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Can Sale Break Losing Streak

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BOSTON – In the first week when the Boston Red Sox have the local sports scene to themselves, after the NBA’s Boston Celtics took a disappointing exit in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the Sox dropped two games to the visiting Cincinnati Reds.

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That’s not what Boston sports fans had in mind as their baseball team returned from a lengthy road trip.

However, the Sox like what they’ve been getting from SP Chris Sale lately. The left-hander now gets an opportunity to end the team’s three-game losing streak when he starts against the visiting Cincinnati Reds tonight.

Sale, an All-Star every year from 2012 to 2018, has battled injuries during the last three seasons that limited him to 48 1/3 innings on the mound during that stretch, but he has looked like his former self during his past five starts. He went 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in those five outings, striking out 35 and walking four in 32 1/3 innings.

“I feel like I’m trending in a good direction,” Sale said following his latest start, when he pitched five innings of one-run ball during a 7-2 triumph against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. “I’ve been around here too long to feel like I’m on top of a mountain and all, and I’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Sale (5-2, 4.72 ERA) had an 11.25 ERA after his first three starts of the season, and he had allowed 25 baserunners in 12 innings. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the turning point came after Sale tweaked his delivery before he faced the Baltimore Orioles in his fifth start of the season on April 24.

Tonight will mark Sale’s first career appearance against Cincinnati.

“I’m going out there and having fun again — and not throwing every pitch with three years of hate behind it,” Sale told USA Today. “I’m going out there with the attitude that today is a new day. Take it for what it is. Appreciate it, because I sure know it can be taken away.”

Hunter Greene (1-4, 4.18 ERA) will take the mound for the Reds, who have won the first two games of the three-game series and are riding a five-game winning streak.

The 23-year-old right-hander was stellar in his latest outing, when he didn’t allow a hit in six innings to help the Reds defeat the Chicago Cubs 9-0 on Friday. He struck out 11 and walked two.

Greene has made one career start against the Red Sox — one year ago to the day. He took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings as Boston won 7-1. Greene struck out seven and didn’t allow a run in the first three innings of that game, but the Red Sox chased him by scoring four times in the fourth.

The Reds hung on to beat the Red Sox 9-8 on Tuesday, then rallied from a 3-1 deficit to prevail 5-4 on Wednesday.

Cincinnati manager David Bell called the Wednesday win a team effort, but he singled out reliever Buck Farmer, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to collect his first save of the year.

“Everybody (got) in the game that was available, and Buck Farmer stepping up,” Bell said. “(Closer) Alexis Diaz needed a day off. He’s been pitching a lot. Buck stepped right in and showed what kind of pitcher he was. That was how it ended, but great at-bats throughout the night, good defensive plays (and) Luke Weaver with a nice start.”

–Field Level Media

Sox: Paxton Ran Out of Gas

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to help the visiting Cincinnati Reds stretch their winning streak to five games by beating the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Wednesday night.

Steer’s home run, his eighth of the season, came against losing pitcher Josh Winckowski (2-1) and broke a 3-3 tie. Kevin Newman, who singled earlier in the inning, also scored on the home run.

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Newman, Matt McLain and Nick Senzel each had two hits for the Reds. McLain has hit safely in nine consecutive games. Alex Verdugo collected two hits for Boston.

Masataka Yoshida and Enmanuel Valdez each hit a solo home run for the Red Sox, who have lost three in a row.

Ian Gibaut (5-1) earned the win for pitching one scoreless inning of relief. Buck Farmer retired the Red Sox in order in the ninth to collect his first save.

Boston starting pitcher James Paxton went five innings. He held the Reds to one run on four hits, struck out eight and walked one.

The Reds received 5 2/3 innings from starter Luke Weaver, who allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out five with no walks.

After Yoshida’s home run gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the second, Boston doubled its lead when Connor Wong singled and scored on a two-out double by Rafael Devers in the third.

Cincinnati cut its deficit in half in the fifth thanks to a two-out double by Luke Maile that scored Jose Barrero.

