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Opinion

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | February 19th

February 19, 2023 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) on Murders at Michigan State

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Local, State and Federal law enforcement agencies all refer to an open school campus as a Soft Target. This week, the soft target consisting of 50,023 students at Michigan State University and they were attacked when an assailant walked right into buildings made of brick and steel. Yes, a crazed gunman, a mass murderer to be, walked into the back door of Berkey Hall, home to the College of Social Science, the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, and the Department of Sociology, and opened fire on unsuspecting, innocent students.

He exited Berkey and walked to the Michigan State University Union, passed by Spart’s Express, and emptied a handgun to kill at random. The Student Union was his second Soft Target on the 5,300 acre campus in East Lansing, Michigan. A short time later, as he was about to be arrested, the gunman used the handgun to end his own life, just as he killed three promising students only minutes before. The shooter also seriously wounded five others, four still listed in critical condition and one stabilized three days after being shot.

He huffed and he puffed and the strong building of brick and steel became the most recent soft ratget. Only 50,020 souls are left to mourn.

To their credit, law enforcement responded quickly and emergency protocol for an active shooter was immediately put in place. EMS and medical staff were able to access Berkey Hall quickly as eye witness accounts assured authorities the shooter exited the building on foot. Then, soon after, there were additional reports of an active shooter at the Student Union and the systems were put in place again.

“Secure-in-Place immediately,” read an emergency text message to all students, faculty and staff of the school. “Run, Hide, Fight.”

The damage was done, however, as the assailant walked away, leaving the campus as easily as he walked in. He had no connection to the University. He had no apparent motive, as far as police and FBI investigators could identify in short order. The crime – which killed juniors Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner at Berkey and sophomore Brian Fraser at the Union while seriously injuring five others – might’ve come at a Soft Target made of brick and steel – but it sent speeding bullets into soft human tissue, bones and organs. Hand guns and high-powered bullets have a way of doing that these days.

Less than 24 hours after the gunman fatally shot the three Michigan State University students and critically wounded the five (yet to be identified) others, the students at the East Lansing campus and many others elsewhere in Michigan and across the nation are rallying around each other, conducting prayer vigils and rallies.

Why is this Sunday Sports Notebook delving into the senseless, dark and controversial topic of gun violence in America? Maybe because of two or three direct, first-hand connections to the school. Maybe because of similar crimes at Virginia Tech in 2007 which killed 32 people. Maybe because of recent shootings in Monterrey Park or Half Moon Bay or Evalde where they shot 21 kids and wounded 15 othrs, or Orlando or 100 other places in recent years.

Almost immediately in the aftermath of the mass murder, Michigan State announced that the school was to cancel classes and all extracurricular events, including sporting events, the life blood of the Big 10 school. Among the events cancelled or postponed was the home men’s basketball game against Minnesota. Instead, the face of that basketball team and maybe the man most recognized by the entire nation, Coach Tom Izzo, took part in a Wednesday night vigil on campus.

Izzo and Earvin “Magic” Johnson are direct connections while former St. John’s and Georgetown Sports Communications executive Michael “Mex” Carey is my third man at Michigan State and he posted on social media accounts that he knows the city and school will “get through this.” It’s a tight knit community in East Lansing, always has been and always will be, but one has to wonder if the mass murders Monday night, reported as the 67th of 2023, will be the cause of any changes in national gun laws.

The uniquely American obsession with guns – more guns than people in many places – is defended by a majority of law-makers who cite the Second Amendment to the US Constitution. A few local and national politicians, including President Joe Biden, called out for change.

You see, the senseless murders Monday night fell as a nation mourns the fifth anniversary of 17 students and staff being shot dead at Florida’s Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on February 14, 2018. Not long before that, a madman with a high-powered machine gun positioned himself on the top floor of a Las Vegas Casino hotel and opened fire on concert goers directly in the range of his weapon. That resulted in 60 people killed and 800+ injured. Before that, another shooting known around the world when a crazed gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and killed 26 people with 20 being six and seven year old children.

Whether 2012, 2017, 2018 or 2023 – NOTHING has been done to curb gun violence. As the Biden administration just passed the midterm mark, the charge is to institute universal background checks and to limit or eliminate high-powered assault weapons and their 30+ round ammunition cartridges.

Advocates from the student body of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas H.S. are calling for action – across both major political parties – to ban the manufacturing and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, then creating a buy-back program. They seek to end the online sale of guns and ammunition; they hope to address too many suicides by hand gun; and they are adamant on requiring background checks for all gun sales while “adequately” funding the universal background check system nationwide.

Since Monday, another five mass shooting incidents were reported, killing one person in Sweetwater, Tennessee while incidents in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania resulted in 17 gun-related violence injuries. The number, tracked by Gun Violence Archive, is sure to rise by the time you read this Sunday morning. On Wednesday night at a food court in El Paso, Texas, an argument turned violent between two small groups and all hell broke loose in a shopping mall, bullets sprayed like a graffiti artist on a city street. Not to be finished, nine people were shot in Maryland on Wednesday, as well.

After taking Thursday as an off-day, another nine people were shot in Georgia on Friday while six people were shot and killed in the rural Mississippi town of Arkabutla where a gunman shot his ex-wife and five others.

Saturday? There were more. Four people were injured from a mass shooting in Loris County, South Carolina where the search for the motive and the overall investigation have just begun.

What can be done?

Since the senseless killing of little children at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, CT, there’s been nothing. President Barack Obama tried and his actions were halted in an NRA influenced Congress.

The young students from Parkland mobilized. They and the parents of the deceased had an audience with President Trump. Three years later, after pointing fingers and blaming others, he issued a statement that covered his ass but did little to address the issue, other than a tap on the fogged-up windows of the Congressional leaders who grease their re-election campaign funds with money from the gun lobby.

Back at Michigan State, sporting activities returned Friday night. The men’s and women’s basketball teams each had weekend games while students will return to class next week.

“You have to figure out a way to honor the people who were senselessly killed, and our way of being able to do that is to play the game,” Izzo said to ESPN. “The players felt that if they played it would help not only themselves [but] maybe help the campus heal a little bit,” Izzo said. “…we also know everybody grieves differently and everybody processes trauma in a million different ways.”

Let’s hope Coach Izzo and leadership in Michigan and at Michigan State, along with “Magic” and “Mex”can work some magic to influence more law-makers to take-on the NRA and other gun lobbyists to make changes while the 117th Congress is in session. Clearly, the overwhelming majority of American voters support smart, effective reform. But, no one will do a blessed thing to stop the senseless killing of our children, our students and our neighbors. One thing is for sure, as time goes by, the gunman will be at YOUR school or at YOUR shopping mall or in YOUR neighborhood, or God forbid, at YOUR house. Only then will your thoughts and prayers turn into horror. The steps to do something about it are clear. It’s time to take them – one small step at a time – and you had to be impressed with the unity and classy efforts of the Wolverines toward their cross-state rival Spartans.


