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TL Sunday Sports Notes

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.

While We’re Young (Ideas) | February 13

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TL’s Super Sunday Sports Notes | Tribute to Tuukka Rask

“You could say I lost my faith in science and progress

You could say I lost my belief in the holy Church

You could say I lost my sense of direction

You could say all of this and worse, but

If I ever lose my faith in you

There’d be nothing left for me to do,’

– Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, CBE

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – He came to Boston from Savonlinna, Finland by way of the 21st overall selection in the 2005 National Hockey League entry draft, a pick made by the Toronto Maple Leafs. His trade to the Bruins is high on the list of the worst trades in Maple Leafs history and that’s a lofty list of mistakes.

By 2007, when goalkeeper Tuukka Rask was first called up from the Providence Bruins to the mother ship in Boston, he would be among four players attempting to crack the Bruins’ line-up of which only two goaltenders share the daily duties. A season in Providence would pass.

In 2008, although Rask had the best save percentage (.952) among the goalies in NHL preseason play, followed by teammates Manny Fernandez(.875), Tim Thomas (.869) and Kevin Regan (.857), the Bruins kept Thomas and Fernandez on their roster.

By 2008-09, a red-hot Thomas would earn the Vezina Trophy honors as the best goalkeeper in the NHL by playing 54 games and winning 36 of them. Fernandez backed up Thomas for 27 games while Rask played in only one. Thomas and Fernandez were 34 years old while Rask was 21 that season.

Two years later, Thomas led the Boston Bruins to drink from the Cup with mask as his primary back-up. Thomas started 55 games and recorded a .938 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average. Rask started 27, but went 11-14 while posting a .918 save percentage and 2.67 GAA.

In 2012-13, with Thomas retired, Rask led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals in a lock-out shortened season. He started all 22 playoff games but the Bruins came up short, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-games-2 but Rask recorded a .940 save percentage and 1.88 GAA in the 22 games. The Bruins had their starting goalkeeper and he was only 25 years old.

From that moment – on – the Boston Bruins put their faith in TUUUKKK.

Rask guarded the Bruins’ nets brilliantly, although the club would only get back to the Stanley Cup Finals one more time, losing 4-games-3 to the St. Louis Blues in 2018-19. He went 14-9 that postseason with a 2.02 GAA and a .934 save percentage.

The global pandemic and Father Time soon came a’ visiting and a series of injuries felled Rask. In the pandemic, he opted to return to his family and leave the team. It was later learned that his daughter was undergoing a medical emergency at that time. He also underwent surgery in the summer of 2021, dealing with an acetabular labrum injuries in his hip.

Rask became an unrestricted free agent but made his plans known to play with the Boston Bruins or not play at all. He attempted a comeback between January 2 and February 9 of this year, eventually starting four games with the Bruins, but he decided to retire as of February 9.

Bruins G Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have started all but four of Boston’s games and will oversee the net minding duties for the time being.

Rask went 308-165-66 over his career, hitting the incredible NHL milestones of 500 games played and 300 wins. He also surpassed the great masked one, Gerry Cheevers, to become the winningest playoff goalkeeper in Boston Bruins history. task also led Finland to the bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, including a shut-out against the USA in the medal game and a quarter-final victory over Russia on their home ice in Sochi.

Said Rask in a statement announcing his retirement from the Bruins:

“Today is a day that I hoped would never come. But now that it’s here, I feel I owe it to everyone to hear it from me. When I made the decision to have surgery on my hip last summer, I did so knowing that the road to recovery would be challenging. I also knew it was something I would have to do if I wanted to give myself a chance to play my best hockey again. The rehab, the workouts, the practices – all of it was with the intention of getting back to where I needed to be to help my teammates win games and make another run at a Stanley Cup. Over these last few weeks, I’ve realized that my body is not responding the way it needs to for me to play at the level I expect of myself and that my teammates and Bruins fans deserve.

Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from the game of hockey.

While I am sad to say goodbye to the game I love, I am so very thankful to have shared these last 15 years with the greatest teammates and fans in the best sports city in the world. We have shared so many special memories over the years – bringing the Cup back to Boston in 2011, our runs to the Final in 2013 and 2019, playing overseas in the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland and China, and of course the Winter Classics. I am also so thankful that I was able to represent Finland on the world stage and win a bronze medal in the 2014 Olympics. While these experiences were all incredible, what I will remember most about all of them is the bond that I had with my teammates, coaches and team staffs, the memories that we will always have, and the friendships that will last a lifetime.

Through all the ups and downs, I am so grateful for all the support this team and the people of Boston have given me. I will miss everything that comes with representing the Boston Bruins. But now, I’m excited to spend more time with my family and friends who never stopped supporting my dream. Boston is special for so many reasons and will always be our adopted home. We look forward to remaining a part of this amazing community.

I especially want to thank the Jacobs family, Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, my coaches, the equipment staff and the rest of the team support staff for all they have done for me throughout my time with the Bruins organization. I’ve never wanted to play for any other team. I’m so proud to have worn the Spoked-B for my entire career and wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Kiitos paljon translates to ‘Thanks a lot” Boston

Farewell TUUUKKK, the hockey fans of Boston never lost faith in you.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: American downhill skier Mikaela Shiffron had a rough week at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The 26-year old Olympian was disqualified from her first two races this week after missing gates and ultimately skiing off to the side of the course, head in hands and realizing her failure. The social media-verse skewered the TV/media coverage for shining the bright lights of exposure upon her misfortune. Yet, only a few days later, Shiffron did what all real pro athletes do, she competed in the Super-G race, only to finish ninth.

“I didn’t think there was a very big chance to come in and win or even medal in this race, with these women who have been skiing Super-G all season,” she said. “It felt really nice to ski that today. It was a little bit uncertain—or very uncertain. Coming back out and getting the chance to race again, was just the perfect thing to do, actually.”

