New England Patriots at Minnesota Vikings game. Gurwitz called the NFL game off broadcast monitors LIVE from Qatar to complete 18 hours of work.

Gurwitz was back at it for Friday and Saturday WC 2022 coverage, splitting studio and game commentary before he shoots for another futbol to football marathon today when he works four games from Qatar and repeats his NBC/Telemundo marathon with his play-by-play call of Green Bay at Philadelphia at 8:20pm ET.

Will Monday be a day of rest?

Nope … Gurwitz will be working four more World Cup games.

WORLD CUP of BS – Right before the matches began, tone deaf FIFA president Gianni Infantino served-up a media session that was hard to believe. Not only did he overlook Qatar’s human rights record of staggering hypocrisy and racism, he went on for 57-minutes reversing the tides of accusation towards western media claiming they were hypocrites due to their own past and current behavior. In a bizarre rant he said: “Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel [like] a migrant worker. Of course, I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not African, I am not gay, I am not disabled. But I feel like it, because I know what it means to be discriminated [against], to be bullied, as a foreigner in a foreign country.

“As a child I was bullied – because I had red hair and freckles, plus I was Italian, so imagine.”

C’Mon Man. Need a drink? Or a cold Nastro Azzurro?

Since World Cup’s opening eve, just imagine the many hooligans who’ve been experiencing the “DTs” by the 45:00 mark of each match as the ban against public drinking of beer and alcohol was determined the week leading up to competition. From what TV cameras are showing, the packed venues feature capacity crowds, emotional fans and strong competition out-weigh the B.S.. Upsets have included Japan over Germany and Saudi Arabia over Argentina. The headline Thursday was that Cristiano Ronaldo is the first men’s WC player to score in five World Cups. … The major dust-up seems to be the rising tensions and protests between Iranian women and authorities and supporters and chants of “The Islamic Republic of Iran.” … Iranian authorities have responded in the homeland with deadly force to suppress protests which erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in September following her arrest for wearing a headscarf incorrectly.

RULES CHANGES: Understanding the long history of the sport and the fact you only need a field, two goals and a ball to play – meaning you do NOT even need lights or electricity – this will make the futbol hardline traditionalists cringe with pain, but here’s a basketball expert’s thoughts to improve World Cup soccer. Admittedly, because of the “beauty of the game” and the control factor, these will NEVER happen:

  1. Institute a 4:00 minute shot clock
  2. “Back court” violation … Once ball crosses into offensive half of the field, the team on offense can not cross ball backwards to the backfield, but instead force traps at midline.
  3. Put Official as the game clock operator and that’s official for all the world to see
  4. While not a fan of Penalty Kicks to decide outcomes, personally, I can live with Round of 16 rules-on, so no change.

FINAL HARD FOUR: It’s a “hard four,” as in 7-to-1 odds paid off. Yes, the Final Four basketball tournament – the final weekend of March Madness – will be played in Las Vegas for the first time in 2028. Like a Spring Break with velvet tables, Vegas is the ultimate destination for wagering on the NCAA tournament has long been a staple of March Madness. Massive changes in sports gambling laws opened the door for the NCAA to award the men’s national semifinals and championship game to Allegiant Stadium to conclude the 2027-28 season. In other words, the NCAA is ‘all-in.’

The NCAA also announced Ford Field in Detroit would host the Final Four in 2027, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis would get the 2029 event and AT&T Stadium in Dallas will stage the 2030 event.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Nov. 13th

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Since the ‘70s, Free Agency in Major League Baseball has been a fact of life, yet the sting of major league clubs losing prized and maybe homegrown players hurts just as much in 2022-23 as it did in 1972 when St. Louis Cards outfielder Curt Flood vs (MLB Commissioner) Bowie Kuhn challenged the “reserve clause” in Baseball and arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled in favor of pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally who were officially granted free agency on March 16, 1976. The Supreme Court later ruled in favor of Kuhn and Baseball, but MLB’s next collective bargaining agreement introduced the Curt Flood rule, and, the rest, as they say, is HIS-TOR-EE.

CHICAGO – MAY 16: A general view of Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs take on the Houston Astros on May 16, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. The Cubs defeated the Astros 5-4. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Forty-eight years ago and slightly before the historic Messersmith/McNallyrulings, Seitz also ruled that Jim “Catfish” Hunter was free of his contract as he signed a then-whopping five-year, $3.25m contract with the New York Yankees, leaving his “Swingin’ A’s” behind in a new era of Baseball.

This winter, baseball stars like OF Aaron Judge (NYY), SP Jacob deGrom(NYM), SS Trea Turner (LAD), SS Carlos Correo (Minn), hometown Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts (BOS), SP Justin Verlander (HOU), INF Dansby Swanson (ATL), OF Brandon Nimmo (NYM), 1B Jose Abreau(CWS), and a host of others will test the free agent market. Others, by virtue of opting-out or no Qualifying Offers being rendered, are thrust into the free agent market. For the Red Sox, DH J.D, Martinez and SP Michael Wachaare two examples of the latter group.

Let the “Hot Stove” games begin.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: If the NFL wants to assure safer playing conditions for its players, the league and teams need immediate changes to the turf at some stadiums and make other safety modifications, NFL players association president JC Tretter said. … Tretter, in a post on the NFLPA’s website Saturday, called for the league to ban the thin playing surface, saying it has led to “statistically higher in-game injury rates,” compared to all other surfaces for non-contact injuries and injuries to the lower extremities, such as ankles and feet. … Seven teams currently play home games in stadiums with slit film turf, according to the NFLPA: New York Jets and Giants (with shared Met Life Stadium), Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals. … “Player leadership wrote a letter to the NFL this week demanding the immediate removal of these fields and a ban on them going forward, both in stadiums and for practice fields,” Tretter wrote. “The NFL has not only refused to mandate this change immediately, but they have also refused to commit to mandating a change away from slit film in the future at all.”

