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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Brady Retires

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Tom and daughter, Vivian Brady: (Photo by Getty Images)

Bye-Bye Brady

By TERRY LYONS

Mid-afternoon Saturday, ESPN reported that all-time great NFL quarterback Tom Brady has decided to retire from playing pro football, effective immediately. He leaves with one year remaining on his NFL/Tampa Bay contract.

Brady, 44, is retiring with a record (624) touchdown passes, (84,250) passing yards in 22 seasons of NFL football, mostly with the New England Patriots but concluding with the Tampa Bay Bucs, the 2021 NFL Super Bowl champions. Brady also leaves the NFL with seven Super Bowl championships and a burgeoning business with his TB12 brand.

With the fact Brady’s children are in their formative years, the time for spending valuable days with his family is now. With his wealth, combined with the wealth and celebrity status of his super model wife, Giselle, the timing will allow them to settle in the place of their choosing, most likely New York City or Miami. They are building a home near Miami Beach, in an exclusive paradise called Indian Creek Island.

Late in the day Saturday, Brady’s agent (Don Yee) offered a vague non-denial, denial of the report and Brady’s father, Tom Sr. stated via the NFL Network, “This story Mike is total conjecture. Tommy has not made a final decision one way or the other and anybody else that says that he has is absolutely wrong.”

The take here? You’ve gotta be very happy for Tom Brady and his family. He gave his all to the NFL for 22 years and can retire healthy and at the perfect time to spend time with his wife and children. He deserves nothing but personal happiness and more professional success if he chooses to explore more entrepreneurial outlets like TB12. Otherwise, the links from Pebble Beach Ireland, Pro-Ams and celebrity golf tournaments await.

Side Note: With the announced and now highly expected retirement of Brady, the odds of TE Rob Gronkowski returning to the NFL football field fall to slim and none.

Side Note II: With the retirement of Brady, a Golden Age for Boston sports franchises comes to a full stop with Brady leaving the Patriots (lost to Tampa Bay Bucs), Paul Pierce gone from the Celtics (shipped out to Brooklyn with KG), Zdeno Chara for the Bruins (shipped to DC) and David “Big Papi” Ortiz retiring from the Red Sox and just this week voted as a first ballot National Baseball Hall of Famer. At least Big Papi remained on the Sox and retired as a winner in his Boston uniform, something Sox OF Mookie Bettsdecided against. It is the end of an amazing era in Boston sports history.

SNOWY and WIND-BLOWN BOSTON – The NFL Super Bowl participants will be determined today and the game date will be circled on everyone’s calendar – February 13, 2022 with a 6:30pm (ET) kick-off. Then, if all goes well with their negotiations (see note below), Spring Training for baseball will begin 48 hours later. Pitchers & Catchers reporting is always the first sign of spring.

There will be a February 4-20th time-out for the Beijing Winter Olympics, but with dozens of athletes testing positive for COVID+ and the time change challenges of an Asian Olympics for USA television viewing, the 2022 Winter Games are not generating much buzz or viewer enthusiasm. NBC and Peacock are now beginning 24/7 promotion of the Games, avoiding any connection to China and the obvious human rights protests on-going. NBC Sports is NOT sending broadcasters to call the Winter Olympics on site and, instead, will base much of the coverage out of their Stamford, CT studio. Blah.

That brings us to the “next” season for sports fans. With the NBA and NHL in their dog-days of winter, the focus will shift to NCAA basketball, the various conference tournaments as NCAA “March Madness” fast approaches. The bulk of the college tournaments begin March 9, but some, like the Southern Conference tip-off March 4. Here’s your pocket schedule for planning:

  • March 4: Some mid-major conference tournaments begin
  • March 9: Bulk of NCAA conference championships tip-off
  • March 13: NCAA Selection Sunday
  • First Four: March 15-16
  • First round: March 17-18
  • Second round: March 19-20
  • Sweet 16: March 24-25
  • Elite Eight: March 26-27
  • Final Four: April 2
  • NCAA championship game: April 4
  • MLB Regular Season: March 31

Each week, the Associated Press Top 25 and the NCAA Basketball Coaches Poll rank the best college hoops teams. There’s rarely a spot or two difference between the two polls. As of this week, there’s 99.9% agreement on the Top 10 programs in ‘22:

  • Auburn
  • Gonzaga
  • Arizona
  • Baylor
  • Kansas
  • Purdue
  • Duke
  • UCLA
  • Houston
  • Michigan State

In the Top 11-25 ranked range, these teams should be noted as contenders to go deep into the tournament:

  • Wisconsin
  • Villanova
  • Kentucky
  • Texas Tech

Of course, in the NCAA’s, you can always count on at least one or two teams to catch fire in late February and the first week of March, then become the Cinderella darlings of March Madness. Loyola (Chicago) certainly qualifies in that realm, as does a well-coached and scrappy Providence team from the Big East. UConn and Marquette are two clubs to keep an eye on throughout February.

Winning in-Conference road games by any margin is always the key indicator for this reporter. Don’t let those rankings, Quad-1-to-4 victories, RPI or NET rankings fool you.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Saturday, January 29th, 2022 (yesterday – or tonight if you’re reading the bulldog edition) marks the first Saturday without “real” football since August 21, 2021. The NCAA football season began the following Saturday (August 28) and the nFL filled what might’ve been a dormant January 8 with two games of their final regular season weekend. (KS 28-24 over Denver) and Dallas 51-26 over Philadelphia). … The NCAA All-Star exhibitions don’t count.

POWER RANKINGS: Green Bay, Buffalo, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Tennessee all tapped-out last weekend, leaving the January 18 NFL Power Ranking in shambles. No. 7 LA Rams and No. 8 Cincinnati Bengals both advanced and the San Francisco 49ers surprised everyone but the Las Vegas bookies. That leaves us:

Cincy at KC, 3pm (ET) on CBS

SF at LA Rams, 6:30pm (ET) on FOX

Prediction: The home teams win and cover. … That said, Cincinnati is dangerous and will be a team to be reckoned with for at least five more years. KC and Buffalo both in that category, too. Anyone else? Let’s hear it.

PITCHERS & CATCHERS & LAWYERS: The MLB Spring Training countdown clock reads 14 days as of January 30th, with most teams asking pitchers & catchers to report on February 15th. This week, there was a Floridian-style ray of hope as consecutive meeting days (this past Monday-Tuesday) between MLB and the MLBPA concluded with reports of progress in their negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. … The deadline for a deal is fast approaching so it is reasonable to think the two sides will continue to meet and chip away on the details for a new deal. … The good news, there has been surprisingly little said to media as the negotiations continue.

TL’s Sunday Notebook | Clark Gillies RIP

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By TERRY LYONS

Clark Gillies, an NHL Hall of Fame winger and one of the great New York Islanders players of all-time, passed away on Friday night, January 21 at the age of 67. His story is as amazing as the ‘69 Mets, as entertaining as the “Dr. J” Nets and as important to the fans of the glory-years New York Islanders as any story that can be told.

It is the story of the strongest piece to be placed in the foundation of an expansion NHL franchise. It is the story of a young man from Western Canada finding a new home on Long Island, New York and his return to that new home, even after serving his last two NHL seasons in Buffalo. Sadly, it is a story with a very unhappy ending, one that came quite suddenly to those who just saw him at Christmas 2021.

Let the story book dissolve and fade, as the calendar pages turn back in time.

On November 8, 1971, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion franchise to play at the brand new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island. The team – to be known as the New York Islanders – would join the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association as primary tenants of ‘The Coliseum” The Islanders and the Atlanta Flames joined the NHL and played each other on opening night, October 7, 1972.

The Islanders lost, 3-2, with team captain Eddie Westfall scoring the team’s first goal and hot shot rookie draftee Billy Harris netting the second. Isles’ goalkeeper Gerry Desjardins took the loss. I remember it all because I can state proudly – I was there.

The expansion New York Islanders had a few pieces in place from the expansion draft and the wise choice of Harris, the No. 1 overall pick of the 1972 NHL amateur draft from the Toronto Marlboros. Harris and the highly respected Westfall, gobbled-up in the dispersal draft from the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins, were joined by fan favorites like Terry Crisp, Brian “Spinner” Spencer, defenseman Gerry Hart and a handful of others who weren’t ready for primetime NHL minutes.

There were only two foundational pieces in place that first year. The back-up goal-keeper was a young Billy Smith, a fifth round draft choice of the Los Angeles Kings in 1970 and team General Manager Bill Torrey who had signed as GM on February 14, 1972 getting an upgrade in title from that of the California Golden Seals. Happy Valentine’s Day, New York Islanders, little did we all know.

The Islanders struggled mightily as an expansion franchise, going 12-60-6 in their first year. That qualifies as the ninth worst start for a team in NHL history but it did earn the right to choose first in the 1973 amateur draft and the astute Torrey turned down many an offer for money and veteran players to select defenseman Denis Potvin with the No. 1 overall pick. Torrey also coaxed St. Louis Blues coach and former NHL defenseman Al Arbour to become the Islanders’ head coach.

A year later, Torrey scored again. With the No. 4 and No. 22 picks in the 1974 NHL amateur draft, the Islanders selected Clark Gillies, a 6-3, 210 pound left wing from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan at No. 4 and 5-11, 195 pound center Bryan Trottier, hailing from Val Marie, Saskatchewan, at No. 22, a second-rounder that every team had a chance to pick.

Fast forward to 1975 and the Islanders upset the New York Rangers in the first-round of the NHL Playoffs, went down 0-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round but managed to come back to take the series, the first time since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs for a team to accomplish the feat. The Islanders nearly repeated the miracle against the Philadelphia Broad Street Bullies Flyers in the third round Stanley Cup semi-finals, but fell short in Game 7.

The Islanders needed one or two more pieces, addressing the need for more scoring, some second-line depth and another solid defenseman or two. In 1977, the scoring issue was checked-off when Torrey used the No. 15 pick to select Michel “Mike” Bossy, arguably among the greatest scorers and snipers in league history.