Valdez increased Boston’s lead to 3-1 when he hit his fourth home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth, but the Reds pulled within a run again by scoring against reliever Kutter Crawford in the sixth. After walks to Jonathan India and Steer, Senzel singled to drive in India and make it a 3-2 game.

Not Close Enough

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Cincinnati’s Jose Barrero came off the bench to hit a grand slam and starting pitcher Ben Lively pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings to help the Reds pick up a 9-8 road victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

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Barrero’s home run came against Red Sox reliever Joely Rodriguez and made it 8-0 in the seventh. Barrero wasn’t in Cincinnati’s starting lineup but was inserted in center field when TJ Friedl left the game with hamstring tightness.

Boston made it game with five runs in the ninth. After RBI singles by Raimel Tapia, Rafael Devers and Justin Turner made it 9-6, Masataka Yoshida doubled in a run and Turner scored on a fielder’s choice to pull the Red Sox within a run. But with the would-be tying run on third, Reds closer Alexis Diaz struck out Triston Casas to end the game and collect his 13th save.

Will Benson had three hits and scored three runs for the Reds, who have won five of their last six games.

Before giving up the grand slam to Barrero, Rodriguez walked Stuart Fairchild with the bases loaded in the seventh. That forced home Spencer Steer with Cincinnati’s fourth run.

Boston starting pitcher Brayan Bello (3-3) left the game after throwing 97 pitches in four innings. He gave up a run on five hits, walked two and struck out four.

Cincinnati opened the scoring in the second. Benson scored on Friedl’s fielder’s choice when the Red Sox were unable to turn a double play.

The Reds increased their lead to 2-0 in the fifth when Jonathan India singled and scored on Jake Fraley’s double. A throwing error by shortstop Enrique Hernandez — his second error of the game — allowed Benson to score from second and extended Cincinnati’s lead to 3-0 in the sixth.

After Barrero’s grand slam, Boston pushed across three runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Reese McGuire’s RBI double scored Valdez, Tapia’s triple scored McGuire, and a Devers single drove in Tapia to make it 8-3.

Tyler Stephenson tripled and raced home on Steer’s sacrifice fly to make it a 9-3 game in the eighth and give the Reds a critical final insurance run.

–Field Level Media

What Will Brown Do For You?

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Jalen Brown was the talk of the town.

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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown owned up to his lackluster performance in the team’s season-ending loss against the Miami Heat on Monday in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Brown finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in the second-seeded Celtics’ 103-84 setback to the eighth-seeded Heat in Boston. However, he made just 8 of 23 shots from the floor — including 1 of 9 from 3-point range — to go along with eight turnovers.

“Just a terrible game. When my team needed me most, like (Jayson Tatum) hurt his ankle, first play of the game, and you could see it like swelling up on him,” Brown said. “He couldn’t move out there. It was tough for him. My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short, I failed. It’s tough. I give credit to Miami, but just a terrible job.”

All eyes now turn to the summer for Brown, who is eligible to sign a supermax contract extension worth $295 million over five years.

Brown, however, said he was just focused on Game 7 and nothing more.

“I expected to win today and move on,” he said. “That’s what my focus was on and that’s my focus has been on. We failed. I failed. It’s hard to think about anything else right now, to be honest. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Brown, 26, recorded career-best averages in points (26.6) and rebounds (6.9) to go along with a personal best-tying 3.5 assists per game.

A two-time All-Star and named to the 2023 All-NBA Second Team, Brown averaged 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 470 career games (363 starts). He was selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of California.

–Field Level Media

One Fifty One and Zero

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BOSTON (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Miami Heat sustained a gut-wrenching, last-second loss on their third attempt to clinch the Eastern Conference finals, tilting momentum strongly in favor of the Boston Celtics.

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However, the Heat, who had to take the play-in route to even reach the playoffs and then upset the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks to fuel their postseason run, found another gear in their seemingly never-ending fountain of resiliency.

Series MVP Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, Caleb Martin added 26 and the Heat became the second No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals by posting a convincing 103-84 victory over the host Celtics in Game 7 Monday night.

Miami was wobbling after a 104-103 setback on Saturday that featured Boston’s Derrick White scoring on a putback just as time expired, evening the best-of-seven series.