NFL POWER 10: The National Football League season is shaking-out and by Thanksgiving Weekend we should have a clear vision of the contenders and pretenders for the 2022-23 postseason.

The real pro-NFL pundits laud the “parity” of the NFL while those of us on planet earth recognize there are really only three good teams. Here is the WWYI POWER 10 with that in mind:

Philadelphia Eagles
Buffalo Bills – (*Josh Allen injury is hanging)
Kansas City Chiefs
Minnesota Vikings – (They’re not that great)
New York Jets
Seattle Seahawks
Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens
New York Giants
All of the Mediocre Teams: Tampa Bay, New England, LA Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, and SF 49ers.

NOVA = NO GO: There’s an old Marketing 101 meets Globalization 101 story that said General Motors did not think through the naming of the popular “NOVA” sedan as Nova translated in some way to “Doesn’t Go” in Spanish, thus crushing sales in Spanish speaking Latin America.

Not true. It’s all a myth conjured up by some Marketing professor.

First, it’s a strange translation issue that really doesn’t work. Secondly, the car sold quite well in Latin America and outsold expectations of Chevrolet in countries like Mexico and Venezuela.

That brings us to ‘Nova, as in Villanova.

Villanova’s trip across the Schuylkill River to Temple Friday night resulted with a 68-64 defeat by the Owls and an early-season storming of the court by Temple fans. The Villanova Wildcats overcame a double-digit deficit in the first half and held a 64-62 lead with 58 seconds remaining in the game. The Owls made two free throws with 1.1 seconds left to earn a 66-64 advantage. Nova coach Kyle Neptune is now (1-1).

The warning was in place last weekend, as WWYI reminded fans of coach Jay Wright’s retirement and the No. 16 Villanova Wildcats being a giant question mark coming into the season. It’s far too early to draw any conclusions, but the BIG EAST will be wide open come 2023.

PIONEERS IN JOURNALISM AND CABLE TV SPORTS: Thursday morning brought the news of the passing of legendary reporter Jane Gross and of sports cable TV icon Fred Hickman.

Wrote Richard Sandomir in The New York Times, “Jane Gross, who in 1975 became the first female sportswriter known to have entered a professional basketball locker room, and who later distinguished herself at The New York Times with her compassionate reporting on aging and a well-received book about her mother’s decline in a nursing home, died on Wednesday in the Bronx. She was 75.

Her death, at the same Riverdale nursing home in which her mother had died, was caused by a traumatic brain injury after a series of falls, said Michael Gross, her brother and only immediate survivor,” wrote Sandomir.

Gross, first to rightly do her job doing interviews on deadline in the lockers, covered the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association for NEWSDAY, the Long Island newspaper once delivered door-to-door by this reporter. In 1975, Gross was covering a New York Knicks game and asked coach Red Holzman for access to the locker so she could compete evenly with the other reporters entering the room to gain access to the players and their viewpoints of the game.

Added Sandomir in his obituary on his colleague, “Jane Lee Gross was born on Sept. 10, 1947, in Manhattan. Her father, Milton Gross, was a syndicated sports columnist for The New York Post. Her mother, Estelle (Murov) Gross, was a nurse. From an early age, Jane was enamored of the sports world that her father covered, and she and her younger brother would sometimes accompany him on his assignments.”

Aside from her work in the Health section, Gross wrote for the Education sections of the Times.

Hickman made his mark as one of the first nationally known cable tv sports anchors. Together with the late Nick Charles (1946-2011) they anchored the 11pm (ET) “CNN Sports Tonight” which went head-to-head against ESPN’s SportsCenter from 1980-2001.

The duo were regarded as an informative and reliable source of sports news and highlights and they were equally applauded by fans and co-workers for their hard work and camaraderie.

For those of us fortunate enough to work with Hickman as he and his production team created Sports Tonight and later, This Week in the NBA, and later Inside the NBA, Hickman was a welcome presence in NBA arenas around the league when the shows went remote during the NBA All-Star weekend, Playoffs and Finals.

The cause of death for both Charles and Hickman was cancer.


SOME GOOD NEWS: To continue the fight against cancer, the Pan-Mass Challenge bike race, the nation’s single most successful athletic fundraiser, announced a record-breaking $69 million gift to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This gift brings the PMC’s total contribution to the fight against cancer to $900 million since 1980 and is the largest single donation Dana-Farber has ever received. Incredible. Congratulations to PMC superstar Billy Starr and his staff, all volunteers and PMC riders and to the great people at Dana-Farber, The JIMMY Fund, all medical and technical teams at all the great Boston-area hospitals, including Mass General.

 

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Nov 6

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While We’re Young (Ideas) | Looks at the NCAA Hoops Top 10

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – If there’s any sign from anyone or anything that Gonzaga will not be the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champion, stand up and be counted. Shout your reasonings from the highest mountain in the West Coast Conference.

The naysayers are coming: West Virginia coach and recent inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Bob Huggins questioned Gonzaga’s chops, claiming in a backhanded way just how tough it is and what a toll the Big 12 schedule would take on the Zags.

“I would think it would be a tremendous awakening for Gonzaga [to join the Big 12],” Huggins told reporters this week, almost daring Zags coach Mark Few to take the bait as newly crowned Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark lures Gonzaga to join his conference in all sports. Yormark’s task is an attempt to make the Big 12 recognized amongst the top level of college basketball conferences in the land, a la the ACC, Big Ten, BIG EAST or the SEC.

