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Terry Lyons

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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