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Wash Wizards Always Innovating

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WASH DC – (Staff Report from Official Team News Release) – The Washington Wizards are launching of the “Wizards 529” season ticket plan for the upcoming 2025-26 NBA season. This limited-quantity package offers fans full access to all 41 home games for just $529 – less than $13 per game. Designed as an innovative and affordable season ticket option, the “529 Plan” includes reserved seating in select value sections, along with early access to marquee matchups, exclusive fan events, and loyalty incentives.

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Inspired by both the Wizards’ youth movement and the widely recognized 529 college savings plan, the “529 Plan” encourages fans to invest in the future of D.C. basketball.  Tailored for first-time season ticket buyers, students, families, and young professionals, the package offers an accessible and affordable long-term way to witness the next era of the Wizards, and the growth of the game in the nation’s capital firsthand.

“Our Basketball leadership is building a talented roster for the future, and we want our fans to be part of that journey,” said Hunter Lochmann, Monumental Sports and Entertainment Chief Marketing Officer. “Just like a 529 savings plan, this ticket package is all about smart investing – in this case, investing in the future of D.C. basketball.”

In addition, the Wizards’ College Series and Student Rush ticket packages are returning for the 2025-26 season. The College Series features a 10-game lineup highlighted by UNC, UVA, UMD, and Pittsburgh, and purchases include a limited edition, co-branded school and Wizards Hawaiian shirt, while supplies last. Student Rush presented by Chick-fil-A, will be offered for select home games throughout the season, with tickets starting at just $15. Students will also receive a Chick-fil-A meal voucher with their purchase.

Washington will also have custom player designed giveaways. On Nov. 25, the first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive pajama pants designed by guard Bub Carrington. Fans can also take home a City Edition themed hat designed by second-year man AJ Johnson on Feb. 3.

This season, the Wizards will host a variety of theme nights. For the second consecutive season, Washington will host Hoops & Hounds Night presented by Brandywine Valley SPCA on Feb. 22, inviting fans and their dog to watch the Wizards vs. Hornets matchup at Capital One Arena. In addition, the SPCA will be on the concourse with dogs available for adoption. Further details will be announced later in the season.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 19

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St. John’s is issuing “Replica Rings” to longtime fans (file photo)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – As the 2025-26 college basketball season is now underway (St. John’s defeated Towson, 73-63, in a Saturday afternoon exhibition at Carnesecca Arena in Queens), there’s a new kid in town as some major Div I basketball programs appoint celebrity (and full time) General Managers to the mix of coaches, assistant coaches, graduate assistants and other assorted people on the team bus.

Boston Celtics great Jayson Tatum (recovering from an injured Achilles) made some headlines in Boston and Durham, North Carolina when he and Duke University announced the NBA All-Star would be the new GM of the Blue Devils. Tatum will still keep his “daytime” job as a star player for the NBA Celtics as he works his way back into playing, jumping, sprinting and full court defensive condition. Tatum’s rehab and therapy session are reportedly ahead of schedule for a possible return come NBA Playoff time.

But Tatum lending his name, his game and his money to the Duke University basketball program follows a very interesting trend which is not new to this season but trending upward as the money flows into collegiate sports.

Back in April of 2023, Villanova Vice President and Director of Athletics Mark Jackson announced the creation of a new position, General Manager of Basketball, and named former Wildcats’ Associate Head Coach Baker Dunleavy to fill the role.

There were a sprinkling of others which led to the big scoop. St. Bonaventure alum and multi-million dollar earner Adrian Wojnarowski left his mobile device and his 24/7 job as an NBA Insider for ESPN, dropped the serious coin and became the GM of men’s basketball for his alma mater. It was more of less a dream “retirement” job where Woj can still work 24 hours a day, but rather than scoop San Antonio Spurs leads, he can improve the Bonnies’ chances of making the big Dance. Surely, he’ll get some good tips on up & coming talent from RC, right?

Davidson basketball GM Austin Buntz spent several years at Under Armour, and originally joined Davidson’s athletic department in the fundraising department. But he’s recently moved over into the GM role, which he describes as “an extension” of the coaching staff.

