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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 27

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House of Horrors (File Photo)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – There’s a load of confusion and a ton of mixed messages being strown about the streets of Washington DC in regard to the future of college athletics, name, image and likeness (NIL) parameters, outside (Private Equity) investments into the Athletics Departments of colleges and universities throughout the land.

The House v. NCAA settlement, which took effect on July 1, 2025, allows for direct payments to college athletes by their schools. This landmark agreement, approved by Judge Claudia Wilken, also includes revenue sharing and roster limits. A key aspect is the $2.8 billion in back damages to be paid to athletes over the next decade (2025-2035). Power 5 NCAA conferences (plus Notre Dame) must follow the new rules, while other Division I schools can choose to opt-in

The settlement also addresses potential future issues with revenue sharing, roster sizes, and NIL regulations. It’s expected to reshape the landscape of college athletics and how athletes are compensated.

This week, between a dump of thousands of previously classified documents on the life and assassination of the legendary Martin Luther King Jr., blatant lies in front of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the suggestion of a new recipe for Coca-Cola – the (NSFW descriptive term deleted) administration decided to issue an executive order to “prop up” college sports by limiting collegiate athletic programs’ ability to steer money toward specific sports like football and basketball at the expense of other sports. The order, which came amid lawmakers’ heightened interest in having Washington play a role in regulating sports and student athletes, “cast the current state of college sports in apocalyptic terms,” according to Politico.

“Absent guardrails to stop the madness and ensure a reasonable, balanced use of resources across collegiate athletic programs that preserves their educational and developmental benefits, many college sports will soon cease to exist,” the executive order stated.

The order requires athletic departments with more than $125 million in revenue during the 2024-2025 season to offer more scholarships in “non-revenue sports” this year than they did the prior year. Programs with less revenue are instructed to maintain or avoid disproportionately reducing such scholarships, or eliminate roster spots. (Sort of a DOGE for scholarships).

Instead of fewer regulations, the United States’ government seems to be “reversing fields” and positioning itself for more regulations to police the business of college sports which – with recent and self-inflicted rule changes – has entered into an era of pay for play and other professional sports-like day-to-day/season-to-season financial operations.

The new executive order calls for the prohibition of the “third-party market of pay-for-play inducements,” but allows athletes to get paid “fair market value” for endorsements or other services. That largely duplicates part of the NCAA/House legal settlement which governs most college sports programs.

Playing it out – instead of the old way of slipping some cash in an envelope for a FedEx delivery or the new way of having billionaire alums directly paying players for their commitment (read transfer via the portal) and at least one year of service – now the billionaire alums must – instead – pay the players to endorse their business, or consumer products.

Surely, the House nor the administration consulted with the various Compliance Officers at each school or the principal’s office (Charlie Baker’s joint) in Indianapolis. Clearly, the early outlines of the proposals seem to be impossible to enforce and quite easy for school boosters to circumvent, especially in the worlds of collegiate football and basketball. And, regardless, those freight trains have already left the station and are chugging their crafty ways toward title contention in the 2025 College Football Playoffs or 2026 NCAA national basketball championship(s) … aka … March Madness.

For Congress, the West Wing and the colleges, Madness is the perfect term.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Long thought of as a nice game for retirement communities or, maybe, Asian and Jewish grandparents, “Mah-jongg” is making a comeback. That trend is being reported via an in-depth story in this weekend’s edition of The Washington Post. It’s gone so far that one group of young mothers in their 30s – looking for a nighttime activity complete with take-out and cocktails – created a make-shift play group they call “Momjong.” DC has its start-up groups while New York hotels including the Ace and the Standard have hosted mah-jongg nights. While the game was played regularly in China in the 1800s, the resurgence in the USA decades ago weent so far that a group of Jewish-American women who were fans of the game, created the National Mah Jongg League in 1937, developing an American style of the game. How long will it take for some investment group to fund the World Pro Mah Jongg League? The line starts to the left.

CALLING COMMISSIONER GORDON: Sports teams in the Big Apple are increasingly fighting over the nickname “Gotham City,” made famous by the popular Batman comic book, 1960s television series and highly successful motion pictures. Most recently, the J-E-T-S of the National Football League placed a claim by revamping their team locker and the phrase “Gotham City Football” was hung over player nameplates in the home team room. In legal action taken on June 12, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied the team’s request to trademark “Gotham City Football” for apparel such as T-shirts, hoodies and caps, according to Sportico. … The dismissal by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office noted that “Gotham City” is geographically descriptive of a physical location that the wider public already knows—in this case, New York City—and physical locations cannot be trademarked. Keep in mind, the Jets represent New York but the team is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, some 38 miles west of the city, and the Jets play their home games 12 miles from NYC in East Rutherford, New Jersey where the club shares the MetLife Stadium facility with the “New York” football Giants. The Jets’ legal team argued that “Gotham City” is not geographically descriptive, but it originated from the iconic DC Comics franchise Batman. However, the USPTO refuted that claim, saying that the “Gotham City” connection to New York City predates the Dark Knight, when writer Washington Irving first coined the nickname of the city in 1807 in a literary magazine. The Jets franchise was founded in 1959 as the New York Titans and became the J-E-T-S in 1963 when they joined the New York Metropolitans (Mets) at the then-brand spanking new Shea Stadium. Sportico noted, “Gotham has become an increasingly crowded territory for sports IP. Sky Blue FC of the National Women’s Soccer League’s rebranded as NJ/NY Gotham FC—nickname: the Bats—in 2021. The club’s governor, Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, is from the family that co-owns the Giants.” And, adding to the confusion, last year, the YES Network and MSG Networks announced a new streaming team-up, Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment (GAME). Tri-State dwellers can now watch the Knicks and Yankees via the Gotham Sports App on their mobile devices where they can also watch Batman, Robin and Commissioner Jim Gordon fight crime in Gotham City. To resolve the confusion, maybe it’s time to grab an Alfred App, unless someone wants to resurrect the Cape Crusaders, a soccer team that played in the USL Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid from 1994 to 2008 before the franchise folded.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The next time you question the call of a Major League Baseball umpire, you might want to look up his full record. To do so, visit Umpire Scorecards online where the site checks the calls – accurate and not – for every MLB umpire, including balls and strikes. …

THIS JEST IN: Nick Kurtz, a rookie for MLB’s Athletics, hit four home runs on Friday night, an all-time record for major league rookies. Going a perfect 6-for-6 with the four HRs, Kurtz became the first A’s player in franchise history with a four-homer game, the first rookie in MLB history with a four-homer game, and the 20th major league player, overall, to accomplish the feat.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: Ripped from the pages of Variety, or maybe an episode of Law & Order, here’s this week’s edition of YCMIU:

On July 19th, Rapper GloRilla was arrested on felony drug charges after a burglary occurred at her home near Atlanta, Georgia, according to Atlanta’s WSB-TV and TMZ. She then performed at the WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis that night. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the Atlanta-based media outlet that authorities were called to a home owned by GloRilla, whose real name is Gloria Hallelujah Woods, at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning. The rapper then performed at the WNBA All-Star game in Indianapolis that evening, playing a medley of her songs “Let Her Cook,” “Typa” and “TGIF” at the Gainsbridge Fieldhouse. She surrendered to authorities at the Forsyth County Jail on Tuesday and was released shortly afterward, posting a $22,260 bond.

