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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | 9/15/2024

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Today is September 15th, 2024. You can grab a full deck of playing cards and deal one card per day to bring you to Election Day on November 5th, 2024. Meanwhile, we’re seven days away from Autumn, possibly the best and certainly the most beautiful season of the year in New England. We’re 16 days away from the first MLB Postseason Wild Card game, to be held October 1, 2024. The final Red Sox regular season game at Fenway Park will be held two days before that, on September 29th, 2024. The seasons of the sun, they are a’ changing.

Let’s take a good, long look at September 15ths of the past. It’s been a pretty amazing date on the calendar.

In 608, Saint Boniface IV began his reign as Pope. The 4th? Doesn’t this make you want to meet the other three guys?

In 1683, Germantown, Pennsylvania was founded by 13 immigrant families. Like Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote, “Immigrants, they get the job done.”

In 1789, the US Department of Foreign Affairs was renamed Department of State.

In 1851, Saint Joseph’s University was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That would eventually bring us all the great Mike Bantom.

In 1857, Timothy Alder of NY patented the typesetting machine. Good man he was.

In 1902, Chicago Cubs infielders Tinker, Evers, & Chance turned their first double play together in a 6-3 win over Cincinnati. But, get this, on September 19, 2024, I’ll be able to see Chicago’s Wrigley Field, first known to the world as a Federal League ballfield – Weeghman Park. The Cubs host the Washington Nationals in seven days. The game will take place in the “friendly confines.” The Cubs played their first home game at Wrigley on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 7–6, in 11 innings. Only Fenway Park (1912), here in Boston, is older than Wrigley.

On September 15, 1921, WBZ-AM, here in Boston, began its radio transmission.

In 1946, the Dodgers beat Cubs, 2-0, in a shortened five innings when the game was called because of gnats.

In 1960, Maurice “Rocket” Richard announced his retirement from the Montreal Canadiens. He finished his career with 544 goals, an NHL record at the time. He played 18 seasons in the NHL and was the first 50 goal scorer.

A year later, in 1961, the 61st US Golf Amateur Championship saw Jack Nicklaus win at the age of 21. I’m pretty sure he turned pro and had a pretty nice run.

In 1963, the Alou brothers – Felipe, Matty, & Jesús – appeared in the San Francisco Giants outfield for an inning in a 13-5 win over Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field/

In 1966, then US President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to an August 1 sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, wrote a letter to the United States Congress, urging the enactment of gun control legislation. The August 1 attack was known as the University of Texas Tower shooting where 15 people were killed and 31 others were injured before police shot the mass murderer, a 25-year old Marine. Forty-one years later, the Virginia Tech shootings took place, killing 32 and injuring another 17 people. That mass murder came seven Presidents after LBJ and nothing’s been done since.

In 1969, Steve Carlton was pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals when he struck-out 19 New York Mets but lost the game, 4-3, when the Metsies tagged him for two runs in the 8th inning when Ron Swoboda hit his second of two (two-run) homers. In the little-known facts department, the day before Swoboda’s two HR game, Mets broadcaster – the great Ralph Kiner – took Swoboda aside for some instructional batting practice. Tug McGraw earned the victory in relief of Gary Gentry. The Mets had rallied in September to take the divisional lead only five days before. It was the first year of division play in MLB. The Mets would go on to take the NL East by eight games over the Cubs. Then, they swept the Atlanta Braves in three games in the NL Championship Series, and defeated the Baltimore Orioles in five games in the World Series with Jerry Koosman gaining the two most important victories in franchise history, including a complete game in the ‘69 World Series finale. That team will forever be known as the “Miracle Mets.”

In 1974, Market Square Arena – home of the Indiana Pacers until 1999 – opened its doors in downtown Indianapolis.

In 1978, before 63,352 at the New Orleans SuperDome, the greatest – Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks in 15 rounds. Spinks had upset Ali in February of ‘78 with a split decision.

In 1982, the first edition of USA Today was printed by satellite and distributed all over the United States. Editorial Note: Earlier that year, newspaperman Henry Freeman visited my office at the NBA to explain what they had in mind and asked for help with the NBA team PRs sending extra information and quickly sending full final boxscores which ran in the sports section, increasing NBA coverage exponentially over the short Associated Press boxscores.

In 1985, at The Belfry … Europe defeated the United Staes in the Ryder Cup 16½-11½, marking the first US loss since 1957. Sam Torrance clinched the win for Europe by beating Andy North, 1 up.

Sadly, on September 15, 2004 Johnny Ramone, the lead guitarist for the Queens, NY band passed away from prostate cancer. He was only 59. The Ramones were inducted to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and earned a Lifetime GRAMMY Award.

We can wish Long Island’s Marcus Iavaroni a happy 68th birthday today. Better known as Marc, the starting power forward for the ‘83 NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers, he hails from Plainview Kennedy H.S. in New York (Mid-Island) and attended Virginia before being drafted by the New York Knicks in the third round of the 1978 NBA Draft (55th overall). (Little known fact, the Knicks drafted two champion power forwards and watched them win as members of other teams. Iavaroni, you know. The other? Kurt Rambis of the Los Angeles Lakers. Almost a mirror image, the Knicks grabbed Rambis out of Santa Clara with the third round pick of the 1980 NBA Draft (58th overall).

There’s another 17 NBA players and two ABA players who were born on September 15, and the late Buddy Jeannette is the only Hall of Famer of the bunch. Jeannette was born in 1917 and attended Washington & Jefferson College. He was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994. Jeannette passed away March 11, 1998 at the age of 80.

And, aside from Marc Iavaroni, there are dozens of famous folks who were born on September 15, including Prince Harry, actor Tommy Lee Jones, US President William Howard Taft and explorer Marco Polo, if you can find him.

HERE NUNN, THE NOTES: That’s no typo. Here Now, former NBA referee and one time Director of Officiating Ronnie Nunn is being inducted to the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame, a newly reorganized entity that will undertake the huge responsibility of paying tribute to the City game. … Nunn played ball at Brooklyn Tech and went on to play college basketball at George Washington University in DC. He played pro basketball in Mexico for two seasons but returned to New York to find his first calling as a special ed teacher and as an assistant coach at Pace University and also his high school alma mater.

Nunn began his officiating career in 1984 when he worked in the Continental Basketball Association and the Pro-Am summer league. Nunn went on to work 1,134 NBA regular-season, 73 NBA Playoff and four NBA Finals games, while enjoying an assignment at the 1996 NBA All-Star Game.

After retiring from active duty as an official, Nunn served as the NBA’s Director of Officials for five years, including his work on “You Make the Call” for NBA Entertainment.

The 2024 NYC Basketball Hall of Fame festivities will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, September 19. Nine others will join Nunn for the honors.

TIDBITS AND GOLDEN NUGGETS: A follow-up to the terrible story of NHL star Johnny Gaudreau: The driver of the vehicle which struck and killed Gaudreau and his brother Matthew as they bicycled on a rural road has been charged with two counts of death by automobile. The driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins of Woodstown, New Jersey, had a blood-alcohol level of .087, above the .08 legal limit in New Jersey, a prosecutor said. … At a hearing held September 13, a judge ordered that Higgins be held for trial after prosecutors described a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving. Higgins told police he had five or six beers that day and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving, according to the criminal complaint. He also failed a field sobriety test, the complaint said.

The Boston Red Sox are 22-31 since the MLB All-Star break and 5-4 over their last nine games, a pace that just won’t get it done in the AL Wild Card race. They’re 4.0 games back from Minnesota in the AL Wild Card standings but have Detroit and Seattle in between them and the Twins.

SMALL FRYE: Remember the ill-fated Frye Festival of 2017? Well, the George Mason college basketball team contracted with The VII Group of Georgia for a trip to play games against top competition in Nassau (Bahamas) and has cancelled the trip completely as VII Group allegedly hasn’t fulfilled obligations. George Mason placed $160,000 with the VII Group to plan a four-night basketball camp and exhibition games between August 8-12, 2024. Apparently, the FBI is now looking into the case, according to SPORTICO.

RIP No. 7: New York Mets fan favorite, Ed Kranepool, passed away this week after fighting a lengthy illness. While Tom Seaver, Rusty Staub, Buddy Harrelson, Jerry Koosman, Tommie Agee, Ron Swoboda, Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Mike Piazza and Pete Alonso might be the all-time headliners of Mets favorites, it was Kranepool who first held that honor in the 1960s.

 

TLs Sunday Sp🏀rts Notes | Mar 24

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Here in Boston, we have the Duke vs Carolina rivalry of College Ice Hockey as the Hockey East finals brought No. 2 ranked Boston University and No. 1 ranked Boston College together for the fourth time this season. It’s tagged “The Green Line” rivalry and noted for the six-mile stretch of Commonwealth Avenue that separates the schools.

It’s not the 8-miles from Durham to Chapel Hill but rather a Driver and a couple three woods from Agannis Arena to Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill. BU kids vote for the Mayor of Boston, while the BC kids call the City of Newton home.