Buntz was “one-upped” when Golden State Warriors guard and Davidson Wildcats’ most famous alum, Stephen Curry, signed on as defacto GM. Curry, at the direction of Coach Bob McKillop, led the 2008 Davidson team to a wild ride through March Madness only to fall a game away from the Final Four. And, while Curry fell short in college he made up for it in the pro game as an 11-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA champion, in addition to his three-time USA Basketball gold with the senior national team at the Paris Olympics (2024) and twice at the Worlds (2010-Turkey; 2014-Spain).

Curry lending his name and frequent appearances on campus helps build the Davidson brand globally while raising much needed money for NIL, and general expenses, noting the small collection of alum from such a small Carolina school.

Think that’s enough? How about other active NBA players like Portland’s Damian Lilliard as a GM for Weber State; Brooklyn’s Terance Mann helping out at Florida State; Atlanta’s Trae Young lending a GM hand at Oklahoma.

It’s not just hoops, either, as Andrew Luck is a football GM for his alma mater, Stanford; Michael Lombardi has an active, day-to-day gig as GM with Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels and former NFL head coach Ron Riviera is lending a hand at Cal, all according to a short list assembled by The Old Gray Lady,” The New York Times by way of its sports subsidiary, The Athletic.

For major change, however, college athletic departments, as a whole, need to operate in similar fashion as a pro franchise, complete with a pro mentality of investing in their product, staffing up properly – especially in ticket sales – more facility and game operation improvements, along with front office savvy. Of course, the initial investment is something college ADs refuse to entertain, so they dip their toe in the water, a bit, as long as the newly created positions come with a major donation. to the “U.”

The changes need to be much more substantial. Colleges and the NCAA have long kept a straight arm up against the professional sports leagues, citing the need for compliance and keeping their products squeaky clean and far away from the big bad wolf of professionalism and money.

Well, the barn door blew wide open when the NCAA lost its case to Ed O’Bannon and the world of N.I.L. hit the colleges like a cold slap in the face. No longer could the payments go under the table or in FedEx envelopes to addresses unknown. As it’s been written here before, Now, It was Legal (NIL). Let the Vitamin Water guy (Mike Repole) fund coach Rick Pitino’s St. John’s starting five and some.

GM positions for college basketball are the perfect example of what is really needed. Instead of the head coach making each and every decision as it relates to his program, a trusted GM – even one reporting on a dotted line to both the basketball coach and the AD – can accomplish much more, especially in season. A good GM can run a much better and deeper scouting department (both high school prospects and potential transfer portal options, never mind the upcoming oppenents.

A good GM can make 10 decisions a day that the head coach need not concern himself with at any level. It would free-up time for the coach to coach his team and better prepare for the next game. In addition to a good GM, college coaches for both basketball and football should have a right hand man to clear and guard his/her schedule for the most important activities. If the school marketing department needs a photo shoot, schedule it through the right hand man. If the development office needs some meet and greets on a road trip, run it through the right hand man to best schedule the task. That way, it’s sure to get done and the head coach doesn’t get five calls from five different people for the same requirement/obligation.

The big question is whether the power hungry, control everything head coaches, who control all aspects of basketball and football, will yield their power and responsibilities to a newfound colleague or not?

Of course, football and basketball are the revenue generators but a more professional approach needs to take place within every sport and the athletic office as a whole.

Can the colleges and college conferences make sacrifices for the greater good of college sports as a whole?

Along with the schools moving ahead, the NCAA and individual college conferences need to call a cease fire and form a truce. No more raiding each others’ colleges until a fair and universal approach can be negotiated. In other words, will the NCAA or the colleges have the clout, or will the NCAA be relegated only to run post season play?

The BIG EAST Conference will gather industry leaders this week to discuss the “Future of College Basketball” (Monday, Oct. 20, from 2:00 to 5:30pm (ET), at the Empire State Building), a day ahead of BIG EAST Basketball Media Day on Tuesday, Oct. 21st.

The seminar will start with a “One-on-One” with NCAA president and former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker who will sit down with Bonnie Bernstein, a former reporter for CBS and ESPN and now Founder/CEO, of Walk Swiftly Productions.