Investigators said three suspects went into the home when Woods was not present and were robbing the residence when an unidentified individual inside the building fired a gun at them. The burglars escaped and investigators do not believe they were injured. During the investigation, officers smelled drugs and found a “significant amount of marijuana” in a bedroom closet. Woods was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. “The homeowner is a victim of a serious crime, and we are committed to bringing the suspects to justice,” Sheriff Ron Freeman told WSB-TV. “At the same time, we must continue to uphold and enforce the law in all aspects of this case.”

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 6

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on the Caitlin Clark Effect

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Aside from Olga Korbut’s phenomenal acrobatics in women’s gymnastics when the Belarusian pixie did a back flip off the uneven parallel bars at the 1972 Olympic Games, basketball’s Caitlin Clark has made more impact on a sport than any women’s athlete in history.

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Korbut’s three gold medals and a silver in ‘72 encouraged a generation of young female athletes to join gymnastics teams and clubs all around the world. Her impact, however, was limited to participation – which is not bad. Clark’s impact has a much wider ranging global effect on the sport of basketball, as it crosses previously perceived notions in place for casual vs core fans, gender, technology and ticket sales. Clark brings people to her games – in person or via television/streaming – and she does so in bigger numbers than any performer on earth.

“In my lifetime, we had Muhammad Ali, we had Michael Jordan, we had Tiger Woods, and to me, it’s early, but we have Caitlin Clark,” said John Kosner, a former ESPN, NBA and CBS Sports executive turned industry consultant, to The Athletic. “People who don’t care and don’t follow the sport that she plays (in) have been driven not just to watch, but to watch avidly.”

Since her collegiate basketball days at Iowa, Clark has drawn both male and female viewers to the screen like only Jordan did. But, consider the fact Jordan was “just another guy” on Dean Smith’s great North Carolina teams but was the fourth freshman to start his first college game for head coach Smith, following Phil Ford, Mike O’Koren and James Worthy. Jordan scored 12 points against Kansas in Charlotte on Nov. 28, 1981, in his first game as a Tar Heel and it was often joked that Coach Smith was the only guy to hold MJ under 20 points a game.

Jordan’s fame grew upon hitting the winning shot in the 1982 NCAA national championship game against Georgetown and blossomed when he led Team USA to a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics after his junior season at Carolina. He led the USA in scoring with 137 points in eight games (17.1 ppg), including a game-high 20 points in the gold medal game against Spain.

He entered the pros as the No. 3 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft and gradually built his following and his game to now legendary status. It did take Jordan seven years to win his first NBA title.

Clark entered the WNBA on another stratosphere. She mirrored the career of the great Hall of Famer, shooter, scorer and showman Pete Maravich, and broke his record to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball history (men’s or women’s game). Although her Iowa team won three consecutive Big Ten championships, an NCAA title eluded her as her Iowa teams lost two consecutive national championship games, first to LSU (2022-23), then to South Carolina (2023-24).

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Not only did Clark put up record-breaking numbers in points, three-pointers and assists, she also was directly responsible for the 2023 national championship game becoming the most-viewed women’s college basketball game in history (9.9 million). In 2024, the number grew to 18.9 million viewers, more than the men’s Final Four.

Although she had a fifth year of eligibility remaining (because of the COVID-19 pandemic), Clark chose to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft and was the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever. The record-breaking numbers continued. The Fever set a franchise single-season attendance record, and their regular season finale set the league’s all-time attendance record (20,711), that coming after she drew 55,646 to a game against DePaul in college.

With that incredible but partial career in the history books, the more current narrative seems to be growing in scope and that is the fact Clark is playing under her collectively bargained WNBA rookie contract salary of $78,066 (part of a four-year contract worth $338,056). As recently as June 30th, The Athletic asked if Clark was worth $1 billion to the WNBA, and they made comparisons to a 1997 economic study of Jordan’s value to the NBA by MIT and Cambridge academics.

Sports business publications, such as Sportico, estimate that Clark earns as much as $11 million a year in off-court sponsorships. She awaits a signature shoe (2026) to be made and marketed by Nike and, until then, wears a Kobe Bryant Nike shoe. In addition, the WNBA and its players are working on a new collective bargaining agreement which will surely increase player salaries overall, but until the new deal is struck, Clark can only dream of the $249,244 supermax salary earned by only a handful of WNBA stars.

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The WNBA comparisons to the more established NBA league/player salaries become shockingly inadequate, but consider this fact: The WNBA is in its 28th season, starting in 1997. The NBA’s 28th season of 1974 produced salaries that were well under the WNBA numbers of today. Even if you spin the clock to 1983 when the NBA first introduced the maximum team salary concept, the league set the 1984-85 team limit at $3.6 million and had to grandfather five teams already over that cap. In the 1972-74 range, the average NBA salary was about $90,000 and the superstars, like Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made $250,000. Of course, the average household income back then might’ve been about $6,500 and a gallon of gasoline was .36 cents, but I digress.

The larger point, which I made in this space once before when Clark was drafted, is that it’s not fair to draw comparisons in salaries, expansion, nor league health between the WNBA of 2025 with the NBA of 2025. In those comparison, pundits seem to forget about the growing pains the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) plunged through in the ‘40s and ‘50s, never mind the 1960s when the likes of Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn fought for unionization of the players.

In 1974, there were three broadcast networks which aired sports programming primarily on weekend afternoons. Cable TV and regional sports networks were in their infancy. North American based sports leagues barely televised a minute of their programming internationally. The WNBA of 1997 entered the marketplace with a globally polished big brother quite advanced in the worldwide marketing of its stars.

The NBA of 1976 watched collegiate players compete for the USA in the Olympic Games of Montreal. The WNBA rode into existence on the cusp of the USA Basketball women’s national team winning the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games while drawing sellout crowds of 32,997 at the Georgia Dome. The final game was the culmination of a 100,000 mile, 6-game world tour where the US went undefeated. In ‘96, the total attendance for men’s and women’s basketball games, 1,093,388, established an Olympic record. The 16 sessions of women’s basketball games attracted 478,061, an average of 29,879 – that’s with or without the United States playing.

The 1992 Olympics were all about the Dream Team. The ‘96 Olympics were all women’s sports, including athletics (track & field), basketball, gymnastics, softball, swimming, synchronized swimming, tennis and soccer.

Caitlin Clark, born January 22, 2002, might not’ve picked up a basketball if it weren’t for Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swooper, Theresa Edwards and the ‘96 USA Basketball women, in the same manner as Michael Jordan would never have been Michael Jordan if it weren’t for Julius Erving, Connie Hawkins and Elgin Baylor coming before his day.

The message?

  • Ease up – Let Caitlin be Caitlin and give her some time and space.
  • Lay off – Stop with the salary comparisons and the unfair weight being placed on Clark’s shoulders.
  • Understand the fact – The foundation for women’s sports is rock solid, established firmly by Title IX in 1972 but gradually built upon.
  • The future is bright – Clark will do her part, yes, but others will come along. Relish in the moment and look forward to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles where women’s basketball might be the toughest ticket in town.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The world-famous Harlem Globetrotters will be hosting the club’s first-ever open tryouts to help select athletes for their Centennial season in 2026. The Globetrotters’ tryouts will take place in the early fall with the final team being assembled and announced in November. The organization’s goal is to expand and elevate the talent within its ranks and to act as competitive offering for men and women hoopers around the globe for 2026

The Globies continue to add athletic team members, which has been reflected in recent years in the signing of former LSU captain Alexis Morris and this past year with the addition of 6-5 rookie forward Asanti “Cash” Price (Columbia, SC), who signed a contract with the NBA G League’s Texas Legends, the affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. Price was one of six rookies signed to the Globetrotters this past November and had the option to return to the club when his G League time ended, which he did.

