While We're Young Ideas

While We’re Young (Ideas): Sunday Notes and Memories of Olympics Past

July 25, 2021 by Terry Lyons

Memories …

May be beautiful and yet

What’s too painful to remember

We simply to choose to forget.

– by Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Marvin Hamlisch for The Way We Were

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Choose to forget?

No Way!

Those of us roaming this Earth with the “Olympic gene” remember every second, In fact we measure time in increments of four years, as in – “We’ll do that after the Sydney Olympics. No. After the Athens Olympics.”

The concept of the “Olympic gene” was introduced by the great Bob Condron, the highly regarded and now retired member of the United States Olympic Committee who was in charge of everything to do with making the Olympic Games run smoothly, mostly from the perspective of the operating machine behind Team USA.

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Condron’s concept was quite simple. You either had the Olympic gene or you didn’t. While he was sure you’d always work hard to help the specific sport you might be attached to, he knew you had the Olympic gene when you jumped at a chance to attend the heats for 10-meter women’s platform diving with a moment’s notice, or ran to track and field to pitch in, or to bring some NBA players to watch the USA boxing team … (you get the point, right)?

The Olympic gene, by the way, is a dominant gene. If both you and your wife have the Olympic gene, your kids have it, one hundred percent of the time. That is the case in this reporter’s household. Summer Games, Winter Games – you name it.

HERE NOW, SOME OLYMPIC MEMORIES: Some of the memories are marvelous, some are just great, some are painful, but none are forgotten.

This writer has vivid memories of watching the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City and Winter Olympics in Grenoble. How could you forget the “Fosbury Flop,” performed by the great high jumper, Dick Fosbury? How could you forget the dominance, elegance and determination of downhill Alpine skier Jean-Claude Killy as he won the downhill, the giant slalom and the slalom within nine days in his native France?

The ‘68 Games were highlighted by George Foreman taking the gold medal in boxing, by Al Oerter taking the gold in the discus throw, by Bob Beamonin the long jump and the previously mentioned Dick Fosbury in the high jump. But it was Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) who protested the racial injustices and stood on the medal stand with hands clinched in single black gloves to call attention to the civil rights movement to all the world as the Star Spangle Banner played to honor the medalists for the men’s 200m. That was 53 years ago and we still haven’t done right by Smith, Carlos or the entire issue of basic civil rights.

When the 1972 Winter Games rolled around, I can remember pleading with my seventh grade science teacher, Mr. Luciano, to put the Sapporo Games on the black & white tv in our home room each morning as the games were televised live – by satellite they told us – by ABC Sports.

Of course, that September of ‘72 would bring the evils of terrorism into living rooms around the world when a group of Palestinian Black September terrorists took 11 Israeli Olympians and coaches hostage in their village dorm rooms. I can still remember the horror and devastation of ABC’s Jim McKayreporting, “We just got the final word … you know, when I was a kid, my father used to say ‘Our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized.’ … Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They’ve now said that there were eleven hostages. Two were killed in their rooms yesterday morning, nine were killed at the airport tonight. They’re all gone.”

FAST FORWARD: As the years flew by, I nearly had to pinch myself as I was assigned (by the NBA) to assist in the league’s summer program to help prepare the 1984 USA Basketball Senior National team as it practiced for the Games of the XXIII Olympiad in Los Angeles.

The date was June 30, 1984 and I took an early morning “puddle jumper” from New York’s Fiorello La Guardia Airport to Providence, Rhode Island and was the lone NBA rep for the very first game of an eight-game series of NBA Stars vs the Olympic Team. It was the first and only time I’ve ever met and interacted with coach Bobby Knight. Here is the story:

As I jumped out of a taxi which transported me from T.F. Green Airport to the (then) Providence Civic Center (now Dunkin Donuts Arena), I entered the building at about 9:00am for the 1:00pm tip on ABC Sports. My first site was observing our country’s executive director for basketball Bill Wall draping a wrinkled ABA/USA banner over the scorer’s table. The federation was tagged ABA/USA as it represented “Amateur Basketball” and not the professionals. It was 1984, two full years before FIBA’s Borislav Stankovicwould begin his quest to have all players in the world eligible for the Olympic Games and Worlds.

At this point in time, the NBA was merely throwing together any players who could and would volunteer to play together for one game in their off-season. The next memory was Cleveland Cavaliers guard John Bagley (of Boston College) soon arriving with no gear and asking, “Hey, man? What size you wear?” Bagley eventually squeezed his large dogs into my size 11.5 Reeboks and joined a cast of NBA players, including Terry Cummings, Darryl Dawkins, John Garris (BC), Joey Hassett (Providence), Rick Mahorn, Reggie Theus, Darrell Walker, Gus Williams and Orlando Woolridge.

That morning, after some scrambling and typing up a roster of our NBA players and their uniform numbers, I was very anxious to go and visit the arriving Olympians and my St. John’s University bud, Chris Mullin, who had earned a place on the team.

I walked down the corridor to the Olympic team locker room as the players were lacing up their basketball shoes and had some quality time with Mullin. A few minutes later, as I was leaving the locker, I bumped into Knight and introduced myself, cordially, “Hi, I’m Terry Lyons and I work at the NBA league office but am here today helping out with our players. If I can do anything for you or “The Team,” please let me know.”

Knight responded with the only words I’ve ever exchanged with him, as he firmly stated, “If we need any help from you, we’re in real trouble.”

I smiled, turned around and walked out of the locker never to speak another word with Knight! (It’s his loss, right)?

‘88: The NBA assisted in similar fashion in 1988 and I was asked to do a number of games that summer. Although I took the gig for granted, and dealing with USA coach John Thompson via Georgetown, became as much a drag as it was with Knight, the friendly games were great and we enjoyed more time to get to know the future NBA players. Kansas center-forward Danny Manning stood out, as did David Robinson and Mitch Richmond, of course. One stand-out took the entire tour with the Olympic team but was a senior in high school. Yes, Thompson had Alonzo Mourning training with the team in preparation for his future career at Georgetown and Mourning held his own, and some. Mourning was the last cut after we played the final prep in Las Vegas. By that point, Thompson had “lost” a few of the players – including some of the best on the team – and I was not surprised when the USA lost to the USSR in Seoul.

GOMELSKI and COMPANY: What was truly amazing to this New York kid with his Olympic Dream-Gene was that by 1988, I knew the members of the Russian team almost as well as I knew my fellow Americans. The relationships built over the four-plus years included “a solid” – complete with late-night vodka toasts – friendship with the Soviet head coach, the late Alexander Gomelsky, and his assistant, Ivan Edeshko, the man better known for throwing the full court pass to Alexander “Sasha” Belov in the 1972 Olympics in Munich. It was the pass after the controversial and illegal re-setting of the game clock by FIBA administrator R. William Jones who came down to the court from his seat in the stands to rule for extra time (three seconds) to be placed on the clock after the United States team had already won the game (twice). It still pisses me off to no end.

DREAM TEAM: This all culminated with NBA players being allowed to participate in the Olympics and Worlds, beginning in 1992. Many believe it was the United States who pushed for that ruling, but the US actually voted against it when the FIBA-led ruling came down in April of 1989. Up to that point, every human being on the face of the earth was eligible to play Olympic basketball, unless you had an NBA contract. In essence, the 425+ best basketball players were the only ones not allowed to represent their countries. (Editor’s note: Be sure to read this: (CLICK HERE).

The stories of the Dream Team are an endless stream of amazing experiences which will be left for another column at another time, as will the reconstruction of the USA men’s program in 2005-2016. The bond formed with my colleagues at USA Basketball are among the most treasured of my quarter century of working at the NBA – both professionally and personally with the great people who run USA Basketball today.

BARCELONA TO TOKYO: Aside from the game’s invention, the ‘92 USA Dream Team experience was the most important and significant occurrence in the history of basketball. If you don’t agree with that statement, just ask Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki, France’s Tony Parker, and the 121 NBA and WNBA players dotting Olympic basketball rosters in Tokyo this week.

The NBA issued a news release this week that stated: “A record 121 NBA and WNBA players are featured on national team rosters for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The men’s and women’s 5×5 competitions will feature a record 49 current NBA players and a record 29 current WNBA players, along with 16 former NBA and 22 former WNBA players. The inaugural 3×3 basketball tournament features four current and one former WNBA player. The USA men’s 3×3 team(s) did not qualify for the tournament in Tokyo.

