By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk
NEW YORK – It was a quick trip back to NYC and the campus of Columbia University this week to speak at two back-to-back classes on the Morningside Heights grounds of the prestigious IVY League school. Over the many years of speaking at various classes at Columbia, the classroom settings have usually been at Hamilton Hall, but occasionally the assignments take us elsewhere.
This year, the School of Professional Studies sent us (yours truly along with Brian McIntyre) across Broadway to the Riverside Church complex at 91 Clairmont, immediately adjacent to the interdenominational, interracial, international, open, welcoming, and affirming church. While there was a short break between the two classes, we descended from the Sixth Floor down to the basement gym where many a New York City basketball legend tested their skills at the highest level of AAU ball. The Riverside Hawks team.
Some of the Riverside “alum” include Kenny Anderson, Chris Mullin, Kenny Smith, Rod Strickland and the late Malik Sealy, while one of the legendary teams included Ron Artest (now … Metta Sandiford-Artest), Lamar Odom, Elton Brand, and Erick Barkley, with future St. John’s reserves Chutney Gray, Reggie Jessie and Anthony Glover backing up the troops. That 1996 Riverside Church team went 69-1. The lone loss came at the hands of an LA-based AAU squard featuring Baron Davis, Jason Kopono Tayshaun Prince, Jason and Jarron Collins.
NBA ACTION … IT’S DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH: The 2026-27 National Basketball season has been marred by far too many injuries to far too many a star player. First, a partial list of those downed by injury, calculated to be some 15% of the league – (a partial listing in no particular order):
Tyrese Haliburton (IND) – left hamstring
Kawhi Leonard (TOR) – right knee
Anthony Edwards (MIN) – arthroscopic surgery, right knee)
Jalen Williams (OKC) – dislocated left ankle, broken fibula)
Paolo Banchero (ORL) – right high ankle sprain
Jaren Jackson Jr. (UTAH) – torn MCL
Jalen Suggs (ORL) – bone bruise, right knee)
Jalen Duran (DET) – right hamstring pull
Ben Simmons (SAC) – torn right Achilles
Brandon Ingram (LAC) – surgery, heel and partial tear of Achilles
Egor Demin (BRK) – bruised right leg
Ron Knueppel (CHA) – left hamstring
Coby White (CHA) – left calf strain
Nic Claxton (CHI) – hamstring
Kristaps Porzingis (GSW) – personal, health issues
Steven Adams (HOU) – right soleus strain
T.J. McConnell (IND) – right hamstring
Ivica Zubac (IND) – right ankle sprain
Max Strus (LAC) – partially torn plantar fascia, right foot
Bradley Beal (LAC) – knee injury
Dante DiVencenzo (MIN) – lingering Achilles injury
Jose Alvarado (NYK) – leg injury
Chet Holmgren (OKC) – small patellar tendon tear
Alex Caruso (OKC) – right ankle spain
Jonathan Issac (ORL) – ongoing left knee
Mark Williams (PHX) – torn labrum, left shoulder
Ja Morant (PORT) – Grade 2 left hamstring tear
Keegan Murray (SAC) – left ankle capsulitis
Tobias Harris (SA) – strained left calf
Justin Champagnie (DC) – fractured foot
The list continues to grow and it’s only November 1st.
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Pope (Bishop) of Roma will meet the Pope of Runyons on Sunday. Yes, Villanova alum, Pope Leo XIV will welcome his Wilcats and the University of Notre Dame to the Eternal City for the very first College Basketball game of the 2026-27 season.
Who is this Pope of Runyons?
For those not in the know? Runyon’s was the self-proclained “New York Saloon” and it morphed into a famous sports bar and media hangout in Manhattan. It opened on April 1, 1977, not coincidentally, Opening Day, and was co-owned by Joe Healey and Jimmy Costello. “Swa” Healey was certainly the frontman.
Of course, it was named after the celebrated writer and columnist Damon Runyon (1880-1946). While the namesake was gone for 31 years, you’d think there was a seat at the bar for him, like Norm of “Cheers.”