She also took complete responsibility and “owned” the shortfall: “I do consider it failure,” said Shiffrin. “I think a lot of people do. It’s just tough to see that word in the headline of an article and it feels like clickbait to say, you know: ‘Crashes out!’ ‘Fails!’ ‘Disappoints the world!’ ‘Chokes’! All of it. They’re just harsh words … I failed twice to do the job that I am supposed to do. I can say that. That’s the honest truth.”

What Shiffron discovered through the experience was much more valuable than gold. She realized the amazing compassion and support of an entire nation – maybe the entire world – showing her the support she deserved.

“I would never have expected to feel in this moment, severely under-performing in an Olympics, that humans could be so kind. It’s the most surprising thing of my Olympic experience, how kind people have been in the face of my failure. I mean, it is failure – it’s okay to say that. I’m okay with that. And I’m sorry for it, but I also was trying, and I’m proud of that,’ said the downhill champion skier.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, personified. On TV and properly covered by the TV and media on hand.

ICYMI: On Saturday, February 12, William Felton Russell turned 88 years young. The 11-time NBA champion, 12-time NBA All-Star, five-time NBA MVP and member of the league’s 25th, 35th, 50th and 75th anniversary all-time great teams, hailed from West Monroe, Louisiana but moved to Oakland with his family and attended University of San Francisco from 1953-56. He won a gold medal for the USA in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks but traded to the Boston Celtics for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – Jan 16th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at FIBA, Golf Etiquette and Parting Words from NBPA’s Michele Roberts

By TERRY LYONS

This one almost made it right past us all. If it weren’t for the backdrop of the spectacular Giza Plateau in Egypt, the FIBA Intercontinental Cup might’ve gone astray, like a Russell Westbrook turnover.

FIBA, the international basketball federation, conducts several basketball tournaments throughout the years, including the FIBA World Cup (formerly the World Championship of Basketball) and by declaration of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), FIBA oversees the men’s and women’s hoop tournaments at the Olympics Games. FIBA also dabbles with a European-wide pro league, is partners with the NBA on the Basketball Africa League and now organizes the Intercontinental Cup, as new basketball tournament with representative professional (not national) teams from the Americas, Africa and Europe.

The draw for the February 11-13 event took place a three-point field goal distance away from the great Pyramids of Cairo and that attention-grabber of a draw resulted in the Americas bracket of South America’s Flamengo of Brazil to face none other than the 2020-21 NBA G-League winners Lakeland Magic (near parent club Orlando).

In the other semi-final bracket, Basketball Champions League 2020-21 winners Hereda San Pablo Burgos of Spain will face the inaugural Basketball Africa League champion and tournament host Zamalek SC of Cairo.

According to a FIBA news release, “the ambassador of the 2022 event, Egyptian soccer legend and former Zamalek player Mido, accepted the task of conducting the draw at the Giza Plateau and took the opportunity to profess his love of basketball.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: “Honestly, I’m a little bit tired of the situation,” said Rafa Nadal when asked about the Australian Open tennis saga of Novak Djokovic. “The Australian Open is much more important than any player,” Nadal said in his pre-tournament media session. “If he’s playing, finally, OK. If he’s not playing, the Australian Open will be a great Australian Open, with or without him. That’s my point of view.” … There should be more focus on the game of Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets than “Novax” Djokovicplaying tennis (or not) on the other side of the world.

What else?

The sport of golf deserves better than to have SONY Open reigning champ Kevin Na trading cheap shots (on Twitter, no less) with Tour hack Grayson Murray. If only one sport can survive the brutal, insensitive nature of life in 2020-21-22, you’d think it might be golf. But, no…

We’ve got Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau barking at each other before they teed-up a made for TV event in the PGA silly season and now, just as the 2022 PGA Tour is fully underway, we have this:

Twitter avatar for @GraysonMurrayGrayson Murray @GraysonMurray

Kevin Na taking 3 minutes to putt them. does get old.

Chantel McCabe @chantel_mccabe

Kevin Na walking in putts does not get old.

January 14th 2022

56 Retweets

Twitter avatar for @GraysonMurrayGrayson Murray @GraysonMurray

If they penalized you like they should for slow play you’d never make another cut either.

Kevin Na @kevinna915

@GraysonMurray u missing the cut is getting old!

January 15th 2022

69 Retweets

COMINGS & GOINGS: Nice ‘get” by ESPN in hiring Pete Thamel away from Yahoo Sports (anyone remember that Verizon, Yahoo thing called OATH)? … You’d think ESPN would re-hire Andy Katz before Yahoo Sports signs him? … Michele Roberts has officially retired from her gig as the Executive Director of the NBA Players Association. She’d been on the job since 2014. Taking over the prestigious job representing the players’ union is little known Tamika Tremaglio, former Managing Principal of Deloitte’s Greater Washington practice, where she has served as an advisor and consultant to the NBPA since 2012.

EQUITY STAKE: In one of Ms. Roberts’ final interview before departing the NBPA, she waxed philosophic on one serious regret of her tenure repping the players and that was not negotiating equity stakes for the players or Players’ Association (as one) in the rising valuations of NBA franchises. Said Roberts to the Sports Business Journal: “The biggest challenge which I sorely wish I could have met was securing player ownership in the 30 teams they have historically and continue to enrich.” … When contemplating the concept Roberts has in mind, three things immediately come to mind: 1). Do the players as a whole benefit? And, if so, when there’s cash calls during the tenure of various team ownership, does the current roster pony-up or does the Union as a whole pay-in? Can you imagine the 10-day roster signee finding out on Day 2, “Ahh, you owe $100,000 to the team for the recent cash call.” … 2). If a franchise sells, does every single player in its history get a piece of the action? … 3). If a franchise decides to invest in a privately-owned new building, do the players have to help fund the construction? Again? every player on current roster or every player who ever wore that team’s jersey?

