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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 16th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Examines the Upcoming 2022-23 NHL Season

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The weekly notebook has listed sports franchise valuations, underrated rock bands, NFL Power Rankings, and NCAA College Football Playoff possibilities week-by-week.

Next Up?

The TL Sunday Sports Notes a.k.a. “While We’re Young (Ideas)” will take a crack at the brand new National Hockey League season and list the best of the best and as the list goes, the bottom-feeder “hosers” will be left to the age-old chore (before the great Zamboni was invented) to hose down the ice for the next period.

For the ultimate face-off, “While We’re Young (Ideas)” is picking the Colorado Avalanche to play the New York Rangers in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. The Avs dominated the Edmonton Oilers in the 2022 Western Conference Finals, winning the series in four straight. There is nothing on the radar screen to spark another western winner, although Edmonton, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Nashville and Calgary remain as contenders for a Cup Finals appearance.

In the East, the New York Rangers behind goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin have stepped-up as the team to beat. To advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Rangers will have to reverse the outcome of last season’s Eastern Finals when the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated New York, 4-games-to-2.

Last season’s contenders in the East – Carolina, Florida, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Boston – can all challenge the NYR and TB with a combination of goaltending, luck, avoiding injury and playoff positioning determining who might face the West (Colorado) in the final.

While Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nikita Kucherov and Shesterkin are top-rated players and most frequently listed as favorites for NHL Most Valuable Player (Hart Trophy) winners, the player who led the Avs to their third Stanley Cup title, Nathan MacKinnon, is the player to watch. He will determine the success of the Avs and can will the club to a championship, just as he did a year ago. In recent memory, only Mark Messier’s efforts for the 1994 New York Rangers can compare.

Jack Eichel, the local Boston favorite out of BU, left Buffalo and landed in Vegas where he finished the 2022-23 season strong. Orlando-born and Toronto-bred Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, is another player to watch this season.

NHL POWER RANKINGS – (As of start of the 2022-23 NHL regular season)

  1. Colorado Avalanche
  2. New York Rangers
  3. Tampa Bay Lightning
  4. Carolina Hurricanes
  5. Edmonton Oilers
  6. Toronto Maple Leafs
  7. Calgary Flames
  8. Florida Panthers
  9. St. Louis Blues
  10. Pittsburgh Penguins
  11. Nashville Predators
  12. Minnesota Wild
  13. Boston Bruins
  14. Los Angeles Kings
  15. Las Vegas Knights
  16. Washington Capitals
  17. Dallas Stars
  18. Winnipeg Jets
  19. New York Islanders
  20. Vancouver Canucks
  21. New Jersey Devils
  22. Ottawa Senators
  23. Columbus Blue Jackets
  24. Philadelphia Flyers
  25. Buffalo Sabres
  26. Detroit Red Wings
  27. Anaheim Ducks
  28. San Jose Sharks
  29. Seattle Kraken
  30. Montreal Canadiens
  31. Chicago Blackhawks
  32. Arizona Coyotes

East: New York Rangers over Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-games-to-3

West: Colorado Avalanche over Edmonton Oilers, 4-games-to-1

Cup: Colorado Avalanche over New York Rangers, 4-games-to-2

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: In the world of sports, you learn something new everyday. A Premier League peep whispered to drop everything and tune-in to the USA Network at about 2:45pm (ET) Friday for the Brentford v. Brighton match.

The pre-game commentators for USA Net were touting their Soccer Showcase at Dilworth Park on Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia by comparing the “biggest weekend” they’ve ever televised,’ with all the “big” games in the Philly. This weekend, MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies host, and defeated the Atlanta Braves at Citizen Bank Park a couple hours ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers facing the Vancouver Canucks at the Wells Fargo Center, right across the soft pretzel-packed street. Of course, the “biggest game” of the weekend will feature the Philadelphia Eagles playing host to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field, a 9-iron from the basketball/hockey arena and an easy wedge away from the baseball field. By the way, the Sixers open the NBA regular season on Tuesday here in Boston and then return to the “City of Brotherly Love” to host the Milwaukee Bucks this Thursday.

Working backwards to what was learned this week, my surprise was teed-up by Rebecca Lowe, host of NBC’s English Premier League coverage, as her Philly-based introduction to the game in London was done just as the Brentford players took to the pitch:

BRENTFORD has a great tradition, far better than the tired, old Red Sox playing of “Sweet Caroline” in the middle of the 8th inning. During pregame introductions, seemingly every one of the 18,000+ Brentford fans raises their red & white team scarf and belts out The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” … If the team wins, the song is sung – once again – in the postgame.

The good times came to a halt postgame, however, as sadly, after the 2-nil Brentford victory and the postgame “Hey Jude II.” Striker Ivan Toney, who notched the two Brentford goals, was “subjected to disgusting, racist abuse via a direct message received on social media,” according to the club statement issued after the game.

“We condemn this discriminatory behaviour in the strongest possible terms. An attack on one of our players is an attack on all of us. Ivan will receive the full backing from the Club and from the Brentford fans who we have already seen condemning the abuse.

“We expect strong support from the police, legal authorities and from Instagram’s parent company, Meta, to ensure that the individual involved faces the full force of the law for this despicable hate crime.”

[Read more…] about TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 16th

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 9

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – Clemson, Boston College and the Underrated in Sports

By TERRY LYONS

CHESTNUT HILL – When we last left you, it was in memory of the late Boston College student-athlete Welles Crowther, aka the “Man in the Red Bandana.” The spirit and anticipation leading up to the game here Saturday night was tangible. As gobs of BC students filed into Alumni Stadium to lead 42,138-strong, the excitement of a big, nationally televised Atlantic Coast Conference game, they had hopes of repeating one of the great upset wins in a decade and a half of BC football, a 37-31 win over No. 9-ranked USC back in 2014.

That very first “Red Bandana Game” was the last time a Boston College football team defeated a Top 10 ranked team. This week, the No. 5 Clemson Tigers made sure that the September 2014 upset remained as BC’s badge with a decisive 31-3 dismantling of the Eagles.

The description of the game can be likened to a high level heavyweight prize fight, one opponent highly skilled and well taught in the art of boxing while the other a dangerous challenger fighting with emotion in his hometown.

Last night, the scorecard read 10-3 at the half, as BC’s defensive unit played outstanding football to match the bigger, better, battle-tested Tigers. The energy of the first half gradually dissipated as Clemson wore-down Boston’s defense as though a disciplined boxer was jabbing, jabbing, jabbing the Eagles into a a haze of pain and fatigue.

Tigers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei threw three second-half touchdown passes while BC was unable to establish any kind of running game to base their control, deliberate offense. Without running backs Alex Broome, Cam Barfield, and Alec Sinkfield, Boston (2-4, 1-3 in ACC) could only muster 34 rushing yards on 30 attempts.

BC’s primary threat, wide receiver Zay Flowers caught eight catches for 75 yards against a suspect Clemson secondary.

Boston College has a bye week upcoming before traveling to Wake Forest in two weeks.Clemson (6-0, 4-0 in ACC) will play at Florida State this coming Saturday.

 

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: A popular and regular function of While We’re Young(Ideas) has been passing along the estimated valuations of pro sports franchises as tallied by our friends at Sportico.

This week, take a look at the Top 10 of Sportico’s Major League Soccer franchise valuations:

  1. Los Angeles FC, $900m
  2. LA Galaxy, $865m
  3. Atlanta United, $855m
  4. Seattle Sounders FC, $725m
  5. Toronto FC, $705m (US)
  6. DC United, $700m
  7. New York FC, $690m
  8. Portland Timbers, $685m
  9. Austin FC, $630m
  10. InterMiami, $585

The value of the Portland Timbers should remain solid despite the NWSL scandal that involved front office staff who ran both the Timbers and the women’s Thorns.

Keep in mind, the then-expansion New York FC came with a franchise fee of a “record” $100 million back in 2015. Similar, but not quite as miraculous rise in value, the MLS is beginning to mirror the NBA in quick, soaring increase in franchise valuation.

The 1988-89 NBA expansion (Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota and Orlando) brought with it a bargain $32.5m fee for each of the four teams. The NBA’s most recent expansion saw the Toronto Raptors and then-Vancouver Grizzlies pay $125m each. Today, the Phoenix Suns are on the market as disgraced team governor and managing partner Robert Sarver looks to move his club for an NBA record rate. That means the Suns would have to sell for north of the $2.35b that team governor Joseph Tsai paid for the Brooklyn Nets (2019), or restauranteur Tilman Fertitta dropped $2.2b for the Houston Rockets (2017). Those sales followed the $2b franchise game-changer when SteveBallmer bought the LA Clippers in 2014.