Heading into the Saturday night Hockey East finale, BC held a 2-1 edge in the 2023-24 ice hockey season, but the one BU win came in the annual Beanpot Tournament (won by Northeastern University as they’ve gone back-to-back with Beanpot wins twice in the last six years).

This year?

Boston College took the Hockey East title, as BC took a 2-0 lead into the second period. But, BU cut that lead in half with a gorgeous wrist shot goal by defenseman Gavin McCarthy, a freshman from Clarence Center, N.Y. (Population 3,337).

BC extended its lead to 3-1, on a goal by Cutter Gauthier, BC’s third power play goal of the game which came at 18:46 of the 2nd period.

Eagles’ freshman Will Smith scored his third goal of the night to make it 4-1, BC, at the 6:46 mark of the third period. Smith has 22 goals and 44 assists on the season.

BC’s key goal of the game made it 5-1, as Boston College freshman Gabe Perreaultscored on the power play, BC’s fourth power play goal of the night. All three players – Perreault, Gauthier and Smith – player on the USA Developmental team for USA Hockey.

BU tightened the score on a power play to make it 5-2. A BC empty-netter made it 6-2 for the final before the fisticuffs broke out to close out the game.

BC freshman goalkeeper, Jacob Fowler, recorded the win.

The NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship begins next week (March 28-29) and concludes at the Frozen Four, scheduled for April 11-13 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Note: The Bulldog Edition of WWYI was held for 30 minutes to see the final result of the Hockey East championship game from TD Garden in Boston.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: March Madness did not fail to entertain this week, as noteworthy upsets included No. 13 Yale defeating No. 4 in heavily favored Auburn in the first round, while No. 14 Oakland upended No. 3 Kentucky. In the second round, Oakland lost to streaking N.C. State, 79-73 in OT. N.C. State qualified for the NCAAs by winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament (upset over North Carolina) and with the win over Oakland, the Wolfpack move on to the South’s Sweet 16 in Dallas.

TO WIN JUST ONCE? – As the NCAA hoops tournament progresses, this column reflects to what might have been for the St. John’s Red Storm in last week’s BIG EAST Conferencde tournament. The Johnnies defeated a tough Seton Hall team in the No. 4 (Hall) vs. No. 5 (Johnnies) match-up on Thursday (Quarterfinals). As winner of the No. 4 vs No. 5, the reward was a match-up vs No. 1 UConn in the Friday night semis. You know that story.

Everyone left Madison Square Garden assured St. John’s secured a tournament bid and the speculation was whether Seton Hall and/or Providence would be “in” as well. When the Sunday Selection Show played out, all three teams were left out in the cold, as the likes of N.C. State – by winning the ACC – stole a berth, and the BIG EAST was left with only three clubs – UConn, Marquette and Creighton.

Rightfully so.

Seton Hall was closest, but their loss to St. John’s hurt the chances of grabbing a spot. St. John’s while hot during the home stretch (six game winning streak, including a big won over Creighton at MSG), did not have the overall resume as a tournament team. Losses to Michigan, Dayton and Boston College crushed St. John’s early, and two losses to each of the likes of UConn, Marquette and The Hall during the regular season was too much to overcome when the NCAA basketball committee met in Indianapolis to decide between NCAA and NIT bids.

The Johnnies quickly turned down the NIT bid, but Seton Hall (the No. 1 seed) has flourished. Guessing the Johnnies were focused on hitting the transfer portal or the seniors had enough.

Go figure, but has anyone noticed that the “Red Storm” nickname is useless, jinxed, terrible, confusing and not well liked?

It’s rebuilding time for coach Rick Pitino – make that a total renovation.

TID-BITS: In the NCAA’s, there’s plenty of Huskies, Bulldogs and other assorted animal mascots, but here, we have the two maniacs.

Penny (Lane) laying the pup foundation for brother Max (Photo by T. Peter Lyons)

NATIONAL PUPPY DAY: How can we let “National Puppy Day” go by without mention of our TWO pups, the nearing “Adult Dog,” Penny (Lane) and the seven month old Max. … Penny joined us on Thanksgiving Weekend, 2020, right smack in the middle of the global pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus. In many ways, she got us through the “dog days” of that terrible year. National Puppy Day was celebrated March 23 and its founding doctrine states, “Established in 2006, National Puppy Day is a paw-some day for all dog enthusiasts to celebrate unconditional love and fawn over the undeniably cute fur balls that bring so much happiness into this world.” … True story. … It’s been a quick three and a half years that we’ve enjoyed having Penny bark and chase and play and only five months since we adopted the seven-month old “Mighty Max.” … Penny (Lane) has the obvious connection to The Beatles while Max was named as a “Silver Hammer” kinda guy, but we met his (human) parents on Springsteen Road in Albany, NY, so there was an immediate bond with “Mighty” MaxWeinberg of the E Street Band. Weinberg, born and bred in New Jersey, learned to play the drums with the influence of The Beatles’ Ringo Starr, like so many who grew up in the British Invasion era. … In the dual-meaning of names, Penny (Lane), played by Kate Hudson in the motion picture “Almost Famous” clocks in as No. 3 of my all-time favorite movies, locked in behind “Casablanca” and “The Sting.” … Happy Puppy Day to all who partake. Penny and Max have enriched all of our lives (four in the family) and they’ve made friends with all of our neighbors. It’s just GREAT.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 23

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They’re playing basketball (to the beat y’all)

We love that basketball (yeah)

They’re playing basketball (uh huh, uh huh)

We love that basketball

– Kurtis Blow

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The basketball season was 1968-69 and the New Jersey Americans relocated to Long Island to become the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association, a rival league to the heralded National Basketball Association.

The year ahead was going to be great for New York sports fans. The New York Jets, behind the guarantee provided by quarterback “Broadway” Joe Namath upset the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. It was the victory that put the then-rival American Football Conference (AFC) on par with the National Football Conference (NFC) and it made the National Football League (NFL) the most popular sports property in the United States.

As that Summer of ‘69 turned to Fall, the Miracle Mets, behind the pitching of Jerry Koosman (two World Series wins, including the series clincher) backed by Hall of Famer Tom “Terrific” Seaver and Gary Gentry, defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles in five games to take the first Series victory in franchise history. Donn Clendenon, Cleon Jones and improbable offensive might of everyone from 2B Al Weisto reserve catcher J.C. Martin provided key hits while incredible defensive plays by center fielder Tommie Agee and right fielder Ron Swoboda made the Mets – Amazin’ and sent NYC and the Borough of Queens and most Long Islanders into a frenzy.

A flip of the calendar brought yet another championship to New York when the New York Knicks of the NBA defeated the LA Lakers and Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylorand Jerry West in a memorable seven-game series. While Willis Reed and his gutsy Game 7 return to action after seriously injuring his knee in Game 5, grabbed the headlines and Walt Frazier’s 36-point, 19-assist, 7-rebound performance went somewhat unnoticed because of Reed’s return.

Those championships were almost too much for a 10-year old to handle. But this (then) 10-year old harkens back to December 19, 1968 as the day the championship was solidified. It was the day Knicks GM Eddie Donovan had the guts to trade All-Star center Walt “Bells” Bellamy, and guard Howard “Butch” Komives, to the Detroit Pistons for eight time NBA All-Star power forward Dave DeBusschere.

Hit “The Open Man” became the Knicks’ mantra and, in fact, was the title of DeBusschere’s book chronicling the season day-by-day. It’s simple philosophy, honed by Knicks Coach Red Hozman was the perfect offense to deploy for the ‘69-’73 Knicks.

With Knicks tickets tough to come by in suburban Long Island me and my basketball-loving’ family would get our hardwood fix with regular attendance at (nearly) all St. John’s University home games. We attended dozens of Island Trees H.S. basketball games where both of my oder brothers played and then 100% of the Holy Trinity H.S.games from 1973 to 1977 and beyond as coach Bob McKillop and Matt Doherty hung banner after banner at HT.

All the while, the ABA Nets were our mainstay. After head coach York Larese flamed-out, the Nets recruited Little Louie Carnesseca away from his post at St. Johns, along with trusty assistant John Kresse (who gave me my college tour at St. John’s). The great Rick Barry was on the Nets, along with former Johnnies Joe DuPre and Sonny Dove. Bill Melchioni held down the point, while Laverne Tart was the shooting guard. The bigmen included Jim Ard, Manny Leaks, and another young Johnnie who made playoff appearances as much as the Kardashians appear in the Super Market tabloids.

Suffice to say, a good game of hoops was available every night of the week and we took advantage of that fact growing up. And it changed for the better when the Nets acquired Julius “Dr, J.” Erving who was at the height of his career.

At one point in 1977, an interview with Nets head coach Kevin Loughery and an intro to his then-assistant, Rod Thorn, began a life-long friendship as they led the Nets to titles in 1974 and 1976 over formidable ABA clubs from Kentucky (Artis Gilmore and Dan Issel), Denver’s (David Thompson), and Indiana Pacers’ big (Mel Daniels), just to name a few. Thorn would eventually join the NBA league office as the head of Basketball Operations and the so-called Dean of Discipline.

