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While We're Young Ideas

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Sept 21

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While We’re Young (Ideas) | The 25th Anniversary of the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games and Vince Carter’s Dunk

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – This Thursday, it will be a solid 13,148,730 minutes since the baddest dunk of ‘em all. The date was September 25, 2000 and the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics were scheduled rather late to catch the very beginning of the warm weather Down Under.

That’s 9,131 days or 1,304 weeks and three days, but it seems like yesterday.

Let me tell you, those 13,148,730 moments have been so dear, but how do you measure – measure 25 years?

In Summer Olympics, it’s been Sydney-to-Athens-to-Beijing-to-London-to Rio-to take a little break-to Tokyo, and then it was on to Paris.

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee?

How about men’s Olympic team coaches?

From Rudy Tomjanovich-to-Larry Brown-to-Mike Krzyzewski-to-Mike Krzyzewski-to-Mike Krzyzewski-to-Gregg Popovich-to-Steve Kerr.

That’s a lot of miles and a lot of basketball, especially when you add in the friendlies and the qualifiers. This columnists worked 1984 and ‘88 on USA soil, helping prep the “college guys” with short summer tours within the US vs. a hodge hodge group of NBA players in the various locales. It was fun.

From 1992 in Barcelona to ‘96 in Atlanta to 2000 in Sydney to 2004 in Athens I was on the team bus for the whole ride. (If you want, add the ‘94 Worlds in Toronto, a skip of the ‘98 Worlds in Greece as Patrick Ewing, super-agent David Falk and a group of other high-ranking player agents held the USA men’s senior team hostage for unrelated NBA labor stoppage reasons, then the continuation in 2002 in Indianapolis and even 2006 in Sapporo and Saitama, Japan.

Back on Olympic time, I waved good-bye to the USA Basketball contingent when they departed Las Vegas for Beijing in ‘08 but re-joined the group on USA soil when we announced the team and prepped for Rio in ‘16. I remember that summer well. I welcomed and enjoyed the reunion with the team, but my MacBook Pro did not, but that’s another story.

Let’s get back to Sydney and the current 25-year anniversary of the Summer Olympic Games that I believe were the best. That means the best in my opinion of my personal experience.

Sydney was fan-tastic. The weather, the organizing committee, the venues, the transportation, the crowds, and the vibe. The USA results weren’t bad either, as we brought home the gold in both men’s and women’s basketball against tough competition on the other side of the world.

We stayed out in the ‘burbs – in Parramatta – a town 24 kilometers (about 15 miles) outside of Sydney. Let’s call it the “Astoria, Queens” of Sydney. Great little town and a nice, secure commuter-type hotel we called home. Reserve forward Vin Baker BBQ’d for us, the Canadian TV crews welcomed us at their Outback Steakhouse looking watering hole. The VB and Crown beers were cold and there was not a sight of a Foster’s (Australian for Beer) anywhere to be seen.

My bus-mates were a combination of Kevin Garnett (directly behind me), Ray Allen(directly across the aisle) and Allen Houston (directly behind Ray). What a group! KG kept us entertained, Allen Houston kept us updated on all things of historical significance and all of his day trips while Ray and his A+ personality kept us in line, and he looked out for everyone with his uncanny ability to see all and everything. That was our little crew – for about 40 days.

Most importantly, there were a bunch of great players and great people on the bus. Just focusing on the players, we had Alonzo Mourning and Antonio McDyess amongst the bigs, we had Jason Kidd (thank God) at the point, we had “The Glove,” Gary Payton to shut down any hot-shooting opponents and we had all-around ‘glue’ in Steve Smith who set the best screens (we called ‘em picks) of all-time.

At practices, we’d be sitting at the make-shift scorer’s table, doing some work and maybe charting some stats that Rudy T wanted to look at after each session, and he’d turn around – all excited – and say to us, “Watch this, watch this!” The play would run and Steve Smith would just take out the defender while standing still with a screen. It was amazing. And, if you took out a defender trying to guard Ray Allen or AllenHouston, it was an 18-20 foot lay-up for those sharp-shooters.

Over the years, I came to realize that judging by all-around skills in the international game, Jason Kidd, Ray Allen and David Robinson were the USA’s best players. Yes, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were not of this earth in the focus and mental toughness they brought to every game they played. Steph Curry was someplace far above that at the Paris Games.

But, for this column, at this time – leading into this coming Thursday – let’s take a look at Vince Carter.

On the way to Sydney, I spent quite a bit of time with Vince – mainly in Japan where he was in serious demand for appearances and – generally, was the most popular player on the USA team. The crowds followed him and idolized him. A bit of the sensation came from Carter’s “Half Man, Half Amazing” performance at the 2000 NBA Slam-Dunk Contest in Oakland, held just a few months beforehand.

Carter was left off the nine-man roster for the 2000 Olympics and then was disappointed when USA Basketball settled on Alonzo Mourning, Grant Hill and RayAllen to fill the 10th-11th and 12th roster spots. But an ankle injury to Hill opened up a roster spot and Coach Tomjanovich lobbied heavily for the scoring Carter would bring to the team.

Rudy T was right as Carter led the 2000 USA Olympic team in scoring with a 14.8 ppg average, and he scored every tough, important basket needed during the tournament (with the exception of an amazing, medal-saving offensive rebound and put-back by Antonio McDyess in the exciting USA semifinal win over Lithuania (85-83, September 29, 2000).

But, it was one moment in time during the final preliminary game that is remembered the most.

On September 25, 2000, the USA faced eventual silver medalist France in a Group A matchup. The final score was USA 106, France 94, but in the thick of the closely fought game, Vince Carter made a steal in the front court and there was only one defender – France center Frederic Weis – in between Carter and the basket. It was time for Vin-sanity.

In the aftermath of that dunk, a couple things struck me:

  1. It is, indeed, the greatest ‘in-game’ dunk of all-time.
  2. Carter almost struck teammate Kevin Garnett right in the face in his celebration after the play.
  3. After just a few seconds, Carter totally regained his composure and “dee’d up.”
  4. And a memory, when we got the locker room, Carter damn near broke me in half with a hug, still psyched out of his mind and he’d yet to see a replay.

The epilogue on Vince Carter – from direct, first-hand observation: He was a go-to guy who loved the pressure and thrill of competition. He was a pleasure to work with while we had our run with the Olympics team, a tremendous experience. He was a good teammate to the other 11 players and he was highly coachable via Rudy T as they developed a very nice rapport.

Carter’s mega-dunk at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games will live on forever and it’s “only” 25 years and counting.

The USA defeated France, 85-75, in the gold medal game on October 1. Lithuania took the bronze with an 89-71 victory over the hometown Australian Boomers.

It was an enjoyable flight home.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Next Sunday, the column will revisit the 2000 Sydney Olympics in “stream of consciousness” mode, truly testing the old memory bank.

The Government of the United Kingdom and the NBA announced a landmark £10 million investment to grow popularity in the sport of basketball in England, marking the first time the UK Government has committed dedicated funding for the sport under its Community Sport Facilities Programme.

The deal, unveiled during the recent State visit of the US President and First Lady, will see £5 million allocated by the Government in 2026-27, with the NBA matching that investment with £5 million through 2028.

As part of the UK Government’s £400 million Community Sport Facilities Programme, £5 million will be committed to basketball facilities in 2026-27. The funded sites will include a multi-sport offering “so they are accessible and appealing to get as many people active as possible.”

This represents a new approach for the Government, which has previously focused the program on football-led facilities. The NBA will match the investment with £5 million into expanding its grassroots programs, which currently reach more than 50,000 young people across the UK each year.

On the professional level, basketball continues to struggle in Britain amongst in-fighting and – to date – no team has emerged to play in the EuroLeague. There has been rumors of a London-based pro team being part of the plans in the NBA (and FIBA) choose to launch their own league in Europe.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Did you know? The A’s major league baseball team, temporarily relocated to Sacramento after leaving Oakland, lost 20 of 21 games between May 14 and June 4 but were the third best team in the Majors from July 24 to the present day, with only Philadelphia and Milwaukee having better records. The A’s took two-of-three from the Red Sox at Fenway this past week, severely damaging the Sox chances of catching the AL East leading Toronto Blue Jays and Wild Card leading NY Yankees. … The Cleveland Guardians have won 14 of their past 15 games, including a make-up game against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday afternoon. They have the second of a same day twin bill Saturday night.

EIGHT DAYS A WEEK: The 2025 Major League Baseball regular season will conclude in eight days. Many of the Division titles and Wild Card berths will probably be decided on the final weekend of the season. A good look at The standings (they call it a “ladder” in Europe), shows who is in and who’s been eliminated. Click HERE. The final statistics will reveal a number of significant accomplishments. Heading into Saturday’s full schedule, consider these, among many other feats:

  • Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) – 48 Home Runs with 104 RBI and a league-leading .327 batting average.
  • Cal Raleigh (Seattle) – MLB-leading 56 Home Runs, crushing the single season HR record for catchers.
    • Other leaders include:
      • 48 Sal Perez (KC Royals
      • 45 Johnny Bench (Cincinnati Reds)
      • 43 Javy Lopez (Atlanta Braves)
  • Max Fried (NY Yankees) – MLB leader in Wins – 18
    • Other leaders include:
      • Garrett Crochet (Boston) – 17 – (Also leads MLB in Ks (249)
      • Freddie Peralta (Milwaukee) -17

Going into Saturday games, the Boston Red Sox are:

  • Are 60-49 vs. right handed starting pitchers
  • Are 24-21 vs. left handed starting pitchers

THIS JEST IN: In case you weren’t paying attention, it’s only Week 3 of the NFL regular season schedule and the following QBs are currently injured or have missed time:

  • Joe Burrow (Cincinnati) – toe surgery
  • J.J. McCarthy (Minnesota) – ankle
  • Justin Fields (NY Jets) – concussion
  • Brock Purdy (San Francisco) – shoulder/toe – questionable
  • Jayden Daniels (Washington DC) – knee

All, except Purdy, are listed as OUT for games of September 21.

CAN’T MAKE IT UP: You can’t fire the team and you shouldn’t fire the coach, so just who is left? The Bison! Colorado’s new live buffalo mascot made her debut at Folsom Field last night when Colorado played against Wyoming.

She’s officially named Ralphie VII, although a unique nickname is soon to come after her first run. Ralphie VII is the latest in a string of field-storming live mascot buffaloes, a storied tradition and one of college football’s most iconic. The running of the buffalo has been a must-glimpse event at the school for the past 58 years. The one-year-old bison steps in for Ralphie VI, who went into retirement before the start of season after showing little enthusiasm toward making the gallop around the field.

TL’s Sunday Notes | Sept. 14, 2025

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

BOSTON – “What’s Goin’ On?”

Last weekend before the U.S. Open men’s singles final, the United States Tennis Association issued a statement to request media outlets refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity.

Embed from Getty Images

The USTA Statement read in part:

“With respect to Broadcast Coverage, the President will be shown on the World Feed and the Ashe Court Feed during the opening anthem ceremony,” the USTA said in the memo, which has been viewed by multiple publications.

“We ask all broadcasters to refrain from showcasing any disruptions or reactions in response to the President’s attendance in any capacity, including ENG coverage.”

Quoting U.S. Open champion John McEnroe years ago when he stormed the courts and argued with chair umpires, “You’ve got to be kidding me?”

While I understand the USTA back pedaled and pretended the request was akin to asking cameras at all sporting events not broadcast a drunken fan running out on the field of play, being chased by the Keystone Cops, I could read the lines themselves and see in between the lines that they were sending the media in attendance a preemptive strike – surely requested by The White House – to not show the chorus of boos which accompany the current President of the United States (POTUS) nearly everywhere he travels.

The ridiculous act of censorship, thankfully, was not adhered to by ESPN and other media on site, covering the event as the news it is. But, the USTA’s reprehensible action immediately leads to the question, “Just what is next?”

Let’s ask Grok?

“Censorship has indeed escalated in recent years, manifesting in various forms across governments, corporations, and institutions. This includes direct bans on platforms and content, algorithmic suppression, legal pressures on social media companies, and self-censorship driven by fear of repercussions,” wrote the AI guru.

As so many media members state on the airwaves these days, “there’s a lot to unpack,” so let’s dice it up for a second.

Governments, Corporations and Institutions – directly placing a ban on content. The verdict here, in these United States – GUILTY!

Bans on platforms and content – GUILTY!

Legal pressures on Social Media companies – GUILTY!

Self-Censorship (by media) driven by fear of repercussions – GUILTY!

What happened to “telling it like it is with he thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. News crews covering … the human drama of athletic competition? Maybe Wide World of Sports should’ve added, “unless the fans boo one of the competitors or boo a newsworthy happening in the stands which reflects negatively on a corrupt politician.”

USA Today’s Nancy Armour wrote of the boo-birds, “Resistance takes many forms.

“Sometimes it’s people taking to the streets in protest, as they did this weekend in Chicago and its suburbs. Sometimes it’s governors banding together to ensure their citizens have access to vaccines that have been thoroughly vetted, as the governors of California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii have.

“And sometimes it’s ABC and ESPN not muting the full-throated chorus of boos that occurred when the president of the United States was shown at the U.S. Open on Sunday.

“The U.S. Tennis Association’s request that broadcasters “refrain from showcasing any disruptions to the President’s attendance in any capacity” was an embarrassment. This is not North Korea or Russia, and it is not ABC’s, ESPN’s or any other broadcaster’s job to stroke President Donald Trump’s ego.

“To suggest otherwise was wholly inappropriate by the USTA and, worse, served to overshadow the anticipation for the latest meeting in what has become tennis’ next great rivalry. Instead of talking about Sinner and Alcaraz, the focus before the match was on the USTA’s clumsy attempt at censorship,” she wrote Monday morning.