“We are creating one of the most unique, once in a lifetime opportunities for talented athletes and entertainers,” said Keith Dawkins, President, Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios. “The (opportunity is) to be part of the Centennial of the most iconic global sports and entertainment property. The right athletes will have that special element of ‘showpersonship’ that the Globetrotters have been known for. It should make for a fun and exciting way to uncover our next group of stars.”

This past year, Globetrotter athletes set a high bar for excellence on and off the court, bringing their talents to 50 locations around the world and an additional 46 cities in North America. The Globetrotters anticipate bringing in approximately 30 athletes to the tryout. It will be the first step of a months-long process in selecting the athletes for the Centennial team. Over the many years, the Globetrotters legacy has seen athletes ranging from Wilt Chamberlain to Connie Hawkins to to Lynette Woodward create lasting memories in the basketball world.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Nothing says PAC-12 like Texas State … Novak Djokovic, who has won seven of his 24 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon, added another incredible milestone Saturday as he became just the third player in the history of the grass-court tournament to reach 100 victories, joining nine-time winner Martina Navratilova and eight-time champion Roger Federer as the only players to have reached the century mark in victories at Wimbledon.

AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE: As teased back in March, the NBA Melbourne Games 2025 will mark the first time an NBA team will play official exhibition games in Australia. The New Orleans Pelicans will open the 2025 preseason with two friendly games against the National Basketball League’s (NBL) Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix. The games will be played Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park, with the NBL serving as the official promoter and organizer of the NBA x NBL Melbourne Series. … In 2000, USA Basketball faced the Australian national team in a friendly at the Laver Arena before the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games.

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RED SOX STARTER: Lucas Giolito recorded his fifth consecutive outing of at least 6.0 innings pitched (IP) with two or fewer earned runs allowed. It’s the longest such streak of his career, and longest by a Red Sox pitcher since Brayan Bello also tossed five straight from 6/11-7/5/23 … Since June 10, Giolito’s gone 4-0 while posting a 0.83 ERA (3 ER/32.2 IP) with 31 strikeouts. The last Red Sox pitcher to throw 30.0+ IP with an ERA that low over a five game span was Chris Sale in 2018.

USA! USA! Care to spend your 4th of July in Switzerland? That’s what the USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team did and they’ll have one more game for the gold medal. The US advanced to the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup Final after a 120-64 semifinals drubbing of New Zealand in Lausanne. The Americans will face Germany, winners over Slovenia, 84-72, in the other semifinal. The game for the Gold will be Sunday, July 6, at 2:00pm (ET). (See USAB.com)

WHAT WILL DAME DO? The Milwaukee Bucks waived injured guard Damian Lillard to pave the way to sign former Indiana Pacers bigman Myles Turner. The Bucks will be responsible for some $113 million owed to the injured sharpshooter. Once Lillard recuperates from his Achilles injury, he’s likely to play one or two more NBA seasons, as long as the rehabilitation goes well.

The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag have opened lines for Lillard’s next team and they are as follows:

  • Miami Heat 4/1
  • Denver Nuggets 5/1
  • Portland Trail Blazers 6/1
  • Los Angeles Lakers 7/1
  • Minnesota Timberwolves 8/1
  • Boston Celtics 9/1
  • San Antonio Spurs 9/1
  • New York Knicks 12/1
  • Houston Rockets 14/1
  • Indiana Pacers 16/1
  • Sacramento Kings 16/1
  • Orlando Magic 22/1
  • Detroit Pistons 25/1
  • Golden State Warriors 25/1
  • Toronto Raptors 28/1
  • Dallas Mavericks 33/1
  • Los Angeles Clippers 33/1
  • Memphis Grizzlies 33/1
  • Oklahoma City Thunder 33/1
  • Phoenix Suns 33/1
  • Atlanta Hawks 40/1
  • Chicago Bulls 40/1
  • Cleveland Cavaliers 40/1
  • Brooklyn Nets 45/1
  • Charlotte Hornets 45/1
  • New Orleans Pelicans 45/1
  • Philadelphia 76ers 50/1
  • Utah Jazz 50/1
  • Washington Wizards 50/1

THIS JEST IN: The regular season DOES matter. The PGA Tour has restructured the distribution of playoff bonuses, including the FedEx Cup champion this season earning $10 million in prize money instead of $25 million as in the past two years.

The new payouts from the $100 million total in bonus money were revealed weeks after an announcement in May that the Tour Championship’s “starting strokes” format will be eliminated, according to the PGATourCom site. The season-ending tournament in August where the Top 30 players compete, following two previous playoff events, will be a standard 72-hole stroke-play tournament held at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

The new three-tier system will reward golfers based on the FedEx Cup points standings after the regular-season finale at the Wyndham Championship (the top 10 splitting $20 million, with No. 1 getting $10 million), and after the second playoff event, the BMW Championship (top 30 splitting $23.93 million, with No. 1 getting $5 million).

The Tour Championship winner will get $10 million of the remaining prize money ($57.08 million), with the rest will be paid out to the other 29 players based on their finishes. Players ranked Nos. 31-150, eliminated from the Tour Championship round, will divide $17.08 million.

The PGA Tour cited its reasoning, noting, “To account for the increased volatility of the final event, reward season-long performance and recognize the significance of the FedEx Cup, the FedEx Cup bonus distributions for the Top 30 positions were rebalanced,” the PGA Tour posted on its website.

It almost goes without stating, the TOUR needs to set its rules and stick to them. The constant changing and experimenting with the postseason, including eliminating the “quarterfinal” event in Boston, has cost the circuit incredibly. But, the decision to finish before the NFL regular season began was justification for the tightening of the overall schedule which begins each January.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 1

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – For the final leg of the great trifecta of Spring Thoroughbred Horse Racing (no Triple Crown hype this season), the horse trailers will detour at the George Washington Bridge and head north to the wonderful, picturesque town of Saratoga Springs.

Belmont Park is currently under a total re-construction – if it were Madison Square Garden, they’d call it a transformation. By all accounts, the work is on schedule and racing will return to Elmont in the Fall of 2026. Until then, the dingy Aqueduct Raceway in Queens will host racing in the city, while Saratoga Race Course will be the jewel of the 1+mile and 1⁄4 (10 furlongs), instead of the traditional mile and a half (12 furlongs).

The 157th running of the Belmont Stakes is this coming Saturday, June 7, 2025 at approximately 6:50pm EDT. Television coverage will be provided (in the USA) by Fox Sports.

Back in December, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $455 million renovation plan for Belmont Park and the ensuing move of the Belmont Stakes to Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs (UpState NY) for the interim, with construction expected to last into late 2025 or early 2026.

Renovations are well underway, and NY 12 television had an early look at the progress, along with some artists’ renditions of what the “new” Belmont will look like, come 2026.

As a bit of a tease, the sport of thoroughbred horse racing announced this week that new Belmont Park was selected to host the 2027 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, one of Thoroughbred racing’s most prestigious international festivals.

The news was released as part of a multiyear announcement that named Keeneland Race Course in Lexington as the 2026 host site for the Breeders’ Cup, underscoring an ongoing commitment from Breeders’ Cup Limited to promote horse racing and invest in its future. Since its founding in 1984, the non-profit organization has given back more than $1 billion to the industry in purses, awards, and charitable donations while conducting the World Championships at 12 elite racetracks across North America.