All-in-all, a pretty good apprenticeship in the sports of basketball and one that turned into a career come December 1980 when this columnist began a 26+ year career at the NBA league office, working under Commissioners Larry O’Brien and David Stern.

In the early ‘80s, the NBA league office was like Camelot. It was just a matter of time – and some hard work – to build the global platform and stage the game for the way its played today by the World’s Greatest Athletes.

THE NBA TODAY: It’s quite early for any meaningful  predictions for the on-going 2022-23 NBA season, but that won’t stop us from doing the very first Power Rankings” of the NBA season. Truth be told, the real power ratings are Post NBA All-Star Break.

Here’s a look at the Top 8 from each conference:

EAST:

  1. Milwaukee Bucks
  2. Boston Celtics
  3. Toronto Raptors
  4. Washington Wizards
  5. Brooklyn Nets
  6. Miami Heat
  7. Philadelphia 76ers
  8. Detroit Pistons

WEST:

  1. Golden State Warriors
  2. New Orleans Pelicans
  3. Memphis Grizzlies
  4. Houston Rockets
  5. Denver Nuggets
  6. LA Clippers
  7. Phoenix Suns
  8. Dallas Mavericks.

Check back in mid-December for a more educated prediction.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Cleveland Charge selected Sam Merrill (6-4, 205, Utah State) with the first overall pick of the 2022-23 NBA G League Draft on Saturday afternoon, which was held virtually. The Wisconsin Herd selected Joe Wieskamp with the second overall selection, while the Greensboro Swarm selected Aaron Wheelerwith the third pick.

RATINGS GAME: The NBA on Tuesday saw its best opening night doubleheader viewership since 2017, as TNT averaged 3.3 million viewers for 76ers- Celtics and Lakers- Warriors.

TID-BITS: I can figure out who is pouring more money into the economy – legal inquiries on Camp Lujeane, the folks funding CrytoLef hack campaign or Big Pharma selling every drug manufactured under the sun. … Coach Jim Calhoun will be the special guest Sunday, October 30, at Lavietes Pavilion. when Harvard hosts its annual fantasy day for Friends of Harvard, and local coaches. Basketball Hall of Famer and New England native, Calhoun, won three NCAA Division I men’s basketball championships as the head coach of the University of Connecticut. With over 900 NCAA victories (917-397), Coach Calhoun has extensive experience across all three divisions of NCAA athletics. Coach Calhoun will share his depth of perspective with our community, and we would be thrilled if you can attend! In addition to hearing Coach Calhoun speak, you will also be able to watch a Harvard Basketball practice and receive lunch as part of the day’s events. Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker will be running the show. … Tickets go on sale Monday, October 24, 2022 for the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. This year’s conference is on March 3 – 4th, 2023 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | Sept. 25

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The window for winning was wide open, the carpet plush with – not a playoff caliber team – but a club with true NBA championship aspirations and a real opportunity in 2022-23. The talent remains fully in place as this offseason, the Boston Celtics added true point guard Malcolm Brogdon and veteran internationally renowned shooter and three-point FG threat Danilo Galinari (suffered ACL injury) to a deep roster. Continuity would be in place as the first year coaching staff that managed to take the Celtics past Brooklyn, past the highly talented, defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks (sans NBA All-Star Khris Middleton) and then past the Miami Heat (53-29, and best record in the East) before being eliminated (4-2) by a better Golden State Warriors team.

Aside from talent and continuity, there’s not an NBA champion in the books that can claim they didn’t have some good luck along the way to their title. Maybe they avoided injury. Maybe they were able to pull-off a last minute trade deadline deal that filled a hole. Maybe a couple last second buzzer-beater helped claim home court advantage. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

But then, the hammer came down. Injuries and very poor judgement.

Luck is not on Boston’s team bus right now, even though their team mascot is a Leprechaun named “Lucky.” The first setback, noted above, was an ACL injury suffered by the newly acquired Galinari while he was playing for his native Italy in a European World Cup qualifying tournament this summer.

On Friday, Gallinari underwent left knee revision ACL repair. The surgery was performed by Celtics’ team physician Dr. Tony Schena at New England Baptist Hospital. Dr. Schena was assisted by Dr. Paul Weitzel, with Dr. Brian Cole consulting on the case. A timetable for Gallinari’s return was not mentioned, as he is expected to miss the entire 2022-23 NBA season.

“Yesterday I had successful ACL surgery. Now the focus is on my rehab and return to the game I love,” Gallinari wrote in a social media statement. “I want to thank the Celtics organization and the medical staff at the New England Baptist Hospital. I also want to thank Dr. Antonio Orgiani and Dr. Rodolfo Rocchi for the support they gave me in Italy before surgery. And of course thank you to all of my fans for their continued support and well wishes. See you soon on the court.”

The bad luck didn’t end with Gallinari, a reserve. Dr. Schena had to earn his keep operating on a starter, too.

Breakout starting center Robert Williams underwent a successful arthroscopic procedure to remove loose bodies and address swelling in his left knee,” said the Celtics in a Friday news release. “The surgery was performed by Celtics’ team physician Dr. Tony Schena at New England Baptist Hospital. Williams is expected to return to basketball activities in 8-12 weeks.”

The eight to 12 weeks is longer than the Celtics and their fans expected and it will set the club back as Training Camp opens this Monday, with a Noon broadcast on NBA TV (and nba.com) sure to be quite savage.

The key factor with the absence of Williams will be the added weight of playing time on 36-year old center-forward Al Horford. Horford will be required to hold down the frontcourt as Williams recuperates and rehabs and he will only be backed by 7-2 Luke Kornet, as departed centerman Daniel Theis was traded to Indiana in the deal for Brogdon. It might not take its toll in November and December, but can the veteran leader perform like he did in May and June, including a strong NBA Finals.

Horford possesses the ability to keep the team together, to bond the rank and file via his locker room presence and the respect he’s earned from the entire roster and coaching staff. Horford’s presence is surely a large part of former Cs head coach and now head of basketball operations Brad Stevens’ decision to promote Joe Mazzulla who will serve as the interim head coach for the Celtics until the team sorts things out during the season-long suspension to Ime Udoka. Mazzulla won three state titles as a player at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island, then played four seasons at West Virginia University under head coaches John Beilein and recently inducted Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Huggins.

Mazzulla began his coaching career as an assistant for the Glenville State University men’s basketball team, a NCAA Division II program, and assisted for two seasons after graduating from WVU in 2011. He also spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Fairmont State. His first head coaching experience came in 2017 at Fairmont State University. In his two seasons as coach of the Fighting Falcons, he racked up a 43-17 record and took his team to the NCAA tournament once.

Mazzulla joined the Celtics’ coaching staff as an assistant in 2019 and was quickly named as the right man for the job by Stevens. Mazzula’s opportunity arose mainly because Judoka’s No. 2 man, Will Hardy, accepted the head coaching job from the Utah Jazz this past June. Mazzula and the remaining Celtics basketball staff will utilize the same system Udoka installed in his first season with the club, a system honed by the ultra-successful San Antonio Spurs where Udoka assisted under Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich.

In other words, it’s not as if the Celtics will need to start over again. They need to do it for Al.

ONE GIGANTIC MESS MAKES WAY FOR ANOTHER: “Robert Sarver, meet Ime Udoka.”

NBA Training camps are about to open and the talk of two towns in the league is anything but basketball. In Phoenix, a club with a 64-18 record which was great enough to lead the 2021-22 Western Conference standings, is now on the market after an independent investigation found Suns team governor and principle owner (35%) was alleged to foster a toxic and inappropriate atmosphere in the organization led by his own words and actions. The league doled out a significant fine of $10m and a one-year suspension. In the aftermath of that fine and suspension, public and NBA player opinion was not buying the punishment for the NBA Constitutional crimes and a tsunami of pushback, even from the NBA Players Association called for Sarver’s all-out dismissal from the league. That pressure forced him to decide to sell the two franchises (the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury) as his limited stake in the franchise allows. Reports have the Suns’ value ranging $1.92b with a chance to fetch as much as $3 billion.

“In our current unforgiving climate, it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible – that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past,” Sarver’s statement read. “For those reasons, I am beginning the process of seeking buyers for the Suns and Mercury.”

Seemingly, Sarver pointed his finger in every direction but inward as he plotted his exit statement, very obviously dismissing his past track record at the helm of the once model franchise.

The attention on Sarver’s decision to sell the Suns vanished a quick news cycle later as the Boston Celtics announced the one-year suspension of their coach, Ime Udoka. The (51-31) and 2022 NBA Finalists issued a terse statement on Thursday:

“The Boston Celtics announced (Sept 22) that the team has suspended Head Coach Ime Udoka for the 2022-23 season for violations of team policies. A decision about his future with the Celtics beyond this season will be made at a later date. The suspension takes effect immediately.”