Let’s take look at what the records show:

  • Nearly 4.8 billion people (60% of the global population) faced some form of restriction in 2024.
  • Social media saw 360 censorship instances across 76 countries from 2006-2023, accelerating mostly after 2018.
  • U.S. Federal agencies, such as The White House and FBI coerced Meta (Facebook, etc), Twitter (pre-Elon Musk era), and others to censor what they believed to be “misinformation.”
  • In 2024, U.S. libraries faced 821 challenges targeting 4,190 titles on race, gender, and sexuality.
  • The general censorship moved to the State Houses as 56 bills were filed in U.S. State legislatures in 2024, all restricting discussions on race, gender and American history. Of those, 22 were enacted in 16 U.S. States by mid-2025, citing “divisive concepts” in higher education and the classrooms.

If you think the Colorado Rockies have had a bad year, consider the American Civil Liberties Union. Founded 105 years ago, the ACLU has been set back the full century, maybe more. Then again, the ACLU hasn’t had a big win since Miranda v. Arizona in 1966.

Going forward, the media companies and their leaders need to grow a spine. News divisions must stand up for the rights of the people they serve. Sports media needs to cover the news of the event, not the news that event organizers prefer you cover.

When you hear the sentence, “Instead of that, you should be covering,” media need to run to their laptops, cameras, tape recorders and editing machines to report the very news they’ve witnessed, live and in color. Report the truth and nothing but the truth.

The truth should never be censored. Observations and opinions should not be censored and crowd reactions, peaceful assemblies and protests should never be censored.

Of course, later in the week leading into this weekend missive, the United States saw another murder by long gun in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. This columnist must admit to having never even heard of Kirk before the news of his death. Regardless of political ideals, the “must relate” was as a father of two – his kids just toddlers. What, possibly, can Kirk’s young wife tell those two little kids?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As a follow-up to a previous column on the WNBA and a potential move of the Connecticut Sun to Boston after former Celtics team owner Steve Pagliuca made an offer to purchase the franchise for $350 million. when the news broke, many a Boston-area politician and pundit was considering it a done deal. “Not so fast,” said the WNBA league office. Then, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey really jumped on the bandwagon, claiming, “we’re ready for the WNBA. Well, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) thinks otherwise. The Senator sent a letter to the WNBA this week “officially warning the league” to stay out of negotiations, and that “any attempts by the WNBA to block efforts to keep the Sun in Connecticut could violate federal antitrust laws,” he wrote.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (file photo/NBA)

TELEPHONE LINE: Here’s another very bad example of the misinformation circulating regularly on “X,” the once called Twitterverse. The story starts with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver conducting a short press conference to update NBA media (and thus the fans) on the news stemming from the NBA Board of Governors meeting held this week. Topics of discussion included: The Board ratifying slight changes to the replay rule (in regard to last second heaves (now to count as a Team FG attempt, rather than an individual attempt).

In the misinformation world, a snippet of Silver’s full press conference made its way around social media and – guess what? No one bothered to read the full, well thought out and thorough answer to the question. Instead, Silver was tattooed for the snip where he said “the NBA is very much a highlights driven league.

What he really said, was a full 180-degree opposite of the words he is being criticized for saying in the midst of a much broader point – focusing mainly on the fact that in 2025-26, the NBA will have more free-to-air broadcasts (off full games) than anytime in recent history. Here’s the full transcript:

Q. It’s become very expensive to watch the NBA as a fan, not just going to games but also in order to — there’s different streaming services you have to subscribe to, some of the RSNs are expensive. I know that there are other points of entry for fans to interact with the NBA. There’s social media, and a lot of younger fans, that is how they’re experiencing the sport. But I wonder how much you think about that and how that will shape the next generation of fans?

ADAM SILVER: “I think about it a lot. I will say, I saw the story your publication ran. You took all the different streaming services and added them up and what those costs would be. I look at it a little bit differently, because most people can only consume so many games. By way of one example, in these new media deals, we’re going from essentially 15 exposures on broadcast television to 75. So to the extent someone wants to put little rabbit ears on their television, you can still get 75 marquee games in essence for free in the marketplace.

“I’d say in addition to that, and this is an ongoing issue for the league, there’s a huge amount of our content that people essentially consume for free. This is very much a highlights-based sport, so Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, you name it, any service, the New York Times for that matter, to the extent that your content is not behind a paid firewall, there’s an enormous amount of content out there. YouTube, another example that is advertising based that consumers can consume.

“I think this is a new world now of streaming media. I think we’re paying a lot of attention to that. It was one of the discussions we had with our media partners, not just the cost of the games — and I think most people are conditioned to paying a certain amount for high-value content — but also the discovery of those games.

“Again, I’m a fan of many different sports. I think we’ve all had that experience where you’re going to Google to find the game you want to watch because the world has changed it’s not just automatically in the place you thought it would be.

“But ultimately, I’ll talk about it in terms of reach and how you reach your consumers. It’s interesting — because of the disruption in the regional sports network business, I never would have predicted this was coming 10 years ago, but a lot of our local games are moving back to broadcast television. In fact, we have more games on broadcast television locally than we’ve had anytime in recent history.

“We’re continuing to look at it. But the ultimate answer is we think a lot about it. We know where we have mass appeal. On a global basis, we’re literally reaching billions of people. We don’t want to disenfranchise people by working with partners that are creating price points that make it inaccessible to them.”

So, those who clipped and pontificated on the “highlights” failed to underline the main point of making more full games (what was 15 will now be 75 free-to-air broadcasts).

Shame on those who regurgitated the snippet as though it was Silver’s only comment.

UNDER FURTHER REVIEW: The accusatory line of questioning directed at Adam Silver for the NBA’s new TV deal seemed to lean towards a money-grab without regard to the best interests of the fans. Yet, many of the same people accusing Silver and his NBA Board of being greedy think that the sun rises and sets on College Football, the bands, the pageantry and the, ahem, wagering. But, to watch a full day of NCAA college football on Saturday, September 13th, a fan would need to have his remote wired and his subscriptions paid up to watch a rather weak schedule of college football games televised by (hold your breath):

  1. ABC
  2. CBS
  3. FOX
  4. CBSSN
  5. ESPN
  6. ESPN2
  7. ESPN+
  8. SECN+
  9. ESPNU
  10. FS-1
  11. Paramount+
  12. Peacock Net
  13. HBO Max
  14. YouTube TV
  15. truTV
  16. TNT
  17. Spectrum Sports
  18. Big Ten Network
  19. SEC Network
  20. SECN+
  21. ACC Network
  22. Mountain West Network
  23. The CW Network
  24. NEC Front Row

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: From the sports business file, SBJ on Friday reported a reorganization within the NBA league office structure. Such events occur yearly in the September 15 to Oct 1 zone. This year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver focused his office on increasing viewership and global appeal. Key changes include integrating direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing teams with digital consumer products under Chris Benyarko, Head of Direct to Consumer Products, Technology & Operations. Additionally, media and brand teams, led by Janine Dugre and Andy Heatley respectively, will now report to Gregg Winik, President, Content & Executive Producer, to align with content and media partners. These adjustments are designed to enhance operations and strengthen the NBA’s strategy for a broader global audience and greater engagement with digital offerings.

CFP TOP 12, ACCORDING TO THE AFCA COACHES: As of week two of the college football season, here are the top 12 teams.

Rank, School/Team, (First place votes), Points from Voters, W/L Record

1 Ohio State (62) 1,668 2-0

2 Penn State (4) 1,576 2-0

3 Georgia 1,488 2-0

4 LSU (1) 1,472 2-0

5 Oregon 1,423 2-0

6 Miami (Fla.) 1,330 2-0

7 Texas 1,288 1-1

8 Notre Dame 1,041 0-1

9 Illinois 1,019 2-0

10 South Carolina 1,007 2-0

11 Clemson 995 1-1

12 Florida State 843 2-0

THIS JEST IN: After visiting the Gulf of America, then playing a few rounds of golf near Mar-a-Lago, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced in a press conference that the office building where he calls home base will now be called the Octagon. “We’re planning to add a few sides,” said Hegseth when informed the word Octagon would indicate eight sides as opposed to the five-sided building now standing. … There’s no word on whether the United States Military Academy will change its name from ARMY to ICEY.

TURTLES: Mark Volman, the singer who co-founded the popular 60s rock band, The Turtles, died at the age of 78. Reps for Volman confirmed the death to Rolling Stone, citing a “a brief and unexpected illness.” In 2020, Volman was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, but continued touring and only announced his diagnosis in 2023. In fact, when promoting his memoir “Happy Forever: My Musical Adventures with the Turtles, Frank Zappa, T. Rex, Flo & Eddie, and More” in 2023, Volman went public with his 2020 diagnosis of Lewy body dementia, a disease that results in a decline in cognitive ability, affecting reasoning, memory and movement. Here’s a tune.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: For decades, the European Basketball championship final would feature the likes of Spain, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Italy and Lithuania. This year? It’s reigning FIBA world champion Germany against an upstart national team from Türkiye. … Dating back to 1935, Türkiye has medaled only one time. That silver medal came in 2001 when the tournament was played on their home court.

In what looked to be a much closer matchup (on paper) turned into a one-sided affair, with Turkey winning 94-68. Greece had trouble scoring all around, finishing with three players in double figures, but none with more than 15 points, including NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) who was held to 12 points, on 6-for-13 shooting.

Türkiye’s Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets) had 15 points in the victory but Ercan Osmani (Efes Pilsen-EuroLeague) was the star, tallying 28 points and playing a stellar defensive game against Antetokounmpo.

Head coach Ergin Ataman (Panathinaikos-EuroLeague) had some choice words: “As I said, this isn’t the NBA. In European basketball, if you prepare well, protect the paint, and your players stay aggressive, you can be successful, it’s not that hard to stop him (Antetokounmpo). I think Osmani played excellent defense against Giannis. I don’t know if my friend, the GM of Anadolu Efes, will be in trouble because many NBA teams might come after Osmani to stop Giannis. But I believe he’s happy at Efes. He stopped him really well, with both intelligence and aggression”

Türkiye will face Germany in the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket Final at 2:00pm (ET) today (Sunday, September 14).

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – 9/7/25

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Celtics PR Man Jeff Twiss (left) with the NBA’s Brian McIntyre – the only two living Bunn Award winners from the Communications, Public Relations and Media Services industry (Photo by Tom Carelli).

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

UNCASVILLE (Connecticut) – The old Boston Garden was an interesting and historic place. Not only did it house the legendary NBA champion Boston Celtics but it also was the home of Bobby Orr and the great Boston Bruins. The building was old, the parquet beat up, the ice surface too small, the locker rooms cramped. In every corner of the arena, there were crazy characters to be uncovered and covered, tradition to be respected and there was always a surprise awaiting.

Sometimes, the surprise was a 98-degree, hazy, hot and humid summer night to play an NBA Finals game where 14,890 ticket holds and another thousand or more guests and mysterious navigators of hidden access to standing room situated throughout the building. Other nights, the Garden would fall down to a power failure during a Stanley Cup Final game.

During the change-overs from ice hockey to basketball or vice versa, innocent public relations staffers or media types risked being run down by the evil Boston Garden Bull Gang who took pride in inflicting pain, especially to the ankles or other parts of the lower body, as they rolled racks of chairs or sections of parquet floor. Every corner, every level, and pretty much every section, aisle or seat had historical significance.

Then, there were the people. From legendary coach, team general manager and Celtics patriarch – the late Red Auerbach – to the ushers and security guards to the tickets takers and the front office workers. One of those Celtics front office executives was in the building every single night. In fact, Celtics Media/PR Services guru Jeff Twiss missed only 11 games in 45 years of service to his organization.

This weekend, Twiss was honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the most prestigious honor outside of Enshrinement as a player, coach, ref or contributor. Twiss accepted the John Bunn Award on Friday night and gave a perfect and inspiring speech to the basketball community and Celtics family.

“To my Celtics family for the last 44 years, what an amazing ride,” said Twiss. “As a 25-year-old intern in May of 1981, I watched the Celtics arrive in Boston after beating the Houston Rockets for the championship, they gingerly got off the plane after celebrating their victory. I assumed this is what the NBA is all about. Part of it is celebrations but I learned the meaning of teamwork on and off the court and as Red Auerbach said and we continue to believe today, the Celtics are not just a team, we are a family.

“I’m a kid from Vermont who grew up fascinated with how the Boston Celtics played, how they were coached and how they were so successful every year,” he said. “I’m living my dream working for this great organization. I’m so very fortunate to go to work every day and enjoy what I do.

“To those who found something in me and worthy of this distinguished award, thank you,” he said. “I will continue to do my very best to continue to fulfill what this award stands for. Mystique, pride, and tradition are words that are associated with the Boston Celtics. Red Auerbach, the person who hired me, said I wanted a certain type of player and worker for the Celtics, this is a true winner.”

The Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, named after the Hall’s first executive director, it recognizes those whose behind-the-scenes contributions had shaped basketball’s legacy.

In Twiss, the Bunn Award is perfectly illustrated. Honesty, integrity, reliability and dedication are the tent polls of every Hall of Famer. Of course, his longevity in doing an impossible job for what might be an impossible amount of time served, nights worked, road trips travelled and personnel trained and mentored.