The next season, Trottier would play center with Bossy on his right and Gillies on his left to form one of the great lines of all-time. Potvin paired with his brother, Jean, or with the steady Dave Lewis and Smith anchored the goalkeeping duties, combined with amazing performances by Glenn ‘Chico” Resch. The foundation for a Stanley Cup champion was in place.

In three short seasons since expansion mayhem, the Islanders were competitive. In eight years, they became an NHL dynasty, reeling-off four Cup victories in a row. A team that was dropped in our laps as Long Island hockey fans allowed us to sing “We ARE the Champions” at the top of our lungs from 1980-to-1984.

When we played Street Hockey on the asphalt school yards, you’d be asked, “Who do you want to be?”

This columnist went to Gerry Cosby’s sporting goods store and had a road, royal blue Islanders jersey affixed with No. 9 for Clark Gillies. I wore it everyday. Every single day when we played on the streets, in the parks, on the cement of ice hockey rinks in the heat of summer.

I was Clark Gillies, growing tall, with some size and a wicked left-handed wrist shot. The only thing Gillies did a thousand times better than i could ever dream of was FIGHT, and fight he did against the toughest enforcers in the NHL. Philly’s Dave Schultz, Behn Wilson of the Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks or the epic playoff fights between Gillies and Boston’s Terry O’Reilly.

This is the fight Gillies had in mind:

It’s important to note, Gillies was NOT an NHL “goon” as he scored 30 or more goals in a season six times and scored 47 playoff goals with 46 assists in his 12 year career which concluded in 1986-87 and 1987-88 as a member of the Buffalo Sabres.

More importantly, Gillies, the native of Western Canada, became an Islander forever and returned to his Long Island digs after his career, bringing up his family and enjoying life with an occasional golf outing and return to the Nassau Coliseum or helping the team open its brand new UBS Arena, near Belmont.

The Islander roots are deep as Gillies’ daughter, Brianna, married the son of one of his best friends’ (NYI center Bob Bourne) son in Justin Bourne.Gillies frequently made appearances and raised money for Islanders great Pat LaFontaine’s Companions in Courage charity but his own charity work funded Huntington (LI) Hospital’s Pediatric unit and emergency room to the tune of a $2 million check to get started and frequent fund-raising efforts of $50,000+ all to help the children of Long Island. (Please see Clark Gillies Foundation).

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Jim Johnson, Holy Trinity High School ‘76 and a former member of the New York Islanders’ front office staff, now runs the Companions in Courage Foundation along with his friend in NHL Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine. Over the last decade or more, the Islanders insiders raised millions of dollars for charity, much of it going to help children. Johnson can express the feelings of many of us better than any of us.

“The tributes are pouring in from the hockey world and from an adopted community that Clark Gillies made his home,” wrote Johnson, an accomplished scribe. “But the shock and grief have yet to set in. Even if you only met him once, he made you feel like you had been a friend for life. Clark Gillies had that kind of impact on all of us.

(Left to right): Jim Johnson, Clark Gillies, Pat LaFontaine.

“Some of us just saw him around Christmas, and he was laughing and dancing, seemingly without a care in the world. He was one of those guys who embraced life and stared down any obstacle that might arise. He once told a friend that he had culled the cutest filly from the herd, and that’s how he married Pam. They had three beautiful daughters who made him a grandpa several times over.

“The hockey world is mourning the loss of a guy nicknamed “Jethro,”(dubbed that because of his resemblance to the big, goofy son of Jed Clampett in the ‘60s-70s TV comedy The Beverly Hillbillies). They remember the fierce fighter who never lost a fight until (Friday) night. They remember him riding shotgun on the famed “Trio Grande Line” with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier. Maybe they remember the image of him crushing a beer can on his head on the center-ice scoreboard at last year’s playoffs. Rangers fans will no doubt remember his one-punch throw down with Ed “Boxcar” Hospodar, and Bruins fans will reflect on the heroic actions of Clarkie and Terry O’Reilly in the 1980 semi-finals.

“But some had an extra special bond with Clarkie that was something completely different. Yes, we all knew the ferocity that the man represented, but it was his kindness and adoption of our town as his own that made the friendship so special. Plus, he was one of the funniest bastards we’ve ever met.

“I often talk about how the most important reason why you want a pro sports franchise in your neighborhood is not necessarily to win championships (though those four straight Cups didn’t hurt!). Rather, it’s the athletes who become a part of the fabric of the community where they play. The Islanders introduced guys from Hinton, Alberta; Waterford, Michigan; Peterborough, Ontario; and yes, even Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (where’s Moose Jaw? 6 feet from the moose’s ass!) to this lovely little island we call home. We were all so lucky that guys like Bob Nystrom, Pat LaFontaine, Steve Webb and Clark Gillies came here and stayed.

“Clarkie loved kids, and he has raised more than one million dollars to support Huntington Hospital. If you’ve never visited the pediatric wing and the “Cub Room” he built in that facility, you should do yourself a favor. As I’ve heard more than one hospital administrator say, “this is such a great idea. Why did it take a hockey player to come up with it?”

“We had a running gag at the CiC Golf dinner. How many standing ovations could we get for Clark in one night? I’m really proud that we got it to NINE this year. A personal favorite moment was the night Pat LaFontaine honored Clark for all of his charitable work in the community. He cried when we presented him the plaque. The big tough S.O.B. was such a soft touch when it came to helping kids.

“So, we’ll process the grief over the next few days and weeks over the loss of this very special friend. We’ll get together and share our own stories of how he impacted our lives, and we’ll cherish every one of them. We’ll celebrate a life that helped make us all just a little bit better. RIP, big fella – until we all skate again on that big negative-edge pond in heaven. Save us a spot “in the room” #9,” concluded Johnson.

BRIAN “SPINNER” SPENCER: Mentioned in the story of our beloved Clark Gillies and the New York Islanders was another Long Island fan favorite in Brian “Spinner” Spencer, who played in 11 NHL seasons from 1969-70 to 1978-79. … If you haven’t heard about it, his career story is incredible, unbelievable but sad. … In December of 1970 when Spinner was called-up to play his first NHL game, he called his father, Roy, who was in his hometown of Ft. St. James, British Columbia to tell him the good news and that he’d be on TV for “Hockey Night in Canada” that weekend. A very serious problem arose when a Vancouver Canucks vs California Golden Seals game was aired by the western affiliates of CBC instead of Spencer’s Toronto Maple Leafs eastern game. Spencer’s father – upset by the programming selection – drove 84 miles to Prince George where he ordered the production crew and staff at the station to air the Maple Leafs game. He did so at gunpoint and, although the station complied with his wishes, when Roy Spencer exited the TV station, the Royal Canadien Mounted Police confronted him and he was shot and killed on the spot. … As time went by, Brian Spencer had a decent NHL career, being a fan fave who loved to mix-it-up. His best seasons came with the Buffalo Sabres (1974-75 to 1976-77) and he labored for another few years, eventually finishing-up in the American Hockey League, playing 30 games in 1979-80 with the Hershey Bears. … After his hockey career was over, he turned to crime, violence, alcohol abuse and was arrested for kidnapping and murder in 1987. He was jailed and faced the death penalty. believe it or not, this reporter and Spencer became “pen pals” of sorts that year, while he was in jail awaiting trial. I wrote to say he could take pride in the fact those expansion Islanders games he played in meant a lot to a whole new generation of hockey fans, and that no matter what trouble he was in, he could smile that night, knowing he played a role. … His return letters were incredibly well-written, perfect penmanship by hand, always very appreciative and on-point – the subject matter only about hockey. He did not ask for a thing, but I sent some letterhead, envelopes and stamps. In his last letter, he assured me he was innocent and that he was hopeful he would be declared so and set free after a fair trial. At his trial, many of his former NHL teammates testified and the jury returned a NOT guilty verdict. … Despite the acquittal, Spencer returned to a life of crime and drug abuse and was shot dead in a crack cocaine purchase gone bad in Florida. He died on June 3, 1988 at the young age of 38.

CBS SPORTS: CBS Sports colleague Bob Fishman is calling it a career as one of the top remote, live sports directors of our time. The late Sandy Grossman and Fishman televised NFL, NBA and college basketball games for a generation of sports fans, both foregoing any chance to be at home on a weekend for decades at a time. Fishman will retire after the NCAA Final Four, marking 50 years at CBS Sports.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – Jan 16th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at FIBA, Golf Etiquette and Parting Words from NBPA’s Michele Roberts

By TERRY LYONS

This one almost made it right past us all. If it weren’t for the backdrop of the spectacular Giza Plateau in Egypt, the FIBA Intercontinental Cup might’ve gone astray, like a Russell Westbrook turnover.

FIBA, the international basketball federation, conducts several basketball tournaments throughout the years, including the FIBA World Cup (formerly the World Championship of Basketball) and by declaration of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), FIBA oversees the men’s and women’s hoop tournaments at the Olympics Games. FIBA also dabbles with a European-wide pro league, is partners with the NBA on the Basketball Africa League and now organizes the Intercontinental Cup, as new basketball tournament with representative professional (not national) teams from the Americas, Africa and Europe.

The draw for the February 11-13 event took place a three-point field goal distance away from the great Pyramids of Cairo and that attention-grabber of a draw resulted in the Americas bracket of South America’s Flamengo of Brazil to face none other than the 2020-21 NBA G-League winners Lakeland Magic (near parent club Orlando).

In the other semi-final bracket, Basketball Champions League 2020-21 winners Hereda San Pablo Burgos of Spain will face the inaugural Basketball Africa League champion and tournament host Zamalek SC of Cairo.

According to a FIBA news release, “the ambassador of the 2022 event, Egyptian soccer legend and former Zamalek player Mido, accepted the task of conducting the draw at the Giza Plateau and took the opportunity to profess his love of basketball.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: “Honestly, I’m a little bit tired of the situation,” said Rafa Nadal when asked about the Australian Open tennis saga of Novak Djokovic. “The Australian Open is much more important than any player,” Nadal said in his pre-tournament media session. “If he’s playing, finally, OK. If he’s not playing, the Australian Open will be a great Australian Open, with or without him. That’s my point of view.” … There should be more focus on the game of Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets than “Novax” Djokovicplaying tennis (or not) on the other side of the world.