The suspension was also reported as being accompanied by no pay for the season, and to conclude on June 30, 2023.

In a Friday press conference, conducted by Celtics’ managing partner and team governor Wyc Grousbeck and head of basketball operations and former team coach Brad Stevens, few details were provided – citing privacy issues – but the essence of the decision came after “months-long” third party and internal investigation. The investigation concluded Wednesday, the same day the fiasco was first reported by ESPN.

“I personally feel that this is well-warranted and appropriate, backed by substantial research and evidence and facts,” Grousbeck said at the press conference, “and so I’m standing by the decision, and Ime has accepted it.” The team’s statement as well as Grousbeck said the team will revisit Udoka’s future with the club at a later date.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals smacked home runs No. 699 and No. 700 on Friday night to join a very short list of MLBers to hit 700+ career homers. Only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth have membership in that club.

While Bonds is frequently chastised for hitting the bulk of his home runs during the uncertainty of the so-called “Steroid Era,” the others have earned immortality which will include first-ballot Hall of Fame enshrinement honors for Pujols.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs and POWER RANKINGS: In 2018, the Boston Red Sox surprised Major League Baseball and even themselves by winning 108 games en route to winning the World Series. The season was astonishing, as the (108-54) regular season record was only enhanced by their (11-3) postseason mark. The incredible fact was that in every single postseason game at Fenway Park, when it came time for manager Alex Cora to bring in the closer, Craig Kimbrel, the general crowd reaction was, “No!” … It happens every September, it seems, as a usually reliable closer burns-out and becomes a liability for his club. Kimbrel earned 42 saves that year and has 22 saves for the LA Dodgers this season. Yet, as of this weekend, he’s lost his job as lead closer for the (104-47*) Dodgers. Kimbrel has a 4.14 ERA and a 1.34 whip, hardly mediocre, and rather poor for a 100+ win club.

* As of games heading into Saturday, September 24th

POWER: In past weeks, WWYI brought you power ranking for both college and pro football. They’ll be back next Sunday, but first there’s about nine games left in the MLB regular season so HERE NOW, are the MLB POWER 12 RANKINGS heading into Postseason, with six teams in each of the American and National League, then an MLB-wide listing:

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

  1. Houston Astros
  2. New York Yankees
  3. Toronto Blue Jays
  4. Cleveland Guardians
  5. Tampa Bay Rays
  6. Seattle Mariners

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

  1. Los Angeles Dodgers
  2. New York Mets
  3. Atlanta Braves
  4. St. Louis Cardinals
  5. Philadelphia Phillies
  6. San Diego Padres

MLB COMBINED:

  1. Los Angeles Dodgers
  2. Houston Astros
  3. New York Mets
  4. New York Yankees

Wild Card Sleeper: Toronto Blue Jays

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | August 14

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The NBA wasted no time in paying the ultimate tribute to the great Celtics center, Bill Russell, who passed away July 31 at the age of 88. On the day of his private funeral, Russell’s No. 6 uniform was retired across the entire league, a gesture that Major League Baseball reserved for the great Jackie Robinson and the NHL for the “Great One,” Wayne Gretzky

In the major North American sports, that’s it. A group of three.

While living athletes might gain lofty honors, such as being inducted to their sports Hall of Fame or making an NBA@50 or NBA-75/76, or an NFL or NHL All-Century team. Maybe the highest honor is to carry the flag of your birth nation into the Olympic Games, with the real treat of doing it on your native soil (Andrew Gaze, Sydney 2000, Australia; Yao Ming 2008, Beijing, China; Bruce Baumgartner, Atlanta ‘96, USA; Sir Chris Hoy, London 2012, UK); Yane Márcia Campos, Rio, Brazil 2016 ) and so on.

Lighting the Olympic cauldron on your home turf is pretty cool, too, but the retirement of a number across the entire league is the subject matter for today. That is a lofty group of three, although I’m a bit partial to Katherine Switizer’s bib No. 261 being retired by the Boston Athletic Association.

What about sports that don’t assign numbers? Are there a few players in those sports who might be so honored?

I’ll start!

  • Jack Nicklaus
  • Tiger Woods

Swimming

  • Mark Spitz
  • Michael Phelps
  • Krisztina Egerszegi
  • Katie Ledecky

Men’s Tennis

  • Novak Djokovic
  • Rafa Nadal
  • Roger Federer

Women’s Tennis

  • Billie Jean King
  • Margaret Court
  • Martina Navratilova
  • Serena Williams

Yes, Serena Williams – definitely the greatest women’s tennis player of our time – announced her plans to retire after this year’s U.S. Open, scheduled August 29-September 11th at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing, NY.

They’ll need to build a new court to properly honor her, alongside King and the great Arthur Ashe.

Unless we get some “Jimmy Connors-like” miracle on center court in Flushing Meadows, Williams is likely to retire with 23 Grand Slam singles championships, one shy of Ms. Court. She was the winner of the “Serena Slam” – four consecutive Grand Slam tournaments but not in the same calendar year.

In 2015, Williams won her 19th Grand Slam at the Australian Open, her 20th at the French and her 21st at Wimbledon. (Serena lost in the U.S. Open semis to Roberta Vinci).

Williams’ 23rd Grand Slam, her last, was the 2017 Australian, when at age 35 and two months pregnant with her daughter Olympia, Serena defeated her talented sister, Venus, in straight sets to gain her victory.

Just this week, “The Atlantic” wrote of Williams’ desire to focus on her family, possibly give birth to a sibling for her daughter. To do what she wants to do with her life. Caira Conner of The Atlantic skillfully wrote, “Williams’s name is synonymous with the thing she helped revolutionize. Even when she finally puts down her racquet, Williams won’t really leave us. She may not be able to dually serve the gods of tennis and motherhood, but generations of young athletes will continue to pick up racquets of their own because she inspired them to do so. A legacy like that is more than numbers.”

Twenty-three is a great number.

I wonder if the NBA will retire it league-wide someday?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: It’s been 30 years since the USA Basketball Dream Team came home from the ‘92 Barcelona Olympics with the gold medal and having changed the world of basketball forever. The impact resonates like the ripples of water from a pebble tossed into the center of a Great Lake. While the NBA and Michael Jordan were soaring to new heights in the early ‘90s, boys and girls growing up all over the world took a serious look at basketball for the very first time. … The first real impact came in about 2000-02 when Houston Rockets center Yao Ming came along from China, all 7-foot-5 of him, joined with Argentina’s Manu Ginobili, a soon-to-be-inducted Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer. NBA Finals MVPs Tim Duncanof the USVI and teammate Tony Parker of France led the San Antonio Spurs to five titles (1999, 2003, ‘05, ‘07 and 2014). Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA championship in 2011 after 15 playoff appearances and a Finals MVP. … There were more, thousands more in the international leagues around the world, and in USA colleges. Now, 30 years later, the sport is seeing and enjoying the ripples from the first stone cast. … It’s happening all over the globe – both men’s and women’s programs. While the impact has been quite evident on the court, the true value has been the social impact off-the-court, as evidenced by the NBA’s Basketball w/o Borders program and hundreds, if not thousands, of player appearances and goodwill trips to not only help the growth of awareness in the sport but to convey important life messages to youth living all around the world. Thirty years! Can you believe it? It’s been a hell of a Dream.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Nothing like waiting until August 12 for the key indicator of success in a baseball season. Friday night’s 3-2 Boston win over New York marked the Red Sox first win of the season when trailing after eight innings (1-45). … That stated and heading into Saturday night’s game on FOX, the Sox have come from behind in five of their last seven wins and in eight of their last 11.

TID-BITS: College basketball teams are starting their international endeavors. Just this week, Auburn was off to Israel to play a selection of the Israel’s U-20, a national Select All-Star team and then a 95-86 loss to Israel’s senior national team. … Meanwhile, St. John’s was off to the Dominican Republic and took a hard-fought 89-87 victory over DR’s U-22 national team. … St, John’s center Joel Soriano, a transfer out of Fordham who once played for the DR’s U-18 team at the FIBA U18 Tournament of the Americas. … Three weeks until College Football. … Saturday, September 3 at 12 Noon, Big 10 Rutgers Scarlet Knights visit Chestnut Hill for Boston College’s home opener. … As you’re getting ready for some football, the PGA Tour will be exiting ahead of the NFL season to avoid any sort of TV ratings clash. … After this weekend’s FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, the Top 70 eligible players will qualify for next week’s BMW Championship at Wilmington (Delaware) Country Club, with the Top 30 after the BMW earning spots in the field for the season-ending TOUR Championship at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club from August 25-28th, clearing the way for September football. Smart move for the Tour. … We’ll see how the Administrative/PR/Media/TV/Site Protest/9-11 Families/Time Zone-challenged LIVers have tournaments planned for:

  • September 2-4 near Boston
  • September 16-18 in Chicago
  • October 7-9 in Bankok, Thailand
  • October 14-16 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
  • October 29-20 in Miami (Trump venue, right before Election Day)

Smartly, LIV Golf is avoiding the September 21-25 President’s Cup at Quail Hollow, in North Carolina, but the rest of the schedule goes head-to-head against the PGA Tour, LPGA and college and NFL football, all on a USA television outlet to be determined.

