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Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) | Lyons Den

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MLB All-Star Break; MiLB Gets Its Chance

people sitting on green grass field during dusk
Minor League Baseball Americana : MiLB Photo by Frankie Lopez on Unsplash

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

PORTLAND (Maine) – As much as we’d all like to find some time, a few minutes or – even better – hours, days, and weeks to relax during the hot, Dog Days of Summer, there’s always something else on the never-ending “What’s Next” list of life. There’s rarely a pause

As sure as the sports world turns, Wimbledon‘s men’s and women’s finals are being staged this weekend, the Tour de France is cycling away – starting in Italy and ending with a time trial from Monaco to Nice, France. It’s the first time the race doesn’t end in Paris because of the final preparations for the Olympics are nearly completed. The PGA Tour has travelled across the pond for the Genesis Scottish Open and next weekend’s “The Open,” and the WNBA All-Star break with its mid-season classic game scheduled for July 20 in Phoenix. Then, we’ll have a full Olympic Games break in the “W” from July 21 to August 14.

Of course, the highlight of the summer of 2024 are the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris and other select cities (like Lille for basketball) in France (July 26 to August 11).

As of Monday morning, baseball will take its break. While the vast majority of baseball’s rank and file will head to Cabo, the All-Stars will convene in Arlington, Texas for the Tuesday night classic at Globe Field. On Monday night, the players will have some fun with the annual Home Run Derby. Scheduled to compete are:

  • Pete Alonso, New York Mets
  • Alex Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies
  • Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers
  • Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
  • Teoscar Hernández, LA Dodgers
  • Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves
  • José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians
  • Bobby Witt, Jr., Kansas City Royals

That’s a formidable group of sluggers, as long as you’re okay with the fact big league HR leaders like Aaron Judge (33), (New York Yankees), Shohei Ohtani, (28) (Los Angeles Dodgers), Anthony Santander (23), (Baltimore Orioles), Josh Naylor, (22), Cleveland Guardians, Juan Soto (22), New York Yankees, Christian Walker (22), Arizona Diamondbacks are all sitting out the competition, many with built in excuses of tight rib muscles or sore backs. (All HR Leader figures noted were as of Saturday morning).

Boston’s 3B Rafa Devers hit his 22nd homer of the season on Saturday at Fenway Park. It moved him to 11th in club history with his 194th blast. Popular catcher Jason Varitek relinquished the 11th spot. Devers, who announced he’ll be sitting out the All-Star Game due to a lingering left shoulder problem, obviously can not participate in the Derby, either.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As we mind the gap for the Big Leaguers, there’s never a better time to turn our attention to the Minor Leagues (MiLB). The annual Futures All-Star Game is ongoing as this is being typed. Cincinnati Reds prospect Cam Collier crushed a 409-foot home run as the NL defeated the AL, 6-1. Collier, the 18th overall pick in the 2022 Draft, has 13 homers for High-A Dayton on the year.

Looking deeper into the world of MiLB, there’s a great story brewing in Iowa, of all places for you Field of Dreams fans.

Sioux City’s J.D. Scholten improved his pitching record to 2-0, and snapped Fargo-Moorhead’s American Association best five-game win streak. Scholten is a 44 year old Iowa State Representative in the State House. The political pitcher last suited up for the Sioux City Explorers in 2007 but gave up his baseball career for a job in politics. But the Rep couldn’t stop the itch of pitching a baseball and returned to pro ball in the Netherlands last summer before returning to his State House gig.

This summer, with only three hours notice before taking to the mound, Scholten accepted a spot start for ailing starter Jared Wetherbee.

‘They made ‘The Rookie’ about Jim Morris making it to the Majors with the Tampa Rays at age 35, J.D.’s story should at least merit a special on C Span,’ joked American Association Commissioner Josh Schaub. “The story unfolding, given the quality of players Scholten’s faced in both Milwaukee and now Fargo/Fargo-Moorhead, is quite amazing.”

The American Association of Professional Baseball is a 12-franchise independent league, with no direct affiliations to the major league clubs. In other words, everyone is a free agent and can be called to the Show. The American Association, Atlantic League, Frontier League and Pioneer League are all baseball leagues that have been designated as Partner Leagues of Major League Baseball.

A road trip to visit every AA club at its home field would make for quite an adventure. All teams are situated in the Midwest and cover nine states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin) and one Canadian province (Manitoba).

Fill up the gas tank.

CLOSER TO HOME: The Cape League is a personal favorite, not only for its close proximity to Boston but also for the pure baseball vibe in the idyllic setting Cape Cod towns from Bourne to Chatham.

Yarmouth-Dennis leads the Cape Cod East Division with a 15-7 record while the Wareham Gatemen are 15-7, as well. Wareham leads the Cape Cod West Division ladder, just two games (in loss column) ahead of the Cotuit Kettleers. The regular season runs through August 4, and a couple short playoff series decide a champion.