HERE NOW, THE NOTES: With such a serious downer of a lede, the column will swing in the opposite direction with a story about Providence Friars basketball coach Ed Cooley who sat down with CBS Sports Clark Kelloggfor a deep dive into Cooley’s upbringing in the tough town in which he coaches.

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“Us. We. Together. Family. Friars.” is Cooley’s mantra at Providence as the coach believes his club is in hot pursuit of something very special. The Friars (12-4 in Conference) are only a game behind current Big East leader Marquette (13-3). Regardless of their place on the ladder, once the BIG EAST Tournament rolls around (March 8-11) and then again when the NCAA March Madness tournament takes over the U.S. sports landscape un til the Final Four (March 31-April 3) in Houston, Texas.

Cooley has created an incredible culture at Providence, one so many teams try to replicate. He does so with a real connection to the Providence College and local community and it spreads to his staff, players and the great fans from the city and surrounding Rhode Island neighborhoods.

The Friars have seven 20-win seasons in 12 years Cooley’s been the team’s head coach.

The head coaches of the BIG EAST join Commissioner Val Ackerman at MSG (File)

At BIG EAST Media Day last fall, it was noted that seven of the 11 BIG EAST men’s basketball programs were led by African-American/Jamaica-American coaches. That’s a major statement by a major basketball conference.


SIGNS OF SPRING: The very second The Super Bowl is completed, it seems the talk moves to baseball, fantasy baseball, pitchers and catchers reporting and a few other – more obscure – baseball happenings.

On the North Shore of Long Island, the folks at Strat-o-Matic celebrated their opening day on Friday of this week. It’s a tradition for the cult-like fans of the old-skool boardgame soon to be digitized like the rest of the world.

The 2023 Strat-o-Matic game cards were issued and are now on sale for fans of all ages.

The 2023 Strat-o-Matic season game cards were unveiled Friday (file photo)

Unlike the 2020 MLB season, we won’t need Strat-o-Matic to simulate the big league with their game. This year, the Majors begin March 30th but the Strat-o-Matic games can begin today.

Meanwhile, the good people at TOPPS have issued their 2023 Series 1 (set) at $360.00 and a 2023 Hobby Box at $89.00 and a relic box at a more affordable $25.00. All provide a mid-winter glimpse of springtime and Opening Day for Baseball 2023.

Filed Under: Opinion, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: Opinion, Terry Lyons, TL's Sunday Sports Notes, Tom Izzo

See You in September

August 31, 2022 by Terry Lyons

“I’ll be alone each and every night
While you’re away, don’t forget to write,

“Bye-bye, so long, farewell
Bye-bye, so long

“See you in September
See you when the summer’s through.”

– The Happenings but written by Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards for The Tempos

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – August, just like its namesake Caesar Augustus, is in the rearview mirror. We’ll See you in September.

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It will be a September without 2021 U.S. Open women’s tennis champion Emma Raducanu who lost her first round match to France’s Alize Cornet (6-3, 6-3) on the evening of August 30. It will be a September without two-time U.S. Open champions and multi-Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka who lost her first round match at Flushing Meadows to No. 19 seed Danielle Collins of America.

We’ll start September’s college football schedule with St. Francis of Pennsylvania at Akron (6pm, ET) but progress to match-ups like Central Michigan at No. 12 Oklahoma State, West Virginia at No. 17 Pittsburgh, and a tough B1G Ten opener for Penn State at Purdue. That’s just Thursday’s schedule.

We’ve already witnessed a Week Zero of college football with Northwestern upsetting Nebraska, 31-28, in Ireland, Illinois spanking Wyoming in similar style to Liz Cheney‘s recent primary defeat, 38-6.

We’ll have a lot to look forward to this weekend when college football really begins. On the local scene, Boston College opens with a “must win” at home vs the B1G Ten’s usual doormat, Rutgers. No. 11 Oregon will travel to play No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta, not Athens and No. 5 Notre Dame is getting (+17) when they play No. 2 Ohio St. before 102,780 fans at Columbus (7:30pm ET, September 3)

We’ll have to wait until Thursday, September 8 for the NFL to begin, but thankfully the NFL preseason is in the books and the regular season Week 1 awaits, complete with the AFC’s Buffalo Bills heading west to SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to face the defending Super Bowl champion Rams.

The NFL will start without Jon Gruden coaching in Las Vegas but with Jimmy Garrapolo quarterbacking in San Francisco (really Santa Clara). Gruden’s coaching career went up in flames when an NFL investigation into then-Washington football executive Bruce Allen unearthed a slew of racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language in emails which first came to light in a Wall Street Journal article last Oct. 8. Strangely, of the 650,000 emails collected in the NFL internal  investigation, the lawsuit contends, Gruden’s were the only ones made public. Go figure?

The New England Patriots leave training camp behind but face a tough September schedule that just might leave them 0-3, or maybe 1-2. Anything better than that and the team is improved over that of last season and might have a chance. Both the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins stand in the way in the AFC East. The toughest thing many overlook, the Patriots close-out the regular season with games vs. Cincinnati and Miami and at Buffalo on a sure-to-be ice COLD January 8th. Those August days will be a long lost dream when the Bills and Pats tee-up the kick-off that day.

The Red Sox are happy to leave August (and July) in the past, but doubt the month of September will treat the club much better. In Rich Hill they trust.

With Rory McIlroy coming back from six strokes down to defeat Scottie Scheffler and company at the TOUR Championship last weekend, the 2021-22 PGA Tour season is behind us with only a few Fall tournaments, the President’s Cup and a few silly season events (think Skins Game) awaiting until the January 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions starts off the PGA Tour schedule. In the meantime, we have a LIV Golf on-going in Boston (Bolton, Mass) where dozens of former PGA Tour golfers have jumped ship in an attempt to earn fortunes of Saudi Arabian bucks to the tune of some $4 million for the tournament winner, plus team bonuses.

Golf will never be the same, as the two Tours duke it out for best players, key dates, qualification to the Majors and Ryder Cup teams and just about everything else worth fighting for … or should it be “fore?”

