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McGrady Takes Next Step to Build OBL

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ORLANDO – OBL (Ones Basketball League) announced the re-envisioning of its premier 1×1 basketball league founded by basketball Hall of Famer and entrepreneur Tracy McGrady and now backed by a multi-million dollar growth capital investment by Next Gen Sports. “OBL: Battle of the Cities” will take an expanded version of the original OBL, with elite one-on-one athletes bringing their own vision, culture and prestige tied to the city in which they were raised, played basketball or now call home. Each city-based team will have a three man roster, comprised of players who best reflect the tradition and basketball culture of the city the team represents, hand selected by the Owners/GMs. “OBL: Battle of the Cities” will take place over multiple weeks in Orlando, Florida, where McGrady was raised playing 1×1 himself, from May 15 to June 30, with teams competing for the swagger, pride, and identity of every city represented.

Potential participants can still submit information at https://oblhoops.com/

“The way we’re building this version of OBL, it’s not just about skill, it’s about toughness, personality and authenticity. Every team and every player is bringing their own story and their own energy to the game,” McGrady said. “We’re also looking forward to the legends stepping in to help shape these teams.

“We’ve got some of the most respected voices in basketball, media and entertainment getting involved and people who really understand the culture of the game. Together we’re building something that goes way beyond just one-on-one basketball.”

In addition to McGrady’s leadership, each city-based team will be led by their celebrity team owner/GM who will select the very best 1×1 hoopers to represent each city.

The cities and coaches include:

  1. Team Orlando – Vince Carter, NBA Hall of Famer
  2. Team Washington, DC – Quinn Cook, two-time NBA Champion
  3. Team Miami – Tim Hardaway Sr., five-time NBA All-Star
  4. Team New York – Jadakiss, recording star and basketball insider
  5. Team Chicago – Larenz Tate, actor, film producer, basketball aficionado
  6. Team Raleigh – John Wall, five-time NBA All-Star
  7. Team Atlanta – Stay Tuned
  8. Team Baltimore – Stay Tuned

“We are honored, humbled and couldn’t be more proud to be able to work with McGrady and the roster of new team owners and GMs to bring the OBL to unforeseen heights,”  said Heath Freeman, Managing Partner, Next Gen Sports, and Chairman of OBL.

OBL will host a multi-week season where eight initial cities will field teams featuring hoopers who fit the criteria of embodying the heart and essence of their respective cities, bringing a unique and dynamic aspect to their representation. Cities battle for pride and prize, each sending out one player at a time in 1-on-1 matchups. Thrilling, quick games that keep audiences on the edge of their seat. The production will feature intense game-play, as well as a deeper look into player backgrounds and real individual stories centering on highlighting players’ talent and authenticity.

WNBA Reaches New Deal

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NEW YORK – The WNBA and its Players’ Union reached a verbal deal for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement after 2:00am Wednesday to move forward with a pact that will redefine the economic and governing rules of the WNBA going forward. The agreement, WNBA legend Breanna Stewart said, will be “transformational” for the league and its players.

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Though there is an agreement in place, it still must be formalized into a term sheet and approved by the players and the league’s board of governors. The details of the agreement are still not known. Player salaries will be tied to league revenue for the first time, average player compensation will be more than half a million dollars, WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said, and the agreement will also improve on family planning and parental leave benefits.

Despite deadlines and saber-rattling that the league could have the start of its season impacted, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that training camp and the regular season will start on time. Opening night is scheduled for May 8.

In the coming weeks, the league must still conduct an expansion draft for new teams in Toronto and Portland and open the free agency period, where over 80% of the league’s players are currently eligible.

Next Steps for Ratification
The agreement is currently “in principle.” Over the next few days, lawyers will finalize the formal term sheet, which will then be put to a vote by the players and must be approved by the WNBA Board of Governors. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike both expressed immense pride in the deal, calling it a “win-win” that redefines the professional standard for the league.