There will be four additional panel discussions which are all listed in the BIG EAST agenda – HERE.

The BIG question for Big Charlie – will he re-establish the NCAA and his own power to rule over all of college athletics or will he allow each conference to run amok the way things have been going, which resulted in the Pac-10 imploding? Stanford and Cal playing in the ATLANTIC Coast Conference and other abnormal activities have turned college athletics into a very bad lesson in geography and business sense.

three white baseballs on gray textile

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: MLB’s Gold Gloves finalists were named earlier this week. These players are the best defensive gloves in the game of baseball. Players from the Boston Red Sox are in BOLD.

American League

P – Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers; Max Fried, New York Yankees; Luis Severino, The Athletics.

C – Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers; Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays; Carlos Narváez, Boston Red Sox.

1B – Ty France, Minnesota/Toronto; Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays; Carlos Santana, Cleveland Guardians.

2B – Andrés Giménez, Cleveland Guardians; Luis Rengifo, Los Angeles Angels; Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers.

3B – Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays; Maikel Garcia, Kansas City Royals; José Ramírez, Cleveland Guardians.

SS – Corey Seager, Texas Rangers; Taylor Walls, Tampa Bay Rays; Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals.

LF – Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians; Wyatt Langford, Texas Rangers; Tyler Soderstrom, The Athletics.

CF – Kyle Isbel, Kansas City Royals; Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox; Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners.

RF – Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox; Adolis García, Texas Rangers; Cam Smith, Houston Astros.

UTIL – Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays; Mauricio Dubón, Houston Astros; Daniel Schneemann, Cleveland Guardians.

National League

P – Matthew Boyd, Chicago Cubs; David Peterson, New York Mets; Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants.

C – Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants; Carson Kelly, Chicago Cubs; Luis Torrens, New York Mets.

1B – Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies; Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves; Spencer Steer, Cincinnati Reds.

2B – Xavier Edwards, Florida Marlins; Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs; Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers.

3B – Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pittsburg/Cincinnati; Ryan McMahon, Colorado/NY Yankees; Matt Shaw, Chicago Cubs.

SS – Nick Allen, Atlanta Braves; Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers; Masyn Winn, St. Louis Cardinals.

LF – Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs; Tommy Pham, Pittsburgh Pirates; Kyle Stowers, Florida Marlins.

CF – Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs; Victor Scott II, St. Louis Cardinals; Jacob Young, Washington Nationals.

RF – Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks; Sal Frelick, Milwaukee Brewers; Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres.

UTIL – Miguel Rojas, Los Angeles Dodgers; Javier Sanoja, Florida Marlins; Jared Triolo, Pittsburgh Pirates.

Winners will be announced on November 2nd.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Formula-1 racing dumped ESPN to sign a five-year deal with Apple TV. While the fringe sports trend towards big money and long term deals with streaming services, they fall short with the ability to extend their audience/reach. F-1 can kiss nightly/weekly news highlights on SportsCenter goodbye.

In other words, the ESPN TV coverage of F-1 will be as terse as their parting shot statement after the Apple TV deal was announced: “We’re incredibly proud of what we and Formula 1 accomplished together in the United States and look forward to a strong finish in this final season. We wish F-1 well in the future.”

Sort of an F-U to F-1?

Speaking of ESPN, many an NBA fan expressed some outright glee when former Golden State team GM and now former NBA on ESPN studio analyst Bob Myers took a lofty position as president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment – the parent company for the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA), New Jersey Devils (NHL), Washington DC Commanders (NFL) and The Prudential Center in Newark (home of the NJ Devils).

“Our goal has been to hire, grow, and retain the best and brightest executives in the world and we are a stronger, more dynamic organization with the addition of Bob Myers,” Harris and Blitzer said in a statement.

Myers was already working as a senior advisor on the Commanders’ reorganization plans.

Let’s see if the Commanders, Sixers and Devils can get one of the greatest players in their respective sports with the seventh pick of the draft?

Miami’s Erik Spoelstra was named head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team through 2028. Spoelstra was selected by USA Basketball’s Men’s National Team managing director Grant Hill and was approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.

