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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | March 1

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

BOSTON – March is upon us. Madness awaits, as we’re about two weeks away from one of those great sports days of the year – “Selection Sunday.”

The regular season champions will be crowned, then the various Conference Tournaments will be staged, providing us with non-stop college basketball coverage from March 4 to 15. The Sun Belt tips-off on March 3, and the Horizon League jump-starts the full schedule on March 4, followed right away by the Atlantic Sun, the Big South, the Summit, the MAAC, the Northeast and Ohio Valley Conferences. Soon to follow are the America East, the CAA, Missouri Valley, the Southern Conference (SoCon) and then we’re off to the races with the Big Boy conferences, including the ACC (Charlotte, NC), and the BIG EAST from March 11-14 at Madison Square Garden (Digital Sports Desk to be on-site once again).

By the time the Atlantic 10, Big Ten, the IVY, and the SEC conclude on March 15, we’ll be ready for the brackets.

Let’s take a quick look at the Top 16 seeds as it stands on the day we put February in the rear-view window.

  1. Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Iowa State
  2. Houston, Florida, UConn, Purdue
  3. Gonzaga, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan State
  4. Virginia, Kansas, St. John’s, Texas Tech

In the remaining group, certainly North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, BYU, Louisville and the likes of undefeated Miami (Ohio), all deserve mention and attention.

Duke’s impressive 77-51 victory over Virginia on Saturday clinched at least a tie for the Blue Devils as Atlantic Coast Conference champions. Barring an upset in the ACC tourney, Duke is very likely to ride the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA men’s Basketball Tournament which tips off with the First Four on March 17-18. The full tournament tips on March 19-20. The Final Four is scheduled for April 4-6 in Indianapolis.

While there are no secrets in college basketball, especially on March 1st, the teams that are peaking seem to be Duke, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee – all SEC schools with the exception of mighty Duke.

While St. John’s ran off 13 in a row, their one-side loss to UConn this past Wednesday put some doubt into the Red Storm’s path in March. Only a St. John’s run-of-the-table through the BIG EAST final on March 14 will keep the Storm in that Top 16 listed above. A single loss will drop them to the dreaded No. 5 vs No. 12 slot come bracketology time. Even if a No. 5 is successful in the opener, that No. 4 seed (the likes of Alabama) would await.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The NBA on NBC (and Peacock Network) will be going retro this Tuesday. It should be fun. Here’s what NBC had to say in its corporate news release: “Legendary sports broadcasters Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Mike “Czar of the Telestrator” Fratello, Jim Gray, Hannah Storm, Isiah Thomas and P.J. Carlesimo return to NBC Sports in a special edition “throwback” Coast 2 Coast Tuesday broadcast on Tuesday, March 3 (from) Philadelphia, when Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs visit Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers. The game, which will be called by Costas, Collins and Fratello alongside courtside reporter Gray, tips off at 8:00pm ET on NBC and Peacock. NBA Showtime precedes the game broadcast at 7:00pm ET on Peacock and will feature Storm as studio host and Thomas and Carlesimo as studio analysts.

“Costas, Collins, Fratello, Gray, Storm, Thomas and Carlesimo all served as NBA on NBC Sports commentators and analysts during the 1990s and early 2000s. Costas, Gray and Fratello, who was dubbed “Czar of the Telestrator” by Marv Albert, are Emmy Award winning sports broadcasters.”

All fine and good except – where’s Marv and Peter Vecsey (and maybe even Pat Riley,and a memorial tribute to the late Bob Ferry)?

Understandably, Albert might not be up to a full broadcast, but his voice-over to start the year was tremendous, so maybe they can work him in with a voice-over tease to the game?

When Marv’s introduction aired at the start of this season as the league welcomed back NBC Sports back to the family, I teared-up. No shame. Albert called the glory years for the New York Knickerbockers on MSG Network long before it was MSG Network (it frequently aired on WOR-TV 9 in New York. His contributions to NBA broadcasting are impossible to measure.

But, then again, so was Vecsey’s.

Peter Vecsey brought hard news and serious courtside and studio analysis to the NBA broadcasts. While the league might not’ve been ready for such scrutiny in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, by the time the NBA on NBC debuted and Vecsey led “The Insiders,” the league actually needed some tough love, while the fans dove into the news, trades, transactions and inner workings of the teams, league and player issues.

At that point in time, there was no one to rival Vecsey in terms of breaking news and notes.

When asked if he was contacted by NBC brass to join the fray this Tuesday, Vecsey replied, “Nope.”

SOUL SEARCHING: I was happy to watch the new docu-series on the American Basketball Association (ABA). A quick estimate is that the first 100 professional basketball games I witnessed in person were all ABA games at a combination of the Island Garden in Hempstead and the (then) brand news, spanking Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.

