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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Feb 15

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people inside stadium watching baseball game

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – As pitchers and catches reported to Spring Training and Major League Baseball turned towards the 2026 season, three MLB teams took a gut punch, right in the very first inning.

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll, and Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday all suffered the same exact injury – broken hamate bones in their wrists.

There’s nothing as bad as losing a star player on the first day of Spring Training, and, in each case, it was a foundational talent for their respective teams.

The human wrist is an amazing joint, chock full of small bones that allow the wrist to move in every direction. A hamate bone injury is a fracture or stress reaction of the key bone, which is located within the wrist. The injury is often caused by activities that require a strong grip, such as baseball or golf. Symptoms typically include pain and swelling on the palm side of the wrist, particularly near the pinky finger, and recovery can take several weeks. Severe cases can require surgery. The procedure and rehabilitation (often difficult and painful) can take, at least, six weeks.

From first hand experience, and in layman’s terms – “It is never the same again.”

The most noticeable talent of major league baseball players resides in the eyes and wrists of the most successful batters. Yes, power can come from the arms, thighs and legs planted in a proper stance, but seeing the ball and then moving the hands and often turning the wrists to create bat speed is the secret all of the best hitters possess. Great eyes and great wrists can not be taught. It is innate.

Six or maybe eight weeks in a cast (or even a soft cast) will result in atrophy and soreness, no matter how great the rehabilitation process is managed. When hands/wrist/bat speed is lost, even milliseconds, it can take .010 or more off a batting average.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Noting from the NBA’s official news release, – At the 26th NBA All-Star Technology Summit at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg, Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel and the world’s most-followed basketball YouTube creator, Jesser, previewed a new AI-powered technology that allows fans to watch live games from a player’s vantage point in real time. … During a live onstage demo, Jesser activated “POV mode,” enabling viewers to watch the Jan. 29 game between the Mavericks and Hornets from the on-court perspective of Flagg and Knueppel in real time. The presentation showcased the limitless ways that fans will be able to watch live NBA games through immersive angles and personalized customizations. The prototype animations from the demonstration will ultimately be replaced with visualizations of the actual players. It can be viewed HERE.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Veteran NBA guard and former president of the NBA Player’s Association Chris Paul announced his retirement during NBA All-Star Weekend in LA. He did it with a short social media post, quickly picked up by fans and some 200 media “influencers” stationed at the festivities. “This is it! After 21 years I’m stepping away from basketball,” Paul wrote on Instagram. … NBA Commissioner Adam Silverissued the following statement to note the contributions made by Paul: – “After 21 remarkable seasons, Chris Paul retires as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history and a true steward of our sport. From the moment he entered the league, Chris distinguished himself with his savvy playmaking skills, elite competitiveness and intense work ethic. He also poured enormous time and energy into his role as President of the Players Association – offering thoughtful and principled perspectives to strengthen our game and our business. His leadership on behalf of the players was essential in negotiating collective bargaining agreements, helping guide the league through a pandemic, addressing important societal issues and so much more. On behalf of the NBA, I congratulate Chris on an extraordinary career and thank him for his friendship, partnership and lasting contributions to our game.”

PREZ: President Barack Obama spoke at the NBA’s Tech Summit in Los Angeles. The seminar is an “off the record” event, but a very simple message from Obama resonated worldwide: “Sports is one of America’s greatest exports,” he said. “Sports can bring the world together. I’m a big believer that joy brings about change.” – That comment is no secret to anyone who has worked in, or competed in sports and should be shouted from the highest mountains, everywhere in the world.

SLAM: There’s often talk of the career Grand Slams in professional golf and tennis, but did you know Anthony Davis, now of the Washington Wizards, is the only male player to win the grand slam-dunk for basketball. Davis has won:

  • NCAA National Championship: 2012 (University of Kentucky)
  • Olympic Gold Medal: 2012 (London) and 2024 (Paris)
  • FIBA World Cup Gold: 2014 (Spain)
  • NBA Championship: 2020 (Los Angeles Lakers)

On the women’s basketball side, the feat has been accomplished far more often. In fact there’s a dozen players. Here is the list of women who have won the “Grand Slam-Dunk”

  • Breanna Stewart
  • Sue Bird
  • Diana Taurasi
  • A’ja Wilson
  • Maya Moore
  • Brittney Griner
  • Tamika Catchings
  • Sheryl Swoopes
  • Cynthia Cooper
  • Swin Cash
  • Asjha Jones
  • Kara Wolters

SPORTS BIZ: Over the NBA All-Star break, the Boston Celtics extended their advertising agreement with Experience Abu Dhabi through the conclusion of the 2027–28 season. This renewal broadens Experience Abu Dhabi’s presence across Celtics platforms and fan-engagement initiatives. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with Experience Abu Dhabi as we look to expand the global reach and engagement of both the Boston Celtics and Experience Abu Dhabi brands,” said Ted Dalton, Boston Celtics Chief Partnership Officer. “Their commitment to creating special fan moments, both in Boston and internationally, aligns closely with our vision, and this renewed agreement will allow us to deliver even more impactful experiences over the coming years.” … Under the renewed agreement, Experience Abu Dhabi will continue as an Official International Marketing Partner of the Boston Celtics. The partnership includes extensive in-arena visibility during Celtics home games, with courtside signage, basket stanchion signage, center-hung scoreboard LED rings, and commercial spots, all of which will extend into the playoffs. Experience Abu Dhabi will also receive banner advertising on Celtics.com. … “We are delighted to extend our relationship with the Boston Celtics through to the 2027-28 season,” said Steve Cox, Acting Strategic Marketing & Communication Sector Executive Director at DCT Abu Dhabi. “Abu Dhabi is a welcoming destination defined by culture, community and memorable experiences, and this agreement reflects that spirit. Sport continues to enrich Abu Dhabi’s appeal as a destination, while allowing us to build meaningful and lasting connections with travelers worldwide.”