The clubs are mostly comprised of top-notch collegiate stars, many who will have their names called this weekend during the 2024 MLB Draft. The Draft has now become part of the All-Star Week. It includes a whopping 20 rounds, including the first two rounds, compensatory rounds, competitive balance rounds and prospect promotion incentive selections on the first night of the soiree.

Coverage begins with a preview show at 6:00pm (ET) tonight on MLB Network, MLB.TV, MLB.com and the MLB app. The actual Draft begins at 7:00pm (ET) and ESPN broadcasts the first round.

SEA DOGS are LEAD DOGS: The Portland Sea Dogs, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox are leading a service for blind and visually impaired fans and it might be something that can make a mark in all sports, especially MiLB and MLB.

We’re talking a major impact.

Noting an MiLB.com story on the service which explains, “The Double-A affiliate of the Red Sox plays in a park that’s down the block from the headquarters of The Iris Network, a nonprofit with the mission of “helping people with vision impairment or blindness attain independence and community integration,” and it includes “apartments where many with vision impairment live.” The Sea Dogs’ staff has long taken pride in bringing the joys of Minor League Baseball to everybody, and when a new company stepped-up with a service to assist those fans, the team jumped at the opportunity.

The company, Aira, and its board member Kevin Phelan, contacted the club before this season, and explained the system. The team felt the partnership was a no-brainer.

Says MiLB, “Aira’s app allows users to connect with live representatives who can utilize the phone’s camera to see the surrounding area and talk a user through, for example, finding a seat or the shortest concessions line.”

Case-in-point: “Randy and Sarah Bellavance love attending Double-A games at Hadlock Field in Portland. This year – the second year the diehard Portland Sea Dogs fans have had season tickets -their local ballpark feels more welcoming than ever.

“The Bellavances, a married couple who are both blind, typically take in the on-field sounds in front of their seats near first base while also chatting with the fans around them – lots of whom have become friends – while one of them listens to the Sea Dogs’ radio broadcast and relays key information to the other. As much as they’ve enjoyed the game day experiences for years and years, Hadlock has become an even easier and more convenient environment via the Aira Visual Interpreter app on their phones, available for free thanks to the team’s partnership with a tech company that specializes in accessibility (and takes care of the basic costs).

“I can tell you without a doubt – and I’m going to be honest here – I was so proud that I was able to make it down to the ladies room on my own with Aira,” said Sarah Bellavance, “and on my own I was able to figure out how to get back. That’s something I don’t do.”

THE TECH is THE KEY: Sometimes, it’s the simplest ideas that gain traction. Aira has found the key. Phelan, who moved to the Portland area over a decade ago to be near the Baxter School for the Deaf after his middle child didn’t pass a hearing screening, identified a need for a service like Aira’s in part through his own experience navigating the intersection of tech and accessibility.

He also realized that while federal funding has made sign language interpretation services widely available to people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, there’s no such pathway for interpretation services for people who are blind or low-vision. This gap led to Aira, which offers a subscription model for things like in-home use but relies on successful partnerships with businesses and governmental agencies.

“If you look at the community in accessibility space, they’ve been told about so many new tech [products] … it’s all high-promise, and the tech is either too complicated, or it just doesn’t work,” Phelan said.

Aira works.

In the past, it’s helped a Boston Marathon runner (Erich Manser) completed the 26.2 mile race and qualified for the Iron Man Triathlon, all while getting guidance assistant from his sight provider based in Cleveland, Ohio.

“Aira has been around for almost a decade now,” noted Phelan. “Why it’s done well and why we’re the No. 1 product out there, is that it’s simple and the tech works. Tap a button, the phone camera turns on, and Randy and Sarah can get that information independently.”

Phelan hopes to take it further.

“The relationship between this community and sports… I’ve been blown away with how many people are blind and have a passion for sports,” said Phelan, who pointed out that his own love of baseball has been shaped in part by listening to Red Sox play-by-play broadcaster Joe Castiglione.

“I’ve attended games with people who are blind, and there are always other fans who are wondering, ‘Why are they at this game if they can’t see?’ But they’re following the game, they love the game and they know the game, and they want that experience. Aira is filling in that part of the experience where Randy wants to find his seat without going to guest services. Randy wants to find the shortest line for beer or a hot dog,” said Phelan.

For the Bellavances, who haven’t visited Fenway Park since Randy made a somewhat overwhelming trip there before the couple met, the experience Aira has delivered at Hadlock Field invites the notion of more accessible experiences at ballparks everywhere.

“I would like to see it at every park,” Randy said. “It would be my hope that, if you have it at one level, I think eventually you’ll get it into the next. I know people who live in Washington DC and Maryland who go to Washington Nationals games and they’d love to have something like this.”

MiLB and the Portland Sea Dogs are paving the foundation for a truly impactful step for professional sports. The Sea Dogs are becoming the “See” Dogs and MLB is taking notice.

So soon, will the other professional and collegiate sports, who can package the teach and match it up with the right sponsor for a win-win-win, all around. Fans like the Bellavances will win the most.

Here’s the full story from MiLB.com

TID-BITS AND GOLDEN NUGGETS: Hank Egan, a longtime NBA Assistant Coach, widely recognized for his fundamental teaching of the game was named as the recipient of the 2024 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award, the National Basketball Coaches Association (NBCA) announced today.