On a personal level, your columnist started at the NBA in 1981, the same year Jeff Twiss was hired full-time at the Celtics. Our friendship began on the parquet but blossomed over the many years to the point where he and a handful of colleagues, like Celtics’ former CFO Joe Dilorenzo, marketing maven Tod Rosensweig, ticket directors extraordinaire x 2 in Stephen Riley and Duane “DJ” Johnson, and former GM Jan Volk welcomed a young league office guy into the family and adopted him when he moved to Massachusetts. I am forever grateful for the honor to simply stand next to them all, never mind call them all dear friends. In fact, it ws quite an honor to stand on the parquet, next to Jeff, when the Celtics were raising yet another banner.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Last week, you were promised a deeper dive into the NFL season. As this Sunday begins, there are two games in the books (Philly over Dallas, 24-20) and the (LA Chargers over KC Chiefs, 27-21). There’s a lot of football to be played until NBC Sports broadcasts the Super Bowl on February 8, 2026.

Here’s one look at how the upcoming season might go:

AFC East – Buffalo Bills

NFC East – Philadelphia Eagles

(Those are the easy picks)

AFC North – Baltimore Ravens

NFC North – Detroit Lions

AFC South – Houston Texans

NFL South – Tough to predict in September, but look for the Tampa Bay Bucs to rise

AFC West – KC Chiefs will battle the Denver Broncos and LA Chargers.

NFC West – San Francisco 49ers

AFC Champion: Buffalo Bills

NFC Champion: Philadelphia Eagles

Super Bowl Champion: Buffalo Bills

IT’s JUST A FANTASY: Once every football season, readers are bored to tears reading about my fantasy football squad. The SWFL is a difficult league to compete. It’s only eight teams, so everyone is stacked. The rules include the requirement to play two quarterbacks but roster only three. Receivers are rewarded with a 1/2 point for every reception. And, a great rule is to allow the teams to simply park their Team Defense/Special Team unit and Place Kicker on bye weeks, instead of needing to make a cut to make room for another Defense or Kicker for one week.

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, for 2025 – here’s TL’s Lovetrons who owned the second pick in the draft:

Overall Pick, Player:

2. Josh Allen (QB Buffalo)

15. De’von Achane (RB Miami)

18. Kyren Williams (RB/LAR) – Strategy was to go 2 RBs, since WR position is deeper

31. AJ Brown (WR/Philly)

34. Jackson Smith-Njigba WR/Seattle) – a No. 1 level wide-out

47. Brock Purdy (QB/SF) – Nix was taken one pick ahead… bummer

50. James Conner (RB/AZ) – best avail RB

63. Xavier Worthy WR/KC – was shocked he was still there

66. Caleb Williams (QB/Chi) – best avail… Other top QBs were off board

79. Devonte Smith (WR/Philly) – backed up AJ in case

82. Kaleb Johnson – (RB/Pitt) – RB position was thin, a nice gamble

95. Khalil Shakir – (WR/Buff) – surprised he was available

98. Jacobi Meyers – (WR/LV) – will probably sit on bench except for a bye week

111. Can Skattebo – (RB/NYG) – total wild card pick

114. Broncos D – (Was best scoring D last season) – Balt went down pick before

127. Jake Bates – (K/Det) – top rated on many draft boards; Indoor FG not terrible

130. Trey Benson – (RB/AZ- the hand-cuff to Conner, in case of injury

Earlier this week, AJ Brown (WR) of Philadelphia was limited to one catch and a 0.5 output. The next night, KC’s Xavier Worthy (WR) went down to a shoulder injury early in the game. The Lovetrons are already struggling.

The team nickname, Lovetrons, is in honor of the late Darryl Dawkins of the Sixers, one of the all-time great players and characters of the game of basketball – not American Football.

DRYDEN: Some bad news came across the sports wires over the weekend. Former NHL and Montreal Canadiens goalkeeper Ken Dryden passed away after battling cancer for quite a while. He was 78.

His NHL career was nicely honored by league Commissioner Gary B. Bettman:

From the moment Ken Dryden joined the Montreal Canadiens as a 23-year-old rookie in 1971, he made an immediate and lasting impact on the NHL, the Canadiens franchise and the goaltending position. After playing in only six regular season games during that first year, Ken proceeded to lead his team to a Stanley Cup while winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player. It is almost incomprehensible to believe that he accomplished all of that the year prior to winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s best rookie in 1971-72.

“Ken’s early success was only a harbinger of what was to come. In eight years with the Canadiens, Ken would lead a team filled with future Hall of Famers to six Stanley Cup championships, quickly becoming a beloved figure in his adopted hometown of Montreal. He won five Vezina Trophies as the league’s top goaltender, including four consecutive awards from 1975-76 to 1978-79. Named as a member of the League’s Greatest 100, he was the NHL’s dominant goaltender during the 1970’s.

“His work in hockey extended to the Front Office of the Toronto Maple Leafs where he served as President of the organization. Ken was also a prolific author whose works chronicled the sport including the critically-acclaimed “The Game” and “Home Game: Hockey and Life in Canada.”

“Ken’s love for his country was evident both on and off the ice. He was a key member of the 1972 Canadian Summit Series team that thrilled the entire nation with an historic win over the Soviet Union. As a member of Parliament, Ken continued to serve Canada. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

“On a personal note, Ken was a fellow Cornellian (Cornell University alum) whose career ranks among the greatest runs in collegiate hockey. Ken compiled a 76-4-1 record over three years and famously led the Big Red to the 1967 NCAA Championship.

“On behalf of the National Hockey League, we mourn the passing of a legendary Canadian and extend our sincere condolences to his wife Lynda, family and many friends and fans all over the hockey world.”

TIDBITS AND NUGGETS: Since Halloween candy is already avAilable in the grocery stores, it’s not too early to pass along Blue Ribbon College Basketball bible’s Top 25 for the 2025-26 collegiate basketball season. Yes, I must point out, St. John’s is ranked a rather high No. 6.

1. Florida

2. Purdue

3. Houston

4. Duke

5. Connecticut

6. St. John’s

7. Tennessee

8. Kentucky

9. Michigan

10. Louisville

11. Alabama

12. UCLA

13. Auburn

14. Texas Tech

15. Arkansas

16. BYU

17. Iowa State

18. Kansas

19. Creighton

20. Illinois

21. Wisconsin

22. Arizona

23. Gonzaga

24. Texas

25. North Carolina

SOX UPDATE: The Red Sox have 21 games and 7 series remaining in the 2025 regular season. They’ll play 12 road games (six games, 9/5-10 and six games, 9/19-25) and nine home games (six games, 9/12-18 and three games, 9/26-28). Boston will play nine very important games against AL East clubs (three vs. NY Yankees, three at TB Rays, three at Toronto), six against the Athletics (3 home, 3 away), along with the current series at Arizona. The regular season will conclude with a three game finale vs. Detroit. Boston has nine games remaining against sub-.500 clubs (ARI-3, ATH-6) and 12 against teams with a record of .500 or better (DET-3, NYY-3, TB-3, TOR-3).

THIS JEST IN: According to courtside reports from the 2025 FIBA Euro Cup by the Associated Press, Finland’s Elias Valtonen scored eight points in the final two minutes to help his Finland national team stun Serbia and (All NBA center) Nikola Jokic, 92-86, Saturday in the round of 16 at the World Championship qualifier EuroBasket tournament. Jokic finished with a game-high 33 points, but it was Finland that came up with the big shots late to spring the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Serbia scored six unanswered points to take a 77-75 lead in the fourth quarter, but Valtonen’s 3-pointer with two minutes left put the Finns up 82-78. He then added a tip-in and another trey to help Finland pull away.

By the way, the United States held on to take the Bronze (90-85 over Canada) last week at the AmericaCup tournament. Brazil defeated Argentina in the Gold Medal game.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: Go figure? USA President Donald Trump will watch the United States Open men’s tennis final from Rolex’s suite in Arthur Ashe Stadium, a person with knowledge of the details said but could not be identified as they were not authorized to divulge the President’s schedule and plans. It will mark Trump’s first appearance at the Grand Slam tournament in Flushing Meadows, Queens, NY since 2015 — before his first run for the White House. The irony will be the fact Trump will be a guest of the Swiss watchmaker just weeks after his administration imposed a 39% tariff on Swiss products.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | 8/31

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

NORTON (Mass) – The stars are aligning in the game of golf. Let us count the ways:

  • The PGA Tour concluded with a very entertaining FedEx Cup Playoffs (won by England’s Tommy Fleetwood in grand Fashion).
  • The LPGA tour is cruising through Massachusetts during this great Labor Day weekend as the best female golfers in the world compete in the FM Championship at TPC Boston – formerly the site of a PGA Tour/FedEx Cup Playoff round.
  • The Ryder Cup is on the horizon and United States Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley, had a very difficult decision this week as he made is choices for Captain’s picks to round out the 12-player USA team. England’s Luke Donald will do the same and make his Captain’s selections on Monday (September 1). The Ryder Cup will be contested between Europe and the USA from September 26-28 at Bethpage State Park on Long Island, NY.
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While readers of WWYI might’ve expected a full column on the Baseball home stretch, the start of college football or a preview of the NFL season ahead, you’ll be keen to know that an amazing connection to the PGA Tour-LPGA Tour-and-Ryder Cup walked right into the path of your intrepid columnist earlier this week. Thus, footy can wait a week or so and WWYI will educate you on the great Pat Bradley, aunt of Keegan, and one of the classiest athletes in history – any sport, anywhere. Ms. Bradley was publicizing the 2025 FM Championship when WWYI ran into her and reminisced about rainy summer days on Long Island.

From this observer’s point of view, the FM Championship at TPC Boston is the LPGA equivalent of the Traveller’s Championship, held each June at TPC River Highlands near Hartford.

Why?

They are both the best run, organized, challenging but reward for risk golf tournaments on the circuit. The Traveller’s is a Signature Event (elevated purse) and it comes at a challenging time, usually right after the U.S. Open. Nevertheless, the pro golfers all turn up, as the tournament has the best reputation of taking good care of the golfers and their families.

So it says for the (relatively) new FM Championship for the LPGA. Raised purse, great course in a great place (players stay in locales near either Boston or Providence). The sponsors have dedicated time, hard work, money and Human Resources (volunteers as good as they get) to staging what will surely be the model for all future LPGA events in the years to come.

Bradley was on hand as the media met the powers that be in staging this weekend’s FM Championship in Norton. She was fabulous and this columnist remembers watching her play on Long Island at the Meadowbrook Golf Course in the Western Union International (1979-1982). Pat Bradley was often high on the leaderboard and came from the Commonwealth and was quite accustomed to golf in the Northeast.

“I remember playing the LPGA Championship at Pleasant Valley in 1975 when I was on tour, so the history of professional golf has always been strong in Massachusetts,” said Bradley. “To be back here at TPC (Boston) is a huge treat. The talented athletes are great ambassadors, not only to the game of golf, but to the world of golf. It’s a joy to walk the fairways and watch them do their thing.

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“I am celebrating my 50th year on the LPGA Tour, and when I think back, gee wiz, when I joined the tour in ‘74, the LPGA was about 25 years and here we’re celebrating 75 years. It’s been a tremendous organization and it gets stronger and stronger every year. And, when you have sponsors like FM believing in you as an organization, as athletes, as golfers, it just makes your heart grow and full. You just can’t wait to play these fairways.”

Bradley was joined by Brockton, Massachusetts native Megan Khang who proudly noted she winters in Boston, although it’s a short break with the fact the LPGA Tour runs from about January 18 to November 24. This weekend, Khang sits T-18 after a (-3) score of 69 on Saturday.

“I love being around Massachusetts,” said Khang. “It’s where my family is. For me, being from Massachusetts and playing MassGolf growing up, it’s cool to say, you don’t have to move somewhere warm full-time.’

Bringing it back to Pat Bradley, the 1981 U.S. Open champion, she’ll always have eyes on the LPGA, but this week she was watching her nephew on television, first at the TOUR Championship where he finished T-7 and pocketed a cool $1,121,667 for his efforts after shooting 70-64-63-70 on the championship weekend. Despite his No. 11 ranking on Tour, (No. 8 if you only look at USA golfers), Keegan did not pick himself to play on the Ryder Cup and his aunt had faith in his decision.

“If I said anything to Keegan, it was whatever decision you make, it will be the right decision,” noted Aunt Pat, keeping the family business as close as a Corleone might practice. “I know he’s been dealing with it (Ryder Cup pressure) and he’ll be dealing with it for a little more time. Keegan is the right guy for Bethpage Black, and he and his team will bring the Cup home. He’ll let the fellas know to keep their focus, because otherwise Bethpage Black will let them know.

“It’s been a tremendous moment for Keegan and his family,” added Ms. Bradley. “I’m so proud of all that he has done. I’ve never been so proud of him than the day he took that phone call (to be the US Ryder Cup captain) a couple years ago.

“When a young man goes into Yankee Stadium with a Red Sox baseball cap, you know he’s got guts,” she concluded in her sum-up of the USA’s captain.

FOR THE RECORD: These United States pro golfers made the Ryder Cup team by points earned during the past season:

  1. Scottie Scheffler
  2. J.J. Spaun
  3. Xander Schauffele
  4. Russell Henley
  5. Harris English
  6. Bryson DeChambeau

Then to round out the team, Bradley’s Captain’s picks were: (in alphabetical order)

Sam Burns

Patrick Cantlay

Ben Griffin

Collin Morakawa

Justin Thomas

Cameron Young

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HERE NOW, THE NOTES: There’s been no better moment for the college football season than watching the retiring ESPN commentator and former coach, Lee Corso,make his final pick of the week in front of 100,000 Ohio State fans on Saturday at Noon. ESPN College Game Day ranks neck and neck with the Inside the NBA crew of Turner Sports as the best two wrap-around shows in the business. Game Day might have the edge, as it’s always a live remote on a pumped-up college campus, always the “biggest” game of the week, the best match-up, the most important game. It was no surprise to see Corso pick Ohio State to please the hometown fans. Corso donned the head piece of Brutas the Buckeye mascot to a standing ovation, possibly the loudest in college sports. Second to the Lee Corso tribute, was the college football pageantry on display at the legendary “Horseshoe” in Columbus. Saturday proved to be a perfect, 70-degree, 44% humidity, deep blue postcard blue sky day. Can you imagine being a first-year student just enrolled at The Ohio State University and on campus for a week or two? (Corso was correct, by the3 way, as Ohio State defeated No. 1 ranked Texas, 14-7).