Sarver bought the Suns for a then-record $401m in 2004 from a multi-owner group headed by Jerry Colangelo and can now seek some $2.4-$2.5b for the Suns and WNBA Mercury.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Heading onto postseason, I must say I liked the chances of the Toronto Blue Jays, swept out by the Seattle Mariners yesterday in the biggest comeback in MLB Wild Card history. It was also the biggest road comeback win in playoff history and baseball’s largest rally to clinch a postseason series. The Mariners were down, 8-1, in the 5th Inning. Overall, you’ve got to believe this year’s MLB playoff format favors the four teams with Wild Card round byes, as they had a brief few days to align their starting pitching while resting pitchers, catchers, bullpen and all. They are: (AL: Houston and New York; NL: Atlanta and the Los Angeles Dodgers).

PREDICTIONS: While trekking to New York, Sirius-XM and Chris “Mad Dog” Russowas interviewing Boston Red Sox team manager Alex Cora who was quite frank with his thoughts while others might be leery of burning bridges with his baseball industry friends.

Cora, too, liked the way the Toronto Blue Jays were playing down the stretch of the last month of the MLB season, but he warned how dangerous the Cleveland Guardians might be in the wild car and ALDS. In the NL, he liked the Atlanta Braves the most.

Cora didn’t go on an “all-out” predict-fest, but he did indicate there would be no surprise in his mind if Atlanta and Cleveland met to determine the 2022 World Series champion.

NOTES: Congratulations to former BIG EAST conference administrator Tom Odjakjian on his choice to retire from the AAC Conference. Odjakjian served sports fans quite well with a stint at ESPN and then the work at the two college conferences, especially during the difficult time when the BIG EAST and American split, with the BIG EAST going basketball only while the AAC went knee deep in college football. … Meanwhile, a fellow ESPN colleague of Odjakjian in Rob Simmelkjaer was named by the New York Road Runners, the organizer of the TCS New York City Marathon, to its top post as CEO. He’ll assume the new role on November 15, 2022.

TID-BITS: The reigning Premier League champions Manchester City went to the top of the ladder after beating Southampton 4-0 at The Etihad Stadium as 22-year-old Erling Haaland is taking the Premier League by storm and tearing-up the history books as he goes. The Norwegian striker has now netted 15 goals (in nine games) in the Premier League and 20 goals overall on the season in all competitions.

Haaland became the first player to score a hat-trick in three consecutive home games in the Premier League – against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United – although that run is over with his single against Southampton. Earlier in the season, he became the first player to score in his first four away games in the Premier League.

In other news, the United States women’s national team lost to England, 2-1, in a friendly played before 76,891 at Wembley. The USAWNT is playing in Europe last week and this while reports of abuse and misconduct in the women’s national program and the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) surfaced in the Sally Yates report, an independent investigation published this week. The USAWNT goes on to Spain for a game this Tuesday.

UNDERRATED in SPORTS: Not seeking to create a comprehensive listing here, but the start of the MLB Postseason brought thoughts of some underrated stars in Baseball, even though they might be All-Stars. For instance, Cleveland Guardiansthird baseman José Ramírez might be considered underrated, as his teammate Oscar Gonzalez. … Gorgeous New England football Saturdays and Sundays are underrated. New York Strip steaks are underrated. Penne Ala Vodka and Spaghetti alla Puttanesca are vastly underrated. Puttanesca, by the way, is loosely translated to throwing everything in the cupboard into cook; or a while bunch of sh*t into the pot. … Good tires on your car are underrated. As a parent of little ones of (1997 and 1999) who each grew to be incredible young women, the Diaper Genie is vastly underrated. … Dogs are underrated, while cats are overrated. You get it, right?

Here are a few pro players that might be considered underrated. They are listed in no particular order: Michael Cooper (LAL), Lance Alworth (then SD Chargers), former NYY Bernie Williams, soccer phenom Erling Haaland is underrated, but not for long. … the late Jerry Sloan was an underrated NBA defensive star, although the Chicago Bulls were smart enough to retire his No. 4 in the old Chicago Stadium. … Brooks Robinson, the human vacuum of the glory years for the Baltimore Orioles was underrated. … I always thought NBA legend James Worthy of the LA Lakers was underrated, although he warranted the nickname “Big Game” James which indicated his performances were well noticed. … Steve Smith, NBA vet and Olympic gold medalist was underrated, even if you just count the way he set picks. Yogi Berra was underrated and he’s a Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Famer …. The late Mike Bossy was underrated.

Pitcher Virgil 🔥 Trucks, great grand uncle of famed guitarist Derek Trucks was underrated. For that matter, Derek is underrated as is his guitar-playing vocalist wife Susan. They keep on getting better. Google it. … Keith “Jamaal” Wilkes was underrated and you can just think of his 37 points, 10 rebound performance in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals as an example. Wilkes’ great game was over shadowed by Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s MVP performances in the series, including the fact he jumped and played center in a game Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was unable to play. … Red Sox right fielder Dwight “Dewey” Evans is still underrated.

UNDER-RATED ROCK BANDS and MUSICIANS:

(Listed in no particular order)

  1. The Guess Who
  2. Faces
  3. Rockpile, headed by Nick Lowe and Dave Edmonds
  4. Dire Straits, headed by the great Mark Knopfler
  5. Little Feat
  6. Warren Zevon
  7. Delaney and Bonnie & Friends
  8. Leon Russell
  9. Dave Mason
  10. Paul Butterfield Blues Band, for the Chicago Blues fans out there
  11. Yardbirds
  12. The Animals, highlighted by the incredible soulful voice of Eric Burdon and theincredible keyboard play of Alan Price.
  13. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
  14. Savoy Brown Band
  15. The Kinks
  16. Eric B. & Rakim
  17. Schoolly D
  18. Ten Years After
  19. Traffic
  20. The Eurythmics
  21. Link Wray and the Wraymen
  22. Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac

To finish this week’s Part Deux Sunday Sports Notes off with a performance you might not have seen, nor rememebered.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Sept. 18

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – This week’s column goes out to the many readers/subscribers who work in the sports industry. They often read this weekly missive seeking sports business news, tidbits from industry conferences and behind-the-scenes insights into newsworthy happenings ripped from the headlines.

Instead of providing 100% sports business news from this week, it’s important to take a step back and realize the real reason many of us dedicate our lives to working in sports and to enhance our love for the game(s). Here’s the real life example and my personal schedule for the weekend:

Friday:

7:10pm – Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox: Instead of a usual view of the game from the press box, Friday night was enjoyed with visiting friends from the center field bleachers at Fenway Park, the exact 180-degree turn-around. The Red Sox won, 2-1, despite registering just two hits through seven innings and trailing 1-0 heading into the 8th. In that situation, the Red Sox won for just the fourth time this year and are 4-57. J.D. Martinez hit a two-out, bases-loaded RBI single in the 8th to give the Red Sox their 2-1 lead, much to the delight of the 33,180 fans still standing with me for the come-from-behind Boston victory.

Saturday:

The full day of “Sports for the Fun of It” schedule is provided as this column is being written as the temperatures dip into the high 40s early Saturday morning to accommodate:

9am: Cambridge: Meet-up with the friends to prep for a 10am tailgate in Somerville, Massachusetts leading into the first of three events for the day.

Noon: Trinity College at Tufts in a New England Small College Athletic Conference Division III game, featuring senior TE, No. 85 Thomas Walsh, son of dear friends Nancy and Tom Walsh who made the short trek from New York to watch their son play college football. As a junior, No. 85 led Trinity in yards per reception and was fifth on his team in pass receptions and receiving yards. He opened the game with a 22-yard catch that set-up his teammate William Kirby’s 53-yard run to make it 7-0, Trinity. The Bantams took a 26-3 halftime lead before allowing 20 unanswered second half points to win 26-23. The game was the opener for both the Jumbos and the visiting Bantams.

4:10pm – Kansas City Royals at Boston Red Sox: The Royals and Sox played the second of their three-game set at Fenway. The (70-75) Sox lost to the (58-88) Royals, in a (9-0) ear-slapping, as Boston’s disappointing season creeps towards a close with Boston in the 5th place cellar of the American League East. Kansas City has been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention while Boston is 17 games back from the division-leading New York Yankees. The Sox are 10 games out of a wild card berth, a gap too far to mend.