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 31

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State of the Commonwealth Sports

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – From June 19th to 27th, all was well in the Nation of Sox. After a very well documented — call it crummy (10-19) — start to the 2022 season, the Boston Red Sox battled back to the .500 mark by June 5th at Oakland. While still mired in 4th place in the American League East, Boston clawed their way to a (35-30) record when – on June 17th – Sox SP Michael Wacha out-dueled his former St. Louis Cardinals teammate, Adam Wainwright, 6-5, for Wacha’s fifth victory (5-1).

After dropping a game to the Cards the following day, Boston went on to win seven games in a row and climb to second place in the AL East, 11 games over the coveted .500 mark.

As the calendar turned to July, all hell broke loose.

As this is being written from Fenway Park on a gorgeous New England Saturday afternoon, Boston (50-52) dropped a game to Milwaukee, is 7-19 in the month of July, and that includes a 3-13 mark over their previous 16 games. The not so secret sauce is the fact that since Uncle Sam’s birthday, Boston is playing teams with records plus-.500 up until August 3 when they face AL Central cellar-dweller Kansas City.

Combined with the tougher comp, a slew of devastating injuries crashed down on the Sox. In no particular order:

  • June 12 – SP Nathan Eovaldi – lower back pain
  • July 2 – SP Rich Hill – left knee sprain
  • July 5 – SP Michael Wacha – right shoulder inflammation
  • July 9 – INF Christian Arroyo – groin strain after bout with COVID+
  • July 14 – 2B Trevor Story – right hand contusion (hairline fracture)
  • July 19 – SP Chris Sale – left hand, finger fracture
  • July 19 – J.D. Martinez – back spasms
  • July 23 – 3B Rafael Devers – right hamstring inflammation
  • 13 Red Sox players were on the IL at one point

In their place, Boston was forced to call-up “F-Troop” from their Triple A Worcester WooSox farm team, and the Red Sox became the Red SAAAwx for much of the month. Starting pitching prospects, a la Brayan Bello (0-3), Josh Winckowski (3-5) and Kutter Crawford (3-3) were thrown into the deep end of the drowning pool.

With the cumulative effect, the ‘22 Red Sox started to resemble a memorable team from 60 years ago, with comparisons to the expansion New York Mets.

The Sox are a calamity, whether it be fly balls falling between three players in the infield, throwing, fielding and mental errors costing runs, pitchers failing to properly cover first base on routine ground balls to the right side of the infield, batted baseballs lost in the sun or twilight gleaming in both right and center field at Fenway. You name it, and it happened to the home team.

The lowlight was a July 22 inside the park home run by Toronto’s Ramiel Tapia during a 28-5 beat-down of the Red Sox by the Blue Jays, and a score falling two runs shy of the MLB record for most runs scored in a single game.

Overall, it seemed the Sox fell apart when the long-expected return of their ace – Chris Sale – went flat after an inning as a come-backer broke the fifth finger on his pitching hand. The injury sucked the life from the team, as Story, Martinez and Devers were all absent from the line-up.

Thus is the “State of the Red Sox,” as of July 30.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: If there’s one thing the New England fan base can do better than any other in the land, it’s turn the page and change with the seasons. Just as the aforementioned Sox fade to the bottom of the AL East, the footballs are out at Gillette Stadium as NFL training camps began this week. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the 2022 New England Patriots.

On Day One of Patriots’ training camp, all eyes were on second-year QB Mac Jones who appeared to be all business, in great condition and prepared for the challenges ahead of the Patriots team in transition from its many waltzes to the Super Bowl. While coach Bill Belichick and the Pats are accustomed to being the favorites in the AFC East, this year, they’ll be fortunate to win 10 games (as they did a year ago) and finish second to the ‘21 division champion Buffalo Bills. In many circles, it is the Bills, not the Patriots, who are destined for AFC glory and a trip to the Super Bowl.

Belichick is beginning his 23rd season with the Patriots as the team avoids any sense of the word, “rebuilding,” but does face uncertainty at many key offensive positions. Meanwhile, a look to the south and AFC East rival, Miami, has stocked up with arguably the best wide-out in the NFL in former KC Chief Tyreek Hill to pair with second-year QB Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins won nine games a year ago and will fight it out with New England for a possible Wild Card berth, for sure.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of news and speculation as the NBA off-season hits midstream. For the Boston Celtics, all eyes are on Nets F Kevin Durantwho has asked for a trade from Brooklyn and reports have the Celtics offering some unknown package of players (with one piece likely to be F Jaylen Brown).

Of course, the Celtics made the NBA Finals but simply saw the fatigue of prior match-ups vs. Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Miami finally take their toll against Jayson Tatum and the team. Boston made one major move to acquire a true point guard in former Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdan for Milwaukee who the Cs acquired from Indiana in a multi-player trade in July.

The allure of an offensive threat, like Durant to pair with Tatum, is attractive to the Celtics and their fan base, but the lack of defensive intensity shown by Durant in the playoffs makes one wonder if his Achilles’ injury is limiting his defensive mobility against quicker players.

The foundation of the Celtics is “Team Defense” and the questions is whether Durant can buy-in? Brown’s contributions to that defense might be too costly a loss, never mind if 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smartbecomes part of the deal.

On the ice, the Boston Bruins are another team, like the Patriots, in total transition. Gone is goalkeeper Tuukka Rask, while Brad Marchand injured his hip and out for six months since his late May surgery. Then, there’s the uncertain status of forwards Patrice Bergeron and un-signed David Pastrňák, the club’s two best players.

On defense, more injuries and surgeries. Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk will be out until late November after shoulder surgeries. Mike Reillyis recovering from May ankle surgery.

In goal, Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark will share the netminding duties, trying to replace the talents of Vezina Trophy-worthy and former winner Rask has officially retired after some back-and-forth during the pandemic.

All the while, Boston is welcoming new coach, Jim Montgomery, to a team that is deep with talent but largely uncertain of its short term destiny.

If you take a step back and look at all four major pro sports, it’s a one for-four (.250) average for sure-fire success and that is only the Celtics.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Trade winds are blowing in Major League Baseball prior to Tuesday’s (August 2 – 6pm ET) trading deadline. Of course, the big fish in the MLB pond are Washington’s Juan Soto, who turned down a megabucks deal of 15-years and $440 million, and possibly Boston’s J.D. Martinez. The Seattle Mariners already acquired former Cincy ace Luis Castillo in a deal for a ton of top prospects. The terms “Buyers” and “Sellers” will be over-used this week.

Others MLB players reportedly on the block:

  • Josh Bell, 1B, Washington Nationals
  • Wilson Contreras, C, Chicago Cubs
  • Ian Happ, OF, Chicago Cubs
  • Tyler Mahle, SP, Cincinnati Reds
  • Frankie Montas, SP, Oakland Athletics
  • Noah Syndergaard, SP, Los Angeles Angels

That leads us to the extremely slim chance of the LA Angeles moving Shohei Ohtani before the deadline. The multi-talented Ohtani would be a game-changer as a starting pitcher and DH for any contender, but the question would be: “At what cost?”

 

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 17

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TL’s While We’re Young (Ideas) With Mid-Summer Thoughts; Classic, Open and Otherwise

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The annual “Mid-Summer Classic” marks the halfway point of the Major League Baseball season as much as it does the middle of summer in North America. After the MLB All-Star Break, baseball gets pretty serious, as does the stretch run for the PGA Tour, as The Open Championship and the (why do they even bother) Barracuda Championship mark a short four weeks remaining in the FedEx Cup regular season.

First, a quick look at Baseball:

Raise your hand if you predicted two of the three hottest teams in Baseball at the break would be the Seattle Mariners (10-0 over last ten and 13 in a row overall) and the Baltimore Orioles (9-1 over last ten). Those two teams, along with the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers (9-1 over last ten, as of Saturday morning) are the talk of baseball.

Seattle has won 13 in a row and is +1 game up in wild card standings and in position, along with Tampa Bay for postseason play. Baltimore is only 2.5 games out from a Wild Card place, trailing Tampa Bay, Seattle, Boston and Toronto, as well as a half-game behind Cleveland on the outside, looking in.

Seattle’s baker’s dozen in the W column includes victories at Texas, four in a row over Toronto, two at San Diego, and two out of three against the Orioles to start the Mariners’ streak.

Center fielder Julio Rodriguez has been leading the way with three of his 16 home runs, including a Grand Slam on Friday night, pacing the ball club along with a rejuvenated Eugenio Suarez , each with 50 RBI. First baseman Ty France is back from injury while left fielder Jesse Winker is swinging the bat again. Both Winker and Suarez were sent to Seattle from Cincinnati in a March 14, 2022 multi-player trade.