On the other hand, the vaunted Army Black Knights football team suffered one of its most stunning defeats in history, falling 30-27 in double overtime to the Tarleton State Texans football team, an FCS program.

PREDICTIONS: Making these College Football Playoff prediction with the benefit of seeing the Ohio State win over Texas, here are the WWYI thoughts for CFB Playoffs 2025-26:

  1. Ohio State
  2. Clemson
  3. Penn State
  4. Georgia
  5. Notre Dame
  6. Texas (lost Saturday)
  7. Oregon
  8. LSU
  9. Alabama (lost Saturday)
  10. Miami (Florida)
  11. Texas Tech
  12. Arizona State

TL’S – In the Hunt: Illinois, South Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Ole Miss and SMU.

NFL Predictions will come next week.

THIS JEST IN: The bat tossed in the air by a New Jersey Little Leaguer to celebrate a home run which earned him a suspension (lifted by a judge in appeal) was sold Friday for nearly $10,000 at auction. The proceeds from the sale of 12-year-old Marco Rocco‘s autographed bat will be donated to the program he plays for, Haddonfield Little League. The auction was conducted by the reputable firm of Goldin Auctions and it drew 68 bids. The winning bid was $9,882, but the name of the winning bidder was not announced. Marco’s bat flip on July 16 in the final of the NJ Little League sectional tournament resulted in an ejection, a one-game suspension and a legal fight won by the flipper.

THIS JUST IN: In Saturday’s semifinal of the AmeriCup men’s basketball tournament, the United States (3-2) fell to Brazil (4-1), 92-77, in Managua, Nicaragua. Canada and Argentina were playing in the other semifinal at press time. The USA will face the loser of that game for the 2025 FIBA Men’s AmeriCup bronze medal.

Over in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, the Group stage is just being completed and the tournament will advance to the Final phase this week. See the STANDINGS.

Celtics fans want to know: Kristaps Porzingis is averaging 16.7 points per game while playing 26.8 minutes per game for Latvia. The Celtics traded Porzingis and a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks this past June in a three-team deal that sent TeranceMann and the No. 22 pick (Drake Powell) in the 2025 NBA Draft to the Nets, while Georges Niang and a second-round pick headed to Boston. In another move to clear additional salary off the books, the Celtics subsequently sent Niang and two future second-round picks to the Utah Jazz for rookie wing RJ Luis Jr., out of St. John’s.

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CAN’T MAKE IT UP: As reported annually by the Associated Press with a dateline of BUÑOL (Spain), thousands of people from all around the world seeking a challenging date for their Tide detergent skills and a messy thrill to boot, spent one fun-filled hour flinging bushels of overripe tomatoes at each other during Spain’s “Tomatina”celebration this week. It was dubbed, “the mother of all food fights” as a packed street in the town of Buñol went deep red as revelers squished, smashed and hurled 120 tons of the overripe garden favorite. Tarps covered building fronts as an estimated 20,000 people let loose amid screams and laughter. The gazpacho didn’t stand a chance, but it beats getting gored by an angry Bull.

STREAKING: Heading into today’s (Sunday) series finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates, arguably the worst hitting team in MLB, the Boston Red Sox have lost five home games in a row. That’s after the Sox won nine of the previous ten (July 26-August 16). Adding to the woes of inconsistency for this hometown team, the Sox have lost four of their last seven series after winning four straight series from July 25-August 6. … Boston has scored three or fewer runs in 11 of their last 16 games. Boston is now (75-62) and are positioned as the American League’s 2nd World Card team, trailing the New York Yankees by one game. Boston is 3.5 games back of AL East division leader Toronto (78-58) … The Seattle Mariners are the 3rd Wild Card team and trail the Red Sox by 2.0 games.

IF THE PLAYOFFS BEGAN TODAY: Here’s the way the teams would match-up if the MLB postseason began today.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

(1) Blue Jays vs. winner of (4) Red Sox vs. (5) Yankees

(2) Tigers vs. winner of (3) Astros vs. (6) Mariners

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

(1) Brewers vs. winner of (4) Cubs vs. (5) Padres

(2) Phillies vs. winner of (3) Dodgers vs. (6) Mets

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Aug. 24

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on the Worldwide Leader/D.T.C.

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

“Friends, Roman Anthony, countrymen, lend me your ears;

I come not to bury ESPN, but to praise it.

But, the evil that TV types do, lives long after them;

The good is oft interred with their bones in the vast, growing cemetery that are the aging trends of sports, technology and television”

BRISTOL – We are in the age of constantly changing and ever evolving technology. Our iPhones number 16. Our Chicago (Transit Authority) albums have unpleasantly reached Chicago XXXVIII (38). The iPhones have improved over the years. Not so much for Chicago.

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Change is good, but often, change is difficult.

Take the launch of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) offerings unveiled this week; the product is good but the pre-launch instructions to the consumer (we call ‘em fans) was not so good.

Case in point: The new and improved ESPN launched just as the PGA Tour was ready to tee-off its Super Bowl Weekend – a la the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. For you non-Tour fans, pro golf’s season draws to a close with the annual FedEx Cup Playoffs. This year, 70 golfers qualified and played the FedEx St. Jude Championship three weekends ago. Fifty golfers moved on to last week’s BMW Championship and only the Top 30 PGA Tour pros qualified for the TOUR Championship (held this Thursday through Sunday).

For those of us who follow the TOUR in religious fashion (see PGATourBrunch.com), we purchased ESPN+ to watch the early rounds each week from January to September with full coverage, especially in the 6am-2:00pm range before Golf Channel airs its excellent coverage. ESPN/Disney bought what used to be known as PGA Tour Live and transitioned it to the paywalled ESPN+ platform.

When the editors of PGATourBrunch woke up on Thursday, we had no idea if ESPN’s new app was going to automatically recognize those who had purchased ESPN+. It certainly wasn’t made clear (by communication or call-outs from the ESPN.com site) whether our hefty payment(s) for add ons, or sports tiers with our Cable TV provider would qualify us for the new ESPN App unlimited levels of coverage.

Those levels of coverage are:

  • Disney+, HULU, ESPN Unlimited Bundle ($29.99 a month)
  • ESPN Unlimited ($29.99 a month)
  • ESPN’s Unlimited plan subscribers have access to all ESPN networks and services, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, SECN, ACCN, ESPN+, ESPN on ABC, SECN+, ACCNX, and ESPN3.
  • ESPN Select includes ESPN+ content only. Fans who want ESPN+ exclusively may subscribe to the ESPN Select plan.
  • All of these details were hard to find and not on the home page to subscribe or log-in if you already have a Cable TV provider, such as Verizon FIOS)

Now, it really gets confusing:

If you’re changing from the Select plan to the Unlimited plan, the change takes effect immediately. You will be charged a pro-rated amount for the first month or year of your new plan. Moving forward, you will remain on your new plan for the life of your subscription and will be charged in accordance with the then applicable price of this plan. If you’re changing to the Select plan, the change takes effect on your next billing date.
Note: Once you’ve been charged for an annual plan, you will not be able to immediately change to monthly billing for the same plan.

Now, let’s dig-in some more:

Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV (streaming only), Fubo TV, and Spectrum TV customers may already get ESPN Unlimited as part of their pay-TV package. You will need to activate your ESPN plan and connect your MyDisney login. To activate your ESPN plan or to learn more, please visit the links below. Keep in mind that if you cancel or switch out of an eligible TV provider plan, your ESPN subscription will also be canceled in accordance with your provider’s terms, conditions, and policies.
So, let’s get that straight: If you already have Hulu+ Live, then you already get ESPN Unlimited but you need to activate an ESPN Plan by connecting to MyDisney.

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Got it? It’s almost as tough as ‘Person, woman, man, camera, TV.’

If you own a business (a la Sports Bar), it is rather simple but still very expensive.

There is no change to the “ESPN+ for Business” product.
Now, what if you’re a subscriber to Verizon FIOS and you’ve paid a steep price for their Sports Tier?

They have:

  • The MOST Fios TV: 425 channels at $139 a month
  • More Fios TV: 325 channels at $119 a month
  • Fios TV Test Drive: Watch for 60 days and they’ll recommend best plan ($95)
  • YouTube TV: 100+ channels, usually $82.99 but on sale for $72.99 for new subscribers for one year (and, if you ask, they’ll toss in the NFL Sunday Ticket).
  • Sports Packages can be ordered semi-a la carte (but on the Verizon page, they do not tell you how much each channel costs, so you have to click Order Now and go into the rabbit hole of signing in, username and password, verifying and sending in your first born child as collateral:
  • NBA TV
  • NHL Center Ice (wow, ICE has a whole new meaning these days, doesn’t it?)
  • MLB Extra Innings
  • MLB TV Premium
  • FOX Soccer Plus (as opposed to +)
  • NFL RedZone (recently purchased by ESPN, and I have no idea whether it’s going to be on my system/service tier and will only find out on Sunday, September 7th at 1:00pm – when there’s a chance for “seven hours of commercial free, un-interrupted football.”
  • Looking back this past week, the ESPN home page was amazingly unchanged, except for the fact my little ESPN+ call-out on the top of my home page was gone. Aside from that, there was no indication that anything was changed or updated. No instructions. No nothing.

I did see the word – Verizon – in the upper right hand corner of the ESPN home page, and I thought that was good. It was there from a previous log-in – (see above with name/pass/first born child).

That was good for my Chrome browser which had been previously used for ESPN+’s PGA TOUR coverage for the BMW the week before. My Safari Browser? – No. My quite popular DuckDuckGo browser? – Nope. And, Firefox? – Nada.

Let’s dig a little deeper and step aside from the new ESPN DTC streaming to see how to stack your sports viewing needs:

  • Peacock Network – If I want to watch English Premier League and the Olympics
  • Paramount+ – If you want to watch English Championship, Leagues One & Two
  • Apple TV+ – If I want to watch MLB Friday Night – including the hometown team
  • Apple TV+ – If you want to watch MLS Futbol
  • ESPN+ (or new service) – If you like Premier Lacrosse
  • Paramount+ or DAZN – If you like Serie A futbol
  • YouTube TV – If you want the NFL’s Sunday Ticket
  • UFC Fight Pass – UFC Fight Pass and soon on ESPN’s new service
  • UFC 319 – Pay-per-View via ESPN+
  • FOX ONE – Some UEFA offerings; LIV Golf; some NASCAR and IndyCar

Suffice to say: It’s all a damn mess, and it seems to be getting messier by the day.

To fix it? That’s a tough question unless you’re in the room where it’s been happening for the last few years. The rights acquisitions and overall planning has been plentiful, but the basic instructions and a “What to Expect” section online would’ve helped this week.

Yes, there are lists of the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), but the question most sports fans were asking was, “What the hell are you guys doing?”

ESPN, to its credit, is attempting to place everything it offers under one roof. In other words, “ESPN is going anywhere sports fans are,” according to ESPN head honcho Jimmy Pitaro.

That was the strategy employed by the NBA under the late Commissioner David Stern and it still remains true today, under Commissioner Adam Silver. Go where the fans are and be ubiquitous in terms of offerings via every platform on earth. That strategy is a must for every broadcaster and sports property.

ESPN is blending the lines between rights holder/broadcaster and rights seller/sports property. In recent times, ESPN (Disney) has bought out PGA Tour Live, Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), aka BAMTech, NFL Network and RedZone, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC Net), Southeast Conference (SEC Network) while FOX Sports has a piece of the Big Ten Network, among others.

The more the lines are blurred, the more expensive the platforms will become for sports fans.

Yes, the leagues and networks will go where sports fans are, but they’ll charge them a fortune to gain admission to the party. And, standing outside, listening to the party on radio is nice, a throwback, but it’s not as much fun.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: There’s been quite a bit of bickering and arguing about the recent $325m bid by Steve Pagliuca (former Celtics minority owner) to bring the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun to play at TD Boston Garden in 2027. Pagliuca promised to build a $100m “State of the Art” practice facility for the WNBA team, as well.

The offer was leaked to the Boston Globe and positioned as if it were a “done deal.” Wow, $325 million to relocate a team while WNBA expansion teams were going for a cool $250 million

Boston rejoiced. The WNBA fans, some who trekked to beautiful Uncasville, Connecticut to see the Sun play at the Mohegan Sun’s wonderful arena – adjacent to a beautiful casino resort, all applauded the effort of Pagliuca. Those fans had just convened as a sellout crowd at TD Garden on July 15th for a Caitlin Clark-less Indiana Fever 85-77 win over the Sun. A year ago was much the same for a Sun vs Los Angeles Sparks game that made fans think of Sam Jones vs. Jerry West or Paul Pierce vs. Kobe Bryant.

Sellouts are great, especially when you only have to sell out one game of an entire season.

But, that’s not the point.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey took the leaked bait hook, line, and sinker. The Guv’nah attended the Sun vs Fever game and was championing Boston’s loyal support of women’s sports, calling for Boston to get a WNBA team as soon as possible.

There was a catch that Healey seemed to either ignore or not even be aware of: Boston hadn’t even applied to the WNBA for an expansion franchise. The WNBA was on an expansion quest, awarding teams to the Bay Area’s Golden State (Valkyries) playing now, in 2025, the Portland (Fire) and Toronto (Tempo) to begin play in 2026, and future expansion to three cities with new teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. The Cleveland team will begin play in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030.

It’s a full-scale WNBA nationwide roll-out, carefully planned, and not encouraging relocation of a franchise as part of the plan.