In addition to an Olympic gold coaching effort as an assistant coach at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Spoelstra was an assistant coach to Steve Kerr at the 2023 FIBA Men’s World Cup, where the USA finished fourth. He also served as head of the 2021 USA Basketball Men’s Select Team, which trained alongside the 2020 USA Men’s National Team ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Spoelstra is the perfect choice for this time and place, but it’s sort of amazing his boss, Pat Riley, never had an opportunity to coach the USA at the Olympic Games.

Celtics Sign Harper, Jr. to 2-Way Deal

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Celtics announced the player contract for guard-forward Ron Harper Jr. was converted to a two-way contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced. The slot opened when the Celtics waived R.J. Luis – the 2025 BIG EAST Player of the Year – was waived on October 15.

Harper Jr. (6-5, 233) has appeared in 56 career regular season G League games (49 starts) across three seasons with Toronto (2022-24), Maine (2024-25), and Motor City (2024-25), averaging 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals in 32.6 minutes per game. The 25-year-old scored in double figures in 23 outings last season, including nine games with 20+ points and three games with 30+ points. Harper Jr. posted a G-League career-high 38 points (13-20 FG, 11-18 3FG, 1-1 FT) to go with three rebounds, eight assists, and one steal in a victory over Long Island Feb. 1.

The New Jersey native has seen action in 11 NBA games over three seasons with Toronto (2022-24) and Detroit (2024-25) with averages of 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per game. In three appearances with Boston in the 2025-26 preseason, Harper Jr. averaged 4.3 points and 1.0 assists in 10.6 minutes per game. Prior to going undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, Harper Jr. spent four seasons at Rutgers (2018-22) where he posted averages of 12.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 121 career games (109 starts). He earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors his senior season after averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game and shooting a career-high 39.8 percent (68-171 3FG) from 3-point range. Harper Jr. is the son of former NBA first-round pick Ron Harper, and his younger brother, Dylan, currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs.

Dateline | Abu Dhabi

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

ABU DHABI – Greetings from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The city is hosting a pair of NBA Preeason games between the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers. Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the UAE, and the largest and most populated of the seven emirates. It is quite an amazing place.

Is it hot? Yes, like Las Vegas during the prime heat of the NBA Summer League (July) or USA Basketball training (August), but it doesn’t have the “strip.” It does have the Grand Mosque, one of the most spectacular sights ever seen. Photos do not do it justice.

Here’s an attempt to help set the scene:

Grand Mosque exterior (file photo)

Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi (photo by T. Peter Lyons)

While the Knicks vs. 76ers game was certainly the marquee event of the trip, as with most NBA international preseason games, there is a whole other ancillary program working all around the games. Here in Abu Dhabi, there’s:

  • The NBA Experience – It used to be called “Jam Session”
  • NBA House – The highlight of the NBA Experience
  • NBA Store – Great, 5th Avenue-like NBA Store in nicest Mall ever
  • NBA Basketball School – Tournament

The NBA Basketball School tournament is HUGE. It’s run at three venues, all world class level training facilities with multiple courts, one of which is on site at New York University (NYU)’s Abu Dhabi campus. There are competitors at the U-15 and U-17 levels for both boys/young men and girls/young women. There are teams from all over the world: Australia, Dubai, India, Poland, Italy, Lebanon and a “combo” Europe team. There’s also start-up NBA Basketball Schools here – without team – all learning from the experience for future beginnings, and that includes a great program that just began last week in Tiblisi, Georgia (former USSR). Tbilisi is near and dear to this writer’s heart as it was one of three cities (Moscow, Tbilisi and Vilnius (Lithuania) the Atlanta Hawks toured in 1988, but that is a column for another day (the stories are endless).

The reason your roving reporter/columnist is here this week is to assist/advise NBA Basketball School – Türkiye, via a very longterm relationship born on the basketball court at the 2002 FIBA Worlds in Indianapolis (Türkiye played quite well, the USA did not). That tournament was sponsored by Turkish Airlines and that airline later became the title sponsor for EuroLeague Basketball.