One thing is for sure as the days grow shorter and the sun sets earlier, come September 1 or, maybe on Labor Day in the USA, everyone seems to think the Season of Summer is over but like so much in the world these days, that is “misinformation.” Summer in the USA lasts until September 21, or the end of Week 2 for you NFL fans, Week 3 for NCAA football fans. In fact, in the northeastern USA, the weekend of October 1-2 is often one of the most beautiful of the entire year.

See you in October.

Musical Note: “See You in September” is a song written by Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards. It was first recorded by the Pittsburgh vocal group The Tempos. This first version peaked at No. 23 in the summer of 1959. The most popular take on “See You In September,” by The Happenings in 1966, reached No. 3.

Filed Under: Boston Sports, Opinion, Patriots Tagged With: MLB, New England Patriots, NFL, Opinion, Serena Williams, Tennis, U.S. Open tennis

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Dec 12th

December 12, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Welcome to the Land of Confusion.

This week, we’re serving up the controversial happenings in sports, clearing the mayhem out before the Holiday Season, Peace on Earth, Goodwill Towards Men and Tidings of Comfort and Joy.

Instead, there’s a Land of Confusion, including:

  • Diplomatic Boycotting of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games by USA (with similar support from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Lithuania).
  • The Women’s Tennis Association suspending play in China in response to alleged sexual assault and disappearance of star tennis player Peng Shua
  • Celtics’ reserve center Enes Kanter Freedom campaigning on human rights issues in Turkey and China

Most likely, the Diplomatic boycott will have little to zero effect on the athletes at the games. It’s not like an Austrian skier is going to be thinking about the USA Chef de Mission while awaiting the downhill slalom ride of a lifetime. But let’s pose a few questions to see where this might go in a few weeks (February 4, 2022)?

(Getty Images)

Might the youth of the world collectively question the USA’s recent past in terms of suppressing voter rights, limiting women’s healthcare and upending a 50-year Constitutional decision, never mind issues regarding “rising climate and environmental concerns, growing financial and economic coercion,” noted a recent missive from the Council of Foreign Relations examining the previous US administration’s tendency to “increasingly invoke national security as a justification for restricting trade, while its prolific use of quotas, sanctions, tariffs, and the like threatens to destroy the rules-based economic order.”

In other words, will the USA Olympians have to pay a price for a 2017-to-2021 undermining of U.S. allies across the globe, or the decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord? (President Joe Biden re-joined the Paris Accord at recent COP26 summit).

On the flip side, can the USA and other countries utilize the global spotlight of the Olympic Games to pressure China on the allegations of torture, forced detention, sterilization, religious persecution and atrocities committed against the Uyghur people – a Muslim ethnic group in northwest China?

Some (including 180 human rights groups) have called for a full boycott of the games, but White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki defended the decision to allow American athletes to compete by saying that it would be unfair to “penalize athletes who have been training, preparing for this moment,” and adding that the diplomatic boycott “sends a clear message.”

Meanwhile the relatively small WTA stood-up to fight a mighty battle against China, one the International Olympic Committee would never broach as the Celtics’ scrub Kanter stands on his own vs. human rights issues, calling-out his native Turkey and now China. Kanter has even singled-out NBA superstar LeBron James and Lin-sanity himself in Jeremy Lin, 33, a former NBA player of Taiwanese-American descent. Lin now cashes a check, playing for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

All the while, the IOC claims to be non-political, and many sports fans claim they don’t want to mix politics and sports, but that ship sailed long, long ago.

The Sports vs. Political landscape is muddy. The answers will never come, unless you measure USA Nielsen TV ratings which is never a method that can be considered an exact science.


HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Hunt Auctions this week presented an amazing offering of game memorabilia and other artifacts from the personal collection of Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell. The auction items were owned and carefully collected by Russell throughout his life, chronicling his historic basketball career and seminal role as a leader in the Civil Rights movement in the United States, beginning in the 1950s.

Notable sales from the auction, held at TD Garden in Boston, included:

  • $1,116,250 – 1969 Bill Russell Boston Celtics professional model jersey worn in Game #7 of the 1969 NBA Finals, the final game of his NBA career
  • $1,313,500 – Cumulative total for Russell’s five MVP awards
  • $705,000 – 1957 championship ring, Russell’s first ring
  • $587,500 – 1956 Olympic gold medal
  • $558,125 – 1969 championship ring, the last of Russell’s 11 championships

Filed Under: Opinion, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: Beijing Olympics, Olympic Games, Opinion, While We're Young Ideas

Baseball Series: The Shot Heard Around a Local Neighborhood

October 29, 2021 by Digital Sports Desk

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Filed Under: MLB, Opinion Tagged With: Atlanta Braves, Baseball, Houston Astros, MLB, Opinion, World Series

At #NBA75, They Made NBA Come Alive

October 17, 2021 by Digital Sports Desk

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The last two columns were dedicated to one reporter’s viewpoint on the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players. Many a basketball pundit will be coming forth with their own lists before the league unveils the official “75” this week (October 19-21). It’ll be great.

Meanwhile, our friends at the Sports Business Journal did a “Fan-Tastic” job at listing their view on “The NBA at 75: 75 People Who Grew the NBA’s Business.” It was a great idea and, while they went a bit heavy on sports agents, they nailed a bunch of true gems in listing colleagues (Val Ackerman, Ski Austin, Kathy Behrens, Wayne Embry, and, yes, agent and the NBA Players Association’s first executive director Larry Fleisher).

I was very happy to see Michael Goldberg, (my NBA boss) Brian McIntyre, NBA colleagues Amy Brooks, Russ Granik, Paula Hanson – with a tip of the hat to the NBA’s first-ever head of (Team Business Operations aka Team Services, Team-Bo) Bob King, too – Bill Koenig, Sal LaRocca, Joel Litvin, Jeff Mishkin, Rod Thorn, and Rick Welts). Of course, the list included “must-haves” and rightfully so with former Commissioners Maurice Podoloff, Walter Kennedy, Larry O’Brien and – the big guy – David Stern.

Stern’s transition to pass the business torch and mission along to current Commissioner Adam Silver and Deputy Commish Mark Tatum was also duly recognized in the SBJs terrific listing.