That means the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun are in a bit of a bind, since their own arena is the home venue. A sale of the franchise is one thing, but relocating it goes under a whole other set of league rules, even with a $325m offer on the table.

Another suitor, Marc Lasry, sought a similar deal but to simply drive down New England’s I-91, I-95, or I-84 corridors to Hartford to play home games at the vaunted XL Center. The Mohegan Tribe liked Pagliuca’s green better than Lasry’s and stood aside as the false alarm announcement was leaked. The WNBA slapped some ears of those involved:

“Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams,” the WNBA said in a statement to the Globe’s Gary Washburn. “As part of our most recent expansion process, in which three new franchises were awarded to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia on June 30, 2025, nine additional cities also applied for WNBA teams and remain under active consideration. No groups from Boston applied for a team at that time and those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston. Celtics’ prospective owner Bill Chisholm has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.”

While Boston media and the Guv’nah hemmed and hawed about Boston being a great city for sports, about the relationship of the WNBA with the NBA, and even Governor Healey going as far as trying to broker a new deal between brand new franchise owner Bill Chisolm (just closed on the $6.1 billion deal) and Pagliuca, everyone in the room seemed to miss a major elephant in that room.

The venue.

Would the WNBA want to place a franchise in a place where the arena is owned by a hockey team, i.e. Delaware North – much like the unfortunate deal the Celtics have been operating under for decades of championships? Would the WNBA award a franchise that might be forced to play at Boston University’s Agganis Arena – light on premium hospitality, suites, parking and all the money-makers of sports property ownership? Might Boston College’s Conte Forum be an option? See the same problems.

Nope.

And, while extending the discussion on a slight tangent, let’s keep in mind that Boston totally punted on a 2014 bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics – a bid the USOC accepted and put forth to the IOC, only to revoke and place Los Angeles’ successful bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in its place. A major mistake on the world sports scene.

By the way, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts also botched a D-League franchise. Who can forget the 2009 Springfield Armor, banished in 2014 to become the Grand Rapids Drive (and Gold). Another D-League (now G-League) team – the Maine Red Claws – crawled to Portland, Maine rather than navigate the Worcester DCU Center.

For baseball? The City of Worcester reportedly footed 55% of $159 million Polar Park as part of a $240 million redevelopment of Worcester’s Kelley Square and Canal District. That’s $87,450,000 for those scoring at home. It’s not like Governor Healey was ready to commit to building a new venue for the Setting Sun.

If that’s not enough past history proof, how about the fact the great and powerful NFL Oz, Bob Kraft and his New England Patriots, threatened to move to Hartford before settling on building Gillette Stadium out in the middle of nowhere, Massachusetts (Foxboro).

And lastly, Kraft and his mayoral candidate son, Josh, are hammering current Boston Mayor Michele Wu over squashed plans to build a 25,000 seat stadium in Everett, Mass. – not far from the Encore (Wynn) Casino campus. Wu, in turn, championed a refurbishment of White Stadium in Boston’s Franklin Park at a reported cost of $172 million. That venue would become the home of a NWSL expansion franchise for women’s soccer as the Boston Legacy FC plans to open up shop in 2026.

With all the building, the lack of engagement by Massachusetts or Boston for a new basketball venue is notable and should not be overlooked in the WNBA discussions. Boston Garden/Shawmut Center/Fleet Center/TD Garden was built in 1993-95 and is now one of the oldest arenas in the land. It has next to no parking, and – again, is owned by the Bruins’ parent, Delaware North. Despite massive renovations in 2006-07 and again in 2021-22, the building is nowhere close to the new $1.4 billion Chase Center in San Francisco, now the model for mixed-use arenas and home of the WNBA’s Valkyries.

For Boston and the Honorable WNBA fan and former Harvard point guard Guv’nah, let’s not point fingers at the WNBA and NBA before looking in the very mirror of sports venues aging in the Commonwealth.

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Ron Turcotte riding Secretariat at the ‘73 Belmont Stakes (file photo)

THIS JEST IN: So sadly, we lost legendary jockey and horseman Ron Turcotte this week. It’s been stated by WWYI that Turcotte and his ride, the great Secretariat, are the first part of the two answer question to: “When was perfection reached in the upper echelon of sports?” … Secretariat’s run at The Belmont Stakes (1973) and Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series are the only times true perfection was reached. (And, no, a 300 game in Bowling doesn’t count).

Turcotte passed away Friday in Drummond, New Brunswick. He was 84.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: “We have to reschedule because there’s an Osprey nest in our stadium. You can’t make this type of stuff up, right,” asked Cory Hanson, the athletic director at the school in the Minneapolis suburbs? … Seems the majestic Ospreys built a huge nest to raise their chicks, high up on a light pole at the Apple Valley High School football field. Because of it, the migratory raptors that are protected under State and Federal law, forced the school, known as the Eagles, to rearrange their football and soccer schedules, switching to day games instead of night. Turning on the hot stadium lights might burn the birds or start a fire. Maybe the school might consider a rename to the Apple Valley Ospreys?

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TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The PGA TOUR’s finale, the TOUR Championship will conclude today (Sunday) at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. There’s a crowded leaderboard competing for the $40 million purse/$10 million prize to the winner of the Tour’s most lucrative tournament. Weather wreaked a bit of havoc during Friday’s round and some stiff winds hindered play on Saturday. England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who’s been waving the hottest of sticks during the FedEx Cup Playoffs, has a chance to capture $10mil and the FedEx Cup for 2025.

KEEGAN: United States Ryder Cup captain, Keegan Bradley, of St. John’s University by way of New England, will name the remaining players for his 2025 team on Wednesday. The Ryder Cup “Captain’s Picks” will be a tough choice. A can’t win unless you win choice. “I know this is the biggest decision of my life,” said Bradley at the TOUR Championship, of which he qualified as one of the Top 30 players on the tour. On Saturday, Bradley was climbing the leaderboard and he’s a legitimate choice to be a Captain’s pick, himself.

“I think we have to get together as captain and vice-captains and look at the data, look at what’s going on and make a decision based on what’s best for the team. So that certainly feels nice to me,” said Bradley, a member of the Boston Common TGL Team. “But when we look at me as a player… we look at the stats, we look at everything, and I’m Player X, basically. Certainly strange, but I’ve wanted them to, if there’s negatives about me playing, I want to hear those things. I would be more upset if they didn’t express those feelings,” he said.

Note: We’ll have more on Keegan Bradley, his aunt, Pat Bradley, and the LPGA next week.

BROWNS: The 2025 NFL schedule maker was not too kind to the Cleveland Browns. Consider the first six games on Cleveland’s schedule this year:

  • September 7 vs Cincinnati
  • September 14 at Baltimore
  • September 21 vs Green Bay
  • September 28 at Detroit
  • October 5 vs Minnesota
  • October 12 at Pittsburgh

That’s 0-6, thank you very much, NFL. A glimmer of light might shine on October 19th, vs. Miami, the first day the Browns might have a chance for a “Dub” and that’ll open a three-game stretch (at New England and at New York Jets) when Cleveland might put a few wins on the ledger.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Aug 17

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – HBO’s “HARD KNOCKS” is the best sports television show in history. It’s not even close. While Ernie (Johnson, Jr.), Charles (Barkley), Kenny (Smith) and Shaq (O’Neal) of Turner Sports fame can make you laugh out loud every time, not one of the “Inside the NBA” shows has ever made me feel like running through a wall after watching the show. Hard Knocks does that. Every episode.

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Just hearing the Hard Knocks theme song gets me revved-up and there’s been no highlight show or team documentary that has ever come close to unearthing such emotion. Hard Knocks often features a team I couldn’t care less about in the fixtures of the NFL, yet each summer I, along with legions of sports fans, come away from a few episodes of a weekly TV show rooting like hell for the team that’s been featured.

That is happening this year as the Buffalo Bills are featured and Tuesday night marked just the second episode of the 2025 version of the show which debuted in the “Way Back Machine” with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001.

The NFL and HBO have called Hard Knocks “the first sports-based reality series” in television history. That’s B.S. because long before 2001, anyone and everyone in the sports industry realized we had the best reality programming in history, and it was our games themselves.

CBS reality series – Survivor – premiered on May 31, 2000. Executive Producer Mark Burnett hatched an idea that – somehow – has lasted 25 years, with the property gaining and keeping its loyal audience while also spinning out other reality shows on everything from cooking/chefs to swamp people.

Facing facts, reality shows can easily be taped and watched at a later date, although office water cooler talk might spoil a surprise ending. Sports, on the other hand, has to be watched live. Every sports fan knows it and it’s impossible to steer clear of the score of a game unless you’re asleep and watch the game before leaving your bed or touching your phone device.

Hard Knocks married the two and has become must see TV, especially as avid NFL fans countdown the days to the opening weekend of football. The Hard Knocks theme song prompts the visceral reaction of the human mind and body.

The theme was written for NFL Films by David Robidoux, a music composer who hails from the tough town of Reading, Pennsylvania. Robidoux is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music with degrees in audio engineering and film scoring. He began working for NFL Films in 1991 and is a 40-time EMMY nominee and 15-time EMMY Award winner. He’s created nearly 3,000 compositions for the NFL alone but has done everything from a Dressage routine for US Olympian Laura Graves in the Rio 2016 Olympics, featuring “Man Of War” to a “40 Years of NFL Films Music” 10 CD Box Set.

If the theme doesn’t cement you in your armchair for an hour, then the voice of narrator Liev Schreiber will provide you with chills throughout every episode. Schreiber, best known for his acting role as Marty Baron – editor-in-chief of the Boston Globe in the Academy Award winning movie, Spotlight, was so perfectly cast to be the voice of Hard Knocks. Back in 2023, when Hard Knocks was featuring the New York Jets, then-Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers referred to Schreiber as “the voice of God” for his efforts in the series, and rightfully so, as the actor has been with the docuseries each and every episode – all but one season. In 2007, he didn’t narrate and turned the duties to Kansas City Chiefs fan Paul Rudd.

Schreiber’s only on screen performance came in that J-E-T-S season when he choppered over to NYJ training camp for a look-see and meet & greet with the Jets players and coaches. This year, with the Bills, Schreiber is back in the familiar place of narration – Thank God.

That brings us to the content (and buzzword 🚨 alert) storytelling. Hard Knocks covers training camp of NFL teams, but its secret sauce is the character development created on each and every episode. Sure, a fixed camera in the GM’s office secretly filming a player being cut from the team has been the type of behind the scenes access NFL fans dreamt they watch, but the more compelling storylines are the deep dives into the off field lives of the players. Often depicted with their families or pictured in everyday life, shopping or mixing up a breakfast smoothie for a roommate/teammate, the bond created by Hard Knocks with the rank and file players of each team, create that magical fan to player love affair that is the very root of all sports.

Yes, sometimes, that player/character who became the unexpected star of an episode is later cut from the team and it draws on a fans raw emotions, fully understanding what a player and his wife/family have gone through during camp.

One such player was John Connor, aka “The Terminator.” Then-New York Jets coach Rex Ryan tagged the nickname on Connor (not to be confused with Arizona Cardinals running back, James Conner). Fans of the J-E-T-S fell head over heels for Connor when, as a fullback, he was assigned to be a lead blocker and clear a hole for his running backs. Connor didn’t make a block, he often hit defenders so hard, they’d drop to their knees and be carted off the field, dazed and confused by the alien that just ran them over – thus, the nickname, “The Terminator.”

Of course, the reality of NFL camp took over when Connor was sidelined with an MCL sprain and hamstring injury and was released by the Jets a month into the 2012 season. He bounced from New York to Cincinnati, back to New York for a short stint with the Giants and Jets (again), before playing his final NFL camp with the Buffalo Bills where he was among the final cuts on September 4, 2015.

Connor’s career stat line in the NFL consists of 108 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, along with 12 receptions and a pass receiving TD. His game did not stand out for NFL teams, but, through Hard Knocks, his name will live on forever.

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HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Boston University is facing a lawsuit from Baylor University over a logo battle. The complaint was filed this week in Waco, Texas – where Baylor is located – and it seeks to prevent Boston University from using an “a specific interlocking BU design that is identical or strikingly similar to Baylor’s federally registered marks.” Baylor University noted it’s been using the interlocking BU letters since, at least, 1912 and the school registered for a trademark in 1987. The lawsuit says Boston University initially opposed the application, but the schools reached an agreement and Boston University has been using the letters side-by-side in its logo.

But the settlement went South, the lawsuit alleges, as Baylor found out – back in 2018 – that Boston University was using the interlocking BU on different hat styles in its campus store. Baylor asked Boston University to cease and desist in 2021, but the request was ignored. “Rather, its use has continued to expand, and a very large number of such goods now appears on the Defendant’s website,” Baylor said in the complaint.

A spokesperson for Boston University told WBZ-TV in Boston that the school does not comment on pending litigation. Meanwhile, Baylor is asking a judge to permanently stop Boston University from using the interlocking BU, and to destroy any products or signs with that specific logo.

WWYI wonders if Baylor would settle the case by playing an ice hockey game, with the winner getting rights to the BU. Surely, Baylor would rather play football.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Close to the old homestead, and alma mater is fact St. John’s President, Reverend Brian J. Shanley, OP, has been named Chair of the Big East Conference Board of Directors. This prestigious role is a testament to his leadership, vision, and unwavering commitment to both academics and athletics. … In other words, St. John’s better get all the close calls on the court this coming season. … Former PGA Tour TV guru and WNBA Commissioner (2005-11) Donna Orender is trying hoops again. Orender is Commissioner of The UpShot League, a development league for women’s basketball (a la WNBA). The league is scheduled to play in May 2026. The UPSHOT League’s regular-season schedule will consist of 40 games, including 20 at home and 20 on the road for only four teams. Currently, the clubs are:

  • UpShot Charlotte
  • UpShot Greensboro
  • UpShot Jacksonville
  • UpShot Savannah – (Might they be named the Savannah Roseannadannas)?

