The decision over which to play with – the official World Cup soccer ball or the Turbo Football – never materialized. With all the snow, a soccer match was out of the question. So spirals of pink and black performed in the most sincere imitations of Rodney Peete and Joe Montana floated back and forth in the yard.

What a nice sight.

The Annual Second Chance is near – it’s called New Year’s Eve. It is the window of opportunity where the hopes and fears of all the year (not to mention the mistakes) can be erased.

But Christmas Day is a time of reinforcement and the essence of tomorrow. And children playing with toys are the finest examples of what that tomorrow looks like.

I look out the window. I’ve been in that yard. All youngsters have. Sports become such a part of childhood. Santa is aware of all of this, naturally.

This particular day is exquisite, I think to myself. I take personal inventory, not only of blessings and personal satisfaction, but of the presents of Christmas past. Still the kid, I suppose.

I got my first basketball when I was six. I made my first basket a year later. There was a tetherball set; I must have been eight. And a football helmet when I was ten. A Carl Furillo model baseball mitt at eleven. There were tennis rackets and fishing poles and boxing gloves and shrimp nets and a Mickey Mantle 32-inch Little League bat and one time, even a badminton set.

Every Christmas, I’d play out my dreams and my mind would fly over the rainbow, imagining my propulsion. Of course, I would become a major-leaguer, an All-Star, an all-time great, a Hall of Famer. We all would. My vision extended well beyond the day.

My athletic ability, alas, never kept stride. It was not the worst realization I would ever make.

But I have noticed a direct correlation between Christmas gifts and sporting dreams. The dreams are for the young. So are the gifts. Usually, the two disappear in unison. The rare few who project into greatness discover they do not need imagination to make those lofty flights of fantasy. Hope is not the co-pilot. Expectation is.

It must be a wonderful view.

I was thinking about all of this when another memory nudged me. My 17th Christmas I got a typewriter.

It was about the same time that I’d maneuvered my fantasy a few extra miles. I’d received a baseball scholarship to pitch at a small school in Florida. There were other opportunities, other colleges available. But none that would allow my athletic vision to continue.

I had expected a Christmas of more games in the yard. More dreams to celebrate. I got a typewriter instead.

“What am I going to do with a typewriter?” I asked.

My mother said I’d need it for college. But she also said, “Sometimes you get too old to play games. But you never get too old that you can’t use your imagination.”

Sometimes Christmas is taken for granted. Almost always, in fact. I think Christmas music, and I hear bells. I turn on the radio and I hear someone named Elmo and Patsy lamenting their grandmother’s head-on collision with a reindeer. I think of the meaning of Christmas, and I think of the most special birthday in the history of the world. But I turn on the TV and there are all these claymation raisins doing Doo-Wop homages to the joys of buying machines wherein a microchip can seize command of entire generations.

Christmas (will soon) be gone, 364 days to go. But children still play. They chase the wonderful image of themselves as they would like to be seen. Christmas is their favorite arena. But they settle for lesser stadia.

But remember this – the present is sometimes confused with the package it comes wrapped in. Sometimes the gift is simply the freedom to imagine. There may be no greater one.

It was a great typewriter. I still play with it.

– A column by Shelby Strother

*This column is, by far, my favorite column of all-time.

Here’s to the late Shelby Strother, his great wife, Kim, and a Merry Christmas to all.

###

Editorial Note: For those of you who did not know Shelby Strother, I pass these little tidbits along:

He was a very good friend. I’ve lost a father and an older brother. I’ve agonized and felt helpless as we’ve since watched close relatives and friends of the family pass away, but Shelby was the first good friend in my life who went and got cancer and then died. Sadly, as the years pass, many others have fallen to cancer and now to this terrible COVID-19 disease. My good buddy, my goalkeeper, Bob Rose, passed away from Prostate cancer few years ago and our dear friend, Mike Shalin, just passed away from brain cancer a year or so ago. The bottom line – CANCER SUCKS.

Back to Shelby… I can remember when we attended the 1991 NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte, NC. That Sunday night, he said that he didn’t feel well and was going to bed early. That was Feb. 10, 1991. The next month was a bad dream, each minute of every day for a solid month. Shelby died in the suburbs of Detroit on March 3, 1991, leaving his wife, Kim and two great little guys, Tommy and Kenny (the latter joined Shelby in heaven a few years back but that is a terrible fact of life to be told another day). Shelby grew up in the great State of Florida and loved it. I met him when he was a writer for the Denver Post. He went on to be a sports columnist for the Detroit News, but when big news – not sporting – was breaking and the News needed a writer, they sent Shelby. When the Berlin Wall was coming down, off went Shelby. … I could go on.

ONE THING LEARNED: It’s pretty tough to follow a column by Shelby Strother, but I’ll try by passing along some recent sports biz news and sports-related notes.