The concept seems to be more of some kind of “Flip Tax” on a franchise that increases in value, much like the hated flip tax on a New York City co-op. If LA’s Jeannie Buss decides to sell the Lakers, does the estate of Wilt Chamberlain get a few bucks?

TL

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook – Dec 26

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“He spoke not a word and went straight to his work.” – Clement Clarke Moore (or Bill Belichick?)

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – When there’s 52+ weeks of Sunday notebooks to review, there are plenty of topics, notes, tidbits and remembrances to point out as we look back at the strange year of 2021 and look forward to (hopefully) better days ahead in 2022.

Upon quick review, here’s a list of the most prominent items in TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | While We’re Young (Ideas) over the past 52 weeks:

January 2021:

Big Story: Alabama defeated Ohio State, 52-24, in College Football Playoffs National Championship game

  • A Few of My Favorite Things
  • Diggies: Outstanding TV Ads and Hard Knocks NFL Jinx
  • Tons of NFL Talent (Unfortunately, many were hurt in 2021)
  • Hank Aaron Tribute
  • Sekou Smith Tribute

February 2021:

Big Story: QB Tom Brady and Tampa Bay defeated Kansas City, 31-9, in Super Bowl LVI

  • Super Bowl | Salute to Tom Brady
  • Baseball Spring Training | Red Sox Equipment Truck Heads South
  • Second Chances in Life, Sports | Alex Cora
  • NBA Logo | Great Logos and Branding

March 2021:

Big Story: Justin Thomas shot four-under (68) in the final round for 274 (−14) to win his first PGA Tour Players Championship, one stroke ahead of runner-up Lee Westwood, the 54-hole leader.

  • NBA All-Star Notes | International Players | Zion was an All-Star
  • The Concept of TIME | Precious TIME of a sporting career
  • 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 | March Madness Brackets
  • March Madness without Duke and Kentucky
  • Sportico News: NBA Franchise Valuations; Fanatics $ Merch

April 2021:

Big Story: Baylor defeated Gonzaga, 86-70, in nCAA Final four Championship game

  • MLB Opening Day Brings Excitement, Joy | Underrated Events
  • The Masters | Rick Welts Announced retirement from GS Warriors
  • MLB’s Jackie Robinson Day | Mark “The Bird” Fidrych
  • European Super League Futbol Flop

May 2021:

Big Story: Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby, giving his trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh win in the race and jockey John Velazquez his fourth Derby win. However, the horse tested positive for betamethasone after the race.

  • Must Win Time in NHL and NBA | Kentucky Derby
  • NFL Franchise Valuations | IVY League Sports Comeback
  • Basketball: Hall of Fame | WNBA 25th | Africa League
  • ATL: Us Against the World and NBA
  • Fan Behavior | Mark Eaton RIP

June 2021:

Big Story: In the 121st U.S. Open golf tournament, Jon Rahm made a birdie on each of the final two holes to become the first U.S. Open champion from Spain and win his first major championship.

  • Fragile Nature of Sports | Sports Perfection
  • The Sports Window of Opportunity | PGA Tour : The Travelers
  • Father’s Day | USA Swimming/Nick Fink
  • Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia Tribute

July 2021:

Big Story: The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games with the decisive contest played on July 20th.

  • Name, Image, Likeness | #SportsBiz
  • NBA/ESPN Reporter Bickering | Olympics on Horizon
  • The Open
  • Memories of Olympic Games Past

August 2021:

Big Story; MLB stole the show with its first-ever regular season game at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, a site popularized by the 1989 baseball motion picture.

  • More Great Olympic Games Memories
  • Modified Stableford Scoring for Hoops
  • PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs
  • Northern Trust = No Pro Golf in Boston

September 2021:

Big Story: Daniil Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic in the final, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 to win the men’s singles tennis title at the 2021 U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows. On the women’s side, Britain’s Emma Raducanu defeated Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the final, 6–4, 6–3 to win the women’s singles tennis title at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu became the first qualifier, male or female, to reach a major final and win a major title, as well as the first singles qualifier to reach the semifinals at the US Open.

  • The Most Wonderful Time of the Year for Sports
  • US Open Tennis: 18-year old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain defeated 19-year old Leylah Fernandez of Canada
  • Ryder Cup Golf and Hard Knocks NFL
  • More Ryder Cup Golf | Hope for BC Eagles Football

October 2021:

Big Story: The Chicago Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury in four straight games to win the 2021 WNBA title.

  • NBA at 75 Tip-Off
  • The people behind the NBA at 75 Impact: Off the Court
  • NBA at 75 | Final List | #SportsBiz Sports Gambling Update
  • Preseason College Basketball Preview

November 2021:

Big Story: The Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros in six games to win the 2021 MLB World Series.

  • 30 Year Look-Back at Earvin “Magic” Johnson
  • Best Sports Towns in America
  • Olympic Boycotts – Athletes & Diplomats
  • Paying Thanks on Thanksgiving Day 2021

December 2021:

Big Story:  New York City FC defeated the Portland Timbers (1-1) in penalty kicks after a scoreless overtime. It was NYC FC’s first MLS Cup title.

  • A Look at Deep, Dark December | NFL Power Rankings
  • #Sports – The Land of Confusion | Bill Russell Auction
  • Dreaming of a “Wilt” Christmas | NBA Christmas Day Preview
  • 2021 Year-End Review

January 2022: As you can see from the photo up top, the lads are welcoming in a New Year with hopes for a much better 2022 than was experienced in 2020 and 2021.