Embed from Getty Images

7:30pm – Maine Black Bears at Boston College: The (0-2) Bears – losses at New Mexico (41-0) and to visiting Colgate (21-18) – visit The Heights to play the (0-2) Eagles. BC’s suffered through a home loss to Rutgers, 22-21, and on the road at Blacksburg, Virginia where Virginia Tech won the Atlantic Coast Conference battle. Boston College can not afford a loss to Maine and we’ll be in the stands Saturday night as this column is sent to its loyal and fast-growing following. (BC won 38-17).

Sunday:

Early AM: After the temps dipped to the high 40s Saturday, seasonal last weekend of summer weather will return, sending temperature to the low 80s for a day of rest. That means:

Noon: The NFL Today will be on for a good hour or so as the NFL kicks-off its Week Two schedule.

1:00pm: The NFL RedZone will dominate the TV screen, an addictive, all-encompassing look at every NFL game. For those not in the know, the RedZone is the reason NFL game ratings have dipped a bit as fans can watch every single score by every team in the league, sometimes on split screen and sometimes in a ridiculous “OctoBox,” where eight games are on in near postage stamp-sized screens. It’s a fabulous way to keep an eye on every game, rather than the three or four OTA (over-the-air) games assigned to Boston which include New England at Pittsburgh.

8:20pm: Sunday Night Football, Dick Ebersol’s gift to American sports fans who can tune-in this week to the Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers game. There’s nothing like an NFL “Black & Blue” division game to finish my weekend of “Sports for the Fun of It,” shared here to underline the importance of – sometimes – stepping back to enjoy the games we cover,

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As you return to our regularly scheduled programming, the subject of the Phoenix Suns and team governor Robert Sarver must be addressed. This week NBA Commissioner Adam Silver held a press conference to announce the findings of an independent investigation into workplace issues in the front office and arena operations for the Phoenix Suns. Formerly a model franchise of the NBA, the investigation by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz found that during his time with the Suns and the WNBA’s Mercury, Sarver used the N-word at least five times “when recounting the statements of others.” … The investigation also uncovered “instances of inequitable conduct toward female employees,” including “sex-related comments” and inappropriate comments on employees’ appearances, among other violations of proper workplace culture.

Silver announced a one-year ban and $10 million fine levied on Sarver. The ban requires the franchise owner to refrain from attending any games, practices, meetings and involvement in any basketball decisions for the Suns. Silver made the announcement as the NBA convened a Board of Governors meeting, a regular occurrence in the NBA’s yearly business calendar.

The NBA’s suspension and hefty fine were met with significant backlash by many of the rank and file players and the NBA players association, among others involved with the league. Saturday, the players’ union called for a lifetime ban and Suns sponsor – PayPal – which issued a statement that read: “PayPal is a values-driven company and has a strong record of combatting racism, sexism and all forms of discrimination,” PayPal CEO and president Dan Schulman. “We have reviewed the report of the NBA league’s independent investigation into Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and have found his conduct unacceptable and in conflict with our values.”… “In light of the findings of the NBA’s investigation, we will not renew our sponsorship should Robert Sarver remain involved with the Suns organization, after serving his suspension.”

SportsBetting.ag set odds on whether or not Sarver will be the Suns team owner in 2024, and the outlook isn’t good for the disgraced businessman.

Will Robert Sarver be the Suns franchise owner in 2024?

Yes +200

No -300

This story is in the second quarter, heading downhill. The first quarter was a disaster.

FOLLOW THE BOUNCING BALL: Believe it or not, NBA training camps open this week for teams traveling overseas in the preseason. Here’s a list of key dates for the NBA for the rest of the year:

September 23: First allowable date for players participating in preseason games outside North America to report to their teams (no earlier than 11am local time).

September 24: Training camps open for all teams participating in preseason games outside North America.

September 26: First allowable date for all other veteran players to report to their teams (no earlier than 11am local time).

September 27: NBA training camps open.

September 30: NBA preseason games begin.

September 30 & Oct. 2: NBA Japan Games, Golden State Warriors vs. Washington Wizards (Tokyo, Japan).

October 6 & 8: NBA Abu Dhabi Games, Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks (Abu Dhabi, UAE).

October 14: NBA preseason ends.

October 17: Rosters set for start of 2022-23 NBA regular season (5pm ET).

October 18: Start of 2022-23 NBA regular season.

October 22: NBA G League Draft.

October 24: NBA G League training camps open.

December 17: NBA Mexico City Game, Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs (Mexico City, Mexico).

December 27: NBA G League regular season begins (32 games per team).

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: First reported by Sportico, the business arm of Major League Baseball is dividing international markets for its franchises, giving baseball clubs new commercial rights in specific areas around the world, according to multiple people familiar with the plan. … Baseball and softball are played by an estimated 65 million people around the world, according to the sport’s international governing body. Large concentrations for baseball exist in parts of Asia, Australia, Europe and South/Central America.

BREAKING – as in REALLY BREAKING NEWS: One of baseball’s best – Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies – left Saturday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies with a fractured right pinky finger, the team announced.

Albies was injured as he slid into second base in the fourth inning and the most recent setback occurred one day after he was activated from the 60-day injured list. Albies was sidelined because of a broken left foot suffered in June after making an awkward swing.

BY THE WAY: The countdown clock is on its last two weeks for most Fantasy Baseball Leagues. The MLB regular season will come to a close Wednesday, October 5.

LIV SHADE: The LIV Golf circuit displayed quite a bit of cockiness as they gained traction after the PGA Tour Championship and a few more players jumped to the Saudi-funded rival to the PGA Tour. That said, this weekend’s LIV Tournament in Chicago showed one of two major flaws in the new golf entity.

  1. Lack of a Network television deal
  2. Low attendance at events

Those two factors equal a tainted business model for LIV in 2022, but the endless stack of bucks allow for years of “runway” for LIV to land a deal and gradually build an audience.

Phil Mickelson, longtime fan favorite and multi Major champion expressed his views in a Friday interview in Chicago:

“The PGA Tour, for the last 20 or 30 years have had all the best players in the world,” Mickelson said at a Chicago LIV event Friday, reported both Reuters and ESPN. “That will never be the case again. LIV Golf is here to stay.

“The best solution is for us to come together. I think that the world of professional golf has a need for the old historical ‘history of the game’ product that the PGA Tour provides. I think that LIV provides a really cool, updated feel that is attracting a lot of younger crowds,” Mickelson added.

“Both are good for the game of golf and the inclusion of LIV Golf in the ecosystem of the golf world is necessary. As soon as that happens, we all start working together. It’s going to be a really positive thing for everyone.”

Cameron Smith (-10) leads Dustin Johnson (-8) heading into Sunday’s final 18 holes. Johnson won the previous tournament in a sudden death playoff here in Boston. In Chicago, the purse is $20 mil.

This weekend, the PGA Tour was in Napa. So no whining.

NCAA FOOTBALL POWER 12: Now, three weeks into the NCAA college football season, the popular TL Power 12 is back. This list simulates what we’ll see by 2026 when the College Football Playoff system expands.

  1. Alabama
  2. Georgia
  3. Ohio State
  4. Michigan
  5. Clemson
  6. Oklahoma
  7. USC
  8. Oklahoma State
  9. Kentucky
  10. Tennessee
  11. Arkansas
  12. NC State

*Some results not final

NFL POWER 10: Here’s the WWYI power ten for the NFL heading into Week 2:

  1. Buffalo
  2. Kansas City
  3. Tampa Bay
  4. New Orleans
  5. Baltimore
  6. Green Bay
  7. Philadelphia
  8. Indianapolis
  9. LA Rams
  10. LA Chargers

THE SPORTS PROFESSOR: When Rick Horrow, known in sports business industry circles as “The Sports Professor,” first released The Sports Business Handbook at a joint Harvard Law/Harvard Business conference two years ago, it was heralded as the most unique collection of commentary and advice from industry leaders in the $1.3 trillion business of sports.

Digital Sports Desk was at HBS for the launch.

This October, the newly revised and expanded edition of Horrow’s book, The Sports Business Handbook: Insights from 100+ Leaders who Shaped 50 Years of the Industry will be on sale and available for order online. It will have more insights skimmed from many of the sports industry’s brightest minds and influential executives.  It will include guidance for the sports business in a post-pandemic world.