Yet even the raucous homecourt atmosphere in Boston couldn’t prevent the Heat from reaching the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.

“That could puncture a team’s spirit,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Game 6 loss. “But instead, it drove us to more resolve to try to get the job done.”

Bam Adebayo recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as Miami finished the job. Teams that held a 3-0 series lead improved to 151-0 all-time in the NBA playoffs.

Jaylen Brown had 19 points and eight rebounds and White scored 18 points for second-seeded Boston, which was just the fourth team in NBA history to force a Game 7 after losing the first three games.

Jayson Tatum had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, but he sprained his left ankle during the game’s first possession and hobbled throughout the contest.

“That was tough because it kind of impacted me the rest of the night,” Tatum said. “It swelled up. It was frustrating that I was a shell of myself. It was tough to move. It was frustrating, especially happening on the first play.”

The Heat will face the Western Conference champion Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals. Game 1 is Thursday in Denver.

“Nobody’s satisfied. We haven’t done anything,” said Butler, who averaged 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.6 steals in the series. “We don’t play just to win the Eastern Conference. We play to win the whole thing.”

The New York Knicks (1999 postseason) were the only other No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals.

Meanwhile, the Celtics struggled throughout the do-or-die game.

“I thought we played tight,” Boston guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “When you play that way, it makes you hesitant on both ends of the ball. I thought Miami played the opposite. I thought they played loose.”

The other three teams to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0 were the New York Knicks (lost to the Rochester Royals in the 1951 NBA Finals), Denver Nuggets (fell to the Utah Jazz in the 1994 second round) and Portland Trail Blazers (lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2003 first round).

Miami shot 48.8 percent from the field, including 14 of 28 from 3-point range. Duncan Robinson and Gabe Vincent added 10 points apiece. Martin made four treys and collected 10 rebounds and Butler also had seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

The Celtics connected on 39 percent of their shots and were 9 of 42 (21.4 percent) from behind the arc. Boston went 16 of 77 (20.8 percent) from 3-point range over the final two games of the series.

Brown shot just 8-for-23 from the floor, 1-for-9 from long distance and committed eight turnovers on Monday.

“We failed. I failed,” Brown said. “We let the whole city down.”

Boston trailed 52-41 at halftime, and White kept the Celtics in the contest with 13 third-quarter points.

White put up eight straight points as Boston trimmed a 16-point deficit in half with 8:29 remaining in the third. The Celtics were unable to creep closer than seven, and Martin’s short baseline jumper with 1.5 seconds left gave the Heat a 76-66 lead heading into the final quarter.

Miami started the fourth quarter strong with a 3-pointer from Martin and back-to-back baskets by Butler to push the lead to 17. Later, four straight points by Adebayo increased the advantage to 21 with 6:55 remaining. Miami’s advantage topped out at 23 points.

“We talked about going to get a tough one on the road and we did just that,” Butler said. “But we’re not satisfied. We got four more (wins) to get.”

Boston missed its first 12 3-point attempts as Miami controlled the first half, leading by as many as 17 points.

–Field Level Media

Reds Roll Into Town

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Report The visiting Cincinnati Reds can build on their momentum Tuesday night when they kick off a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.

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The Reds enter the series with four wins in their last five games and are coming off a three-game road sweep of the Chicago Cubs. The Reds outscored the Cubs 25-10.

“Everyone is really proud of how we’re playing, and how hard we’re playing,” Cincinnati manager David Bell said. “I don’t see that changing ever with the guys we have. It’s a good feeling. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a lot left yet to accomplish and ways we have to keep getting better. It’s a good feeling when guys feel this good about how they’re going about it.”

No Cincinnati player is hotter than rookie shortstop Matt McLain, who will carry a seven-game hitting streak into the game. McLain, 23, had four hits in Cincinnati’s 8-5 victory over Chicago on Sunday. He’s 15-for-31 during his seven-game hitting streak.

McLain, a first-round pick in 2021, is batting .380 with two home runs and eight RBIs since making his major league debut on May 15. He was 9-for-15 with two RBIs and scored four runs in the three victories over the Cubs.