My friend and contact is Devrim KIVANÇ who coaches basketball for many, many years and then started his own “MVP” camps for youth. It is quite a successul program, based mostly in Istanbul – a city that is even more amazing that Abu Dhabi, and that’s a pretty serious statement.

Coach Devrim also ran some great camps in conjunction with the Philadelphia 76ers going back a decade but it came to an end because of COVID-19 and trouble getting USA visas for students/campers. Coach Devrim and I have been working with the NBA to plan for an NBA Basketball School to begin in Istanbul very soon. More to come on that.

Team Boxscores: (surf around on “other games, too) —> HERE

This column is being written anout 60 … countdown to 45 minutes before a scheduled Team Türkiye meeting (5:00pm Saturday) in advance of a 5:30pm team bus to compete in the championship/Finals of the event.

To that end, the U-17 team (4-0) – the players are playing together for the very first time. They’ve run a fluid offense, played hard with a tough defense and have the results to prove it. The good news was winning games – the bad new, the event schedule called for the U-17 Finals to be held at 7:00pm tonight, the same time of Game 2 of the Knicks vs 76ers gme at Etihad Arena – a great facility in which the NBA has played multiple years and USA Basketball played leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics. It’s great, and thankfully VERY well air conditioned.

Time zone differences, time constraints pre-game and post game will not allow for While We’re Young (Ideas) to report the results of the tournament, but this is the important part:

Every team of the NBA Basketball School program has already won. In fact, they’ve all won – Gold, Silver and Bronze in the most important aspects of such an experience. I’ll rattle off just a few of an endless list, and I’ll do it via stream of consciousness.

Here we go:

  1. The experience of playing ball, working within a team structure and learning the key life lessons that basketball can bring to the youth of the world has been accomplished in ways I couldn’t even dream of in 1980 when I started at the NBA in New York. I couldn’t even dream of it post-1992 when the Dream Team captured the world’s imagination and allowed athletes from all over the world to experience the very best the NBA had to offer. Post 1992, the NBA hit a springboard for global growth, and I was asked to switch from NBA Media Relations to International Communications, beginning in February of 1993.
  2. The players from each country were given ample time to interact with each other and learn even more about different nations and cultures. That was the best take-away from this event.
  3. The NBA has created an unbelievable program and its “back of the house” is so well planned, produced and offered to potential new schools (and the existing ones, of course) and it includes handbooks and software programs to allow for cohesive sign-ups, communications and sharing of information primarily for the individual camp, but also to share with the league and the other schools. In the biz world, they call it “Best Practices.”
  4. The teams/players getting to see the NBA game was probably a “once in a lifetime” experience for the players. Although preseason games can be a bit rough around the edges on the front end of October (they’re quite better when we used to take Texas teams to Mexico City on – say – October 30/31), the spectacle of an NBA game, music/game operations, dance teams, mascots and all the ancillary programming is quite amazing for the kids – and the adults.
  5. (Side note) – It wasn’t until I sat down in the arena with a “premo” center court seat that I realized it was the first NBA international preseason game I ever attended when I could sit in the stands and have fun (rather than be working and worried about every second and every activity – including my No. 1 concern back then – NO INJURIES, please). PS: The cold Amstel Light wasn;t bad, either.
  6. The competition was very good, pretty high level and well coached. The traveling parties from all the different countries operated like pro-level event companies. The players were polite and respected each other and their chaperones.
  7. A good handful- especially from Australia – travlled with parents of the players who all shared the unbelievable experience. We had a small handful of parents for Türkiye, but actually are doing a conference call with the parents as a surprise “pre-game motivational talk” for the guys at the meeting – now only 20 minutes away.
  8. I could list another 100 things, but will stop now because of the fact, it’s time to freshen up, get the game face on, grab my pass (I always hung my credentials on my hotel room door knob or door lock during my days with USA Basketball at the Olympics so I’d never forget the pass), and I’ve been doing it here – a HUGE throwback in my mind’s eyes to the Olympics and 120+ international preseason games I worked between 1985 and 2008.
  9. It’s GAME TIME!

HERE NOW … No MORE NOTES!

We’ll be back next week wit your regularly scheduled programming.