That said and recognizing they only had 75 slots and maybe tossed 10 turnovers, they did miss a few people from a list that could’ve been 750 instead of only 75. Here are a few to consider:

Amongst the players named, I would nominate players who truly changed the game. They are:

  1. George Mikan
  2. Wilt Chamberlain
  3. Bill Russell
  4. Elgin Baylor
  5. Bob Cousy and Oscar Robertson
  6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
  7. Julius Erving
  8. Larry/Earvin … aka Bird/Magic
  9. Michael Jordan
  10. Charles Barkley
  11. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant
  12. LeBron James
  13. Steph Curry

On the NBA business and outside the four lines basketball front, I think the SBJ missed out on:

  1. Si Gourdine
  2. Joe Axelson (the NBA’s first VO, Basketball Operations)
  3. Matt Winick (Axelson’s first deputy and incredible NBA resource)
  4. Paul Gilbert (the creator of NBA … It’s Fan-Tastic!)
  5. Leah Wilcox (possibly the NBA’s most valuable resource with its players)
  6. Satch Sanders (first Director of Player Programs)
  7. Ed Desser (NBA Director of Broadcasting and television guru)
  8. Bill Marshall (the creator and father of NBA consumer products)
  9. Boris Stankovic (the late FIBA exec who worked hand-in-hand with NBA)
  10. The Basketball w/o Borders crew of: Kim Bohuny, Bret MacTavish, Helen Wong (my former assistant/director), FIBA’s Zoran Radovic, former NBA scout/Nike rep Rich Sheubrooks and the UN’s (now President of Ripon College) Zach Messetti.

Surely, there are hundreds of others that could be listed, including many colleagues who ventured to the likes of Hong Kong, other points in Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America to spread the NBA gospel and business efforts.

Lastly, on the TV front, there were a number of omissions and I’ll list just a few:

  1. Sandy Grossman (CBS Sports Director)
  2. Ted Shaker (Exec Producer of CBS Sports as NBA came of age on broadcast TV)
  3. Mike Burks (Lead producer of the NBA on CBS)
  4. Dick Stockton and Tommy Heinsohn – (CBS Sports NBA announce team)
  5. Tommy Roy (Lead producer of the NBA on NBC)
  6. Ernie Johnson Jr. (NBA on TNT anchor, and possibly the No. 1 person overlooked by the SBJ NBA 75 Business list). Ernie, Kenny and Charles impacted the NBA on TNT more than any other and a legion of TBS, TNT “people in the truck” did as much for the NBA as any person listed here.

There are plenty more, but let’s call it a wrap and tip-off the NBA 75 this week.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: It’s the year of a once in a 100 years global pandemic, right? In 2021, somehow the firm of Goldman Sachs has its best year in its history after only nine months, according to Front Office Sports reviews of Goldman’s latest earnings reports. … Goldman generated $13.61 billion in Q-3 and $46.7 billion in its last three quarters … FOS wrote: “Goldman is also helping the NFL find investment partners for its major media assets, including the NFL Network, RedZone, and NFL.com. … “After hiring Goldman, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly told league staff in a memo that the league plans to leverage live games, events like the NFL Draft, and opportunities around sports betting. In April, Goldman Sachs estimated that the sports betting market could reach $39 billion by 2033.”

Go figure.

Filed Under: NBA, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: NBA, Opinion, While We're Young Ideas

While We’re Young (Ideas) – June 20

June 20, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – A very Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.

This column – when featured on Digital Sports Desk – has written about Father’s Day before. Memories of Father’s Days past, from the viewpoint of a son and that of a father, too. It was always bittersweet to write of the memories of my Dad, may he Rest in Peace.

Today, this column resurrects a memory, only two years back. It’s a memory of a simple day, of going out to CitiField and enjoying a Mets game with a buddy on a hot summer afternoon, soon to return to my family – including my two daughters – and a lovely Father’s Day dinner. It was just a wonderful, normal day.

Last year, while we all enjoyed Father’s Day together, it all seemed surreal, as we were still on the front end of the global pandemic, getting mixed messages from our government and no clear sign of relief and an end to the situation. There were clouds hanging over all aspects of normal life, but the sight of two daughters was comforting and was a sign of the future and hope. You could see it. The future would be bright because their future was bright. It was just a matter of time.

Being a “Girl Dad” has been the highlight of my life. Blessed are we who have not just one but two brilliant daughters who strive for high goals, who’ve excelled in their education, jobs and daily living. It’s so much fun to watch them grow and to experience just a few of the experiences they encounter throughout the years. I’m proud to be a “Girl Dad,” and look forward to so many great days ahead.

This column, however, is going to highlight another Dad, a friend of the NBA, Peter Fink. Peter is a “Swim Dad,” who watched his son, Nic, grow up to become a world class swimmer. Peter was always quiet and humble but when asked about Nic and his pursuit of a place on the United States Olympic Swim team, Peter would light up and tell us of the many meets and trials. Having attended four Summer Olympics myself, I knew of the grueling test of the swimmers and divers.

Nic earned a swimming scholarship to Georgia and – over the many years, so many meets, practices, disappointments measured at one-tenth of a second – this week, Nic qualified for the United States Olympic Swim team and he’ll be heading to Tokyo to compete as he earned his place in the 200m breaststroke.

Nic’s Dad is a superstar, too. We met when he was a dedicated worker in the NBA Special Events department. Talk about Tokyo? Nic’s Dad staged dozens of NBA Japan Games, USA Basketball friendlies, USA Basketball World Championships and hundreds of other events – and that’s just in Japan. He did the same in China, Australia, Europe, South America and hundreds of events in the United States and Canada. While Peter Fink was organizing events, Nic Fink was doing laps in the pool.

This week, it all came together, and this is a salute to a great Dad who witnessed his son grow to be a man while constantly chasing a dream of being and United States Olympian. Practice, perseverance, and all out dedication to the sport. No one can ever take the glorious title of Olympian away – ever.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While We’re Young (Ideas) has noted a considerable number of lists and “mosts” created by our friends at Sportico. This week, with the U.S. Open taking center-stage at Torrey Pines, Sportico released a list of the highest paid golfers of 2021. There was no surprise who was on top! Here’s the listing:

Highest Paid Golfers of 2021:

  1. Tiger Woods – $62.2m ($191,000 on course, $62m off course)
  2. Phil Mickelson $46.1m ($4.1m/$42m)
  3. Dustin Johnson $40.8m ($24.8/$16m)
  4. Rory McIlroy $32.8m ($4.8m/$28m)
  5. Jordan Spieth $29.6m ($4.6m/$25m)
  6. Justin Thomas $20.3m ($13.3/$7m)
  7. Bryson DeChambeau $17.9m ($8.9m/$9m)
  8. Xander Shauffele $17.3m ($10.3m/$7m)
  9. Jon Rahm $16.9m ($10.9m/$6m)
  10. Hideki Matsuyama $15.4m ($5.4m/$10m)

TRAVEL ON: While the U.S. Open gathers all the eye-balls this week, New England’s only PGA Tour event will be held this week in the ‘burbs of Hartford. The Travelers Championship announced its full player field for the 2021 tournament, which will feature five of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, 25 of the top 50 and 10 previous winners of the event. The tournament will be held June 24–27 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut. Psst, don’t tell anyone: Past champion Bubba Watson looked good at the U.S. Open and LOVES the TPC River Highlands course.