“I just try to live in the present and no matter what happens, I’m going to be locked in the next step, next pitch, next ground ball,” McLain said. “I don’t look at my stats that much.”

The Red Sox return home after posting a 4-5 record during a road trip out west. Boston took two of three games at San Diego and Arizona but was swept in a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels.

“We won two (against the Padres), the (series) in Anaheim the first two games we pitched great and we weren’t able to win the games,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “That was the hiccup of the whole trip. … We’ve got to figure out Sundays, that’s the next step.”

The Reds are expected to start right-hander Ben Lively (2-2, 2.65 ERA) on Tuesday night. Lively’s only career start against Boston came in 2017, when he pitched for the Phillies. He allowed three runs on eight hits in seven innings but wasn’t involved in the decision.

Brayan Bello (3-2, 4.08) is Boston’s probable starter. Bello pitched a career-high seven innings in a 4-0 loss to the Angels on Tuesday. He surrendered two runs on six hits and struck out six. It was the only time in his seven starts this season that he didn’t issue any walks.

Bello allowed eight earned runs in his first two starts this season but hasn’t given up more than two runs in any of his five starts since then. He earned the win in his only career start against the Reds, which came last year. He allowed a run on eight hits in five innings of Boston’s 5-3 victory. Bello struck out five and walked two.

Boston’s Rafael Devers went hitless in five at-bats Sunday after missing the previous two games with a calf injury.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Grillo Wins in Texas

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DALLAS/FORT WORTH – Emiliano Grillo won his second PGA Tour title almost eight years after winning his first, with both victories in playoffs.

Adam Schenk is now 0-4 when holding the 54-hole lead/co-lead in 171 starts.

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Scottie Scheffler joins Harris English (second round) with an ace on the eighth hole this week and posts hisTour-leading 11th top-10 this season.

PGA Tour rookie Harry Hall held 18-, 36- and 54-hole leads/co-leads before posting a career-best T3 result.

Dallas native Paul Haley II sat T-96 after the opening round en route to a fifth-place finish.

Defending champion Sam Burns finishes T-6 at 5-under.

Charles Schwab Challenge | Final Leaderboard

*Emiliano Grillo 67-65-72-68—272 (-8)

Adam Schenk 66-67-67-72—272 (-8)

Scottie Scheffler 67-67-72-67—273 (-7)

Harry Hall 62-66-72-73—273 (-7)

Paul Haley II 73-68-66-67—274 (-6)

*Won playoff with a birdie-2 at the second extra hole (No. 16)

Full Leaderboard (Link)

D-Backs Stifle Red Sox, 4-2

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PHOENIX – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Arizona’s starting pitcher Merrill Kelly struck out a season high-tying 10 batters over 6 1/3 innings and Corbin Carroll belted a two-run homer to lift the host Diamondbacks to a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

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Kelly (6-3) allowed one run on four hits and walked two batters to improve to 5-0 in his last six starts. He also fanned 10 batters over seven innings in the Diamondbacks’ 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals on May 5.

Arizona’s Geraldo Perdomo homered to lead off the second and Josh Rojas added an RBI single as part of a three-run first inning.

Ketel Marte had a pair of singles to extend his career-best on-base streak to 27 games for the Diamondbacks, who snapped a three-game losing skid.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also had two singles in his first contest after seeing his career-high 17-game hitting streak come to a halt.

Boston’s Justin Turner homered to lead off the eighth inning and Alex Verdugo had an RBI single for the Red Sox, who struck out 15 times en route to losing for the fifth time in their last seven games. Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in his return to the lineup following a two-game absence due to an ailing calf.

Andrew Chafin relieved Kelly and promptly walked Rob Refsnyder to load the bases in the seventh inning. Verdugo sliced an RBI single to left field to trim Arizona’s lead to 4-1 before Chafin struck out Devers to end the threat.

Kyle Nelson served up Turner’s sixth homer of the season before Jose Ruiz bridged the gap to Miguel Castro, who fanned two batters in the ninth inning to secure his fifth save of the season.