The previous records for current NBA and WNBA players in the Olympics were 46 and 26, respectively, at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Outside of the U.S., Nigeria has the most current NBA players on its roster with eight, followed by Australia with seven and France with six. Eleven of the 12 teams competing in the men’s tournament have at least one current NBA player, and national team rosters include 13 players who have been NBA All-Stars. … Twenty-seven NBA teams are represented in the men’s 5×5 competition, with the Miami Heat featuring a league-high four players. The Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz each have three players competing. … In the women’s 5×5 competition, outside the U.S., Australia has the most current WNBA players with five followed by Canada and Spain with three each. Eight of the 12 teams in the women’s tournament have at least one current WNBA player, and 10 of the 12 WNBA teams are represented on national team rosters. The Phoenix Mercury and Seattle Storm lead with five players each, followed by the Minnesota Lynx with four players. … The inaugural women’s 3×3 basketball tournament is being held from July 24-28 and features five current and former WNBA players.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – July 18

July 17, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The organization dates back to 1784 and was originally known as the Society of St. Andrew’s Golfers. By 1834, King William IV recognized the club as Royal and Ancient and the name was changed to the Royal Society of St. Andrew’s Golfers and what is now known as The Old Course was proclaimed the Home of Golf.

In 1897, the Society first recorded the rules of golf and the sport was soon to become popular throughout the world. Anyone who calls themselves avid golfers marvels at the thought of playing a round at what is now known as The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

The Royal moniker was bestowed upon golf clubs the world over. From Scotland to England to Wales to Ireland to Malta to South Africa to Australia and Hong Kong. This weekend The Open is being contested for fifteenth time at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England. In 2021, it has been splendid just as it was in 1894 when the golf club hosted its first Open.

As the game became more and more popular, the rules were solidified and – unlike most other sports – they are self-regulated. In golf, you keep your own score. You honor the game by not improving your lie of the ball. You only utilize 14 different golf clubs packed in your bag on any given round. The rules apply to golfers of all abilities and the respect given to the rules by golfers is much the same as their respect for the game itself.

In many other sports, competitors often try to cheat the system. In Baseball, it is not uncommon to attempt to “steal” signs (codes from pitchers/catchers or from the dugout/Manager to players). In Basketball, a quick travel with the ball, an illegal screen, a flop to draw an offensive foul is almost coming practice. In Football, a little extra surveillance of your opponent, or taking some air out of the ball brought scandals sized to rival Watergate. Athletes and organizations bend the rules in many ways, sometimes in any way they can. They hope not to get caught – by the referees, the league or the organizing body.

What about Golf?

In Golf – how dare you – as the respect of the game and its rules carries on to higher ground, as well. There is no other sport where sportsmanship is more highly regarded. As golfers, especially weekend hackers, we are really competing against ourselves with hopes of setting personal records, rather than competing in a match against the others in our foursome.

Picture a single golfer joining a threesome of friends on a late afternoon round at a public course. Immediately, the single has three cohorts helping (him/her) find an errant tee shot or high-fiving a great hole-out from a sand trap. The single golfer respects the space and lie of his newfound partners’ putting line. He is quiet and motionless on and around the tee until it is his turn. Honors go to the golfer who scored the best on the prior hole.

Golfers are taught the written and un-written rules in their first few rounds of their golfing lives. The sport of golf is a sport for your entire life and respect of the game is paramount.

Then along come Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.

The two professionals – both among the very best the game has ever seen – have been feuding like school children out on the playground at recess. They bicker verbally, non-verbally and even electronically via Twitter. They’ve been bickering since 2019 when one slighted the other on “slow play” and the feud festered from that point onward.

This week, with the British media fueling the theatrics of such a “juicy” story, the questioning about Ryder Cup pairings of the two paved a landing strip for their duel to last all the way to Whistling Straits (September 24-26 in Wisconsin). It’s all become such foolishness – eye-rolling and all.

This week, some predicted it was all “made for tv” and the two would hold a grudge match – on pay-per-view, of course. Others fuel and wallow in the gossip like girls at an Eastside NYC private school.

Some of us have simply had it and urge the PGA, the R&A, the PGA of America (who oversee the Ryder Cup) to lock the two golfers in a room and call for them to cut it out – once and for all – as they are ruining the one sport we could all count on to abide by rules and decorum.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Whether you are a student of Greek Mythologyat the University of Texas – San Antonio, Seton Hall, Harvard, or just an NBA fan, the main focus of study in the past month or two has been a total analysis of the Greek god of Milwaukee, by way of Athens. The study of Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo … also admirably known as “The Greek Freak.”

An MVP-level player in the National Basketball Association, Antetokounmpo has led his Milwaukee Bucks team to the NBA Finals, a difficult task for any god of the hoop. Antetokounmpo, however, has now taken it to another level.

As the Bucks compete against the Suns of Phoenicia, a mighty group themselves, Antetokounmpo went all Freudian on us. He did so, in of all places, the NBA Finals media interview room where he dazzled all with his interpretations and his own philosophy on Ego & Pride.

In a setting common to The Finals, media inquiries delved into Antetokounmpo’s upbringing, family life, his practice habits, his state of mind, the pressures of the game at such a high level, and now, with even higher stakes, the god of a Great Place on a Great Lake had a way of explaining how he absorbs and synthesizes the pressure.

“Obviously, as I said, the ball gets heavy. But if you are only thinking about winning and you don’t think about what’s going to happen next, it can get heavy,” he explained. “Because you want to win so bad, you know?

“So it can get heavy. But if you go back and think about the specific three minutes of Game 2, Game 4, and it could go either way, now the environment kind of gets heavy. But at that specific moment, I wasn’t thinking about what’s going to happen at the end of the game. I was thinking about that specific play. How can I set a good screen for Khris (Middleton), how can I block a shot, how can I rebound the ball, how can I run, how can I get the easy layup, what can I do to help the team win?

“So my mind is so occupied by that that I don’t think about the pressure, all that.”

Certainly Antetokounmpo was not the first NBA player to philosophize on the methods to cope with pressure. Philadelphian philosopher Julius “Vocabularius” Erving was a master at post game analysis. But Antetokounmpo was going deeper.

At age 26, who was teaching him these coping mechanisms that years of study and advanced degrees in Psychology might not produce?

“I think I would say life,” he thought. “Usually, from my experience, when I think about – Oh, yeah, I did this, I’m so great, I had 30 (points), I had 25-10-10, whatever the case might be – you’re going to think about that.

“Usually the next day you’re going to suck, you know,” he said smiling? “Simple as that. The next few days you’re going to be terrible. I figured out a mindset to have that when you focus on the past, that’s your ego.

“I did this. We were able to beat this team 4-0. I did this in the past. I won that in the past.

“When I focus on the future, it’s my pride,” he noted. “Yeah, next game, Game 5, I do this and this and this. I’m going to dominate. That’s your pridetalking. It doesn’t happen.

“You’re right here. I kind of try to focus on the moment, in the present.

“That’s humility. That’s being humble. That’s not setting no expectation.

“That’s going out there, enjoying the game, competing at a high level. I think I’ve had people throughout my life that helped me with that. But that is a skill that I’ve tried to, like, kind of — how do you say – perfect it.

How can he continue to win while spreading and sharing such deep knowledge?

“I think it starts from the environment, the leaders, the message that they push back to the team, to everybody,” said Antetokounmpo. “But we’ve been down before. When we were down before, we didn’t act like it was the end of the world. We were like, Okay, we know what the deal is.

“We’re going to try to go and execute. We weren’t worrying about going and trying to win two games in a row. We didn’t worry about that. We’re going to try to go back and execute. Try to put ourselves in a position to win. Now, if it went our way, we’re extremely happy, but it could go either way. It could go the other way and we’d be back home right now and nobody would be talking about us. But I feel like as a team we’re really good at turning the page — the next one.

“Okay, on this page – this, this, this, this – is what we got to do in order for us to be in a position to have a chance to win games down the road. I think the team has a great mindset in that. Hopefully we are going to keep doing it moving forward.”

Which takes us right back to Antetokounmpo’s birthplace – Athens and the Greek goddess of Athena – the goddess known for knowledge, a calm temperament and a huge understanding of others.

TESTING: The NBA and its players (and the WNBA, too) have managed the COVID-19 health crisis about as well as any organization on the planet – sports, business or other. As we’re going to post this Saturday evening, Milwaukee Bucks forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo entered the NBA Health and Safety Protocol and missed/will miss (depending on when you are reading this) Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night. Antetokounmpo, the older brother of two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, was not listed on the league’s early afternoon injury report but was noted Saturday evening at 5:30pm.