Of course, it’s a long “bus ride” home from Morgantown, West Virginia to Spokane, Washington for the women’s tennis or rowing team or the Mountaineers’ men’s golf team from West Virginia to the State of Washington, but – so be it – in this business of college athletics where boundaries may be limitless in the interest of any revenue producing sport.

The University of Connecticut found out the hard way when their (previously local) schedules – against the likes of Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, or a train ride to DC to take on the Georgetown Hoyas – became lengthy flights to SMU (Dallas, Texas), Tulane (New Orleans, Louisiana) or Memphis (Tennessee) for its teams. Those long hauls kept the precious and guarded student athletes far away from campus on weekday school nights. Oh, the shame.

UConn, as originally reported by our Digital Sports Desk sister site, returned to their home in the BIG EAST, lauding the advantages of conference opponents close to home to allow those priority No. 1 student-athletes and their parents a reasonable ride to witness competition at its best.

Another naysayer for a Gonzaga ‘23 title is the bible. No, not The Bible but the College Basketball bible, as in Chris Dortch’s Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.

Blue Ribbon picked North Carolina as its No. 1 selection with Gonzaga rated No. 2. The Zags’ review/preview highlighted the loss of 7-footer Chet Holmgren but also noted the commitment to return to college and forego the pros by 6-10 Drew Timme and 6-7 Julian Strawther who started 31 of the Zags’ 32 games last season.

Dortch and the college basketball guru consensus rated blue bloods Kentucky (3) and Duke (5) with Houston in between to round out the Top 5.

Here is the Top 10 of Blue Ribbon’s Top 25:

  1. North Carolina
  2. Gonzaga
  3. Kentucky
  4. Houston
  5. Duke
  6. Arkansas
  7. Kansas
  8. UCLA
  9. Baylor
  10. Tennessee

TL’s NCAA Basketball Top 10:

Not too much of a difference from Blue Ribbon or the other polls, except at the top.

  1. Gonzaga
  2. North Carolina
  3. Kentucky
  4. Kansas
  5. Houston
  6. Arkansas
  7. UCLA
  8. Baylor
  9. Duke
  10. Tennessee

Duke’s lower rating reflects the loss of Coach Mike Krzyzewski, but is not a negative comment on the Blue Devils’ new head coach Jon Scheyer who is under tremendous pressure to produce in his first season. To his credit, Scheyer’s familiarity with the Duke system and its recruits are the reason for a Top 10 mention.

Creighton (11th) rates as the top BIG EAST team in preseason polls and Villanova (16) drops to the middle of the Top 25 pack, much due to the loss of head coach Jay Wright. Former Fordham coach and ‘Nova assistant, Kyle Neptune, takes over for Wright and faces similar pressure to that of Scheyer.

Next week, this reporter will take a stab at a preseason full bracket prediction.

CFP: On the College Football front, here are the Top 6 going into this weekend’s play, as rated by the College Football Playoff committee:

  1. Tennessee
  2. Ohio St.
  3. Georgia
  4. Clemson

On the outside, looking up were:

  1. Michigan
  2. Alabama

Note: The College Football Playoff will match the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Saturday, December 31, 2022 at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Los Angeles will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 9, 2023, at SoFi Stadium.

GEORGIA UP TOP: On a rainy night in Georgia, the Bulldogs dominated Tennessee and will gain the top rung of the CFP ladder when voting is conducted this week. While home field advantage certainly played a part in the Georgia win, the fact of the matter is that Georgia looks to be the best college football team in the country. The Bulldogs – with remaining games at Mississippi St. and Kentucky, then at home in Athens to close the regular season out vs. Georgia Tech. … It’s reasonably expected that Georgia will enter the SEC championship game as the No. 1 team in the country.

Earlier in the week, Boo Corrigan, the chairman of the selection committee, said there was quite a debate on all of the Top 25 rankings, but particularly for the top three slots, “The debate over the Top 25 rankings were extensive and very animated, particularly at the top,” he said. A case was made for Ohio State to be No. 1, for Georgia and for Tennessee, and there were good arguments for each one of the schools.

At the end of the debate, the committee voted Tennessee No. 1 because of their impressive road win at LSU and their victory over Alabama, and Alabama is a team that the committee respects highly. Ohio State has a powerful offense and a very solid defense, with an impressive win last week over Penn State. Georgia has been dominant this season, which has been plain to see, in particular the win over Oregon at the start of the season.

But Tennessee’s two wins against those two strong opponents really made a difference,” concluded Corrigan, the Director of Athletics at North Carolina State.

Those views will be altered as Georgia held court to defeat the Volunteers, 27-13.

No. 4 Clemson lost to Notre Dame Saturday night, 35-14, certainly removing Dabo Swinney’s Tigers from the Top 4 ranks. Michigan will get bumped up after a 52-17 shellacking of Rutgers.

Next week, we’ll be looking at:

  1. Georgia
  2. Ohio St.
  3. Michigan
  4. TCU

The outside looking up?

