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Terry Lyons

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 4

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The 1999 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs in Milan

By TERRY LYONS. Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Earlier this week, Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs announced Popovich will transition from head coach to president of basketball operations. In 29 seasons as the Spurs head coach, Popovich amassed 1,422 regular season wins, the most in NBA history. During his tenure, the Spurs captured five NBA championships.

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“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” said Popovich. “I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me.”

After joining the Spurs in the summer of 1988, as an assistant coach on Larry Brown’s staff, Popovich enjoyed a 37-year career in the NBA as a coach and executive. He spent two seasons, from 1992-94, as an assistant coach for Don Nelson with the Golden State Warriors. His other 35 NBA seasons have all been in San Antonio with the Spurs, making him the longest tenured professional coach among the four major North American leagues.

Popovich’s pre-NBA career is, perhaps, more amazing than his run in the league. As noted in Military dot com, Popovich was born in East Chicago in 1949, the first child of Raymond and Katherine. His father, a steel-mill pipefitter, had served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

As a youngster, Popovich did well in school academically, but “was the biggest wiseass you ever saw, and all I gave a damn about was playing ball,” he told the U.S. Army Installation Management Command in a 2012 interview. He enrolled in the Air Force Academy, and played basketball for the Air Force Academy in El Paso County, Colorado, just north of Colorado Springs.

Popovich majored in Soviet studies and graduated in 1970 after starting all four years for AF basketball where he was team captain and the leading scorer for the Falcons his senior season at the academy.

Then, it got very interesting.

Popovich served in the Air Force for the required five years of active duty, during which he toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union with the U.S. Armed Forces basketball team. After graduation, his first assignment put him with the 6594th Support Group at the Air Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF) in Sunnyvale, California. In those years of service, he operated spy satellites monitoring Soviet missile launches under the top-secret facility, under command of the Space and Missile Systems Center.

Popovich continued playing basketball while touring Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces Team. As a member of an all-star team Goodwill Tour from April to May 1972, he traveled to the then USSR capital of Moscow, the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, and the Estonian capital of Tallinn.

“The opportunities I got in the military to travel with basketball really made me understand how much basketball is played around the world, how many good players there are,” Popovich told The New York Times in 2005.

By 1973, he was transferred to Diyarbakir Air Station in Turkey, an American-Turkish military base that tracked Soviet launches.

After months of service in Turkey, Popovich returned to Colorado to coach high school at the Air Force preparatory school — for which he received an Air Force commendation medal — and then coached college-aged cadets at the Air Force Academy. He also was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon and Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon. He continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve until 1993, working his way up to the rank of major.

Popovich remained at the Air Force Academy for six years and served as an assistant for head coach Hank Egan, who later helped Popovich as an assistant coach with the Spurs.

In 1979, Popovich became the head coach of the Pomona-Pitzer men’s basketball team, but his biggest break came with his move in 1988 to the NBA as an assistant coach to Larry Brown with the Spurs.

Popovich became general manager of the Spurs in 1994, then head coach after Bob Hill was fired in 1996.

In 2015, Popovich was named head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team for the 2017-20 quadrennium, but the team suffered a tough loss to France in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Two years later, the USA men’s national team earned a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. (The 2020 Games were postponed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and staged in 2021).

While the biography remains stellar and Popovich’s work with the Spurs continues, his resume also includes a rather manipulative and cranky side. In many instances with his interactions with the media, he was an intimidating bully, one who was actually sending messages to the NBA league office and then-Commissioner David Stern.

Popovich detested doing in-game interviews and remained “old-school” throughout his coaching days, even as the NBA became more and more media savvy and the demands of TV partners mounted. Quite famously, Popovich gave the late Craig Sager of Turner Sports the hardest of times as Sager’s outside reporter duties called for him to interview Popovich on the basketball court at times when Popovich preferred to be with his club and not be bothered.

The one word answers – complete with a smirk or roll of the eyes – became legendary, the insults grew embarrassing and frequently Popovich crossed the line of sic human decency. But through it all, Popovich developed a sincere appreciation for Sager’s doggedness and tenacity, admiring Sager’s preparedness as well. Somehow, through it all – in years, not days or weeks – the two became solid friends.