-Wire Service Report

TL’s Sports Notebook | SSAC ’26 Edition

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Daryl Morey, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Sue Bird and Jessica Gelman (SSAC26)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk and PGA Tour Brunch

BOSTON – On Friday, March 5th, WWYI dropped a “special edition” of this missive to preview the 2026 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (#SSAC26) staged this weekend at the Seapport Convention Center. It was a very successful affair, one where NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke in a “1-on-1” with UConn, WNBA and USA Basketball great Sue Bird and then Silver was presented with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by conference co-founders Jessica Gelman (Kraft Group) and Daryl Morey (Philadelphia 76ers), both MIT alum.

There was no ‘show-stopper’ panel or special guest moment at this year’s symposium. There were a dozen or more very interesting panel discussions. There were also tons of interesting start-ups pitching their concepts at convention tables spread out a country mile on the main concourse – at a convention center sharing space with a New England Regional Volleyball Association event that drew some 750 volleyball teams to compete in the Boston/Nike JVC National Qualifying tournament. It was an incredible site, and it looked to be very high-calibre traditional volleyball.

It was also a college volleyball coach’s dream for recruiting, as noted by Cora Thompson, the head coach of the women’s volleyball program at Tufts University. Ms. Thompson entered the year with a .737 career winning percentage which ranks her as No. 18 on the NCAA’s winningest active coaches list for Division III. It’s the 27th-best winning mark among Division III coaches all-time. Last season Tufts went 24-6 but lost in the NCAA Regional Final (to East Texas Baptist University).

Tufts recruits volleyball players without the benefit of shelling-out scholarships but, instead, the opportunity to attend one of the best universities in the land. The eight-time New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Coach of the Year and three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year was kind enough to educate this columnist on a shuttle bus ride from the Convention Center’s “South Parking Lot” to the building’s entrance.

By “South Lot” and the length of the ride and/or walk back, the lot was located someplace in Rhode Island. (I kid, I kid, and I digress).

Back to #SSAC26.

While the Silver & Bird discussion stands out, a panel held Saturday and moderated by Duke, USA Basketball and NBA great Shane Battier also stood out. Battier grilled Seattle Storm head coach Sonia Raman, active but injured NBA, 6’ 11”, 265 lbs. power forward Steven Adams (of the Houston Rockets by way of New Zealand), LA Clippers basketball advisor Monte McNair, and a very impressive Ariana Andonian, the GM of Philadelphia 76ers G-League team (Delaware Blue Coats) and the VP of Player Personnel for the Sixers (NBA level).

It was pointed out during the panel discussion that the two women were both children of immigrants and – add Steven Adams and you have a pretty amazing trifecta of basketball talent and knowledge.

Some of the discussion, which Adams contributed to while wearing a walking boot, revolved around the question of “just how much” can you throw at a player in terms of analytics. While Battier admitted to accepting binders full of information and studying it throughout his career, Adams was a little more reluctant but said he ‘“would always listen.”

What the NBA analytics did show was underlined by McNair, the general manager and president of basketball operations of the Sacramento Kings in 2020 and NBA Executive of the Year in 2023, who said “crashing the glass” was discovered as the key element to success. He also noted, there was always a give and take between hitting the offensive boards vs. transition defense.

Of course, McNair was sitting next to one of the great offensive rebounders in the NBA over the past dozen years.

(L to R): Monte McNair, Ariana Andonian, Steven Adams, Coach Sonia Raman, and moderator Shane Battier

The group framed where analytics falls in the basketball operations hierarchy today, which is the fact crunching data is amongst the most important functions for a team. The players want the information, but once a game starts, they need to see what is developing and either take a proactive approach to force the tempo or have a reactive counter to what the offense is doing. “Execution” was the key factor for Adams and he noted that no analytic print-out could determine how he would react to what a talented player was tossing his way.

That said, the game planning, the counters to the opponents’ tendencies and attempting to stop the opponents’ most effective offensive efforts was something the team needed to stay with, even if it wsn’t working over a short period of time at the start of a game.

Again, no ‘show-stopping’ legends on stage, but good, solid discussions with the wide-ranging panels, all coming at the discussion from different fields of employment at the highest level of the sport.