Arizona set the tone early as Carroll followed Marte’s one-out single in the first inning by depositing a 1-1 fastball from Tanner Houck (3-4) over the wall in left-center field. Carroll’s homer was his eighth of the season and third in his last 10 games.

Perdomo gave Arizona a 4-0 lead after sending a 3-1 fastball from Houck over the right-center field wall for his fifth homer of the season.

Houck fell to 0-4 in his last six outings after permitting four runs on six hits in four innings.

The Red Sox returned home to Boston and are idle on Memorial Day.

–Field Level Media

Men in Blazers Honor Men at Work

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Haaland and Ream Take Inaugural Honors

SOHO – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Erling Haaland of Manchester City and Tim Ream of Fulham were named the inaugural “American Player of the Year” and “American American Player of the Year” in the Premier League, as voted on by U.S.-based fans via the Men in Blazers Media Network’s Raven Newsletter and announced on MiB’s Season 9 finale held Sunday on NBC and Peacock.

Men in Blazers host and co-founder Roger Bennett and popular commentators Robbie Earle and Rebecca Lowe announced the winners, who appeared by video accepting their awards and accompanying prize belt.

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“I want to thank everyone for voting me as American Player of the Year,” said Haaland on the program. “It’s a real honor for me and I have to keep going. Thank you for this award.”

Haaland was selected over other finalists Marcus Rashford of Manchester United, Bukayo Saka of Arsenal and Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur.

“I want to say a huge thank you to all of you who voted me your American American Player of the Year in the Premier League,” added Ream. “It’s a huge honor to win the award amongst the names that were in the running. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and winning it again.”

Ream’s fellow American American of the Year finalists were his Fulham teammate Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams of Leeds United and Matt Turner of Arsenal.

“Football awards are an expression of the culmination of a season’s journey. That journey is different depending on your perspective — the place and reality of where you watch,” said Bennett. “MiB Network has been a manifestation of the growth in football fandom across the United States over the last decade,” he said.

The Men in Blazers Media Network is an independent soccer-focused media company in North America. The “American Football Awards” show followed the Premier League Final day. Man City took honors.

The finalists and winners were selected by thousands of fans across the nation.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 28th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Thank-You to TNT, Tara and T.K

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The Eastern Conference Finals will come to a close on Monday with what could be a history-making series for the Boston Celtics or an epic march to the NBA Finals for the Miami Heat. One thing is for sure, with the final game of the Eastern finals, the crew at TNT will turnover the reigns of the NBA Playoffs to ABC/ESPN, the broadcast rights holders for the 2023 NBA Finals.

It doesn’t seem that long ago when NBA Commissioner David Stern informed us that the NBA on TBS (Turner Sports’ “Superstation,” would be passing the torch for the NBA and many sports to its new sister station, a station nobody had heard of and no cable system carried at the time.

Memories of giving the late NBA Commish a hard time upon checking into an Orlando Omni hotel and – No TNT. “Don’t worry, said Stern, “it’ll come,” as he added “Go complain to the front desk and ask them to get TNT.”

Wouldn’t you know? One of the latest reports shows TNT in some 89.573 million U.S. households and it is the jewel of Turner Sports. (See more thoughts on TNT and the Inside the NBA crew below). Stern was very rarely wrong when it came to predicting where Cable TV and the media industry, in general, were going and he knew it long before anyone else.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: A couple weeks ago, the spotlight was on Michael Jordan’s ‘92 Olympic Gold Medal Ceremony jacket, now it’s a multi-million dollar bid for MJ’s game-worn Olympic uniform.

One of Michael Jordan’s autographed jersey from the Barcelona Olympic Games, featuring the famed “Dream Team,” sold for $3.030,000. The jersey was part of a collection consigned by Dream Team member Karl Malone, with Jordan writing on the jersey, ‘To Karl, Good Luck, Michael Jordan #9.”

Goldin Auctions, orchestrating the deals, said other Dream Teamers’ jerseys sold from the collection included Larry Bird ($360,000), Magic Johnson ($336,000) Charles , Barkley ($230,400), David Robinson ($116,400), Clyde Drexler ($91,200), Scottie Pippen ($80,400), Malone ($58,800), John Stockton ($55,200), Patrick Ewing ($39,600), then-collegian Christian Laettner ($39,600) and Chris Mullin ($37,200).