Recent break-outs of COVID-19 – largely due to a delta variant to the original virus – hit Major League Baseball hard, causing the cancellation of a post All-Star break Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees game at The Stadium. All-Star Aaron Judge was among six Yankees players sidelined under the MLB protocols for COVID+ testing and a number of their teammates have been battling nagging injuries. Of note, 1B Luke Voit returned to the MLB injured list.

Crosstown from The Bronx to Flushing, Queens and the New York Mets are tending to pitching ace and Cy Young favorite Jacob deGrom and his right forearm tightness. deGrom will miss his planned start Monday.

DIAMOND DUST-UPS: After the MLB All-Star break, Jarren Duran was selected to the Boston Red Sox major league roster from Triple-A Worcester. Duran is likely to be the fifth player to make his MLB debut this season with the Red Sox (Bazardo, Sawamura, Whitlock, Wong). But, if he plays in the weekend series, he’ll have one other distinction. The last Red Sox position player to make his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium was the great Mookie Betts (6/29/14). … The Red Sox earned their fourth shutout win of the season Friday night and their first against the Yankees since June of 2018.

ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION in ANAHEIM: LA Angels second baseman David Fletcher notched two hits and extended his league-leading hitting streak to 25 games. He’s now tied with the great Rod Carew for the second-longest in franchise history. The Angels play the Mariners (July 17) at 9:07pm (EDT). Keep an eye on that boxscore.

FASTER, HIGHER, STRONGER DEFICTS: (With an emphasis on the higher) – The Tokyo Olympics will cost an estimated $28 billion (3 trillion yen), say media outlets Nikkei and Asahi, far exceeding the organizing committee’s claims. The decision to ban spectators will cost nearly $1 billion in ticket revenue. Ouch.

Looking back, the International Olympic Committee granted the USA broadcast rights across all media platforms, including free-to-air television, subscription television, internet and mobile to NBC Universal (call it Comcast, too). The agreement runs from 2021 to 2032 and it’s valued at $7.65 billion, plus an additional $100 million bonus to be used for promotion of Olympic ideals.

JAPAN HOOPS to COMPETE in TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES: There will be a number of NBA players dotting the rosters of most men’s Olympic team rosters when the basketball tournament tips off July 25th. Japan-Forward previews the Olympians from Japan and there’s a few names you’ll recognize, notably NBA forwards Rui Hachimura (Washington Wizards) and Yuta Watanabe (Toronto Raptors). Japan’s men’s national basketball team last competed in the Olympic Games in 1976 in Montreal.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – July 11

July 11, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – As NBC Sports prepares to cover the Tokyo Olympics, it is also minimizing its coverage in other areas, as noted below with NBC ending their 16-year run with the National Hockey League. One area taking a hit, not only at NBC Sports but seemingly everywhere on the sports dial is the area of remote production and studio-based play-by-play and color commentary, rather than the on-site coverage we’re so accustomed to as viewers of North American sports. … At most of the big time sporting events, a “World Feed”is produced – side-by-side – with the primary coverage by one of the “big” networks, a la NBC, CBS, FOX, or ABC/ESPN. NBC Sports’ coverage of this week’s Open Championship from Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England will carry the World Feed, rather than its own.

WHILE WE’RE AT IT: There is absolutely no intention to turning While We’re Young (Ideas) into a sports media column, but this week’s general sports news included a TON of sports television controversy, none of it more headline-grabbing than a New York Times expose on ESPN/The Jump’s Rachel Nichols and her selfish/clueless/unjust proclamations brought forth in a Kevin Draper by-lined story last Sunday. … Unbeknownst to Nichols, ESPN servers were rolling on her comments, seeking to mark her turf around ESPN’s coverage of the NBA. … Said Nichols (on videotape) a full year ago: “I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols said. “If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.” … The timing of the story, dropped between the final game of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals and Game 1 of the NBA Finals, was obviously chosen to maximize exposure for the New York Times. It’s mainstream coverage included the fact it was addressed by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at his annual NBA Final media availability session, held prior to Game 1. Said Silver upon being asked to address the topic that was certainly distracting from the NBA basketball games to be played: … “It’s disheartening,” he said. “I’m really not in a position to speak too specifically about what goes on at ESPN because so much of my information came from your newspaper’s (NYT) reporting and others, so I am not privy to much more beyond that. I will say, apropos of my earlier comments, I think it’s particularly unfortunate that two women in the industry are pitted against each other. You know, I know that both Rachel and Maria [Taylor] are terrific at what they do, they work extraordinarily hard. As I said, I think just from the league’s standpoint, while we recognize well, ESPN’s operations are independent of us, I feel we’re all part of a family here in terms of what we do around our sport.” … “I think part of the problem is, that as I said earlier, when people can’t get in a room and talk through these issues, this seemingly has fostered now for a full year. I mean, this is an incident that happened, I guess when Rachel was in the bubble a year ago, and I would have thought that in the past year, maybe through some incredibly difficult conversations, that ESPN would have found a way to be able to work through it. Obviously not.

Silver continued, “I should also say, too, that these issues are not unique to ESPN. As I said, the league is working on its own issues in terms of doing a better job with diversity. It’s not just in sports, but in companies around America, there’s a reckoning going on. I think part of it and what we’re seeing in ESPN, it’s one thing to talk about the principles around diversity and inclusion, it’s something else when it comes to somebody’s specific job and how that’s handled. What I’ve learned from dealing with these issues in the NBA is that they are incredibly complex, there’s no magic bullets here, and they require a very labor-intensive effort of getting people in the room and working through these issues by talking a lot about them, and then talking even more about them, and creating a climate where people are comfortable saying what’s on their mind, where people are given the benefit of the doubt, especially long-term employees that are in good standing, that when they do make comments, that people recognize that people make mistakes, that careers shouldn’t be erased by a single comment, that we should be judging people by the larger context of their body of work and who they are and what we know about them.

“So, I have confidence in the leadership of ESPN and of course in my Disney colleagues, and so they will work through this, but I’m sure this is a very difficult time for them and it’s really unfortunate what we’re seeing in sports,” said Silver as he address several topics facing the NBA, including significant loss of revenue over the past year because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

A lesson taught years ago by former head of NBA Properties and recently retired Golden State Warriors team president and Hall of Famer Rick Weltsfits this situation perfectly. “Conflict is good,” said Welts, “but un-resolvedconflict is not good.” … In fact, it sucks.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Amongst the topics addressed by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at his pre-NBA Finals media session was whether the NBA would return to the international stage and plan for its Global Game series of exhibition games staged in cities around the world. … “Thanks for your question,” said Silver. “I think most realistically not — well, it’s clear it’s not going to happen this fall, but it’s my hope it will be the following year. Again, of course this is a global issue, COVID, and so it’s not just conditions here in the United States but the places at least where we have traditionally played and in Europe, Asia and in Latin America. We would need COVID rates to come way down there as well … But it is my hope that as we can move – in the U.S. – back to something that looks very close to normal next year (2021-22 season) and then the following seasons we’ll return to our international activities.”

NBA FINALS ON THE FRONT BURNER, TOKYO ON THE BACK: With three Olympic Men’s Basketball team members playing in the NBA Finals and unavailable, USA Basketball announced that seven members of the 2021 USA Select Team would remain with the National Team for the five exhibition friendly games upcoming from July 10-18 in Las Vegas. … Added to the national team roster for the domestic exhibitions were: Saddiq Bey (Detroit Pistons/Villanova); Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers); John Jenkins(Bilbao Basket, Italy/Vanderbilt); Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs/Kentucky); Josh Magette (Darüşşafaka Tekfen, Turkey/Alabama-Huntsville); Dakota Mathias (Philadelphia 76ers/Purdue) and Cam Reynolds (Houston Rockets/Tulane).

Those seven players join U.S. Olympic Team 2020 members: Bam Adebayo(Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets), Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics). … Because of their involvement in the 2021 NBA Finals, Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) are unable to join the USA squad during the upcoming exhibition games.

88s: Eighty-eight players asked the NBA to remove their names from the list of “early entry” players eligible for selection in the NBA Draft 2021.

MAKE A LIST: Pro golfer Luke List is seeking to become the fourth consecutive player to make the John Deere Classic his first PGA Tour title as he seeks his first Tour victory in his 193rd start.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – July 4th

July 4, 2021 by Terry Lyons

WE’RE SICK OF NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS AND IT HASN’T EVEN STARTED

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – With all due respect to Hamilton – The Musical, let’s hope they don’t throw away their shot.