The NBA and USA Basketball have played exhibition games in Abu Dhabi, including the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers this past October.

INJURED: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmapo are both injured and out for the World team. Alperen Şengün and De’Aaron Fox will replace the injured players. Fox, the Spurs’ guard joins USA Stripes while Heat swingman Norman Powell (Jamaica) moves from USA Stripes to Team World. Steph Curry of the USA Stripes is also out (right knee) and will be replaced by Brandon Ingram.

COLLEGE SPORTS RANKINGS: While everyone in the Fall is focused on the CFP rankings, and college basketball fans are now watching the NCAA Coaches and Associated Press Top 25s, some might care to see two other polls. The men’s college ice hockey and the NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse poll is worth a look. In each case, I’ll provide the Top 10 with links for the rest.

College Hockey: (via U.S. College Hockey Online) – (link)

  1. Michigan State
  2. Michigan
  3. North Dakota
  4. Western Michigan
  5. Quinnipiac
  6. Penn State
  7. Providence
  8. Denver
  9. Cornell
  10. Minnesota Duluth

Division I Men’s Lacrosse (via Inside Lacrosse poll) – (link)

  1. Maryland
  2. Syracuse
  3. Princeton
  4. Cornell
  5. Georgetown
  6. North Carolina
  7. Notre Dame
  8. Richmond
  9. Duke
  10. Ohio State

SECOND HAND, ERRR, CHANCE NEWS: In a category touching upon “you can’t make it up,” the POTUS pardoned five former NFL football players — one posthumously — for various crimes ranging from perjury to drug trafficking.

The pardons were announced by White House pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson just days after the NFL Super Bowl. Ex-NFL players Joe Klecko, Nate Newton, Jamal Lewis, Travis Henry and the late Billy Cannon were granted the clemency.

“As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation,” Johnson wrote on the social media site X.

Klecko, a former lineman for the New York Jets, pleaded guilty to perjury after lying to a federal grand jury that was investigating insurance fraud. A defensive lineman, Klecko was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Newton, an offensive lineman, pleaded guilty to a federal drug trafficking charge after authorities discovered $10,000 in his pickup truck as well as 175 pounds of marijuana in an accompanying car driven by another man. Newton was a two-time All-Pro player and six-time Pro Bowler.

Lewis, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, had previously pleaded guilty in a drug case in which he used a cellphone to try to set up a drug deal not long after he was a top pick in the 2000 NFL draft. Lewis, a running back, was named an All-Pro once and was a one-time Pro Bowler. He was named the 2003 AP Offensive Player of the Year.

Henry, who played for the Denver Broncos, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic cocaine for financing a drug ring that moved the drug between Colorado and Montana. He was a running back for three teams and a one-time Pro Bowl star.

Cannon, who played for the Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, admitted to counterfeiting in the mid-1980s after a series of bad investments and debts left him broke. He was a two-time All-Pro player and a two-time Pro Bowler. Cannon also won the 1959 Heisman Trophy while starring for Louisiana State University, where he had one of the most memorable plays in college football history: an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown against Ole Miss. He died in 2018.

MASCOT MANIA: For fans of Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and the event mascots, Milo and Tina, it’s been nearly impossible to find a plush toy of the stuffed siblings in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. … Many of the official Olympics stores in the host cities are already sold out, less than a week into the Winter Games. … “I think the only way to get them is to actually win a medal,” Julia Peeler joked Tuesday in central Milan, where Tina and Milo characters posed for photos with fans. The 38-year-old Peeler, from South Carolina, is on the hunt for the plushies for her niece. Buona fortuna – or Good luck.

LOOKING FORWARDS & BACKWARDS: This column is usually a forward-thinking document but today it’s important to look back to last week’s Super Bowl and the outstanding defensive performance by the Seattle Seahawks in their 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots. Credit must also be given to Seahawks QB Sam Darnold who threw for 202 yards and a TD to lead his club to the win while his running back Kenneth Walker III took MVP honors with a 27-carry, 135 yard performance which also added two catches for another 26 yards. … My forecast was for a New England victory with the Patriots’ defense making a game-long stand. … Seattle was far too good for the young Boston team, especially QB Drake Maye who was rushed, sacked, beaten and pummeled all day long. Seattle had the superior D and far superior team.