What else?

The sport of golf deserves better than to have SONY Open reigning champ Kevin Na trading cheap shots (on Twitter, no less) with Tour hack Grayson Murray. If only one sport can survive the brutal, insensitive nature of life in 2020-21-22, you’d think it might be golf. But, no…

We’ve got Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau barking at each other before they teed-up a made for TV event in the PGA silly season and now, just as the 2022 PGA Tour is fully underway, we have this:

Twitter avatar for @GraysonMurrayGrayson Murray @GraysonMurray

Kevin Na taking 3 minutes to putt them. does get old.

Chantel McCabe @chantel_mccabe

Kevin Na walking in putts does not get old.

January 14th 2022

56 Retweets

Twitter avatar for @GraysonMurrayGrayson Murray @GraysonMurray

If they penalized you like they should for slow play you’d never make another cut either.

Kevin Na @kevinna915

@GraysonMurray u missing the cut is getting old!

January 15th 2022

69 Retweets

COMINGS & GOINGS: Nice ‘get” by ESPN in hiring Pete Thamel away from Yahoo Sports (anyone remember that Verizon, Yahoo thing called OATH)? … You’d think ESPN would re-hire Andy Katz before Yahoo Sports signs him? … Michele Roberts has officially retired from her gig as the Executive Director of the NBA Players Association. She’d been on the job since 2014. Taking over the prestigious job representing the players’ union is little known Tamika Tremaglio, former Managing Principal of Deloitte’s Greater Washington practice, where she has served as an advisor and consultant to the NBPA since 2012.

EQUITY STAKE: In one of Ms. Roberts’ final interview before departing the NBPA, she waxed philosophic on one serious regret of her tenure repping the players and that was not negotiating equity stakes for the players or Players’ Association (as one) in the rising valuations of NBA franchises. Said Roberts to the Sports Business Journal: “The biggest challenge which I sorely wish I could have met was securing player ownership in the 30 teams they have historically and continue to enrich.” … When contemplating the concept Roberts has in mind, three things immediately come to mind: 1). Do the players as a whole benefit? And, if so, when there’s cash calls during the tenure of various team ownership, does the current roster pony-up or does the Union as a whole pay-in? Can you imagine the 10-day roster signee finding out on Day 2, “Ahh, you owe $100,000 to the team for the recent cash call.” … 2). If a franchise sells, does every single player in its history get a piece of the action? … 3). If a franchise decides to invest in a privately-owned new building, do the players have to help fund the construction? Again? every player on current roster or every player who ever wore that team’s jersey?

The concept seems to be more of some kind of “Flip Tax” on a franchise that increases in value, much like the hated flip tax on a New York City co-op. If LA’s Jeannie Buss decides to sell the Lakers, does the estate of Wilt Chamberlain get a few bucks?

TL

TLs Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 9th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) and the 2022 Winter Games

BOSTON – When we last left the 2022 Beijing (China) Winter Olympic Games, there was the newsworthy reporting of a Diplomatic boycott of the Games by the United States government. It was a strike against the government of China and a USA protest that specifically addressed “genocide and crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang, a northwestern region of China.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki spoke of the decision which, according to the New York Times report of her conference, was addressing the treatment of “Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in that region, including mass detentions and forced use of contraception and sterilizations.”

Aside from the previously reported support of the diplomatic boycott by US allies Australia, Canada and Great Britain, there was barely a whimper in the global community. Additionally, pre-Olympic promotion of the 2022 Winter Games was dialed down to a very low simmer in the United States.

The low level promotion could be tagged on the lack of participation by the National Hockey League, a decision announced by the league on December 22, just before the annual January 1st NHL Winter Classic would be televised – not by NBC Sports – but by TNT. The NHL noted, however, they were passing on the Beijing Winter Games because of the increasing threat of the COVID-19 virus and its Omicron variant.

The Beijing Winter Games, however, can carry-on without the players of the National Hockey League as the ice hockey competition in both the men’s and women’s games will be scheduled and will have some interest. After all, the athletes are not being asked to boycott the games and that is about the only good news to report.

In the months leading up to the February 4-20 Winter Games, local NBC affiliates laid low in on-air promotion. Daily viewers of The Today Show have not been subjected to endless Winter Olympics features and programming plugs. On January 1, NBC pulled the plug on its NBC Sports Network and shifted programming to its old school USA Network and cable business outlet CNBC. NBC’s OTT network – Peacock – will host many of the events. That strategy is certainly within NBC Universal’s prerogative in their attempt to promote Peacock, but it comes with a cost to the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee (USOPC) which also represents the Paralympics in the USA. That cost is eyeballs as OTT (Over-the-Top) – even without a paywall – is not OTA (Over the Air).

Bits of Winter Games qualifying events are now dancing in our heads. Figure skating has been on-going in Nashville where veteran skater Mariah Bellwon the women’s national title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, likely earning a spot on the three-person U.S. Olympic team when it is announced (right around press/posting time). Bell will be the oldest USA national champion to compete since the 1920s. Karen Chen finished second and Isabeau Levito came in third. Alysa Liu, considered the top American female figure skater, dropped out of the US championships after testing positive for the coronavirus but still can be named to the team for the Beijing Olympics.

There’s been some speed skating qualifying and some snow boarding, glimmers of hope for the upcoming games. Peacock will live stream all of NBC Universal’s coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, including every minute of every live event that airs on broadcast and cable TV. They will not put a pay wall up for those with the Peacock app.

Regardless, viewership of the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Games will likely be at an all-time low. Reasons are plentiful, starting with 2016-2022 American-China relations at a crossroads and possibly at the lowest point since the 1970s. The Chinese government’s record vs. Human rights is reason enough for viewers to take a pass. The stodgy Olympic suits will make excuses and point to the huge time zone difference between Asia and the USA. The split audiences – traditional TV vs Streaming – will be the built-in excuse for low ratings.

One thing is for sure: the Chinese government doesn’t give a granite Curling stone’s damn what an American viewer thinks or does. China couldn’t care less if an American diplomat shows up.

What will this lover of Olympic Games do?

I’ll watch it all.

I’ll dream of glorious Olympic Games of the past. Dreams of downhill and slalom races in 1968 with Jean-Claude Killy of France or Innsbruck ‘76 with Austria’s Franz Klammer. I’ll think of Italy’s Alberto Tomba or Austria’s Hermann Maier.

I’ll think of all the different Olympics, the many years, the US broadcasters from ABC Sports to CBS Sports to NBC Sports. I’ll fondly remember broadcaster Pat O’Brien hosting an 11:30pm (ET) cozy nightly recap at fireside from Lillehammer, Norway in 1994. And, of course, I’ll think back to Lake Placid and the greatest sporting moments of many of our lifetimes – the 1980 USA Olympic gold medal ice hockey team.

Glory days, all gone by.

Pat O’Brien Late Night from Lillehammer in ‘94 … (Get a load of the theme song and opening graphics).

I might have written about this once before, but you need to understand “TheOlympic Gene.” Either you have it or you don’t. It is passed down along with all the other 20-to-25,000 human DNA-based wirings in our body. Those carrying the Olympic Gene have a little more “pep” in their polypeptides. While the human condition is inborn, it grows with leaned conditioning as the Olympic Games are played in places all over the world.

The Olympic Gene can be limited to love the Summer Games more than the Winter Games, but love of any one sport – whether it be figure skating or curling, handball or weight lifting – tosses the gene pool upside down and all the lovely chromosomes tumble together for, yes, MUST SEE TV.

Those of us with the Olympic Gene pass it along to our children and they queue-up like automobiles at the Field of Dreams and watch alongside us. They are on a first name basis with “Bob” (Costas). They want silence in the room during the women’s free skate or the women’s team gymnastics competition, no matter who is competing or what country they hail from.

Until this day, I can not fathom a family that doesn’t love and experience the world of sports. Whether they participate or watch from the stands or via television. Sports is such a unifier and exactly what we need in 2022.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Politics are very much a part of the international sporting events, especially the Olympic Games. Look back to 1936 and Jesse Owens incredible performances for the USA in Berlin, Germany or look so very sadly back to Munich in 1972 when the pro-Palestine Black September terrorist group invaded, captured and killed members of Israel’s Olympic Team.

US athletes have protested at the Games, too, with Tommie Smith and John Carlos of USA Track & Field raising their black-gloved fists in protest of civil rights in the United States during one of the most tumultuous years (1968) in our country’s history. There is no escaping politics and the Olympics and maybe that’s actually a good thing if it is done in peace.

The youth of the world gather to compete and the youth of the world must solve the problems the prior generations have dumped in their laps.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Blast-off … The NBA made an interesting sports business announcement this week with the fact it selected five companies for the inaugural NBA Launchpad program. In a statement, the NBA said Launchpad is “the league’s latest initiative to source, evaluate and pilot emerging technologies that impact the future of the game.” … Says the NBA, “Launchpad was introduced in June 2021 with a global search to identify cutting-edge solutions that directly addressed the following priority areas identified for the inaugural season of the program: Ankle Injury Innovation, Elite Youth Player Performance, Referee Training and Development and Youth Health and Wellness. NBA Launchpad received hundreds of submissions from a diverse applicant pool across 25 countries, ranging from early-stage startups to large research institutions. … To conduct the “pitch” review process, the NBA partnered with Pitchtape, an online pitch platform, and enlisted subject matter experts from the League Office and teams to evaluate each submission. The inaugural class of the NBA Launchpad program includes:

  • BetterGuards (Berlin, Germany): Adaptive ankle protection system that provides advanced freedom of motion for athletes while actively preventing injuries.
  • Breathwrk (Los Angeles, California): Health and performance app that provides science-backed breathing exercises, helping athletes wake up, calm down, increase stamina and fall asleep.
  • Nextiles (Brooklyn, New York): Materials science company that quantifies human movement by merging sewing technologies with flexible electronics.
  • Rezzil (Manchester, United Kingdom): VR-based solution for cognitive training, rehabilitation and game analysis.
  • Uplift Labs (Palo Alto, California): AI-powered technology that delivers real-time movement tracking and 3D analysis to enhance health and performance.