“The Breeders’ Cup and New York Racing Association (NYRA) share a deep commitment to quality and distinction, making the new Belmont Park a prime venue to host the 2027 Breeders’ Cup World Championships,” said Drew Fleming, President & CEO of Breeders’ Cup Limited. “The return of the Breeders’ Cup to New York has been years in the making, and we thank Governor Hochul for supporting a new Belmont Park and a New York Breeders’ Cup. The re-imagined Belmont Park will provide an exceptional stage for the world’s greatest racehorses and participants as we welcome contenders and fans from around the globe.”

Central to the Belmont Park redevelopment is a 300,000-square foot, five-story building featuring the modern amenities and hospitality offerings sports fans have come to expect, while the new facility will unlock the massive infield to provide fans and the community with more green space than ever before. In addition, NYRA is completely renovating the existing main dirt track and two turf courses while adding an all-weather synthetic surface.

“A new Belmont Park is taking shape on Long Island because of the leadership and vision of Gov. Hochul, whose support for horse racing and understanding of its positive economic impact have paved the way for the return of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships to New York in 2027,” said David O’Rourke, NYRA President & CEO. “New York’s racing fans and participants have longed to host this event since it was last held at Belmont in 2005, and we thank the Breeders’ Cup for making that a reality.”

Travers Day (Saturday, August 23) is the centerpiece of the summer season at Saratoga with the $1,250,000 purse awaiting the winners. The Travers is Saratoga’s most famous race, and attracts many of the same elite horses that run in the three Triple Crown horse races.

Then it’s onward to the new Belmont.

In a return more than 20 years in the making, Belmont Park will welcome the Breeders’ Cup in 2027 for a fifth time after hosting in 1990, 1995, 2001, and 2005.

The Breeders’ Cup at Belmont Park will be held Oct. 29-30, 2027, but race dates are pending approval by the New York State Gaming Commission.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The sport of Volleyball has Beach Volleyball. The sport of Rugby (15 players) has Rugby Sevens (obviously, seven players). The sport of Basketball has 3×3. The Sport of American Football has Flag Football and now the sport of Baseball is investing heavily in softball. MLB reportedly purchased a stake in Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) as part of its efforts to grow the league ahead of its 2025 inaugural season, MLB said in a statement. The league will work to help raise the profile of the new softball league and its athletes through editorial, social media activities, marketing, events and game/highlights distribution, airing some AUSL games on MLB Network and streaming on MLB.com. Baseball purchased an equity stake worth more than 20% in the company.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Former Boston Bruins defenseman Zedeno Charawas selected for induction into the IIHF Hall of Fame. … The Boston Red Sox are currently in a stretch during which 18 of their 27 games from May 26-to-June 25 are on the road, including a season-long, nine-game road trip from June 16-25 to Seattle, San Francisco, and LA Angels (three games each series). … The LA Angels stop in to Fenway Park this week for a three game set of Boston’s three-game home stand. … At The Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, Scottie Scheffler birdied four of his last five holes, finishing with a birdie from just inside 15 feet. He took the third round lead when 18-h ole leader Ben Griffin missed a 3-foot par putt on the final hole. Scheffler opened the third round with 13 straight pars. Scheffler is the the reigning (2024) Memorial champion who last year became the fourth winner of the tournament to go on to win the FedEx Cup in the same season, There were three such winners in the last four years: (Viktor Hovland/2023, Patrick Cantlay/2021), and Tiger Woods did it in 2009. A playoff has decided the Memorial Tournament (presented by Workday) in six of the last 11 years, so tune into CBS Sports this afternoon. … Seattle’s Cal Raleigh is on pace for 57 home runs this season, which would be easily the most by a primary catcher in a single season. Kansas City’s Salvador Perez holds the record with 48 homers in 2021. Raleigh’s first dinger Friday night made him the first catcher to hit 20 home runs before the end of May.

JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Paige Bueckers of the WNBA’s Dallas Wings returned to Connecticut and scored a career high 21 points as Dallas won its first game of the season, beating the Sun 109-87 this week. Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, shot 8-for-10 from the field and added seven assists and five rebounds. Bueckers kept her perfect record at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena, where the Sun play their home games. The rookie went 15-0 at the Sun’s building in college while playing for UConn, including winning four Big East championships with the Huskies.

Bueckers was placed into concussion protocol after her club’s loss to the Chicago Sky (May 29th). Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA draft, will be reevaluated after this week’s game against the Seattle Storm. She’ll miss at least two games.
Zion Williamson was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 1 pick at the 2019 NBA Draft (Photo by T. Peter Lyons)

The No. 1 pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans has struggled through numerous injuries on the court b ut must now face serious charges in court. A woman has accused the Pelicans forward of alleged rape in addition to “sexual, physical, emotional and financial” abuse over the span of a multiyear relationship, according to a lawsuit submitted to Los Angeles Superior Court this week.

As of publication, neither reps of Williamson nor the team have commented on the charges.

Lower body injuries that have limited Williamson to 30 or fewer games in three of his five NBA seasons and he sat out the entire 2021-22 season due to injury.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 25

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Not this weekend, but next, the PGA Tour will make its way to Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio to stage “The Memorial,” in honor of the greatest golfer of his time, Jack Nicklaus. The current World No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, will look to defend his title at the highly competitive event where Nicklaus, himself, presents the honors to the winner and is standing on the 18th green to shake hands and congratulate the PGA Tour pro who finishes atop the leaderboard.

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While you might think Nicklaus’ tournament is a tribute to the military, it is actually a tribute to the great golfers who’ve contributed to the game. The official tournament site puts it bluntly, “to honor the memory of individuals living and deceased who have distinguished themselves in the game of golf.”

That’s pretty good, as you don’t have to be dead to be honored. A novel idea.

But “The Memorial” golf tournament nicely marks the start of summer while the federal holiday is to honor and mourn the military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Recognizing the holiday began in 1868 and was known as “Decoration Day,” suggested by Commander John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic to honor the Union soldiers who had died in the American Civil War.

Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) which is a federal holiday in the United States, observed annually on November 11th. Both days honor military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Veteran’s Day coincides with holidays in several countries, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which also occur on the anniversary of the end of World War I.

While Memorial Day most years brings somber thoughts of the brave soldiers who fought and made the ultimate sacrifice in conflicts and wars all over the world, this year, and in my mind, this Memorial Day 2025 will be dedicated to a selfless servant of his community who lost his life after a lengthy battle vs. illness.

But now, my customary zig-zag.

Carl Richard “Dick” Gumina passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by his loving family, on April 5, 2025, at the age of 91. Mr. Gumina was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Rosemary and his son, Carl “Rick” Gumina Jr.. His funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Trinity Church in Upstate, New York on May 20th.

He is survived by a small army of sons, brothers, nephews, nieces and in-laws, and was the cherished “Poppi” to 12 grandchildren – Jamie (m Rob), Josh (m Jen), Ricky, Joey, Justin (m Emily), Tyler, Jack, Grace, Adriana, Christopher, James, and Katherine – and a proud “Great Poppi” to four great-grandchildren.

Christopher, James and Katherine are my nephews and niece, as I’m related to Mr. Gumina’s son, William (Buddy), through marriage.