Looking forward, here’s a few dates and sporting events to circle:

  • February 18, 20-21 – Men’s Olympic Ice Hockey
  • February 19 – Women’s Olympic Ice Hockey medal round
  • February 25 – St. John’s at UConn (men’s basketball)
  • March 6-7 – MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (Boston)
  • March 11-14 – BIG EAST men’s basketball at MSG (New York)
  • March 15 – NCAA men’s Selection Sunday

Baseball at the Race Track

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BRISTOL (Tenn) – Saturday’s MLB Speedway Classic will break Major League Baseball’s all-time single-game attendance record, the league announced on Monday.

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More than 85,000 tickets have been sold for the game between the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves at Bristol Motor Speedway, the first MLB game ever played in Tennessee.

The current record for paid attendance is 84,587 set on Sept. 12, 1954, for a doubleheader at Cleveland Stadium between the then-Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees.

Fans from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and nine countries across four continents have purchased tickets for the game.

Hall of Famers representing both teams will throw out the ceremonial first pitches, Chipper Jones for the Braves and Johnny Bench for the Reds.

The Speedway Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports with the first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.

The current record for paid attendance is 84,587 set on Sept. 12, 1954, for a doubleheader at Cleveland Stadium between the then-Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees.

Fans from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and nine countries across four continents have purchased tickets for the game.

Hall of Famers representing both teams will throw out the ceremonial first pitches, Chipper Jones for the Braves and Johnny Bench for the Reds.

The Speedway Classic will be televised nationally by FOX Sports with the first pitch scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.

Beltre, Mauer, Helton – Hall of Famers

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COOPERSTOWN – (Staff and Wire Services) – Adrian Beltre, Joe Mauer and Todd Helton became the newest members of the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday night, when results of the balloting conducted by voting members of the Baseball Writers Association of America was announced by president Josh Rawitch at the plaque gallery inside the museum.

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Beltre, a star third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers from 1998-2018, earned a resounding 95.1 percent of the vote in his first year on the ballot.

Fellow first-ballot inductee Mauer, who played his entire career for his hometown Minnesota Twins from 2004-18, garnered 76.1 percent. His 293 votes were four more than the minimum needed to reach the 75 percent necessary for enshrinement.

Helton, a slugging first baseman who spent his 17-season career with the Colorado Rockies from 1997-2013, received 79.7 percent of the vote in his sixth season of eligibility.

Beltre, Mauer and Helton will be inducted along with former manager Jim Leyland — who was elected via the 16-member Contemporary Baseball Era Committee on Dec. 3 — in a ceremony scheduled for July 21 in Cooperstown.

Beltre and Mauer are the first pair of first-ballot inductees since Mariano Rivera and the late Roy Halladay were enshrined in 2019. The three-person class elected by the writers is also the largest since 2019, when Mike Mussina and Edgar Martinez were also elected.

Billy Wagner just missed with 73.8 percent of the vote in his penultimate season of eligibility. Gary Sheffield, in his 10th and final year on the ballot, finished at 63.9 percent.

Carlos Beltran, in his second year on the ballot, received 57.1 percent of the vote — up from 46.5 percent last year, when many believed he was being punished for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Chase Utley (28.8 percent) led the remaining debut candidates.

Beltre, the only third baseman to finish with at least 400 homers and 3,000 hits, is sure to wear a Rangers hat on his plaque after he concluded his career with an impressive eight-year stint in Arlington, Texas, that solidified his first-ballot status. While with Texas, he made three All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and finished in the top 10 in the American League MVP balloting four times while hitting .304 with 199 homers and 1,277 hits.

Beltre finished his 21-year MLB career as a .286 batter with 477 homers, 1,707 RBIs, 3,166 hits and 848 walks.

Mauer played all 15 seasons with the Twins and built his Hall of Fame case while spending his first 10 seasons behind the plate. The native of nearby St. Paul won three batting titles and three Gold Gloves as well as the AL MVP in 2009, when he set career highs with a .365 average, 28 homers and 96 RBIs. Mauer spent his final five seasons at first base following a series of concussions.

Another one-team icon, Helton earned induction on his sixth year on the ballot and will become the second Colorado Rockies player in the Hall of Fame, joining former teammate Larry Walker in Cooperstown. Helton batted above .300 in his first 10 full MLB seasons and finished his career with a .316 average along with 369 homers. He led the NL with a .372 average and 147 RBIs in 2000.

Wagner’s 422 saves rank sixth all-time. The diminutive left-hander made seven All-Star teams and averaged 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings, the highest figure ever among pitchers to throw at least 900 innings.

Sheffield, a slugger known for his bat waggle and ferocious yet controlled swing, hit 509 homers and finished in the top 10 of the MVP balloting six times for five different teams.

Andruw Jones, a defensive whiz as well as a potent batter, received 61.6 percent on his seventh year on the ballot.

–By Jerry Beach, Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – On Baseball Free Agency

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

BOSTON – Los Angeles Dodgers recent free agent signee, Shohei Ohtani, will collect seven hundred million over 10 years but only $2m a year in compensation with the rest – some $68m a year – to come in a record-setting deferral deal that might make former New York Mets and MLB journeyman Bobby Bonilla blush.