“We are thrilled to introduce our NBA Launchpad program with such a diverse group of innovative products and solutions,” said Evan Wasch, Executive Vice President, Basketball Strategy & Analytics. “Each company brings something unique to the table that will improve the game of basketball.”

Over the next six months, NBA Launchpad portfolio companies will work alongside league and team advisors on R&D projects. Companies will also receive unique access to NBA events and exposure to the NBA’s ecosystem of partners and investors.

HERE’s A COUPLE NEW ONES: The NBA fined New York Knicks forward Julius Randle $25,000 for “the egregious use of profane language during media interviews.” Randle made his comments to the media on two separate occasions — after a Jan. 5 practice and postgame following the Knicks’ 108-105 victory over the Boston Celtics on Jan. 6 at Madison Square Garden. … Earlier in the week, the Sacramento Kings organization was fined $50,000 for violating league rules prohibiting team owners and executives from interacting with scorer’s table personnel during game play. Kings’ Assistant General Manager Wes Wilcox was also fined $15,000. … The incident took place during a timeout with 10:50 remaining in the third quarter of the Kings’ 115-113 win over the Miami Heat on Jan. 2 at Golden 1 Center, when Wilcox left his seat to confront operations personnel at the scorer’s table about their handling of a clock procedure during a jump ball. The clock procedure at issue was, in fact, administered correctly by the shot clock operator.

TLs Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 2, 2022

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While We’re Young (Ideas)

DIGGIES 2022 and Suggestion Box for Baseball

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Back by popular demand, we give you the very first “DIGGIES 2022,” the top start-ups, new companies and other assorted things to anticipate with great expectations in 2022. One thing you can be assured of, Theranos will NOT be on the list.

To begin, we’ll start you off with a “Lucky 7” DIGGIES in sports investments.

Guru.Club – Remember where you “heard it first,” as Guru Club will be making a major impact in dozens of verticals, including sports, ticket sales, and everything associated with the industry. The Boston-based brand loyalty and new wave/social advertising start-up has very reasonable prices and room for growth for all brands.

HYDROW – Boston-based HYDROW is to rowing as Peloton is to cycling, complete with a monthly fee/membership to experience new and innovative content. HYDROW has been a product, engineered and marketed to the very serious “Head of the Charles” level rower. CEO Bruce Smith competed and coached in the Head of the Charles and 2015 World Championships.

Nex/Homecourt – Parent company Nex has two products and one is Homecourt, an application that allows young basketball players to train smarter, learn from the pros, and gear their training while improving skills that are applicable to NBA Combine level. Nex investors include Samsung, Blue Pool Capital, Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, Alibaba Entrepreneurship Fund, NBA, soccer great Thierry Henry, WNBA and USA Basketball legend Sue Bird, Harvard star and NBA phenom, now playing in China Jeremy Lin, former NBA MVP and current Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash, baseball legend Albert Pujols, actor and entrepreneur Will Smith, Steven Chen, co-founder YouTube, Matt Mullenweg, Co-Founder WordPress, RohamGharegozlou, Founder, Dapper Labs, NBA TopShot, Mark Cuban, team owner, Dallas Mavericks, and executives from Facebook, Uber, YouTube, Disney, and MasterClass.

PGA TOUR Brunch – A brand you’ve read about before in this column, the six days a week e-News to your Inbox is designed to give PGA Tour fans a mobile-first, and mobile-friendly tournament previews, betting odds, news updates and the most important links to content to save you time as you read the news on your device over lunch, brunch or whenever. Compiled and written by this reporter (Terry Lyons) who enjoys weekly competition in a couple Fantasy Golf leagues, too. Sign-Up or gift PGA TOUR Brunch to your favorite golfer or PGA TOUR fan and receive a special 205 discount by visiting HERE. (Notification: PGA Tour Brunch is not affiliated with the Tour and is a publication by Digital Sports Desk and TERRY LYONS)

Real Response – Real Response is designed to help sports organizations empower their student-athletes and give them the tools needed as the marketing world changes via Name, Image and Likeness opportunities (and eventual regulation). RealResponse partners with over 100 collegiate institutions and athletic organizations like the NFL Players Association, and USA Gymnastics. Through surveys, real-time reporting, and a comprehensive documentation repository, Real Response provided over 50,000 athletes a safe space to deliver concerns and feedback to their administration(s) and reps.

ShotTracker – A ‘not too’ oldie but goodie, here, Shot Tracker is growing its influence. ShotTracker is a sensor-based system that automatically captures statistical and performance analytics for (mostly men’s and women’s basketball) teams in real-time. Up-to-the-minute shot charts, optimal lineups, box scores in game, all streaming instantly into coaches and/or video assistants hands. the late David Stern was on it early, via Greycroftinvestment arm, and now Magic Johnson, Seventy-Six Capital and a host of others are onboard.

Too Good To Go – A global start-up from Europe, now expanding in the USA. They work with Restaurants, Bakeries, Grocery Stores and Households to combat the waste of good food. There’s certainly a future application for sports venues, caterers, and vendors.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Between college and pro basketball, a few Bowl games, a slew of NHL games, along with airline flights, there’s been more cancellations than a postmaster detailing stamps at the Post Office. Everyone from bus drivers to vendors to NBA referees are quarantining after positive tests from any and all variants of the COVID-19 virus, but somehow, the band plays on.

Schedule makers in the NHL might have an easier time making up lost games, as they now have the gap in the original schedule, pre piously being held for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. … College conferences will struggle mightily to find dates to reschedule games and we’re already seeing games that were previously planned to be played in the big time sports arenas, now being relegated to the small on-campus gyms. That’s bad for season ticket holders, but possibly good for added home court advantage but the idea of seeing a packed house in Seton Hall’s tiny Walsh Gymnasium screams super-spreader.

THE BOWLS: The concept, formerly known as the College Football Bowl Season, is in deep trouble. Not only are teams cancelling because of COVID-19 concerns (which is unavoidable at this point in time), but the changing tides of college football result more and more in bowl teams arriving without their head coach, a defensive coordinator (who took on a job opportunity elsewhere) or star players who opt-out of the bowl game to work with professional trainers and strength and conditioning coaches to better prepare for the NFL Combine and Draft.

This column tries best not to be by-lined by Captain Obvious, but a MAJOR change needs to be made and the powers-that-be in college athletics and college football need to act now, rather than later.

There is no simple solution.

One thought is to expand the College Football Playoff system from four to 16 teams and draw a line in the turf right there. Only 16 college football teams would qualify for post-season and four pods of four teams each would be established to create a “Final Four” scenario that we currently enjoy.

Purists – a.k.a. lovers of the Bahamas Bowl, the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl or the Jimmy Kimmel Bowl – might lament. The option there would be to create a college football version of the “National Invitational Tournament” (NIT) and have an “on-campus” game or two to create the NIT Final Four which could be played in the likes of Dayton Ohio or Las Vegas.

The NCAA would also have to create a “No Fly Zone” or moratorium against the hiring or firing of college football coaches from November through January 15.

Michigan and Georgia at the Orange Bowl (Photo by Jeff Goldstein)

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: If the College Bowl Season is broken in two, Major League Baseball has been smashed to pieces.

Currently in lock-out mode, MLB players are working-out on their own and have 42 days until Pitchers & Catchers report for Spring Training. Negotiations are on-going for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement to govern the sport for years to come and the process might become quite painful for both team owners and players.

There are drastic steps that need to be taken in the next agreement. Here are a few:

  1. SALARY CAP SYSTEM: MLB, like football, basketball and hockey before it, must negotiate a Salary Cap (minimum and maximum team salary structure) to govern the Majors. Unless on-field miracles occur, there’s easily 15-20 MLB teams that have little to no chance of competing for a World Series title. Every year, there’s one or two surprise teams that might make the Wild Card playoffs and ride a “hot” pitching or a few “hot” bats, but for the most part, the system is so broken, only the big time teams can compete. A Salary Cap system seems unavoidable, but the MLB Players Association will fight, claw and scream their way out of any collective agreement that includes team salary limits, and curtailing the free agency market.
  2. RULES: MLB must address the designated hitter, the extra-inning rules brought on by COVID-19, including seven-inning doubleheaders and the man-on-second-base rule for extra innings. I’d go with the DH in both leagues and that would be a major “get” for the Union as the jobs of aging players unable to play the field would be protected for all 30 teams. On the others, I’d lean hard against the seven-inning twin bills and the “man-on-second-base” rule. Additionally, there needs to be major change in the way relief pitchers are being utilized. While the purists can claim that MLB managers should be able to do whatever it takes to win a ballgame, the use of eight-to-10 pitchers every game is excessive and the TV audience simply tunes out. The DH should go one way or the other. In or out. (It’s currently only in the American League and has been since 1973. That’s 49 years of inequity. … The pace of play also comes in under the area of game rules that need to be addressed in the CBA. Recent reports have noted the Office of Baseball and the MLB Players have been meeting/discussing non-economic or core issues. Here’s a “Six/Fix” for Baseball:
    • Suggestion One: No mound visits in the first three innings unless a pitcher is going to be removed from the game. (Of course, MLB Trainers can assist a pitcher if there’s an injury from a come-backer).
    • Suggestion Two: Limit the number of pitchers to be ‘active” for any one game. Ten or 12 pitchers max. Others can be healthy scratches, ready for the next game.
    • Suggestion Three: Limit shifting. Each position would have a range of space where the defensive players can be positioned. The range could be on electronic notification that would “beep” in a players’ fielding glove if he approached his space limitation area.
    • Suggestion Four: Address bench-clearing. Bench clearing brawls in Baseball are often no more than pushing-shoving or square-dancing, but there’s always the potential for an all-out “Rudy T” moment and serious injury. There is NO REASON players should leave the dugout. a minimum 20-game suspensions would take care of it. Second offense? How about 50 games?
    • Suggestion Five: Bench clearing from the bullpen is just ridiculous. It’s the easiest fix of the bunch. If a reserve pitcher/catcher/coach leaves a bullpen area during an altercation, Baseball should be able to suspend the player for 50 games.
    • Suggestions Six: (This might sound ridiculous, but a cumulative 10-15 minutes every game is spent as batters nervously re-adjust their batting gloves for every pitch). Once a player steps in the batter’s box, he can no longer adjust his batting gloves. Period. First infraction, a warning. Second infraction? Off come the batting gloves for the rest of the game.