When Sager was battling leukemia and the entire NBA and sports world were paying tribute to the broadcaster, Popovich led the way – often very subtly and behind the scenes and sometimes on camera – joking with Sager about his wildest sport coat, and breaking any tension that might’ve existed in the past.

That edge and manipulation factor were out-done by Popovich’s pure and honest humanity. The coach’s insights and generosity were seen more often and his commentary of current events, world politics and the state of the United States presidency remain legendary quotes and must-see TV.

So, in the TL take side of this column, I am not here to bury Gregg Popovich but to praise him. There were more than a few practical jokes he played on us, and we’d all get a laugh. And, he truly loves the game of basketball and – without a doubt – he’s the greatest NBA coach of all-time.

Do I wish there were fewer “cross the line” intervals with the NBA’s media contingent over the many years? Yes. Do I wish there were fewer (F-U) messages sent in code to the NBA league office and its Commissioner? Yes. Do I wonder what it was like for then rookie Tony Parker being crushed and degraded as a ballplayer to the point where longtime Spurs basketball GM R.C. Buford had to talk “Pop” off the ledge from cutting Parker? Yes.

But, like everything in his life, somehow Popovich would come full circle to see the results he envisioned, and thus the incredible rise of Parker to NBA Finals MVP level (2007).

The tail end of Popovich’s illustrious coaching career sadly will be remembered for the “mild stroke” he suffered on November 2, 2024 while at the Spurs facilities. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson was named the acting coach in Popovich’s absence and Johnson named the next full time head coach of the Spurs this week.

All-in-all and despite the abrupt end to Popovich’s on court coaching career, there have been too many wins, too many Hall of Famers coached to their highest potential, and too many NBA titles (5) to call his scope of work in the NBA anything other than fabulous – maybe even, FAN-tastic, a phrase to honor the coach and his contributions to San Antonio, the Spurs organization and the overall and worldwide game of basketball.

The Winningest Head Coaches in NBA History

  • Gregg Popovich – 1,388
  • Don Nelson – 1,335
  • Lenny Wilkens – 1,332
  • Jerry Sloan – 1,221
  • Pat Riley – 1,210

The other two coaches to be highlighted among the very best of all time were the two “Reds” – Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics and Red Holzman of the New York Knickerbockers.

  • Red Auerbach – 938 (coached Washington Capitals and Tri-Cities Blackhawks, too)
  • Red Holzman – 696

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday was named by the NBA as the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy for winning the 2024-25 NBA Sportsmanship Award. This is the second NBA Sportsmanship Award for Holiday, who also earned the honor in the 2020-21 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Presented annually since the 1995-96 season, the NBA Sportsmanship Award honors a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. The trophy is named for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Joe Dumars, who won the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award and played his entire 14-year career with the Detroit Pistons.

Each NBA team nominated one of its players for the 2024-25 NBA Sportsmanship Award. From the list of 30 team nominees, a panel of league executives selected six finalists (one from each NBA division). Current NBA players selected the winner from the list of six finalists.

In addition to winning the NBA Sportsmanship Award twice, Holiday is a three-time recipient of the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award for his selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team. Holiday is also a finalist for the 2024-25 NBA Social Justice Champion Award, marking the third time he has been a finalist for the honor in its five-year history.

A 16-year NBA veteran, Holiday is a two-time NBA All-Star and six-time Kia NBA All-Defensive Team selection. He has won two NBA championships (one each with Boston and Milwaukee) and two Olympic gold medals with the USA Men’s National Team.

Sadly, the glut of the “do good” awards has forced the hand of the Pro Basketball Writers Association and they have discontinued the annual J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award that was given annually by the writers from 1975 until 2024. (James) Walter Kennedy was the NBA’s second Commissioner (1963-1975) and his title was league President. He passed away in 1977 at the young age of 65. A native of Stamford, Connecticut, Kennedy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1981.