They fought for it.

They wrote about it.

They talked about it.

They protested over it.

They sued for the rights to it.

Yes, they were young, scrappy and hungry and on Thursday the NCAA finally caved and folded the deck on the issue of “Name, Image and Likeness” (NIL) as their hand was forced by the clock striking midnight leading into July 1st.

The NCAA directives, this week, came after the Supreme Court of the United States had ruled (9-0) Monday in favor of student athletes and as at least 10 States had adopted laws or were ready to enforce executive orders (of State Governors or Governments) to allow student-athletes the right to “make money” from their Name, Image or Likeness (NIL).

The decisions tossed the collegiate sports world into a land of uncertainty with no clear guidance from the law or the NCAA.

First, the NCAA noted that schools in States that have passed laws related to NIL would be “responsible for determining whether” athletes’ NIL activities “are consistent with state law,” their statement said.

The statement also called for athletes (and schools) in States without an NIL law, athletes would be able to engage in NIL activities without violating NCAA rules that so far have heavily limited those activities. The areas to be fair game now include having endorsement deals, leveraging social media for pay, and making money from coaching or signing autographs and autographed memorabilia.

Sports marketers didn’t “exactly” jump into the fray, but one deal – struck by Fresno State women’s basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder, hoop-it-up twins who’ve built up an impressive, hard-earned following and rocked their social media channels and TikTok, in particular – received quite a bit of attention with a timely Boost Mobile endorsement to open an NCAA NIL Pandora’s box.

Hanna Cavinder @CavinderHanna

ON A BILLBOARD IN TIME SQUARE 😭 WHAT IS LIFE… blessed❤️

By September, another 15 States are expected to have NIL legislation in place and the remaining States will then be pressured to act as soon as possible. Somewhat like sports gambling, their is no Federal guideline and the entire category for sports marketers has fast become “the Wild, Wild West” of yesteryear, with administrators making up their rules on a case-by-case basis and totally on the fly.

“With the variety of State laws adopted across the country, we will continue to work with Congress to develop a solution that will provide clarity on a national level,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert in a statement. “The current environment – both legal and legislative – prevents us from providing a more permanent solution and the level of detail student-athletes deserve.”

Somewhat like the ambiguity caused by the lack of Federal guideline on the issue of legalized sports gambling, the colleges, their administrators, the student athletes, marketers and marketing agents have been left to figure out the non-existent rules as they go along. Certainly, the unscrupulous underworld of collegiate sports will rear it ugly head to bend the rules or blasts through them – one-by-one. Leniency in one State can provide an advantage to the recruiting practices of schools in that particular State over their neighboring and sometimes rival State.

It’s almost unfathomable that the legal system and the NCAA have allowed the issue to remain unresolved, as the 2015 O’Bannon case started the boulder rolling downhill. To refresh your memory, in 2016 the Supreme Court of the United States failed to take up an appeal to a 2015 Ninth Circuit Court ruling in favor of former UCLA men’s basketball player, Ed O’Bannon, now a retired NBA professional. In the ruling, the three-judge Ninth Circuit panel – consisting of Judges Sidney Thomas, Jay Bybee and Gordon Quist – found that certain NCAA amateurism rules violate federal antirust law.

Surely, there was time to put Federal guidelines in place. Now, the Feds have too much on their plate and the June 28th SCOTUS ruling – while just and correct – dumped a whole load of problems – TikTok – onto the laps of college sports administrators who all knew they were coming.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: USA Basketball is cranking up the engines and the men’s U-19 team, competing in the FIBA U-19 World Cup in Latvia started the summertime activities off in a big way. The USA team posted an 11-0 run to start their first game, and never looked back en route to their decisive, 83-54, victory over Turkey (0-1) Saturday in Riga. … After opening the game with that 11-0 run, the Americans closed the first 10 minutes with a 15-2 surge that covered the final 4:13 of the quarter. Jaden Ivey (Purdue/Mishawaka, Indiana) scored 10 of the USA’s last 15 points in the first period which led the USA securing a 20-point lead (29-9) going into the second quarter. … The USA U-19 squad will continue with preliminary round July 4, at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) versus Mali and will wrap-up the round robin play on Tuesday, July 6, at 1:30 p.m. EDT vs. Australia.

HOOP, HOOP, HOO-RAY: The USA men’s senior national team will soon dress as Olympians but before they do, they’ll practice against a newly named USA Select team that includes some of the NBA’s brightest young stars. The Select roster will include:

Saddiq Bey (Detroit Pistons/Villanova)
Miles Bridges (Charlotte Hornets/Michigan State)
Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves/Georgia)
Darius Garland(Cleveland Cavaliers/Vanderbilt)
Tyrese Haliburton (Sacramento Kings/Iowa State)
Tyler Herro (Miami Heat/Kentucky)
John Jenkins (Bilbao Basket, Italy/Vanderbilt)
Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs/Kentucky)
Josh Magette (Darüşşafaka Tekfen, Turkey/Alabama-Huntsville)
Dakota Mathias (Philadelphia 76ers/Purdue)
Immanuel Quickly (New York Knicks/Kentucky)
Naz Reid (Minnesota Timberwolves/LSU)
Cam Reynolds (Houston Rockets/Tulane)
Isaiah Stewart (Detroit Pistons/Washington)
Obi Toppin (New York Knicks/Dayton)
P.J. Washington (Charlotte Hornets/Kentucky)
Patrick Williams (Chicago Bulls/Florida State)

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra will serve as head coach of the 2021 USA Select Team, The assistant coaches will be Gonzaga University head coach Mark Few, who served as an assistant coach with the 2019 USA Select Team and head coach of the 2015 U.S. Pan American Games Team and Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Jamahl Mosley, who served as an assistant coach at the 2018 USA National Team minicamp.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – June 27

June 27, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – If there’s one thing the Boston Red Sox organization does better than any other franchise in sports, it’s the pregame ceremony and tribute. With things returning to a post-pandemic normal in the Fens, the Red Sox got back to business with a well-deserved tribute to the career of retired team captain and MVP second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

During recent years, the Red Sox franchise has lived the highs and lows of life in Boston. They’ve hit the high notes when they paid tribute to the likes of David “Big Papi” Ortiz and they’ve grieved with the community, helped victims of the Boston Marathon bombing mourn and strengthen their resolve through the very memorial services right on the baseball field.

It might sound “cliche” but the Red Sox bind the fabric of greater New England like few other sports franchises. The Sox share that honor and responsibility with the NFL Patriots, the NBA Celtics and the NHL’s Bruins in amazing fashion. Yes, like franchises elsewhere, the civic pride surfaces much more when the teams are winning but, in New England, winning became habitual, especially since the year 2000.

Since that turn of the century, Boston sports franchises won 12 tittles. The Patriots claimed an amazing six Super Bowl victories with Tom Bradyleading the way for wins in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018. The Red Sox won in 2004, 2007, 2013, 2018 while the Celtics took the NBA title in 2008 and the Bruins won the NHL’s Stanley Cup in 2011 with near misses against the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and a heart-breaking loss to the St. Louis Blues in 2019.

For each of the winners, the Boston faithful rallied around one, or maybe two, players to guide the team towards a highly demanding excellence. As noted, Brady led the Patriots who marched to the drum beat of team GM and coach Bill Belichick. The Celtics lifted the NBA’s Larry O’Brien Trophy in ‘08 and competed mightily for a number of others while Paul Pierce led the way in scoring and Kevin Garnett set a new standard in the Cs locker room. For the Bruins, team captain Zdeno Chara set the tone while his defensive partner, Dennis Seidenberg, personified team building and the atmosphere in the Bruins’ dressing room. As with all winning ice hockey teams, they all rallied around their goalkeepers, as in two-time Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas(2009 and 2011) and 2014 Vezina winner Tuukka Rask.

On the baseball diamond, it was Pedroia who led the Red Sox. While Ortiz provided the power, the pitching staff – both starters and relievers – stepped-up in a big way with Jon Lester, Jake Peavy and John Lackey in 2013 and the 11-man crew, led by David Price and Chris Sale got the job done in 2018, it was the leadership of Pedroia that provided team strength and chemistry, especially through adversity.

And, adversity might as well be Pedroia’s middle name from 2016-17-18 (played only three MLB games in ‘18) to 2019 (played only six MLB games) when he suffered severe left knee injuries and underwent multiple surgeries. Pedroia went from a career high 160 games played and an amazing and league-leading 724 plate appearances in 2013 to three games and 13 at bats in the 2018 season.