Mr. Gumina grew up in Buffalo Bills territory – near Rochester, NY, and received degree from SUNY-Brockport and a master’s degree from Syracuse University. Professionally, Dick was a beloved guidance counselor at Pittsford Sutherland High School, (11 miles from his residence in Webster) where he spent nearly 40 years inspiring students.

The Rochester-area obituary notifying a legion of co-workers, students, neighbors and friends of his passing told a little more about a man who embodied the “Greatest Generation.”

“Dick was a masterful teacher in every sense of the word,” it read. “He shared his passions, including fishing, gardening, woodworking, and card-playing, with family and friends, though no one ever managed to beat him at euchre, his favorite card game. He listened with patience, loved unconditionally, and offered wisdom without judgment.

“Dick had a deep appreciation for the simple joys of life: classic movies and television (especially MeTV), loud laughter, and moments shared with those he loved. Though his presence will be profoundly missed, his legacy of love, laughter, and generosity will live on in the hearts of all who were lucky enough to know him.

And, a key item included that tells all of everything they’d want to remember:

“Showing the same selflessness in death as in life, Dick donated his body to the University of Rochester Medical School and, as a result, interment will be held at a later date.”

Yes, Mr. Gumina, the greatest of the Greatest Generation with 91 years living a life well done, as he served his important vocation , caring for his students and his family. And, in death, he is still teaching. And, while he can no longer enjoy everything life has to offer, he is doing what he can do and it’s saving lives.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Boston Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks allowed three runs on three hits in a Red Sox loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday. By Friday, he’d had enough. Social media accounts via Twitter (x), Instagram, TikTok and others were filled with hateful messages and even some death threats to Hendriks and his wife and family. “This is almost a daily occurrence for almost everyone in this clubhouse,” said Hendriks Friday morning, prior to a (rained out) doubleheader against the Orioles. “That’s the upsetting part, and it’s not being controlled in the right way.”

Hendriks decided that no one else in Major League Baseball, nor the various social media companies was acting, so he took it upon himself to call attention to the issue, gathering the assembled media around his clubhouse locker and inviting local radio station WEEI to broadcast the entire discussion and Q & A session. The Red Sox owned TV station, NESN, later televised news clips.

“With the rise of sports gambling, it’s gotten a lot worse,” said Hendriks. “Unfortunately, that tends to be what it ends up being – whether it be Venmo requests (for money, presumably to reimburse gamblers for their debts), whether it be people telling you in their comments that I was like, ‘Hey, you blew my parlay. Go [expletive] yourself.’ … And then it’s, ‘Go hang yourself. You should kill yourself. I wish you died from cancer.’ That one kind of hit a little too close to home for me with everything I’ve gone through,” said the reliever who was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January 2023.

“This is something that is deplorable,” said Hendriks. “There needs to be some sort of punishment so that people can think twice before they start doing this stuff,” he said. “At some point, everyone just sucking it up and dealing with it isn’t accomplishing anything. We pass it along to MLB security. We pass it along to whoever we need to. But nothing ends up happening and it happens again the next night.”

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Anyone want to buy former Celtics great Kevin Garnett’s Boston area (Concord, Mass) home? A pretty $5.9m will get the job done. Here’s the listing. Gotta love the plunge pool. … Washington Caps’ team captain and goal scoring machine Alex Ovechkin is the 2024-25 recipient of the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award, presented “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey.” Messier solicits suggestions from team and League personnel to compile a list of potential candidates for the award. However, the selection of the winner is Messier’s alone.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge hit the longest home run of his career, a 496-foot shot at Yankee Stadium in 2017. This week, interestingly enough, Judge just hit his shortest homer at The Stadium (326 feet).

ALL-NBA: There was little doubt as to the five members of the All-NBA first team as four of the five received the maximum (unanimous selection) 500 voting points in the media balloting and the other was an overwhelming favorite.

The unanimous choices were:

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City
  • Nikola Jokić, Denver
  • Jayson Tatum, Boston

Tatum’s selection makes him the fifth Celtics player to earn at least four First Team honors, joining Bob Cousy (10), Larry Bird (nine), John Havlicek (four), and Bill Sharman (four). Tatum is the first Celtic since Bird (1980-88) to earn at least four straight selections to the First Team.

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell joined the four unanimous selectees by garnering 61 first team votes. The next in line was second team All-NBA member LeBron James with 17 first team votes. Alperen Sengun of Houston fell 10 points shy of making the third team All-NBA.

Gilgeous-Alexander was named Most Valuable Player in the NBA earlier in the week.

TL’s Sunday Notes | May 11

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2025: The Cooper Flagg NBA Draft Lottery

BOSTON – Just think of the excitement which would’ve surrounded the 1953 NBA Draft if there was a Lottery for the rights to select Ray Felix. Or, maybe, a better example would’ve been the nationwide hype in 1958, when the great Elgin Baylor – a sure fire NBA Top 10 talent – was available as the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

Later, there were coin flips between the worst team in the East and the worst of the West to determine the team to gain the rights to the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. But the Houston Rockets changed everything when they somehow maneuvered to select College Player of the Year Ralph Sampson (1983) and the great Hakeem Olajuwon(1984) in consecutive drafts.

Starting a year later, the NBA Draft Lottery was introduced, and the prize was Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing, a franchise player, who went to the New York Knicks. There have been other franchise players – some call them generational talents and others call them transformational players. Let’s list just a few with the teams and years they were drafted:

  • 1985 – Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks
  • 1987 – David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs
  • 1992 – Shaquille O’Neal, Orlando Magic
  • 1996 – Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers
  • 1997 – Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
  • 2002 – Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
  • 2003 – LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
  • 2023 – Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

Purposely left off the list above are the No. 1 picks in the NBA Draft Lottery era from Duke University:

  • 1999 – Elton Brand, Chicago Bulls
  • 2011 – Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
  • 2019 – Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
  • 2022 – Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

That’s not a bad list of No. 1 picks from Duke, but there’s another player on the line this year, and he might – just might – be destined for the transformational player category, a true franchise man and a player who will make everyone around him much better.

Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound 18-year-old with one collegiate basketball season under his belt, leading Duke and garnering every Player of the Year honor in the nation, is destined for greatness as the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft.

Yes, the conspiracy theorists are already dreaming up reasons for Flagg to be channeled to some NBA franchise in need. Here are the odds for this year’s event:

1. Utah Jazz: 14%

2. Washington Wizards: 14%

3. Charlotte Hornets: 14%

4. New Orleans Pelicans: 12.5%

5. Philadelphia 76ers: 10.5% – The Sixers’ first-round pick is top-6 protected; if it falls between 7-14, it will go to Oklahoma City

6. Brooklyn Nets: 9%

7. Toronto Raptors: 7.5%

8. San Antonio Spurs: 6%

9. Phoenix Suns: 3.8% – The Suns’ first-round pick will go to Houston

10. Portland Trail Blazers: 3.7%

11. Dallas Mavericks: 1.8%

12. Chicago Bulls: 1.7%

13. Sacramento Kings: 0.8% – The Kings’ first-round pick is top-12 protected; if it falls out of that range, it goes to Atlanta

14. Atlanta Hawks: 0.7% – The Hawks’ first-round pick will go to San Antonio

*Take that 0.7% and add it to the Spurs’ 6%, and San Antonio has a 6.7% chance of drafting three consecutive NBA Rookies of the Year.