Of course, Bonilla “only” collects $1.19m a year, but does so until 2035. That’s not bad for a guy who hasn’t played an inning since 2001, but it signified a system gone mad in 2001. Now, 23 years later Major League Baseball has a full scale systematic player contract crisis on its hands.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have three of the top five hitters in baseball – none of them home grown – but still with a farm system often considered the envy of baseball clubs everywhere. Mookie Betts (2B/OF) was acquired through a trade with the Boston Red Sox. He promptly signed an extension with the Dodgers and will pocket $392m over 13 years. Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman (1B) signed a paltry six year, $162m deal with the Dodgers in 2022, a year after leading his only other team, the Atlanta Braves, to an MLB championship and two years after receiving the Most Valuable Player award for the National League.

That leads us to Shohei Ohtani – a generational two-way superstar – who signed as a free agent just after the Baseball Winter Meetings and set the salary scale on fire with the reported $700m deal. But just this week, The Athletic reported Ohtani’s deal was a smoke and mirrors cash-deferment deal of a lifetime, with the deferred money to be paid out without interest from 2034 to 2043. That’s quite a retirement plan for a guy who reportedly earns $50m a year in off-field endorsements, a number sure to rise.

With another generational player, Dodgers longtime starter Clayton Kershaw recovering from shoulder surgery and technically a free agent himself, the Ohtani deal is structured to provide salary flexibility to the Dodgers with free-agent Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the crosshairs. Former Tampa ace Tyler Glasnow fell in the Dodgers’ blue line, signing a five-year, $136.5 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Dodgers that makes official the trade of Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot from the Tampa Bay Rays to Los Angeles, the Dodgers announced Saturday.

The LA-Tampa deal ends right-handed starter Ryan Pepiot and outfield prospect Jonny Deluca to the Rays. it was contingent upon Glasnow signing an extension. The window to do so opened Thursday morning, and the parties quickly came together with the framework of a deal that will tack four years and $111.5 million in new money onto the $25 million Glasnow was owed for the 2024 season.

There is no deferred money in Glasnow’s deal.

Wrote The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal this week, “The usual howls are coming. The large-market teams end up with all the best players. A $700 million contract is outrageous. Baseball needs a salary cap.

“We’ve been hearing this talk for years. The small-market frustration, to a degree, is understandable. But the most expensive teams — see the 2023 Mets, Yankees and Padres — do not always win.”

Yes, Ken, Baseball DOES need a better salary structure system – aka – a Collective Bargaining agreement that allows all major league teams to deal from the same deck of cards. But, as we know, Baseball’s super-agent Marvin Miller-esque Players Association will have no part of a structured system similar to the NBA, NHL or NFL. Baseball wants to be the wild west just they way Miller, the late architect of Baseball’s free agency and unlimited team salary operating system, wanted it to be before he passed away in 2012, but face it – the system is broken.

The only recourse for MLB teams is to draft wisely, build the farm system and strike it rich with a dozen home grown players, all playing under their original contracts.

IDEAS FOR A BETTER TEAM SALARY CAP SYSTEMS: Is it within reason for Baseball to solve its rich team/poor team issue of team salary with a league-wide system that can finally place all 30 MLB teams on even ground. Baseball would need to have 40 “Salary Slots” to spread across each 40-man roster to distribute the average team salary of $122,724,208 or $3.068m per man? Of course, paying all players the average would not fly, nor would it be right.

In general, this entire idea wouldn’t fly with the tight knit MLB Players Association. They pride themselves on total free agency and arbitration for players who can’t agree with their teams on fair terms.

But, for argument sake, take the $122,724,208 average team salary figure and place 10 of the 40 players on the current MLB minimum salary of $720,000 per year. That would subtract $7,200,000. from the team salary figure, and rounding off it would leave $115,524,000 to be distributed to 30 “slots” for players. The slots would begin at 18% of team salary and wind down gradually.

If the best player – Slot #1 took 18% of the team salary, he would earn $20,794,320. That would leave $94,729,680 for 29 others. If Slot #2 took 15%, he would earn $14,209,452 per year, leaving $80,520,228 for the remaining players. … The percentages would lessen, as would the salary of players decreased and the slots would diminish from #3 to #30. nFor ownership, salary and cost certainty for payroll would be determined and team looking to make trades would have a simple mechanism to trade slot-for-slot or slot for a combination of slots. The trading of future Draft Picks for a player would be an exception and the team receiving the draft pick(s) would need to slot in the respective proposed salary of the player from the slots they have open. They would be given three years to do that. This system might result in difficult team decisions to trade away one of their current players or cut a player to fit someone new into their hierarchy. In some cases, it might force another trade.

Injury exceptions would need to be reviewed by independent doctors and a player might need to be replaced with a free agent assuming his spot or a minimum wage player coming on board and subjecting his team to bump everyone up one “slot.”

Two-way players who can go up and down from the minors to the majors would be limited to three call-ups in a given year, or the player would earn minimum.

Reducing length of contracts to five years would be a must, maybe negotiate for four.

When recruiting free agents, a club GM could say, “I have an expiring contract at “Slot 3” and it might be a “take it or leave it” situation. Some veteran players might take a lower slot in order to play as the sixth man or seventh man on a championship contender.