Egan began his coaching career in 1966 as an assistant at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1971, he was promoted to Head Coach and served in that capacity for 13 seasons. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Coach, Gregg Popovich, both played (1966-1970) and served as an assistant coach (1973-1979) for Coach Hank Egan at the Air Force Academy. Coach Popovich credits a lot of his career success to his longtime mentor Coach Hank Egan.

“I’m thrilled that Hank Egan is receiving this well-deserved honor,” said Popovich, the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. “During his 40-plus seasons as a coach, he taught, inspired and supported so many of us. His passion for basketball combined with his knowledge of the game, made him one of the best coaches I’ve ever encountered. I’m forever grateful for Hank’s mentorship and friendship.”

After winning nearly 150 games at the Air Force Academy, Coach Egan was hired to lead the University of San Diego basketball program. During the 1986-1987 season, Coach Egan led the San Diego Toreros to a 24-6 season, a regular season West Coast Atlantic Conference (WCAC) championship, as well as a trip to the NCAA tournament. He won back-to-back conference Coach of the Year Awards (1986 & 1987) and finished his career at the University of San Diego compiling a record of 156-126 as a Head Coach.

Coach Egan entered the NBA coaching ranks in 1994 with the San Antonio Spurs. During his first two seasons as an NBA Assistant Coach, Egan helped lead the Spurs to a 62-win season (1994-95) and a 59-win season (1995-96), as well as two consecutive Western Conference Finals appearances. Coach Gregg Popovich later became the Spurs Head Coach, during the 1996-1997 season, and Egan remained on his staff for six more seasons. In eight total seasons with the Spurs, Coach Egan amassed a record of 403-221 (.646) with seven playoff appearances, including winning the 1999 NBA Championship.

The Emirates NBA Cup Group Play Draw (NBA)

CUP of CUPS: The NBA Cup, complete with sponsor attachment by Emirates, held its pool play draw while all the NBA teams convened in Las Vegas for a combo of USA Basketball and Summer League play. One thing is for sure, Lady Luck shined upon the Boston Celtics, as the club fell into the weakest pool of opponents.

You can measure the groups by way of the graphic above, but here’s Boston’s draw in East Group C …

  • Boston Celtics
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Washington Wizards

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 7

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While We’re Young (Ideas) | On Breakfast at Wimbledon

BOSTON – If you’re lucky enough to have a long holiday weekend which started Thursday with a 4th of July (Independence Day) celebration and will conclude Sunday night when the Boston Red Sox visit Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for Sunday Night Baseball, you’ll appreciate thoughts of 4th of July weekends gone by.

Early memories are from pinics at Salisbury Park in East Meadow which was later named Eisenhower Park in honor of President Dwight Eisenhower, or maybe John Candy? That came soon after Idlewild Airport was changed to JFK. Come nightfall, the best fireworks display on Long Island was staged at Eisenhower.

Daytime hours were filled with playing golf, tennis, softball or street hockey at a great (big) rink which had an oval for roller skating wrapped around it. Yes, there were a few roller bladers tattooed with “MYLEC” from a errant, hard, orange hockey ball shot over the boards. My fingers are pointed outbound, because this scribe kept his shot low and on goal, except when picking the upper right hand corner with a good wrist shot.

That leads us to a special memory, reserved for the early morning hours on the 4th of July. It was marketed to viewers of NBC Sports as Breakfast at Wimbledon. The late, great sportscaster Dick Enberg called the action and “Bud” Collins Jr. was awaiting at courtside for interviews with the winners in a tiny alcove just outside the dressing rooms.

Although Wimbledon has such a storied past, dating back to 1877, the timeframe your Sunday Notes keeper recalls is know as the “Open Era.” Wimbledon was paused for World War I (1915-1918) and World War II (1940-1945), but the names of the winners in men’s singles resonate with many. Bill Tilden in the ‘20s, Fred Perry in the 30s, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and John Newcombe in the 1960s and ‘70s dominated the men’s draw.

Yet, in 1976, Björn Borg came along and for five straight years, and all other challengers were turned aside. Runners-up included tennis greats like Romania’s Ilie “Nasty” Năstase – a personal favorite, Americans Jimmy Connors, Roscoe Tanner and John McEnroe were turned aside. It wasn’t until 1981, when McEnroe took a four set victory over Borg (4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4), that the tennis world’s best could be an American again.

Soon after, legendary matches, pitting McEnroe and Conners, took place with McEnroe earning his reputations as the ugly American ‘brat’ for the ages. The kid from Douglaston, Queens, not far from tennis alcoves in Forest Hills, Flushing Meadow and right at the Douglaston Club as his father made a living of service in the United States Air Force.

It was the golden era of men’s tennis and it soon led to a similar status for the women’s game at the The All England Lawn Tennis Club when the likes of Althea Gibson, Billie Jean King, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong gave way to Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

With Evert as a major rival, Navratilova reached the women’s (they call it ladies) singles finals 12 times, including nine straight seasons, with nine victories and a career total of 59 Grand Slam/Major titles.