Tickets went for $3.00 and the basketball was great.

The “Doc”-series dove deep into the usual themes of Spencer Haywood, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Ozzie and Daniel Silna – the owners of the Spirits of St. Louis, and EllieBrown, wife of John Y. Brown who owned the Kentucky Colonels.

The talent in the ABA was tremendous, especially if you focus on league all-stars like Erving, David Thompson, Artis Gilmore and Dan Issel, among many, many others. However, the documentary continually painted the NBA as a talentless league of 1950s jump-shooters.

Sure, Dr. J had style, but the documentary overlooked the fact that Walt “Clyde” Frazier was setting the standards of 1970s cool. The doc would show an amazing clip of Dr. J soaring to the hoop but then make a comparison to black and white footage of the NBA. Not once did they show Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, JoJo White, Jerry West or Elgin Baylor.

Yes, the ABA had the Floridians and a dance team, but let’s not forget “Dancin’ Harry”of Baltimore fame (then NYC when Monroe was traded to the Knicks).

Thus, “Soul Power” made many a factual mistake (at the worst) or the production was completely disingenuous (at best). I thought there was no reason for the slight of the NBA. Just tell the ABA story straight and it would’ve been great.

With the fact, Erving and Common were the executive producers, they should’ve known that and controlled it in production. Instead, it came across as a B-minus production, maybe two-stars. Watch it, but do NOT expect to learn a thing.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: I don’t like to get “political” in this column very often, but in making an exception today, I’ll ask one simple question: “Have you EVER seen one guy screw up two gold medal winning ice hockey teams?” … It’s incredible. … CoryAlexander did an incredibly nice job as expert analyst alongside Dave O’Brien (soon to return to Fenway Park). Alexander is a regular ESPN/ACC Network analyst who previously played for Virginia and served as an analyst for the Virginia radio network. Meanwhile, Molly McGrath did her usual A-level courtside reporting job.

FOLLOWING UP: To follow-up on an item from last week’s salute to the wonderful Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and the men’s ice hockey tournament, it must be known that a flip of the channels – from college basketball to the NHL on ABC Saturday afternoon – the Pittsburgh Penguins visited Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers and the first nine names I heard from the play-by-play man, Sean McDonough, was? … You guessed it … Zibanejad … Zibanejad … Zibanejad. Yes, Mika Zibanejad was all over the ice for the Rangers, including a non-stop 3×3 overtime period before the NHL rules called for a “spin the bottle” contest (shoot-out) to determine a winner.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: According to multiple media reports on Thursday, the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks announced plans to honor Magic City — which they called “the city’s iconic cultural institution.” However, together with the Gold Club, Magic City is best known as “one of Atlanta’s ’s most famous strip clubs.” The promotion will come during a March 16 home game against the Orlando Magic at State Farm Arena. The pro basketball club believes no dancers will take part in the festivities.

While the team tried to spin the promotion to be all about Magic City’s chicken wings, the truth of the matter is that an NBA team just cannot turn aside 50% of its audience by putting its female fans in an awkward position.

The shoot-yourself-in-the-foot promo reminded this columnist of the early days of the NLL Boston Blazers lacrosse team when three “scantily clad” women gave “Scorch,” the Blazers’ mascot a lap dance on the field of play during halftime. The promotion went downhill from there, and the Blazers were in crisis communications mode faster than you could say Mayor Menino.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP II: A sequel? The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers game Friday night was delayed for nearly 18 minutes in the third quarter by a blaring “horn” after a power surge caused the overhead scoreboard to malfunction. During a timeout with the Pistons leading 65-64 in their exciting 122-119 overtime victory, the horn sounded to signal the teams to return to the floor. However, it kept blasting away despite frantic work from clock operators, technicians, and arena workers at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The teams returned to their respective benches for a few minutes and were eventually told to go back on the floor to warm up. After 13 minutes, the staff shut down the entire overhead scoreboard and the horn stopped, as loud “Bronx” cheers erupted from the stands. From that point onward, the Pistons’ home scoring crew used a manual airhorn when needed. The NBA game officials brought Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson to midcourt for a brief discussion, before announcing the game would resume without the main scoreboard. However, moments after the game got back underway, the scoreboard came back on and all was well.

Vucevic Leads Celtics’ BIG 2nd Half

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes as the Boston Celtics pulled away in the second half for a 148-111 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. Boston, which had a six-point lead midway through the third quarter, outscored Brooklyn 82-54 in the second half.