The salary structure and full team salary would increase with increases in revenue and In-Season Tournament and NBA Playoff shares would be in addition to the regular season system.

Let the negotiating begin.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: What have we heard in Foxboro all week? “We’re getting ready for Kansas City.” … In San Antonio, the Spurs snapped a 17-game losing streak on Friday night, that’s (0-16 in a row) and (4-20 for the season) for longtime coach Gregg Popovich who is undergoing a total rebuild around 2023 No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama. Yes, Bill Belichick is (3-10), coming off a miracle win in Pittsburgh and going into a tough match-up this weekend against the KC Chiefs (8-5) at Gillette Stadium. Pop won the NBA Lottery last season after going (22-60) and the forecast doesn’t look very good for this season with only the Detroit Pistons rivaling the lowly Spurs.

Two of the most decorated coaches in the history of their respective sports are feeling the pressure that comes from losing. In Boston, rumors surfaced midweek that Patriots team owner Robert Kraft had already made up his mind to part ways with Belichick, with that decision coming after a loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany.

The problem with that report? No sources were cited and Belichick did not comment or directly answer any questions, defaulting to his usual monotone response about his next NFL opponent.

Last weekend, both Belichick and Kraft appeared on ESPN’s College Gameday prior to the Army/Navy Gam played at Gillette. With Kraft situated front and center on the Gameday set, ESPN radio host Pat McAfee put Kraft in an awkward position, stating: “I don’t envy your position, what’s about to happen. We all know, we don’t have to ask.”

The lack of a reply from Kraft, call it the silence, was deafening.

In San Antonio, the waters are much calmer and all indication is that Popovich will make any and all career decisions on his own.

Don’t expect changes in Foxboro or on the Riverwalk anytime soon.

DRAY: Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green earned an indefinite suspension this past week when he clocked Jusuf Nurkić, center of the Phoenix Suns, after the two were tangled up on an in-bounds play. Green was hit with an indefinite suspension by the NBA less than 24 hours after the incident and the NBA noted, “This outcome takes into account Green’s repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts.” … “Green’s suspension will begin immediately. He will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play.” … An indefinite suspension. That’s a five alarm fire in the NBA. Rightfully so for such a cheap shot and it coming in a play of tangled-up arms that happens three or four times a game, easily. Green’s most recent suspension, a five-gamer, came after he entered the fray of an altercation with the up and coming Minnesota Timberwolves and placed opposing center Rudy Gobert in a blind-side head-lock as he walked Gobert away. … While I’d love to see the NBA Players Association volley-in with an opinion on proper discipline for one union member cold cocking another union member, we’d all wait until the ghost of the deceased former executive director Larry Fleisher to appear before that would ever happen. It will be left for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and NBA senior-veep of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars to opine the length of a suspension that will surely approach 10-games. That would put Green in the sin bin until a January 4, 2024 game against the Denver Nuggets. That length of suspension is reasonable, considering the situation, but it will come after the NBA and the Warriors consult on a plan going forward. We’re unlikely to hear a syllable from Green’s former teammate, Andre Iguodala, now serving as Acting Executive Director for the NBPA. Iguadola, a class act to be sure, replaced Tamika Tremaglio, who had served in the role of Executive Director since January 2021.

Prince = The Greatest (Photo by Getty Images)

TIDBITS: Who decided that just because “Up With People” was joined by the Southeast Missouri Marching Band and Anita Bryant at Super Bowl V (1971) that every damn sports event needs to include a miniature rock show at halftime or, in the case of the NHL Stadium Series (Met Life Stadium – February 17), a pregame concert? On Wednesday, the NHL thrilled all by announcing the Jonas Brothers would play before the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers face off in New Jersey. The Jonas Brothers hit The Disney Channel in 2005 right out of Wyckoff, NJ and it took three years for them to be nominated as “Best New Artist” at the 2008 GRAMMYs.

Honestly, do you think the Jonas Brothers are going to sell a single ticket to the grizzled fans of the Philadelphia Flyers or New Jersey Devils? The NHL would be far better off by offering cold Philly pretzels and a packet of mustard for every fan paying for parking at Met Life.

The last time a musical act tipped the scales of entertainment at a sporting event was 2017 when Hamilton star Daveed Diggs, DJ Jazzy Jeff, actor Michael B. Jordan, Jidenna, and Run D.M.C.‘s Darryl McDaniels joined The Roots for the NBA All-Star Game and the introduction of the stars.

Before that, roll the calendar back to 2007 when Prince did the halftime act of all-time at Super Bowl XLI in Miami (in the rain, no less). The NFL should’ve retired the tradition right then and there. Prince will never be topped, and that’s coming from a big fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (2009), The Rolling Stones (2006), The Who (2010), Tom Petty (2008), and even Beyoncé (2013).

But, the Jonas Brothers?

TLs Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 2, 2022

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While We’re Young (Ideas)

DIGGIES 2022 and Suggestion Box for Baseball

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Back by popular demand, we give you the very first “DIGGIES 2022,” the top start-ups, new companies and other assorted things to anticipate with great expectations in 2022. One thing you can be assured of, Theranos will NOT be on the list.