Overall, it’s somewhat daunting to look back at the year in sports. So many things happened – good and bad – in such challenging circumstances, yet again. It’s even harder to look back at the year in news. The “real world” headlines of 2021 absolutely drops us to our knees, especially the way the year started out on January 6th. Nevertheless, we must move on and move forward. And, with that in mind:

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Despite the fact this is being written before the NFL games of December 25, now is the time for TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | While We’re Young (Ideas) to do its second installment of NFL Power Rankings. A reminder of my last list (dated December 4):

  1. Buffalo Bills
  2. Kansas City Chiefs
  3. Dallas Cowboys
  4. Arizona Cardinals
  5. Green Bay Packers
  6. Baltimore Ravens
  7. New England Patriots
  8. Tennessee Titans
  9. Cincinnati Bengals
  10. Tampa Bay/SF 49ers/Washington/Miami/Others

Here’s the current Digital Sports Desk Power Rankings of the NFL’s Top 10 (dated December 24):

  1. Kansas City Chiefs: Both on offense and – surprisingly on defense, the KC Chiefs have stepped-up.
  2. Green Bay Packers: The (11-3) Pack are healthy and have Aaron Rodgers primed for a playoff run, most likely with a much-needed first round bye.
  3. Buffalo Bills: The Bills can prove they’ve earned this high ranking on Sunday when they face the New England Patriots at Foxborough. Let’s see where each club ends up?
  4. Dallas Cowboys: Quarterback Dak Prescott and the ‘Boys are lurking, and in good position to do some damage in the NFC Playoffs.
  5. Tennessee Titans: The Thursday night win over the epic collapse of QB Jimmy Garappolo and the San Francisco 49ers placed Tennessee (10-5) in prime position for the AFC Playoffs. A loss would’ve been trouble.
  6. Indianapolis Colts: The Colts (8-6) won a huge game last weekend over the New England Patriots and it thrust Indiana into contention.
  7. Arizona Cardinals: At (10-4), the Cards remain a team no other wants to see in the NFC Playoffs. The question? Can QB Kyler Murray, RBsJames Conner/Chase Edmonds/WR AJ Green remain healthy?
  8. New England Patriots: As the NBA’s great Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich once said, “Don’t EVER underestimate the heart of a champion.” … The question is whether that champion is on the sidelines in Foxborough, Mass or at QB in Tampa?
  9. Cincinnati Bengals: After dropping two important games (Chargers and 49ers), the Bengals bounced back with a 15-10 win over Denver last week. They’re in MUST win territory with their next two games (Ravens and Chiefs). The AFC North is up for grabs and is in the midst of the tightest NFL divisional race in 44 years.
  10. Everyone Else, including the LA Chargers, Rams, SF 49ers.

G-LEAGUE PUSH BACK: With dozens of NBA teams signing players to 10-day contracts to fill-out rosters, the G-League was forced to delay their season. The league noted in a statement of December 24: «The NBA G League will delay its regular season, originally scheduled to tip-off on Dec. 27, will now begin on Jan. 5, 2022. The delay will give teams an opportunity to safely return players to market after the Christmas holiday and to replenish their rosters following NBA call-ups. Information regarding games originally scheduled between Dec. 27 and Jan. 4 will be provided at a later date.»

NO HAWAI’I in HAWAI’I BOWL? – The lone sporting event of December 24 was abruptly cancelled when the powers that be cancelled the EasyPost Hawaii Bowl. The University of Hawai’i could not play in the game due to players and staff with COVID-19+ test results. Hawaii’s college football bowl opponent, Memphis, had travelled to Honolulu for the game. … “The health and safety of our student-athletes is the most important part of this decision,” David Matlin, Hawaii AD, said in a statement. “The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has forced us to not participate in the game.”

REVERSE DECISION: The BIG EAST Conference modified its game cancellation policy for men’s and women’s basketball for the 2021-22 season. The adjustment was the result of the recent sudden and significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases nationally and within BIG EAST programs due to the spread of the Omicron variant. … Under the modified policy, a Conference game will be canceled in the event a school has fewer than seven scholarship players and one countable coach available for a game. The BIG EAST conference office will attempt to reschedule any such game(s) in accordance with parameters approved by BIG EAST Directors of Athletics. … In the event the rescheduling parameters cannot be fulfilled, the canceled game(s) will be designated as a no contest.

To date, four BIG EAST men’s Conference games had been designated as forfeitures under the previous COVID-19 game cancellation policy. The forfeiture classification will be removed from these games, and efforts are now underway to reschedule them at a later date. (Since then, two other games were scrapped: St. John’s and Butler in Jamaica Estates, Queens; and Georgetown at Creighton. No women’s games to date have been designated as forfeitures. … The new ruling seems much more in line with the rest of the sporting world, all doing the most to get complete season scheduled played in their entirety.

NHL BUYS ANOTHER DAY: From a formal statement released December 24/Christmas Eve, the National Hockey League said its regular-season schedule will not resume prior to Tuesday, Dec. 28. The league had planned to resume its schedule on Dec. 27, but in order to allow adequate time to analyze league-wide testing results and to assess clubs’ readiness to play, the target date for resumption of game play will be pushed back an additional day. Teams will return to practice on Dec. 26 and it is expected that the league will provide an update on its return to play plans by the end of day on Sunday.

The league plans to stage its annual outdoor Winter Classic on January 1 at 6pm ET with the St. Louis Blues visiting the Minnesota Wild at Target Field.

BOOKS CLOSED ON THE STAPLES CENTER: The Los Angeles sports scene will now watch concerts, conventions and sporting events at the Crypto.com Arena, after cryptocurrency website Crypto.com purchased the naming rights to the arena, formerly known as The STAPLES Center.

Official photographer Andrew D. Bernstein recalled nine of his favorite memories of the original, going first with opening night with the great Bruce Springsteen.