As far as Baltimore is concerned, the O’s 10-game winning streak came to an end on Friday night in a 5-4 loss at Tampa. Previously, they’d beaten the Cubs twice in Chicago, four against the LA Angels and three games against Texas. Since Fathers day, the Orioles are 16-7.

Outfielder Anthony Santander and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle are leading the way, while center fielder Cedric Mullins leads the club in hits. Tyler Wells and Jordan Lyles have been pleasant surprises on the pitching staff which lost ace John Means to Tommy John surgery early this season.

Although Seattle and Baltimore are simply darlings of baseball, there is no denying that the teams to beat are the LA Dodgers and New York Mets in the National League and the New York Yankees and Houston Astros in the American League. Division-leaders Milwaukee (NL-Central) and Minnesota (AL-Central) can not be ignored.

And on the links:

With The Open Championship heading into its final round, a quick look at the game of golf must address the impact of the new LIV Golf Invitational Series entity which grabbed dozens of popular PGA Tour players from mothership of all worldwide professional golf circuits. Some gold industry bigshots, including Royal & Ancient (R&A) CEO Martin Slumbers, are saying the LIV has “harmed the perception” of golf.

The United States Dept. of Justice is looking into the PGA Tour’s handling of member players and whether the Tour engaged in anti-competitive behavior during its ongoing battle with the LIV, the circuit being financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The PGA Tour suspended players who jumped to the LIV.

Lastly, even basketball Hall of Famer and Turner Sports’ Inside the NBA studio commentator Charles Barkley is getting in on the act. After he participated in last week’s Celebrity Golf tournament, Barkley has been quotes as saying, “It’s nothing that’s imminent. I actually don’t know everything they want from me, or what they technically want me to do, but you’ve got to always look at every opportunity that’s available,” Barkley said. “So the answer to your question is, 100 percent yes, I’m going to meet with LIV.”

The PGA Tour has been countering with the announcement of bigger purses, a better schedule and more lenient qualification of young players turning professional. On this weekend, when The Open grabs most attention, shouldn’t the Tour stage a “once a year” Korn Ferry Tour midseason tournament where the winners from the previous full year play for a five-year PGA Tour card, winner take all?

One thing is for sure, the PGA Tour leadership must rethink their sport, their schedule, their approach and innovate, far more than just its great TV coverage, the PGA Tour Live cash cow on ESPN+ and ShotLink.

In hindsight, the Battle of the Bogey-boys seems reminiscent of the 1967-76 pro basketball landscape which pitted the mighty NBA against the up & coming ABA, complete with a red, white and blue basketball and a three-point field goal for long, terrible 26+ foot shots that have become the rage and analytic flavor of the day for the NBA in 2022.

Maybe the LIV should make its players hit red, while and blue golf balls and chip-ins from 100 yards or more would subtract a stroke or reward a monetary bonus of say, $1 million of that Green as Grass Saudi cash?

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TIGER: By shooting a cringe-worthy 78-75 (153), Tiger Woods missed the cut at The Open Championship and bid farewell to the Old Course at St. Andrews which next hosts the British Open in 2026, at the earliest. Woods’ performance again reminded sports fans of other players who could no longer compete at the ultra-high level they set during the prime years of their careers. … A while back, when Tom Brady switched teams and NFL jerseys from New England to Tampa Bay, we listed a few of the players who looked so strange in another team’s uniform. That list also coincides with this list, of players who stayed on a bit too long:

  1. Tiger Woods at The Open
  2. NY Jets all-time great Joe Namath with the Los Angeles Rams
  3. Giants all-time great Willie Mays with the New York Mets
  4. Bruins all-time great Bobby Orr with the Chicago Blackhawks
  5. Orlando/LA/Miami’s Shaquille O’Neal with Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston
  6. NYK’s Walt “Clyde” Frazier with the Cleveland Cavaliers
  7. Colts all-time great Johnny Unitas with the San Diego Chargers
  8. NYK’s Patrick Ewing with the Seattle SuperSonics
  9. Green Bay’s Brett Favre with the New York Jets
  10. Cowboys great Emmitt Smith with the Arizona Cardinals

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 26

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – It was a tumultuous week to say the least.

Starting with a wonderful, quiet and restful Father’s Day, finishing Sunday with a White Mountain Creamery mint chocolate chip ice cream treat after enjoying an entertaining U.S. Open golf tournament right up the block at The Country Club in Brookline, the week started off fine.

The week continued, we had three games of the NHL Stanley Cup Final, with Game 4 a series-swaying overtime win (3-2) by the Colorado Avalanche at Tampa to take a 3-games-to-1 series lead back to Denver where they hoped to close it out. But, the Tampa Bay Lightning did not go down, winning Friday’s Game 6, 3-2, to keep Lord Stanley’s Cup in its case and volley the series back to Tampa-St. Pete Sunday night (tonight).

The Golden State Warriors had a victory parade. The NBA held its annual Draft. Brooks Koepka and Abraham Ancer were the latest two PGA TOUR professionals to jump to the LIV Golf, accepting zillions for sure. … College Baseball is closing in on the winner of the 2022 College World Series with Oklahoma and Ole Miss squaring off on Sunday and Monday.

Thursday was the most important day of the week as the sporting industry celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, the landmark federal law that changed the world for women’s athletics and evened the playing field for girls in youth programs, elementary school, high school and college while building the foundation for women playing sports with a goal to become professionals.

June 23, 1972 was the date, and the sporting emphasis of Title IX was packed nicely into a larger list of educational reforms for any program seeking federal funding. It was monumental in many ways legally and ground-breaking for the pioneers of women’s sports. Professionals like tennis legend Billie Jean King, long distance runner Kathrine Switzer, tennis great Althea Gibson and basketballer Anne Meyers Drysdale led the way and the multitude would follow.

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

According to a study by the Women’s Sports Foundation reported in The New York Times, high school participation rose from 294,015 in the 1971-72 school year to 3.4 million in 2018-19. At the collegiate level, participation at N.C.A.A. schools rose from 29,977 athletes in women’s sports in 1971-72 to 215,486 in 2020-21. Men’s sports reportedly had 275,769 athletes competing in 2020-21. Talk about evening the playing field.

The landmark legal proclamation was a major step for education and women’s sports but for those experiencing Title IX while in high school, the law was less important than the statement it was making: That being “it’s cool for the girls to play sports” – all sports – and “it’s just as cool” for the boys to support their classmates, attend home games, travel to away games and root hard for the girls’ teams.

At Holy Trinity, it was about Debbie Basel grabbing an offensive rebound with a quick put-back or Clare Krummenacker knocking down a shot with a stroke as silky as Jamaal Wilkes’ jumper.

At St. John’s, it was watching Trinity grad Laura Edney swim through the water like a Chris-Craft cruising the Long Island Sound.

There might’ve been some pushback from old-school coaches and athletic administrators who didn’t want to give-up their sacred gymnasium time, but the student body spoke. Let them play! Game On!

Olympian Summer Sanders (file)

As time passed by and Title IX paved the way in many different sports, the competition brought forth serious competitors like Summer Sanders-Schlopy, the most decorated Olympic swimmer at the 1992 Summer Games. Sanders-Schlopy, once an anchor for NBA Inside Stuff and a regular TV commentator and show host, took home two gold, a silver and a bronze for a USA Women’s swim team that just ROCKED the ‘92 Barcelona Olympics.

Around the hoop, the results of Title IX became quite apparent on the USA Basketball Women’s World Championship and Olympics front, especially between 1996 (See the new ESPN 30-for-30 “Dream On” currently streaming) and 2020 when the “Supreme Team” won seven consecutive gold medals, and five of the last six World Cups of Basketball behind a team full of Title Niners.

The women’s basketball team of ‘96 led the way, along with the gold-medal winning women’s gymnastics team at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics that the women dominated in terms of awareness, event attendance and fan affinity.

There were Title IX benefits off the playing field as well, as women took their rightful places in sports administration on the community, high school, collegiate and professional levels as the Boomers of 1972 grew-up with sports and the sports industry grew-up with them.

Yet in 2022, there is still more to accomplish to balance the playing field, the job opportunities, coaching and administrative salaries and pay in sports where women generate revenue to great lengths, like the USA women’s national team in soccer, grand slam tennis and LPGA golf. Basketball and ice hockey are well on their way, the WNBA in its 25th year of existence.

“Across the board, we’ve all won,” said Dr. Courtney Flowers to The New York Times. “But sometimes, we have to recalibrate and make sure that in the next 50 years we’re not saying the same thing and advocating for the same thing and figure out what does equity look like now?”

“Title IX — in many ways — has defined my life,” said Teri Schindler, a former colleague at the NBA. “As a member of the University of Notre Dame women’s swim team that took the program to varsity status and earned All-America honors for me and my teammates to stints setting up the Big East Conference television network, covering the University of Connecticut undefeated women’s basketball teams and with the National Basketball Association and nascent WNBA — it offered me ways to compete and opportunities to learn and work that were unprecedented.