The courts have been renovated, centre court has a roof and the tiny neighborhood town has given way to weather assured television programming. There’s never been a time for such a tournament, really a sport, to marvel in its glory years the way Wimbledon did with Navratilova and Evert, along with Borg, Conners and Ivan Lendl (on the Hard-Tru courts) – (with his alter-ego with similar playing style, Mr. Lendl-Lyons) headlining the draw.

Since those glory years, there’s been formidable champions. Just listing the men’s side, you have to consider these players to be among the all-time best:

  1. Boris Becker
  2. Pete Sampras
  3. Roger Federer
  4. Rafael Nadal
  5. Novak Djokovic

And, not to be overlooked on the women’s (ladies) side, Serena Williams cemented her stake as the greatest of all time. There will never be another Serena Williams. But, while the more recent men’s tennis rivalries deserve mention, none can match the drama and intrigue of the Borg-Connors-McEnroe era. It’s very possible none ever will.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Former super featherweight champion Ryan Garcia was expelled from the World Boxing Council (WBC) after making discriminatory remarks on social media. … “Exercising my authority as president of the WBC , I am hereby expelling Ryan Garcia from any activity with our organization. We reject any form of discrimination. I fear for Ryan well being as he has declined multiple attempts for our help with mental health and substance abuse,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaimansaid upon rendering the suspension. … Garcia later apologized and agreed to counseling. PGA TOUR rookie Hayden Springer shot some fireworks off for the July 4th crowds at the John Deere Classic. His opening round was highlighted by eight birdies and two eagles during his tournament debut, as the rook signed for a 12-under (59). … He’s the 13th different player (14 times) to shoot a sub-60 round on the PGA TOUR. Jim Furyk is the only player with 58 and 59. Springer’s round included: Hitting 10-of-14 fairways, 14-of-18 greens in regulation and 21 total putts (sank 112’ 6” of putts). His career-low round on TOUR came in his 19th start. His previous best was an 8-under (64) during R1/2024 American Express. … The USA Basketball Men’s U-17 National Team took a step closer to their goal of winning a gold medal at the 2024 FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup by beating Canada, 111-60, on Friday in Istanbul. The USA will take on New Zealand in the semifinals tomorrow, July 6, after the NZ defeated Lithuania 73-65 in the quarterfinals. … His friends can call him royal and his enemies can call him ancient, and they’ll both be correct. The R&A has named former rugby club CEO Mark Darbon as its new chief executive and secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland, said the governing board in a statement this week. The Open will be upon us in two full weeks (following the Genesis of Scotland). If you’re keeping score at home, that two major golf executives to head to the 19th hole in two weeks, after Seth Waugh of the PGA of America stepped down. The PGA has begun a national search to replace Waugh.

Thayer’s Roenick Leads Seven to Hall

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its next seven members, with NHL stars Jeremy Roenick, Pavel Datsyuk and Shea Weber among the Class of 2024. Roenick was born in Boston and attended Thayer Academy as a youngster. He was drafted 8th overall right out of high school by the Chicago Blackhawks.

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Women’s hockey stars Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl were also elected in the player category, and executives Colin Campbell and David Poile were chosen from the builder category to round out the group.

The Hall of Fame’s selection committee voted Tuesday. The Class of 2024’s induction ceremony is slated for Nov. 11 in Toronto.

Roenick was one of the earliest American NHL stars, as he scored 513 goals with 703 assists across 20 seasons in the league from 1988-2009. Best known for his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, Roenick also suited up for the Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks.

To this day, Roenick is the fourth-leading American-born goal-scorer in league history behind only Brett Hull, Mike Modano and Keith Tkachuk. He had been eligible for the Hall of Fame for more than a decade.

“I’m so happy, I can’t thank everyone who was behind this honor enough,” Roenick said in a news release. “I’m at a loss for words and I’m never at a loss for words. Getting over this last hockey hurdle means so much to me.”

Datsyuk, who began his professional career in his native Russia, came to the NHL in 2001 and played 14 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings. He tallied 918 points (314 goals, 604 assists) and won Stanley Cups with Detroit in 2002 and 2008. Datsyuk also won Olympic gold in 2018 and was a four-time winner of the Lady Byng Trophy, awarded for gentlemanly conduct.

Weber spent 11 seasons with the Nashville Predators and five with the Montreal Canadiens. The defenseman racked up 443 points (166 goals, 277 assists) in the NHL and won gold with Canada in consecutive Olympics (2010, 2014). As a junior hockey player, he won a Memorial Cup with the Kelowna Rockets.

Darwitz scored the winning goal for Minnesota to beat Harvard in the 2005 NCAA championship game. She went on to suit up for the United States at the Olympics in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

Wendell-Pohl also played collegiately for Minnesota and won the Patty Kazmaier Award for the top female college hockey player in 2005. She was also the MVP of the 2005 IIHF World Championships, the site of the United States’ first-ever gold medal. She captained the 2006 Olympic team.