After fighting through evaluations, rehabilitation, set-backs and even total rest to heal his sore knee, Pedroia finally announced his retirement from the Red Sox and the majors this past February 1st, ending his 14-year MLB career. Unlike Tom Brady and Zdeno Chara, (and recently golf’s Phil Mickelson), Dustin Pedroia put another “W” in Father Time’s win column.

The Red Sox Friday night tribute and the way the sport of baseball can do like no other, reminded us of all that was good when Pedroia was playing at his Rookie of the Year (2007) and MVP levels (1st in 2008, 9th in 2011 and 7th in 2013). The tribute and video messages Brough the tough-minded Pedroia to tears, as did the “in-person” appearances of many of his former teammates.

With his family looking on, the Red Sox made special mention of the many charity activities Pedroia supported throughout his career and even brought the specific family members he helped during the marathon crisis. The ceremony was classy, succinct and poignant and Pedroia’s speech concise, meaningful and memorable.

The Red Sox invited marathon victim Jane Richard (who lost her young brother Martin and her leg from the bomb explosion in 2013) to sign the National Anthem and then had Pedroia toss a ceremonial first pitch to his former teammate and now Red Sox Manager Alex Cora.

It was also announced that the Sox will waive the customary waiting period and will induct Pedroia to the club’s Hall of Fame this year. … Only the surprise appearance of wrestling great Ric Flair – one of Pedroia’s all-time favorite celebrity athletes – could put an exclamation point on the tribute and, indeed, it did.

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HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The likes of Dustin Pedroia, Tom Brady, Zdeno Chara and many of the other Boston greats who captained and led their teams to victory calls for a non-comprehensive listing of some other sports icons who were the rallying point for their title teams. Here are a few that come to mind:

Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees
Jackie Robison, Brooklyn Dodgers
Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Montreal Canadiens
Willis Reed, New York Knicks
Jean Béliveau, Montreal Canadiens
Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich/Team Germany
Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks
Tug McGraw, New York Mets
Willie Stargell, Pittsburgh Pirates
Jack Lambert, Pittsburgh Steelers
Thurman Munson, New York Yankees
Mike Eruzione, 1980 Team USA Hockey
Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers
John Elway, Denver Broncos
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers
Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants
Mia Hamm, Team USA
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons
Mark Messier, New York Rangers
Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Sue Bird, Seattle Storm and Team USA
Christian Laettner, Duke University
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts/Denver Broncos
Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Simone Biles, Team USA Gymnastics
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

Without a doubt, there are dozens and dozens of others, especially in world sports (Futbol), college sports and women’s sports. Feel free to add your suggestion(s) in the comments section or on Twitter @WhileYoungIdeas

While We’re Young (Ideas) – June 20

June 20, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – A very Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.

This column – when featured on Digital Sports Desk – has written about Father’s Day before. Memories of Father’s Days past, from the viewpoint of a son and that of a father, too. It was always bittersweet to write of the memories of my Dad, may he Rest in Peace.

Today, this column resurrects a memory, only two years back. It’s a memory of a simple day, of going out to CitiField and enjoying a Mets game with a buddy on a hot summer afternoon, soon to return to my family – including my two daughters – and a lovely Father’s Day dinner. It was just a wonderful, normal day.

Last year, while we all enjoyed Father’s Day together, it all seemed surreal, as we were still on the front end of the global pandemic, getting mixed messages from our government and no clear sign of relief and an end to the situation. There were clouds hanging over all aspects of normal life, but the sight of two daughters was comforting and was a sign of the future and hope. You could see it. The future would be bright because their future was bright. It was just a matter of time.

Being a “Girl Dad” has been the highlight of my life. Blessed are we who have not just one but two brilliant daughters who strive for high goals, who’ve excelled in their education, jobs and daily living. It’s so much fun to watch them grow and to experience just a few of the experiences they encounter throughout the years. I’m proud to be a “Girl Dad,” and look forward to so many great days ahead.

This column, however, is going to highlight another Dad, a friend of the NBA, Peter Fink. Peter is a “Swim Dad,” who watched his son, Nic, grow up to become a world class swimmer. Peter was always quiet and humble but when asked about Nic and his pursuit of a place on the United States Olympic Swim team, Peter would light up and tell us of the many meets and trials. Having attended four Summer Olympics myself, I knew of the grueling test of the swimmers and divers.

Nic earned a swimming scholarship to Georgia and – over the many years, so many meets, practices, disappointments measured at one-tenth of a second – this week, Nic qualified for the United States Olympic Swim team and he’ll be heading to Tokyo to compete as he earned his place in the 200m breaststroke.

Nic’s Dad is a superstar, too. We met when he was a dedicated worker in the NBA Special Events department. Talk about Tokyo? Nic’s Dad staged dozens of NBA Japan Games, USA Basketball friendlies, USA Basketball World Championships and hundreds of other events – and that’s just in Japan. He did the same in China, Australia, Europe, South America and hundreds of events in the United States and Canada. While Peter Fink was organizing events, Nic Fink was doing laps in the pool.

This week, it all came together, and this is a salute to a great Dad who witnessed his son grow to be a man while constantly chasing a dream of being and United States Olympian. Practice, perseverance, and all out dedication to the sport. No one can ever take the glorious title of Olympian away – ever.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While We’re Young (Ideas) has noted a considerable number of lists and “mosts” created by our friends at Sportico. This week, with the U.S. Open taking center-stage at Torrey Pines, Sportico released a list of the highest paid golfers of 2021. There was no surprise who was on top! Here’s the listing:

Highest Paid Golfers of 2021:

Tiger Woods – $62.2m ($191,000 on course, $62m off course)
Phil Mickelson $46.1m ($4.1m/$42m)
Dustin Johnson $40.8m ($24.8/$16m)
Rory McIlroy $32.8m ($4.8m/$28m)
Jordan Spieth $29.6m ($4.6m/$25m)
Justin Thomas $20.3m ($13.3/$7m)
Bryson DeChambeau $17.9m ($8.9m/$9m)
Xander Shauffele $17.3m ($10.3m/$7m)
Jon Rahm $16.9m ($10.9m/$6m)
Hideki Matsuyama $15.4m ($5.4m/$10m)

TRAVEL ON: While the U.S. Open gathers all the eye-balls this week, New England’s only PGA Tour event will be held this week in the ‘burbs of Hartford. The Travelers Championship announced its full player field for the 2021 tournament, which will feature five of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, 25 of the top 50 and 10 previous winners of the event. The tournament will be held June 24–27 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. Psst, don’t tell anyone: Past champion Bubba Watson looked good at the U.S. Open and LOVES the TPC River Highlands course.

HOOP, HOOP – HOO-RAY: The USA Basketball Men’s Olympic basketball team is beginning to take shape as a handful of NBA stars took it upon themselves to announce they were committing to play in Tokyo this summer. Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was the most recent to stake his claim to a place on the roster. Previously, Boston’s Jayson Tatum said he was planning to participate, along with Portland’s Damien Lillard, Washington’s Bradley Beal and Golden State’s Draymond Green. … On the nay side, LA Lakers star LeBron James and Miami’s Jimmy Butler both indicated they would pass on the opportunity this summer. Both have served USA Basketball in the past. James is a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist (Beijing and London) and also played with the 2006 USA world Championship team in Japan. … The five player commitments leave seven roster spots for the Tokyo Olympic team to play under the guidance of San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. … Obviously, Team USA will need a few commitments from “bigs” who can grind and rebound against the large and physical international frontlines. The current USA roster lists the likes of Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin, Brook Lopez, Kevin Love, Javale McGee, Mason Plumlee, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Myles Turner, Christian Wood and the injured Anthony Davis and LeMarcus Aldridge as viable big men for consideration. USA will also need a pair (or three) true – pass first – point guards.

While We’re Young (Ideas) & Notes

June 13, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The most telling “official” sponsorship package in all of sports might be the “official window” company for every sports franchise. The official window might determine the “window of opportunity” and just when the windows open and close for your local professional club.

Maybe you can blame it on the quick-changing New England weather, but here in Boston, the windows seem to be closing all too often these days. When quarterback and team leader Tom Brady departed from the New England Patriots and tight end Rob Gronkowski soon followed him to Tampa Bay, the window of opportunity closed on the Patriots, like a guillotine at Marie Antoinette’s execution.

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This spring, the double-hung windows at TD Garden were shuttered quite abruptly, as both the Boston Celtics of the NBA and the Boston Bruins of the NHL took early exits from their respective league playoffs.