“My mother started this effort with me when she set up our community’s first softball league for girls – I hope I have furthered it. I am certainly richer for it and it has infused everything I’ve done since … here’s to this Title IX anniversary and all the women who compete, on and off the field,” said Schindler.

DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE: While Title IX was being celebrated across the land, the Supreme Court of the United States came down with two rulings that crashed the Title IX party like an unwelcome drunk at an outdoor wedding. First, on Thursday, the SCOTUS struck down a New York handgun-licensing law that required New Yorkers who want to carry a handgun in public to show a special need to defend themselves. The 6-3 ruling, written by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, is the court’s first significant decision on gun rights in over a decade. In a far-reaching ruling, the court made clear that the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right “to keep and bear arms” protects a broad right to carry a handgun outside the home for self-defense. Going forward, Thomas explained, courts should uphold gun restrictions only if there is a tradition of such regulation in U.S. history.

The landmark SCOTUS decision came six weeks after a gunman killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket, and a couple weeks after 21 people – 19 children and two teachers – were shot to death at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Under intense pressure, the Senate Republicans relented and reached an agreement on bipartisan gun-safety legislation that is the first federal gun-control legislation in nearly 30 years. The 80-page bill requires tougher background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21 and provides more funding for mental-health resources. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law upon it arriving on his desk, Saturday, June 25.

One branch of government was easing the ability to carry concealed weapons in New York, while other branches were taking baby steps to curtail access to guns. None, mind you, addressed the main issue of assault rifles, such as the AR-15 and its 30-Plus capacity ammunition magazines, which gunned down the 19 children in Uvalde, Texas on May 24th nor the mass murder at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018 which took the lives of 17 students while injuring 17 others nor the December 12, 2012 mass murder at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut when 20 of 26 victims were children aged six and seven. Of course there were many others, in night clubs at concerts in Las Vegas, movie theaters, shopping malls and churches. The list goes on and on.

While the New York gun law reversal was a stunner, mainly since it dated back to 1913, the SCOTUS wasn’t done.

On Friday, as they often do when trying to bury an unpopular decision, the SCOTUS went against some 66% of USA voters’ opinions when they reversed the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Constitution of the United States generally protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion. The decision sent shock waves across the United States, as the 5-4 vote to overturn the 50-year law was largely due to three recent SCOTUS appointees by President Donald Trump. The confirmation of those associate justices was largely done by men.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert issued a statement regarding the decision (Mississippi: Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization):

“The NBA and WNBA believe that women should be able to make their own decisions concerning their health and future, and we believe that freedom should be protected. We will continue to advocate for gender and health equity, including ensuring our employees have access to reproductive health care, regardless of their location.”

The three Democratic-appointed justices — Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan — dissented while Chief Justice John Roberts joined the justices to uphold a restrictive Mississippi law, but Roberts criticized his conservative colleagues for taking the additional step of overturning Roe v. Wade. They were Republican-appointed justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — who all supported Justice Samuel Alito’s 5-4 majority opinion to reverse the standing law, and toss the decision-making to the elected officials in each State.

The tumult of protestors began immediately as the ruling was tipped when a draft of Alito’s opinion was leaked to the world weeks ago. The hypocrisy of celebrating women’s rights one day and turning them upside down the next is not lost by women who will head to the voting machines this November, nor will the SCOTUS ruling to ease gun laws while mass murders are taking place by the week. The Senate took a baby-step, largely to say they did so come campaign time.

The end-game will be decided in New York where 8-in-10 Democratic voters believe the gun laws should be more strict as opposed to the SCOTUS ruling. That comes in a largely Democratic-leaning State. Add the 50+ percent of women to the anti-Supreme Court trend, and there could be major issues in the 2022 mid-term elections this Fall.

One thing is for sure, the Title IX girls of voting age, women, mothers – both urban and suburban – are pissed.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Both the men’s and women’s USA Basketball 3×3 teams took losses this week. The women to Canada in the quarterfinals and the men lost to host Belgium in the qualifying round and then were eliminated by Lithuania in the quarters. … USA Basketball added center Will Davis II (College Park Skyhawks) will join the July 2022 USA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team in Miami, as the team prepares for a pair of World Cup Qualifying Games this week in Puerto Rico and Cuba.

Davis was a member of the November 2021 USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team. In one game vs. Cuba, he recorded four points, four rebounds and two assists in 12 minutes. Davis also played in one game in the FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying February 2021 games, helping the USA to a win over Mexico (95-76) with 10 points, five rebounds and one block in 20 minutes. … To close the 2021-22 season, Davis played 19 total games in the NBA G League with the South Bay Lakers, Raptors 905 and the College Park Skyhawks. He averaged 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.0 minutes.

The USA squad, coached by Jim Boylen, opened training camp Friday night in preparation for the third competition window of 2021-23 FIBA World Cup Qualifying games that will see the USA (3-1) face Puerto Rico (2-2) in San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 1, and Cuba (0-4) in Havana on July 4.

For additional information on the USA World Cup of Basketball qualifying, visit HERE.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 5

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – In the spring of 2007, Al Horford capped two NCAA Final Four basketball championships by being the third overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, selected by the Atlanta Hawks. Together with Florida Gators frontcourt-mate and fellow rim protector, Joakim Noah, and impressive collegiate scorer, Corey Brewer, Horford thought a trip to the Final Four was his birthright. After all, his father, “Tito” Horford had made it to the NBA, playing four years with a combination of the Milwaukee and Washington. Surely. there’d be plenty of success in the future.

Life in the NBA can have a cruel side. The money’s great but the competition is pretty tough. You’ve got the pay your dues if you wanna play the Bulls, and playoff shares for NBA Finalists don’t come easy.

Horford toiled for nine years with the Hawks and his team made the playoffs every year sans one, 2013-14, when he was injured. He bounced right back and played in 76 of 82 regular season games and all 16 of Atlanta’s playoff games as the East’s No. 1 seed that won enough to make the Eastern Conference Finals. Not quite enough, as the Hawks were swept away, 4-0, by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

No NBA Finals for Big Al.

In the summer of 2016, Horford’s fortunes increased when he was signed to a multi-year contract by the Boston Celtics. In the spring of 2017, he played in 18 NBA Playoff games, again with the No. 1 seed in the East, but fell victim to James and the Cavaliers once again.

No NBA Finals for Big Al.

That cruel side of NBA life moved on and Horford signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019 and later traded to Oklahoma City in 2020.

No Finals.

On June 18, 2021 Horford’s NBA destiny and legacy would change for the better once again. He was packaged by Oklahoma City in a deal for Kemba Walker and returned to Boston to anchor the front court.

On Friday night, June 3, Horford celebrated his 36th birthday a day after playing his 142nd playoff game and doing so in a “Star of the Game” role in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals, a 120-108 Celtics road win against the Golden state Warriors.

Big Al led the Celtics in scoring with (26), including a 6-for-8 performance from three-point FG range. No NBA player had ever gone 141 playoff games without reaching the Finals and those six ‘threes’ were the most for any NBA player making his Finals debut. Two of the “threes” put the Celtics up 106-103 and 109-103 with about five minutes remaining in the game, and his 17-foot jumper at 3:40 in the fourth quarter made it 111-103 Boston, bolstering a 40-16 Celtics run in the final 12 minutes of the game. That’s not bad for a team that trailed by 15 late in the third quarter.

Horford’s eight important points keyed the Game 1 victory, but his offense is not what makes him such a valuable player for his team. Ask any Celtics player, coach or front office worker what Al Horford provides for the club and you’re likely to get the same answer.

“Phenomenal,” said Jaylen Brown of the Celtics. “That’s what we need. That’s what we want. We want that veteran leadership to carry us over. He came out for his first Finals game and played amazing. He carried us and led to a victory.

“His energy, his demeanor, coming in every day, being a professional, taking care of his body, being a leader, I’m proud to be able to share this moment with a veteran, a mentor, a brother, a guy like Al Horford, man,” added Brown after defeating Miami and earning g the Finals appearance for Horford. “He’s been great all season, really my whole career. I’m happy to be able to share this moment with somebody like him.”

What did Horford think?

It wasn’t about an offensive role, it was all about defense.

“Coach Udoka was very clear what he wanted us to be as a team, our identity, defensively, hang our hat on the defensive end,” said Big Al. “And on offense, play freely, use Jaylen and Jayson and just kind of just go. (Our team) understanding and buying into that – it took us a while – but I feel like once we started to understand how we needed to play, we became more consistent.

“This journey is not easy. We had a hard path. Brooklyn, Milwaukee, the defending champs, and Miami’s s a team that – look what they did – they took us to the brink.

“For our group it’s resiliency, it’s switching the page, moving on to the next thing, and we did that all season. I really noticed it, and I was telling this to JB (Brown), but it was like February, early February, that I just noticed how we started to click.