NBA TEAM VALUATIONS: A year ago, the New York Knicks held the top position when Sportico posted its estimated valuations of NBA franchises. This year, the Golden State Warriors have to top designation, although the proposed sale of the Phoenix Suns to Mat Ishbia for a cool $4 billion might up the franchise ante by a cool billion for each club. Here’s the Top Ten NBA Valuations for this year.

1. Golden State Warriors – $7.56 billion
2. New York Knickerbockers – $6.58 billion
3. Los Angeles Lakers – $6.44 billion
4. Chicago Bulls – $4.09 billion
5. Boston Celtics – $3.92 billion
6. Brooklyn Nets – $3.86 billion
7. Los Angeles Clippers – $3.73 billion
8. Toronto Raptors – $3.34 billion
9. Houston Rockets – $3.30 billion
10. Dallas Mavericks – $3.26 billion

For reference, the Dallas Mavericks entered the NBA as an expansion team in 1980-81 and were valued at $12.5 million by the NBA.

ADDING 1 +1 = $7.0 BILLION: With the Phoenix Suns going for a cool $4 billion, the purchase price of sports franchises around the world continues to surge. Here’s a look at the current market:

1. Washington Commanders – Expected to fetch north of $7 billion says Dan Snyder
2. Chelsea FC – Sold for $5.3 billion, highest club price on record as of Dec. 25, 2022
3. Denver Broncos – Sold for $4.65 billion, highest NFL price tag ever.

WORDS FROM THE CAPT: Former Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks NBA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has some very basic and realistic holiday advice. The retired NBA All-Star turned ace columnists recently posted: “This is the time of year when we all take stock of our lives. We feel grateful for those we love and who love us, yet we also are planning how we might improve. Now, those plans for more exercise and a sensible diet may fade with the melting snow, but that’s less important than the fact that we want to be better, he wrote.

“The holiday season energizes my main resolution—which is the same every year—to be kinder. One act of kindness a day may not change the big, wide world, but it changes me, and it changes my world.”

2022 WORLD CUP in the BOOKS; WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SOCCER? The crowning of Argentina as the 2022 World Cup champions and the professional staging of the matches by Qatar gave the sport of Futbol a huge boost as the year ends. The momentum should help England’s Premiership with a bump in interest. … The question remains, ‘what will happen in the United States of America and Major League soccer?’

For Soccer Ventures, a media and company attempting to connect brands, players, fans, families and platforms to the diverse American soccer community through experiential events, completed a third consecutive year of record growth, expansion and engagement as 2022 turns to 2023.

For Soccer is planning additional expansion of its properties and partnerships, while the Futbol crowd anticipates the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

“While the just completed FIFA Men’s World Cup certainly helped raise awareness and engagement for soccer, it was just the culmination of a year where we saw partnerships soar everywhere from grassroots, to community impact and media, to brand engagement,” said Heath Pearce, President of For Soccer Ventures.

FIFA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS: Heading into 2023, the United States leads all women’s futbol teams in the World Rankings compiled by FIFA. Here’s the Top Five from the list:

1. United States – 2078.50
2. Germany – 2073.73
3. Sweden – 2057.90
4. England – 2052.90
5. France – 2025.85

The time zone will be a challenge for fans in the United States when the 2023 Women’s World Cup is staged in Australia and New Zealand but the enthusiasm from the 2022 World Cup will provide positive momentum for the women’s tournament which runs behind tennis, basketball, gymnastics, golf and figure skating in global popularity.

STICKING WITH THE RANKINGS: As long as we’re delving into World Rankings, bet you didn’t know that the United States men are no longer ranked Numero Uno in the sport of basketball. The most recent FIBA rankings are listed and the modus operandi is HERE

1. Spain – 758.6
2. USA – 757.5
3. Australia – 740.3
4. Argentina – 734.3
5. France – 715.0

BIG EAST CHRISTMAS: Sure there are plenty of NBA and NFL games on Christmas but the BIG EAST is making a bold statement to compete against the big boys. For the first time in league history, the BIG EAST will play a conference game on Christmas Day. Creighton, the preseason BIG EAST favorite, will host DePaul at the CHI Health Center at 4:30pm ET on FOX. The game will follow FOX’s coverage of the Green Bay Packers at Miami Dolphins game.

Creighton is coming off a 78-56 win against Butler on Thursday. Center Ryan Kalkbrenner returned after a three-game absence and scored a game-high 19 points. All five Bluejays are averaging in double figures led by Kalkbrenner’s 16.2 mark. The Bluejays own a 7-6 overall record and a 1-1 BIG EAST mark. … The Blue Demons are 6-6 overall and 0-1 in the BIG EAST. Forward Javan Johnson ranks fourth in the league with a 16.9 scoring mark. Newcomer guard Umoja Gibson ranks first in steals (2.3), second in free throw shooting (.904) and fourth in assists (5.3). … Both schools are known to have played once previously on Christmas Day. DePaul played in 2014, Creighton in 1953.