After winning their 17th NBA Championship in 2007-08, the Celtics have remained (mostly) competitive with the exception of missing the NBA Playoffs in 2013-14. Boston made NBA Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2016-17, 2017-18, 2019-20 (in the NBA Bubble).

This season, they advanced through a first-ever NBA Play-In game but lost to the Brooklyn Nets, 4-games-to-1, in the first round of the playoffs. Soon after, the Celtics accepted the retirement papers from their head of basketball, Danny Ainge, and decided to move their talented head coach, Brad Stevens, up the ladder to head-up basketball ops as GM.

While the Celtics’ core is young, strong and capable, team chemistry, size and frequent injuries remain as obstacles in front of the Celtics in order to advance in future NBA Playoffs. The window of opportunity for the current team seems to be closing before they could make it to the NBA Finals.

On the ice rink along Causeway Street, the Boston Bruins are realizing a similar fate.

Last season, the Bruins finished the “normal” season leading the NHL and in prime position for the approaching 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Then, the Coronavirus hit, and the Bruins lost momentum, and re-started by going 0-3 in the NHL bubble ‘seeding round.” The Bruins regained some confidence with a strong showing in the 2020 first round with a 4-1 series win over the Carolina Hurricanes but fell flat and dropped their second-round series to eventual champion Tampa Bay, 4-1.

This season, the Bruins finished third in a re-configured “East,” then won a competitive first-round series against the tough Washington Capitals before being eliminated, 4-games-to-2, against the upstart New York Islanders.

Suffice to say, the core of the Boston Bruins team is aging from the Stanley Cup Championship of 2011 and Stanley Cup Finals appearance and losses to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and St. Louis Blues in the spring of 2019.

Embed from Getty Images

“Every year, as you don’t achieve your goal and the further you go in your career, you get to realize it’s a year closer to retirement,” said veteran center and team captain Patrice Bergeron after the Bruins were eliminated. “So, obviously, it’s tough. From one year to the next, it’s always a missed opportunity and you want to keep going at it. It’s hard. As you get older, you know that you don’t have that many chances to achieve your goal and have a team that can actually compete for a Stanley Cup, so it’s always disappointing. About changes, I’m not sure. It’s not up to me. You always want to keep the same group and I feel like we have a great group here. We’ll see what happens.”

Unfortunately, in the world of sports, we all know what happens.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: For the Boston Bruins, the status of starting goalkeeper Tuukka Rask will be a key factor. Rask will soon have surgery for a torn labrum in his hip. The surgery will be scheduled within a month and recovery time could take five or six months from there. While some have speculated that Rask might test the free agent market upon return, much like former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara (now with the Washington Caps), Rask confirmed this week that it’s the Bruins or retirement. … “I’m not going to play for anyone else than the Bruins,” said Rask. “This is our home. We have three kids. The kids enjoy it here. They have friends in school. We have friends. At this point of my life and my career, I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else, especially with the health I’m looking at now and a recovery time of five or six months. Hopefully it works out that I recover well and we can talk about contracts when the time is right for that,” he concluded.

TRACK & FIELD AND TRACK SOME MORE? – According to The Japan Times, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee plans to use GPS as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The GPS tracking devices are not intended to monitor the real-time whereabouts of people from overseas, but to trace and confirm their movements retroactively in the event infections are confirmed, Toshiro Muto, the Olympic Organizing Committee CEO said. … He told reporters that everyone entering Japan from abroad, including athletes, officials and members of the media, will be required to submit plans for their first 14 days in the country and turn on the GPS function on their smartphones. … “We’re not going to be tracking every single movement,” he told a news conference. “I want to trust they will follow the rules first.” … The system for possible COVID-19 contact tracing came at a high cost. Japan’s digital transformation minister Takuya Hirai said the development cost for the app was $35 million, according to the Tokyo-based newspaper Nikkei.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) with Sunday Notes on Fragile Sports World

June 6, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – We’re often reminded just how fragile the world of sports can be, whether it be via a career-ending injury to a player, a scandal to ruin a player, a franchise or an entire sport or this terrible, horrible global pandemic which took down the entire sports industry. Of course that included the 2020 Summer Olympic Games and still threatens the scope and integrity of the Tokyo Games, still scheduled for July 23-August 8 this summer.

To say the industry is skeptical about these upcoming Olympic Games is to say Michael Phelps can swim a little bit, as in very obvious. Some athletes (and teams) are beginning to arrive in Japan and utilize the Olympic Village while adjusting to the time zone change(s). You must wonder, though, with COVID-19 vaccinations relatedly low in many – make it most – countries around the world and outbreaks of severe COVID-19 variations requiring lockdowns in the likes of India, large portions of Latin America, Argentina and Malaysia, what will the melting pot that is the Olympic Games bring to Tokyo? And, what will the athletes bring back to their native countries?

Even the biggest fans of the Olympic Games must wonder if the top athletes might opt-out when the time comes to travel to Japan. That quandary is amplified by the most recent update from the Tokyo Games organizers with some 10,000 of an estimated 80,000 workers and volunteers called it quits just as the games are beginning from a logistical and “behind the scenes” sense.

Organizers claim that they expect 80% of the athletes to be fully vaccinated for the games but that is quite opposite of the estimated 2-to-3% of the Japanese public currently vaccinated. The fragile nature of the Games and the Coronavirus will be under the microscope every day of the Olympics, at every venue, airport, bus terminal and the Olympic Village itself.

To that end, one might wonder just who will take the Saitama Super Arena court when – on July 26th – Argentina plays the winner of the upcoming Olympic Qualifying Tournament to be held June 29-July 4 in the hometown of the great Arvydas Sabonis, Kaunas (Lithuania).

TALK ABOUT the FRAGILE NATURE of SPORTS: Thoroughbred Horse Racing, Boxing and Track and Field once ruled the roost of the sports world, back in the days of Man o’War (1917), Joe Louis and the Millrose Games. In fact, a fight between Louis and Germany’s Max Schmeling had the largest audience of any radio broadcast in history.

Fast-forward … and I mean … really fast! In 1973, the great Secretariatcaptured the imaginations of sports fans and horse racing fans alike with a Triple Crown win capped-off by the most amazing run in the history of New York’s Belmont Park.

Throughout the years, work stoppages, drug scandals, steroid usage, and doping accusations – usually proven out by positive drug tests – have resulted in damage to the credibility of various sports, notably to bicycling (Lance Armstrong and others), baseball, weight-lifting and other Olympic sports.

Gambling scandals and match-fixing have plagued many of the sports, including baseball (Black Sox/Pete Rose), pro tennis (as recently as this past week when the 765th-ranked Yana Sizikova of Russia and the WTA, was arrested in Paris for alleged match-fixing in September of 2020) and basketball – both college (multiple occasions) and pro (most recently with the conviction of disgraced referee Tim Donaghy in 2007).

Lately, there’s been so many cheating scandals in sports that the media have run out of “Gates” to tag them. Spy-gate to Deflate-gate to Orchids of Asia Spa Gate have all captured headlines – and that’s just in New England. Following suit, MLB suspended several members of the Houston Astros and their managerial/coaching staffs for sign-stealing and illegal actions. That included a one-year ban and the firing of Red Sox Manager Alex Cora – who was re-hired by the club when the suspension was served in full.

As the 153rd running of The Belmont took place this weekend, a horse doping scandal – once again – crushed the racing industry. Trainer Bob Baffert was suspended for two years by Churchill Downs as his 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was twice-tested positive for betamethasone, a steroid used for therapeutic purposes in horses and often used in Kentucky to reduce swelling in a horse’s joints while treating pain and inflammation. Interest in The Preakness and Belmont dropped considerably because of the doping issue. Sadly, Baffert has had five horses test for illegal drugs this year.

Back to human conduct, as opposed to equine, the subject of player conduct – on and off the field of play – has caused major setbacks for sports leagues over the years, most notably the NFL with several murder and domestic violence cases (Rae Carruth, Aaron Hernandez, Ray Rice, and the case/trial of the century with O.J. Simpson).

In each instance, the governing bodies, leagues, players associations and sponsors quickly sort out the mess, many times with the sponsors cancelling multi-million dollar endorsement deals for the player(s) involved. From time-to-time, the sport takes a negative hit in television ratings and/or fan attendance but they’re usually forgotten in time by a very forgiving fan base – especially after work stoppages.

The North American sports leagues do their best to create solid, long-term and meaningful community relations programs to address many of the transgressions of their players or, maybe even, team owners.