Special Note: A sincere thank you to Daryl Morey, Jessica Gelman and all of the Conference leaders, organizers, volunteers and a terrific staff at the Seaport Convention Center. It’s an incredibly well-run conference, probably the best sports conference in the world.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The PGA of America was stationed at the vaunted Hall of Game at the MIT Sloan Conference. The sport of golf has been crunching all kinds of numbers to help pro players and weekend hackers improve their scores. Also, the concepts of improvement using AI and wearables is vastly improving the game, joining ever-improving technology for clubs, shoes and golf balls.

One of the PGA of America’s short-term goals is to attach teaching pros to the emerging onslaught of indoor simulation shops, from the high end of Top Golf to the more social, event and fun-based Five Iron Golf.

HURLING with HURLEY: UConn men’s basketball coach Danny Hurley is $25,000 poorer today than he was yesterday. In Saturday’s season finale, a 68-62 loss to Marquette which cost his team a share of the Big East regular season title, Hurley approached game official John Gaffney and got his chest next to the official’s right shoulder while voicing his displeasure. Hurley said he never bumped into Gaffney, though every replay angle suggested otherwise. … Hurley denied it, saying, “You could screenshot whatever you want to screenshot. I don’t feel like I made any contact with John. I don’t believe I did.” … Well, every TV camera in the building showed a definite bump into the official (who threw a double technical at Hurley in reaction to the bump). The BIG EAST spoke quickly, snuffing-out any speculation of suspending Hurley for UConn’s first BIG EAST tournament game scheduled for this Thursday evening.

The BIG EAST statement reads, “UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley has been fined $25,000 by the BIG EAST for unsportsmanlike conduct in the closing seconds of the March 7 game at Marquette. With one second left in the game, Hurley received two technical fouls for aggressively confronting a game official, was subsequently ejected from the game, and then failed to leave the court in a timely manner. Initial speculation on the game broadcast indicated possible contact between Hurley and the official; however, a review by the conference office of the officials’ game report and available game footage could not confirm physical contact. “We hold our coaches to high standards of sportsmanlike conduct during game competition, and inappropriate interactions with our officials will not be tolerated,” said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: This is now the third (and probably last) week to mention the Mika Zibanejad effect and the fact that in two minutes (3:26pm to 3:28pm on Saturday, during a New York Rangers’ power play against the New Jersey Devils, the name Zabanejad was mentioned 10 times over the short span of time. Ten times! … The guy is amazing.

USA, USA, USA: Adam Amin, the Fox Sports play-by-play man for the World Baseball Classic, made the unforgivable mistake of comparing the current roster for the 2026 USA Baseball team to that of the 1992 USA Basketball “Dream Team.” … Puh-leeze!

The ONLY team that can ever be compared to the Magic, Bird and Jordan Dream Team – the one and only Dream Team – is the 1976 Canada Cup ice hockey team which had 17 Hall of Famers on the roster.

Take a look:

Team Canada Goaltenders:

Rogie Vachon (Los Angeles Kings)

Gerry Cheevers (Boston Bruins)

Glenn Resch (New York Islanders)

Defensemen:

Bobby Orr (Boston Bruins/Chicago Black Hawks)

Denis Potvin (New York Islanders)

Larry Robinson (Montreal Canadiens)

Serge Savard (Montreal Canadiens)

Guy Lapointe (Montreal Canadiens)

Carol Vadnais (New York Rangers)

Jim Watson (Philadelphia Flyers)

Paul Shmyr (Cleveland Crusaders – WHA)

Forwards:

Phil Esposito (New York Rangers)

Bobby Clarke (Philadelphia Flyers)

Darryl Sittler (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens)

Marcel Dionne (Los Angeles Kings)

Bobby Hull (Winnipeg Jets – WHA)

Gilbert Perreault (Buffalo Sabres)

Reggie Leach (Philadelphia Flyers)

Bill Barber (Philadelphia Flyers)

Steve Shutt (Montreal Canadiens)

Richard Martin (Buffalo Sabres)

Lanny McDonald (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Danny Gare (Buffalo Sabres)

Dan Maloney (Detroit Red Wings)

Peter Mahovlich (Montreal Canadiens)

Coaching Staff:

Head Coach: Scotty Bowman

Assistant Coaches: Don Cherry, Bobby Kromm, Al MacNeil

For the record, the 2026 World Baseball Classic USA Baseball team roster is:

Pitchers (RHP/LHP): Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Logan Webb, Mason Miller, Clayton Kershaw, Clay Holmes, David Bednar, Michael Wacha, Griffin Jax, Garrett Whitlock, Matthew Boyd, Nolan McLean.