IDEAS FOR HOLIDAYS GIFTS: We have two great offerings for your last minute and INSTANT Holiday gift guide.

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1. NOTES, NOTES, AND MORE NOTES: A year-long subscription to TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – While We’re Young (Ideas) is a perfect way to have the sports fan in your life look forward to an old-fashioned, weekly, notebook full of sports insights. Sign-up for this special offer: HERE
2. PGA TOUR BRUNCH AS CHAMPIONS RETURN OF THE TOUR: Plans are on-going to re-launch the popular PGA Tour Brunch newsletter when the pros tee-it-up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (January 4-8, 2023) at The Plantation Course at Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii.

SIGN-UP HERE FOR PGA TOUR BRUNCH.

TIDBITS AND SPORTS BIZ: A company that the late David Stern invested in long before his January 2020 death is a Massachusetts-based health and fitness company – WHOOP. Stern’s partner, John Kosner, continues with his portion of the investment, as the company is now valued at $3.6 billion. Here’s a FOS interview with WHOOP Founder and CEO Will Ahmed. … Boston College is adding a Deputy Director of Athletics to oversee Compliance, Name, Image and Likeness programming and education, HR, Facilities and Operations across many of the department’s sub-divisions. BC AD Blake James is readying for his second year at the school and has been hiring from within and promoting from within often. … The BC Eagles men’s ice hockey team has a pair of games in – get this – Tempe, Arizona – December 30-31 before returning to Boston for a January 7th game vs UMass at “Frozen Fenway.” … The NHL Winter Classic features the Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins at the Fens on January 2, 2023 at 6pm (ET). The long-term forecast for the day is cloudy and 57-degrees for the Bruins. … If the report is accurate, it’ll be about four or five degrees colder in Boston than Tempe. …

BABY. IT’S COLD OUTSIDE: There are NFL games being played all weekend as the league moved the bulk of its schedule to Saturday, Dec. 24th when 11 of the 14 NFL Week 16 games were played. At kickoff time, the NFL players were greeted with a little (turn) Blue Christmas with unusually cold temps and wind chill throughout the land. Here’s what was going down at kickoff time:

• Home Team / Temp (F) at Kickoff / Feels Like/Wind Chill
• at Baltimore / 16-degrees / 2-degrees
• at Charlotte / 18-degrees / 8-degrees
• at Chicago / 9-degrees / -10-degrees
• at Cleveland / 5-degrees / -13-degrees
• at Kansas City / 9-degrees / -5-degrees
• at Foxboro (New England) / 15-degrees / 2-degrees
• at Minneapolis / Dome / Dome but 5-degrees with low of -5

On Christmas Day, the NFL counter-programmed against the traditionally NBA-heavy Christmas sports TV schedule, with football games at 1:00pm (ET), 4:20pm (ET) and 8:20pm (ET) games. The NBA Christmas Day schedule:

• 12 Noon (ET) – 76ers at Knicks (ABC Sports)
• 2:30pm (ET) – LA Lakers at Mavericks (ABC Sports)
• 5:00pm (ET) – Bucks at Celtics (ABC Sports)
• 8:00pm (ET) – Grizzlies at Warriors (ABC Sports)
• 10:30pm (ET) – Suns at Nuggets (ABC Sports

It could be trouble for the NBA national network ratings game.

32: The Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL were planning for a special 50th Anniversary celebration of “The Immaculate Reception” while honoring Hall of Famer and four-time Super Bowl champion Franco Harris this weekend. Harris’ No. 32 is the first offensive side of the ball player to have his number retired by the “Steel Curtain” franchise. So sadly, Harris passed away suddenly this week and has shocked the entire Pittsburgh Steelers fandom and organization. Really, every fan of the NFL had to admire Harris. He was that kind of player.

“We are shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected passing of Franco Harris,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement. “He meant so much to Steelers fans as the Hall of Fame running back who helped form the nucleus of the team’s dynasty of the ’70s, but he was much more. He was a gentle soul who touched so many in the Pittsburgh community and throughout the entire NFL. Franco changed the way people thought of the Steelers, of Pittsburgh, and of the NFL.

“He will forever live in the hearts of Steelers fans everywhere, his teammates, and the City of Pittsburgh. Our condolences go out to his wife, Dana, and their son, Dok.”

The only other numbers retired by the Pittsburgh Steelers organization:

• No. 70 – DT Ernie Stautner
• No. 75 – DT “Mean” Joe Greene

COLD REMINDER of HOW FRAGILE LIFE CAN BE: Combining with the news of the passing of Franco Harris came the sudden death of NFL producer Michael Antell, 33, who passed away this week in an automobile accident on his way home from work at NFL Films. Antell’s friends have organized a “Go Fund Me” page to assist his family. There’s some work to be done to reach the proper monetary goal. Mike and his wife, Becca, were expecting a son (Samuel) soon to be born and join his sister Caroline. Please consider a donation of any amount.