While we all hesitate to put the pressure on and place Cooper Flagg in the same sentence as Larry Bird, truth be told, Flagg is much more like Larry Bird than he is Uwe Blab. Flagg does not score the ball anywhere near as well as Bird did, nor is it expected he can turn a franchise around completely the way Bird transformed the Boston Celtics, and he was 23 years old as a rookie (compared to Flagg being 18).

Remember, the Celtics’ records before and after Bird joined the club?

  • 1978-79 – 29-53 (10th in East) – (Before Larry Bird)
  • 1979-80 – 61-21 (1st in East)
  • 1980-81 – 62-20 (NBA Champions)

Of course, Bird worked with a team and frontline reconstructed by GM Red Auerbachto add Bird to rookie power forward Kevin McHale and veteran center Robert Parish. And, as the great Charles Barkley famously quipped when questioning Bird’s ability to make ‘everyone around him better,’ – “Who’s it easier to make better? Kevin McHale or Shelton Jones?”

At 18 years of age, Flagg plays the game with an ease and ability to move and pass the ball on offense – almost in an Earvin “Magic” Johnson manner, rather than Bird. Flagg rebounds and defends at a rate higher than most collegiate senions, nevermind freshmen. At times, he’d create viral video highlights or posterize his opponent, but regularly, he’d score within the basic flow of the game, make big plays and passes while helping his teammates out on defense. Flagg’s game translates to the pro game but it will take two or three years for him to mature, grow and strengthen his body to compete at the highest level.

Flagg is joining an NBA with immensely talented players, many long/lengthy 6-8, 6-9 frames with the wingspan of a 747 and jumping ability of Darnell Hillman (look him up). Bird joined a much more physical, big man dominated league (think NY’s Marvin “The Human Eraser” Williams-Bill Cartwright or even Washington’s Elvin Hayes-Rick Mahorn-Jeff Ruland style players).

Neither era is better or worse, easier or harder to adjust to coming from the 30+ game college season to the 82+ playoff grind of the NBA. Time, coaching, maturity and a complementary teammate pool determines success in the NBA. But surely Flagg is destined for success, no matter which NBA team he ends up playing for in 2025-26.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday did a little double duty in the NBA Awards category this season. On May 1, Holiday was named the recipient of the 2024-25 NBA Sportsmanship Award and won the Joe Dumars Trophy. The veteran guard became the first member of the Boston Celtics to win the award since its inception in 1995-96. On Wednesday, the NBA announced Holiday was named the 2024-25 NBA Social Justice Champion and will receive the Kareem Abdul-JabbarTrophy. Holiday was selected from a group of five finalists for pursuing social justice and advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s life mission to engage, empower and drive equality for individuals and groups who have been historically disadvantaged. Finalists for the award were Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Harrison Barnes (San Antonio Spurs), Chris Boucher (Toronto Raptors) and CJ McCollum (New Orleans Pelicans).

WHATEVER YOU NEED: From the moments after Tristan Casas barreled down the first base line, clipped the leg of Minnesota Twins first baseman Ty France and tumbled down, rupturing his left patellar (knee) tendon, the Boston Red Sox were contemplating the best fix for the line-up. The immediate answer was to insert RomyGonzalez, a competent batsman who was already seeing time at 1B. A longer-range plan was to consider having 2025 designated hitter Rafael Devers take reps at first, thus allowing manager Alex Coro to fill the DH position depending on player availability and need.

When Spring Training began, the Red Sox asked Devers to “take one for the team” and shift from his usual third base position to DH, in order to place the golden glove fielding Alex Bregman at the hot corner. Undoubtedly, Bregman is a better fielder than Devers, but the elder mainstay of the Sox turned ornery upon hearing of the plans.

On Thursday afternoon, after the Red Sox blanked the Texas Rangers, 5-0, the topic of switching Devers to 1B surfaced yet again. And when Devers was asked if he was upset over the inquiry, he responded in Spanish, “Sí, claro.” – (Yes, of course).

Through Boston’s Spanish-language translator Daveson Perez to a group of reporters, Devers said, ““They’ve told me I’m a little hard-headed. [But] they already asked me to change once, and this time, I don’t think I can be as flexible. I don’t feel that they stayed true to their word. They told me that I was going to be playing this position, DH, and now they’re going back on that. So I just don’t think they stayed true to their word,” Devers repeated.

“I don’t understand some of the decisions that [Craig Breslow] makes. Next thing you know someone in the outfield gets hurt and they want me to play in the outfield. I think I know the kind of player that I am, and that’s just where I stand.”

THIS JEST IN: In addition to the locker drama created this past Thursday when Devers aired his point of view on a 2024-25 switch from 3B-to-DH-to-1B, the veteran said, “In Spring Training, they talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove and I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH.”

So much for the “Oh, put me in, coach, I’m ready to play today. Put me in, coach, I’m ready to play today, look at me (yeah), I can be centerfield” approach. (Apologies to John Fogerty).

To help resolve the situation, Red Sox principal team owner John Henry flew to Kansas City to join the team on its current road trip.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: As is customary in this space, the good people of SPORTICO have graced the sports industry with a fine list of the 50 most valuable soccer teams in the world. Here’s a Top 10 taste (All in billions of the US Dollar):

  1. Real Madrid – $6.53
  2. Manchester United – $6.09
  3. FC Barcelona – $5.71
  4. Liverpool – $5.59
  5. Bayern Munich – $5.21
  6. Manchester City – $5.16
  7. Arsenal – $4.49
  8. Paris Saint-Germain – $4.26
  9. Tottenham Hotspur – $3.68
  10. Chelsea – $3.57

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 4

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The 1999 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs in Milan

By TERRY LYONS. Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Earlier this week, Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs announced Popovich will transition from head coach to president of basketball operations. In 29 seasons as the Spurs head coach, Popovich amassed 1,422 regular season wins, the most in NBA history. During his tenure, the Spurs captured five NBA championships.

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“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” said Popovich. “I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me.”

After joining the Spurs in the summer of 1988, as an assistant coach on Larry Brown’s staff, Popovich enjoyed a 37-year career in the NBA as a coach and executive. He spent two seasons, from 1992-94, as an assistant coach for Don Nelson with the Golden State Warriors. His other 35 NBA seasons have all been in San Antonio with the Spurs, making him the longest tenured professional coach among the four major North American leagues.

Popovich’s pre-NBA career is, perhaps, more amazing than his run in the league. As noted in Military dot com, Popovich was born in East Chicago in 1949, the first child of Raymond and Katherine. His father, a steel-mill pipefitter, had served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

As a youngster, Popovich did well in school academically, but “was the biggest wiseass you ever saw, and all I gave a damn about was playing ball,” he told the U.S. Army Installation Management Command in a 2012 interview. He enrolled in the Air Force Academy, and played basketball for the Air Force Academy in El Paso County, Colorado, just north of Colorado Springs.

Popovich majored in Soviet studies and graduated in 1970 after starting all four years for AF basketball where he was team captain and the leading scorer for the Falcons his senior season at the academy.

Then, it got very interesting.

Popovich served in the Air Force for the required five years of active duty, during which he toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union with the U.S. Armed Forces basketball team. After graduation, his first assignment put him with the 6594th Support Group at the Air Force Satellite Control Facility (AFSCF) in Sunnyvale, California. In those years of service, he operated spy satellites monitoring Soviet missile launches under the top-secret facility, under command of the Space and Missile Systems Center.