1: Bruce Springsteen opens the arena 1999
2: Lakers championship 2000
3: Democratic National Convention 2000
4: LA Sparks WNBA championship 2001
5: Michael Jackson Memorial 2009
6: Blake Griffin Slam-Dunk at NBA All Star 2011
7: Grammys 2012
8: LA Kings first Stanley Cup 2012
9: Kobe’s final game 2016
10: LeBron James 2020

Check out Andy’s series of podcasts at Legends of Sport: HERE

CLOCK RUNNING on DECEMBER 2021 but THE OFFER IS STILL GOOD:

  1. NOTES, NOTES, AND MORE NOTES: A year-long subscription to TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – While We’re Young (Ideas) is a perfect way to have the sports fan in your life look forward to an old-fashioned, weekly, notebook full of sports insights. All Year Long! Sign-up for this special offer: HERE

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SIGN-UP HERE FOR PGA TOUR BRUNCH

Parting Words & Music:

In Excelsis Deo: On this Christmas night of 2021, I give you the genius of Aaron Sorkin and his work on the television drama – The West Wing – from 1999. Whether you were a fan/viewer of the show or not, I simply ask you to view this scene and the detail of every single word, every single cut, every single edit and every single decision made to produce the poignant scene.

The assembly of The West Wing cast at the White House, each viewing the choir celebration, is striking. Only one other character asked Tobias”Toby” Ziegler (played by Richard Schiff) to accompany him to Arlington National Cemetery and that was dear Mrs. Delores Landingham, the President’s executive assistant. This episode was one of the first when actress Kathryn Joosten’s character became such a focal part of a scene.

Earlier in the episode, Presidential aide/body man Charlie Young (played by Dulé Hill) had asked why Mrs. Landingham was feeling “down,” and she opened up to him that she had “lost her two twin boys” in the Viet Nam war. (They died as medics in a fire-fight at Da Nang on Christmas Eve 1970).

The West Wing and Sorkin, in general, just ace the art of character development and this clip shows you one small reason why. In Excelsis Deoand Two Cathedrals are the two most powerful episodes in the entire drama series.

In Excelsis Deo’s most dramatic scene:

The West Wing won Emmy Awards for:

Outstanding Writing of a Drama Show – Aaron Sorkin and Rick Clevelandsingled out for this episode.

Outstanding Single Camera Editing

Schiff won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Outstanding Sound Mixing in a Drama Series

Sorkin and Cleveland won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama at the 53rd Writers Guild of America Awards

Merry Christmas everyone.

TL

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Dec 19

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BOSTON – I’m dreaming of a “Wilt” Christmas, just like the ones I used to know.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 59-point, 36-rebound Christmas Day performance for the Philadelphia Warriors in their 136-135 double-overtime loss to the New York Knickerbockers back in 1961. The game was one of a seven-game streak when Chamberlain scored 50-or-more points (Dec. 16-29). Chamberlain’s rebounding total remains a Christmas Day record. His scoring total stood as a Christmas Day record for 22 years before Bernard King’s 60-point game for the Knicks in a 120-114 loss to the New Jersey Nets in 1984. Both games took place at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

The NBA began playing games on Christmas Day in 1947, in its second year and this season, the league has scheduled five games on Christmas Day for the 14th year in a row.

Here is this Saturday’s NBA on Christmas Day schedule:

Noon: Atlanta Hawks at New York Knicks (ESPN): The Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks will meet on Christmas Day for the first time since the Hawks moved to Atlanta (which took place in 1968). The teams faced each other twice on Christmas Day when the Hawks were in St. Louis (1956 and 1965). This will mark the first time the Hawks have been scheduled to play on December 25th since 1989. The Knicks have played 53 times on Christmas, the NBA team high.

2:30pm ET: Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks (ABC): The Celtics have played the third-most games on Christmas Day (34 entering 2021, trailing only NY and the LA Lakers) and the most road games on Christmas Day (29 entering 2021). Milwaukee will be hosting a Christmas Day game for the second consecutive year. The Bucks are (4-3) on the holiday with last year’s 138-99 stocking full of coal deposited on the Golden State Warriors.

5:00pm ET: Golden State Warriors at Phoenix Suns (ABC/ESPN Radio):The Suns are (12-6) on the holiday and the Warriors are (13-17). Phoenix’s last Christmas Day game came in 2009, a 124-93 win vs. LA Clippers. Golden State’s Draymond Green was the last player to record a triple-double on the holiday, and is one of six players to do so on Christmas Day: Draymond Green (2017), Russell Westbrook (2013), LeBron James(2010), Billy Cunningham (1970), John Havlicek (1967) and Oscar Robertson (four times: 1967, 1963, 1961 and 1960).

8:00pm ET: Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers (ABC/ESPN Radio):The LA Lakers are scheduled on Christmas Day for the 23rd straight year. They have the most all-time victories on 12/25 with 24. Lakers center DeAndre Jordan holds the single-game record for most blocked shots on Christmas Day with eight for the LA Clippers against the Golden State Warriors in 2011. LeBron James ranks second in career points on Christmas Day with 383. He needs 13 points to pass the late Kobe Bryant (395) and become the all-time leading scorer on 12/25 when he has a (10-5) won-loss record which trails only Dwyane Wade’s (10-3) record. Meanwhile, the highest-scoring game by an active player on Christmas Day belongs to the Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant, who had 44 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Denver Nuggets in 2010. KD fell 16 points shy of Bernard King’s record.

10:30pm ET: Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz (ESPN): The nightcap will feature Dallas’ Luka Dončić against Utah’s Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, all three named NBA All-Stars last season. Both franchises are relative newcomers to the NBA on 12/25 tradition, with Dallas (2-2) and Utah (5-2). The Jazz games on Christmas Day have all been played at home (including two as the New Orleans Jazz).