The original Runyon’s was located on a street-level, stepdown on 305 East 50th Street (NYC) but that saloon closed on May 3, 1996, due to an expired lease and landlord issues. A second Runyon’s was opened right around the corner from the original, but on Second Ave between 49th and 50th. Sadly, it never had the same vibe and had a short stint until 1996 when Healey folded the deck and moved to Florida.
The original joint was where the magic was performed, usually late night a day before or an hour after a college or pro basketball game. The summer and baseball season attracted a slightly different New York Yankees-esque crowd. Sometimes, it was a hybrid of sports media (think NFL on CBS studio maven Jimmy the Greek arguing with NY sports columnist Mike Lupica while the voice of NBC Sports and former Sprit of St. Louis basketball play-by-play man Bob Costas officiating the argument, then getting deeply involved himself.
Sports TV division types and their hefty expense accounts filled the joint, while sports leagues and college conference execs came season-by-season. Runyons hummed during the annual BIG EAST basketball tournament every March. It was at that time and place that the Pope of Runyons, Bill Raftery, held court.
Again, for uninitiated, Raftery was the former coach of the Seton Hall Pirates who quickly assumed various roles within the college (and pro/NJ Nets) television color commentary world. Raftery was – and still is – the very best at the role in college basketball. Yet, his favorite saying at Runyons and at saloons the world over was “Just one more,” as often shared by ESPN colleague Jay Bilas.
Raftery is being mentioned as he will call the ND vs ‘Nova game to start the season in Rome (Italy) at 9:30am on Sunday, Nov. 1 on FOX, along with Kevin Kugler and Kay Adams (sideline). It’ll be the first regular season NCAA Division I men’s basketball game to be played in Europe since Dec. 4, 2022.
Raftery is the undisputed prince of college hoops. He is beloved for his unique sayings, phrases or one-word exclamation points to underline a happening on the court. “With the kiss,” is probably his most utilized and popular quip. He uses it to describe an offensive player scoring a basket with his soft shot off the backboard, many a time after being fouled.
A personal favorite was the “Send it in…Jerome!” after Pitt’s Jerome Lane smashed a backboard with a forceful dunk way back in 1988. The call was perfection. Here’s the play:
Raftery has endeared himself to a couple generations of college basketball fans with his precise commentary and comraderie with his fellow broadcast partners at the table. He builds rapport and – almost always – socializes with his colleagues. National broadcast legend Ian Eagle and Raftery worked many a New Jersey Nets pro game, but have reunited as colleagues calling games for CBS. There is no better combo, but you must recognize Raftery’s ability to adjust to BIG EAST broadcasts with FOX’s Gus Johnson, or ESPN’s Jay Bilas.
Quite frankly, Raftery could’ve called games with Dennis Miller or Rush Limbaugh and Miller or Limbaugh would’ve won sports emmy awards instead of being ridiculed off the airwaves. Raft could make Al Gore sound interesting.
Come today (Sunday), Raftery will tipoff the season and he’s scheduled to conclude the college schedule as well, when he calls the NCAA national championship game on Monday night, April 5, 2027.
In other college sports news, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark will step down from the conference office and take a job outside of college athletics, according to a surprise announcement on Friday. Yormark is expected to remain with the conference through Jan. 31, 2027. … “Serving as the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference has been an extraordinary honor,” Yormark said. “I want to thank the Big 12 Board of Directors, Board Chair Douglas A. Girod, athletic directors, coaches, student-athletes, fans, fellow commissioners and trusted colleagues at the league office. I am looking forward to passing the baton to the next commissioner and continuing to cheer their league on as a lifelong fan of the Big 12.” … Yormark originally signed a five-year contract when he took the Big 12 job on August 1, 2022 (running through 2027), before receiving a three-year extension in May 2025 through 2030. According to the last public filings in 2025, Yormark earned $5.6 million for the year in a deal that began at a partial year contract of $1.12m, then $3.88m in 2023. By comparison, Greg Sankey, Commissioner of the powerful SEC, made $4.8m while Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti made $4.5m in similar recent filings (2025 season).