Popovich continued playing basketball while touring Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces Team. As a member of an all-star team Goodwill Tour from April to May 1972, he traveled to the then USSR capital of Moscow, the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, and the Estonian capital of Tallinn.

“The opportunities I got in the military to travel with basketball really made me understand how much basketball is played around the world, how many good players there are,” Popovich told The New York Times in 2005.

By 1973, he was transferred to Diyarbakir Air Station in Turkey, an American-Turkish military base that tracked Soviet launches.

After months of service in Turkey, Popovich returned to Colorado to coach high school at the Air Force preparatory school — for which he received an Air Force commendation medal — and then coached college-aged cadets at the Air Force Academy. He also was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon and Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon. He continued to serve in the Air Force Reserve until 1993, working his way up to the rank of major.

Popovich remained at the Air Force Academy for six years and served as an assistant for head coach Hank Egan, who later helped Popovich as an assistant coach with the Spurs.

In 1979, Popovich became the head coach of the Pomona-Pitzer men’s basketball team, but his biggest break came with his move in 1988 to the NBA as an assistant coach to Larry Brown with the Spurs.

Popovich became general manager of the Spurs in 1994, then head coach after Bob Hill was fired in 1996.

In 2015, Popovich was named head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team for the 2017-20 quadrennium, but the team suffered a tough loss to France in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Two years later, the USA men’s national team earned a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. (The 2020 Games were postponed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and staged in 2021).

While the biography remains stellar and Popovich’s work with the Spurs continues, his resume also includes a rather manipulative and cranky side. In many instances with his interactions with the media, he was an intimidating bully, one who was actually sending messages to the NBA league office and then-Commissioner David Stern.

Popovich detested doing in-game interviews and remained “old-school” throughout his coaching days, even as the NBA became more and more media savvy and the demands of TV partners mounted. Quite famously, Popovich gave the late Craig Sager of Turner Sports the hardest of times as Sager’s outside reporter duties called for him to interview Popovich on the basketball court at times when Popovich preferred to be with his club and not be bothered.

The one word answers – complete with a smirk or roll of the eyes – became legendary, the insults grew embarrassing and frequently Popovich crossed the line of sic human decency. But through it all, Popovich developed a sincere appreciation for Sager’s doggedness and tenacity, admiring Sager’s preparedness as well. Somehow, through it all – in years, not days or weeks – the two became solid friends.

When Sager was battling leukemia and the entire NBA and sports world were paying tribute to the broadcaster, Popovich led the way – often very subtly and behind the scenes and sometimes on camera – joking with Sager about his wildest sport coat, and breaking any tension that might’ve existed in the past.

That edge and manipulation factor were out-done by Popovich’s pure and honest humanity. The coach’s insights and generosity were seen more often and his commentary of current events, world politics and the state of the United States presidency remain legendary quotes and must-see TV.

So, in the TL take side of this column, I am not here to bury Gregg Popovich but to praise him. There were more than a few practical jokes he played on us, and we’d all get a laugh. And, he truly loves the game of basketball and – without a doubt – he’s the greatest NBA coach of all-time.

Do I wish there were fewer “cross the line” intervals with the NBA’s media contingent over the many years? Yes. Do I wish there were fewer (F-U) messages sent in code to the NBA league office and its Commissioner? Yes. Do I wonder what it was like for then rookie Tony Parker being crushed and degraded as a ballplayer to the point where longtime Spurs basketball GM R.C. Buford had to talk “Pop” off the ledge from cutting Parker? Yes.

But, like everything in his life, somehow Popovich would come full circle to see the results he envisioned, and thus the incredible rise of Parker to NBA Finals MVP level (2007).

The tail end of Popovich’s illustrious coaching career sadly will be remembered for the “mild stroke” he suffered on November 2, 2024 while at the Spurs facilities. Assistant coach Mitch Johnson was named the acting coach in Popovich’s absence and Johnson named the next full time head coach of the Spurs this week.

All-in-all and despite the abrupt end to Popovich’s on court coaching career, there have been too many wins, too many Hall of Famers coached to their highest potential, and too many NBA titles (5) to call his scope of work in the NBA anything other than fabulous – maybe even, FAN-tastic, a phrase to honor the coach and his contributions to San Antonio, the Spurs organization and the overall and worldwide game of basketball.

The Winningest Head Coaches in NBA History

  • Gregg Popovich – 1,388
  • Don Nelson – 1,335
  • Lenny Wilkens – 1,332
  • Jerry Sloan – 1,221
  • Pat Riley – 1,210

The other two coaches to be highlighted among the very best of all time were the two “Reds” – Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics and Red Holzman of the New York Knickerbockers.

  • Red Auerbach – 938 (coached Washington Capitals and Tri-Cities Blackhawks, too)
  • Red Holzman – 696

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday was named by the NBA as the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy for winning the 2024-25 NBA Sportsmanship Award. This is the second NBA Sportsmanship Award for Holiday, who also earned the honor in the 2020-21 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Presented annually since the 1995-96 season, the NBA Sportsmanship Award honors a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. The trophy is named for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Joe Dumars, who won the inaugural NBA Sportsmanship Award and played his entire 14-year career with the Detroit Pistons.

Each NBA team nominated one of its players for the 2024-25 NBA Sportsmanship Award. From the list of 30 team nominees, a panel of league executives selected six finalists (one from each NBA division). Current NBA players selected the winner from the list of six finalists.

In addition to winning the NBA Sportsmanship Award twice, Holiday is a three-time recipient of the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award for his selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team. Holiday is also a finalist for the 2024-25 NBA Social Justice Champion Award, marking the third time he has been a finalist for the honor in its five-year history.

A 16-year NBA veteran, Holiday is a two-time NBA All-Star and six-time Kia NBA All-Defensive Team selection. He has won two NBA championships (one each with Boston and Milwaukee) and two Olympic gold medals with the USA Men’s National Team.

Sadly, the glut of the “do good” awards has forced the hand of the Pro Basketball Writers Association and they have discontinued the annual J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award that was given annually by the writers from 1975 until 2024. (James) Walter Kennedy was the NBA’s second Commissioner (1963-1975) and his title was league President. He passed away in 1977 at the young age of 65. A native of Stamford, Connecticut, Kennedy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1981.

The NBA now recognizes:

  • Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Award
  • Jack Twyman-Maurice Stokes Teammate of the Year Award
  • Joe Dumars Sportsmanship Award
  • Lifetime Achievment Award

While the Basketball Hall of Fame recognizes:

  • John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award (Highest basketball honor outside Induction/Enshrinement into the Basketball Hall of Fame itself).
  • Manny Jackson Human Spirit Awards (usually recognizing three players)
  • Ice Cube Impact Award (presented to Ice Cube himself in its inaugural year)

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: TPC Craig Ranch is hosting The CJ CUP Byron Nelson golf tournament for the fifth time, honoring the legacy of the tournament namesake, in the great Byron Nelson. It was the first PGA Tour event to be named in honor of a professional golfer. Nelson had 52 career PGA Tour wins including a record 18 event titles (11 straight) in 1945.

SOX: The Red Sox won 16 games during the month of April, trailing only the Detroit Tigers (18) for most in the American League … A streak of six straight quality starts by Boston pitchers ended Saturday when Sox RHP Hunter Dobbins missed earning a quality start by one batter. Dobbins did go 5.1 innings to extend Boston’s streak of 15 starting pitchers going at least 5 IP. That dates back to April 18.