Jordan’s Olympic medal ceremony jacket is part of a Sotheby’s auction and is on display and online this month until the auction takes place in late June.

KOEPKA’s COACH STRIKES BACK: Claude Harmon III, the golf coach of recently crowned PGA Champion Brooks Koepka got into quite a pissing match with former PGA Tour player and current Golf Channel anchor Brandel Chamblee in the last two weeks.

When discussing the upcoming Ryder Cup, Chamblee had made it clear that he doesn’t believe that Koepka or other players on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour should be on the team.

“Brandel is a paid actor by NBC and Golf Channel. All he’s trying to do is get his lines and shows for the Golf Channel,” Harmon III said. “He’s just trying to get lines for Brandel … And I mean, I love him, I think Eamon is a fantastic writer, but for Eamon Lynch and Brandel Chamblee, who worked for NBC to utter the words ‘sports washing’ when the company they work for televised the last two Winter Olympics in Russia and China with the same leaders that they’ve had. It’s not like they were good leaders back then. It’s not like Putin was a good guy, right?”

Chamblee countered with a very lengthy post on Twitter that read:

“The farrago of what-about-isms that inevitably accompanies any discussion on sports washing, attempts, in answering a condemnation with an accusation, to impugn the credibility of the accuser and to distract from having to deal with the complexities of the question. Much like sports washing, its sole goal is to obfuscate. Of course it is usually accompanied by an ad hominem attack most notably by calling someone a hypocrite or most recently as directed at me, a paid actor to recite my lines.

The accusation that I am just a proxy for the opinion of my employer is a curious one to me, and while the natural back and forth with colleagues certainly informs my opinion, no one for whom I work with or for has ever tried to influence what I am going to say. I’d like to think that they trust whatever opinion I have, whether it agrees with their’s or not, I’ve done the research to back it up. Which is more than I can say for those who suggest that because there is evil everywhere, all evil is relativized and unless all of it can be addressed at the same time and in the same way, it should all be ignored.

Especially, as in the case of the person who called me a paid actor, if they can somehow profit from the evil. This is where the debate crashes headfirst into the nexus of politics, sports and narcissistic greed. Where those who want to escape it most often cloy at what-about-isms, to stop the discussion with a pejorative accusation because they don’t want their motives to be discovered.

And we must impute motives to see the evils clearly.

To raise the question whether LIV has been good for the PGA Tour is to miss the very human and most important point of the whole issue of sports washing. It is bad for the people who continue to be oppressed by the man who funds LIV Golf. And as I have said many times, like the pollution that hangs over our biggest cities, its darkness is better seen from a distance and its stench is too easily dismissed as the smell of commerce. It poisons and dulls our sensibilities making it easy to forget that many a bad movement owes its greater success to the apathy of conformism.

So while Brooks Koepka’s win at the PGA Championship was impressive, it should not distract us from the simple fact that LIV players are being used for the benefit of some very bad people and to the detriment of a great many more good people. That LIV Golf, with its inability to develop stars and seeking to buy them like high performance cars, is undermining the dignity intrinsic in golf.

Dignity that was most profound in watching the play of Michael Block, the club professional who stole the show at the PGA Championship with his gratitude and joy and of course with his incredibly sharp game. He was a stark reminder of what is missing in LIV Golf and even what will be missing in the PGA Tour’s no cut, small field, designated events next year.

Because golf has always been and hopefully will always be, more about hope than heroes.”

WHAT’s AHEAD: As a competitor, it’s always a good idea to “stay in the moment,” and not look nor regret the past while never worrying about an uncertain future. That’s also sage advice for every coach on the planet. “The Next Play” is of concern, not the previous two or three when the team didn’t execute, took terrible shots, remained scoreless or turned the ball over.

For fans in the sports world, it’s smart to look ahead and circle some important dates on your calendar from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Let’s call it:

The Sports Highlights of the Summer of ‘23.