SUSAN SAINT JAMES: Condolences to the Ebersol family as the wife of NBC Sports President and Chairman Dick Ebersol, Ms. Susan Saint James, passed away. While most knew her as an A-List actress from stints on McMillan and Wife or Kate & Alie, there were a few of us who knew her better as Dick’s wife and mother of the late Teddy Ebersol.
St. James and her (second) husband met in 1981 when St. James was hosting the hit television weekly “Saturday Night Live.” At the time, Ebersol was overseeing both the entertainment and news divisions of NBC.
Born Susan Jane Miller on Aug. 14, 1946, in Los Angeles, she was raised in the northern Illinois city of Rockford, where her father had transferred for work. She began modeling as a teenager in Paris.
She earned fame as Sally McMillan, the wife of Rock Hudson’s San Francisco police commissioner Stewart McMillan, in the hit series “McMillan & Wife” from 1971-76. She received three Emmy nominations for the role.
Saint James left the NBC show before its sixth and final season because of a contract dispute, with her character killed off in a plane crash. She then turned to feature films.
The plane crash, so sadly, was the foreshadowing of the darkest and most unimaginable day (November 28, 2004) of her life when a chartered jet carrying her husband, Dick,older son, Charlie, and youngest son, Teddy, crashed at Montrose Regional Airport in Colorado after dropping her off on a planned two-stop (Colorado and South Bend) Indiana) flight back to New York. The family had attended a Thanksgiving Weekend college football game pitting Notre Dame (Charlie’s school) against his older brother Willie’s University of Southern California (USC) football team, an annual college football rivalry.
In addition to young (14-year old) Teddy, the pilot and a flight attendant were killed in the crash. A first officer, along with Charlie and Dick, somehow survived.
Just weeks after the crash, with Dick and Charlie still recuperating, Saint James delivered a eulogy for Teddy that her friends and family interpreted as a monumental gesture of love and selflessness. Instead of traditional remarks, she shaped the eulogy as a personal note to her husband and each of her surviving children, giving them tailored words to process their grief and begin healing. Charlie recalled that she displayed such compassion on the very day the terrible incident happened, and weeks later, Saint James gave them all precise emotional guidance: “You can be sad. But you can’t be mad-sad. You can’t blame anybody,” she said, according to TV Insider. … In Boston, Teddy’s profound love for the Boston Red Sox and baseball was displayed when the family collaborated with the Sox Foundation and the Esplanade Association to fund a $1.8 million renovation of community athletic fields along the Charles River. Within a couple years, Teddy Ebersol’s Red Sox Fields at Lederman Park was dedicated along with a multi-sport complex for local youth soccer and baseball programs.
BEST LINESMAN, OUTSIDE OF WICHITA: National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman today released a statement regarding the passing of longtime NHL linesman, Matt Pavelich:
“No linesman in the history of the National Hockey League was more universally respected nor more widely admired than Matt Pavelich. A true icon of the profession, he worked a remarkable 19 straight Stanley Cup Finals from 1961 through 1979 — highlights of a prolific on-ice career that spanned 23 seasons, comprised 1,741 regular-season games and 245 Stanley Cup playoff games and was recognized in 1987 with his enshrinement in the Hockey Hall of Fame, the first linesman (to gain the honor).
“Pavelich personified professionalism and integrity while possessing a warm personal touch that enabled him to develop working relationships with players and coaches. Upon his retirement, Pavelich shared his experience and wisdom with younger referees and linesmen during eight years as an NHL Supervisor of Officials. The National Hockey League mourns his passing and sends its deepest condolences to his family and many friends throughout hockey.”