 

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Unit Exec Director Tony Clark

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook – Dec 26

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“He spoke not a word and went straight to his work.” – Clement Clarke Moore (or Bill Belichick?)

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – When there’s 52+ weeks of Sunday notebooks to review, there are plenty of topics, notes, tidbits and remembrances to point out as we look back at the strange year of 2021 and look forward to (hopefully) better days ahead in 2022.

Upon quick review, here’s a list of the most prominent items in TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | While We’re Young (Ideas) over the past 52 weeks:

January 2021:

Big Story: Alabama defeated Ohio State, 52-24, in College Football Playoffs National Championship game

  • A Few of My Favorite Things
  • Diggies: Outstanding TV Ads and Hard Knocks NFL Jinx
  • Tons of NFL Talent (Unfortunately, many were hurt in 2021)
  • Hank Aaron Tribute
  • Sekou Smith Tribute

February 2021:

Big Story: QB Tom Brady and Tampa Bay defeated Kansas City, 31-9, in Super Bowl LVI

  • Super Bowl | Salute to Tom Brady
  • Baseball Spring Training | Red Sox Equipment Truck Heads South
  • Second Chances in Life, Sports | Alex Cora
  • NBA Logo | Great Logos and Branding

March 2021:

Big Story: Justin Thomas shot four-under (68) in the final round for 274 (−14) to win his first PGA Tour Players Championship, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lee Westwood, the 54-hole leader.

  • NBA All-Star Notes | International Players | Zion was an All-Star
  • The Concept of TIME | Precious TIME of a sporting career
  • 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 | March Madness Brackets
  • March Madness without Duke and Kentucky
  • Sportico News: NBA Franchise Valuations; Fanatics $ Merch

April 2021:

Big Story: Baylor defeated Gonzaga, 86-70, in nCAA Final four Championship game

  • MLB Opening Day Brings Excitement, Joy | Underrated Events
  • The Masters | Rick Welts Announced retirement from GS Warriors
  • MLB’s Jackie Robinson Day | Mark “The Bird” Fidrych
  • European Super League Futbol Flop

May 2021:

Big Story: Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby, giving his trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh win in the race and jockey John Velazquez his fourth Derby win. However, the horse tested positive for betamethasone after the race.

  • Must Win Time in NHL and NBA | Kentucky Derby
  • NFL Franchise Valuations | IVY League Sports Comeback
  • Basketball: Hall of Fame | WNBA 25th | Africa League
  • ATL: Us Against the World and NBA
  • Fan Behavior | Mark Eaton RIP

June 2021:

Big Story: In the 121st U.S. Open golf tournament, Jon Rahm made a birdie on each of the final two holes to become the first U.S. Open champion from Spain and win his first major championship.

  • Fragile Nature of Sports | Sports Perfection
  • The Sports Window of Opportunity | PGA Tour : The Travelers
  • Father’s Day | USA Swimming/Nick Fink
  • Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia Tribute

July 2021:

Big Story: The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games with the decisive contest played on July 20th.

  • Name, Image, Likeness | #SportsBiz
  • NBA/ESPN Reporter Bickering | Olympics on Horizon
  • The Open
  • Memories of Olympic Games Past

August 2021:

Big Story; MLB stole the show with its first-ever regular season game at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, a site popularized by the 1989 baseball motion picture.

  • More Great Olympic Games Memories
  • Modified Stableford Scoring for Hoops
  • PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs
  • Northern Trust = No Pro Golf in Boston

September 2021:

Big Story: Daniil Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic in the final, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 to win the men’s singles tennis title at the 2021 U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows. On the women’s side, Britain’s Emma Raducanu defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the final, 6–4, 6–3 to win the women’s singles tennis title at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu became the first qualifier, male or female, to reach a major final and win a major title, as well as the first singles qualifier to reach the semifinals at the US Open.

  • The Most Wonderful Time of the Year for Sports
  • US Open Tennis: 18-year old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain defeated 19-year old Leylah Fernandez of Canada
  • Ryder Cup Golf and Hard Knocks NFL
  • More Ryder Cup Golf | Hope for BC Eagles Football

October 2021:

Big Story: The Chicago Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury in four straight games to win the 2021 WNBA title.

  • NBA at 75 Tip-Off
  • The people behind the NBA at 75 Impact: Off the Court
  • NBA at 75 | Final List | #SportsBiz Sports Gambling Update
  • Preseason College Basketball Preview

November 2021:

Big Story: The Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros in six games to win the 2021 MLB World Series.

  • 30 Year Look-Back at Earvin “Magic” Johnson
  • Best Sports Towns in America
  • Olympic Boycotts – Athletes & Diplomats
  • Paying Thanks on Thanksgiving Day 2021

December 2021:

Big Story:  New York City FC defeated the Portland Timbers (1-1) in penalty kicks after a scoreless overtime. It was NYC FC’s first MLS Cup title.

  • A Look at Deep, Dark December | NFL Power Rankings
  • #Sports – The Land of Confusion | Bill Russell Auction
  • Dreaming of a “Wilt” Christmas | NBA Christmas Day Preview
  • 2021 Year-End Review

January 2022: As you can see from the photo up top, the lads are welcoming in a New Year with hopes for a much better 2022 than was experienced in 2020 and 2021.

Overall, it’s somewhat daunting to look back at the year in sports. So many things happened – good and bad – in such challenging circumstances, yet again. It’s even harder to look back at the year in news. The “real world” headlines of 2021 absolutely drops us to our knees, especially the way the year started out on January 6th. Nevertheless, we must move on and move forward. And, with that in mind:

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Despite the fact this is being written before the NFL games of December 25, now is the time for TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | While We’re Young (Ideas) to do its second installment of NFL Power Rankings. A reminder of my last list (dated December 4):

  1. Buffalo Bills
  2. Kansas City Chiefs
  3. Dallas Cowboys
  4. Arizona Cardinals
  5. Green Bay Packers
  6. Baltimore Ravens
  7. New England Patriots
  8. Tennessee Titans
  9. Cincinnati Bengals
  10. Tampa Bay/SF 49ers/Washington/Miami/Others

Here’s the current Digital Sports Desk Power Rankings of the NFL’s Top 10 (dated December 24):

  1. Kansas City Chiefs: Both on offense and – surprisingly on defense, the KC Chiefs have stepped-up.
  2. Green Bay Packers: The (11-3) Pack are healthy and have Aaron Rodgers primed for a playoff run, most likely with a much-needed first round bye.
  3. Buffalo Bills: The Bills can prove they’ve earned this high ranking on Sunday when they face the New England Patriots at Foxborough. Let’s see where each club ends up?
  4. Dallas Cowboys: Quarterback Dak Prescott and the ‘Boys are lurking, and in good position to do some damage in the NFC Playoffs.
  5. Tennessee Titans: The Thursday night win over the epic collapse of QB Jimmy Garappolo and the San Francisco 49ers placed Tennessee (10-5) in prime position for the AFC Playoffs. A loss would’ve been trouble.
  6. Indianapolis Colts: The Colts (8-6) won a huge game last weekend over the New England Patriots and it thrust Indiana into contention.
  7. Arizona Cardinals: At (10-4), the Cards remain a team no other wants to see in the NFC Playoffs. The question? Can QB Kyler Murray, RBsJames Conner/Chase Edmonds/WR AJ Green remain healthy?
  8. New England Patriots: As the NBA’s great Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich once said, “Don’t EVER underestimate the heart of a champion.” … The question is whether that champion is on the sidelines in Foxborough, Mass or at QB in Tampa?
  9. Cincinnati Bengals: After dropping two important games (Chargers and 49ers), the Bengals bounced back with a 15-10 win over Denver last week. They’re in MUST win territory with their next two games (Ravens and Chiefs). The AFC North is up for grabs and is in the midst of the tightest NFL divisional race in 44 years.
  10. Everyone Else, including the LA Chargers, Rams, SF 49ers.

G-LEAGUE PUSH BACK: With dozens of NBA teams signing players to 10-day contracts to fill-out rosters, the G-League was forced to delay their season. The league noted in a statement of December 24: «The NBA G League will delay its regular season, originally scheduled to tip-off on Dec. 27, will now begin on Jan. 5, 2022. The delay will give teams an opportunity to safely return players to market after the Christmas holiday and to replenish their rosters following NBA call-ups. Information regarding games originally scheduled between Dec. 27 and Jan. 4 will be provided at a later date.»

NO HAWAI’I in HAWAI’I BOWL? – The lone sporting event of December 24 was abruptly cancelled when the powers that be cancelled the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl. The University of Hawai’i could not play in the game due to players and staff with COVID-19+ test results. Hawaii’s college football bowl opponent, Memphis, had travelled to Honolulu for the game. … “The health and safety of our student-athletes is the most important part of this decision,” David Matlin, Hawaii AD, said in a statement. “The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has forced us to not participate in the game.”

REVERSE DECISION: The BIG EAST Conference modified its game cancellation policy for men’s and women’s basketball for the 2021-22 season. The adjustment was the result of the recent sudden and significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases nationally and within BIG EAST programs due to the spread of the Omicron variant. … Under the modified policy, a Conference game will be canceled in the event a school has fewer than seven scholarship players and one countable coach available for a game. The BIG EAST conference office will attempt to reschedule any such game(s) in accordance with parameters approved by BIG EAST Directors of Athletics. … In the event the rescheduling parameters cannot be fulfilled, the canceled game(s) will be designated as a no contest.

To date, four BIG EAST men’s Conference games had been designated as forfeitures under the previous COVID-19 game cancellation policy. The forfeiture classification will be removed from these games, and efforts are now underway to reschedule them at a later date. (Since then, two other games were scrapped: St. John’s and Butler in Jamaica Estates, Queens; and Georgetown at Creighton. No women’s games to date have been designated as forfeitures. … The new ruling seems much more in line with the rest of the sporting world, all doing the most to get complete season scheduled played in their entirety.