Horrow will co-host a special book launch event – “Sports Business @ 50 Lessons & Leadership from Legends of the Game” – in New York City on Thursday, September 22nd, with former Major League Baseball president and book contributor Bob DuPuy at the offices of Foley & Lardner LLP (90 Park Avenue, New York) from 5:30 to 8:30pm.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | September 4

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By TERRY LYONS

BOLTON – What would a gentlemen’s game of golf be without some old-fashioned controversy, bribery, back-alley wheeling and dealing and some rightful protesting?

What would Uber be without the old-fashioned deplorable service of the regular taxi-cab offerings?

What would the automotive industry be without the disruptive, upstart electric-powered Tesla?

What would the NFL be without the 1969 Joe Namath-led New York Jets of the American Football Conference and his “guarantee” of victory over the favored Baltimore Colts?

What would pro basketball be without the stories and history of the renegade ABA, complete with the legendary Dr. J, The Iceman, David Thompson, and Marvin “Bad News” Barnes?

Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you the 2022 LIV Golf tour and its most recent stop, here in Bolton, Massachusetts and some 40 miles from Government Center in downtown Boston. LIV (that’s “54” for the roman numeral challenged) snuck-up on the PGA Tour although they knew it was coming.

In October, 2021 Greg Norman – “The Shark” was named Commissioner of LIV Golf and began to recruit players to shun the PGA Tour schedule and compete in a highly lucrative, eight-event men’s golf circuit where winner’s shares of a $20 million per event purse would be $4 million. LIV Golf also incorporated a team event side-hustle which would slip another $5 million into the kitty.

LIV Golf entered the market and led with its chin, as ill-advised PR and exclusionary media tactics were put in place to deflect from the main issue plaguing the new golf league. The LIV is funded by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia with some $600 billion in the bank and about $225 million dedicated to the eight individual events, nevermind significant bonus signing money to individual players jumping from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf.

The PGA Tour cried foul and began to suspend players who teed-off in LIV’s first event, held in London, June 9-11.

Most importantly, the families of the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks on New York’s World Trade Center, The Pentagon in DC and a fourth hijacked airplane – United 93 – which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, have protested the golf events. The 9/11 families are reminding the world that 15 of the 19 terrorists were Saudi citizens and were responsible for carrying out the attack.

For LIV Golf, there is no denying the direct affiliation with the Saudi-based Public Investment Fund. Saudi Arabia, realizing the United States and the rest of the world is working diligently to reduce the need for oil and fossil fuel. In 20-years, many of the cars USA citizens drive will be battery powered. With portions of the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia is investing in other future resources, like tourism. The play in sports, such as hosting golf events, world sporting events (2034 Asian Games) and ultimately, a future Summer Olympics, will fulfill the kingdom’s Vision 2030 Project, a plan to embrace the world’s sporting events for positive imaging and goodwill.

Some call that effort “sports-washing” as a deflection and diplomatic tactic, a claim denied by the Saudi officials. Some point to the inevitable crossroads of sports and politics, certainly seen before. Truth be told, it is a very small but often effective step to bridge political gaps.

The more effective measure to bride those gaping holes is TIME.

With thoughts focused on the blood-bath of D-Day and the Normandy Beach landings by American and British troops to fight against Hitler’s Germany or Pearl Harbor and the December 7, 1941 Japanese bombings of Battleship Row and the deaths of 2,403 American sailors and injuries of some 1,143 others – what would American sports look like today if the USA were banning German or Japanese sportsmen?

Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki, recently retired from the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, is well known around the world as one of the best power forwards in basketball history and certainly one of the best shooters the game has ever seen. He is a 14-time NBA All-Star, the 2007 NBA Most Valuable Player, and a 2011 NBA champion when he was presented the Finals MVP Trophy. Nowitzki was born in 1978.

In Major League Baseball, thankfully, there are dozens of excellent Japanese players who’ve enriched the game and contributed mightily. From Hideki Matsui to Hideo Nomo to Ichiro Suzuki to Yu Darvish to Shohei Ohtani to Koji Uehara, the Red Sox star reliever who won the MVP of the 2013 ALCS and struck-out St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter to win the 2013 World Series.

Hideki Matsuyama, the popular Japanese pro golfer who plays on the PGA Tour was the first-ever Japanese golfer to win a men’s major golf championship – the 2021 Masters Tournament. He was born in 1992.

What would be the sense in protesting against or banning the German or Japanese players from competing in American sports because of political atrocities of the past?

PGA Tour champion Fred Couples has been tossing the most shade on LIV Golf, its structure (54-holes vs 72 holes) and its players. But, a look at Couples record and checking account shows he was quite happy to cash winner’s checks for the Shell Houston Open in 2003, the Dubai Desert Classic in 1995 and a decade or more earnings from the silly season games of Skins and “Shark” Shoot-outs.

The take-away is to be careful with who and what is criticized in the world of sports. The hypocrisy can be astounding. Sports has and does provide for an effective diplomatic meeting ground. It always should.

LIV Golf should be judged on its performance and entertainment merits, not who is playing or how it’s funded. Otherwise, that Wall, so often talked about in 2015-16, grows taller and taller and could stop athletes, born in 2002, from competing in the United States.

Can you imagine if that stopped Ichiro from playing for MLB’s Seattle Mariners, Dirk for the Mavericks, Yao Ming for the Houston Rockets or the great Boris Becker from playing at the U.S. Open tennis tournament?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Boston College football season both began and (probably) ended on Saturday when the Eagles were upset at home by the Rutgers Scarlett Knights. Entering the game, BC held an 11 consecutive game winning streak and a 20-7-1 edge in the all-time series against Rutgers along with a 7.5 point Las Vegas odds as favorites. … Boston College held a 21-12 advantage at the 8:33 mark of the third quarter but let up a 33-yard field goal with :11 remaining in the third quarter and then the game winning TD 22-yard run by sophomore RB Al-Shadee Salaam with 2:43 left in the game. … Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt (Top 300 recruit and No. 7 QB prospect) started but split quarterbacking duties with Evan Simon. … Rutgers faces Wagner and Temple in their next two games and is likely to bring a 3-0 record into their B1G Ten season where they’ll struggle. Boston College will travel to Virginia Tech who dropped their opener to Old Dominion.

 

NFL POWER: A frequent and popular feature of NFL Power rankings will begin this week – before a single regular season game is played. Here’s the WWYI Power 10:

  1. Buffalo Bills
  2. LA Rams
  3. Cincinnati Bengals
  4. KC Chiefs
  5. Green Bay Packers
  6. Tampa Bay Bucs
  7. LA Chargers
  8. Indianapolis Colts
  9. Philadelphia Eagles
  10. Dallas Cowboys

NCAA FOOTBALL POWER: There’s one Saturday in the record books for NCAA Div 1 football and here’s the best of the lot. Since the College Football Playoffs system will grow to 12 postseason playoff teams by 2026, the Top 12 power rankings will begin today:

  1. Alabama
  2. Georgia
  3. Ohio State
  4. Clemson
  5. Michigan
  6. Texas A&M
  7. Oklahoma
  8. Baylor
  9. NC State
  10. USC
  11. Miami
  12. LSU

OUT: Notre Dame with its loss to highly ranked Ohio State is out of their preseason Top 5 rating while Utah with its 29-26 upending by Florida is no longer Top 12 material.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: The Boston Red Sox won their forth straight game on Saturday night, defeating the Texas Rangers 5-3. The Sox are 4-1-0 in their last five series at Fenway Park. … Meanwhile, the AL East-leading New York Yankees have lost three in a row and six of their last seven games. The Yankees are now only four games up on the Tampa Bay Rays and six games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. … New York is 15-26 since the MLB All-Star break. On July 4th, the NYY were 58-22.

In August, Boston’s Rafael Devers struck out 22 times in his 104 At Bats which contributed to a slump of batting .163 during the month. … Four days into September, Devers is batting .545 with six hits in 11 At Bats, including four doubles and six RBI.

TID BITS: The National Lacrosse League will hold its 2022 NLL Entry Draft In Toronto on Saturday, September 10 beginning at 2pm (ET). The first round of the Draft will be broadcast for the first time on TSN.ca and the TSN app in Canada and ESPN+ in the United States. The entire draft will be covered in real time on NLL social channels. It marks the most extensive live coverage of the NLL Draft in the league’s history.