Although the popularity of boxing, track and field and horse racing have waned, somehow the four major sports endure their many self-inflicted setbacks, all the while raising ticket prices, streaming/pay-per-view subscriptions and passing along the trickle-down effect of ever-rising digital television packages.

What’s a sports fan to do?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Just who is this “Perfection Line” you speak of with the Boston Bruins top offensive unit of center Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak? Certainly to be admired by all hockey fans, friends and foe of the Bruins, the only possible “Perfection Line” in NHL history would need to have the names of Wayne Gretzky at center, Bobby Orr (converted from defenseman to left winger), and Gordie Howe on the right wing.

SPORTS PERFECTION: Aside from countless bowlers – pro and amateur – tossing games of 300, the only two instances of perfection in sporting – IMO – are the previously mentioned run 48 years ago by Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont and the perfect game thrown 65 years ago this Fall by New York Yankees pitcher Don Larson in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Larsen’s accomplishment came at his home field of Yankee Stadium, against the crosstown rival Brooklyn Dodgers.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Are mostly tributes in waiting.

PEDROIA SALUTE: The Boston Red Sox announced plans to honor recently retired second baseman Dustin Pedroia during pregame ceremonies at Fenway Park on Friday, June 25, before the 7:10 p.m. Sox-Yankees game. Pedroia, who played in 1,512 games with the club from 2006-19, announced his retirement from the Red Sox and the game of baseball on February 1, 2021.

KOOS: An announcement dear to the heart of While We’re Young (Ideas), the New York Mets announced this past Thursday that pitcher Jerry Koosman‘s No. 36 will be officially retired on August 28. The team had planned to have his number retired during the 2020 season, but due to COVID-19 they postponed the event. … Koosman will join Tom Seaver (No. 41) and Mike Piazza (No. 31) as the only Mets players to have their number retired. The Mets have also retired manager Casey Stengel‘s No.37, manager Gil Hodges‘ No. 14, and Jackie Robinson‘s No. 42 — as MLB did in unison in 1997. … Dating back to the Summer of 2019, WWYI called for the retirement of Koosman’s number by the Mets.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – As Boomers, We’re All Going Backwards

May 30, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief

BOSTON – The Greatest Generation passed a baton to the post World War II baby-boomer generation, largely defined as “boomers” born from 1946-through-1964. Oh what a mess we’ve made.

Aside from the fact a certain past President of the United States of America was born on June 14, 1946, judgement on the overall state of the generation paved in mud by the front end of the “boomers” will be reserved for another time this Memorial Day weekend. Instead, the focus of today’s notes will be on the transgressions in sports we’ve witnessed just this past week and how it reflects so negatively on the low bar we’ve all allowed ourselves to live by.

ICYMI: Five spectators were given lifetime bans from NBA arenas for their behavior at NBA Playoff games on Wednesday, May 26. The incidents:

After twisting his ankle and being helped to the locker room in the third quarter of the Washington Wizards’ 120-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Philly’s Wells Fargo Center, Wizards guard Russell Westbrook was pelted with popcorn as he exited the court. Westbrook had to be restrained by team and security personnel and the fan was ejected from the game and given an indefinite ban from attending future games.
The Utah Jazz banned three fans on Thursday and team owner Ryan Smith issued an apology on Twitter to the Memphis Grizzlies and to Grizzlies’ All-Star guard Ja Morant and his family after racist and sexist comments resulted in an altercation. Morant spotted the incident from the court and asked Memphis team security to check on his family and friends in the stands at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
While Atlanta guard Trae Young was inbounding the ball in the fourth quarter of New York’s 101-92 win in Game 2 of their first round playoff game at Madison Square Garden, a Knicks fan spat at Young from his second row seat. MSG security investigated the incident and issued a statement noting the fan was identified, was not a season-ticket holder but was “banned indefinitely” from attending events at The Garden.
Here, in Boston, players – namely Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets – brought forth Boston’s history of racial injustices.

The aftermath came complete with the players rightfully stating fan behavior is out of control.

The NBA Players Association issued a statement that read: “True fans of this game honor and respect the dignity of our players,” the players’ union said. “No true fan would seek to harm them or violate their personal space. Those who do have no place in our arenas. And their conduct is appropriately evaluated by law enforcement just as if it occurred on a public street.”

After the Wizards vs Sixers game, Westbrook stated much the same.

“To be completely honest man, this (expletive) is getting out of hand, especially for me,” said Westbrook after the loss. “The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the (expletive) they want to do, it’s just out of pocket.

“I’m all for the fans enjoying the game and having fun. It’s part of sports, I get it, but there are certain things that cross the line and in any other setting, I know for a fact that a guy wouldn’t come up to me on the street and pour popcorn on my head, because you know what would happen. … In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.”

In all three incidents, the venues took action after reviewing video and digital surveillance recordings.

Valerie Camillo, the head of business operations for the Wells Fargo Center, issued a statement Wednesday night and said the incident “has no place in our arena. This was classless, unacceptable behavior, and we’re not going to tolerate it at Wells Fargo Center,” she stated. “We’re proud to have the most passionate fans in the country and the best home-court and home-ice advantage around, but this type of behavior has no place in our arena.”

The NBA league office, via the Commissioner, issued a zero-tolerance statement of NBA policies and team and league personnel all made reference to the NBA’s “Fan Code of Conduct” rules put in place after an ugly incident at The Palace of Auburn Hills between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in 2004.

“No one is going to get away with an act like that,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to NBC Sports Washington (DC). “You’re going to be caught. You’re going to be banned from an arena. In some cases there may be criminal prosecution depending if the conduct rises to that level of an assault or something that the police are going to take note of.”

The three separate examples of abhorrent spectator conduct all came at a time the country is reeling from an on-going global pandemic, piecing the economy and infrastructure back together after four years (2017-2021) of mass turmoil in the executive branch and in Congress, racial injustice and the need for much better police and immigration reform, all coming while the USA witnessed an all-out insurrection at the United States Capitol Building this past January 6. And, that’s the short list.

With those troubles in mind, don’t we all look to sports and sportsmanship in our games to be the light, the inspiration and the one place to cheer-on victory and move-on from defeat? A daily schedule of playoff games in ice hockey or pro basketball is combined with the relaxing, leisurely pace of Major League Baseball to create some peace of mind for sports fans around the world.

Leading into this Memorial Day, the HBO series “Band of Brothers” was on the menu of offerings to watch, as rainy day forecasts ran up and down the East Coast. The reminder of D-Day in Normandy, must be underlined by comments from Veterans of the Korean War, Viet Nam conflict, the Gulf Wars and all the troops (USA and Allies) still posted in the Middle East and Afghanistan – never mind those on watch on the North Korean border or at dangerous State Department or military posts the world around. They were the greatest, and we seem to be striving for the worst.

We wave flags and listen quietly as the National Anthem is played at arenas and stadiums. We respectfully remember our fallen soldiers and the true meaning of Memorial Day, while the grills is fired up along with it revelers filling their gut with Buds and Bud Lights at a backyard BBQs held this year, an event previously taken for granted until the pandemic shutdown everything a year ago.

But, as the light at the end of the tunnel of the pandemic glimmers with hope, we STILL don’t show respect to our fellow Americans.

As we celebrate and memorialize our fallen troops, we cannot ignore the fact that terrible fan behavior at our arenas of sport has hit unacceptable lows. Meanwhile, the behavior of our elected officials creating laws to suppress voting is even worse. The troops have fought to allow Americans to enjoy freedom and to reserve our abilities to vote without any unfair interference, assuring every citizen the rights Thomas Jefferson penned in 1776. He wrote, of course, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We’re going backwards.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While the main focus this week in the NBA was on fan behavior, and not basketball, Boston’s (injured and out-for-the-playoffs) Jalen Brown declared he had a “perspective to share.”

“I saw things floating around with Boston and the topic of racism,” he said this week, choosing to address off-court rather than on-court issues. “People around me urged that I should share my perspective. I have not talked to anyone — Kyrie, Marcus [Smart] or [Celtics GM] Danny Ainge — about my thoughts or my perspective, but I do think it’s a good conversation. I think that racism should be addressed, and systemic racism should be addressed in the city of Boston, and also the United States.

“However, I do not like the manner it was brought up, centering around a playoff game. The construct of racism, right? It’s used as a crutch, or an opportunity to execute a personal gain. I’m not saying that’s the case. But I do think racism is bigger than basketball, and I do think racism is bigger than Game 3 of the playoffs. I want to urge the media to paint that narrative as well. Because when it’s painted in that manner, it’s insensitive to people who have to deal with it on a daily basis.