The NBA now recognizes:

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Award
  • Jack Twyman-Maurice Stokes Teammate of the Year Award
  • Joe Dumars Sportsmanship Award
  • Lifetime Achievment Award

While the Basketball Hall of Fame recognizes:

  • John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award (Highest basketball honor outside Induction/Enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame itself).
  • Manny Jackson Human Spirit Awards (usually recognizing three players)
  • Ice Cube Impact Award (presented to Ice Cube himself in its inaugural year)

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: TPC Craig Ranch is hosting The CJ CUP Byron Nelson golf tournament for the fifth time, honoring the legacy of the tournament namesake, in the great Byron Nelson. It was the first PGA Tour event to be named in honor of a professional golfer. Nelson had 52 career PGA Tour wins including a record 18 event titles (11 straight) in 1945.

SOX: The Red Sox won 16 games during the month of April, trailing only the Detroit Tigers (18) for most in the American League … A streak of six straight quality starts by Boston pitchers ended Saturday when Sox RHP Hunter Dobbins missed earning a quality start by one batter. Dobbins did go 5.1 innings to extend Boston’s streak of 15 starting pitchers going at least 5 IP. That dates back to April 18.

For no reason at all, Boston broke out their yellow “Boston City Connect” (tribute to the Boston Marathon) uniforms on Saturday. Prior to Saturday’s afternoon game, delayed by rain, the Red Sox are 37-16 when they don the yellows. Boston is 22-12 in the uniforms since 2023.

Of late, the Red Sox have lost three of the last four games and six of their last 10. In MLB, the fans tend to do some scoreboard watching come September but sometimes the games of May or June determine the season.

When Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran faced Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran in the 9th inning at Fenway Saturday, it was Duran-Duran. Although Boston’s lead-off hitter was “Hungry Like the Wolf,” he grounded out to shortstop and must’ve “Come Undone.”

On Sunday, May 4, the good folks at Strat-O-Matic will “take over” the Mets House NYC at Union Square, in Manhattan from 11:00am through mid-afternoon for open Strat-O-Matic play, prize giveaways, meet-and-greets with Strat-O-Matic founder Hal Richman and other staffers. The latest simulated games (series) was between the current 2025 Mets and the 1986 Mets, one of the best and most likable teams in NYM history. In the decisive Game 7, the ‘86 club’s Ray Knight hit .375 and his teammates, Mookie Wilson and Keith Hernandez, both hit .333 as the ‘86 squad won the simulated series in seven, rallying for two runs in the bottom of the 10th to win, 4-3.

If you’re wondering how Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and the ‘69 Mets would fare, the simulation boards had the current 2025 team winning four straight. Red hot NYM 1B Pete Alonso hit .353, with two HR, and four RBI while SS Francisco Lindor batted a blistering .412, scoring five runs. On the hill, closer Edwin Diaz, appeared in four games, and earned three saves to close down the series against those pesky ‘69 Mets.

THIS JEST IN: Roger Clemens stopped by the Fenway Park press box on Friday night, but it was Saturday afternoon when the Rocket watched his son, Kody, hit his first homer of 2025, a 398 foot blast to right field. It was Kody’s first time ever facing the Red Sox and he has only the Baltimore Orioles remaining for teams he hasn’t played against. Kody is a 28 year old, 6-1, 190 lb infielder.

Here’s one for the ages. On Tuesday, Netflix will premier Untold: Shooting Guards (emphasis on the shoot). The promo reads: “What really went down between GilbertArenas and Javaris Crittenton? It continues, “This exposé unpacks how a gambling dispute led to guns drawn in an NBA locker room.”

NBC Sports commentator Mike Tirico was forced to sit out for the 2025 Kentucky Derby broadcast after suffering a nut allergy exposure.

John Skipper, the former head of ESPN and once most powerful man in sports, stepped down from his post at Meadowlark Media, a production company he founded with former ESPN host Dan LaBatard. In between ESPN and Meadowlark, Skipper was executive chairman at DAZN.