5. Tennessee

6. Clemson

BOWLING for DOLLARS: Duke became college bowl eligible when the Blue Devils came to Chestnut Hill and defeated Boston College, 38-31, on a balmy Friday night in New England. Duke is now (6-3 Overall/3-2 in ACC) and has three games remaining – Virginia Tech next week, then at Pittsburgh and a finale hosting a tough Wake Forest team on November 26th. … On Saturday, Kansas upset No. 16 Oklahoma St. and became bowl eligible for the first time since 2008. After winning their first five games of the season, Kansas had a three-game skid until Saturday’s win. The Jayhawks have three games remaining, all tough match-ups. The games to play: @Texas Tech, vs Texas and @Kansas State.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | Oct. 30th

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – For those who’ve followed the NBA for decades, there’s a cynical, “We’ve seen EVERYTHING” attitude even when we look back at the extremes of Allen Iverson’s pontifications on “PRACTICE,” Ron Artest (Metta World) and the Pacers having an all-out brawl against the Detroit Pistons (a.k.a. Malice at the Palace), Gilbert Arenas packing heat intended for his teammate, Jarvis Crittenton, or a rogue and incredibly stupid former referee and his high school buddies getting knee-deep with the FBI and creating a gambling scandal of the ages, complete with jail time for the nimrod ref. If that weren’t enough, just this year, it became public knowledge that Phoenix Suns team governor Robert Sarver was conducting business in toxic fashion for decades. That followed dufus former LA Clippers team governor Donald Sterling’s racially charged remarks caught on tape back in 2014, with both team owner transgressions resulting in their requirement or desire to sell their NBA clubs.

There’s been team GMs (Daryl Morey) tweeting the NBA into an all-out business-crushing conundrum with its Chinese-based broadcasters and business partners, not to mention the authorities. Morey expressed his opinion on China’s human rights issues, especially focusing on Hong Kong back in October of 2019, and just as the NBA was beginning preseason games in Asia and India.

There’s been players clocking coaches (Latrell Sprewell vs PJ Carlesmo), players fighting teammates (GS’s Draymond Green vs Jordan Poole), and a head coach getting fined and suspended for gross violations of team rules – that being Boston’s Ime Udoka’s unbelievable implosion just as the 2022-23 NBA season was about to begin.

We’ve seen everything, right?

Wrong.

This week, five games into the season, the San Antonio Spurs abruptly waived guard Joshua Primo, the No. 12 (overall) first-round pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. At the time of the announcement, the Spurs’ guard put out a statement, referring to mental health issues and seeking privacy.

In a statement to ESPN on Friday night, Primo acknowledged a need to continue “mental health treatment more fully.”

“I know that you all are surprised by (today’s) announcement,” read the Primo statement. “I’ve been seeking help to deal with previous trauma I suffered and will now take this time to focus on my mental health treatment more fully. I hope to be able to discuss these issues in the future so I can help others who have suffered in a similar way. I appreciate privacy at this time.”

On Saturday, ESPN dropped the sledgehammer, and apparently the truth, as Primo was waived for allegedly exposing himself to women, apparently on multiple occasions. With ESPN’s pipeline into the Spurs’ front office, the word “allegedly” seems to be the legal formality of this unimaginable story.

“It is our hope that, in the long run, this decision will serve the best interest of both the organization and Joshua,” Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said in a statement as NBA teams – coast-to-coast – scrambled to obtain information of the behind-the-scenes reasoning for the transaction. Primo played in the Spurs’ first four games of the 2022-23 season, sat out the fifth game and then was banished in the hours surrounding the club’s sixth game.

Now, if all that wasn’t enough, reports are surfacing on Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving’s involvement in a motion picture he’s promoting entitled, “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.” The movie apparently includes antisemitic references and other controversial content, according to a review in Rolling Stone Magazine.

With all the off-court controversy, the NBA dealt with the Robert Sarver incident(s) promptly and the Boston Celtics dealt with the internal issues of their coach and unnamed code-of-ethics transgressions. Isn’t it well past the time when the NBA Players Association step-up to address the situations of the likes of Irving, Primo, Green vs Poole – all who make the players (as a whole) look ridiculous? It’s time for the Union to hold its members to higher standards while the League works hand-in-hand to provide Player Programs, Orientations and frequent team visits by the Player Programs and Basketball Ops league staffers. The players’ union itself needs to enforce some sort of discipline for conduct unbecoming a union member.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As the 2022 World Series began, the Houston Astros had approximately a 61% chance of winning the MLB crown while the upstart Philadelphia Phillies had a 31% chance.

Those odds were turned inside-out when Philadelphia rallied from an 0-5 deficit to defeat the Astros 6-5 Friday in a four-hour and thirty minute extra innings epic. Phils catcher J.T. Realmuto had game hero status with a two-run double in the 5th inning and the game-winning HR in the top of the 10th inning.

On Saturday night, Houston staked a 3-0 early lead and went on to a 5-2 home victory to even the series – 1-1 – a best-of-seven that has six or seven games written all over it.

Scheduling has been a challenge. Baseball will tip its cap to the NFL on Sunday and then return to action with three games in Philly on Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday (Oct 31, Nov. 1 and 2), before returning to Houston for games on Friday and Saturday, (November 4 and 5, if necessary).

DIAMOND DUST-UP: The World Series has become The Local Series as fans in Houston and Philadelphia are going bonkers over the event, but fans outside the two competing cities have little to zero interest in the results of the games. National draws like the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, the LA Dodgers, and the NY Mets were all eliminated, much to the chagrin of MLB and FOX Sports tv ad sales crews and Nielsen tv ratings watchers.

PICKS FROM THE PARQUET: Last week, we had the Opening Weekend anticipation of the NBA and predicted the teams that will be there at the end. Today, it’s a “what did you do for me lately” look at the NBA, as teams settle-in, each with about five games in the books.

Last things first: The LA Lakers (0-5) have yet to win a game.

The Milwaukee Bucks (5-0) have yet to lose a game and the Portland Trail Blazers who were expected to win fewer than 40 games, are a red-hot (5-1).