Catchers: Cal Raleigh, Will Smith.

Infielders: Bryce Harper (1B), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), Alex Bregman (3B), Brice Turang (2B), Gunnar Henderson, Paul Goldschmidt, Ernie Clement.

Outfielders: Aaron Judge, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Byron Buxton, Roman Anthony.

Designated Hitter: Kyle Schwarber.

That’s a great baseball team, but to equal the ‘92 Dream Team, USA Baseball would need to suit up Jackie Robinson, DiMaggio, Mays, Mantle, Aaron and Snyder for starters.

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conf ’26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Among the highlights this year at the 2026 SSAC:

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

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

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

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

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

Two quick take-aways:

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

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

Women’s Sports Doesn’t Need More Moments, It Needs IX to Five

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NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Horizon Sports & Experiences, a sports marketing, media and live experiences agency, and TOGETHXR, the popular women’s sports media company, recently announced IX to Five – a game-changing joint venture built to supercharge the business of women’s sports. IX to Five will focus on creating, developing, and commercializing  women’s sports content through premium storytelling, unique intellectual properties, signature live experiences, and high-value brand partnerships.

The joint venture launches with an initial content slate of programming featuring fan-favorite talent: the StudBudz, professional basketball players Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman, and Lily Shimbashi, founder of Sportsish, known for her fresh perspectives on sports and pop culture.

The collaboration harnesses TOGETHXR’s powerful storytelling engine, deep athlete relationships, and built‑in multi‑platform audience, combined with HS&E’s expertise in IP development, sponsorship and media rights consulting, and experiential marketing to unlock long‑term value for brands, athletes, creators and fans alike.

IX to Five launches at a key inflection point as the industry experiences unprecedented growth across viewership, valuations, and fan and brand engagement. Created in response to a clear and growing demand for authentic and engaging women’s sports content, IX to Five signals a commitment to build an always-on ecosystem that extends beyond content or one-off-activations into scalable platforms and enduring cultural properties.

“Women’s sports is a high-growth, big ROI business,”  said David Levy, co‑CEO and Founder of Horizon Sports & Experiences. “IX to Five was born out of the industry’s need for infrastructure and a year-round strategy to turn unprecedented momentum into sustained media and commercial impact. We are creating a scalable platform which complements HS&E’s premium programming, for brands to invest in a more meaningful, authentic way.”

“Women’s sports doesn’t need more moments — it needs infrastructure that turns momentum into careers, culture, and commerce,” said Nancy Dubuc, Executive Chair of TOGETHXR. “TOGETHXR has helped move the space from ‘after hours’ attention to “always-on” storytelling, and this partnership with Horizon Sports & Experiences accelerates that shift — building a platform where athletes, creators, and brands grow together year-round.”

Winter Olympics Score Ratings Gold

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STAMFORD – (Wire Service Report) – NBC Sports struck ratings gold this month with its coverage of the Milan Cortina Olympics on NBC stations and the streaming platform Peacock. The network averaged 23.5 million viewers to become the most watched Winter Olympics since Sochi in 2014, while marking a 96% ratings improvement over the 2022 Beijing Games.

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Highlight moments across the two weeks of Olympic coverage included the opening and closing ceremonies, Alysa Liu’s gold medal in women’s figure skating and gold medals for both the women’s and men’s ice hockey teams, each with victories over Canada.

“The Milan Cortina Olympics proved once again that the American audience will gather in large numbers over 17 days to experience this unmatched global competition,” NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel said in a statement.

The viewership data, through Nielsen, is through Thursday and subject to revision.