RIP: Stan Love, a 6-foot-9 forward and father of NBA star Kevin Love, passed away last week at the age of 76. Stan Love was a top-notch player for the University of Oregon, and was selected ninth overall in the 1971 National Basketball Association draft by the Baltimore Bullets, the predecessors of the Washington Wizards. He averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds a game with modest playing time over four seasons with the Bullets and the Los Angeles Lakers of the N.B.A. and the San Antonio Spurs, then of the American Basketball Association. Stan was also the brother of the singer Mike Love of the Beach Boys and a onetime bodyguard and caretaker of the band’s brilliant but troubled leader, Brian Wilson

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 26

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Take your Super Bowl Sunday and toss it in a Crock Pot of chili. Let it simmer. Take your World Cup final and toss it in a vat of the best guacamole you’ve ever had in your life. Take Sunday at The Masters and go dine at the Augusta House of Pancakes. The Kentucky Derby is a great day but it stands alone. I’ll take the AFC/NFC Championship Sunday over all of those great sporting events every day of the year.

Get the Smorgasbord of All-Time ready. Sunday (January 26, 2025) is our day!

Yes, there are a bunch of great days in sports, but the doubleheader on tap today is certainly one, if not, “the” best days on the annual calendar of sports specialties. This year, it’s the upstart Washington (DC) Commanders against the venerable Philadelphia Eagles at The Linc in the first game (3pm ET) on FOX while the nightcap of the Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead (6:30pm ET) on CBS, might prove to be the best game of the year.

In the NFL season, the conference championships are the best because of the fact it’s a twin bill. The Super Bowl is great, don’t get me wrong, but Championship Sunday brings memories on top of memories. Maybe another great day for NFL football, opening week Sunday can compare, especially for us Fantasy Football geeks who are wondering how our teams will fare, inevitably benching two great wide receivers while starting a pair of duds.

While it’s been touched on here before, humor this WWYI columnist as some of the other great days in sports are listed in the paragraphs to come. It can be an endless list, to be sure.

Let’s put aside Game 7s, as they take on a life of their own during the World Series, NBA Finals or the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final. A Game 7 overtime to decide the Stanley Cup Champion is the most intense experience in sports, no doubt. But we’re here to focus on some of the most amazing days sports has to offer.

Looking back, the U.S. Open tennis tournament had an all-time day when the men’s semifinals sandwiched the women’s final on a Saturday to remember, especially when John McEnroe played Jimmy Connors in the nightcap. The USTA, so rightfully, changed the schedule to give the women’s final a night of its own.

Here in Boston, we have some pretty good twin bills. Patriots’ Day, with the Boston Marathon blending with an 11:00am first pitch at Fenway Park, is one of the best day of the year and certainly the most inspiring as you witness the everyday runners competing on the same course as the champions. And take an afternoon NBA or NHL Playoff game and pair it with an April or May or June night game at Fenway, and you’re looking at a day in paradise.

But there’s plenty of other sporting events to contemplate. Here are just a few:

  • NCAA Opening Round Thursday and Friday
  • NCAA Final Four Saturday
  • BIG EAST Thursday and Friday
  • The ACC Basketball Semis
  • Breeders’ Cup Championship (seven World Series games on one afternoon)
  • The Beanpot (BC, BU, Northeastern & Harvard playing ice hockey)
  • NCAA Lacrosse Final Four Semis
  • The Frozen Four Semis
  • Olympic Gold Medal and Bronze Medal games in Men’s Basketball
  • The new CFP (College Football Playoffs) – First Round Tripleheader
  • Thanksgiving Day NFL Football (Detroit and Dallas hosting)

The only thing Better in sports or entertainment?

How about the Allman Brothers Band at Red Rocks (near Denver, Colorado) playing Jessica, Les Brers In A Minor, Dreams and In Memory of Elizabeth Reed at the same show?

Oh, we’re talking rock shows?

Don’t get me started.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Picks for NFC/AFC Championship today? Tough calls, as the Commanders keep winning and the Bills and QB Josh Allen are due. After all, you’re either hot or you’re due.