Campbell has served as a player, coach and executive across a 52-year hockey career, including the senior executive vice president for the NHL’s hockey operations, officiating and central scouting departments for the past 25 years. Campbell won a Stanley Cup as associate coach of the New York Rangers in 1994.

Poile retired from his role as general manager of the Nashville Predators last summer and holds the honors of the winningest and longest-tenured general manager in league history. He was GM of the Washington Capitals from 1982-97 before taking the same role in Nashville and holding it for 27 years. Between those two tenures, Poile’s teams amassed a 1,533-1,172-192-178 record.

“I’m happy for my family and for the life I have been able to live through hockey,” Poile said. “Thanks to the Selection Committee for this tremendous honor.”

–Field Level Media

Filed Under: NHL Tagged With:

Red Sox Close Road Trip vs Lodolo

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CINCINNATI – (Staff an d Wire Service Report) – The Cincinnati Reds will send one of the National League’s hottest pitchers to the mound Sunday afternoon when they try to win the rubber match of a three-game series against the visiting Boston Red Sox.

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Left-hander Nick Lodolo (8-2, 2.76 ERA) is listed as Cincinnati’s starter for Sunday’s matchup. Lodolo won his fifth consecutive start Tuesday when he pitched seven innings in a 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh. He recorded eight strikeouts, gave up four hits and didn’t walk a batter. Lodolo has limited opponents to seven runs in 30 1/3 innings over his past five outings.

“I thought, overall, I just felt in control,” Lodolo said following Tuesday’s victory. “I just want to go out there and give us a good chance to win. … The goal is for me to go out there and get myself in position to win.

“I’m really just five days at a time. I feel like you start looking ahead, you never know. I just have to stay present and do it again in five days.”

The only run Lodolo allowed against Pittsburgh was a solo home run to Ke’Bryan Hayes with one out in the seventh inning. He retired 11 in a row before giving up the home run.

Lodolo is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in his career against the Red Sox. He’s made one appearance against Boston and allowed three runs on three hits — including two homers — in five innings of a 5-3 setback on Sept. 20, 2022.

Cincinnati opened the three-game series against Boston with a 5-2 victory on Friday. The Reds, however, squandered a three-run lead in a 4-3 loss on Saturday and fell to 2-5 in their past seven games.

Boston has won six of its past seven. Saturday’s win improved the Red Sox to 4-1 on their current road trip.

“Secures a good week, right,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “That’s four (wins) this week. We get a chance tomorrow against a good lefty. He’s really good, so we’ll see what we do. It feels good winning this one.”

“A good team win,” Boston’s Rob Refsnyder said. “Just looking back at it, it feels like everyone contributed.”

The Red Sox are expected to employ a bullpen game Sunday after sending right-handed starting pitcher Cooper Criswell to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday. Criswell made 11 starts for the Red Sox after being recalled from Worcester.

Right-hander Zack Kelly (2-1, 1.75) is expected to get the start. Kelly is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two career appearances (1 1/3 innings) against Cincinnati.

The Red Sox didn’t play Thursday and have three days off during a 12-day stretch that begins June 27. That could allow Boston to use its top four starters — Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Nick Pivetta — until at least early July.

The Reds have hit five home runs in the first two games of the series but had two players thrown out at the plate and another picked off second base Saturday.

“We’re going to be an aggressive baserunning team,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “We have to continue to learn from each thing and get every edge on the bases. It’s going to be a part of our game.”

–Field Level Media

Sox Visit Power-Broker Blue Jays

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TORONTO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Blue Jays will be looking to carry a rare power surge into the opener of a three-game series with the visiting Boston Red Sox tonight. Toronto used a grand slam by Daulton Varsho and a two-run blast by Ernie Clement to beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-6 on Sunday in the rubber match of a three-game series.

The Blue Jays will complete a six-game homestand with their series against the Red Sox, who set a franchise record with nine stolen bases on Sunday night in a 9-3 drubbing of the Yankees. Boston took two of three games from New York and has won seven of its past 11 overall.

David Hamilton had four of the nine steals for the Red Sox, and he also had two hits, three runs and an RBI.

“(Hamilton) kind of carried the load there,” said Boston left fielder Jarren Duran, who went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases. “It just kind of shows that when we can run the bases like we can, it does a lot for the team and puts us really in a good spot.”

Ceddanne Rafaela went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one steal and is 11-for-19 (.579) during a five-game hitting streak.

“Like I always say, we’re gonna battle, we’re gonna make mistakes and we’re gonna win games,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “But that was good baseball (Sunday). Expect that from us. We’re gonna push the envelope. We have a bunch of athletes, and it just happens that the three of them are getting on base.”

Perhaps Toronto could take a page out of Boston’s book, as the Blue Jays have not been able to rely on the long ball to generate offense. They have 58 homers this year, tied with the Washington Nationals for third fewest in the majors.

Toronto manager John Schneider is hoping that Sunday’s grand slam gets Varsho and the entire offense going.