HOOP, HOOP – HOO-RAY: The USA Basketball Men’s Olympic basketball team is beginning to take shape as a handful of NBA stars took it upon themselves to announce they were committing to play in Tokyo this summer. Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker was the most recent to stake his claim to a place on the roster. Previously, Boston’s Jayson Tatum said he was planning to participate, along with Portland’s Damien Lillard, Washington’s Bradley Beal and Golden State’s Draymond Green. … On the nay side, LA Lakers star LeBron James and Miami’s Jimmy Butler both indicated they would pass on the opportunity this summer. Both have served USA Basketball in the past. James is a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist (Beijing and London) and also played with the 2006 USA world Championship team in Japan. … The five player commitments leave seven roster spots for the Tokyo Olympic team to play under the guidance of San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. … Obviously, Team USA will need a few commitments from “bigs” who can grind and rebound against the large and physical international frontlines. The current USA roster lists the likes of Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, DeAndre Jordan, Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin, Brook Lopez, Kevin Love, Javale McGee, Mason Plumlee, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, Myles Turner, Christian Wood and the injured Anthony Davis and LeMarcus Aldridge as viable big men for consideration. USA will also need a pair (or three) true – pass first – point guards.

Filed Under: NBA, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: NBA, Olympic Games, Opinion, Tokyo Olympics, While We're Young, While We're Young Ideas

While We’re Young (Ideas) – As Boomers, We’re All Going Backwards

May 30, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief

BOSTON – The Greatest Generation passed a baton to the post World War II baby-boomer generation, largely defined as “boomers” born from 1946-through-1964. Oh what a mess we’ve made.

Aside from the fact a certain past President of the United States of America was born on June 14, 1946, judgement on the overall state of the generation paved in mud by the front end of the “boomers” will be reserved for another time this Memorial Day weekend. Instead, the focus of today’s notes will be on the transgressions in sports we’ve witnessed just this past week and how it reflects so negatively on the low bar we’ve all allowed ourselves to live by.

ICYMI: Five spectators were given lifetime bans from NBA arenas for their behavior at NBA Playoff games on Wednesday, May 26. The incidents:

  1. After twisting his ankle and being helped to the locker room in the third quarter of the Washington Wizards’ 120-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Philly’s Wells Fargo Center, Wizards guard Russell Westbrook was pelted with popcorn as he exited the court. Westbrook had to be restrained by team and security personnel and the fan was ejected from the game and given an indefinite ban from attending future games.
  2. The Utah Jazz banned three fans on Thursday and team owner Ryan Smith issued an apology on Twitter to the Memphis Grizzlies and to Grizzlies’ All-Star guard Ja Morant and his family after racist and sexist comments resulted in an altercation. Morant spotted the incident from the court and asked Memphis team security to check on his family and friends in the stands at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
  3. While Atlanta guard Trae Young was inbounding the ball in the fourth quarter of New York’s 101-92 win in Game 2 of their first round playoff game at Madison Square Garden, a Knicks fan spat at Young from his second row seat. MSG security investigated the incident and issued a statement noting the fan was identified, was not a season-ticket holder but was “banned indefinitely” from attending events at The Garden.
  4. Here, in Boston, players – namely Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets – brought forth Boston’s history of racial injustices.

The aftermath came complete with the players rightfully stating fan behavior is out of control.

The NBA Players Association issued a statement that read: “True fans of this game honor and respect the dignity of our players,” the players’ union said. “No true fan would seek to harm them or violate their personal space. Those who do have no place in our arenas. And their conduct is appropriately evaluated by law enforcement just as if it occurred on a public street.”

After the Wizards vs Sixers game, Westbrook stated much the same.

“To be completely honest man, this (expletive) is getting out of hand, especially for me,” said Westbrook after the loss. “The amount of disrespect, the amount of fans just doing whatever the (expletive) they want to do, it’s just out of pocket.

“I’m all for the fans enjoying the game and having fun. It’s part of sports, I get it, but there are certain things that cross the line and in any other setting, I know for a fact that a guy wouldn’t come up to me on the street and pour popcorn on my head, because you know what would happen. … In these arenas, you gotta start protecting the players. We’ll see what the NBA does.”

In all three incidents, the venues took action after reviewing video and digital surveillance recordings.

Valerie Camillo, the head of business operations for the Wells Fargo Center, issued a statement Wednesday night and said the incident “has no place in our arena. This was classless, unacceptable behavior, and we’re not going to tolerate it at Wells Fargo Center,” she stated. “We’re proud to have the most passionate fans in the country and the best home-court and home-ice advantage around, but this type of behavior has no place in our arena.”

The NBA league office, via the Commissioner, issued a zero-tolerance statement of NBA policies and team and league personnel all made reference to the NBA’s “Fan Code of Conduct” rules put in place after an ugly incident at The Palace of Auburn Hills between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in 2004.

“No one is going to get away with an act like that,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to NBC Sports Washington (DC). “You’re going to be caught. You’re going to be banned from an arena. In some cases there may be criminal prosecution depending if the conduct rises to that level of an assault or something that the police are going to take note of.”

The three separate examples of abhorrent spectator conduct all came at a time the country is reeling from an on-going global pandemic, piecing the economy and infrastructure back together after four years (2017-2021) of mass turmoil in the executive branch and in Congress, racial injustice and the need for much better police and immigration reform, all coming while the USA witnessed an all-out insurrection at the United States Capitol Building this past January 6. And, that’s the short list.

With those troubles in mind, don’t we all look to sports and sportsmanship in our games to be the light, the inspiration and the one place to cheer-on victory and move-on from defeat? A daily schedule of playoff games in ice hockey or pro basketball is combined with the relaxing, leisurely pace of Major League Baseball to create some peace of mind for sports fans around the world.

Leading into this Memorial Day, the HBO series “Band of Brothers” was on the menu of offerings to watch, as rainy day forecasts ran up and down the East Coast. The reminder of D-Day in Normandy, must be underlined by comments from Veterans of the Korean War, Viet Nam conflict, the Gulf Wars and all the troops (USA and Allies) still posted in the Middle East and Afghanistan – never mind those on watch on the North Korean border or at dangerous State Department or military posts the world around. They were the greatest, and we seem to be striving for the worst.