TIDINGS of JOY: The NBA’s first foray of Christmas Day game came in 1947 when the Baltimore Bullets defeated the Chicago Stags 87-70 at Baltimore Coliseum. The same day, the New York Knicks defeated the Providence Steamrollers 89-75 at Madison Square Garden and the Washington Capitols won at St. Louis Bombers 73-56 at St. Louis Arena. The 56 point effort is the all-time low for Santa. … The last time there was just a single game on Christmas was 2006 when the Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 101-85 at Miami’s American Airlines Arena.

CAMDEN TRADITION CONTINUES FOR the WAGNER FAMILY:Remember Milt Wagner, a former NBA star who made his name and game at Camden High in south New Jersey or at the University of Louisville? Maybe you remember Milt’s son, Dejaun, another Camden player who went on to play at Memphis and was the sixth overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft (to Cleveland). This past Friday, Milt’s grandson, Dejaun’s son, a high school junior, DJ, scored 25 points to lead Camden to a 67-64 come-from-behind win over Roselle Catholic at Camden’s brand new joint, the Clarence Turner Gymnasium. Heading into the game, Camden was ranked No 1 in the State and Roselle Catholic was No. 2 a ranking which proved correct as Camden won its 39th straight game. Camden is ranked as the No. 2 team in the USA by MaxPreps who holds Duncanville (Texas) as the No. 1 high school team with their (11-0) record. Simeon Wilcher, a North Carolina commit, led Roselle Catholic with 21 points and seven rebounds. Akil Watson, a junior transfer from Don Bosco Prep, added 17 points and seven boards.

NBA VALUATIONS: This week marked Sportico’s second run at its NBA franchise valuations, and it underlined two important things in the sports industry. First, how time flies from one year to the next. Secondly, how the value of sports franchises accrue in a single year, regardless of the won-loss column.

Here’s the list of 2021-22 NBA Team Valuations, and we’ll discuss on the other side:

  1. $6.12 billion – New York Knicks (+13%)
  2. $6.030 billion – Golden State Warriors (+16%)
  3. $5.630 billion – Los Angeles Lakers (+10%)
  4. $3.610 billion – Brooklyn Nets (+6%)
  5. $3.530 billion – Chicago Bulls (+12%)
  6. $3.44 billion – Boston Celtics (+8%)
  7. $3.160 billion – Los Angeles Clippers (+20%)
  8. $2.790 billion – Houston Rockets (+1%)
  9. $2.740 billion – Toronto Raptors (+7%)
  10. $2.720 billion – Dallas Mavericks (+5%)

NOTES: The New Orleans Pelicans ($1.510b), the Memphis Grizzlies ($1.530b) and the Minnesota Timberwolves ($1.570b) were on the low end of the spectrum in NBA franchise value, according to Sportico. … Keep in mind, the Timberwolves were amongst the four 1988-89 NBA expansion franchises that bought in for $32.5 million while the Grizzlies, then in Vancouver and the Toronto Raptors’ expansion fees were a whopping $125 million.

Says Sportico: “The NBA’s pitch to incoming investors includes opportunities also available in other leagues—around gambling, streaming and digital. A key differentiator, however, is the international prospects, despite the league’s ongoing tension in China, where business has returned to pre-pandemic levels. In addition to the Bibigo investment in the Lakers, a Chinese electronic trading platform, Webull Financial, signed a sponsorship pact with the Brooklyn Nets worth $30 million a year, while Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten extended its $20 million-a-year patch deal with the Warriors at an increase.” … The newfound money as US States open up to full sports gambling on top of Fantasy Sports gaming is “just the tip of the iceberg,” according to New York’s MSG Sports president Andrew Lustgarten.

“The NBA is the dominant U.S. league in terms of international investor appeal,” sports banker Sal Galatioto said to Sportico. “People from all over the world want to invest in the NBA, and that’s a huge advantage.”

From the While We’re Young (Ideas) vantage point, I’d double-down on the vast international appeal of the NBA. There is one – often overlooked reason and that is the simple fact that the sport of basketball is played by both men and women all over the world. Nearly every person on the planet has played the game in some small form, not to mention that the rules of the game are pretty simple. That fact is a huge advantage over American Football and Baseball. Often noted is another sports fact. The truly global team sports are soccer (Futbol) and basketball. However, great Futbol players are spread-out, playing in leagues all over the world, from Brazil to Argentina to England to Spain to Germany. They play for their native countries in World Cup competition but during the “regular season” they’re all over the world. The NBA has all of the greatest players in the world playing in one league. That league is the only way a world class player can test his skills against the very best.

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook – Dec. 5

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at the Month of December

BOSTON – December is the deepest and darkest month of the year. The winter solstice fast approaching this December 21st and the Christmas season coming immediately after for those who celebrate the holiday. While I’ve written about the NFL Red Zone’s “Witching Hour,” I have not, until now, written about December in the NFL. In Red Zone terms, it is the “month when winners win and losers lose.”

NFL Decembers make me shiver. December in the NFL is when 12, 13 and maybe 14-win teams are made. Last December 6-8, three of the four AFC/NFL championship participants won their games with Tampa Bay on a bye week. The eventual Super Bowl champion Bucs won all three of their December games and posted a “W” in their final regular season hame, a 44-27 ear-slap of Atlanta. Overall, Tampa won their final eight games of 2020-21.

In 2019, the Kansas City Chiefs caught fire in December, scorching the Raiders 40-9. The Super Bowl champion Chiefs won their final nine games. You have to look back to 2018 when the New England Patriots lost a costly 34-33 game at Miami to see a difference in the trend, although the Patriots spanked Minnesota in NFL Week 13, 24-10 and that game was one of ten late season wins as the Patriots closed out their 2018 schedule, 10-3, to advance for a 13-3 Super Bowl win over the Los Angeles Rams.