“I think I’ve hit him everywhere in the lineup, which isn’t ideal,” Schneider said of Varsho. “We joke about that almost every day, me and him. That’s a huge swing, obviously. Varsho is getting a better and better understanding of where he can handle the ball.”

Still, Toronto knows it has to get creative if it wants to challenge opposing pitching staffs.

“We can obviously hit the long ball, but we’ve also got to play some small ball at times,” Varsho said. “That’s what helps us win a lot of ballgames. Isiah Kiner-Falefa does it really well — I think better than anybody else on our team — being able to play small ball and move runners.”

Right-hander Nick Pivetta (3-4, 3.88 ERA) will try to contain the Blue Jays’ lineup on Monday.

Pivetta faced the Philadelphia Phillies in his last start, getting roughed up for four runs and six hits in four innings on Wednesday. He did not factor into the decision.

In 15 career appearances (13 starts) against Toronto, Pivetta is 2-4 with a 5.35 ERA.

Kikuchi came away with a win against the Milwaukee Brewers last Tuesday, giving up three hits across five scoreless innings. He is 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA in seven career appearances (five starts) vs. Boston.

–Field Level Media

DeChambeau Earns U.S. Open Win

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PINEHURST – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Bryson DeChambeau parred the final three holes to complete a 1-over-par 71, and that was enough for a one-shot victory at the U.S. Open in North Carolina, winning the championship for the second time in five years.

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DeChambeau, who began the day with a three-shot lead, finished at 6-under 274, benefitting from Rory McIlroy’s late putting failures.

McIlroy, who gained the lead on the back side, bogeyed the last hole by missing a par putt from about 4 feet. Then DeChambeau, playing in the last group, clinched it with a par putt after blasting out of a greenside bunker on his third shot.

DeChambeau became the second former Southern Methodist University golfer to win a U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, with this title coming 25 years after Payne Stewart’s memorable championship.

McIlroy’s 69 was tainted by bogeys on three of the last four holes, and he finished as the U.S. Open runner-up for the second year in a row. McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open, was trying to secure his fifth major championship and his first since 2014.

Tigers Get Four in 10th to Win

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BOSTON – Detroit’s Wenceel Perez had three hits and scored twice while Javier Baez drove in two key insurance runs for the Tigers, who rattled off a four-run 10th inning to finish off a come-from-behind, 8-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.

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Baez hit a two-run single that highlighted the go-ahead inning against Boston reliever Cam Booser (0-2), helping Detroit salvage a four-game series split.

Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and Carson Kelly all had two hits apiece as part of Detroit’s 14-hit effort. Andrew Chafin (1-1) recorded the last four outs to earn the win.

After Detroit climbed out of a 3-0 deficit with four straight runs between the fifth and seventh innings, Boston’s Rafael Devers hit a game-tying solo shot off Alex Faedo in the eighth, clearing the Green Monster in left-center field.

In the ninth, after a Rob Refsnyder two-out single through the right side and back-to-back walks issued by two Detroit relievers, Connor Wong’s deep fly ball was caught in right to force extras.

Mark Canha’s infield single started the Tigers’ go-ahead rally in the 10th. Ibanez’s pinch-hit double inside the third base line made it 5-4 before Baez stroked a two-run, two-out single to left and Kelly doubled off the Monster to add insurance.

Devers and Jarren Duran were both 2-for-4 for Boston.

Boston struck first as Enmanuel Valdez knocked a two-out RBI single into center. Wilyer Abreu’s one-out double sparked the rally.

The Red Sox built a 3-0 lead with single runs in each of the early innings.

In the second, back-to-back singles by David Hamilton and Jarren Duran allowed Boston to double its lead. Duran ripped a liner back past Tigers starter Casey Mize (four innings, five hits, two earned runs) on the mound to make it 2-0.

A leadoff walk to Dominic Smith and a Devers triple deep into the right field corner added the third Red Sox run in the third.

Boston starter Brayan Bello allowed just two hits across the first four innings and finished 6 1/3, but Detroit got on the board in a three-hit fifth which began with an Urshela double to center and Akil Baddoo single through the right-side hole. Urshela scored the first run on a wild pitch.

Urshela hit a sacrifice fly that helped get the Tigers within 3-2 in the sixth.

After back-to-back singles with one out in the seventh ended Bello’s day, Detroit flipped the score for the first time at 4-3 on Perez’s double and a Canha groundout. Bello was charged with four runs on eight hits, with three walks and five strikeouts.

One of Boston’s ninth-inning walks was drawn by Springfield, Mass., native Jamie Westbrook, who was making his MLB debut after spending more than a decade in the minor leagues.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Notes | #Grateful4Bill

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The first thing I thought when I heard the terrible Memorial Day news of Bill Walton’s death was of Bill’s wonderful wife, Lori. Then, a flashback, worthy of an Orson Welles Hollywood movie. It came from two summers ago at a Basketball Hall of Fame press conference at Mohegan Sun when Bill and Lori sauntered into the auditorium just as the function began. Bill, ever so politely, asked me to scoot over a bit so the three of us could sit together in a comfortable booth on the venue’s concourse floor. A perfect vantage point.