We wave flags and listen quietly as the National Anthem is played at arenas and stadiums. We respectfully remember our fallen soldiers and the true meaning of Memorial Day, while the grills is fired up along with it revelers filling their gut with Buds and Bud Lights at a backyard BBQs held this year, an event previously taken for granted until the pandemic shutdown everything a year ago.

But, as the light at the end of the tunnel of the pandemic glimmers with hope, we STILL don’t show respect to our fellow Americans.

As we celebrate and memorialize our fallen troops, we cannot ignore the fact that terrible fan behavior at our arenas of sport has hit unacceptable lows. Meanwhile, the behavior of our elected officials creating laws to suppress voting is even worse. The troops have fought to allow Americans to enjoy freedom and to reserve our abilities to vote without any unfair interference, assuring every citizen the rights Thomas Jefferson penned in 1776. He wrote, of course, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We’re going backwards.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While the main focus this week in the NBA was on fan behavior, and not basketball, Boston’s (injured and out-for-the-playoffs) Jalen Brown declared he had a “perspective to share.”

“I saw things floating around with Boston and the topic of racism,” he said this week, choosing to address off-court rather than on-court issues. “People around me urged that I should share my perspective. I have not talked to anyone — Kyrie, Marcus [Smart] or [Celtics GM] Danny Ainge — about my thoughts or my perspective, but I do think it’s a good conversation. I think that racism should be addressed, and systemic racism should be addressed in the city of Boston, and also the United States.

“However, I do not like the manner it was brought up, centering around a playoff game. The construct of racism, right? It’s used as a crutch, or an opportunity to execute a personal gain. I’m not saying that’s the case. But I do think racism is bigger than basketball, and I do think racism is bigger than Game 3 of the playoffs. I want to urge the media to paint that narrative as well. Because when it’s painted in that manner, it’s insensitive to people who have to deal with it on a daily basis.

“The constructs and constraints of systemic racism in our school system, inequality in education, lack of opportunity, lack of housing, lack of affordable housing, lack of affordable health care, tokenism, the list goes on. So I recognize and acknowledge my privilege as an athlete. Once you get to the point where that financial experience overtakes the experiences people deal with on a daily basis, I want to emphasize that as well.”

NAOMI OSAKA: Tennis star Naomi Osaka earned a cool $55 million this year, with approximately $5 million coming from on-court prize money and the rest from endorsements, ranging from Nike, to Beats, to Louis Vuitton to Levi’s to Tag Heuer (wrist watches) to salad/food retailer Sweetgreen among the two dozen brands she’s partnered with for marketing endorsements. … The Tokyo Olympics offered her additional marketing opportunities with Sportico reporting her newfound deals with ANA (Airline), Nissin and Google, all official Olympic sponsors/partners. … Yet, with tennis, PR and marketing all on the line, Osaka this week announced via a social media post that she would be skipping media sessions at the French Open (Roland Garros). … “I’ve often felt that people have no regard for athletes’ mental health and this rings very true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one,” she wrote on Instagram. “We’re often sat there and asked questions that we’ve been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me.” … At major tennis competitions, fines can range up to $20,000 for missing media obligations. … While players’ mental health is of utmost importance of course, sometimes the players might look at the other side of the coin and accept the fact that the reporters who cover tennis might have assignments that involve interviewing the players, and the pressure and mental health of a reporter is equally important. … Access and a healthy give-and-take, review-and-preview, praise-and-critique is among the most important aspects of the tennis tour. … Unlike team sports, tennis and golf put the media focus on one single athletes, and the pressure to endure that spotlight is intense. That said, the players surely know what they are signing-up for the tennis tour and when cashing first place prize money cheques of $1,694,710 planned for the men’s and women’s champions at Roland Garros 2021. … That first place prize pool, by the way, is down 12.5% from 2020. … The French Open first place prize in 2019 was $2,710,315.

If you want to read more, check out While We’re Young (Ideas) by Terry Lyons on Substack.

Filed Under: Boston Sports, Opinion, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: Boston Celtics, Opinion, While We're Young, While We're Young Ideas

Shockwaves From Failed Super League

May 15, 2021 by Digital Sports Desk

By CHRISTOPHER GUMINA, Column Contributor

Just as fast as it arrived, the Super League disappeared. All six of the English clubs (Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool) pulled out just days after the announcement, and most of the other teams followed. Juventus, Barcelona, and Real Madrid are the only clubs remaining, and given the current situation it seems impossible that they will be able to maintain their membership much longer.

Embed from Getty Images

On April 21st, after most of the teams had already withdrawn, the Super League released a statement reading: “Given the current circumstances, we shall reconsider the most appropriate steps to reshape the project, always having in mind our goals of offering fans the best experience possible while enhancing solidarity payments for the entire football community.”
Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, who was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the league and would have served as its chairman, claimed that the league was merely on “standby,” as all the clubs had signed binding contracts and couldn’t leave so easily. It appears at the moment as if the clubs that did leave are willing to risk potential legal action in order to avoid further infuriating their fanbase.

Each of the six English clubs apologized in one manner or another – Arsenal and Chelsea released open letters, while Liverpool team owner John Henry – also co-owner of the Boston Red Sox of MLB fame – recorded a short video – both to their fans and to the other 14 Premier League clubs that had not been included in the plan. Man United executive Ed Woodward, who had been at the club since its takeover by the Glazer family in 2005, resigned almost immediately. It was reported that this was due to differences with the ownership group over the ESL, but has been more broadly intimated that Woodward was a supporter of the league from the start and was simply attempting to save face.

Either way, each of these clubs has suffered immensely in the wake of the ESL’s collapse. Monetarily, this came in the form of a 15 million Euro “donation,” with the money going to support grassroots soccer, and a “Club Commitment Declaration,” supported by UEFA. This declaration included the aforementioned “donation,” as well as an agreement to forgo 5% of the revenue the teams would have received from European competition in the 2021-22 season and to a 100 million Euro fine if they ever attempted to play in an “unauthorized competition” ever again.

However, where these teams truly suffered was with their fans. The amount of vitriol directed at these clubs, by their own supporters and supporters of other teams, in the wake of the ESL was truly shocking. Rarely does the Twitterverse entirely agree on one topic, but there was almost universal condemnation of the Super League. For the teams left out of the competition this opposition was obvious: those included would become richer at the expense of those excluded. Smaller clubs already reeling from the pandemic would falter and fail.