It’s far too early in the long NBA season to think anything in the first five games of the season will determine long-term trends. After all, the Boston Celtics looked invincible with three opening wins against the 76ers, Heat and Magic, but fell down to mediocrity with two consecutive losses this week (vs. Chicago and Cleveland). For the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics, their Sunday night (10/30-6:00pm ET) game against the Washington Wizards will be a key indicator.

Of note: Brooklyn (1-4) with 121.6 ppg allowed should send alerts throughout the Association.

FORE SCORE: When we last left you, Rory McIlroy was laying claim to World No. 1 with a win at The CJ Cup in South Carolina, topping the field that included 21 of the top 30 best golfers (outside of those who went to LIV it up).

This week, the PGA Tour is in beautiful Bermuda and there isn’t a hurricane in sight. Nor are there any of the Top 40 players in golf. Seamus Power, at No. 48, is the top-ranked player and he happens to be the tournament leader after 54 holes, shooting 65-65-65 for (-18) and a tie for first with Ben Griffin (65-64-66).

Meanwhile, LIV is finishing-up the semifinals of their final event, a match play tournament in Miami. LIV has been operating in obscurity the last two tournaments, one in Bangkok (Thailand) and one in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). The time zone challenges were enough to keep any North American TV entity far and away, asking, ‘If a golfer cards a birdie in the desert, does it Tweet?” … The answer is yes, as it’s the only way a golf fan would know it happened.

Regardless, Dustin Johnson claimed an extra $18m as regular season champion. This weekend’s Match Play will help decide team champions, a nuance the golfing public has yet to embrace. The various formats – within and without the normal competition of stroke play, team play and match play – are a little too much in the gimmicky category and not enough of a distinction between the LIV and the PGA Tour’s normal stroke play.

WORDS AND PHRASES: There’s a growing list of buzzwords and phrases that are far too deep in the lexicon of life. This columnist could “Talk About” the “Talk About”command sideline reporters and even veteran journalists and reporters bark at their interview subjects, but instead we’ll get the readers of WWYIs started with just a couple of the zingers we all hear, intertwined in sports, news and everyday language. In Twitter language, I’ll go first:

  • The overuse of the word “Narrative” is the end-all of current buzzwords. When any reporter, network anchor or seminar presenter uses the “Narrative” word, I’m OUT.
  • “At the END of the DAY” – Oy vey. There must not be a blessed ounce of work done in the morning and throughout midday, but people must be bustin’ ass to get their work completed as promised to the masses, by the “END of the DAY.” From now-on, I want to know what’s been done by the MIDDLE of the DAY.
  • I don’t want to hear we need to “Drill Down” to get the “Low Hanging Fruit.” I don’t want to “Un-Pack” anything. Do you HEAR that ESPN’s Greeny on “Get Up?” Go Un-Pack your own news and headlines, I’m not doing it anymore.
  • No more “Thought Leadership” conferences or pitches for self-taught seminars at industry trade gatherings to impress everyone in the boardroom. And, please no more “Thinking Out of the Box.” What box? None of us were ever in a box.
  • On Conference Calls or Zoom-meetings, I don’t think it’s a good idea to shelve the most important topic being discussed and take it “Offline.” Let’s talk about it NOW because if it goes “Offline,” no one will ever do the hard work it takes to complete that job “by the END of the DAY.”

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 23

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They’re playing basketball (to the beat y’all)

We love that basketball (yeah)

They’re playing basketball (uh huh, uh huh)

We love that basketball

– Kurtis Blow

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The basketball season was 1968-69 and the New Jersey Americans relocated to Long Island to become the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association, a rival league to the heralded National Basketball Association.

The year ahead was going to be great for New York sports fans. The New York Jets, behind the guarantee provided by quarterback “Broadway” Joe Namath upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. It was the victory that put the then-rival American Football Conference (AFC) on par with the National Football Conference (NFC) and it made the National Football League (NFL) the most popular sports property in the United States.

As that Summer of ‘69 turned to Fall, the Miracle Mets, behind the pitching of Jerry Koosman (two World Series wins, including the series clincher) backed by Hall of Famer Tom “Terrific” Seaver and Gary Gentry, defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in five games to take the first Series victory in franchise history. Donn Clendenon, Cleon Jones and improbable offensive might of everyone from 2B Al Weisto reserve catcher J.C. Martin provided key hits while incredible defensive plays by center fielder Tommie Agee and right fielder Ron Swoboda made the Mets – Amazin’ and sent NYC and the Borough of Queens and most Long Islanders into a frenzy.

A flip of the calendar brought yet another championship to New York when the New York Knicks of the NBA defeated the LA Lakers and Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylorand Jerry West in a memorable seven-game series. While Willis Reed and his gutsy Game 7 return to action after seriously injuring his knee in Game 5, grabbed the headlines and Walt Frazier’s 36-point, 19-assist, 7-rebound performance went somewhat unnoticed because of Reed’s return.

Those championships were almost too much for a 10-year old to handle. But this (then) 10-year old harkens back to December 19, 1968 as the day the championship was solidified. It was the day Knicks GM Eddie Donovan had the guts to trade All-Star center Walt “Bells” Bellamy, and guard Howard “Butch” Komives, to the Detroit Pistons for eight time NBA All-Star power forward Dave DeBusschere.

Hit “The Open Man” became the Knicks’ mantra and, in fact, was the title of DeBusschere’s book chronicling the season day-by-day. It’s simple philosophy, honed by Knicks Coach Red Hozman was the perfect offense to deploy for the ‘69-’73 Knicks.