TIDBITS & NUGGETS: As Qatar prepares to host the first FIBA Basketball World Cup in the (Middle Easat/North Africa) MENA region, an entire city has started counting down each day together, all in anticipation of what promises to be an incredible event next year. At an exclusive launch ceremony at the stunning Barahat Msheireb, a vibrant gathering place in the heart of Doha for residents and visitors alike, close to 100 guests gathered to celebrate the occasion and begin the 300 Day countdown to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 … As noted last week, the MLB and WNBA seasons wrapped up this week and college basketball will tipoff to start the season in “Grande” or even “Venti” fashion. That puts the summer sports in the rearview, pro and college football on the front burner and the winter sports simmering on the back burner. Tennis, NASCAR and golf never seem to end, but that’s fine. … Baseball’s Winter Meetings will be held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego this coming December 11-14th. … The NBA Cup (sponsored by Emirates) is underway and it seems to be fully accepted by fans in its fourth go ‘round. Prime will air the majority of the games. … Any early shopping for Christmas? Josh Kushner and Bob Iger have been offering Lakers minority stakes to investors starting at $250 million apiece. First come first serve. … But, if some North Korean investor comes in with a $6.3 billion offer, it might be time to call the FBI. … While the various franchise owners across all North American-based sports leagues combined to spend more than $100 million for the midterms, the majority of those contributions came from just one person. Dallas Mavericks team owner Miriam Adelson, a highly conservative donor and supporter of POTUS Donald Trump, leads all sports owners in midterm spending. She spent at least $67.6 million this election cycle, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Good luck Miriam. … In 15 games this season, the Boston Bruins are 10-4-1 and atop the Atlantic Division of the NHL.
PARTING WORDS & MUSIC: This week’s column has been sprinkled with some basketball memories, so there’s one and only one music video that can be played to put the finishing touches on this week’s missive. … The very first “official” NBA music video was cut by the Father of the “NBA … It’s Fantastic” commercial campaign, Paul Gilbert, who was working at fledgling CNN Sports in Atlanta at the time.
Gilbert was perfect content at CNN, but somehow, NBA Executive VP, Business & Legal Affairs, David Stern, caught wind of the video. It was way back in 1982, and in Stern’s own “charming” way, he talked Gilbert into moving to his hometown of New York (NJ) and becoming the very first employee of NBA Entertainment.
As the story goes, Stern was frequently bombarded with various suggestions “the league should do.” Many of them came from team broadcasters (LA Lakers Director of Broadcasting Ed Desser) who thought the league should provide tons of production support to save the collective team effort (to shoot scenics, halftime features) with all to be shared. The same concept was born with Team Services, first manned by the great Bob King (RIP) who could sell tickets like none other. Bob had worked for the San Diego Conquistadors of the ABA, and then later the Denver Nuggets. King got Stern aside at a League Meetings and uncorked a ton of ideas for the NBA teams to share information with one another. Years later, it became a huge department within the League structure, called Team Business Operations, or to the insiders, TMBO.
Paul Gilbert became Stern’s first foray to emulate NFL Films with feature productions done by the League. Gilbert also took a static, “NBA, It’s Fan-Tastic campaign done by Dicky Rhoeder’s advertising company, and turned it from players standing and passing a basketball from one side of the screen to the other – because they could never get the players on one production set – and it became the highlight of the NBA’s best asset – incredible game action highlights of dunks, great assists, blocked shots – and most importantly – Crowd cut-a-ways.
The crowd cut-a-ways, carefully culled by Gilbert, directly connected the spots to the fans. And, the tagline… “NBA Action … It’s Fan-Tastic” could not have fit better.
As the years progressed, celebrities (actors/actresses, musicians, comedians – everyone) wanted to be in the NBA’s spots. Courtside at The Fabulous Forum was a goldmine. New York’s Madison Square Garden was Fort Knox for celebs. They lined up in order to be recognized. One day, through a contact at Radio City Music Hall, yours truly talked someone at Jim Henson’s production company into sending “Kermit the Frog” on a road trip to The Garden. Here’s that one (and NBAE let me do a cameo as a reward):
By the time Kermit hit the scene, we had decided to switch from “NBA Action… It’s Fan-Tastic” to the ever popular “I Love this Game” tagline. That went over with the celebs, too.
And, the rest became an amazing part of NBA – H-I-S-T-O-R-Y.
While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly (every weekend) collection of Sports Notes and News written by Terry Lyons. The posting of each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city news stand on Saturday night around 10:00pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a compilation of interesting sports notes, quotes and quips in a column that always sold a few newspapers. Wire Service reports are featured within the column.
TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – Brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.
TL