To begin, we’ll start you off with a “Lucky 7” DIGGIES in sports investments.

Guru.Club – Remember where you “heard it first,” as Guru Club will be making a major impact in dozens of verticals, including sports, ticket sales, and everything associated with the industry. The Boston-based brand loyalty and new wave/social advertising start-up has very reasonable prices and room for growth for all brands.

HYDROW – Boston-based HYDROW is to rowing as Peloton is to cycling, complete with a monthly fee/membership to experience new and innovative content. HYDROW has been a product, engineered and marketed to the very serious “Head of the Charles” level rower. CEO Bruce Smith competed and coached in the Head of the Charles and 2015 World Championships.

Nex/Homecourt – Parent company Nex has two products and one is Homecourt, an application that allows young basketball players to train smarter, learn from the pros, and gear their training while improving skills that are applicable to NBA Combine level. Nex investors include Samsung, Blue Pool Capital, Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment, Alibaba Entrepreneurship Fund, NBA, soccer great Thierry Henry, WNBA and USA Basketball legend Sue Bird, Harvard star and NBA phenom, now playing in China Jeremy Lin, former NBA MVP and current Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash, baseball legend Albert Pujols, actor and entrepreneur Will Smith, Steven Chen, co-founder YouTube, Matt Mullenweg, Co-Founder WordPress, RohamGharegozlou, Founder, Dapper Labs, NBA TopShot, Mark Cuban, team owner, Dallas Mavericks, and executives from Facebook, Uber, YouTube, Disney, and MasterClass.

PGA TOUR Brunch – A brand you’ve read about before in this column, the six days a week e-News to your Inbox is designed to give PGA Tour fans a mobile-first, and mobile-friendly tournament previews, betting odds, news updates and the most important links to content to save you time as you read the news on your device over lunch, brunch or whenever. Compiled and written by this reporter (Terry Lyons) who enjoys weekly competition in a couple Fantasy Golf leagues, too. Sign-Up or gift PGA TOUR Brunch to your favorite golfer or PGA TOUR fan and receive a special 205 discount by visiting HERE. (Notification: PGA Tour Brunch is not affiliated with the Tour and is a publication by Digital Sports Desk and TERRY LYONS)

Real Response – Real Response is designed to help sports organizations empower their student-athletes and give them the tools needed as the marketing world changes via Name, Image and Likeness opportunities (and eventual regulation). RealResponse partners with over 100 collegiate institutions and athletic organizations like the NFL Players Association, and USA Gymnastics. Through surveys, real-time reporting, and a comprehensive documentation repository, Real Response provided over 50,000 athletes a safe space to deliver concerns and feedback to their administration(s) and reps.

ShotTracker – A ‘not too’ oldie but goodie, here, Shot Tracker is growing its influence. ShotTracker is a sensor-based system that automatically captures statistical and performance analytics for (mostly men’s and women’s basketball) teams in real-time. Up-to-the-minute shot charts, optimal lineups, box scores in game, all streaming instantly into coaches and/or video assistants hands. the late David Stern was on it early, via Greycroftinvestment arm, and now Magic Johnson, Seventy-Six Capital and a host of others are onboard.

Too Good To Go – A global start-up from Europe, now expanding in the USA. They work with Restaurants, Bakeries, Grocery Stores and Households to combat the waste of good food. There’s certainly a future application for sports venues, caterers, and vendors.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Between college and pro basketball, a few Bowl games, a slew of NHL games, along with airline flights, there’s been more cancellations than a postmaster detailing stamps at the Post Office. Everyone from bus drivers to vendors to NBA referees are quarantining after positive tests from any and all variants of the COVID-19 virus, but somehow, the band plays on.

Schedule makers in the NHL might have an easier time making up lost games, as they now have the gap in the original schedule, pre piously being held for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. … College conferences will struggle mightily to find dates to reschedule games and we’re already seeing games that were previously planned to be played in the big time sports arenas, now being relegated to the small on-campus gyms. That’s bad for season ticket holders, but possibly good for added home court advantage but the idea of seeing a packed house in Seton Hall’s tiny Walsh Gymnasium screams super-spreader.

THE BOWLS: The concept, formerly known as the College Football Bowl Season, is in deep trouble. Not only are teams cancelling because of COVID-19 concerns (which is unavoidable at this point in time), but the changing tides of college football result more and more in bowl teams arriving without their head coach, a defensive coordinator (who took on a job opportunity elsewhere) or star players who opt-out of the bowl game to work with professional trainers and strength and conditioning coaches to better prepare for the NFL Combine and Draft.

This column tries best not to be by-lined by Captain Obvious, but a MAJOR change needs to be made and the powers-that-be in college athletics and college football need to act now, rather than later.

There is no simple solution.

One thought is to expand the College Football Playoff system from four to 16 teams and draw a line in the turf right there. Only 16 college football teams would qualify for post-season and four pods of four teams each would be established to create a “Final Four” scenario that we currently enjoy.

Purists – a.k.a. lovers of the Bahamas Bowl, the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl or the Jimmy Kimmel Bowl – might lament. The option there would be to create a college football version of the “National Invitational Tournament” (NIT) and have an “on-campus” game or two to create the NIT Final Four which could be played in the likes of Dayton Ohio or Las Vegas.