With Knicks tickets tough to come by in suburban Long Island me and my basketball-loving’ family would get our hardwood fix with regular attendance at (nearly) all St. John’s University home games. We attended dozens of Island Trees H.S. basketball games where both of my oder brothers played and then 100% of the Holy Trinity H.S.games from 1973 to 1977 and beyond as coach Bob McKillop and Matt Doherty hung banner after banner at HT.

All the while, the ABA Nets were our mainstay. After head coach York Larese flamed-out, the Nets recruited Little Louie Carnesseca away from his post at St. Johns, along with trusty assistant John Kresse (who gave me my college tour at St. John’s). The great Rick Barry was on the Nets, along with former Johnnies Joe DuPre and Sonny Dove. Bill Melchioni held down the point, while Laverne Tart was the shooting guard. The bigmen included Jim Ard, Manny Leaks, and another young Johnnie who made playoff appearances as much as the Kardashians appear in the Super Market tabloids.

Suffice to say, a good game of hoops was available every night of the week and we took advantage of that fact growing up. And it changed for the better when the Nets acquired Julius “Dr, J.” Erving who was at the height of his career.

At one point in 1977, an interview with Nets head coach Kevin Loughery and an intro to his then-assistant, Rod Thorn, began a life-long friendship as they led the Nets to titles in 1974 and 1976 over formidable ABA clubs from Kentucky (Artis Gilmore and Dan Issel), Denver’s (David Thompson), and Indiana Pacers’ big (Mel Daniels), just to name a few. Thorn would eventually join the NBA league office as the head of Basketball Operations and the so-called Dean of Discipline.

All-in-all, a pretty good apprenticeship in the sports of basketball and one that turned into a career come December 1980 when this columnist began a 26+ year career at the NBA league office, working under Commissioners Larry O’Brien and David Stern.

In the early ‘80s, the NBA league office was like Camelot. It was just a matter of time – and some hard work – to build the global platform and stage the game for the way its played today by the World’s Greatest Athletes.

THE NBA TODAY: It’s quite early for any meaningful  predictions for the on-going 2022-23 NBA season, but that won’t stop us from doing the very first Power Rankings” of the NBA season. Truth be told, the real power ratings are Post NBA All-Star Break.

Here’s a look at the Top 8 from each conference:

EAST:

  1. Milwaukee Bucks
  2. Boston Celtics
  3. Toronto Raptors
  4. Washington Wizards
  5. Brooklyn Nets
  6. Miami Heat
  7. Philadelphia 76ers
  8. Detroit Pistons

WEST:

  1. Golden State Warriors
  2. New Orleans Pelicans
  3. Memphis Grizzlies
  4. Houston Rockets
  5. Denver Nuggets
  6. LA Clippers
  7. Phoenix Suns
  8. Dallas Mavericks.

Check back in mid-December for a more educated prediction.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Cleveland Charge selected Sam Merrill (6-4, 205, Utah State) with the first overall pick of the 2022-23 NBA G League Draft on Saturday afternoon, which was held virtually. The Wisconsin Herd selected Joe Wieskamp with the second overall selection, while the Greensboro Swarm selected Aaron Wheelerwith the third pick.

RATINGS GAME: The NBA on Tuesday saw its best opening night doubleheader viewership since 2017, as TNT averaged 3.3 million viewers for 76ers- Celtics and Lakers- Warriors.

TID-BITS: I can figure out who is pouring more money into the economy – legal inquiries on Camp Lujeane, the folks funding CrytoLef hack campaign or Big Pharma selling every drug manufactured under the sun. … Coach Jim Calhoun will be the special guest Sunday, October 30, at Lavietes Pavilion. when Harvard hosts its annual fantasy day for Friends of Harvard, and local coaches. Basketball Hall of Famer and New England native, Calhoun, won three NCAA Division I men’s basketball championships as the head coach of the University of Connecticut. With over 900 NCAA victories (917-397), Coach Calhoun has extensive experience across all three divisions of NCAA athletics. Coach Calhoun will share his depth of perspective with our community, and we would be thrilled if you can attend! In addition to hearing Coach Calhoun speak, you will also be able to watch a Harvard Basketball practice and receive lunch as part of the day’s events. Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker will be running the show. … Tickets go on sale Monday, October 24, 2022 for the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. This year’s conference is on March 3 – 4th, 2023 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

For a full subscription to our Sunday Notebook, “While We’re Young (Ideas)” please see: CLICK HERE

NFL Sports Desk: SNF Marquee Matchup

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PHILADELPHIA – (Staff and Field Level Media Report) – Dallas oft-injured quarterback Dak Prescott participated in individual drills and was more involved in Thursday’s practice than the Dallas Cowboys anticipated, making enough improvement that he’s officially questionable for tonight’s game at Philadelphia.

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Lead receiver CeeDee Lamb missed Friday’s practice with a hip injury, but Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones signaled the absence was more precaution than panic.

“He’s just working through a couple things there. Just felt like it was best for him not to practice today. We feel like he’ll get all that sorted out for the game,” Jones said Friday to 105.3 FM in Dallas.

Prescott was upgraded to limited participation Thursday, his first practice in more than four weeks, from being listed as DNP on Wednesday.

Head coach Mike McCarthy said the result of the uptick in throwing is a sore surgically repaired right thumb. That prompted the Cowboys to rest Prescott and keep him out of Friday’s team work. McCarthy said the Cowboys consider Prescott in “regeneration” mode.

Prescott is nearly five weeks removed from fracturing the thumb on his throwing hand in the Sept. 11 opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McCarthy said the big picture remains entirely positive with Prescott, who will resume throwing Saturday and before Sunday’s game at Philadelphia.