The Philadelphia Eagles (-6) is the play in the National Football Conference with the fact that Saquon Barkley and the vaunted Eagles’ fans at The Linc will help bring it home.

The American Football Conference championship is a much tougher call, especially since two of my dearest friends in the whole wide world support the teams that will play and – undoubtedly – beat each others brains to bits.

The Chiefs are healthy but the Bills are a bit banged up, especially in the secondary.

While I think the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen are due, I just can’t recommend anyone betting against KC QB Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. That said, if you’re thinking of playing KC, I’d go with the money line, and if you’re thinking of playing the Bills, take the measly (+2) and picture an overtime when KC scores and kicks an extra point, only to leave the Bills a chance to score and go for two points to win it.

It’s only 18 days until Red Sox Pitchers & Catchers report.

  • Truck Day: Monday, Feb. 3
  • Pitchers and catchers report Wednesday, Feb. 12
  • Full Squad Workout: Wednesday, Feb. 17

It’s only 49 days until NCAA Selection Sunday.

Minnesota Wild team owner Craig Leipold broke the news during a podcast interview when asked about the current state of the NHL. Although the esteemed NHL Commissioner Gary B. Bettman has made no formal announcement of his future plans, Leipold indicated the NHL governors are beginning to make plans for a hockey league without Bettman at the top. Bettman, 72, has been the NHL’s commissioner since February 1993. His tenure has been the longest in league history, surpassing Clarence Campbell, who was the NHL President for 31 years from 1946–1977. “The fact that Gary is going to be retiring, you know, that’s a concerning factor,” Leipoid said on “The Sick Podcast” with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy. “There’s a lot of us who know how well Gary has been as a commissioner in this league, and what he’s done for all the teams and the players. It’s going to be a sad day when he’s not part of it. … But you know, that’s a couple years down the road and we’re doing the planning now. We have to make sure we get it right when he leaves. Right now, that’s kind of the only thing that’s on the horizon.”

Who’s Got Next? That’s the toughest question on the ice.

The logical answer would be to promote Bill Daly, the current NHL deputy commissioner and chief legal officer, but the NHL is known to act in strange ways and an outsider might be the choice of the Canadian power brokers of the NHL (Toronto and Montreal).

NHL aficionados might suggest a famous former player to take on the job, but a multi-millionaire legend, usually yucking-it-up at celebrity golf outings or being paid nicely to adorn the set of an NHL broadcast, is not likely to seek a job where they work 12 to 15 hour days dealing with the vast problems and financial difficulties, or league/player collective bargaining negotiations, difficult decisions on Olympic participation or enforcing player safety rules with fines and suspensions.

TIDBITS: One thing the NBA didn’t anticipate for the first of two NBA Paris Games? How about a 30-point blow-out, with the San Antonio Spurs crushing the Indiana Pacers, 140-110. A line score for San Antonio’s incredible Wemby? 30, 11, 6 and 5 blocks, including a 2:25 span to end the third quarter with four points, three rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists. The crowd of 15,935 at the Chia Pet of arenas certainly went home happy this past Thursday. … The Pacers returned the favor and blew out the Spurs on Saturday, 136-98.

The NCAA – with the exception of member schools like UNLV and Nevada Reno – was dead set against the ‘evils’ of Las Vegas until Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Conference Championship tournaments filled the coffers of schools and televison partners. In 2027, it’ll be even bigger, as the College Football Playoffs will culminate at Allegiant Stadium in Vegas to crown the national champion.

“Las Vegas has shown the world they have amazing venues and boundless energy to host an event like the College Football Playoff national championship in spectacular fashion,” said Rich Clark, executive director of the College Football Playoff. “I can’t think of a better stage to crown the best team in college football in 2027. I want to thank Steve Hill and the entire Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for the hard work and dedication they put in to making this day a reality for their city.”

Hill reeled in another huge event for sin city. “Pairing the energy of Las Vegas with the College Football Playoff National Championship will make for a truly extraordinary event, both on and off the field,” said Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “We appreciate the opportunity the CFP has provided us to welcome college football’s great athletes and biggest fans for an unmatched national championship experience in the city built for celebration.”