NHL BUYS ANOTHER DAY: From a formal statement released December 24/Christmas Eve, the National Hockey League said its regular-season schedule will not resume prior to Tuesday, Dec. 28. The league had planned to resume its schedule on Dec. 27, but in order to allow adequate time to analyze league-wide testing results and to assess clubs’ readiness to play, the target date for resumption of game play will be pushed back an additional day. Teams will return to practice on Dec. 26 and it is expected that the league will provide an update on its return to play plans by the end of day on Sunday.

The league plans to stage its annual outdoor Winter Classic on January 1 at 6pm ET with the St. Louis Blues visiting the Minnesota Wild at Target Field.

BOOKS CLOSED ON THE STAPLES CENTER: The Los Angeles sports scene will now watch concerts, conventions and sporting events at the Crypto.com Arena, after cryptocurrency website Crypto.com purchased the naming rights to the arena, formerly known as The STAPLES Center.

Official photographer Andrew D. Bernstein recalled nine of his favorite memories of the original, going first with opening night with the great Bruce Springsteen.

1: Bruce Springsteen opens the arena 1999
2: Lakers championship 2000
3: Democratic National Convention 2000
4: LA Sparks WNBA championship 2001
5: Michael Jackson Memorial 2009
6: Blake Griffin Slam-Dunk at NBA All Star 2011
7: Grammys 2012
8: LA Kings first Stanley Cup 2012
9: Kobe’s final game 2016
10: LeBron James 2020

Check out Andy’s series of podcasts at Legends of Sport: HERE

CLOCK RUNNING on DECEMBER 2021 but THE OFFER IS STILL GOOD:

  1. NOTES, NOTES, AND MORE NOTES: A year-long subscription to TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – While We’re Young (Ideas) is a perfect way to have the sports fan in your life look forward to an old-fashioned, weekly, notebook full of sports insights. All Year Long! Sign-up for this special offer: HERE

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  2. PGA TOUR BRUNCH AS CHAMPIONS RETURN OF THE TOUR:Plans are on-going to re-launch the popular PGA Tour Brunchnewsletter when the pros tee-it-up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (January 5-9, 2022) at The Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii.

SIGN-UP HERE FOR PGA TOUR BRUNCH

Parting Words & Music:

In Excelsis Deo: On this Christmas night of 2021, I give you the genius of Aaron Sorkin and his work on the television drama – The West Wing – from 1999. Whether you were a fan/viewer of the show or not, I simply ask you to view this scene and the detail of every single word, every single cut, every single edit and every single decision made to produce the poignant scene.

The assembly of The West Wing cast at the White House, each viewing the choir celebration, is striking. Only one other character asked Tobias”Toby” Ziegler (played by Richard Schiff) to accompany him to Arlington National Cemetery and that was dear Mrs. Delores Landingham, the President’s executive assistant. This episode was one of the first when actress Kathryn Joosten’s character became such a focal part of a scene.

Earlier in the episode, Presidential aide/body man Charlie Young (played by Dulé Hill) had asked why Mrs. Landingham was feeling “down,” and she opened up to him that she had “lost her two twin boys” in the Viet Nam war. (They died as medics in a fire-fight at Da Nang on Christmas Eve 1970).

The West Wing and Sorkin, in general, just ace the art of character development and this clip shows you one small reason why. In Excelsis Deoand Two Cathedrals are the two most powerful episodes in the entire drama series.

In Excelsis Deo’s most dramatic scene:

The West Wing won Emmy Awards for:

Outstanding Writing of a Drama Show – Aaron Sorkin and Rick Clevelandsingled out for this episode.

Outstanding Single Camera Editing

Schiff won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Outstanding Sound Mixing in a Drama Series

Sorkin and Cleveland won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama at the 53rd Writers Guild of America Awards

Merry Christmas everyone.

TL

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Dec 19

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BOSTON – I’m dreaming of a “Wilt” Christmas, just like the ones I used to know.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 59-point, 36-rebound Christmas Day performance for the Philadelphia Warriors in their 136-135 double-overtime loss to the New York Knickerbockers back in 1961. The game was one of a seven-game streak when Chamberlain scored 50-or-more points (Dec. 16-29). Chamberlain’s rebounding total remains a Christmas Day record. His scoring total stood as a Christmas Day record for 22 years before Bernard King’s 60-point game for the Knicks in a 120-114 loss to the New Jersey Nets in 1984. Both games took place at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

The NBA began playing games on Christmas Day in 1947, in its second year and this season, the league has scheduled five games on Christmas Day for the 14th year in a row.

Here is this Saturday’s NBA on Christmas Day schedule:

Noon: Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks (ESPN): The Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks will meet on Christmas Day for the first time since the Hawks moved to Atlanta (which took place in 1968). The teams faced each other twice on Christmas Day when the Hawks were in St. Louis (1956 and 1965). This will mark the first time the Hawks have been scheduled to play on December 25th since 1989. The Knicks have played 53 times on Christmas, the NBA team high.

2:30pm ET: Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks (ABC): The Celtics have played the third-most games on Christmas Day (34 entering 2021, trailing only NY and the LA Lakers) and the most road games on Christmas Day (29 entering 2021). Milwaukee will be hosting a Christmas Day game for the second consecutive year. The Bucks are (4-3) on the holiday with last year’s 138-99 stocking full of coal deposited on the Golden State Warriors.

5:00pm ET: Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns (ABC/ESPN Radio):The Suns are (12-6) on the holiday and the Warriors are (13-17). Phoenix’s last Christmas Day game came in 2009, a 124-93 win vs. LA Clippers. Golden State’s Draymond Green was the last player to record a triple-double on the holiday, and is one of six players to do so on Christmas Day: Draymond Green (2017), Russell Westbrook (2013), LeBron James(2010), Billy Cunningham (1970), John Havlicek (1967) and Oscar Robertson (four times: 1967, 1963, 1961 and 1960).

8:00pm ET: Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers (ABC/ESPN Radio):The LA Lakers are scheduled on Christmas Day for the 23rd straight year. They have the most all-time victories on 12/25 with 24. Lakers center DeAndre Jordan holds the single-game record for most blocked shots on Christmas Day with eight for the LA Clippers against the Golden State Warriors in 2011. LeBron James ranks second in career points on Christmas Day with 383. He needs 13 points to pass the late Kobe Bryant (395) and become the all-time leading scorer on 12/25 when he has a (10-5) won-loss record which trails only Dwyane Wade’s (10-3) record. Meanwhile, the highest-scoring game by an active player on Christmas Day belongs to the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant, who had 44 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Denver Nuggets in 2010. KD fell 16 points shy of Bernard King’s record.

10:30pm ET: Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz (ESPN): The nightcap will feature Dallas’ Luka Dončić against Utah’s Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, all three named NBA All-Stars last season. Both franchises are relative newcomers to the NBA on 12/25 tradition, with Dallas (2-2) and Utah (5-2). The Jazz games on Christmas Day have all been played at home (including two as the New Orleans Jazz).

TIDINGS of JOY: The NBA’s first foray of Christmas Day game came in 1947 when the Baltimore Bullets defeated the Chicago Stags 87-70 at Baltimore Coliseum. The same day, the New York Knicks defeated the Providence Steamrollers 89-75 at Madison Square Garden and the Washington Capitols won at St. Louis Bombers 73-56 at St. Louis Arena. The 56 point effort is the all-time low for Santa. … The last time there was just a single game on Christmas was 2006 when the Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 101-85 at Miami’s American Airlines Arena.

CAMDEN TRADITION CONTINUES FOR the WAGNER FAMILY:Remember Milt Wagner, a former NBA star who made his name and game at Camden High in south New Jersey or at the University of Louisville? Maybe you remember Milt’s son, Dejaun, another Camden player who went on to play at Memphis and was the sixth overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft (to Cleveland). This past Friday, Milt’s grandson, Dejaun’s son, a high school junior, DJ, scored 25 points to lead Camden to a 67-64 come-from-behind win over Roselle Catholic at Camden’s brand new joint, the Clarence Turner Gymnasium. Heading into the game, Camden was ranked No 1 in the State and Roselle Catholic was No. 2 a ranking which proved correct as Camden won its 39th straight game. Camden is ranked as the No. 2 team in the USA by MaxPreps who holds Duncanville (Texas) as the No. 1 high school team with their (11-0) record. Simeon Wilcher, a North Carolina commit, led Roselle Catholic with 21 points and seven rebounds. Akil Watson, a junior transfer from Don Bosco Prep, added 17 points and seven boards.

NBA VALUATIONS: This week marked Sportico’s second run at its NBA franchise valuations, and it underlined two important things in the sports industry. First, how time flies from one year to the next. Secondly, how the value of sports franchises accrue in a single year, regardless of the won-loss column.

Here’s the list of 2021-22 NBA Team Valuations, and we’ll discuss on the other side:

  1. $6.12 billion – New York Knicks (+13%)
  2. $6.030 billion – Golden State Warriors (+16%)
  3. $5.630 billion – Los Angeles Lakers (+10%)
  4. $3.610 billion – Brooklyn Nets (+6%)
  5. $3.530 billion – Chicago Bulls (+12%)
  6. $3.44 billion – Boston Celtics (+8%)
  7. $3.160 billion – Los Angeles Clippers (+20%)
  8. $2.790 billion – Houston Rockets (+1%)
  9. $2.740 billion – Toronto Raptors (+7%)
  10. $2.720 billion – Dallas Mavericks (+5%)

NOTES: The New Orleans Pelicans ($1.510b), the Memphis Grizzlies ($1.530b) and the Minnesota Timberwolves ($1.570b) were on the low end of the spectrum in NBA franchise value, according to Sportico. … Keep in mind, the Timberwolves were amongst the four 1988-89 NBA expansion franchises that bought in for $32.5 million while the Grizzlies, then in Vancouver and the Toronto Raptors’ expansion fees were a whopping $125 million.