“The constructs and constraints of systemic racism in our school system, inequality in education, lack of opportunity, lack of housing, lack of affordable housing, lack of affordable health care, tokenism, the list goes on. So I recognize and acknowledge my privilege as an athlete. Once you get to the point where that financial experience overtakes the experiences people deal with on a daily basis, I want to emphasize that as well.”

NAOMI OSAKA: Tennis star Naomi Osaka earned a cool $55 million this year, with approximately $5 million coming from on-court prize money and the rest from endorsements, ranging from Nike, to Beats, to Louis Vuitton to Levi’s to Tag Heuer (wrist watches) to salad/food retailer Sweetgreen among the two dozen brands she’s partnered with for marketing endorsements. … The Tokyo Olympics offered her additional marketing opportunities with Sportico reporting her newfound deals with ANA (Airline), Nissin and Google, all official Olympic sponsors/partners. … Yet, with tennis, PR and marketing all on the line, Osaka this week announced via a social media post that she would be skipping media sessions at the French Open (Roland Garros). … “I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes’ mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” she wrote on Instagram. “We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.” … At major tennis competitions, fines can range up to $20,000 for missing media obligations. … While players’ mental health is of utmost importance of course, sometimes the players might look at the other side of the coin and accept the fact that the reporters who cover tennis might have assignments that involve interviewing the players, and the pressure and mental health of a reporter is equally important. … Access and a healthy give-and-take, review-and-preview, praise-and-critique is among the most important aspects of the tennis tour. … Unlike team sports, tennis and golf put the media focus on one single athletes, and the pressure to endure that spotlight is intense. That said, the players surely know what they are signing-up for the tennis tour and when cashing first place prize money cheques of $1,694,710 planned for the men’s and women’s champions at Roland Garros 2021. … That first place prize pool, by the way, is down 12.5% from 2020. … The French Open first place prize in 2019 was $2,710,315.

If you want to read more, check out While We’re Young (Ideas) by Terry Lyons on Substack.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – May 23

May 23, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Oh Nate!

Say it ain’t so. Say you didn’t say it, but don’t say it was “taken out of context.”

Say whatever you want, Nate McMillan, because you walked right into it, and by doing so, you switched “the narrative” from dozens of great pre-NBA Playoffs storylines into one that is as old as time on a 1946 Grandfather Clock that’s only right twice a day.

The league was forced to do what it had to do and that was to dock McMillan $25,000 for “detrimental public comments asserting bias by the NBA relating to the 2020-21 Playoffs.”

In case you missed the story and the subsequent fine – which came on a week that the NBA was staging its first “Play-In” tournament and enjoying a number of entertaining games supplied to fans via extra coverage by TNT and ESPN – McMillan was asked a question about the fact many of the “national media” were picking the New York Knicks to defeat McMillan’s Atlanta Hawks team.

It’s a game played every year by the media. Their bosses ask everyone who covered a minute of NBA basketball to put forth their predictions for each series, leading all the way to their GUESS for the teams that will make it to the NBA Finals and one club that will be the NBA champion.

Here’s how Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote it:

<<On Wednesday, McMillan was asked about if he thought his players were aware that a lot of national media members were picking the Knicks to win the series (a panel of 16 experts at ESPN recently made predictions, and only two picked the Hawks to win). McMillan said he had discussed that with the team, and added that the Knicks are a franchise the league wants to see in the playoffs, which he was using as a motivating factor for the team.>>

The original quote: (which McMillan now claims was taken out of context, by the way)

“I’ve gone as far as saying the league wants this, they need this,” McMillan said. “… New York, you know, this is a big market,” McMillan said. “It’s a big market for the league, and New York has been out of the playoffs for a number of years. And this is a team that our league, they want to see. There’s a huge fan base. They want to see New York in the playoffs. They want to see the Lakers in the playoffs. Teams like that, the Boston Celtics, they want to see these teams in the playoffs, and I put New York in that category, that the league wants to see it, everybody wants to see this.

“Even to the fact that, our game was moved to Sunday. They want to see this. So yes, we have talked about that. We have talked about the advantages of this situation and some things that we’re going to have to face going into the game with kind of everyone picking New York to win. And a lot of folks wanting to see New York in the playoffs.

“So it’s a battle, it’s a challenge, that just being New York, all of that comes with playing in New York. And they’ve had a really good season. So I think the NBA is excited about them being back in the playoffs.”

There you have it. Nate McMillan – wonderful person, great player, incredible teammate for those great Seattle Sonics teams, trusted assistant coach for USA Basketball and worthy head coach in the NBA – undermines the whole damn league at the most important time of the year.

McMillan was using the media snub to motivate his players with an “us against the world” mentality. It’s a coaching technique older than the clock you just read about. In fact, it’s a technique perfected by Coach Pat Riley, mainly when he was coaching the stacked Los Angeles Lakers roster to championships, but also utilized when he was coaching the very New York Knickerbockers 29 other teams were claiming had an advantage. Riley motivated half his roster full of players with CBA resumes to believe “the league” was out to get them, and that because of their proximity to the NBA league office (645 Fifth Avenue to 33rd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues) the refs called it tighter against the physical – call it hand-to-hand/lockdown/combat Knicks.

Remember? Then-Knicks guard Derek Harper would lock onto his opponent’s hip with a hand-check that could keep a Boeing 747 from taking off, all the while John Starks and Anthony Mason were accosting opponents and never “letting up an easy basket,” to say the least.

Riley came clean when he spoke (at length) at the funeral services for David Stern in January 2020. Paraphrasing here, Riley told a story of being called on the carpet by then Executive VP, Business and Legal Affairs Stern, along with out-going Commissioner Larry O’Brien and being read the proverbial riot-act by Stern, with warnings of what was to come if Riley continued to plant conspiracy-theory stories about getting jobbed by the refs.

Deeper thoughts about “integrity of the game,” “the trust of the fans,” and “no one person being bigger than the whole of the league” were discussed. A young Lakers coach was only seeing the myopic ways of one series, one title and doing whatever he could do to influence the outcome of one, next game. Stern was seeing the future, five or maybe 10 or 20 years down the road from that NBA Championship Series in the early 1980s.

But, fast-forward to 2002 and Riley was back at it again!

While coaching-up the Miami Heat, Riley spoke of referees’ “dislike for me over the years,” detailed “inequality” and “inconsistency” in the officiating process, and offered a viewpoint of “real bias” in the calling of games.

For his theatrics, Riley was docked a cool $50,000 by the NBA, indicating McMillan might’ve gotten off easy with his misguided comments worth $25G.

To sum it all up is quite easy. Here are the key points:

Integrity of the game, the integrity of its game officials and the trust in those by fans from every corner of the globe is the single most important thing the NBA has to offer. When you boil it all down, there’s nothing more important than a fair, entertaining and hopefully well-officiated game. It’s all about every single game.
“The NBA” is not influencing the outcome of games, by staff or anyone sitting in executive offices. The players decide the outcome of the game with their talent and abilities. To say otherwise, is to cut the very roots of what the NBA offers which is the best athletes in the world competing against each other in a basketball game.
It is damn near impossible to officiate an NBA game. Those very players are faster, stronger, quicker, and everything else you can imagine from being prepared, well-coached, incredible defenders, amazing shooters, in top-notch physical condition and being ultra-competitive. Good coaches KNOW the calls even out over the course of a season. They also know that if their team is standing on the perimeter, hoisting up ill-advised three-pointers, they are not going to get to the line as much as an opponent taking the ball to the basket.
At this time of year, more than any other, the integrity of the league is even more important as more people are watching games and the NBA Playoff games intensify as each series progresses. The focus should be on the great games and the great performances of the athletes.
Making statements, however intentioned, guided or mis-guided, takes the focus off the game and places it 180-degrees away from where a healthy sports organization needs its TV-watching, ticket-buying fans focused. It also plants the seed, once again, and as the games unfold, every questionable call comes under a microscope of criticism and mistrust that is undeserving. But, because of one coach, the thoughts travel like electric current right through to the minds of fans in every NBA city and around the world.
When you really drill down, a coach’s comments – like McMillan’s – are really accusing the NBA and its officials of committing felony fraud. In my mind, that’s a crime in itself and the coaches should be disciplined for such accusations. In addition to the league office, the NBA Coaches Association should also administer stiff fines to its members for crossing such a line.
To that end, the league needs to fine (both the team and the coach) and suspend the coach for at least a game going forward for comments which undermine the very credibility of the game.

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