Las Vegas will become the third city in the Pacific time zone to host the CFP title game, joining the Bay Area (2019) and Los Angeles (2023). Here is the whole list:

Looking Ahead:

  • 2027 Las Vegas
  • 2026 South Florida

Looking Back:

  • 2025 Atlanta
  • 2024 Houston
  • 2023 Los Angeles
  • 2022 Indianapolis
  • 2021 South Florida
  • 2020 New Orleans
  • 2019 Bay Area (California)
  • 2018 Atlanta
  • 2017 Tampa Bay
  • 2016 Arizona
  • 2015 North Texas

THIS JEST IN: Our friends at Sportico reported on Fanatics, noting: ‘“Fanatics Commerce, which includes its core apparel and merchandise sales, represented about $6.2 billion of sales, or 77% of total revenue. Fanatics Collectibles, the trading card unit, brought in about $1.6 billion. Revenue at Fanatics Betting & Gaming was about $300 million.” Add it up and you’ve got an $8.1b company.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: There’s a Long Islander who played a game of “Free Parking” at the local pro hockey rink that even hockey Hall of Famer Brad Park would’ve sniffed out in a two minute call for “charging.” It’s a crime that might land the crook a jail sentence and serious fine, never mind the loss of a good job at the UBS Arena – home of the New York Islanders. A parking attendant working the lots around Belmont Park pocketed nearly $5,000 since last spring, offering concert goers and Islanders’ fans a discounted parking rate at the arena lots by sending the fees directly to his personal Venmo account instead of being processed to the UBS coffers, according to Nassau County prosecutors. … Tremayne Brown, 26, of Queens, was charged with falsifying business records and grand larceny after authorities said they discovered Brown promised a discount to drivers attending events at the Elmont, Long Island (New York) venue. … Prosecutors say the alleged scheme unraveled after his supervisor overheard him tell a woman heading to the January 12 “Disney on Ice” performance to “pay using Venmo to save on fees.” … Easy surveillance and follow-up caught the digital thief red-handed as records showed Venmo deposits dating back to last spring, all coinciding with events and Islanders games at The UBS. … The parallel parking pilferer pleaded ‘not guilt’ at a preliminary hearing and was released with the case pending.

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly (every weekend) collection of Sports Notes and News written by Terry Lyons. The posting of each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city newsstand on Saturday night around 10pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a sports-filled compilation of interesting notes, quotes and quips in a column that always sold a few newspapers.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes is brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.

-TL-

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Nov. 12

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at Boston Common Golf

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | February 19th

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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.

TL Sunday Sports Notebook – August 8

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The PGA Tour took a break in their schedule for the Tokyo Olympics and Xander Schauffele enjoyed the trip to Japan the most, returning to the USA with a Gold medal for men’s golf while Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) played as a “ringer” for Slovakia and took home the Silver and C.T. Pan won the Bronze for his native country.

This week, the PGA Tour is going double barrel with the tour’s longest all-time title tourney in the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude’s Invitationalin Memphis and the Barracuda Championship in Tahoe.

It’s all back to normal for the PGA Tour, except for ONE THING!

The players on the J.V. tournament in Tahoe are using the dreaded Modified Stableford scoring format, the first PGA Tour event to use the format since The International was staged out in Denver in 2006. Players are allocated points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole with the goal of achieving the highest overall score.

Points Scoring Method:

Albatross +8

Eagle +5

Birdie +2

Par 0

Bogey -1

Double bogey or worse -3

Confused? Nah. Just think of it as the “Elam Ending” of Golf, except it’s used for the whole tournament, not just the ending.

Speaking of Elam ending and changing the games we play, maybe we should say ‘Screw it’ to Dr. Naismith and his rules for the game of basketball – a la one point for a free throw, two points for a field goal and three points for taking a shitty shot from 26+ feet (ABA gimmick, not Dr. Naismith’s fault).