Speaking of firsts and a look back at our lead topic, LIV Golf is allowing its players to wear shorts during competition rounds. Of the 48 players in the field this weekend, 40% took advantage of the new rule and wore shorts. It’s believed to be the first time an elite professional golf league has allowed shorts to be worn during competition. … “The players asked about it,” said LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman. “We did a survey a couple of weeks ago. It was a pretty significant positive response about wearing shorts.” … Norman credited Phil Mickelson, for being “the most desirable to have it. … I followed his lead, listened to him a little bit.” … Mickelson was one of the 19 players who wore shorts Saturday.

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Aug 28

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Who are you guys and what did you do with the Boston Red Sox?

After losing six-of-seven games and dropping to (60-65) and fifth place in the American League East Division on August 25th, the Boston Red Sox somehow bounced back this weekend and won two important games from their AL East rival, Tampa Bay Rays.

Realistically, the Red Sox (62-65) still remain some 17 games out of first place, trail the first-place New York Yankees (78-48), and have no shot at catching the Yanks, but the two-game winning streak injected some life into the Red Sox team and sent the fans at Fenway Park home quite happy. In the Wild Card, Seattle, Tampa Bay and Toronto hold the three slots in the AL and Boston is seven games back, with the upstart Baltimore Orioles, the solid Minnesota Twins and the surprising Chicago White Sox in between. The Red Sox possibilities are slim but not none with only 35 games left in the regular season.

Coincidentally, it was back on July 4th when the Red Sox defeated the same Tampa Bay Rays, (4-0), to peak at 10 games over the .500 mark (45-35) and place second in the division as they held the top Wild Card spot in the AL. Then, the slide began. Two consecutive losses to the same Rays, then two straight to the Yankees. A two game bounce-back preceded the Sox losing 9-of-10 between July 11 and July 27 to drop to the AL East cellar.

The return of Trevor Story was a good omen for Boston Saturday but an 11 strike-out effort and three-hitter over seven innings pitched by Rich Hill was the brightest sign of hope for the Sox who play one more game against Tampa this homestand before the Fenway Faithful sing “See You in September” as their club travels to Minnesota for a three-game set against the mighty tough Twins this Monday to Wednesday.

The MLB/AL schedule-maker has the Red Sox returning from the Land of 10,000 Lakes to face the Texas Rangers in a four-game set at Fenway Park, September 1-4, before yet another road trip (three games each at Tampa and Baltimore) which will determine the fate of the 2022 baseball season by September 11th.

The New England Patriots take center stage that same weekend as the seasons begin to change and a chill takes the air in New England.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: We’re quickly approaching the most sports-centric time of the year. … The U.S. Open tennis tournament begins this Monday, August 29th at the Billie Jean National Tennis Center where Daniil Medvedev will defend his 2021 crown while both Roger Federer(injured/rehabbing) and No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic (unvaccinated vs COVID) is ineligible to compete. … Keep in mind, Medvedev was blocked from competing at Wimbledon earlier this summer because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Spain’s Rafa Nadal will be poised for a run to the men’s final.

On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek of Poland is the No. 1 seed in a draw that will feature both Serena Williams and Coco Gauff surely to have the boisterous New York crowds solidly behind them throughout the two-week test. … Williams will team with her sister, Venus in women’s doubles. … U.S. Open tickets on the nights Serena or Serena and Venus play will become the toughest tennis ticket in town since Jimmy Conners made his run in 1991.

College football kicked-off Saturday with Northwestern’s 31-28, come-from-behind victory over Nebraska in the B1G Ten opener in Ireland. The local New England college football schedule is highlighted by the Boston College Eagles taking on a big-time B1G Ten challenger in Rutgers for their very first game of the season on September 3 at Noon. BC head coach Jeff Hafleybegins his third season and does so without an “auto win” opening opponent such as UConn, Howard or the likes of past season openers in The Heights.

The National Football League starts for real on Thursday, September 8 when the Buffalo Bills travel to Los Angeles to face the defending Super Bowl champion Rams before the rest of the league opens on September 11-12.

About a month later, the National Hockey League will face-off with their regular season openers (October 11) before the National Basketball Association begins their 76th regular season campaign on October 18th which marks the times of the pro sports equinox when on any given day, all four major North American sports can be playing on the same day – Major League Baseball, by then, fully into the Postseason.

CIRCLE SEPTEMBER 9-10TH: Not only does the NFL kick-off their season on the 8th, and the US Open tennis stage the men’s semi-finals and women’s finals on the 9th/10th, but the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame will induct its Class of ‘22 with opening festivities at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut Friday and the Enshrinement Ceremony staged September 10th in Springfield, Mass from 7-10pm on Saturday.

BREAKING NEWS: Italy’s Sportando Basketball reporter Emiliano Carchiawas the first to report of Danillo Gallinari’s injury.

GALLINARI INJURED: Newly acquired Boston Celtics shooting specialist Danillo Gallinari injured his knee in a FIBA World Cup qualifying game in Brescia, Italy on Saturday. There was no official confirmation of the injury but Sportando Basketball reported the injury with quotes, video and photos and FIBA.com made reference in its brief game story, noting Gallinari took over the game in the third quarter scoring 15 of his 17 points. Other game stories speculated an injured MCL ligament for the NBA veteran who was playing against Georgia in the FIBA qualifier, a 91-84 meaningless Italy victory. After the injury, the games were called-off.  … The injury was the third NBA off-season setback this week as Orlando Magic guard Gary Harris suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee and will undergo further evaluation to determine the extent of the injury and need for treatment or surgery. … Earlier this week, Oklahoma City rookie first-rounder Chet Holmgren was injured and deemed out for the 2022-23 season with a devastating Lisfranc injury. The No. 2 overall pick of last June’s NBA Draft was playing in Jamal Crawford CrawsOver Pro-Am league at Seattle Pacific University on a court that was reportedly very slippery. … In other games at Crawford’s ProAm, LA Lakers’ Lebron James and Boston’s Jayson Tatum were among the players working out.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Front Office Sports is reporting Washington’s Monumental Sports and team governor Ted Leonsis along with Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein are interested in buying the Baltimore Orioles or possibly the Washington Nationals of MLB, if and when either team hits the market, as expected.

BOSTON’s Alex Cora won his 345th game with the Red Sox on Friday night and his 346th Saturday, making him the ninth-winningest manager in franchise history, one ahead of Eddie Casko. Among the 10 club managers with 600+ games at the helm of the Sox, Cora ranks third in winning percentage (.564/ 346-267) behind:

  1. Don Zimmer (.575/ 411-305)
  2. Terry Francona (.574/ 744-552)

Cora has a 17-8 postseason record (.680) with the Sox, including the 2018 World Series title and an American League Championship appearance in 2021.

TOUR Championship: The 2021-22 PGA Tour season will come to its conclusion today (Sunday, August 28) with the FedEx Cup champion to be crowned at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. To the winner? A cool $18 million from a $75 million prize pool. … The PGA Tour will pick-up the 2022-23 season with the Fortinet Championship on the weekend of September 15-18th, but the full Tour will start in earnest in the first week of January 2023 with the annual Sentry Tournament of Champions, a.k.a primetime golf from Maui. … Our sister publication – PGA Tour Brunch – will publish its final 2022 missive on Monday, August 29th with a recap of the TOUR Championship and then re-start publication in January. … The LIV golf circuit will visit Boston September 2-4 with its 12 teams, 48 players, 54 (LIV for you Roman Numeral fans) holes. The site is The International Golf Club in Bolton, Massachusetts, north of Boston. … No cut. … For those unfamiliar with the pro golf scene, the average PGA Tour event has some 125 players, a cutdown after 36 holes and a total of four rounds or 72 holes to win. There is no team concept. … The LIV is considering selling franchises and establishing the teams more definitively for the 2023 season. … Digital Sports Desk is scheduled to cover the LIV event. … September 21-25 will mark the dates of the 2022 President’s Cup with the USA golfers pitted against a team of world golf pros. The competition is scheduled for the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte. The more popular Ryder Cup is USA vs. European golfers. The 2023 Ryder Cup will be played at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy.

METS DO the RIGHT THING: The New York Mets held their “Old-Timer’s Day” on Saturday and surprised the great Willie Mays by retiring his uniform No. 24. Mays, at age 41 and 42, only played two seasons with the Mets in 1972 and ‘73 but was beloved by the New York fans because of his start with the New York Giants. Mays and the Giants moved from the Polo Grounds (1891-1957) to Candlestick Park in San Francisco in 1958 after six seasons in New York. He missed a season because of necessary military service in 1953. Mays, born May 6, 1931, is now 91 years old and carries the mantle as the greatest living baseball player. His rivals, Hank Aaron (1934-2021), Micky Mantle (1931-1995), Duke Snider (1926-2011), and Joe DiMaggio(1914-1999) have all passed away. … The retirement of Mays’ number comes a year after the Mets “Did the Right Thing” by retiring Jerry Koosman’s No. 36.