However, at first glance the opposition from supporters of clubs involved in the competition makes less sense. Each team would benefit financially, allowing them to sign the best players and improve the overall quality of the soccer on display. For these fans, the money did not matter. Instead it was about the history, the “cold, rainy nights in Stoke” as some fans like to say.
These fans don’t want to watch Arsenal vs. Barcelona or AC Milan vs. Real Madrid on a weekly basis, with a playoff structure similar to that of American sports. They want to watch the old rivalries and compete for the old trophies. To these fans the spirit and authenticity of their clubs matters far more than winning a meaningless competition. Because to them, that’s really what the Super League is. There are no stakes, no threat of relegation. A Super League team could lose every game of the pitch and suffer no consequences, while raking in millions off it. This is antithetical to everything soccer has stood for over the centuries it’s been played.

It now seems as though teams are finally recognizing the error of their ways, although it could just as easily be a PR campaign to make sure fans still buy jerseys and tickets next season. Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham are currently in talks over a pre-season Charity Cup instead of the typical pre-season tours which take teams all over the world to play exhibition matches against different teams. All the money would be donated directly to charity, in the hopes of winning back fan support.

Only time will tell if this gesture proves effective. At the moment, each of these teams still has serious ground to cover before they achieve the level of fan support they had before this debacle. Even if/when things get fully back to normal, soccer fans won’t forget that these 12 clubs put money over their fanbases, something that will leave scars for years to come.

Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: Opinion, Soccer, Super League

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook

March 27, 2021 by Terry Lyons

While We’re Young (Ideas) of March 28

By TERRY LYONS 

BOSTON – The price tags of each NBA expansion franchise over the last 40-plus years are etched in the mind of this NBA-lifer gone fishing’ in New England back in 2008. Yes, this column construction worker began as an intern at the NBA league office in 1980 and a lot was going on. Namely:

  1. It was the same year Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird began their (paid) NBA internships as league rookies.
  2. It was the same year the NBA adopted the “gimmicky” Three-Point Field Goal made popular in the ABA.
  3. It was the same season the New Orleans Jazz became the Utah Jazz.
  4. It was the same year that Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the Los Angeles Lakers and The Fabulous Forum from Jack Kent Cooke.
  5. It was the same year that the late, great Darryl Dawkins broke two glass backboards.
  6. It was the same year David Stern was promoted to Executive Veep – Business and Legal Affairs, under Commissioner Lawrence F. “Larry” O’Brien.
  7. And, it was the same year the NBA laid the foundation for the Dallas Mavericks to become the NBA’s 23rd franchise, beginning the following season – 1980-81.

The purchase price for the Mavericks was a cool $12 million.

When it came time to expand again, in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons, the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic gained entrance to the NBA at the cost of $32.5 million.

The Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies bought in as expansion teams in 1995-96 at the cost of a then-whopping $125 million.

The Charlotte Bobcats joined the NBA party for a cool $400 million in 2009-10.

It seemed ridiculous until the Los Angeles Clippers were sold by disgraced team owner Donald Sterling to an anxious to join the club Steve Ballmer for $2 billion in the summer of 2014. That franchise purchase (not via expansion) changed everything across every professional sports franchise.

Nowadays for the NBA, Commissioner Adam Silver is floating a $2.5 billionexpansion fee as a starting point for discussion. Undoubtedly, someone will pay it, most likely to replace the Seattle SuperSonics in the Emerald City.

Now! Sit down for this!

Embed from Getty Images

Our good friends at Sportico issued franchise valuations for the Major League Baseball this week. Read it and weep if your family name isn’t Steinbrenner, Angelos or Illitch.

Here’s the Top 10:

1 New York Yankees – $6.75 billion

2 Boston Red Sox – $4.80 billion

3 Los Angeles Dodgers – $4.62 billion

4 Chicago Cubs – $4.14 billion

5 San Francisco Giants – $3.49 billion

6 New York Mets – $2.48 billion

7 Los Angeles Angels – $2.46 billion

8 Atlanta Braves – $2.38 billion

9 St. Louis Cardinals – $2.36 billion

10 Philadelphia Phillies – $2.28 billion

(Note: The New York Mets were just purchased by Steve Cohen for a record $2.475 billion.)


Sportico last did the NFL franchise valuations for the 2020 season.

Here was the Top 10 of American Footy:

1. Dallas Cowboys – $6.43 billion

2. New England Patriots – $4.97 billion

3. Los Angeles Rams – $4.10 billion

4. New York Giants – $4.00 billion

5. New York Jets – $3.70 billion

6. San Francisco 49ers – $3.63 billion

7. Washington Football Team – $3.58 billion

8. Chicago Bears – $3.41 billion

9. Philadelphia Eagles – $3.35 billion

10. Houston Texans – $3.34 billion

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Filed Under: MLB, Opinion, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: MLB, Opinion, While We're Young Ideas

It’s Time!

March 14, 2021 by Terry Lyons

By TERRY LYONS

Embed from Getty Images

BOSTON – These are the most important things in modern-day life in these United States.

  1. Health
  2. Family (and their health and safety)
  3. Shelter
  4. Friends and Good Neighbors
  5. Time
  6. Happiness
  7. Ambition and vision
  8. Fulfilling or rewarding work
  9. Money
  10. Luck

For the sake of this column, let’s assume nine of the 10 things listed are correct and each person can order them in any fashion they’d prefer. In some cases, the list may vary depending on a persons’ current situation and circumstances and where they were born and live. In other cases, the list and its order can change from day-to-day.

Of course, if one is born into poverty in the USA or many foreign lands and “third world” countries, all bets are off.

There are a few things on my list that don’t change for anyone on this earth. One of them is TIME.

Many of the sporting games we play and spectate are measured by time. Some are not.

Those measured by time, include:

  1. Football
  2. Futbol (and they hide the damn clock)
  3. Basketball
  4. Ice Hockey
  5. Lacrosse
  6. Many of the Olympic sports like swimming and downhill skiing
  7. You get the picture!

Other popular sports are not measured by time and, theoretically, you could play a single game forever and ever and ever. They include:

  1. Baseball
  2. Golf
  3. Tennis
  4. Just to name a few!

The past year (almost to the date of this column) taught us about the concept of time. The value of time was taught suddenly and with significant impact, probably more than any of the years of our lifetimes. For many, time was lost, along with jobs, money, happiness and other things we might’ve previously taken for granted.

The profound question and uncertainty?

How much TIME do we have? And, that is so over our full lifetime or in the case of athletics, maybe just over a relatively short career-length.

How do we manage TIME? What do we prioritize in our daily lives?