“The last two days he hit the target. (Friday) will be a recovery day for him,” McCarthy said. “We’re on schedule. He’s getting better.”

Dallas’ Reserve QB Cooper Rush is in line to start his fifth consecutive game since Prescott went down.

The Cowboys (4-1) do expect linebacker Micah Parsons (groin) and defensive end Demarcus Lawrence (chest) to be on the field for the NFC East showdown with the Eagles (5-0).

Rush said it’s important to note Prescott hasn’t been on the field, but he has impacted the end result.

“I’ve said before he’s helped tremendously with our room, myself, and everyone else on the sidelines,” Rush said. “He’s bringing energy, that’s just who he is as a person or a leader.”

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 16th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Examines the Upcoming 2022-23 NHL Season

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The weekly notebook has listed sports franchise valuations, underrated rock bands, NFL Power Rankings, and NCAA College Football Playoff possibilities week-by-week.

Next Up?

The TL Sunday Sports Notes a.k.a. “While We’re Young (Ideas)” will take a crack at the brand new National Hockey League season and list the best of the best and as the list goes, the bottom-feeder “hosers” will be left to the age-old chore (before the great Zamboni was invented) to hose down the ice for the next period.

For the ultimate face-off, “While We’re Young (Ideas)” is picking the Colorado Avalanche to play the New York Rangers in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. The Avs dominated the Edmonton Oilers in the 2022 Western Conference Finals, winning the series in four straight. There is nothing on the radar screen to spark another western winner, although Edmonton, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Nashville and Calgary remain as contenders for a Cup Finals appearance.

In the East, the New York Rangers behind goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin have stepped-up as the team to beat. To advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Rangers will have to reverse the outcome of last season’s Eastern Finals when the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated New York, 4-games-to-2.

Last season’s contenders in the East – Carolina, Florida, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Boston – can all challenge the NYR and TB with a combination of goaltending, luck, avoiding injury and playoff positioning determining who might face the West (Colorado) in the final.

While Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nikita Kucherov and Shesterkin are top-rated players and most frequently listed as favorites for NHL Most Valuable Player (Hart Trophy) winners, the player who led the Avs to their third Stanley Cup title, Nathan MacKinnon, is the player to watch. He will determine the success of the Avs and can will the club to a championship, just as he did a year ago. In recent memory, only Mark Messier’s efforts for the 1994 New York Rangers can compare.

Jack Eichel, the local Boston favorite out of BU, left Buffalo and landed in Vegas where he finished the 2022-23 season strong. Orlando-born and Toronto-bred Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, is another player to watch this season.

NHL POWER RANKINGS – (As of start of the 2022-23 NHL regular season)

  1. Colorado Avalanche
  2. New York Rangers
  3. Tampa Bay Lightning
  4. Carolina Hurricanes
  5. Edmonton Oilers
  6. Toronto Maple Leafs
  7. Calgary Flames
  8. Florida Panthers
  9. St. Louis Blues
  10. Pittsburgh Penguins
  11. Nashville Predators
  12. Minnesota Wild
  13. Boston Bruins
  14. Los Angeles Kings
  15. Las Vegas Knights
  16. Washington Capitals
  17. Dallas Stars
  18. Winnipeg Jets
  19. New York Islanders
  20. Vancouver Canucks
  21. New Jersey Devils
  22. Ottawa Senators
  23. Columbus Blue Jackets
  24. Philadelphia Flyers
  25. Buffalo Sabres
  26. Detroit Red Wings
  27. Anaheim Ducks
  28. San Jose Sharks
  29. Seattle Kraken
  30. Montreal Canadiens
  31. Chicago Blackhawks
  32. Arizona Coyotes

East: New York Rangers over Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-games-to-3

West: Colorado Avalanche over Edmonton Oilers, 4-games-to-1

Cup: Colorado Avalanche over New York Rangers, 4-games-to-2

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: In the world of sports, you learn something new everyday. A Premier League peep whispered to drop everything and tune-in to the USA Network at about 2:45pm (ET) Friday for the Brentford v. Brighton match.

The pre-game commentators for USA Net were touting their Soccer Showcase at Dilworth Park on Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia by comparing the “biggest weekend” they’ve ever televised,’ with all the “big” games in the Philly. This weekend, MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies host, and defeated the Atlanta Braves at Citizen Bank Park a couple hours ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers facing the Vancouver Canucks at the Wells Fargo Center, right across the soft pretzel-packed street. Of course, the “biggest game” of the weekend will feature the Philadelphia Eagles playing host to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field, a 9-iron from the basketball/hockey arena and an easy wedge away from the baseball field. By the way, the Sixers open the NBA regular season on Tuesday here in Boston and then return to the “City of Brotherly Love” to host the Milwaukee Bucks this Thursday.

Working backwards to what was learned this week, my surprise was teed-up by Rebecca Lowe, host of NBC’s English Premier League coverage, as her Philly-based introduction to the game in London was done just as the Brentford players took to the pitch:

BRENTFORD has a great tradition, far better than the tired, old Red Sox playing of “Sweet Caroline” in the middle of the 8th inning. During pregame introductions, seemingly every one of the 18,000+ Brentford fans raises their red & white team scarf and belts out The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” … If the team wins, the song is sung – once again – in the postgame.

The good times came to a halt postgame, however, as sadly, after the 2-nil Brentford victory and the postgame “Hey Jude II.” Striker Ivan Toney, who notched the two Brentford goals, was “subjected to disgusting, racist abuse via a direct message received on social media,” according to the club statement issued after the game.