Go Türkiye. 🇹🇷

This event has been one of those “pinch me!” Is this actually happening – moments of my life and I hope I’ve shared just a small glimpse of that experience with you.

 

Celtics Open Camp; No Tatum in ’25-26

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Celtics star Jayson Tatum said he’s not feeling any pressure to push his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

“No pressure from (Celtics president of basketball operations) Brad (Stevens), (coach) Joe (Mazzulla), the team or the organization,” Tatum said Monday at the Celtics’ media day. “The most important thing is that I’m 100 percent.”

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Tatum suffered the injury in May in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Boston lost the series to the New York Knicks.

While Tatum downplayed any urgency he or the team may feel to get him back on the court, he did discuss his difficult recovery process.

“I think the toughest part was at the beginning and kind of being in disbelief. For me, I had to accept it,” he said. “I started to see a turning point, but then you’re on crutches, and you’re on a scooter, you’re in a boot. And then you can drop one crutch and then you can drop both crutches … That made me feel a little bit more normal.”

Tatum is expected to miss most, if not all, of the upcoming season. The Celtics were overhauled in the offseason amid lower expectations without their superstar. Veteran starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were traded without much in the way of established NBA talent added.

“We have a lot of guys that are unproven,” Stevens said. “They’re younger and maybe not quite as experienced and maybe not quite as full of NBA wisdom.”

The Celtics are just 15 months removed from winning the 2023-24 championship. They’ll rely heavily on the leadership of players from that title team like Payton Pritchard, Derrick White and perennial All-Star Jaylen Brown.

“We have a chance for other guys to step up,” Brown said. “Empowering other guys, trusting your teammates more and trying to accelerate guys’ learning curve and play some good basketball. I think that’s what people want to see.”

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – 9/7/25

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

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AFC East – Buffalo Bills

NFC East – Philadelphia Eagles

(Those are the easy picks)

AFC North – Baltimore Ravens

NFC North – Detroit Lions

AFC South – Houston Texans

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

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

NFC West – San Francisco 49ers

AFC Champion: Buffalo Bills

NFC Champion: Philadelphia Eagles

Super Bowl Champion: Buffalo Bills

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

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

Overall Pick, Player:

2. Josh Allen (QB Buffalo)

15. De’von Achane (RB Miami)

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

31. AJ Brown (WR/Philly)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Florida

2. Purdue

3. Houston

4. Duke

5. Connecticut

6. St. John’s

7. Tennessee

8. Kentucky

9. Michigan

10. Louisville

11. Alabama

12. UCLA

13. Auburn

14. Texas Tech

15. Arkansas

16. BYU

17. Iowa State

18. Kansas

19. Creighton

20. Illinois

21. Wisconsin

22. Arizona

23. Gonzaga

24. Texas

25. North Carolina

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

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

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

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

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Aug. 24

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

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

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

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

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

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

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

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Change is good, but often, change is difficult.

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

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

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

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

Those levels of coverage are:

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

Now, it really gets confusing:

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

Now, let’s dig-in some more:

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

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

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

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

They have:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But, that’s not the point.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The venue.

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

Nope.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Flagg Day

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BROOKLYN – (Wire Service Report) – The Dallas Mavericks selected Duke phenom Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

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The announcement ended a months-long buildup for the 18-year-old Flagg, who had long been projected as the top pick. The only question was which team would get a chance to take him, and the Mavericks earned that opportunity when they won the NBA Draft lottery last month despite 1.8 percent odds.

Flagg figures to quickly provide a new face of the franchise for the Mavericks, who drew ire from their fan base after trading Luke Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

The 6-foot-8, 221-pound Flagg helped guide Duke to an NCAA FInal Four appearance after averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks as a freshman. He won the Wooden Award as the nation’s best player along with taking home other honors including ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC All-Defensive Team.

The Mavericks had the No. 1 overall pick for the second time in franchise history. They also had the top selection in 1981, when they drafted Mark Aguirre out of DePaul.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Trade Porzingis

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics are sending Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-team trade also involving the Brooklyn Nets, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.