After all the many years of working with the NBA and alongside of the best of the best in commissioners, executives, coaches, players and media, it meant so much that BILL WALTON felt comfortable enough, welcome enough and secure in our friendship to sit right down and join little old me.

That flashback quickly dissolved into a highlight film, mostly of a player in UCLA Bruins Blue and Gold, but a little highlight reel of two Celtics – Bill and Larry Bird – in Green and White. The UCLA segment first, of course, reelin’ in the years of the famed 21-of-22 FG performance. It was Walton’s greatest game – the 1973 NCAA national championship against Memphis State. Walton, UCLA’s starting center, was in foul trouble in the first half, but went on to score 44 points on 21-for-22 shooting, while he grabbed 13 rebounds, had two assists and a blocked shot in UCLA’s 87-66 victory. It was the school’s ninth title in 10 years.

Fast forward a year, and the Red and White of North Carolina State and David Thompson eeked into the picture, defeating Walton’s Bruins in the NCAA championship of 1974.

In between, on January 26, 1974, John Shumate, Adrian Dantley and Gary Brokaw’s Notre Dame team ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak with a 71-70 victory in South Bend, Indiana. It was a devastating loss for Walton’s Bruins as they’d drop two more regular season games, their lost weekend of February 15-16, 1974, losing at Oregon State and Oregon on consecutive nights. The NC State game would be their fourth loss vs. 26 wins.

Walton went 86-4 (30-0; 30-0; 26-4) in his college career. If you add the two title-winning seasons, the first 13 games of his senior season at UCLA, his season on the Bruins’ freshman team, and his final two varsity seasons at Helix High School in La Mesa, Walton owned a personal 142-game winning streak.

That thought brought me back to reality and the need to reckon with the fact I’d never see Bill again. The stream of ESPN 30-for-30s airing on my TV screen in tribute further proved the point. The rest of my days, my memories of Bill Walton – playing basketball, talking basketball, talking music or politics or the injustices in this world – would need to air on the reel-to-reel in my mind, tucked right next to the music of the late Jerry Garcia and long ago memories of the Grateful Dead.

Bill and Lori Walton Celebrating Robert Parish – “Hail to the Chief” at TD Boston Garden’s “Tradition” with yours truly (Photo by Steve Lipofsky)

I woke up on May 28, hoping it was a bad dream.

It wasn’t.

Bill Walton’s name sat atop the trending topics of Yahoo news and X. The story of his death was summed up by CBS’ Dana Jacobson in a classy segment on the CBS Morning show. Dan Patrick did a terrific job relaying his feelings for Walton , a frequent guest on the morning radio show, while past appearances of Walton as a guest tied a bow around the three-hour show.

As usual, ESPN’s Jay Bilas had the most compelling commentary, noting Bill would always call him “Jake,” rather than Jay and he wore that like a badge of honor from his basketball idol. Bilas noted he had a list of two people who were welcome in any room at any time and in any situation. Two people who always raised the fun-factor and made everyone smile or laugh when they came on the scene – (former Seton Hall Coach and current college basketball commentator) Bill Raftery and Bill Walton.

Reality kept setting in. It was honest heartache, a feeling of depression and funk, a feeling that I could not shake, although I did my best to “Shake it, Shake it, Sugaree.”

Bill was gone. He’ll be blessed as they play him off to “Fire on the Mountain.” This tribute will bring you right there. It will also bring his friends to tears. MUST WATCH

“Long distance runner, what you holdin’ out for?

Caught in slow motion in a dash for the door

The flame from your stage has now spread to the floor

You gave all you had, why you wanna give more?

The more that you give, the more it will take

To the thin line beyond, which you really can’t fake

Fire! Fire on the mountain

Fire! Fire on the mountain.” – by Mickey Hart and Robert Hunter

ESPN’s art for the three episode 30-for-30 on Bill Walton (ESPN)

Where do we go from here?

As Patrick said as he began his radio show, Bill would never want to be the subject of his friends and family being stuck in a funk, carrying on or crying. He’d prefer we celebrate the fact he was the self-proclaimed luckiest man in the world.

He is. He was. He always will be just that, because Bill will ride off to the sunset, locked in our minds, dancing his way to the next show as “Fire on the Mountain” plays him through the backstage to the exit ramp.

Just from reading all the wonderful tributes written to and about Bill this past week, all of them with the common theme of how he was truly unique, one of one, spirited, generous, and a hundred other wonderful characteristics, there’s still a funky void left in the life of everyone who knew him – and there are thousands of his disciples.

Maybe it’s from the shock. No one in my considerable circle had heard Bill was deathly sick with cancer. He kept it tight. Many had seen him at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend and Tech Summit this past February. Maybe it’s the larger than life persona that simply can not be replaced. The outpouring of love and admiration must be of comfort. The soundtrack of the Grateful Dead can act as a shot of morphine to dull the pain. The plentiful supply of UCLA, Portland, San Diego, and Boston highlights supply the memories, along with an endless string of hysterical or profound sound bites and full length interviews.