The NCAA would also have to create a “No Fly Zone” or moratorium against the hiring or firing of college football coaches from November through January 15.

Michigan and Georgia at the Orange Bowl (Photo by Jeff Goldstein)

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: If the College Bowl Season is broken in two, Major League Baseball has been smashed to pieces.

Currently in lock-out mode, MLB players are working-out on their own and have 42 days until Pitchers & Catchers report for Spring Training. Negotiations are on-going for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement to govern the sport for years to come and the process might become quite painful for both team owners and players.

There are drastic steps that need to be taken in the next agreement. Here are a few:

  1. SALARY CAP SYSTEM: MLB, like football, basketball and hockey before it, must negotiate a Salary Cap (minimum and maximum team salary structure) to govern the Majors. Unless on-field miracles occur, there’s easily 15-20 MLB teams that have little to no chance of competing for a World Series title. Every year, there’s one or two surprise teams that might make the Wild Card playoffs and ride a “hot” pitching or a few “hot” bats, but for the most part, the system is so broken, only the big time teams can compete. A Salary Cap system seems unavoidable, but the MLB Players Association will fight, claw and scream their way out of any collective agreement that includes team salary limits, and curtailing the free agency market.
  2. RULES: MLB must address the designated hitter, the extra-inning rules brought on by COVID-19, including seven-inning doubleheaders and the man-on-second-base rule for extra innings. I’d go with the DH in both leagues and that would be a major “get” for the Union as the jobs of aging players unable to play the field would be protected for all 30 teams. On the others, I’d lean hard against the seven-inning twin bills and the “man-on-second-base” rule. Additionally, there needs to be major change in the way relief pitchers are being utilized. While the purists can claim that MLB managers should be able to do whatever it takes to win a ballgame, the use of eight-to-10 pitchers every game is excessive and the TV audience simply tunes out. The DH should go one way or the other. In or out. (It’s currently only in the American League and has been since 1973. That’s 49 years of inequity. … The pace of play also comes in under the area of game rules that need to be addressed in the CBA. Recent reports have noted the Office of Baseball and the MLB Players have been meeting/discussing non-economic or core issues. Here’s a “Six/Fix” for Baseball:
    • Suggestion One: No mound visits in the first three innings unless a pitcher is going to be removed from the game. (Of course, MLB Trainers can assist a pitcher if there’s an injury from a come-backer).
    • Suggestion Two: Limit the number of pitchers to be ‘active” for any one game. Ten or 12 pitchers max. Others can be healthy scratches, ready for the next game.
    • Suggestion Three: Limit shifting. Each position would have a range of space where the defensive players can be positioned. The range could be on electronic notification that would “beep” in a players’ fielding glove if he approached his space limitation area.
    • Suggestion Four: Address bench-clearing. Bench clearing brawls in Baseball are often no more than pushing-shoving or square-dancing, but there’s always the potential for an all-out “Rudy T” moment and serious injury. There is NO REASON players should leave the dugout. a minimum 20-game suspensions would take care of it. Second offense? How about 50 games?
    • Suggestion Five: Bench clearing from the bullpen is just ridiculous. It’s the easiest fix of the bunch. If a reserve pitcher/catcher/coach leaves a bullpen area during an altercation, Baseball should be able to suspend the player for 50 games.
    • Suggestions Six: (This might sound ridiculous, but a cumulative 10-15 minutes every game is spent as batters nervously re-adjust their batting gloves for every pitch). Once a player steps in the batter’s box, he can no longer adjust his batting gloves. Period. First infraction, a warning. Second infraction? Off come the batting gloves for the rest of the game.

 

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Unit Exec Director Tony Clark

Baseball Series: The Shot Heard Around a Local Neighborhood

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By TERRY LYONS

ATLANTA – Welcome to Game 3 of the Unincorporated Community of Cumberland Series. After two games at the Harris County Series, Major League Baseball will stage its first pitch of the first truly local, everyday series with the Harris County Astros tied with the Cumberland Braves, 1-game apiece.

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Gone are the days of the World Series and amazing feats like the Miracle of Coogan’s Bluff which brought the 1951 NY Giants to an early version of the Local Series, called a Subway Series which was lost to the New York Yankees in six games. Gone are “I can’t believe what I just saw” moments, as no one will see it.

“We don’t market our game on a nationwide basis,” said Manfred as the series opened in Harris County, Texas. “Ours is an everyday game, you’ve got to sell tickets every single day to the fans in that market. And there are all sorts of differences among the clubs among the regions as to how the games are marketed.”

That is certainly true and to be fair to MLB and Manfred, he was explaining how every MLB club must compete in each MLB town to attract fans, sell tickets and get TV eye-balls on their regular season games. It’s a difficult task multiplied by 81 home games in the heat of summer, the cold dampness of April in the northern USA cities and the sad reality of being 20 games back in September for the cellar-dwellers.

Manfred was defending MLBs attempt to be “apolitical,” Yet, and in all seriousness, with the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 World Series, baseball found itself in the State of Georgia where they left this summer’s All-Star Game behind to make a stand against the obvious voter suppression laws being enacted by state lawmakers in reaction to the upset election of two Democratic United States Senators (Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock) in a State run by a Republican governor. The All-Star Game went to Denver, Colorado and baseball found itself right, smack in the middle of politics in these formerly United States.