Back in 2017, the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles won their 11-12-13th games in December, but bookended the month with losses, including a 24-10 loss at Seattle on December 3 and a strange and meaningless 6-0 loss vs. Dallas on New Year’s eve. Philly won 12 of their last 14.

What will Week 13, December 2-6 bring to the NFL?

The Dallas Cowboys have already made their December to remember statement with an easy 27-17 win over an injury-plagued New Orleans team this past Thursday. Green Bay (9-3) has a bye week scheduled while the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots play Monday night.

Suffice to say, this weekend might separate the contenders in a league full of good but not great football teams. The (9-2) Arizona Cardinals have suffered injuries to their All Pro quarterback in Kyler Murray. Running back Chase Edmonds remains sidelined and All Pro wide-out DeAndre Hopkinshas been out since October 28, nursing a hamstring injury.

Tampa Bay (8-3) has been less than impressive, winning two of their last four. A divisional match-up at Atlanta awaits and we’ll see if Tom Brady and his Tampa teammates can shift into “Oh, What a Night” mode this December.

NFL POWER RANKINGS: With a long way to go and such mediocrity, eh – we’ll call it parity – in the NFL this season, I’m hesitant to do any meaningful Power Rankings. Injuries, including the inevitable COVID-19 outbreak or two, can upset the December applecart. But here’s a Top 10 in the NFL, all with a December to determine the contenders or pretenders.

  1. Buffalo Bills – The Bills will need to prove it Monday Night, but with a win over New England, they can place themselves atop the AFC, although a game at Tampa Bay and another match-up at divisional rival New England awaits.
  2. Kansas City Chiefs – Guess which NFL team has reeled-off four wins in a row, including a 13-7 win vs. Green Bay and a 19-9 win vs Dallas? Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense is tough to match-up against and the KC “D” is improving each and every game.
  3. Dallas Cowboys – After a disappointing 31-29 opening week loss to Tampa, Dallas won seven-of-eight, including a hard-fought, overtime win at Foxborough. Four of their last five regular season games are against NFC Least opponents.
  4. Arizona Cardinals – A league-leading (9-2) record with (6-0) on the road deserves praise but, as noted, the Cards need to get healthy in a hurry.
  5. Green Bay Packers – The Pack’s lost two of its last four, but had a much-needed and impressive 36-28 victory over the LA Rams on November 28. The Packers have a bye week to prepare for their final five regular season games.
  6. Baltimore Ravens – The (8-3) Ravens are the team no other AFC club wants to see in the playoffs. QB Lamar Jackson leads the offense, of course, but the key to the Ravens’ success (or not) will be on the defensive and special teams side of the field. The defense is stepping up over the past two victories over Cleveland and Chicago.
  7. New England Patriots – If December NFL football does one thing, it sets off the “Rookie Quarterback” alarm and QB Mac Jones, the favorite for Rookie of the Year, still qualifies for the alarm bell. For New England to be successful, the defense and special teams units will have to make big plays, force turnovers and win games. Jones can hold his own with the offense, especially if WR Kendrick Bourne continues his emergence.
  8. Tennessee Titans – You lose the best running back in the league (Derrick Henry) and you’re in trouble. The Titans lost their last two games (to Houston and New England). Previously, it was a six-game winning streak and eight wins over nine games. Can they run the ball against the NFL’s more elite teams?
  9. Cincinnati Bengals – Winning games follows QB Joe Burrow around even though costly losses to the Jets and Browns overshadowed pairs of wins coming three times in season, including victories over the Ravens, Raiders and melting Steelers (twice).
  10. In the NFC, only Washington FT and SF 49ers own three-game win streaks while AFC streakers include New England (six straight) along with KC and the Miami Dolphins as winners of their last four games. From some mix of Washington, SF, Miami and the LA Rams & Chargers comes the 10th best team. That said in this crazy and unpredictable 2021 NFL season, there’s a chance none of them qualify for the playoffs.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Talk about December football and the toughest of the tough and you have the annual Army vs Navy game, scheduled for December 11 at Met Life Stadium in the swamps of Jersey, rather than its usual home in sunny Philadelphia.

On the Sports Biz side, the folks at the Army-Navy game’s presenting sponsor, USAA, organized an impressive “Radio Row” facility at the Philadelphia Convention Hall pre-COVID-19 (Dec. 2019) but have moved the location to The Intrepid Air & Space Museum to preview this year’s game. … Nice back-drop for a number of national radio broadcasts and also the likes of: KNBR (SF), KILT (Houston), 106.7 the Fan (DC), KFAN (Minneapolis), WDAE (Tampa), KKFN (Denver), WFNZ (Charlotte), 97.3 the Fan (San Diego), 104.5 the Zone (Nashville) or ESPNSA (San Antonio).

BY PROVIDENCE: In keeping up with our coverage of, and intense interest in, the Big East Conference, we’ll note that Providence up-ended Rhode Island, 66-52, in the 131st battle between the two RI schools. Providence has now won 12 of the last 18 meetings. The Friars are also atop the Big East non-conference standings at (8-1) with their only loss coming at the hands of Virginia. Providence scrubbed Texas Tech (72-68) in their Big East vs Big 12 Battle earlier this week. UConn is also (8-1) with their Saturday win over Grambling (88-59). On Friday night at the new UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders of the NHL-and-AHL, wink, wink, The No. 8 rated Kansas Jayhawks drilled St. John’s by 25 (95-75) in the first basketball game ever played in the arena.