The new league is being organized by Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, a firm that owns, manages, and operates the Jacksonville Icemen, Savannah Ghost Pirates, Greensboro Gargoyles, 32 Degrees Marketing, Community First Igloo, Charlotte Checkers, and Gastonia Ghost Peppers. Zawyer Sports is in the business of hosting family based entertainment. Investors include, Cheryl Miller and Anne Meyers Drysdale, among others.

SOX STUFF: Aside from the hot, hot, hot Milwaukee Brewers (NL), the Boston Red Sox are second-best in the majors and an AL-best 26-12 since July 1. … At Fenway Park, the Sox are a scorching 16-2 in their last 18 games, 18-3 in their last 21 home games, and 25-6 in their last 31. … Not surprisingly, the Red Sox have sold out for their last 13 games, with Saturday’s crowd of 36,192 the most recent crowd. … The Red Sox starting pitchers lead the American League with 57 quality starts. … Boston ace Garrett Crochet will take to the mound vs the Marlins on Sunday (1:35pm).

JIMMY FUND: Monday, Aug 18 and Tuesday, Aug 19, 2025 mark the annual WEEI-Radio/NESN Radio Telethon to benefit The Jimmy Fund (Dana Farber Cancer Institute). Since 2002, the generous support of Sox fans and WEEI listeners/NESN viewers has raised more than $74 million to support pediatric and adult cancer care and research at Dana Farber. Tune-in and contribute, if you can: Visit HERE

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Aug 3

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The Wyndham Championship being contested in Greensboro, North Carolina this weekend is the final tournament of the 2025 PGA Tour regular season. Next week starts the three tournament FedEx Cup Playoffs when the best golfers in the world must qualify amongst the Top 70 for the FedEx St. Jude Championship (August 7-10), then the Top 50 for the BMW Championship (August 14-17) and then the Top 30 to compete in the final tournament of the season, the TOUR Championship (August 21-24) at East Lake in Atlanta.

Over the many years of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the PGA Tour and its players have constantly defended the ever-changing format. While the gradual cut-down (elimination of 20 golfers per tourney to send the best 30 golfers to the TOUR Championship), the various proposals to allow the top golfer to begin the final leg at (-10), counting down (-9), etc for the start.

It just didn’t work.

This year, the TOUR Championship will be played as a 72-hole stroke-play event, with all players starting the tournament at even par. The best performer over the course of four rounds at the TOUR Championship will win the FedEx Cup and the FedEx Cup bonus distribution total of cash is $100 million, with the FedEx Cup champion earning $10 million.

Not bad.

But, the tour still seeks a way to reward the players who score the most FedEx Cup points leading into East Lake and that brings us to No. 2 in the world, Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy decided to forego participation in the the FedEx St. Jude next week, the lone golfer among the 69 others who have qualified to take a week off.

You see, McIlroy is guaranteed to make the Tour Championship at East Lake regardless of his results in Memphis or the following week’s BMW Championship in Owings Mills, Maryland. McIlroy is second in the standings after three wins this season, including the Masters, and he’s some 850 points ahead of Sepp Straka who stands in third place leading into this week in Carolina.

Coming off the two or three week stint in Europe (Scottish Open and The Open), McIlroy will rest and practice for a big push in the grand finale, and that’s completely within the current rules.

After years of wrestling with the format which – at times – forced the players to participate each week, the PGA Tour seems to have thrown up its hands in surrender on the issue.

This column thought and thought of ways to correct the un-correctable, and then decided to consult with column contributor and avid PGA Tour fan, Chris Gallivan. The maven of mulligans thought long and hard and came up with the idea of a “Tiered System” to revert back to the gifted strokes method of operation and allow the No. 1 player top billing, but then to group players (maybe in fours) to trail the No. 1 by only a stroke, then another four to trail by only two, and so on.

The increase in the number of players in the hunt puts much more pressure on the No. 1 while it also forces players (No. 2 through 20+) to play each week of the Playoffs or else slip downward in the placings. A worthy idea for consideration, and an idea that will require more study by WWYI in crunching numbers from previous years’ play and playoffs.

Meanwhile, it’s Happy Trails for Rory McIlroy this week and we’ll see you in Atlanta where he’ll surely have plenty of practice rounds while the others are toiling away in the heat of Maryland.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Boston Red Sox organization received significant blowback when they chose not to make any major trades before this past Thursday’s MLB trading deadline. The Sox made two smaller, less impressive deals, acquiring pitchers Steve Matz and Dustin May, both contributors but not the No. 2 starter Red Sox management was striving to obtain in a last minute deal. Matz pitched one inning of relief (the sixth inning) of Saturday’s 7-3 Boston win over the Houston Astros. May has yet to pitch for Boston.

The “inactivity” was widely criticized by media and fans, and even some MLB GM-types accused Boston’s head of baseball ops and GM Craig Breslow of being “difficult to deal with,” fueling the firestorm of more criticism on sports talk radio city-wide.

Digital Sports Desk believes the best trade made was the trade that wasn’t made, as Minnesota ace Joe Ryan was reportedly on the block, but at a high cost. Surely, the Twins were asking for the moon of Boston rookies and prospects and there was no long-term contract in sight if Breslow pulled the trigger on a deal.

Additionally, Boston OF Jarren Duran has been long rumored to be the fodder in place for a major deal, but slow down Trader Joes. Duran has proven to be the key piece of a Boston clubhouse that has evolved as the year progressed. Time after time, Red Sox players have spoken of the closeness that developed as the team struggled but then reeled off a 10-game winning streak before the MLB All-Star break and now have won six of their last seven games, including two over the LA Dodgers, two over the Minnesota Twins and two vs. the Astros – with a series finale scheduled for Sunday.

Boston is now (61-51), ten games over the .500 mark and in second place in the tough as nails American League East. The Red Sox are also in the driver’s seat for the two AL Wild Card slots, 1.5 games ahead of the floundering New York Yankees, losers of their last two games and 4-6 over the last 10 games. Consider this: New York was 9.5 games ahead of Boston on June 12th.

The key issue for Breslow and the Sox so-called inactivity was not even considering a trade involving any of Boston’s “Class of ‘25, in OF Roman Anthony, and INF Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell, nevermind Duran or utility man Ceddanne Rafaela – all serious commodities as the trade winds of hope blew hard for other clubs.

The trading deadline passed, and yes, the Red Sox must now rely on starters Walker Buehler (6-6) and Lucas Giolito (7-2) who go No. 2 & 3 behind All-Star Garrett Crochet(12-4).

The Red Sox are 19-7 since July 1, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the majors during that timespan. That said, the Red Sox are in the midst of the toughest portion of their 2025 schedule, with the next 10 games against clubs with .500 records or better. Another key factor since the beginning of July for Boston is the fact they are 11-5 in games decided by three runs or fewer and that includes eight one-run games.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Cooper Flagg or Cooper Criswell? Take your pick. Interesting note on Boston Red Sox pitcher Cooper Criswell. On Friday night, Criswell went (7.0 IP, seven hits, a run, two walks, four strikeouts) allowed a solo HR in the second inning but did not allow a run in the other 6.0 innings pitched. Criswell tied the longest start of his career and also recording his second career quality start (also 7.0 IP and 0 ER on 7/23/24 at Colorado). … The key factor: In his last seven starts, beginning 7/23/24, Criswell is 2-0 with a 1.49 ERA (6 ER/36.1 IP) and he’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in 17 of his last 19 starts, including two earned runs or fewer in 15 starts.

THE DISTRICT: Looks like the Washington Commanders will be based in The District, not Maryland, for many years to come. The D.C. Council voted to approve development of the RFK Stadium site in DC, which is the first step toward the Commanders building a new $3.7 billion stadium in the city. A second reading of the proposal to redevelop RFK and its campus and the subsequent vote on the project will occur on Sept. 17. If the plan passes that second vote, it would then go to D.C. mayor Muriel Bowser for approval. The plans call for a domed stadium and development of the entire area. More to come as the votes near.

THIS JEST IN: Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca did not get his NBA team when the Grousbeck family put the majority of the legendary C’s franchise up for sale. In multiple reports on Saturday, Pagliuca changed gears and investment strategy as he reportedly reached a deal to buy the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun for a record $325 million and move the team to Boston in 2027.

The news of the Pagliuca bid came on the same day Sportico reported that billionaire Marc Lasry is considering a bid to buy the Sun.

The WNBA league office issued a terse statement in reaction to the leak of the sale, noting, “Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams.”

The statement reviewed its history of expansion – past and present day – The league has announced five expansion teams that will begin play over the next five seasons with Portland (2026), Toronto (2026), Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) joining the WNBA. Each paid a then-record $250 million expansion fee. The most recent expansion team is the Golden State Valkyries, a team founded this season and currently playing in the Chase Center in San Francisco, home of the Warriors.

In the process of expanding, nine other cities bid for start-up teams, including Houston, which the league singled out as getting a team in the future when it announced Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia in June. Boston did not bid, but continuous talk of Boston becoming a WNBA host city surfaced each of the past two years when the Sun played single regular season games at TD Boston Garden.

The WNBA continued, “Those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston. Soon-to-be Celtics team owner Bill Chisholm has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.”

With the relocation reports and the WNBA statement at odds, one must remember the fact the W’s big brother had a number of clubs move over the years, including a very unpopular relocation from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008-09. The Sonics/Thunder were the third team in a string of relocat (Vancouver Grizzlies to Memphis-2001) and a (Charlotte to New Orleans-2002) dance that resulted in Charlotte receiving a new expansion franchise. That doesn’t count the mysterious San Diego Clippers to Los Angeles move in 1984, a relocation without league permission, and the New Jersey Nets slide from East Rutherford, NJ to Brooklyn in 2012).

In 2021, the Atlanta Dream sold for $10 million and in 2020, the Las Vegas Aces went for $2m.

It seems the WNBA will have some accounting to do between the $250m and $350m now on the table.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: “Paging Joey Chestnut. Paging Joey Chestnut,” as the Associated Press reported from Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania that a truckload of raw hot dogs spilled across a Pennsylvania interstate Friday after a crash that briefly clogged heavily traveled arteries in both directions. They caused a traffic jam, too.

Work crews were stuck with a job they did not relish — rolling up the scattered tube steaks for disposal. “Once those frankfurters leave the truck and hit the road, that’s all garbage, and it’s still pretty warm,” Shrewsbury Fire Company Chief Brad Daubermansaid, suffering in 85-95-degree temps which engulfed the East Coast.

State police said the tractor trailer had an unspecified mechanical problem on Interstate 83 a few miles north of the Maryland line as morning rush hour was wrapping up, causing the truck to push into a passenger vehicle. When the truck scraped along a concrete divider, its trailer was ripped open and the contents scattered all over the roads.

Four people required medical attention, Dauberman said, for injuries that police said were not life-threatening. Dauberman added, that emergency crews couldn’t help but see the humor in the situation, and his daughter texted him a photo of a hot dog-themed T-shirt.

“I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery,” the fire chief said. “I did not know that.”

Obviously, no one thought of the one, guaranteed solution, as a call to five or 10 local dog pounds and turning a few dozen furry friends loose would’ve scooped up the raw dogs in a matter of minutes. Of course, the next morning might’ve been a bigger issue.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 27

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House of Horrors (File Photo)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – There’s a load of confusion and a ton of mixed messages being strown about the streets of Washington DC in regard to the future of college athletics, name, image and likeness (NIL) parameters, outside (Private Equity) investments into the Athletics Departments of colleges and universities throughout the land.

The House v. NCAA settlement, which took effect on July 1, 2025, allows for direct payments to college athletes by their schools. This landmark agreement, approved by Judge Claudia Wilken, also includes revenue sharing and roster limits. A key aspect is the $2.8 billion in back damages to be paid to athletes over the next decade (2025-2035). Power 5 NCAA conferences (plus Notre Dame) must follow the new rules, while other Division I schools can choose to opt-in

The settlement also addresses potential future issues with revenue sharing, roster sizes, and NIL regulations. It’s expected to reshape the landscape of college athletics and how athletes are compensated.

This week, between a dump of thousands of previously classified documents on the life and assassination of the legendary Martin Luther King Jr., blatant lies in front of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the suggestion of a new recipe for Coca-Cola – the (NSFW descriptive term deleted) administration decided to issue an executive order to “prop up” college sports by limiting collegiate athletic programs’ ability to steer money toward specific sports like football and basketball at the expense of other sports. The order, which came amid lawmakers’ heightened interest in having Washington play a role in regulating sports and student athletes, “cast the current state of college sports in apocalyptic terms,” according to Politico.

“Absent guardrails to stop the madness and ensure a reasonable, balanced use of resources across collegiate athletic programs that preserves their educational and developmental benefits, many college sports will soon cease to exist,” the executive order stated.

The order requires athletic departments with more than $125 million in revenue during the 2024-2025 season to offer more scholarships in “non-revenue sports” this year than they did the prior year. Programs with less revenue are instructed to maintain or avoid disproportionately reducing such scholarships, or eliminate roster spots. (Sort of a DOGE for scholarships).

Instead of fewer regulations, the United States’ government seems to be “reversing fields” and positioning itself for more regulations to police the business of college sports which – with recent and self-inflicted rule changes – has entered into an era of pay for play and other professional sports-like day-to-day/season-to-season financial operations.

The new executive order calls for the prohibition of the “third-party market of pay-for-play inducements,” but allows athletes to get paid “fair market value” for endorsements or other services. That largely duplicates part of the NCAA/House legal settlement which governs most college sports programs.