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The Celtics received 28 points, seven rebounds and nine assists from Jaylen Brown. Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score 22 points, and Derrick White added 12 points and seven assists. Boston made 52 of 78 field-goal attempts (66.7%). The Celtics were 22 of 34 from 3-point range (64.7%). White, Brown and Pritchard each made four 3-pointers. The Celtics, who scored at least 31 points in each quarter, are 10-2 in their last 12 games.

Michael Porter Jr. led lowly Brooklyn with 18 points. Danny Wolf scored 16 and Nic Claxton finished with 12 as the outcome extended Brooklyn’s losing streak to seven games.

A 10-0 run handed Boston a 26-15 advantage with 4:47 remaining in the opening quarter. The Celtics made each of their six 3-point attempts in the quarter and had a 35-32 lead after 12 minutes.

The Nets were within three points, 57-54, with 2:42 to play in the first half, but Boston held a 66-57 halftime lead.

The Celtics took control in the third, when they outscored the Nets 43-26. A 12-0 run put Boston up 94-76, and the Celtics had their first lead of at least 20 points when two Vucevic free throws made it 98-78 with 3:07 left in the quarter.

The Celtics led 109-83 at the end of the third, and pushed the lead to 34 by scoring the first eight points in the fourth. Boston’s lead peaked at 41 points.

It was Boston’s third victory in four games against Brooklyn this season.

–Field Level Media

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

White Leads Celtics Over Suns

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PHOENIX – (Wire Service Report) – Derrick White scored 22 points, Neemias Queta had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and the visiting Boston Celtics rolled over the short-handed Phoenix Suns 97-81 to extend their winning streak to four. Sam Hauser scored 16 points and Bailey Scheierman had 11 points and 11 rebounds in his third career double-double for the Celtics, who have won nine of 10 and are a season-high 19 games over .500. White and Hauser had four 3-pointers apiece for Boston.

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The Celtics trailed 41-30 at 6:41 of the second quarter before going on an extended 50-11 run to take control with an 80-52 lead on Nikola Vukevic’s basket with 1:39 left in the third quarter.

Collin Gillespie scored 15 points, Grayson Allen scored 14 and Jalen Green added 13 points for the Suns, who played without leading scorers Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks for the second straight game.

The Suns have lost seven of 10.

Boston has won five in a row in the series and the last four in Phoenix.

The Suns went on a 14-0 run over the late third and early fourth quarters to close to 80-66 with 9:24 remaining, but Scheierman’s corner 3-pointer pushed the Celtics’ lead back 90-68 with 5:51 to play.

The Celtics played without Jaylen Brown (knee contusion), who was held out in the first game of a back-to-back, and got only eight points from Payton Pritchard, who was 2 of 13 from the field.

Boston outscored the Suns 30-11 in the third quarter and led 80-57 entering the fourth. Hauser had 13 points and three 3-pointers in the third quarter, when Phoenix was 4 of 22 from the field.

The Suns shot 36.7% from the field and were 12 of 36 from distance.

Boston had a 61-34 rebounding advantage and turned 22 offensive rebounds into 15 points.

The Suns, coming off a season scoring low in a 92-77 loss to Portland on Sunday, led 26-21 after the first quarter, when Green and Ryan Dunn had seven points apiece. The Celtics were 3 of 15 from distance in the quarter.

Royce O’Neale’s third 3-pointer put the Suns ahead 41-30 lead midway through the second quarter before the Celtics began their extended run with a 14-0 spurt capped by Queta’s two free throws for a 44-41 edge.

–Field Level Media

Wake / BC Ready for Snowed Out Game

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CHESTNUT HILL – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Not much has gone well for Boston College in the second half of the season. The Eagles are 2-12 since the calendar flipped to 2026.

They will attempt to end an eight-game losing streak when they face Wake Forest on Wednesday evening in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The game originally was scheduled for Tuesday before it was moved due to inclement weather.

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Boston College (9-18, 2-12 ACC) is at the bottom of the conference in several offensive categories, including scoring (67.7 points per game), field goal percentage (40.8) and 3-point field goals (30.3%). The Eagles shot 33.3% from the field (23 of 69) during Saturday’s 94-70 loss to SMU, getting outscored 54-34 after halftime.

“I thought their zone at the start of the second half stymied us,” Boston College head coach Earl Grant said. “We usually get excited when we see a zone, but we didn’t (against SMU). … We didn’t probe it good enough.”

Boston College’s Donald Hand Jr. (leg) did not play against SMU, missing his third straight contest. Hand has averaged 13.8 points, second on the team behind Fred Payne (15.4).

Wake Forest (14-13, 5-9) is coming off an 82-63 setback Saturday at Virginia Tech which snapped a three-game winning streak. Juke Harris led Wake Forest with 16 points in the loss. He has scored in double figures in all 27 games this season and is the No. 3 scorer in the ACC (21.1 points).