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – Sept. 12

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook

By TERRY LYONS

FLUSHING MEADOW – We’ve witnessed the likes of Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird burst into the professional sports scene to save the NBA from its downward spiral into obscurity in the late 1970s. Over the years, we’ve also enjoyed highly touted rookies in nearly every sport step up to make major impact in their sports, win Rookie of the Year honors and maybe earn a title. From Tiger Woods in golf to Wayne Gretzky in the NHL to LeBron James in the NBA to Venus and Serena Williams in women’s tennis, we marvel at the talent, determination and success displayed by these players at such a young age.

This weekend, at the 2021 United States Open tennis tournament, two young women opened a new chapter in women’s tennis as 18-year old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain defeated 19-year old Leylah Fernandez of Canada in the U.S. Open women’s final. It was the first time two teenagers squared-off in the final of a Grand Slam since 1999 when a 17-year old Serena Williams defeated world No. 1 in 18-year old Martina Hingis at the US Open.

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Teen-aged sensations in tennis come along Like a Hurricane in the Gulf Coast with a couple doozies each season. Flip back in the record books and you’ll see the likes of Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly who in 1953, at age 16, became the first woman to win the Grand Slam of tennis (Australian and French Opens, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open) in a single season.

Like those hurricanes – every 10-to-15 years or so, more frequently of late – along comes a Category 5, a “Katrina,” a “Sandy” or an “Ida,” or “Maria.”They are storms that devastate and dominate and blow through at 125+ mph, soon to dissipate out in the wilderness or North Atlantic Ocean.

In tennis, just like those hurricanes, they’ve been known by their first names to fans all over the world. They called them Chrissy (Evert), Martina(Navratilova and Hingis), Gabriela (Sabatini), Serena and Venus (Williams sisters), Lindsay (Davenport), Jennifer (Capriati), Tracy (Austin), Steffi(Graf) and Monica (Seles). More recently, it was Maria (Sharapova), Sloane(Stephens) and Naomi (Osaka), who all burst onto the world tennis scene, some to remain for a decade or more but some to burn out like a discarded rocket engine falling back down to earth.

As of September 11, 2021, we can add two new names in Emma (Raducanu) and Leylah (Fernandez) who made their way to the women’s finals at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center in Queens, the tremendous site of the United States Tennis Association (USTA’s) premier event. The two young women, Fernandez un-seeded in the draw, and Raducanu advancing as a qualifier, won over the tough New York crowds and thanked them profusely and genuinely for their support as they marched to the finals. Raducanu defeated her new peer and rival 6-4, 6-3 in the final to close out 10 consecutive matches – three in qualifying and seven in the Open – without losing a set.

Her only previous Grand Slam tournament appearance came in her native land, at this year’s Wimbledon, where she disqualified during the fourth round because of trouble breathing.

Aside from their financial success – Raducana pocketed $2.5 million while Fernandez cleared $1.25 million for the U.S. Open fortnight – the two players showed poise, composure during adversity, graciousness, respect for their sport and those who played before them, such as Raducanu’s appreciation for Virginia Wade – the last U.K. women’s champ at the US Open (1968). For Fernandez, her composure after the final defeat was a sight to see, and her post semi-finals on-court speech, singling out her admiration and appreciation for Canada’s most decorated baller – Steve Nash, the coach of the Brooklyn Nets to take time to watch her play – was equally impressive and endearing.

The end result is the sport of tennis – in particular the Women’s Tennis circuit (WTA) – enjoyed a jolt of newfound interest and enthusiasm for the sport these last two weeks. It is not a statement of hyperbole to say future duels between “Emma” and “Leylah” might rival matches of “Chrissy” vs “Martina” of yesteryear, or start a resurgence of interest in tennis the way Olga Korbutor Nadia Comăneci fueled a generation of women’s gymnastics wanna-be’s that gave us Shannon Miller, Mary Lou Retton and a legion of medalists in recent Olympic Games.

The previously mentioned tennis legend, Chris Evert, ranked No. 1 in US junior tennis at age 14 and who made her Grand Slam tournament debut at age 16 at the U.S. Open in Forest Hills, was near tears in her post match analysis of EMMA vs LEYLAH I. Evert surely envisioned and stated out loud that the 2021 U.S. Open finalists could enjoy a decade of on-court and off-court competition, often the secret of superstars. Evert won singles championships in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1981 but had Navratilova to push her throughout.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: We’re “Ready for Some Football” and the timing was perfect for our friends at Sportico to release their NFL Franchise Valuations. While the Dallas fell to the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL season opener this past Thursday night, the Cowboys reign supreme in NFL team value at a whopping $6.920 billion.

The Top 10 in the NFL: (billion) by Sportico

  1. Dallas Cowboys – $6.920
  2. New England Patriots – $5.350
  3. LA Rams – $4.680
  4. NY Giants – $4.630
  5. SF 49ers – $4.270
  6. Washington FT – $4.250
  7. NY Jets – $4.080
  8. Chicago Bears – $4.000
  9. Philadelphia Eagles – $3.870
  10. Houston Texans – $3.840

PICKS: While franchise valuations take in everything from the team’s actual value to business operations to venue ownership and overall revenue generation, the bottom line in the NFL – and all of sports, really – is Wins and Losses.

Here are the 2021 NFL picks for While We’re Young (Ideas):

  • AFC East – Bills of Buff
  • AFC North – Ravens
  • AFC South – Titans
  • AFC West – Chiefs
  • AFC Wild Cards: Browns, Colts, Chargers
  • AFC Champion – KC Chiefs

In the NFC:

  • NFC East – Cowboys
  • NFC North – Packers
  • NFC South – Buccaneers of Brady
  • NFC West – LA Rams
  • NFC Wild Cards: 49ers, Saints, Vikings
  • NFC Champion – Tampa Bay Bucs

In the Super Bowl:

  • KC Chiefs over Tampa Bay Bucs

If another play is possible? Tampa Bay over Buffalo