Playing it out – instead of the old way of slipping some cash in an envelope for a FedEx delivery or the new way of having billionaire alums directly paying players for their commitment (read transfer via the portal) and at least one year of service – now the billionaire alums must – instead – pay the players to endorse their business, or consumer products.

Surely, the House nor the administration consulted with the various Compliance Officers at each school or the principal’s office (Charlie Baker’s joint) in Indianapolis. Clearly, the early outlines of the proposals seem to be impossible to enforce and quite easy for school boosters to circumvent, especially in the worlds of collegiate football and basketball. And, regardless, those freight trains have already left the station and are chugging their crafty ways toward title contention in the 2025 College Football Playoffs or 2026 NCAA national basketball championship(s) … aka … March Madness.

For Congress, the West Wing and the colleges, Madness is the perfect term.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Long thought of as a nice game for retirement communities or, maybe, Asian and Jewish grandparents, “Mah-jongg” is making a comeback. That trend is being reported via an in-depth story in this weekend’s edition of The Washington Post. It’s gone so far that one group of young mothers in their 30s – looking for a nighttime activity complete with take-out and cocktails – created a make-shift play group they call “Momjong.” DC has its start-up groups while New York hotels including the Ace and the Standard have hosted mah-jongg nights. While the game was played regularly in China in the 1800s, the resurgence in the USA decades ago weent so far that a group of Jewish-American women who were fans of the game, created the National Mah Jongg League in 1937, developing an American style of the game. How long will it take for some investment group to fund the World Pro Mah Jongg League? The line starts to the left.

CALLING COMMISSIONER GORDON: Sports teams in the Big Apple are increasingly fighting over the nickname “Gotham City,” made famous by the popular Batman comic book, 1960s television series and highly successful motion pictures. Most recently, the J-E-T-S of the National Football League placed a claim by revamping their team locker and the phrase “Gotham City Football” was hung over player nameplates in the home team room. In legal action taken on June 12, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied the team’s request to trademark “Gotham City Football” for apparel such as T-shirts, hoodies and caps, according to Sportico. … The dismissal by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office noted that “Gotham City” is geographically descriptive of a physical location that the wider public already knows—in this case, New York City—and physical locations cannot be trademarked. Keep in mind, the Jets represent New York but the team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, some 38 miles west of the city, and the Jets play their home games 12 miles from NYC in East Rutherford, New Jersey where the club shares the MetLife Stadium facility with the “New York” football Giants. The Jets’ legal team argued that “Gotham City” is not geographically descriptive, but it originated from the iconic DC Comics franchise Batman. However, the USPTO refuted that claim, saying that the “Gotham City” connection to New York City predates the Dark Knight, when writer Washington Irving first coined the nickname of the city in 1807 in a literary magazine. The Jets franchise was founded in 1959 as the New York Titans and became the J-E-T-S in 1963 when they joined the New York Metropolitans (Mets) at the then-brand spanking new Shea Stadium. Sportico noted, “Gotham has become an increasingly crowded territory for sports IP. Sky Blue FC of the National Women’s Soccer League’s rebranded as NJ/NY Gotham FC—nickname: the Bats—in 2021. The club’s governor, Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, is from the family that co-owns the Giants.” And, adding to the confusion, last year, the YES Network and MSG Networks announced a new streaming team-up, Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment (GAME). Tri-State dwellers can now watch the Knicks and Yankees via the Gotham Sports App on their mobile devices where they can also watch Batman, Robin and Commissioner Jim Gordon fight crime in Gotham City. To resolve the confusion, maybe it’s time to grab an Alfred App, unless someone wants to resurrect the Cape Crusaders, a soccer team that played in the USL Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid from 1994 to 2008 before the franchise folded.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The next time you question the call of a Major League Baseball umpire, you might want to look up his full record. To do so, visit Umpire Scorecards online where the site checks the calls – accurate and not – for every MLB umpire, including balls and strikes. …

THIS JEST IN: Nick Kurtz, a rookie for MLB’s Athletics, hit four home runs on Friday night, an all-time record for major league rookies. Going a perfect 6-for-6 with the four HRs, Kurtz became the first A’s player in franchise history with a four-homer game, the first rookie in MLB history with a four-homer game, and the 20th major league player, overall, to accomplish the feat.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: Ripped from the pages of Variety, or maybe an episode of Law & Order, here’s this week’s edition of YCMIU:

On July 19th, Rapper GloRilla was arrested on felony drug charges after a burglary occurred at her home near Atlanta, Georgia, according to Atlanta’s WSB-TV and TMZ. She then performed at the WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis that night. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the Atlanta-based media outlet that authorities were called to a home owned by GloRilla, whose real name is Gloria Hallelujah Woods, at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning. The rapper then performed at the WNBA All-Star game in Indianapolis that evening, playing a medley of her songs “Let Her Cook,” “Typa” and “TGIF” at the Gainsbridge Fieldhouse. She surrendered to authorities at the Forsyth County Jail on Tuesday and was released shortly afterward, posting a $22,260 bond.

Investigators said three suspects went into the home when Woods was not present and were robbing the residence when an unidentified individual inside the building fired a gun at them. The burglars escaped and investigators do not believe they were injured. During the investigation, officers smelled drugs and found a “significant amount of marijuana” in a bedroom closet. Woods was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. “The homeowner is a victim of a serious crime, and we are committed to bringing the suspects to justice,” Sheriff Ron Freeman told WSB-TV. “At the same time, we must continue to uphold and enforce the law in all aspects of this case.”

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 20

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – With Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game played this past Tuesday night, there were all kinds of discussions and arguments behind-the-scenes of the game. The rosters were scrutinized and the drop-outs were criticized. There was quite a bit of negative skepticism on the fact 23-year-old Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski made the National League all-Star roster after being in the Big Leagues for just a month.

On the other side of the coin, fans were thrilled to see the All-Star players back in their team uniforms, as opposed to some contrived “AL” and “NL uniforms. (the exact opposite was the case for the NBA). Upon the 6-6 tie in the game after nine full innings, there was the first-ever tie breaking “Swing Off” to determine the result of the game.

When Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber stole the show and sealed the NL victory with back-to-back-to-back home runs, everyone went home happy. It was quite exciting.

If the presentation of the stunning, silver Stanley Cup is the most celebrated moment in all of sports, then the “I Stand Up to Cancer” moment is certainly the most poignant. At the conclusion of the 4th inning at this week’s MLB All-Star Game, the FOX TV audience returned from a commercial break with 42,702 fans and all the players and coaches, umpires and media – everyone – yes, everyone in the building holding a sign of which they penciled-in the name of a person close to them that was battling of, sadly, already lost to cancer. It’s a silent, emotional moment in time, supported by SU2C and Mastercard, and it’s taken place at every MLB All-Star Game and World Series since 2009.

It’s a simple process as Braves staff and MLB volunteers placed pre-printed SU2C placards behind every seat in Truist Park for fans to write-in the name of the person they wanted to support. Each one of the cards was pre-inscribed with the simple message “I Stand Up For,” while a section underneath was left blank for a name.

MLB.com noted, National League manager Dave Roberts honored longtime baseball writer Scott Miller, who passed away just a few weeks ago from pancreatic cancer. American League manager Aaron Boone’s placard read, “Jake.” Braves pitcher Chris Sale wrote “Dad” on his sign, while Reds star Elly De La Cruz honored “La Familia” and “Los Enfermos.”

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge honored “Uncle Frank,” and FOX commentator and Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer David Ortiz wrote, “Mi Viejo – Leo Ortiz.” Phillies All-Star Kyle Schwarber’s placard read, simply, “Everyone!” And Brewers All-Star Freddy Peralta honored Mr. Baseball – the late, great Bob Uecker, who passed away from cancer in January.

While all the college and pro sports do a tremendous job supporting very important causes – for example, the local home team, the Boston Red Sox efforts for The JIMMY Fund – there is no moment at any time of the year in sports which just stops you COLD. Every single person in that All-Star crowd had a direct connection with one or more people who have been stricken or died from cancer.

There will be some $50,000,000 raised by MLB and its 30 clubs and it’ll be targeted for clinical trials and other research efforts. In about two weeks, the Pan Mass Challenge will attempt to top last year’s record-breaking number of raising $75,000,000 over the Aug 2-3 weekend and that dollar figure was added to the bottom line of the Pan Mass bicycle ride vs Cancer to reach an extraordinary $1.047 billion in lifetime fundraising since Pan Mass Challenge’s founding in 1980.

That money goes directly to research efforts at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute here in Boston. If you’d like to donate, Click HERE.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: This week, two of the world’s greatest players opined on what drives them, what they do to compete at such a high level, but the real message was that they stay in the present and that helps. It’s called perspective and the PGA Tour’s Scottie Scheffler and the WNBA’s Caitlin Clark shared some of their innermost thoughts on keeping it real.

Scheffler: “I don’t look at wins and losses or stuff like that,” he said at a pre-tournament press availability for The Open at Royal Portrush. “I don’t sit down at the beginning of the year and say I want to win “x” number of times; I want to win this many majors; I want to win this many tournament events. That’s not something I do. That’s not something that works for me.

“I have some dreams and aspirations that I’m always striving towards, but at the end of the day, I try to stay present. I try to practice hard each and every day. I feel like for me, when I start looking too far into the future, I think I’m a bit of a procrastinator. That’s how I was in school.

“If I want to look at my career and say I want to win, let’s say, five majors, I think sometimes when you’re a human, you just have that invincibility where you’re just like, I’m going to play professional golf my whole life; this stage is never going to end.

“Ultimately, it’s not, and I’m only going to be doing this for a finite amount of time. What works best for me is just to stay present, continue to put in the work, which I would argue that’s the most fun part for me. I love being able to practice, and that’s what I enjoy doing, and just try to get the most out of myself each day.

“I think the rankings are — being No. 1 in the world is a great accomplishment, I think, as a golfer. As a professional, to be ranked as the best in the world, I think, is a huge career accomplishment. I don’t think it should be taken lightly. But you don’t become No. 1 in the world by thinking about rankings. You don’t stay No. 1 in the world thinking about rankings. Each tournament is its own challenge.

“It’s funny, it’s like, look at this week for example. What’s the best-case scenario? I win this golf tournament, and then I’m going to show up in Memphis, and it’s like, okay, listen, you won two majors this year; what are you going to do this week? That’s the question you’re going to get asked.

“If I come in second this week or if I finish dead last, no matter what happens, we’re always on to the next week. That’s one of the beautiful things about golf, and it’s also one of the frustrating things because you can have such great accomplishments, but the show goes on. That’s just how it is.

“It’s great to win tournaments. It’s a lot of fun. Sometimes the feeling only lasts about two minutes, it seems like, when you’re celebrating, and then it’s like, okay, now you’ve got to go do all this other stuff, which is great, but sometimes the feeling of winning only lasts a few seconds. It’s pretty exciting and fun, but it just doesn’t last that long.

“I think I said something after the Byron this year about like it feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a few minutes. It only lasts a few minutes, that kind of euphoric feeling.

“To win the Byron Nelson Championship at home, I literally worked my entire life to become good at golf to have an opportunity to win that tournament. You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister’s there, it’s such an amazing moment. Then it’s like, okay, what are we going to eat for dinner? Life goes on.”

“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport. To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world because what’s the point? This is not a fulfilling life. It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.

“There’s a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfill them in life, and you get there, you get to No. 1 in the world, and they’re like what’s the point? I really do believe that because what is the point? Why do I want to win this tournament so bad?

“That’s something that I wrestle with on a daily basis.

“I’m kind of sicko,” he admitted. “I love putting in the work. I love getting to practice. I love getting to live out my dreams. But at the end of the day, sometimes I just don’t understand the point.

I don’t know if I’m making any sense or not. Am I not? It’s just one of those deals. I love the challenge. I love being able to play this game for a living. It’s one of the greatest joys of my life, but does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart?

“Absolutely not.”

“I love playing golf. I love being able to compete. I love living out my dreams. I love being a father. I love being able to take care of my son. I love being able to provide for my family out here playing golf.

“Every day when I wake up early to go put in the work, my wife thanks me for going out and working so hard. When I get home, I try and thank her every day for taking care of our son. That’s why I talk about family being my priority because it really is.

“This is not the be all, end all. This is not the most important thing in my life. That’s why I wrestle with, why is this so important to me? Because I’d much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer. At the end of the day, that’s what’s more important to me.”

ON CLARK: (As told to Boston-based reporter Gethin Coolbaugh when the WNBA Connecticut Sun hosted Caitlan Clark and the Indiana Fever at Boston’s TD Garden).

“I feel like, over the course, of whether it’s been my professional career or college career, you kind of take it as it goes and you learn from it as things come,” Clark said. “I feel like the attention – whatever that is, I don’t want to say that I get used to it, but to an extent, you do. You just accept that’s how it’s going to be.

“People are going to criticize you. People are going to praise you, no matter what it is when you play on this level and you have this type of spotlight whether it’s me, whether it’s any professional athlete that’s at the top of their game.

“That’s just how it’s going to be, so I think you kind of build on what you want to get better at. I think that’s probably the greatest challenge at times, is, everyone else has expectations. at the end of the day, there’s no higher expectations than what I have of myself and I feel like that can be lost at times.

“So I think just giving yourself a bit of grace and just having a lot of fun out there, too, is what I try to remind myself.”

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Respected sports writer Christine Brennan has been making the rounds to promote her new book, “On Her Game.” While being interviewed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Brennan expounds a belief that “the WNBA wasn’t ready for Caitlin Clark.” … In numerous interviews, Brennan has stated the same stock statement, criticising the WNBA organization for falling short. “I think it’s because they had always gotten short shrift from the national media, the male-dominated mainstream media,” Brennan said. “It was an unfathomable thought, that someone could break through wearing the jersey of a WNBA team and become the biggest name in sports. I think it was beyond comprehension for WNBA officials, and therefore they didn’t prepare. They didn’t help their players understand the magnitude of the moment. “But how can you not know when you’re looking at what was going on around the country in Big Ten arenas and others. And you look at the TV ratings. When the NCAA women’s final beats the men by 4 million (viewers) in 2024, how on earth could you not see this and say something extraordinary is coming to the WNBA?”