Says Sportico: “The NBA’s pitch to incoming investors includes opportunities also available in other leagues—around gambling, streaming and digital. A key differentiator, however, is the international prospects, despite the league’s ongoing tension in China, where business has returned to pre-pandemic levels. In addition to the Bibigo investment in the Lakers, a Chinese electronic trading platform, Webull Financial, signed a sponsorship pact with the Brooklyn Nets worth $30 million a year, while Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten extended its $20 million-a-year patch deal with the Warriors at an increase.” … The newfound money as US States open up to full sports gambling on top of Fantasy Sports gaming is “just the tip of the iceberg,” according to New York’s MSG Sports president Andrew Lustgarten.

“The NBA is the dominant U.S. league in terms of international investor appeal,” sports banker Sal Galatioto said to Sportico. “People from all over the world want to invest in the NBA, and that’s a huge advantage.”

From the While We’re Young (Ideas) vantage point, I’d double-down on the vast international appeal of the NBA. There is one – often overlooked reason and that is the simple fact that the sport of basketball is played by both men and women all over the world. Nearly every person on the planet has played the game in some small form, not to mention that the rules of the game are pretty simple. That fact is a huge advantage over American Football and Baseball. Often noted is another sports fact. The truly global team sports are soccer (Futbol) and basketball. However, great Futbol players are spread-out, playing in leagues all over the world, from Brazil to Argentina to England to Spain to Germany. They play for their native countries in World Cup competition but during the “regular season” they’re all over the world. The NBA has all of the greatest players in the world playing in one league. That league is the only way a world class player can test his skills against the very best.

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Dec 12th

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Welcome to the Land of Confusion.

This week, we’re serving up the controversial happenings in sports, clearing the mayhem out before the Holiday Season, Peace on Earth, Goodwill Towards Men and Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

Instead, there’s a Land of Confusion, including:

  • Diplomatic Boycotting of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games by USA (with similar support from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Lithuania).
  • The Women’s Tennis Association suspending play in China in response to alleged sexual assault and disappearance of star tennis player Peng Shua
  • Celtics’ reserve center Enes Kanter Freedom campaigning on human rights issues in Turkey and China

Most likely, the Diplomatic boycott will have little to zero effect on the athletes at the games. It’s not like an Austrian skier is going to be thinking about the USA Chef de Mission while awaiting the downhill slalom ride of a lifetime. But let’s pose a few questions to see where this might go in a few weeks (February 4, 2022)?

(Getty Images)

Might the youth of the world collectively question the USA’s recent past in terms of suppressing voter rights, limiting women’s healthcare and upending a 50-year Constitutional decision, never mind issues regarding “rising climate and environmental concerns, growing financial and economic coercion,” noted a recent missive from the Council of Foreign Relations examining the previous US administration’s tendency to “increasingly invoke national security as a justification for restricting trade, while its prolific use of quotas, sanctions, tariffs, and the like threatens to destroy the rules-based economic order.”

In other words, will the USA Olympians have to pay a price for a 2017-to-2021 undermining of U.S. allies across the globe, or the decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord? (President Joe Biden re-joined the Paris Accord at recent COP26 summit).

On the flip side, can the USA and other countries utilize the global spotlight of the Olympic Games to pressure China on the allegations of torture, forced detention, sterilization, religious persecution and atrocities committed against the Uyghur people – a Muslim ethnic group in northwest China?

Some (including 180 human rights groups) have called for a full boycott of the games, but White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki defended the decision to allow American athletes to compete by saying that it would be unfair to “penalize athletes who have been training, preparing for this moment,” and adding that the diplomatic boycott “sends a clear message.”

Meanwhile the relatively small WTA stood-up to fight a mighty battle against China, one the International Olympic Committee would never broach as the Celtics’ scrub Kanter stands on his own vs. human rights issues, calling-out his native Turkey and now China. Kanter has even singled-out NBA superstar LeBron James and Lin-sanity himself in Jeremy Lin, 33, a former NBA player of Taiwanese-American descent. Lin now cashes a check, playing for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

All the while, the IOC claims to be non-political, and many sports fans claim they don’t want to mix politics and sports, but that ship sailed long, long ago.

The Sports vs. Political landscape is muddy. The answers will never come, unless you measure USA Nielsen TV ratings which is never a method that can be considered an exact science.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Hunt Auctions this week presented an amazing offering of game memorabilia and other artifacts from the personal collection of Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell. The auction items were owned and carefully collected by Russell throughout his life, chronicling his historic basketball career and seminal role as a leader in the Civil Rights movement in the United States, beginning in the 1950s.

Notable sales from the auction, held at TD Garden in Boston, included:

  • $1,116,250 – 1969 Bill Russell Boston Celtics professional model jersey worn in Game #7 of the 1969 NBA Finals, the final game of his NBA career
  • $1,313,500 – Cumulative total for Russell’s five MVP awards
  • $705,000 – 1957 championship ring, Russell’s first ring
  • $587,500 – 1956 Olympic gold medal
  • $558,125 – 1969 championship ring, the last of Russell’s 11 championships

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook – Dec. 5

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at the Month of December

BOSTON – December is the deepest and darkest month of the year. The winter solstice fast approaching this December 21st and the Christmas season coming immediately after for those who celebrate the holiday. While I’ve written about the NFL Red Zone’s “Witching Hour,” I have not, until now, written about December in the NFL. In Red Zone terms, it is the “month when winners win and losers lose.”

NFL Decembers make me shiver. December in the NFL is when 12, 13 and maybe 14-win teams are made. Last December 6-8, three of the four AFC/NFL championship participants won their games with Tampa Bay on a bye week. The eventual Super Bowl champion Bucs won all three of their December games and posted a “W” in their final regular season hame, a 44-27 ear-slap of Atlanta. Overall, Tampa won their final eight games of 2020-21.

In 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs caught fire in December, scorching the Raiders 40-9. The Super Bowl champion Chiefs won their final nine games. You have to look back to 2018 when the New England Patriots lost a costly 34-33 game at Miami to see a difference in the trend, although the Patriots spanked Minnesota in NFL Week 13, 24-10 and that game was one of ten late season wins as the Patriots closed out their 2018 schedule, 10-3, to advance for a 13-3 Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Back in 2017, the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles won their 11-12-13th games in December, but bookended the month with losses, including a 24-10 loss at Seattle on December 3 and a strange and meaningless 6-0 loss vs. Dallas on New Year’s eve. Philly won 12 of their last 14.

What will Week 13, December 2-6 bring to the NFL?

The Dallas Cowboys have already made their December to remember statement with an easy 27-17 win over an injury-plagued New Orleans team this past Thursday. Green Bay (9-3) has a bye week scheduled while the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots play Monday night.

Suffice to say, this weekend might separate the contenders in a league full of good but not great football teams. The (9-2) Arizona Cardinals have suffered injuries to their All Pro quarterback in Kyler Murray. Running back Chase Edmonds remains sidelined and All Pro wide-out DeAndre Hopkinshas been out since October 28, nursing a hamstring injury.

Tampa Bay (8-3) has been less than impressive, winning two of their last four. A divisional match-up at Atlanta awaits and we’ll see if Tom Brady and his Tampa teammates can shift into “Oh, What a Night” mode this December.

NFL POWER RANKINGS: With a long way to go and such mediocrity, eh – we’ll call it parity – in the NFL this season, I’m hesitant to do any meaningful Power Rankings. Injuries, including the inevitable COVID-19 outbreak or two, can upset the December applecart. But here’s a Top 10 in the NFL, all with a December to determine the contenders or pretenders.

  1. Buffalo Bills – The Bills will need to prove it Monday Night, but with a win over New England, they can place themselves atop the AFC, although a game at Tampa Bay and another match-up at divisional rival New England awaits.
  2. Kansas City Chiefs – Guess which NFL team has reeled-off four wins in a row, including a 13-7 win vs. Green Bay and a 19-9 win vs Dallas? Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense is tough to match-up against and the KC “D” is improving each and every game.
  3. Dallas Cowboys – After a disappointing 31-29 opening week loss to Tampa, Dallas won seven-of-eight, including a hard-fought, overtime win at Foxborough. Four of their last five regular season games are against NFC Least opponents.
  4. Arizona Cardinals – A league-leading (9-2) record with (6-0) on the road deserves praise but, as noted, the Cards need to get healthy in a hurry.
  5. Green Bay Packers – The Pack’s lost two of its last four, but had a much-needed and impressive 36-28 victory over the LA Rams on November 28. The Packers have a bye week to prepare for their final five regular season games.
  6. Baltimore Ravens – The (8-3) Ravens are the team no other AFC club wants to see in the playoffs. QB Lamar Jackson leads the offense, of course, but the key to the Ravens’ success (or not) will be on the defensive and special teams side of the field. The defense is stepping up over the past two victories over Cleveland and Chicago.
  7. New England Patriots – If December NFL football does one thing, it sets off the “Rookie Quarterback” alarm and QB Mac Jones, the favorite for Rookie of the Year, still qualifies for the alarm bell. For New England to be successful, the defense and special teams units will have to make big plays, force turnovers and win games. Jones can hold his own with the offense, especially if WR Kendrick Bourne continues his emergence.
  8. Tennessee Titans – You lose the best running back in the league (Derrick Henry) and you’re in trouble. The Titans lost their last two games (to Houston and New England). Previously, it was a six-game winning streak and eight wins over nine games. Can they run the ball against the NFL’s more elite teams?
  9. Cincinnati Bengals – Winning games follows QB Joe Burrow around even though costly losses to the Jets and Browns overshadowed pairs of wins coming three times in season, including victories over the Ravens, Raiders and melting Steelers (twice).
  10. In the NFC, only Washington FT and SF 49ers own three-game win streaks while AFC streakers include New England (six straight) along with KC and the Miami Dolphins as winners of their last four games. From some mix of Washington, SF, Miami and the LA Rams & Chargers comes the 10th best team. That said in this crazy and unpredictable 2021 NFL season, there’s a chance none of them qualify for the playoffs.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Talk about December football and the toughest of the tough and you have the annual Army vs Navy game, scheduled for December 11 at Met Life Stadium in the swamps of Jersey, rather than its usual home in sunny Philadelphia.

