By TERRY LYONS
BOSTON – We’re often reminded just how fragile the world of sports can be, whether it be via a career-ending injury to a player, a scandal to ruin a player, a franchise or an entire sport or this terrible, horrible global pandemic which took down the entire sports industry. Of course that included the 2020 Summer Olympic Games and still threatens the scope and integrity of the Tokyo Games, still scheduled for July 23-August 8 this summer.
To say the industry is skeptical about these upcoming Olympic Games is to say Michael Phelps can swim a little bit, as in very obvious. Some athletes (and teams) are beginning to arrive in Japan and utilize the Olympic Village while adjusting to the time zone change(s). You must wonder, though, with COVID-19 vaccinations relatedly low in many – make it most – countries around the world and outbreaks of severe COVID-19 variations requiring lockdowns in the likes of India, large portions of Latin America, Argentina and Malaysia, what will the melting pot that is the Olympic Games bring to Tokyo? And, what will the athletes bring back to their native countries?
Even the biggest fans of the Olympic Games must wonder if the top athletes might opt-out when the time comes to travel to Japan. That quandary is amplified by the most recent update from the Tokyo Games organizers with some 10,000 of an estimated 80,000 workers and volunteers called it quits just as the games are beginning from a logistical and “behind the scenes” sense.
Organizers claim that they expect 80% of the athletes to be fully vaccinated for the games but that is quite opposite of the estimated 2-to-3% of the Japanese public currently vaccinated. The fragile nature of the Games and the Coronavirus will be under the microscope every day of the Olympics, at every venue, airport, bus terminal and the Olympic Village itself.
To that end, one might wonder just who will take the Saitama Super Arena court when – on July 26th – Argentina plays the winner of the upcoming Olympic Qualifying Tournament to be held June 29-July 4 in the hometown of the great Arvydas Sabonis, Kaunas (Lithuania).
TALK ABOUT the FRAGILE NATURE of SPORTS: Thoroughbred Horse Racing, Boxing and Track and Field once ruled the roost of the sports world, back in the days of Man o’War (1917), Joe Louis and the Millrose Games. In fact, a fight between Louis and Germany’s Max Schmeling had the largest audience of any radio broadcast in history.
Fast-forward … and I mean … really fast! In 1973, the great Secretariatcaptured the imaginations of sports fans and horse racing fans alike with a Triple Crown win capped-off by the most amazing run in the history of New York’s Belmont Park.
Throughout the years, work stoppages, drug scandals, steroid usage, and doping accusations – usually proven out by positive drug tests – have resulted in damage to the credibility of various sports, notably to bicycling (Lance Armstrong and others), baseball, weight-lifting and other Olympic sports.
Gambling scandals and match-fixing have plagued many of the sports, including baseball (Black Sox/Pete Rose), pro tennis (as recently as this past week when the 765th-ranked Yana Sizikova of Russia and the WTA, was arrested in Paris for alleged match-fixing in September of 2020) and basketball – both college (multiple occasions) and pro (most recently with the conviction of disgraced referee Tim Donaghy in 2007).
Lately, there’s been so many cheating scandals in sports that the media have run out of “Gates” to tag them. Spy-gate to Deflate-gate to Orchids of Asia Spa Gate have all captured headlines – and that’s just in New England. Following suit, MLB suspended several members of the Houston Astros and their managerial/coaching staffs for sign-stealing and illegal actions. That included a one-year ban and the firing of Red Sox Manager Alex Cora – who was re-hired by the club when the suspension was served in full.
As the 153rd running of The Belmont took place this weekend, a horse doping scandal – once again – crushed the racing industry. Trainer Bob Baffert was suspended for two years by Churchill Downs as his 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was twice-tested positive for betamethasone, a steroid used for therapeutic purposes in horses and often used in Kentucky to reduce swelling in a horse’s joints while treating pain and inflammation. Interest in The Preakness and Belmont dropped considerably because of the doping issue. Sadly, Baffert has had five horses test for illegal drugs this year.
Back to human conduct, as opposed to equine, the subject of player conduct – on and off the field of play – has caused major setbacks for sports leagues over the years, most notably the NFL with several murder and domestic violence cases (Rae Carruth, Aaron Hernandez, Ray Rice, and the case/trial of the century with O.J. Simpson).
In each instance, the governing bodies, leagues, players associations and sponsors quickly sort out the mess, many times with the sponsors cancelling multi-million dollar endorsement deals for the player(s) involved. From time-to-time, the sport takes a negative hit in television ratings and/or fan attendance but they’re usually forgotten in time by a very forgiving fan base – especially after work stoppages.
The North American sports leagues do their best to create solid, long-term and meaningful community relations programs to address many of the transgressions of their players or, maybe even, team owners.
Although the popularity of boxing, track and field and horse racing have waned, somehow the four major sports endure their many self-inflicted setbacks, all the while raising ticket prices, streaming/pay-per-view subscriptions and passing along the trickle-down effect of ever-rising digital television packages.
What’s a sports fan to do?
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Just who is this “Perfection Line” you speak of with the Boston Bruins top offensive unit of center Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak? Certainly to be admired by all hockey fans, friends and foe of the Bruins, the only possible “Perfection Line” in NHL history would need to have the names of Wayne Gretzky at center, Bobby Orr (converted from defenseman to left winger), and Gordie Howe on the right wing.
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SPORTS PERFECTION: Aside from countless bowlers – pro and amateur – tossing games of 300, the only two instances of perfection in sporting – IMO – are the previously mentioned run 48 years ago by Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont and the perfect game thrown 65 years ago this Fall by New York Yankees pitcher Don Larson in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. Larsen’s accomplishment came at his home field of Yankee Stadium, against the crosstown rival Brooklyn Dodgers.
DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Are mostly tributes in waiting.
PEDROIA SALUTE: The Boston Red Sox announced plans to honor recently retired second baseman Dustin Pedroia during pregame ceremonies at Fenway Park on Friday, June 25, before the 7:10 p.m. Sox-Yankees game. Pedroia, who played in 1,512 games with the club from 2006-19, announced his retirement from the Red Sox and the game of baseball on February 1, 2021.
KOOS: An announcement dear to the heart of While We’re Young (Ideas), the New York Mets announced this past Thursday that pitcher Jerry Koosman‘s No. 36 will be officially retired on August 28. The team had planned to have his number retired during the 2020 season, but due to COVID-19 they postponed the event. … Koosman will join Tom Seaver (No. 41) and Mike Piazza (No. 31) as the only Mets players to have their number retired. The Mets have also retired manager Casey Stengel‘s No.37, manager Gil Hodges‘ No. 14, and Jackie Robinson‘s No. 42 — as MLB did in unison in 1997. … Dating back to the Summer of 2019, WWYI called for the retirement of Koosman’s number by the Mets.
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In 2013, Ainge rapidly rebuilt the franchise in a series of moves, none more notable than trading Garnett and Pierce in a deal that netted lottery picks that were used to select current Celtics All Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. That was also the summer Ainge and ownership hired Stevens.