May 28: Indianapolis 500
May 28: At Noon, Boston College will take on No. 1 seeded Northwestern in the women’s NCAA lacrosse National Championship game in Cary, NC.
May 28 – June 11: French Open
May 29: At 1pm (ET), No. 1 Duke will face-off against No. 3 Notre Dame in the men’s lacrosse National Championship game at The Linc in Philly.
June 1: Start of NBA Finals
June 8: Start of Stanley Cup Finals
June 10: The Belmont Stakes
June 10: UEFA Championship (Final) – (Greece)
June 15-18: U.S. Open (Golf) – (Winged Foot, Westchester, NY)
June 18: Last possible date (Game 7) of NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup Finals
June 22: NBA Draft (Brooklyn)
June 24-25: MLB London Series – Cubs vs. Cardinals
July 1-23: Tour de France
July 3-18: Wimbledon
July 9-11: MLB Draft (Seattle)
July 10 – August 20: Women’s World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)
July 10: MLB Home Run Derby (Seattle)
July 11: MLB All-Star Game (Seattle)
July 16-23: The Open (Royal Liverpool)
July 23: Baseball Hall of Fame Induction (Cooperstown, NY)
August 1: MLB Trading Deadline
August 3-6: Enshrinement Week at Pro Football Hall of Fame (Canton, OH)
August 11-14: FedEx St. Jude Championship (1st Round FedEx Cup Playoffs)
August 12: Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductions (Springfield, MA)
August 18-21: BMW Championship (Wilmington, DE) – 2nd Round FedEx Cup
August 19-27: IAAF World Championships (Budapest, Hungary)
August 25-28: Tour Championship (Atlanta) – FedEx Cup Championship
August 25 – September 10: FIBA World Cup (Asia)
August 28 – September 10: U.S. Open (tennis) – (Flushing Meadow, NY)

Notes: The last day of the regular season for MLB Baseball is October 1 and the 2023 Ryder Cup for golf is September 29-October 1st.

TID-BITS: Isn’t it (Curtis) strange that the (Charles Schwab Challenge) at Colonial is staged over Memorial Day weekend, but The Memorial is staged the weekend afterward? … The Memorial, founded and hosted each year by Jack Nicklaus at his Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, could take a page from the PGA Tour/FedEx Cup Playoffs days of yesteryear and start The Memorial on the Friday before the national holiday and finish on Memorial Day. … That worked great when the Deutsche Bank Championship held down the Labor Day weekend here in Boston. … Just sayin’ …

SBJ AWARDS: Ready for even more awards? The great team at the Sports Business Journal held their annual awards dinner and presented the “ABE-Ys” (pronounced ABE-EEZE), a fictional tribute to the highly competent leader of SBJ, Abe Madkour. Here are the results:

  • Deal of the Year — Michele Kang’s acquisition of the Washington Spirit
  • Best in Sports Betting — FanDuel
  • Best in Sports Social Media — Bleacher Report: Hero Ball
  • Best Talent Representation — Wasserman
  • Sports Event of the Year — U.S. Open Tennis Championship
  • Athletic Director of the Year — J.D. Wicker, San Diego State
  • Best in Sports Media — Fox Sports
  • Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services — Elevate
  • Sports Sponsor of the Year — T-Mobile U.S.
  • Sports Facility of the Year — Fenway Park
  • Sports Breakthrough of the Year — NHL Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards
  • Best in Agency Creativity and Innovation — MKTG Sports + Entertainment
  • Sports Team of the Year — Angel City FC
  • Sports Executive of the Year — Eric Shanks, Fox Sports
  • Sports League of the Year — NFL
  • NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman received SBJ’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Actor Jon Hamm, a St. Louis native and lifelong hockey fan, presented the award

Notables include the honor of Facility of the Year in Boston’s own Fenway Park, America’s Most Beloved Ballpark. While not the jewel of MLB in terms of State of the Art tech and a brand new look, Fenway Park never fails to amaze fans. It’s a treasure to be savored like a fine red wine. … A surprising result was Fan Duel’s win over Boston-based Draft Kings. … Let the competition begin for the 2024 version of that award. May the most lucrative bookie win.