In the CNN interview, Brennan cited interviews with WNBA officials and others in the sports industry to support her claim. One thing this column can guarantee is that no one who worked for former NBA Commissioner David Stern nor employees of current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would be unprepared for ANYTHING. Starting long before he became the NBA’s fourth Commissioner, Stern drilled it into the NBA culture to stay well ahead of the curve, to read everything and anything that might intersect with sports and the NBA, to spot issues long before they would ever surface, to know the players, the prospects, the international prospects, the standings in Lithuania – you name it, Stern wanted the information and the intel on EVERYTHING. Being caught short was never an option.

Now, I can not speak on behalf of the current WNBA vibes and Brennan cited WNBA Commissioner Kathy Engelbert by name, charging the leader of the women’s league with failing to prepare.

Anyone worth a pair of the late Bill Walton’s basketball shoes and his coach, John Wooden’s “pyramid of success,” knows that “Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail.”

Of course, Wooden is often credited with the quote but it was used as far back as 1919 by The Reverend H. K. Williams. Regardless, it is very difficult for a former NBA employee to even fathom that the league didn’t see the storm of an opportunity like Caitlin Clark coming, long before Clark broke Pete Maravich’s record for all-time scoring in NCAA basketball (men or women – 3,667 points) back in March of 2024.

HAPPY: 85th to CBS’ Verne Lundquist … Fans of the Twitter (X) account @Funhouse (aka @BackAftaThis) might celebrate Saturday’s David Wright Day a little bit differently than others as they remember a called to Mike Francessa at WFAN. When there’s time to listen to the whole strand of comedy acts, go fot it, but today you can settle for a dream of hearing, “Mike, when the Mets honor David Wright Day, do you think they’ll do something special for Ed Charles and Felix Millán?”

 

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 13

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – In the span of one week in this glorious summer of 2025, Boston experienced the (Savannah) Bananas playing two games at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark and the Fenway Faithful going bananas over a Boston Red Sox come from behind victory in a Major League Baseball game played Friday night at Fenway. These are their stories.

If comparing the two? The Red Sox victory over the Tampa Bay Rays wins – every day of the week.

Let us compare the two in more detail, and then I’ll turn the column over to a third party observer who did a tremendous job describing the scene – much better than I can do from a press seat in the Fenway “Bresh Box.”

We’ll use the simple “good” and “not good” method of comparative analysis.

Savannah Bananas:

Good:

  • The Build-up – On a very hot weekend afternoon (3pm start), there was a lot of excitement and revelry going on outside of the ballpark. The Bananas took over (bought out) adjacent parking lots and created mini carnivals and merch sales sites, with admission for anyone and not just ticket holders.
  • On Jersey Street – There were bands playing and players making appearances, signing autographs on jerseys and inflatable plastic bananas. It was quite festive.
  • The Fenway Concourse Scene: Fans jammed the concourse level and stood in line for Banana replica uniforms and every kind of “merch” you could imagine. It did not take a genius to realize the whole carnival was a “merch sale” play, somewhat like the sale of popcorn and circus lights at the old Ringling Bros. Circus at Madison Square Garden.
  • Atmosphere Leading Up to Game: The pregame buzz was fantastic and much of it was generated by very excited children. The Game Operations staff for the Bananas organization should get some combination of an Oscar, an Emmy, a TONY, or a Grammy. The music and activity was pre-programmed and non-stop.
  • Intros: The Banana Players were introduced with much fanfare, and they took the field, not from a dugout, but, instead, from the Green Monster. The players took the field doing flips, back-flips and other tricks, all choreographed to music which was pumping – non-stop – all night long.

Not Good:

  • Once the Game Started: Although there were 18 talented baseball players competing, and some great celebrity (honorary) first pitches (Doug Flutie, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, Brock Holt, Johnny Damon), the game itself didn’t excite anyone. No one cared who won. Bananas vs Firemen? No villain.
  • Rules: The Bananas pride themselves on a two-hour show, so they actually set a countdown clock. Nice idea. There’s the normal score of runs produced, but there’s also a side show for trick play points, like a toss of a ball between the legs before throwing a batter put at first. You can even “steal” first if the catcher bobbles a pitch or allows for a passed ball or can’t stop a wild pitch. Nice idea.
  • Music: While the musical selections were good and the Fenway Faithful can sing a tune or two, the constant barrage of music just got to be too much. The dancing and cheerleading umpires were a sight to be seen at first, but it got to be a little much by the late innings. And, how could the Bananas NOT do “Sweet Caroline?”
  • No Player Recognition: After the initial introductions, there was very limited fanfare over the Bananas’ players. If comparing the Bananas to the Harlem Globetrotters, there was no Meadowlark Lemon, and no Curly Neal. As the event moved along, there was no character development – no one player to root for in a big way. The Bananas were hawking one brand and one brand only. Money.
  • Merch Sales, Good, Beer Sales Not Good: Only the Mormon Tabernacle Choir shows might sell less beer than the Bananas. Even on a hot day, the concession lines for hot dogs and soft drinks were quite long but the beer sales were non-existent.
Midway through the Savannah Bananas Game, the beer bartenders were bored.

Boston Red Sox

Good:

  • Maxing Out Fenway Park: On the sports business and marketing side, the Boston Red Sox absolutely “max-out” tiny Fenway Park. From the “Green Monster Seats” in left field to the “Sam Adams Deck” in right field, every inch of the ballpark is packed with seats, fans, ads and revenue generating magic. Seemingly every season, the Fenway Sports Group figures out another way to make an extra buck, and that means booking acts like the Bananas and a whole schedule of Summer Concerts.
  • Atmosphere: From carnival-like activities (all game long) on Jersey Street to good food all around the stadium to the best Game Ops, pre-game ceremonies, honorary first pitches, customer services and everything outside the lines, the Red Sox team (organization) is second to none in sports. They’ve carried that torch with pride for a couple decades. The buzz and excitement on Friday night was as good as its been since the 2018 World Series.
  • The ballpark, itself, is an American treasure.
    • The crowd at a Sox game adds so much to the experience. Of course, it’s magnified when the team carries a nine-game winning streak, but Saturday’s sell out crowd of 36,453 made a 1-0 shutout and complete game by Sox SP Garrett Crochet seem like an event worthy of the Duck Boats being fired up.;
  • As wonderful as the Savannah Bananas spectacle is and can be for fans all across the USA, there’s nothing like a real Major League Baseball game that matters in the standings.

Not Good:

  • Inconsistency, trades, cold weather, errors, poor base-running can frustrate any home team fan anywhere in MLB. In Boston, the crowds take it a bit more serious than they should, but that is the price a franchise pays for playing in a city that only counts championships as a success.
  • That’s about it in this category.
  • Draw your own conclusions.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES AND A THIRD PARTY POINT OF VIEW: As promised, it’s time to turn the column over to a budding, young sports marketer. Here’s the viewpoint of James Gumina, a Yale University student who played baseball, learned Japanese and used to watch Red Sox games in the morning in Tokyo, as we experienced the game the “prior’“ evening in Boston. Gumina is co-founder of Yale’s Media Entertainment and Sports Business Association and he even has Theo Epstein on speed dial. Here’s his look-see:

By JAMES GUMINA

This weekend I watched the Savannah Bananas bring “Banana Ball” to a sold out crowd at Fenway Park. The game started at 3:30, but the show began on Jersey Street well over an hour before first pitch, with music, dancing, and a parade of players and characters. Once inside the stadium, on-field festivities began around 3, and nearly every seat was already occupied, a rarity for October Red Sox games, let alone a game in early July. Not only was it a packed house, it was chock full of yellow Bananas jerseys. The lines outside the stadium for merchandise stretched and snaked all over the concourse, and nearly every fan in the building under the age of 16 was wearing a replica jersey; the majority of which were sporting autographs from the players, a testament to the “Fans First” ethos behind the Bananas’ brand.

Once the game started a raucous crowd was treated to two hours of entertainment, including local Boston legends, like Doug Flutie and Bill Lee. “Banana Ball” is more of an event than a game, with action happening nonstop, both on the field and in the stands. From the dancing umpires and coaches, to the “Man-ana” cheerleading squad, there was not a moment of dead air from when I sat down at 3 to when it was over around 5:30. As a veteran of many Red Sox games, I cannot remember a crowd as engaged in a game since some of the playoff contests I have been to, especially given the brutal 90+ degree temperature. While it is easy to compare the product to that of Major League Baseball, “Banana Ball” is a fundamentally different experience. The Bananas make baseball the backdrop for unique, fun, and innovative ideas, and from the size of the crowd it is obviously working. I was also at the Red Sox game the following day, and it could not have been a more different experience. While the crowd was solid for a weeknight game, it still paled in comparison to the Bananas’ crowd in both size and energy. Based on my experience in the stadium I would almost describe the two as separate sports, the experience was that different. From the constant musical cues, to the dancing, to the backflips on the field, the Bananas drew your attention to a million different places at once, while MLB funnels your attention directly to the battle between the pitcher and the hitter.

If you have heard of the Bananas, and at this point most people have, chances are you first encountered them on social media. Their meteoric rise in recent years has been, in large part, due to constant viral attention on social platforms like TikTok, both from the team and from individual players (The Bananas have 2 million more followers on TikTok than MLB). This growth strategy is clearly at the forefront of the games, with camera crews all over the field. While some of the made for social media moments fell a little flat in-person, the vast majority still played well to the in-stadium experience, and clearly work very well for the social media and TV audience. These videos, and their focus on specific players like Jackson Olson, have allowed the Banana’s to not only turn the team into a must see event, they have also grown many of the players’ individual brands. For instance, Olson, the star of the Bananas, has more followers on Instagram than Red Sox star players Alex Bregman and Jarren Duran, let alone Tik Tok followers. With reach that large, it is no wonder that the Bananas are able to sell out some of the largest football stadiums in the world.

While I do not think the Savannah Bananas’ version of baseball is going to dethrone that of Major League Baseball anytime soon, the Bananas have clearly established the brand and team as more than a gimmick offshoot of baseball. With a recently added fourth team, and no signs of that growth slowing down, the Bananas are looking to form their own style of independent league, one that could attract far more attention and fans than any traditional baseball independent league ever could. Often compared to the Globetrotters, through expansion and their social media dominance, the Bananas have a road map toward much more growth than the age-old Globetrotters. It is not clear exactly where that map will take them, but it is clear that the Savannah Bananas are here to stay.

Editor’s Note: When the Savannah Banana equipment trucks were packing up at Fenway on the evening of July 6, this reporter ask one of the technicians – okay, call ‘em roadies – what his next stop would be. “St. Louis,” he said. Yes, while the franchise played easy games in Savannah and Salem, Virginia this weekend, the big show was on its way to St. Louis for a July 18-19 pair of games at Busch Stadium. On July 26-27, they travel to Philadelphia for a pair of sold out games at Citizens Bank Park, and so on. The Banana Schedule for their 2025 “World Tour” is relentless.

It must get tiresome at some point?

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: If you’ve been following along via WWYI, you surely remember this space applauding the game of – James Wood – of the Washington Nationals. Remember that you heard it first as Wood was named to the 2025 National League All-Star team this week. … Wood will also participate in the HR festivities. In addition to Wood, the full list of participants for the 2025 MLB Home Run Derby include Ronald Acuña Jr., Byron Buxton, Junior Caminero, Oneil Cruz, Cal Raleigh, Brent Rooker and Jazz Chisholm Jr. … The event will take place on July 14, 2025, at Truist Park in Atlanta, with the All-Star Game on July 15 … Look out!

PREZ VANVLEET: The National Basketball Players Association announced that Fred VanVleet was elected President of the NBPA during the annual summer meeting of the Board of Player Representatives. VanVleet’s four-year term begins immediately. “It’s truly an honor to be elected as President of the NBPA by my peers and I look forward to continuing to advocate for the best interest of all the members,” said VanVleet. “With a deep appreciation for the complexities and challenges players face on all levels of their NBA journeys, I am committed to approaching this role with the passion, dignity, and dedication every player deserves.” … VanVleet, a nine-year NBA veteran and current Houston Rockets guard, began his professional career un-drafted in 2016.

U-19 = ONE-SIDED: The USA women’s U-19 team (1-0) tipped off the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup this weekend. The USA is looking for its 11th overall and fourth consecutive gold medal at the event, and they began in high gear and grand style with a 134-53 win against Korea (0-1) in Brno, Czechia. The 134 points set a single-game U19 record, besting the USA’s own marks of 129 set in 2005 and 2021.

RED SOX: The Boston Red Sox won their season-high ninth straight game on Saturday. It’s the club’s longest winning streak since also winning nine consecutive from April 5-14th, 2019. … The victory also placed the Sox a game and a half above the AL East fourth place Tampa Bay Rays and set a 2025 season-high mark of seven games above .500 for the first time since August 21, 2024 when they were (67-60). … Boston won 11 of their last 12 games going into Sunday’s MLB first half finale against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays. … Boston’s Saturday (1-0) win ensured the club’s fourth consecutive series win as ace starting pitcher Garrett Crochet tossed a three-hit complete game, the first CG of his career and the second CG of Boston’s ‘25 campaign (Bryan Bello there the other). … Bello faces Tampa’s Ryan Pepiot in Sunday’s series and first half/ All-Star break curtain call. … The game will be on NESN and the MLB Network.