The Demon Deacons rank last among ACC teams in rebounding (32.8 per game).

“I thought we were doing a good job rebounding the ball on the glass,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “Then I think they got four offensive rebounds in the last three possessions of the first half. They kind of smelled blood in the water, and then they got 13 offensive rebounds. They had great balance and six guys in double figures in scoring. I thought they came up with the majority of the 50-50 balls that led to easy baskets.”

Eight of Boston College’s nine victories this season have come at home. Wake Forest is 2-5 on the road.

–Field Level Media

Winter Olympics Score Ratings Gold

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–Field Level Media

Jaylen Brown is Hearing MVP Talk

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PHOENIX – (Wire Service Report) – While the Phoenix Suns search for offense, the Boston Celtics are thriving behind Jaylen Brown, who belongs in the MVP conversation, according to one four-time MVP.

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“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” LeBron James said after Brown stuffed the stat sheet in the Celtics’ 111-89 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

“They’re playing great basketball, and it’s because of him and the rest of those guys. He’s taken that next step.”

Brown had 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals against the Lakers, and he brings averages of 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists — all career highs — into a back-to-back against the host Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the third game of the Celtics’ four-game road trip.

The Suns, who have struggled to find offense in large part because of injuries to top scorers Devin Booker (24.7) and Dillon Brooks (20.9), have lost six of nine and enter after a 92-77 home loss to Portland on Sunday, their lowest point total since 2017 which was also a loss to the Blazers.

“We can’t get to the free throw line, can’t get to the rim,” Ott said. “Got to shoot jump shots. The way you shoot jump shots is to set screens. But we’re going to continue to find ways we want to play in transition. We want to get more shots up.”

Boston has won eight of nine and is a season-high 18 games above .500 in a season that was thought to be compromised by the loss of Jayson Tatum to a torn Achilles.

Brown, who is fourth in the league in scoring, made his case in support of James’ praise.

“I feel like I’m the best two-way player in the world,” Brown said. “I play both ends on the court. Night to night, I’m available, which is hard to do.

“I’m a leader. I help lead my team, empower my team to come out and play confidently, stuff that doesn’t always show up on the analytics. And I’m a winner. I come out and try to win every single night. So I’m grateful.”

The Celtics have compensated for the loss of Tatum and 2024 title team members Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis with a career year from reigning Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard and veteran Derrick White.

Pritchard scored 30 points against the Lakers and is 15 of 28 from distance in the last three games, all wins. He is averaging a career-high 17.6 points with increased playing time. White’s 17.0 scoring average is also a career high.

“The story’s not done,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzula said. “We haven’t done anything. All we’ve done is stick to the process of winning on both ends of the floor.”

–Field Level Media

Celtics Dominate LA Lakers

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LOS ANGELES – (Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 32 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, while his teammate Payton Pritchard added 30 points with eight assists and the visiting Celtics continued their February surge with a 111-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Boston’s Derrick White scored 12 points with eight assists as the Celtics’ defense held the Lakers to 39.1% from the floor, while improving to 8-1 since Jan. 30. Boston shot 48.2% while opening 2-0 on a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams.

Neemias Queta had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics

Luka Doncic scored 25 points and LeBron James added 20 for the Lakers, who lost for the third time in their past five games. Austin Reaves had 15 points as the Los Angeles star trio fell to 8-4 when all three were on the court this season.

James, the NBA’s all-time points leader, moved past the 43,000-point mark in his record 23rd season.

The Lakers were held to their second lowest scoring game of the season behind an 88-point effort in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Dec. 20.

The Celtics led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter and never allowed the Lakers to make a run in the fourth. Boston pushed the lead to 94-79 after a step-back jumper from Brown with 6:58 left.

Brown capped an 8-0 run on a 3-pointer that gave the Celtics a 102-81 lead with 4:11 remaining. Pritchard sealed the victory on a 3-pointer with 3:24 left for a 105-83 victory that prompted the Lakers to remove their starters the rest of the way.

The Celtics took charge in the second quarter, turning a first-period tie into a 60-50 halftime lead on 52.4% shooting as Brown scored 13 points and Pritchard added 11. Doncic had 18 points in the first half for the Lakers, who shot 41.9% over the first two quarters.

Boston won the season series 2-0 that includes a 126-105 victory at home on Dec. 5. The Celtics are 6-2 against the Lakers since the 2022-23 season.

–Field Level Media

Ciao Bella: Milan-Cortino Magic

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

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

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

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

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

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

MELONI PRAISES ITALIAN ACHIEVEMENTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

ATHLETES LET THEIR HAIR DOWN

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

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

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

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

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

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Golden Hour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

–Field Level Media