NBC reported that all 15 days when competition took place saw at least 20 million viewers per day. Peacock and NBCU digital platforms averaged 3.3 million viewers daily.

According to Nielsen, Milwaukee led all markets with a 13.7 rating and a 49 share. That was followed by Minneapolis, Fort Myers, Fla., Pittsburgh and Dayton, Ohio.

The Milan Cortina Olympics were part of a busy sports month for NBC, which included Super Bowl LX, the most-watched show in the 100-year history of NBC and the second-most watched show of all-time across any network. The month also included the most-watched NBA All-Star Game since 2011.

–Field Level Media

Ciao Bella: Milan-Cortino Magic

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VERONA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) Italy said a fond farewell to the Winter Olympics on Sunday with an open-air ceremony in the ancient Verona Arena that celebrated art and sporting achievement at a Games lauded as a model for how to stage such events.

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The Games, formally co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, have been spread across a large area of northern Italy and passed off smoothly, with Italy also bagging a record haul of 30 medals.

The baton now passes to the French Alps, which are expected to follow a similar blueprint of using multiple existing winter sports venues in 2030 to reduce the environmental impact.

“Grazie Italia per questi Giochi magici! (Thank you, Italy, for these magical Games),” said International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry.

“You delivered a new kind of Winter Games and you set a very high standard for the future,” added Coventry, overseeing her first Olympics.

The next Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles in two years’ time when the IOC will seek to develop a new business model, and its efforts to separate sport and politics are likely to face a daunting challenge.

MELONI PRAISES ITALIAN ACHIEVEMENTS

The closing ceremony was entitled “Beauty in Action” and featured leading Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle who performed an aerial routine, as well as a tribute to opera and dance music from DJ/producer Gabry Ponte.

“The Olympics have given us unforgettable emotions and a sense of pride that will remain with Italy for a long time to come,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X, adding that the organization had “brought prestige to the entire nation.”

Meloni was among the crowd in the Roman amphitheater renowned for staging opera and pop concerts in the heart of the northern Italian city made famous as the setting for William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet.”

Security was tight around the 2,000-year-old arena, with barriers set up to limit access and a helicopter circling overhead. Some tourists were surprised to find access to the main Piazza Bra restricted.

Hundreds of people marched through Verona a few hours before the Olympics closing ceremony to protest against housing costs and environmental concerns linked to the Winter Games.

The “Olympics? No thanks” rally was organized by university groups and associations that oppose hosting an event they say disrupts forests, pours concrete onto fragile land and deepens social inequality.

ATHLETES LET THEIR HAIR DOWN

However, with the Olympic medals won and lost, the tone of the closing ceremony in the arena was relaxed and free-wheeling.

Tickets were priced from 950 euros ($1,120) to a top level of 2,900 euros. Many of the athletes were in attendance but some seats appeared to remain empty on a chilly but clear evening.

Damiano Tommasi, mayor of Verona, and a former Hellas Verona and AS Roma soccer player, said staging the ceremony in such a historic location was “something unprecedented in Olympic history.”

“Personally, it motivates me to work towards planning a bid for the Summer Games in Italy, which have been missing for far too long,” he added

Rome hosted the Olympics in 1960 and the Italian capital dropped a bid for the 2024 Games, which were held in Paris.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Golden Hour

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MILAN – (Wire Service Report) – USA forward Jack Hughes scored at 1:41 of overtime to lift the United States to a 2-1 victory against Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

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Hughes scored with a sweeping wrist shot from the inside edge of the left circle off a feed from defenseman Zach Werenski. The goal gave the Americans their first Olympic gold medal since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Matt Boldy scored on the first shot of the game for the U.S. and Connor Hellebuyck made 41 saves.

Defenseman Cale Makar scored and Jordan Binnington made 26 saves for the Canadians, who were trying for their 10th Olympic gold medal. Canada was outshooting the U.S. 4-0 when Boldy split between Makar and Colorado Avalanche teammate Devon Toews at the Canadian blue line.

Toews had the best chance at snuffing out the play, but he whiffed on his clearing attempt. Boldy continued skating in on Binnington before sliding a backhand between his pads for a 1-0 lead at the six-minute mark of the first period.