Embed from Getty Images

JIMMY FUND: According to Radio Ink, the 20th anniversary of the ‘WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon’, raised $3.517 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The radio-telethon was launched by WEEI-FM, The Jimmy Fund and the Boston Red Sox in 2002. New England Sports Network (NESN) joined the effort in 2003.

“This was the 20th anniversary of the Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, and our listeners and sponsors came through like never before,” said Mike Thomas, SVP/MM Audacy Boston. “To hear the doctors talk about the progress that is being made, the clinical trials that are ongoing and to hear from patients about how Dana-Farber saved their lives will forever be in our hearts and minds. There really is nothing like the two days of this fundraiser.”

The event was part of a 36-hour live broadcast during WEEI weekday programming on August 23 and 24. To date the radio/telethon has raised more than $65 million for cancer research at Dana-Farber.

TID-BITS: The MLB Network has been airing a series of promotional spots, entitled Baseball Zen. In relative silence, the super-slow motion photography catches some of the subtle nuances of the game of baseball … a grounds crew slowly raking the infield dirt, or watering the infield … Shohei Ohtani delivering a strike, but shot in super-slow motion in order to pick-up the spin of the baseball.

The spots are good. They air on the MLB Network and MLB Extra Innings OTT and are far better than a billboard that states the “game will return.” Yet, the slow, methodical nature of the spots are a 180 from the popular and original “NBA Action … It’s Fantastic” bloopers and superstar highlights with incredible action footage, depth defying acts of NBA players before a well-known actor, musician or comedian delivered the iconic “I Love This Game” tagline. … Two very different takes on league promotional theory.

The MLB Zen spots make you think about the wonderful things you experience when you attend a baseball game, many times far away from the in-game cameras. Coincidentally, this reporter was listing a few just this week. Here’s what was scribbled down on a notebook page:

  • The home plate ump with the timeless cleaning of home plate with his brush
  • Rafa Devers’ tradition of his pre-At Bat greeting to the Red Sox ballboys
  • The announcement of the game attendance in the press box
  • Bubble gum and sunflower seeds in the dug-outs
  • Breaking-in a new baseball glove
  • Dodgertown at Vero Beach
  • Tossing a rosin bag directly behind the pitcher’s mound
  • The “W” flown at Wrigley Field to signal a Cubs’ victory that day
  • Old traditions, gone-by, like the bullpen carts with team helmets
  • The San Diego (a.k.a.) The Original Chicken setting the high bar for mascots
  • The proper placing and lime for the batter’s box, tap-tap with a hammer
  • An impromptu sharpie signature on Fenway’s right field “Pesky Pole”
  • Twi-Nighters at Shea Stadium
  • Banner Day

I could go on-and-on, but will come back for more next week with football in mind.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | August 21

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – For the Commissioners of sports, the best days are presenting MVP Awards, Championship Trophies celebrations, paying tribute to retiring legends or welcoming a new crop of rookies into the league at the annual Draft. The worst of days involve labor strife, work stoppages, enforcing the rules and – ultimately – suspending a player (or administrator) for a significant number of games or for LIFE.

At the NBA, players like Ron Artest (a.k.a Metta World Peace; Metta Sandiford-Artest) were suspended for fighting or conduct detrimental to the NBA for 86 games, Latrell Sprewell (68), GS minority team owner Mark Stevens (65). Others, repeat offenders of the NBA /NBA Players anti-drug program were tossed for life. Included were John Drew, Chris Washburn, Roy Tarpley, Richard Dumas and others who were able to re-apply after significant suspensions (Micheal Ray Richardson, Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins), among others.

Donald Sterling, the disgraced team owner and Board of Governor of the Los Angeles Clippers, was banned for life and docked $2.5 million by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for Sterling’s racist remarks and conduct.

There were others, of course, mostly for on-court transgressions such as LA Lakers’ Kermit Washington’s punch of Houston Rockets’ star and Hall of Fame coach Rudy Tomjanovich that cost Rudy T his Dec ‘77-Spring ‘78 season while Washington served a then-astronomical 26-game suspension.

The National Football League faced a significantly different and certainly more catastrophic issue with the case of former Houston Texans and current Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. The talented QB was suspended for 11 NFL games this week, five more games than Sue Robinson, a disciplinary counsel had determined on August 1.

Watson was previously accused of multiple sexual assaults and other inappropriate conduct during massage therapy sessions in lawsuits filed by 25 different women. The lawsuits alleged that from March 2020 to March 2021, while Watson was a member of the Texans, he allegedly sexually abused each woman. One of the 25 lawsuits was dropped after a judge’s ruling in April 2021 that the plaintiffs needed to amend their petitions to disclose their names. Two other women filed criminal complaints against Watson but did not sue him.

Watson settled or agreed to settle all but one of the remaining lawsuits, which remains pending. In July, the Texans reached settlements with 30 women who made claims or were prepared to make them against the NFL organization for what attorney Tony Buzbee called its alleged “enabling” of Watson’s behavior, according to ESPN.

Where does it fall, now? Watson was fined $5 million and is suspended by the NFL for a mere 11 games, ranging from August 30th to November 28th, 2022. Watson will be available to play for Cleveland when the Browns coincidentally play against the Texans in Week 13 of the upcoming NFL season.

What length of suspension would’ve been more appropriate?

The NFL and its Commissioner, Roger Goodell, might take matters into its own hands, instead of the joint and impartial arbitrator assigned by the players and the league.

Regardless, an 11 game suspension for each of the 25 cases would not have been extreme. The issue is not player safety on the field, nor drug/substance abuse off the field, not breaking the law by speeding in a car not other crimes that are addressed by the appropriate authorities and legal system, State-by-State.

TWENTY-FIVE cases of sexual assault – all credible – seem to show for a significant amount of smoke where there was fire. Yet, all the while, Watson claimed his innocence, right down to this week’s 11-game settlement well short of a true “verdict.”

“I’ll continue to stand on my innocence, just because you know settlements, and things like that happen doesn’t mean that a person is guilty for anything,” Watson said. “I feel like a person has an opportunity to stand on his innocence and prove that, and we proved that from a legal side, and just going to continue to push forward as an individual and as a person.”

Will he eventually speak on his own behalf and tell the full story?

“That’s definitely the plan, that’s definitely the goal,” said Watson. “I feel like through the whole process I’ve been trying to tell my side of the story. But a lot of people just didn’t pay a lot of attention to it.”

What left?

Watson has to comply with and overall evaluation and treatment recommendations of a third-party behavioral expert to be fully reinstated, sources told ESPN.

“Deshaun has committed to doing the hard work on himself that is necessary for his return to the NFL,” Goodell said in a prepared NFL statement. “This settlement requires compliance with a professional evaluation and treatment plan, a significant fine, and a more substantial suspension. We are grateful to Judge Robinson and Peter Harvey for their efforts in addressing these matters, which laid the foundation for reaching this conclusion.”

Robinson, an independent arbiter jointly appointed by the league and players’ union, made the first ruling on August 1 while Harvey was a former New Jersey attorney general whom Goodell appointed to oversee the NFL’s appeal, as the league sought a more significant determination than the six games.

From the Brown’s stand-point, franchise co-owners Dee and Jimmy Haslem focused on a player’s right to a “second chances” and counseling.

I think in this country, and hopefully in the world, people deserve second chances. I really think that,” Jimmy Haslem said. “Is he never supposed to play again? Is he never supposed to be a part of society? Does he get no chance to rehabilitate himself? That is what we are going to do. … We think people deserve a second chance. … That does not mean we do not have empathy for people affected and we will continue to do so, but we strongly believe, strongly believe that people deserve a second chance; we believe Deshaun Watson deserves a second chance.”

No argument there, but maybe the second chance should be multiplied times the 25 cases and the result would be a minimum 50-to-275 game suspension and a (25 x $5m = $125 million) fine to be subtracted from the $230 million fully guaranteed contract with Cleveland.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: It’s a B$G week in Boston as the 20th WEEI Radio/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon begins this Tuesday, August 23, originating from Fenway Park. Since 2002, the charitable radio-tele-thon raised $62 million for cancer treatment and research, with The JIMMY Fund and Dana-Farber the key. To learn more, visit www.JimmyFund.org. … The telethon begins Tuesday at 6am (ET) and fans can tune in to WEEI-FM and NESN throughout the 36-hour broadcast to hear stories of courage and hope from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute patients, doctors, nurses, and supporters.