“People were like, ‘Well, you guys are beating teams that have guys out, guys are hurt and all these things,” and I was like, “It doesn’t matter, I’m seeing something different in how we’re playing. That’s how we’re just going to carry it on, and that’s what we’ve been doing.’”

Up 1-0 in The NBA Finals, the Celtics’ journey continues Sunday but there’s a long, long way to go. If you don’t believe that’s true, just ask Al Horford.
Al Horford (center) in his leadership role with Celtics (USA Today photo)

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HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Chelsea went for some $3 billion, the Denver Broncos are on the market, valued at $3.8 billion, and attracting a list of buyers a mile high. Nike founder Phil Knight tossed his $2 billion into a pair of basketball shoes in an attempt to acquire the Portland Trail Blazers, on the market as part of the estate of the late Paul Allen of Microsoft fame.

The piggy bank broke when Los Angeles Clippers team owner, Donald Sterling, was banned from The NBA for racist remarks and conduct unbecoming an NBA franchise governor and his $12.5 million purchase in 1981 turned into a $2 billion sale of the Clippers in 2014.

Professional franchise valuations soared and in 2022, it’s a matter of what someone will pay to join an exclusive club of team owners for any sport.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: With those incredible franchise valuations comes payroll, too, and Major League Baseball payrolls and the subsequent tax levied against clubs above the $230 million salary threshold have hit record numbers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers might as well change nicknames to the Los Angeles Dollars as the club’s Opening Day salary was an all-time high $310.6 million,. That resulted in a $47 million tax according to figures compiled by Major League Baseball and obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

The New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox rounded-out the Top 5 of MLB teams over the threshold. The Phillies fired Joe Girardi, their manager of two years, as the club is mired in third place in the National League East, playing sub-.500 baseball at 23-29 (.442).

The Payroll Tax List: (Team, Opening Day Payroll, MLB Luxury Tax)

  1. Los Angeles Dodgers, $310.6m, $47m
  2. New York Mets, $289.3m, $22.5m
  3. New York Yankees, $261.4m, $7.6m
  4. Philadelphia Phillies, $233.1m, $629k
  5. Boston Red Sox, $232.3m, $466k

Meanwhile, Nashville is actively pursuing a Major League Baseball and a WNBA franchise, if and when they become available, most likely through expansion. The Tennessee city already has the NFL Titans and the NHL Predators.

We all used to love the Major League Baseball’s Game of the Week, one game on national TV (NBC) with Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek on the broadcast. In the ‘60s, NBC paid some $6.1 million for 25 broadcasts and MLB tossed in some holidays, like Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day. … Joe Garagiola took over for Gowdy at some point in the mid-60s. … On Saturday, June 4, there were four national “Games of the Week,” and that excludes the regular Boston broadcast of the Red Sox by regional sports network, NESN.

NBA IN SEATTLE? VEGAS? – As far as The NBA is concerned, the league has a franchise in Memphis and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver denied any active maneuvering to expand with a media inquiry about possible expansion to Seattle and/or Las Vegas coming Thursday night in Silver’s bi-annual State of the NBA address.

“Just to answer the first part of your question directly, that talk is not true,” said Silver of rumors of Seattle and Las Vegas. “At least maybe there are people talking who are not at the league office about us potentially expanding after the 2024 season.

“We are not discussing that at this time.

“As I said before, at some point, this league invariably will expand, but it’s not at this moment that we are discussing it. But one of the factors in expanding is the potential dilution of talent. … I find it remarkable that when you have the second-most-played sport in the world after soccer, tens of millions — now just talking on the NBA side — of young men playing in this game, and then you have the 450 best in the world in this league, that there’s a few of them who separate themselves even among those 450 as the very best of the best, but there is then a fall-off, a drop-off in talent after that.

“So expansion does create a certain amount of dilution. And even sort of adding another 30 players or so that are roughly comparable, there still are only so many of the truly top-tier super talents to go around. That is something on the mind of the other teams as we think about expansion.

“But those (Seattle/Vegas) are wonderful markets. Again, as I’ve said before, we were in Seattle. I’m sorry we are no longer there. We have a WNBA team in Seattle in an almost brand-new building that’s doing spectacular. And Las Vegas, where we will be at our Summer League in July, has shown itself to be a great sports market as well.

“We’ll be looking at it at some point, but there’s no specific timeline right now.”

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Madness!

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By TERRY LYONS

NEW YORK – When the BIG EAST tournament crowned Villanova as conference champion at Madison Square Garden on March 12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference folded-up its tent the same evening as Virginia Tech upset Duke at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, the only New York connection to March Madness was Colgate, winners of the Patriot League.

For its efforts, the Hamilton, NY-based school was sent to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and quickly dispatched by Wisconsin in a Midwest Regional opener. As of March 18th, the only New York-based connection to the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament were a few remaining games of the West Regional first and second round being played in Buffalo, home of the Bills, great chicken wings and fond memories of the Buffalo Braves NBA franchise.

 

Tri-State basketball fans might’ve connected to the tournament via UConn (Storrs, CT) or Seton Hall (South Orange, NJ) or even little Saint Peter’s College of Jersey City, NJ, just eight miles from The Garden via a quick tube ride from Herald Square to Journal Square.

Little did we know that the No. 15 seeded Peacocks, coached by former Seton Hall guard Shaheen Holloway, would become the Cinderella Story of March Madness of 2022. St. Peter’s on Friday became the only No. 15 to advance to the “Elite Eight.” as previous 15s (Oral Roberts and Florida Gulf Coast both folded in the Round of 16. It’s a great, heartwarming story, a story made for March Madness as little Saint Pete, winners of the MAAC conference, habitants of the Run Baby Run Arena on Kennedy Boulevard and home to 2,600 undergrads and 600 graduate students, were winners over big, bad and blue blood Kentucky (85-79, OT on March 1700, pesky Murray State (70-60 on March 19), and then after advancing to the NCAAs “Sweet 16” to play highly-touted, Big 10 bad-asses Purdue (67-64 on March 25).

But, make no mistake about it, that’s a Jersey basketball story, not NYC.

There is one great New York City basketball connection in this year’s on-going March Madness and it is University of Miami Hurricanes head coach Jim Larrañaga. The 72-year old coaching legend grew-up in the Bronx, one of six children. He attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens where he starred on the basketball varsity under a legend-maker in the late Jack Curran. Larrañaga graduated from Molloy in 1967 and went on to play basketball at Providence College where he became the basketball team’s captain as a senior, 1970–71, leading Providence College to a 20–8 record and an NIT appearance when the NIT was as big-time as Peter Gabriel.

Larrañaga’s story gets cooler than that! His grandfather was born in Cuba of Basque parents, and was part of the Por Larrañaga cigar company. Jim’s son is a legend in the making, in LA Clippers’ assistant coach Jay Larrañaga, the former assistant in Boston who has a coaching resume ranging from Calabria, Milano and Rome,. Italy to Real Madrid, Spain to Ireland and even the Ukraine, where he assisted Mike Fratello in Ukraine’s bid to qualify for the Olympic Games. Winning runs in the family and that brings us back to the University of Miami’s climb to the Elite Eight in this year’s NCAAs.

While all the Cinderella Story attention was (rightfully) focused on Saint Peter’s, the “U” kept chugging along, knocking off No. 7 USC in the first round then soundly defeating No. 2 Auburn (79-61) in the second round. The Sweet 16 match-up saw No. 10 Miami whoop No. 11 Iowa State, 70-56, which brings them to Sunday’s (today) tough game against No. 1 Kansas for the right to go to the NCAA Final Four.

Don’t be surprised, though, as you might recall Jim Larrañaga and George Mason’s run to the Final Four in 2006 when the coach was just a 56-year old puppy. Since his hiring at Miami in 2011, it’s been nothing but winning in the ultra-tough Atlantic Coast Conference. He now stands as the first coach in the history of college basketball to take two programs who were double digit seeds in the NCAA Tournament — Miami and George Mason — to the Elite Eight.

Much like his pro counterparts, the Miami Heat in the NBA Year of the Bubble (2020), the “U” hovers around in the pack but is a dangerous draw once the postseason rolls around. The Heat came out of the No. 5 slot of the 2020 NBA Playoffs whereas the “U” held to the No. 4 slot in the ACC (14-6), but only two games off the lead.

While basketball fans focus on the upset special of Saint Peter’s as they go up against North Carolina, remember to spend a little time watching Jim Larrañaga and the Miami Hurricanes, New York’s best story in college basketball in the year 2022. Larrañaga will be the guy coaxing his players, cajoling the refs, as his team hangs around, ready for another win. He’ll play his five starters in the high 35+ minutes per game and maybe go to his bench for two or three players to give a foul.

In the end, Larrañaga wins. The University of Miami wins (for hiring him and recently extending his contract) and the sport of basketball wins, even if it’s not at a New York college looking in at the NCAAs from the outside once again.