With that in mind, we introduce the Modified Stableford Scoring for Basketball, sponsored by Ford Motor Company, of course, would be the …

Basketball Scoring Method:

Great pass that leads directly to a bucket – (+3) + the basket

Blocked shot – (+3)

Steal – (+2)

Taking a charge – (+2)

Slam Dunk – (+3)

Successful free throw – (+1) or field goal – (+2)

Successful shot from “Downtown” – aka beyond the arc – (+1) except in last 2:59 of game when it counts for (+3)

Turnover – (-1)

Bitching to a ref – (-1)

Getting “posterized” – (-1)

Technical Foul – (-2)

Personal Foul – (0) until after player’s fifth PF, then (-1); In last 2:59, a team can choose to simply inbound ball rather than shoot FTs.

Team Fouls – (0) until after seventh in each quarter; then start to shoot.

Flopping – (-2)

Tapping hands or high-5 or fist-bump to teammates and leaving position in lane after a made free throw – (-2)

Tapping hands or high-5 or fist-bumps with teammates after missed free throw – (-3)

First team to 100 wins.

ONE SIDE CRACK: When we all get to the Pearly Gates, you just “gotta hope” we weren’t all playing by the Modified Stableford system instead of the 10 Commandments.

HERE NOW, SPORTS BIZ NEWS: A shareholder of the Chicago Bulls is currently shopping a 5% stake in the NBA franchise at a valuation of $3 billion. That is $300 million less than current Forbes listing of $3.3 billion for the entire franchise, one of the league’s most iconic. The minimum purchase, according to financial industry sources is a 1.25% stake.

Speaking of franchise values …

FORBES FOOTBALL VALUES: Forbes released its annual listing of NFL franchise valuations and the Dallas Cowboys lead the pack again. In fact, the publicly held “Pack” trails the NFL’s Star franchise by a whopping $3.025 billion. Keep in mind, these are guesstimates and the true value is in the number that a buyer i9s willing to pay. Since NFL franchises don’t go on sale very often, the numbers get ridiculous.

Currently, only the Denver Broncos ($3.75b) are on the market and they might draw some $5b on the open market.

NFL Franchise Valuations (Year-over-Year % Change)

Dallas Cowboys: $6.5 billion (+14%)

New England Patriots: $ 5 billion (+14%)

New York Giants: $4.85 billion (+13%)

Los Angeles Rams: $4.8 billion (+20%)

Washington Football Team: $4.2 billion (+20%)

San Francisco 49ers: $4.175 billion (+10%)

Chicago Bears: $4.075 billion (+16%)

New York Jets: $4.05 billion (+14%)

Philadelphia Eagles: $3.8 billion (+12%)

Denver Broncos: $3.75 billion (+17%)

Houston Texans: $3.7 billion (+12%)

Seattle Seahawks: $3.5 billion (+14%)

Green Bay Packers: $3.475 billion (+14%)

Pittsburgh Steelers: $3.43 billion (+14%)

Miami Dolphins: $3.42 billion (+18%)

Las Vegas Raiders: $3.415 billion (+10%)

Baltimore Ravens: $3.4 billion (+14%)

Minnesota Vikings: $3.35 billion (+14%)

Indianapolis Colts: $3.25 billion (+14%)

Atlanta Falcons: $3.2 billion (+11%)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $2.94 billion (+29%)

Kansas City Chiefs: $2.93 billion (+17%)

Los Angeles Chargers: $2.92 billion (+12%)

Carolina Panthers: $2.91 billion (+14%)

New Orleans Saints: $2.825 billion (+14%)

Jacksonville Jaguars: $2.8 billion (+14%)

Arizona Cardinals: $2.65 billion (+14%)

Tennessee Titans: $2.625 billion (+14%)

Cleveland Browns: $2.6 billion (+11%)

Detroit Lions: $2.4 billion (+14%)

Cincinnati Bengals: $2.275 billion (+14%)

Buffalo Bills: $2.27 billion (+11%)

DRAFT KINGS and BBJ REPORT: The Boston Business Journal reported that Boston, Massachusetts-based Draft Kings Inc. “has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is investigating a report about DraftKings published by short-seller firm Hindenburg Research LLC.