Even though the Red Sox were on the road, Fenway Park was ‘hoppin’ this week, hosting concerts on four consecutive nights: Bad Bunny On Thursday, Lady Gaga Friday, Imagine Dragons on Saturday, and comedian Bill Burr on Sunday, all to sold-out crowds. Burr is the first comedian ever to headline a gig at Fenway. … The Red Sox are off Monday before returning home for a brief six-game home stand, starting Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

TID-BITS: As the PGA Tour playoffs come to a close this week at the annual TOUR Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, the publication of our sister-missive PGA Tour Brunch will come to a close until the first week of January 2023. It’s a great time to sign-up to secure a gift for your golf-loving friends, as all issues from 2022 are archived for reference. … We’ve had a good look at the national college football polls, where the usual suspects (Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and Clemson) are atop the crop. How about the Atlantic Coast Conference, home of the Boston College Eagles?

Atlantic (first place votes)

  1. Clemson (111)
  2. North Carolina State (44)
  3. Wake Forest (6)
  4. Louisville
  5. Florida State (2)
  6. Boston College (1)

Coastal

  1. Miami (98)
  2. Pitt (38)
  3. North Carolina (18)
  4. Virginia (6)
  5. Virginia Tech (3)
  6. Georgia Tech (1)
  7. Duke – 220

Overall Champion

  1. Clemson – 103
  2. NC State – 38
  3. Miami – 8
  4. Wake Forest – 4
  5. Pitt – 3
  6. Virginia – 3
  7. Florida State – 2
  8. North Carolina – 2
  9. Boston College – 1

Conclusion: One voter likes Boston College a lot while over 100 media members like perennial champion Clemson. … Five ACC teams are among the National Top 25. They are: Clemson, NC State, Miami, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest. … B1G Ten match-up Nebraska at Northwestern kick-off the schedule in Dublin (Ireland, not Ohio) on August 27th at 12:30pm (ET) on FOX.

 

NBA MUSIC: Frequent readers of this weekly column will recognized the constant attempt to merge great sports stories with appropriate musical selections, whether they be classic rock songs, artists or other genres.

This week, the two will become one with an attempt to match great NBA players with the legendary artists, musicians or bands they might represent. We’ll call it “The NBA Match Game.” Here it goes and the NBA player(s) and artists are listed in no particular order:

Bill Russell = Elvis

George Mikan = The Beatles

Magic Johnson = The Rolling Stones

Wilt Chamberlain = Stevie Wonder

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar = Tom Petty (while Earvin Johnson, James Worthy, Byron Scott, Silk Wilkes, and so many others were The Heartbreakers

Bob Cousy = Bob Dylan

Connie Hawkins = Led Zeppelin

Larry Bird = Eric Clapton … we passed on “The Byrds”

Elgin Baylor = James Brown

Bob Pettit = The Who

“Pistol” Pete Maravich = Ray Charles

John Havlicek = The Big Bopper

Satch Sanders = Miles Davis

Jerry West = The Beach Boys

Oscar Robertson = Marvin Gaye

Julius “Dr J” Erving = Jimi Hendrix

Michael Jordan = Prince

Earl “The Pearl” Monroe = Sly and the Family Stone

David Thompson = Bob Marley

George Gervin = Bruce Hornsby

Bill Walton = Grateful Dead

Jerry Sloan = Johnny Cash

Dan Issel = America (Horse with No Name)

Carol Blazejowski = Madonna

Sheryl Swoopes = Aretha Franklin

Lisa Leslie = Diana Ross

Diana Taurasi = Lady Gaga

Sue Bird = Adele

Dawn Staley = Heart

Shaquille O’Neal = The Ramones

Allen Iverson = Bubba-Chuck Berry

Scottie Pippen = Muddy Waters

Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, John Salley, Bill Limber, Rick Mahorn – The Cars

Chris Mullin = U2

Hakeem Olajuwon = Smokey Robinson

David Robinson = Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey (song)

Karl Malone and John Stockton = Simon and Garfunkel

Manu Ginobili = Carlos Santana

Pau Gasol = Enrique Iglesias

Artis Gilmore = Chicago (Big Band sound of the ‘70s)

Bob Lanier = Crosby, Stills & Nash

Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen = The Allman Brothers Band

LeBron James = Jay Z

Steph Curry = The Clash

Run T-M-C (Tim (Hardaway/Mitch Richmond/Chris Mullin) = Run DMC

Nate Thurmond and Al Attles = Pink Floyd/The Wall – (Gilmour/Waters)

Dennis Rodman = Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam

Charles Barkley = Michael Jackson/Thriller

Kobe Bryant = Buddy Holly

Draymond Green = The Talking Heads

Steve Nash = Neil Young

Dan Majerle or Danny Ainge, with Walter Bellamy – Steely Dan

Tim Duncan = Jimmy Cliff

’69-70 Knicks = The Band

Marvin Barnes = Jim Morrison and the Doors

Webb Wilder = Gerald Govan (Wear glasses if you need ‘em)

Max Zaslofsky = ZZ Top

David Stern = Bruce Springsteen/a.k.a. “The Boss”

Rod Thorn = The Police

NOTE: Undoubtedly, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, more NBA player and musical artist(s) match-ups that can be added. Please feel free to submit others that come to mind. Either use the comments section or text/DM or email.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | August 7

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – For those growing up in the New York-Metropolitan area in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, it was an amazing time for the newspaper industry, somewhat driven by ultra-competitive sports sections that did the one thing that newspapers can no longer do. They sold papers. With a price tag of a quarter, they sold stacks and stacks of newspapers – everyday and especially Sundays, but for a buck.

The New York Times, the lofty Old Gray Lady, had all the news that was fit to print topping sections of interesting topics. The sports section had the best writing, including columnists like Dave Anderson, George Vecsey, Bill Rhoden, Ira Berkow, Robin Herman, Jane Gross, all following and being influenced by the legendary Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith.

The tabloids – the New York Daily News and New York Post – competed like prize fighters, the beat reporters driving a 24/7 watch but only printing once (or maybe a few editions) a day. The Post did an afternoon edition and you could even read about the daily double run that afternoon at Belmont.

There were others before, printed in the glory years of journalism and reporting. The Brooklyn Eagle, The Evening World, The Brooklyn Times-Union, The Daily Mirror, The New York Herald, The Sun and off-shoots like the Herald-Tribune, and Journal-American. There were dozens of others, some from nearby boroughs, like the Staten Island Advance and Staten Island Register, The Amsterdam News, and those from nearby Newark NJ, with the Star-Ledger. Long Island had Newsday and the Long Island Press. There were dozens of others.

I had my personal copy of The New York Times delivered to me at a student rate and all the teachers and front office people used to give me “the look” as I picked up my paper in my little mailbox at high school.

For the most part, The New York Times, NY Daily News, NY Post and Newsday were ever-present and to obtain a copy of The Washington Post or the Boston Globe was heaven on earth.

During that time, the New York Daily News featured sports cartoonist Bill Gallo (1922-2011) who drew the best sports cartoons this side of Bugs Bunny and the Gashouse Gorillas. At World Series time, Gallo drew-up a small cartoon box with “The Hero” and “The Goat” for each game. The “Goat” was not the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) as we know it today. Instead, it was the player who struck-out three times or made the costly error or the pitcher or reliever who threw the late-inning home run ball to his opponent who was likely to be “The Hero” of that particular game.

Of course, these days, there’s the constant arguments for players who are the GOAT of their sports. That senseless and endless stream of arguments about opinions is only surpassed by the personal list of “Mt. Rushmore” players to be fictitiously carved into some mountain top rock formation for eternity, never to be challenged again. For the “GOAT,” there is only ONE. For “Mt. Rushmore,” there are four.

This week, we lost two “GOATS” and two permanent residents of the “Mt. Rushmore” of their professions.

Sadly from this end, there’s no “personal” or “behind the scenes” story to share for either Russell or Scully. They were certainly on opposite ends of the spectrum on approachability. That said, I saw Russell more often – usually at the NBA All-Star Weekend or Finals.

Russell was quite happy in dealing with the NBA’s Brian McIntyre, in charge of PR, or Charlie Rosensweig, in charge or player and talent relations and a trustee of the Basketball Hall of Fame. For players, like Russell or Michael Jordan, who didn’t like adding to their inner circle, the smart move was always to consolidate requests and go to McIntyre or Rosensweig with “the ask.” Russell was very fond of the late David Stern and it was always great to see the mutual admiration society of Stern with Russell and Boston Celtics icon, Red Auerbach, all now passed away.