“We condemn this discriminatory behaviour in the strongest possible terms. An attack on one of our players is an attack on all of us. Ivan will receive the full backing from the Club and from the Brentford fans who we have already seen condemning the abuse.

“We expect strong support from the police, legal authorities and from Instagram’s parent company, Meta, to ensure that the individual involved faces the full force of the law for this despicable hate crime.”

[Read more…] about TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 16th

Patriots’ Harris to Miss Games

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FOXBORO – (Staff and Wire Service Report / Field Level Media) – New England Patriots starting running back Damien Harris is expected to miss multiple games with a hamstring injury. Harris is still undergoing tests to determine the severity, per the report.

Harris sustained the injury early New England’s 29-0 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday. He played just six snaps, rushing the ball four times for 11 yards.

Harris has 257 yards rushing and three touchdowns in five starts this season. He has rushed for 1,889 yards and 20 TDs in 32 career games (30 starts), all with the Patriots, who selected him in the third round of the 2019 draft.

Second-year RB Rhamondre Stevenson likely would start in Harris’ absence. He has 372 yards rushing and a TD, having played 59 percent of the snap counts in five combined games this season.

Rookie Pierre Strong Jr. is also on the active roster.

The Patriots (2-3) visit the Cleveland Browns (2-3) on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

Ackerman and BIG EAST Visit Vatican

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ROME – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – BIG EAST Conference Commissioner Val Ackerman was joined by representatives from four BIG EAST member schools at the recent International “Sport for All” summit held on September 29-30 in Vatican City.  More than 250 participants from 40 countries participated in the event, which brought together international federations, professional sports leagues, governmental officials, faith-based organizations, non-profits, media companies, corporations, and educational institutions.   The purpose of the Summit was to promote the social and inclusive dimensions of sport in society and to encourage sports programs that foster human, educational and spiritual growth.

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The Summit featured remarks by His Holiness Pope Francis and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, both of whom spoke to the power of sports to promote solidarity, global peace and positive social change.  In prepared remarks, Pope Francis encouraged the participants to “make sport a home for everyone, something open and welcoming” and noted that “the Church supports you in this educational and social commitment.”

The Summit concluded with the release of a “Declaration of Sport,” which outlined the goals of developing sports programs that are cohesive, accessible and tailored to each person, including the socioeconomically disadvantaged, young people, refugees and migrants, women and girls, and persons with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Ackerman, who moderated two of the Summit’s working group sessions, was joined by Marquette’s Kate Braasch (Chief of Presidential Affairs), Sarah Bobert (Executive Associate Athletic Director – Internal Operations/SWA) and Matt Mitten (Professor of Law and Executive Director, National Sports Law Institute); Seton Hall’s Renee Robinson (Interim Dean, College of Communication and the Arts) and Jane McManus (Executive Director, Center for Sports Media); Georgetown’s Debora Tonelli (the university’s representative in Rome); and Creighton’s Max Engel (Associate Professor, Department of Theology).

The Summit was an outgrowth of “Sport at the Service of Humanity: The First Global Conference on Faith and Sport” held at the Vatican in October 2016, for which Ackerman served as an advisory member.  That event was followed by three U.S.- based, invitation-only, Sport at the Service of Humanity (SSH) conferences exploring similar themes, held at Villanova University (2017), Loyola Marymount University (2018) and Georgetown University (2019).

“The BIG EAST was honored to be included in the Vatican’s Sport For All Summit, the goals of which align perfectly with the mission of our schools to develop the athletic, academic and spiritual dimensions of our student-athletes and to bring the many societal benefits of sports to our greater campus communities,” said Ackerman.

Vikings Hold Off Saints in London

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LONDON – (Staff with Wire Service Report from Field Level Media) – Greg Joseph kicked five field goals, including a game-winning 47-yarder with 24 seconds left, as the Minnesota Vikings held off the New Orleans Saints 28-25 on Sunday in the NFL’s International Series in Britain.

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Wil Lutz, whose 60-yard field goal tied the score for the Saints moments earlier, tried a 61-yarder on the final play of the game, but the ball hit the left upright and the crossbar before falling short in the end zone.

Kirk Cousins completed 25 of 38 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings (3-1).

Andy Dalton, starting in place of injured Jameis Winston, completed 20 of 28 for 236 yards and a touchdown for the Saints (1-3), who lost their third straight.

After Lutz tied the score with 1:51 left, Cousins and Justin Jefferson connected on a 39-yard completion to set up Joseph.

Joseph’s 24-yard field goal increased Minnesota’s lead to 16-7 early in the third quarter.

Dalton and Marquez Callaway teamed on a 33-yard completion, leading to Latavius Murray’s 1-yard touchdown run that trimmed the lead to 16-14 at the end of the third quarter.

Minnesota used a fake punt to convert a fourth-and-2, leading to Joseph’s 46-yard field goal and a 19-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Taysom Hill ran 2 yards for a touchdown and Dalton’s two-point conversion pass to Jarvis Landry gave the Saints their first lead, 22-19 with 9:29 left.

The Vikings converted four third downs — three on defensive penalties — on their way to Jefferson’s 3-yard touchdown run. But Joseph missed the extra point, leaving Minnesota with a 25-22 lead.

That made a difference when Lutz tied the score with his 60-yarder.

Cousins’ 15-yard touchdown pass to Alexander Mattison on the first possession of the game gave the Vikings a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Saints converted three third downs, the last of which came on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to rookie Chris Olave to tie the score.

Joseph made 28- and 36-yard field goals to increase the lead to 13-7 at halftime.

–Field Level Media