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Atlanta will receive the 7-foot-2 Porzingis and a second-round draft pick; the Nets get Hawks guard/forward Terance Mann and their No. 22 pick; and the Celtics receive Atlanta forward Georges Niang and a second-rounder, per the report.

The Celtics, who on Monday reportedly sent two-time All-Star guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers, will be out of the salary cap’s second apron with the trade of the oft-injured Porzingis and save a projected $180 million in tax penalties, ESPN reported.

Boston reportedly is actively involved in trade talks involving multiple players on their roster following star Jayson Tatum’s Achilles tear in the second round of the playoffs.

Porzingis, 29, was an All-Star in 2017-18 with the New York Knicks, who drafted him with the No. 4 overall pick in 2015. Derailed by injuries, he missed the entire 2018-19 season with a torn ACL and has played fewer than 60 games in six of his last seven campaigns.

He missed the start of this past season following offseason ankle surgery. The torn medial retinaculum injury, considered “rare,” occurred during the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, which the Celtics won in five games.

Porzingis averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 blocks and 28.8 minutes in playing in only 42 regular-season games (all starts) last season. He also played in 11 playoff games (seven starts) and averaged 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 21.0 minutes.

For his career, Porzingis averages 19.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 blocks and 30.8 minutes in 501 games (500 starts) for the Knicks (2015-18), Mavericks (2019-22), Washington Wizards (2022-23) and Celtics.

He earned $29.2 million this season and is due to earn $30.7 million in 2025-26.

The Los Angeles Clippers selected Mann in the second round of the 2019 draft.

The Clippers traded Mann to the Hawks on Feb. 6. He averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 22.7 minutes in 30 games (one start) for Atlanta — all improvements over his earlier averages in 37 games (12 starts) for Los Angeles.

For his career, Mann, 28, averages 8.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 22.1 minutes in 412 games (169 starts) for the Clippers and Hawks.

The Indiana Pacers picked Niang in the second round of the 2016 draft. Niang, who turned 32 on June 17, has averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 17.5 minutes in 544 games (32 starts).

Niang has played for the Pacers (2016-17), Utah Jazz (2017-21), Philadelphia 76ers (2021-23), Cleveland Cavaliers (2023-25) and Hawks, who acquired him on Feb. 6. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 23.0 minutes in 28 games (two starts) for Atlanta.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Trade Holiday; Acquire Simons

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Portland Trail Blazers are reacquiring two-time All-Star guard Jrue Holiday from the Boston Celtics, sending guard Anfernee Simons and two future second-round draft picks to Boston in return, according to multiple reports on Monday night.

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Holiday, 35, who will earn $32.4 million next season, is owed a total of approximately $72 million in 2026-27 and 2027-28, after which his four-year, $134.4 million contract that he signed with the Celtics in April 2024 expires.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Simons joins the Celtics on an expiring contract. Per ESPN, the deal saves Boston $40 million in luxury tax payments next season.

In 2023, Portland landed Holiday in a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks for Damian Lillard, then sent the 16-year veteran to Boston and acquired a pair of first-round picks. Holiday never played a game for the Blazers.

Per the report, the Celtics are actively involved in trade talks involving multiple players on their roster following Jayson Tatum’s Achilles tear in the second round of the playoffs.

In his first season with the Celtics, Holiday played an instrumental role in the team’s run to the NBA title, shooting a career-high 42.9 percent from 3-point range in 2023-24 and earning All-Defensive team honors.

Holiday was a first-round pick (No. 17 overall) of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2009. He has career averages of 15.8 points, 6.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals with the 76ers (2009-13), New Orleans Pelicans (2013-20), Bucks (2020-23) and Celtics in 1,037 games (956 starts). He won his first NBA title with Milwaukee in 2021 and is a six-time All-Defensive selection.

Simons, 26, was also a first-round selection, picked at No. 24 by the Blazers in 2018. In seven seasons with Portland he posted 15.0 points, 3.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds over 389 games (213 starts). He should fit in with the Celtics’ offensive approach, as he has averaged nearly nine 3-point attempts per game the last three seasons and is a career 38.1 percent shooter from distance.

–Field Level Media