On the Sports Biz side, the folks at the Army-Navy game’s presenting sponsor, USAA, organized an impressive “Radio Row” facility at the Philadelphia Convention Hall pre-COVID-19 (Dec. 2019) but have moved the location to The Intrepid Air & Space Museum to preview this year’s game. … Nice back-drop for a number of national radio broadcasts and also the likes of: KNBR (SF), KILT (Houston), 106.7 the Fan (DC), KFAN (Minneapolis), WDAE (Tampa), KKFN (Denver), WFNZ (Charlotte), 97.3 the Fan (San Diego), 104.5 the Zone (Nashville) or ESPNSA (San Antonio).

BY PROVIDENCE: In keeping up with our coverage of, and intense interest in, the Big East Conference, we’ll note that Providence up-ended Rhode Island, 66-52, in the 131st battle between the two RI schools. Providence has now won 12 of the last 18 meetings. The Friars are also atop the Big East non-conference standings at (8-1) with their only loss coming at the hands of Virginia. Providence scrubbed Texas Tech (72-68) in their Big East vs Big 12 Battle earlier this week. UConn is also (8-1) with their Saturday win over Grambling (88-59). On Friday night at the new UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders of the NHL-and-AHL, wink, wink, The No. 8 rated Kansas Jayhawks drilled St. John’s by 25 (95-75) in the first basketball game ever played in the arena.

  1. NOTES, NOTES, AND MORE NOTES: A year-long subscription to TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – While We’re Young (Ideas) is a perfect way to have the sports fan in your life look forward to an old-fashioned, weekly, notebook full of sports insights. Sign-up for this special offer: HERE
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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – Nov. 28

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Gives Thanks

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – It’s Thanksgiving Weekend and time to STOP, THINK and THANK just a few people and REMEMBER a few things. The column comes complete with minimal BS, complaining, snark or sentimental goop while trying to avoid the negatives and all-to-often critical sniping. It does begin with a memorial dedication for 2020-21.

First things first:

It’s 2021, and there’s a global pandemic screaming bloody murder, so we must first pay thanks to our health, if we are so fortunate to do so. Before we can give thanks, it’s time to pay respects to those who lost their lives to COVID or other crisis this year. Special note to the late Madison Dubiski of Houston who lost her life in the crush of the Travis Scott concert at Astroworld along with at least nine others. Madison’s father, Brian, is a good friend of the column and was just hanging at Fenway Park when the Astros dispatched the Red Sox in late October. Madison was 23 years old at the time of her passing away in the crowd at NRG Park/Stadium in Houston on November 5. Dozens and dozens of others were injured. May God Bless.

Let’s Go.

From the Cranberry-Apple-Orange sauce to left-over Turkey Breast sandwiches, Thanksgiving is a favorite of holidays for many of us. Thanks to the Seventy-seven days until pitchers & Catchers report, then Opening Day, then Patriots’ Day and the Boston Marathon, and the 11am start at Fenway. … Thanks for the E-Z Pass and Smart TVs. … Frank Zamboni and to the guy who cut out the bottom of the peach basket, the greatest rule change in basketball history. … Thanks to Bill Russell and Satch and thanks to the memory of Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, who we lost this past March 21, as we remember Press and Pistol Pete Maravich.

Thanks for The NFL Red Zone and avoiding 100 car insurance commercials as we watch the NFL. To the Witching Hour, when wins become losses and losses become wins on the Octo-Box. … Thanks for Justin and Jalen and Josh, for Lamar, Cam (before him), Aaron, Kirk and Dak. … Thanks for Jonathan Taylor and Austin Ekeler … and to Cooper, Davanti, Tyreek, Deebo, and Ja’Marr.

Thanks for the Iron Bowl and El Clásico with a sentimental kiss to The Mayor’s Trophy Game.

Thanks to Joe DiLorenzo, Duane Johnson, Stephen Riley, Tod Rosensweig, Jan Volk, Steve “Globie” Lipofsky, and Jeff Twiss, and to Brian and especially Heather – all Boston Celtics colleagues.

Thanks for the New England snow-mobiles, aka Suburu OutBack and Forester, that keep us safe in rain, sleet or snow. In Boston, the Mail Person drives a Suburu. … Thanks to Wood-Boy who brings us a Cord+ of hard wood each Fall and thanks for the fireplace that burns that wood and makes us feel cozy, warm and fortunate each cold, winter night.

Thanks to St. John’s men’s basketball for driving me crazy every season, dating back to 1968 or so, and certainly since 1978 when a full season ticket was about $43. … Thanks to Lou Carnesecca just for being Louie. Thanks to his one-time assistant coach John Kresse. Thanks to coach Mike Andersonfor giving it his all in a rock solid conference where winning a road game is like winning Game 7 every year. … Thanks to the BIG EAST and Val and Stu and John P. … Let’s hope all goes well and The Garden is packed for the tournament this coming March. … Thanks to FS-1 for televising every game, but, I’ll ask again, can you lose the John Tesh Roundball Rock music?

Thanks to Derek & Susan and to Mike Mattison and the whole TT Band. … Oh, how we miss Kofi. … Thanks to Bruce (H). and Bruce (S). for the Spirit Trail and my Spirit in the Night. … What a Ride.

Thanks to Jeff Kazee for playing his Living Room Lounge series of solo piano concerts, played every week until March 24th, a year after all hell broke loose. … Just for Jeff, root for the Cincinnati Reds. … Thank to Rich (P) and Will Lee and the Fab Faux. Missed seeing a 2021 show, first time in a along time.

Speaking of the Fab, thanks to and for Penny (Lane). She’s keeping me company, snoozin’ as this is typed. She’s just a little more than a year old and joined our family last Thanksgiving.

Thanks to Abe and Terry, not The Real TL, and all the crew at The Sports Business Daily and Journal and to Scott, Dick and Corey and the new crew at Sportico. They keep us informed, as does CBS News, Norah and Dana, Jeff, Glor and Anthony Mason, who just ROCKS when he does a piece on music – any genre.

Here’s to Nate Burleson, a regular on the sports scene as and NFL wide-out for the Minnesota Vikings but a budding superstar on the Morning News. Burleson is a natural. His sense of team with the CBS Morning anchors (Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil) is only surpassed by his sense of camaraderie with the productions staff.

HERE’s TO: John Caron, Dave Glucksman, Dana Roy, and Higor Trindade – the anchors of West End Johnnies (and Fenway, too). To Arty,Evan, Frank & Henry and everyone – Thank you. It was a tough, tough year to be in the restaurant business, but both joints made it through.

Thanks to Ken Adelson, Len Deluca, Stacia Fritchie – my cohorts and colleagues. To Dinn Mann – cohort to be. Bob Delaney, Dave Scheiber and Philip Turner, cohorts past, present and future. To NBA friends and colleagues far and wide, Brian, Matt, Spy, Chris, Rick, Russ, AG and RL + far too many more to list. To Ed Desser and John Kosner, thanks for guidance as we gear-up for 2022.

Here’s to, too: Kevin Doyle, Abby and everyone at Fenway. Gonna miss official scorer Mike Shalin so, so much – gone far too soon. Also gonna miss seeing Dan Lyons who retired from the Sox and Tom Keegan, former columnist for the Boston Herald, caught in the grind of the pandemic and back to the Midwest. See you in springtime, Fenway Fam.

Thanks to Berj and the Patriots. To Harold and the Mets. Jimmy J and Pat LaFontaine and Companions in Courage. Special thanks to Craig Miller,currently working his final international basketball tournament as the head of communications for USA Basketball. From 1992 to 2022 is a nice, little run – working every level of basketball, men’s and women’s, gold and glory, defeat and misery.

Best in the Biz Greetings to Scott Rosner and LJ Holmgren at Columbia University’s Sports Management program with special thanks to CUSP-man and PR Joe Fav who teams up with Tom Richardson on said CUSP Show(podcast). It’s always a pleasure to speak at Columbia for Joe Fav, but this year, we were forced to Zoom video, as we did a year ago. … Joe Fav took a different dive come Thanksgiving and provided us with thoughtful reminder of life in 2021.

Finally, to family – immediate and extended – and to friends all over the world – many made through sports and music – (add food, water, air and SHAKE, NOT STIR for life – Thanks for being you.

Do I hear there’s an AFC/NFC Championship gathering ahead?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Riddle me this? Which sport’s overtime is more ridiculous and unworthy of deciding the outcome of a regular season game?

  • The NHL: After three periods and a deadlocked regular season game, the normal five-on-five (plus a goalkeeper) becomes three-on-three for a single five-minute stanza. After that, it goes to a shoot-out for three rounds, most goals wins. If tied, sudden death shoot-out determines the outcome. In the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s five-on-five for 20-minute intervals (periods) until a team scores. It’s the best, most exciting playoff in sports, especially in a Game 7.
  • MLB: Extra innings now call for a runner (last man at bat in the previous inning) to be placed on second base. Commissioner Rob Manfred stated that the “man on second” rule and 7-inning double-headers are probably a thing of the past.
  • College Football: Where do we start?
    • At the end of regulation, the referee will toss a coin to determine which team will possess the ball first in overtime. The visiting team captain will call the toss. The winner gets to choose to either play offense or defense first or chooses which side of the field to play on. The decision cannot be deferred.
    • The teams that loses the coin toss must exercise the remaining option. They will then have the chance to choose first from the four categories in the second overtime and subsequent even-numbered OT periods. The team that wins the toss will have the same options in odd-numbered OT periods.
    • In each of the first two overtime periods, teams are granted one possession beginning at the opponent’s 25-yard line, unless a penalty occurs to move them back. The offense can place the ball anywhere on or between the hash marks.
    • Each team is granted one timeout per overtime period. Timeouts do not carry over from regulation nor do they carry over between overtime periods.
    • Each team retains the ball until it fails to score, fails to make a first down or turns the ball over.
    • Beginning with the second overtime period, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown.

You might as well have the teams all gather in a circle and play “Spin the Bottle” to decide a winner.