One anecdote sticks with me. Early on in his NBA career, maybe it was 1997 at the NBA@50 celebrations, Adam Silver – now Commissioner, then Special Assistant to Stern, glanced at all of the NBA legends being feted in a simple weekend ceremony in Cleveland and said, “All of our Babe Ruths are still alive,” noting the likes of Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Elgin Baylor and many others.

For a league, born in 1946, the legendary players were aging but still very much alive with a few big-time exceptions. Father Time, counting the 25 years since the NBA@50 to last year’s NBA75 festivities, has made his inevitable impact on the league and its early pioneers.

A growing number of media and NBA-types are calling for the league to retire No. 6 at every franchise in tribute to Russell’s winning ways on-court and huge impact off-court as an activist. The gesture would be the highest possible honor, much like Major League Baseball’s majestic tribute to Jackie Robinson and his No. 42.

As for Scully, a proud Fordham ‘49 man, was undoubtedly the voice for a generation of baseball fans, more specifically in Brooklyn for a short time (1954-57) before “Dem Bums” moved to Southern California and with them they took a voice and storyteller made from, and now, for heaven.

Although there were countless sports functions at Fordham where Scully was honored and a number of times when I was in the Dodgers’ or Mets’ press box when he was calling a game, I never even met the legend and feel very sad about that fact. But, like hundreds of thousands, maybe 100s of millions of baseball fans, we all knew him so well. He introduced all of Southern California to the Dodgers as he called hundreds of World Series, All-Star Games, Playoff games, and Games of the Week – on television and radio. Even before the magic of MLB Extra Innings and the Internet, all baseball fans were very familiar with the voice of Vin Scully.

At the Dodgers Stadium memorial tribute to Scully Friday night, the team unveiled a banner, “Vin – We’ll Miss You! ❤️ Dodger Fans”

For complete access to the full Sunday notebook, usually sent to your inbox for a late-night Saturday “get the papers, get the papers” read, click HERE.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 31

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State of the Commonwealth Sports

By TERRY LYONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Others MLB players reportedly on the block:

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

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

 

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 24

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Looks at the Baseball Hall of Fame, Clemente and Some Notes

Roberto Clemente (photo by Getty Images)

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – On the National Baseball Hall of Fame weekend in Cooperstown, NY, David Ortiz will be rightfully enshrined along with honorees Bud Fowler, Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso, Tony Oliva, and Buck O’Neil. Earlier in the week, on the 100th birthday of Mrs. Jackie Robinson (Rachel Isum), Major League Baseball played its annual All-Star Game in Los Angeles with a grand salute to Rachel and Jackie, Dodgers Blue through and through. It was terrific.

But I’ve got a place in my heart and thoughts for three of the best position players I’ve ever seen play and they are: Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente (pictured above).

What an amazing honor for the seven gentlemen being inducted to the Hall this weekend to have their names alongside the greatest players the game has ever seen. From Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb to Tom Seaver and Derek Jeter, the names of the greatest ballplayers will live on forever.

In no way am I suggesting Baseball do anything differently to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Robinson, but as a true fan and admirer ofRoberto Clemente, I’d like to see the Office of the Commissioner honor the great No. 21 with a day of service every December 31 or January 1st and once during the MLB summer season to recognize the charity work Clemente accomplished and the code he lived by each and every day of his short 38 years on earth.

Clemente’s tragic death is one of the saddest stories in the history of baseball, or in our lifetimes, really. In December of the off-season of 1972, Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, experienced a massive earthquake, Clemente immediately went to work arranging emergency relief flights for supplies and medical evacuations. He soon learned, however, that the aid packages on the first three flights had been diverted by corrupt officials of government and they never reaching victims of the quake.

Clemente, himself, decided to accompany the next relief flight, hoping that his presence would ensure that the aid would be delivered to the survivors. The airplane he chartered for a New Year’s Eve ‘72 /‘73 flight, a Douglas DC-7 cargo plane, had a history of mechanical problems and was short the proper flight personnel, missing both a flight engineer and co-pilot. The plane was also overloaded by 4,200 pounds and the weight caused it to crash into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico immediately after takeoff on December 31, 1972. The cause was due to engine failure.

A few days after the crash, the body of the pilot and part of the fuselage of the plane were found. An empty flight case apparently belonging to Clemente was the only personal item recovered from the plane. Clemente’s teammate and close friend in catcher Manny Sanguillén was the only member of the Pittsburgh Pirates not to attend the memorial service. The Pirates catcher chose instead to dive into the waters where Clemente’s plane had crashed in an effort to find his teammate. The bodies of Clemente and three others who were also on the four-engine plane were never recovered.

Clemente was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in a special ceremony in 1973, the Hall waiving the mandatory waiting period of five years. In 1973, the Commissioner’s Achievement Award was re-named the Roberto Clemente Award and it is presented annually to a player, team or group who “best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual’s contribution to his team,” as voted on by baseball fans and members of the media.

Each MLB team nominates a player for consideration. Last season, Nelson Cruz was honored by Baseball and presented with the award during the Postseason.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: First, some business: Fitness company Whoop Inc. is the latest Massachusetts-based technology play to lay-off workers with the uncertainty of the economy stuck with increasing pandemic key indicators. The company, valued at $1 billion in October 2020, confirmed to the Boston Business Journal on Friday it “reduced the size of its corporate team by 15% and reorganized multiple departments. Impacted employees worked across all departments and all levels.” … Back in late 2020, Whoophoped to increase its workforce to 700+ from 330 in place at the time. Sixty percent of the staff was based in Boston, near Fenway Park.

ORIGINAL TEE: There will be a Noon ET shotgun start today as The Original Tee celebrity golf tournament returns at Crystal Springs Resort and Wild Turkey Golf Club, in Hamburg, New Jersey. Original Tee is a culture club that amplifies inclusion in golf by preserving the history of the game’s diverse Black pioneers and celebrating other iconic golf enthusiasts who are ambassadors of excellence. In honor of its 23rd year, OTGC will present Miami Heat champion, USA Basketball Olympic Gold Medalist, FIBA World Champion, NBA Legend, philanthropist, and golf enthusiast Alonzo Mourning with its prestigious True Original Award.

DUKE OF DIMWIT: The move is to “let it go,” but since the great Jerry Westchose to volley-in on the dimwitted comments of J.J. Redick from this past April, it’s cannon fodder once more. Let’s hit the rewind button to note that Redick was comparing the players from one NBA era to another, an impossible concept, to say the least. Redick was noting that the talented players of NBA yesteryear, namely Hall of Famer and six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics, were being guarded by ‘fireman and plumbers’ interjecting that the low paid NBA pioneers of the 1950s and 1960s had to work ‘real jobs’ in the off season to support their families. Redick conveniently overlooked the fact that the likes of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, nevermind West, John Havlicek, Jerry Sloan, Walt Frazierand dozens of other tough-nosed defenders, were among the greatest players the sport of basketball has ever seen.

Now, Cousy and Bill Sharman might’ve struggled to advance the ball past Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in their prime, but so did John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek for arguments sake.

Regardless, West – while doing an interview Friday – took exception and defended Cousy saying, “I know J.J. just a little bit, he’s a very smart kid and everything, but tell me what his career looked like?” West said on Sirius XM NBA Radio.

“What did he do that determined games? He averaged 12 points a game in the league. Somewhere along the way, numbers count. J.J. certainly wasn’t going to guard the elite players. So you can nitpick anyone.

“The only reason I’m talking about him is because he was not an elite player, but he was a very good player, but he had a place on the team because of the ability to shoot the ball.

“Winning is all that mattered, that’s what drove me,” added West. “I subtly got better every year. We didn’t have the facilities to get better. We had to work in the summers to support our family.

“JJ should be very thankful that he’s made as much money as he’s made, and (to say that about) Bob Cousy, whom I played against a couple of years, not very long — I just think it’s disrespectful.”

To wrap this in a bow, a simple question. Why is it that the baseball players of today highly respect the abilities of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, and Roberto Clemente – along with many of the great pitchers of yesteryear like Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax or Tom Seaver, yet the basketball players – like Redick – can’t imagine that the likes of Russell, Chamberlain, Baylor or West would dominate in the NBA of 2022 much the way they did in the NBA of 1965 or 70?

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