Hellebuyck stopped Connor McDavid on a breakaway just before the midway point of the second period, and the Canadians failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3 power play for 93 seconds.

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The penalty kill for the U.S. went 18-for-18 in the tournament.

The Canadians avoided trailing at the start of the third period for the third straight game when Makar received a pass from Toews above the right circle and fired a wrist shot into the net to tie it 1-1 at 18:16.

Canada outshot the U.S. 19-8 in the second period to take a 27-16 advantage into the third.

Hellebuyck continued to make a string of miraculous saves early in the third, reaching back with his stick to tip a shot by Toews and then stopping Macklin Celebrini twice on a breakaway.

Canada was leveled by a four-minute double-minor high-sticking on Sam Bennett at 13:26 of the third, but the U.S. couldn’t capitalize for the first three minutes. The rest of the power play was negated by a high-sticking penalty on Hughes.

Canada played its second straight game without star captain Sidney Crosby, who was injured in the 4-3 overtime win against Czechia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Crosby scored the overtime winner for Canada in a 3-2 win against the U.S. in the gold medal game at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

–Field Level Media

USA Routs Slovakia; Canada is Up Next

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MILAN  – (Wire Service Report) – The United States made light work of Slovakia with a 6-2 victory on Friday to set up the eagerly awaited Olympic men’s ice hockey final with Canada. Team U.S. was on cruise control heading into the final period, up 5-0 through Dylan Larkin, Tage Thompson, Jack Eichel and a double from Jack Hughes, before Brady Tkachuk scored between a pair of Slovakian consolation goals.

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NHL players returned to the Olympic Games following a 12-year absence and expectations had been high that the North American rivals would reap the benefits and face off in the decider.

The U.S. obliged with ease after Canada’s tense 3-2 semifinal win over defending champions Finland, and the sides will meet in Sunday’s gold-medal decider at Santagiulia Arena.

Slovakia will take on Finland in Saturday’s bronze-medal game at the same venue.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media and Digital Sports Desk

Canada’s Crosby Might Play vs. USA

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MILAN – (Wire Service Report) – Captain Sidney Crosby missed Canada’s semifinal victory over Finland on Friday but has a chance to play in Sunday’s gold-medal game of the Milan Cortina Olympics, according to head coach Jon Cooper. Crosby, who is nursing an apparent right leg injury, watched from the wings as Canada scored a late winner to overcome a two-goal deficit and down the Finns 3-2 in Friday’s early semifinal at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

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“We have 48 hours to decide that, but I will tell you he’s got a better chance of playing in the gold-medal game than he had playing in tonight’s game,” Cooper told reporters postgame Friday.

The United States faced Slovakia in Friday’s second semifinal. The losing team will oppose Finland in the bronze-medal game Saturday.

Connor McDavid served as captain in Crosby’s absence for the semifinal and assisted Nathan MacKinnon’s game-winning power-play goal with 36 seconds remaining.

Sam Reinhart tipped in an earlier power-play goal and defenseman Shea Theodore tied the score midway through the third, helping Canada remain perfect in the tournament.

“We’re putting our country through it. A lot of stressful mornings for everyone back home,” McDavid said in a postgame interview with CBC. “But you know what? It’s been fun. It’s a best-on-best tournament. I keep on saying that. We’re playing the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and they’re going at it and giving everything they have. The margins are razor thin.”

McDavid added he was “keeping the ‘C’ warm” for Crosby, who spoke to teammates in the locker room between periods. MacKinnon and Cale Makar were alternate captains against Finland.

Crosby was injured in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round as Canada rallied to defeat Czechia 4-3 in overtime.

“With what he’s done for the game, for our team, for all of Canada, we want to show up for him,” forward Brad Marchand said.

With six points in four appearances, Crosby is Canada’s fourth-leading scorer in Milan, trailing McDavid (13 points), Macklin Celebrini (10) and MacKinnon (seven).

One of the NHL’s most decorated players, the 38-year-old Crosby has 1,746 career points in 1,408 games over 21 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion and led Canada to Olympic gold at Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.

–Field Level Media