To start off the terrible Year of 2020, on January 1 – nonetheless – NBA Commissioner David Stern passed away. His time had come and so many were deeply effected by his incredible life and sudden death after suffering a brain hemorrhage in mid-December, 2019. During his time on this earth, in the words of longtime NBA front office guru and current President of the Golden State Warriors Rick Welts said Stern and his loyal staff pulled off the Sisyphus Act of all-time by pushing the giant boulder of the NBA uphill in very difficult times. The difference in that period of TIME, unlike Sisyphus, for the most part the rise of the NBA to its global prominence in sport was a joy-ride of hard work with th benefit of watching GREAT basketball, working with terrific people and having fun while we did it.

Stern was a master of TIME and enjoyed his career at the NBA so much that he named his post NBA private investment company, MicroManagement Ventures. It was a wonderful joke made together with his lawyerly friends put it underlined one of his own management mantras. “Everything is a priority.”

Stern’s passing was a sign of the time to come, although none of us quite understood it on January 1, 2020 or even at his service, held at Radio City Music Hall on January 21st. We were about to endure a year of crisis, botched crisis management, and then a full shutdown.

TIME would tell and the world and the sports industry pushed onward.

It started with a terrible game of televised and remotely produced H-O-R-S-E, then a golf tournament, called “The Match,” played in driving rain with Peyton Manning and Tiger Woods joining up with Phil Mickelson and former New England Patriots QB Tom Brady. After he struggled through his round of televised golf, who knew that by 2021, Brady would be hoisting the NFL’s Vince Lombardi Trophy once again?

Like that boulder going uphill, sports began to mark time and move forward, step-by-step.

PGA Tour Golf led the way, then some NASCAR, thoroughbred horse racing, the NFL Draft, and Korean baseball all filled vacant airtime. We coveted live sports action to pass the TIME.

Then, the big time, major sports made plans that took hold. The NBA built its bubble in Orlando, thee NHL situated itself in Toronto and Edmonton in Canada, and Baseball picked about labor issues before they finally opened up “Summer” training. We watched the New York Yankees take batting practice on the YES Network and eventually, on July 23, 2020, it was TIME to Play Ball!

Through the year, we wondered:

  1. How much TIME does Tom Brady really have to perform at such a high level?
  2. There’s the same question for Serena Williams in tennis and it was a question that was answered abruptly for the NBA’s Vince Carter when the shutdown ended his final year.
  3. We were shocked that a terrible helicopter accident took the lives of Kobe Bryant and his young daughter and their friends. TIME had come for Kobe and we only wish we could’ve Turned Back Time to warn him of the deadly disaster awaiting.
  4. The biggest sports story of the year came when the 2020 Summer Olympic Games were postponed. Hopefully, the Games of the XXXII Olympiad will be played in Tokyo this July. Once again, only TIME will tell.

How often have you asked for more time, wished we had more time, checked the time, cursed the time. Hell, we just lost an hour, right?

If you could only stop the clock, take time and get organized, prepared and be able to focus without the day-to-day distractions from such a busy lifestyle, created with smart phone devices, instant messaging, global business, real-time decision making at the speed of light. Try to get TIME on Your Side.

Yet, as TIME was stopped the past year, were any of us able to fully take advantage of the extra time?

Some found more time for family as young adult children returned home. Some were separated from family, especially concerned about the risk of exposing parent and grandparents to the deadly and contagious COVID-19 and now its emerging variants. we finally wised up, to some degree (ahem Texas, Mississippi and some other dim-witted, misguided States), and we began wearing masks.

TIME marched on.

Did we accomplish anything of note?

Some did, some didn’t. Some stayed safe and some of our loved ones passed away.

There is still TIME.

Signs of Spring are in the air and with them, growing optimism of three different and effective vaccines to ward off serious illness from COVID-19. with that and remaining guidelines for safety, State governments are gradually easing restrictions, as the Federal government purchases more and more of the vaccine doses with hopes to have the vast majority of Americans vaccinated by May or June. There’s a nice list of things to look forward to as March and its lioness windy ways turn to April showers and flowers.

Here are a few things to ponder for the near future:

  1. This weekend, Daylight Savings Time begins in most places and an extra hour of much-needed sunlight will inject some “Spring Fever” into our lives.
  2. The baseball bats are cracking line-drives in Florida and Arizona. Opening Day nears in Major League Baseball stadiums across the nation.
  3. March Madness will be staged once again, after the 2020 hiatus.
  4. The NHL and the NBA are pushing forward and their arenas are seeing partial capacity for live spectating.
  5. We’re all hoping Tiger Woods recovers from the terrible auto accident in LA.

It might take a few more months, and hopefully, there will be no more major setbacks (see Italy and Brazil, by the way), but THE TIME HAS COME.

Time Has Come Today to get our lives prepared for a new renaissance and re-opening. We’ll have struggles ahead, physically, mentally, and financially, as so many businesses were forced to close down- some temporarily and some for good. Remember as we go up against this virus in its second full year against us, we’re only as strong as our weakest links, whether those links are in our hometowns, Texas or Brazil.

But, we can and we will bounce back. It’s just a matter of TIME.

Filed Under: Opinion, While We're Young Ideas Tagged With: Opinion, While We're Young

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TL's Sunday Notes | March 30

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While We're Young (Ideas) and March Go Out Like a Lyons
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3 months ago
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Gotta Give Pitino the credit. Constant and Full-Court Press made the difference and his players were in condition to wear down UConn. digitalsportsdesk.com/st-johns-defeats-mighty-uconn/ ... See MoreSee Less

Gotta Give Pitino the credit.  Constant and Full-Court Press made the difference and his players were in condition to wear down UConn. https://digitalsportsdesk.com/st-johns-defeats-mighty-uconn/
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DigitalSportsDesk.com
3 months ago
DigitalSportsDesk.com

Groundhog Day!

whileyoungideas.substack.com/p/tls-sunday-sports-notes-feb-2 ... See MoreSee Less

Groundhog Day!

https://whileyoungideas.substack.com/p/tls-sunday-sports-notes-feb-2
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DigitalSportsDesk.com
4 months ago
DigitalSportsDesk.com

Plenty O' Notes and a Look at Boston Pro sports for 2025 - ... See MoreSee Less

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TL's Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 12 - Digital Sports Desk

digitalsportsdesk.com

In each round-up, there are far too many questions and not nearly enough definitive answers to the woes facing the New England clubs, the Celtics included. It might be time for some major shake-ups at...
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DigitalSportsDesk.com
4 months ago
DigitalSportsDesk.com

The first Sunday Sports Notes of 2025 | Including Some Predictions

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TL's Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 5 - Digital Sports Desk

digitalsportsdesk.com

KEY DATES IN 2025: Everyone needs to circle these dates on their sports calendar: KEY DATES IN 2025: Everyone needs to circle these dates on their sports calendar:
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