Said the BBJ: “The online sports betting operator (Nasdaq: DKNG) disclosed the news in a public document filed Friday as part of its quarterly report. The SEC subpoena seeks documents concerning certain allegations over “black-market gaming” and money laundering raised by New York City-based Hindenburg in June.”

In an e-mailed statement to news outlets, Draft Kings said it is not uncommon for the SEC to investigate allegations in short-seller reports, according to the BBJ report online. “The SEC inquiry does not suggest any wrongdoing or agreement with the short-seller allegations, and we intend to cooperate with the SEC inquiry,” the company said. … In the quarterly report, Draft Kings said it received the SEC subpoena on July 9. “Despite the potential for significant damages, the Company does not believe, based on currently available information, that the outcome of this proceeding will have a material adverse effect on Draft Kings’ financial condition, although the outcome could be material to Draft Kings’ operating results for any particular period,” Draft Kings noted.

The Hindenburg report claimed, among many other negative points: “Draft Kings trades at a ~26x last twelve months (LTM) sales multiple and a ~20x estimated 2021 sales multiple despite (i) no expectation of earnings for years, (ii) intense competition, and (iii) regulatory risk. The company posted net losses of $844 million in 2020 and $346 million last quarter. … Insiders have dumped over $1.4 billion in stock since the company went public a little over a year ago, with SBTech’s founder leading the pack, having personally sold ~$568 million in shares.

Despite the SEC inquiry analysts were somewhat bullish on Draft Kings for the long haul, stating, “Recent legalization momentum is increasing the likelihood that more States will launch online sports betting around the start of the football season, including Arizona, Louisiana, and Maryland,” they said, also noting recent legislative progress in the company’s home state of Massachusetts.

This week, most of the mainstream sports business media focused on DK deal with Genius Sports. The two companies signed a new multi-year supplier agreement that will give Draft Kings a full range of data and live video content from Genius, including products it has built around its new pricey NFL rights. … Under the deal, DraftKings will gain access to official data and live feeds from more than 170,000 events per year. That covers major leagues like the NFL, NASCAR and English Premier League, but also Genius’ suite of smaller partners, like Argentine, Peruvian and Colombian futbol, which will expand DraftKings’ broad and international appeal, according to multiple media reports, including Sportico.

One thing is for sure with the history of Draft Kings and all Fantasy Sports companies going ‘all-in’ on sports gambling, the lawyers are the busiest guys in the industry and the only people making money.

ROW, ROW, HYDROW YOUR BOAT: The National Basketball Retired Players Association will collaborate with Boston-based Hydrow, and offer NBRPA members special access to the luxury, at-home rowing machine and private one-on-one virtual coaching sessions with Hydrow coaches. … Hydrow is a state-of-the-art interactive rowing machine that allows users to row on virtual waterways the world over from the comfort of their own homes through Live Outdoor Reality. Hydrow provides a low impact, full-body workout, engaging up to 86% of the body’s muscles. … “The ability to offer our Legends a one-of-a-kind, at-home workout option that exercises the whole body, is great for the heart and easy on the knees was a no-brainer,” said Scott Rochelle, NBRPA President & CEO. … “Working with Legends of Basketball is an incredibly special opportunity for us, as it allows us to support these elite athletes throughout the next chapter in their careers,” said Bruce Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Hydrow, Inc. “Hydrow offers a dynamic, low-impact cardiovascular workout, and the fact that you’re able to work out with others mimics the teamwork these athletes have known their entire lives. We’re proud to be able to work with these players who have given us so much joy throughout their illustrious careers.” … Earlier this year, WNBA Legend Ruth Riley and NBA Legend José Calderón of Spain were introduced as Hydrow influencers. Fans can follow along as Riley and Calderón document their Hydrow experiences on their Instagram pages. … Riley recently completed a Hydrow workout with the U.S. Rowing Team. “Nothing like a row with the U.S. Rowing Team to get you into the spirit for Tokyo 2021! I love how Hydrow makes you feel like you are in the boat training with them,” said Riley.

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