Apolitical?

Let me say this,” Manfred said. “It’s harder than it used to be. It sure is.”

That brings us to the Braves, the club name and the (adopted from the Florida State Seminole fans) Tomahawk “Chop.”

“We have 30 markets around the country. They’re not all the same,” said Manfred. “The Native American community in that region is fully supportive of the Braves program, including the chop. And for me, that’s kind of the end of the story.”

Note to PR practitioners: When someone hoping to end a story says it’s “kind of the end of the story,” the public relations people still have a story and potential crisis on their hands.

While scores of athletic programs (college mostly) dropped mascots and program nicknames like, “Warriors, Redmen, and Indians,” and the North Dakota Fighting Sioux dropped their college nickname and have yet to replace it, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish look on.  Two professional teams found themselves as the major focal points of the politically incorrect position of promoting their franchises as the Cleveland Indians (MLB) and the Washington Redskins (NFL).

The Redskins made the PC move to become the Washington Football Team two seasons ago but are yet to come up with a suitable team name. The Cleveland Indians made the announcement that they would become the Cleveland Guardians but were recently sued in U.S. District Court by a Roller Derby team claiming ownership of the word “Guardians.”

No matter what the case may be, someone, somewhere and somehow will be offended – some rightfully and others trying to make a fuss or a buck but the Braves and Astros will play Game 3 of the Series of the pastime formerly known as national.

Wild Card Could’ve Been an Ace

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Red Sox Host Yankees in AL “One & Done”

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Oh what a difference eight games has made. Fresh in their minds, the Red Sox have the recent series loss of blowing two-of-three to Baltimore from September 28-30, but do you remember those three straight games lost to those same Orioles to start the season? Then there was the other recent would’a, could’a, should’a – the devastating three-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees September 24-28. That’s eight games in the loss column right there.

The 2021 Boston Red Sox rarely lost three games in a row during the season, but when they did, they were clinkers, for sure.

Three losses to the rival Yanks (August 17-18) cost them dearly, as did dropping 12-of-15 in a mid-summer swoon from July 28 to August 10th. That midseason debacle included five losses in six games against the 100-win Tampa Bay Rays, the champions of the American League East.

In Major League Baseball, it’s the price you pay for losing important games during the season while still managing to win an impressive 92 games. Both the Sox and the Yanks finished 92-70 and earned the right to play a single-elimination game on Bill James‘ birthday.

The 92 wins bounced the powerful Toronto Blue Jays (91-71) and the September red-hot Seattle Mariners (90-72) from wild card contention. Those two teams will be looking back at the 162-game schedule and lamenting opportunities lost and saves blown. It is not the last we will hear from the young, talented and offensive juggernaut Blue Jays, that is for sure.

It could be worse, as the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in this one-and-done Fall Foolishness after winning 106 regular season games, one shy of the 107-55 San Francisco Giants, the surprise team of this year of COVID-19+2. Can you imagine? winning 106 games, second-most in the majors and being subject to the one-game boot, depending on the performances of LA’s Max Scherzer and St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright.

While contemplating all the ‘game of inches’ aspects of Baseball, a thought made famous by Hyman Roth in The Godfather, Part II, and said to myself, “This is the business we’ve chosen.” The rules were written in plain English before the start of the season and the results are clear.

Playing in a Major League Baseball wild card game could be replaced by dozens of other mechanisms to determine a true postseason participant. “Spin-the-Bottle” might be appropriate and quite easy to orchestrate if you had 18 players stand in a circle, the starting nine for each team alternating one by one. A sponsor, such as Bud Light, would eat it up, if MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred chugged a beer, put down the long neck and gave it a spin to decide if the Red Sox or Yanks would advance to a “real series.” Winner plays on Thursday night on FS-1, if you can find it on your dial.

Maybe the Bruins and Rangers could settle the wild card, competing in an NHL-style shoot-out on behalf of their brethren. After all, one-on-one breakaways to settle a hockey game is even more ridiculous than spin-the-bottle or a one-game elimination after 162 game season, isn’t it?

How about jump shots from the top of the key? Boston would pick Larry Bird to represent the Red Sox and the Knicks? Well, Charles Oakley, or even better, Ken “The Animal” Bannister, might do well for Go New York, Go New York, Go!

The fact of the matter is that these “One-and-done-tobers” might go the way of the “No Pepper” signs, as MLB is contemplating a 16-team postseason to be enacted as early as 2022. The future first round would be best-of-three series which seems a bit more reasonable, although not great. The problem at hand for MLB, the season can’t begin any earlier in March nor end any later into November, unless Canada Goose becomes the official uniform supplier.

The club owners and the television networks want more programming. The players want more money. The fans will get what MLB serves up, and chances are, they’ll like it. After all, it can all boil down to one pitch, one blown save, one Baltimore chop single, or one Steve Bartman fan-interference fiasco.

Baseball. It’s a game of inches and first pitch is 8:09pm (EDT) tonight.