But it just can’t end.

Surely, there’s deeper meaning to his life, aside from the fact he lifted us in spirit, he lifted us in soul, and he made us all better people and his teammates better players while instilling a super-human spirit of love, love of people, the game of basketball and the world of music – the common denominators for most of those who intersected at Haight-Ashbury or Causeway and Canal.

Delving deeper, from Bill’s book, “Back From the Dead,” the liner notes and reviews read: “In February 2008, Bill Walton suffered a spinal collapse so devastating he was unable to get up. From the time of his spinal collapse until his eventual recovery, he spent most of three years flat on the ground. The pain was excruciating, and he thought seriously about killing himself. But he survived, and Back from the Dead is the story of his injury and recovery, set in the context of his amazing athletic career.

“Walton grew up in southern California in the 1950s and was deeply influenced by the political and cultural upheavals of the 1960s. Although Walton identified strongly with the counterculture, especially in music, the greatest influence on him outside his family was UCLA Coach John Wooden, a thoughtful, precise mentor who seemed immune to the turmoil of the times. The two men would speak every day for forty-three years until Wooden’s death at age ninety-nine.

Wooden once said that no greatness ever came without sacrifice. In this “frequently stirring memoir…Walton’s love for life and the people and things in it – including his college coach, John Wooden – is infectious. You can’t stop reading, or rooting for the man,” wrote Publishers Weekly.

“Back from the Dead shares his dramatic story, including his basketball and broadcasting careers, his many setbacks and rebounds, and his ultimate triumph as the toughest of champions,” concluded Kirkus Reviews.

Walton’s battle with mental health was personal, but he made the decision to make it very public and help others by telling his story – a story that made it very clear just how close he was to taking his own life.

Walton’s death came the same week that NBA coach and TV broadcaster Stan Van Gundy made public that his wife, Kim, died by suicide in August 2023 after battling mental health issues. The same week, PGA Tour golf pro Grayson Murray also died by suicide, just a day after withdrawing from the Charles Schwab Challenge golf tournament in Ft Worth, Texas. Murray had long battled depression and anxiety and was outspoken to the Tour officials to improve its mental health awareness and approach, which it did.

Walton was able to fight off the demons of depression and claw his way back to rejoin his band of NBA colleagues and broadcast partners. His will to live and his love of life, his family, especially his wife, Lori, surely the spiritual guide. But Walton’s final battle was an unwinable match against cancer, a plague that touches us all.

Through his life, his game, his career and his spreading the gospel of hoops, music and an everlasting love for everyone he interacted with along the road, Bill Walton will live on in all of us. Just remember the words to the songs, especially the one Walton quoted most often.

“Now he’s gone, now he’s gone, Lord he’s gone, he’s gone

Like a steam locomotive, rollin’ down the track

He’s gone, gone, nothin’s gonna bring him back… He’s gone,

Nine mile skid on a ten mile ride, hot as a pistol but cool inside

Cat on a tin roof, dogs in a pile

Nothin’ left to do but smile, smile, smile.”

– by Robert Hunter and Jerome Garcia

Celtics Pursue East Sweep vs Pacers

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INDIANAPOLIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics are in the driver’s seat but Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle says his club will be controlling the throttle in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.
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There’s no reason for Indiana to do anything other than push the pedal to the metal on Monday night in Indianapolis since no team has recovered from a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history.
“We’re not going to be deterred,” Carlisle said of the mountain to navigate. “We’re going to be back here Monday night looking to extend the series and we’re going to come at it even harder. We have to. We don’t have a choice. … Believe me, we are going after them.”
While the Pacers will stay off the brakes, the Celtics will be trying to close the door on the series.
Top-seeded Boston moved within one victory of advancing to the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons by rallying from an 18-point, third-quarter deficit to post a 114-111 road victory in Game 3 on Saturday.
“We’ve met every challenge,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. “We’re in great position right now, one win away from the finals. But we can’t look past Monday or anything like that, and we have a special opportunity to go back to the finals.”

Seize the Grey Takes Preakness

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BALTIMORE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Seize the Grey led gate to wire, holding off a charge from Mystik Dan to capture the 149th Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.

Over a muddy track, Seize the Grey broke swiftly under jockey Jaime Torres and led the field out to sensible fractions. Seeking to replicate the ride that led Mystik Dan to the Kentucky Derby two weeks earlier, jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. had his mount in an early ground-saving position stalking the early pace with Imagination to the outside.

When the field hit the far turn, Seize the Grey moved on the rail, forcing Mystik Dan to his outside. Now having the ground saving position, Seize the Gray opened up a gap, which Mystik Dan failed to close at the head of the stretch. The winning time for the 1 3/16-mile race was 1:56.82.

Mystik Dan finished 2 1/4 lengths back of Seize the Gray. His loss extends the current Triple Crown drought to six years. Catching Freedom finished third.

Seize the Grey’s win made the 88-year-old D. Wayne Lucas the oldest trainer in history to win a Triple Crown race. Conversely, Torres won in his first Triple Crown start.

–Field Level Media