For no reason at all, Boston broke out their yellow “Boston City Connect” (tribute to the Boston Marathon) uniforms on Saturday. Prior to Saturday’s afternoon game, delayed by rain, the Red Sox are 37-16 when they don the yellows. Boston is 22-12 in the uniforms since 2023.

Of late, the Red Sox have lost three of the last four games and six of their last 10. In MLB, the fans tend to do some scoreboard watching come September but sometimes the games of May or June determine the season.

When Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran faced Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran in the 9th inning at Fenway Saturday, it was Duran-Duran. Although Boston’s lead-off hitter was “Hungry Like the Wolf,” he grounded out to shortstop and must’ve “Come Undone.”

On Sunday, May 4, the good folks at Strat-O-Matic will “take over” the Mets House NYC at Union Square, in Manhattan from 11:00am through mid-afternoon for open Strat-O-Matic play, prize giveaways, meet-and-greets with Strat-O-Matic founder Hal Richman and other staffers. The latest simulated games (series) was between the current 2025 Mets and the 1986 Mets, one of the best and most likable teams in NYM history. In the decisive Game 7, the ‘86 club’s Ray Knight hit .375 and his teammates, Mookie Wilson and Keith Hernandez, both hit .333 as the ‘86 squad won the simulated series in seven, rallying for two runs in the bottom of the 10th to win, 4-3.

If you’re wondering how Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and the ‘69 Mets would fare, the simulation boards had the current 2025 team winning four straight. Red hot NYM 1B Pete Alonso hit .353, with two HR, and four RBI while SS Francisco Lindor batted a blistering .412, scoring five runs. On the hill, closer Edwin Diaz, appeared in four games, and earned three saves to close down the series against those pesky ‘69 Mets.

THIS JEST IN: Roger Clemens stopped by the Fenway Park press box on Friday night, but it was Saturday afternoon when the Rocket watched his son, Kody, hit his first homer of 2025, a 398 foot blast to right field. It was Kody’s first time ever facing the Red Sox and he has only the Baltimore Orioles remaining for teams he hasn’t played against. Kody is a 28 year old, 6-1, 190 lb infielder.

Here’s one for the ages. On Tuesday, Netflix will premier Untold: Shooting Guards (emphasis on the shoot). The promo reads: “What really went down between GilbertArenas and Javaris Crittenton? It continues, “This exposé unpacks how a gambling dispute led to guns drawn in an NBA locker room.”

NBC Sports commentator Mike Tirico was forced to sit out for the 2025 Kentucky Derby broadcast after suffering a nut allergy exposure.

John Skipper, the former head of ESPN and once most powerful man in sports, stepped down from his post at Meadowlark Media, a production company he founded with former ESPN host Dan LaBatard. In between ESPN and Meadowlark, Skipper was executive chairman at DAZN.

RIP: Stan Love, a 6-foot-9 forward and father of NBA star Kevin Love, passed away last week at the age of 76. Stan Love was a top-notch player for the University of Oregon, and was selected ninth overall in the 1971 National Basketball Association draft by the Baltimore Bullets, the predecessors of the Washington Wizards. He averaged 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds a game with modest playing time over four seasons with the Bullets and the Los Angeles Lakers of the N.B.A. and the San Antonio Spurs, then of the American Basketball Association. Stan was also the brother of the singer Mike Love of the Beach Boys and a onetime bodyguard and caretaker of the band’s brilliant but troubled leader, Brian Wilson

TL’s Sunday Notebook | April 20

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CLEVELAND, OH – APRIL 16: Members of the Boston Red Sox observe a moment of silence prior to the start against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on April 16, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – It started back in 1969. The Viet Nam war was boiling over, escalating in controversy after the tumultuous year of 1968. I was yet to turn ten years old, but was being schooled by the Huntley-Brinkley Report and the front pages of Newsday. It wasn’t pretty and even the youngsters of the ‘60s could sense it.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969) was the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) case that determined the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as applied through the Fourteenth, did not permit a public school to punish a student for wearing a black armband as an anti-war protest, absent any evidence that the rule was necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or the rights of others.

The case stemmed from a seemingly peaceful and non-controversial event of December 16, 1965 when five students in Des Moines, Iowa, decided to wear black armbands to school in protest of the USA’s involvement in the Vietnam War as they were supporting the Christmas truce that was called for by New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

By the time the case made its way all the way to the SCOTUS, Kennedy was dead, felled by an assassin’s bullet on June 6, 1968. The case was argued that Fall, on November 12, 1968. The student, John F. Tinker, was 15 years old. The case was decided February 24, 1969, and the court’s 7–2 decision in favor of the students held that the First Amendment applied to public schools, and that administrators would have to demonstrate constitutionally valid reasons for any specific regulation of speech in the classroom.

That became precedent in Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982). Island Trees happened to be my home school district although I only attended “IT” in Kindergarten. The rest of my schooling was at St. Ignatius Loyola grammar school and Holy Trinity for high school. In the Island Trees case, which dated back to September of 1975, the Island Trees Board of Education received a list of books deemed inappropriate by Parents of New York United. Island Trees is one of four major school districts in Levittown, New York. The board temporarily removed the books from school libraries and formed a committee to review the list. The committee found that five of the nine books should be returned, but the board overruled the decision and returned only two of the books.

A group of five Island Trees high school students (including one junior high school student) who, according to oral argument, were 17, 16, 15, 14, and 13 years old at the time of the removal of the books, led by Steven Pico, filed a lawsuit against the school board by claiming a violation of First Amendment rights.

The list of nine books eventually grew to eleven books that were the subject of the case. The books were:

  • Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  • The Naked Ape, by Desmond Morris
  • Down These Mean Streets, by Piri Thomas
  • Best Short Stories of Negro Writers, edited by Langston Hughes
  • Go Ask Alice, of anonymous authorship
  • Laughing Boy, by Oliver LaFarge
  • Black Boy, by Richard Wright
  • A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ but a Sandwich, by Alice Childress
  • Soul on Ice, by Eldridge Cleaver
  • A Reader for Writers, edited by Jerome Archer*
  • The Fixer, by Bernard Malamud*
  • – added to list

The case moved from Long Island to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, where the court granted summary judgment in favor of the school board, citing the discretion given to a school board’s authority in terms of its political philosophy.

From there, it moved along to the Court of Appeals for Federal District Courts where the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case for a trial on the merits of respondents’ allegations. It was on to the Supreme Court.

The United States Supreme Court split on the First Amendment issue of local school boards removing library books from junior high schools and high schools. Four justices ruled that it was unconstitutional, four concluded the contrary. One Justice concluded that the Court need not decide the question.

This all brings us to Jackie Robinson, as this week we celebrated the life of the great Dodgers player who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball on April 15, 1947. His No. 42 was worn by every MLB player this past Tuesday.

And thinking of the great No. 42, a uniform number retired by every club in Major League Baseball, and this being 42 years since the Island Trees District No. 26 v. Pico case, we find ourselves right back where we started from as the Naval Academy – via its Nimitz Library – was instructed to strip 381 books off the shelves.

Yes, this happened in 2025 and one of the books was a Jackie Robinson biography, as first reported by The New York Times and ESPN, while sports site, Awful Announcing, stayed on the story, too.

“As Secretary Hegseth has said, DEI is dead at the Defense Department. Discriminatory Equity Ideology is a form of Woke cultural Marxism that has no place in our military. It Divides the force, Erodes unit cohesion and Interferes with the services’ core warfighting mission. We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases that content is removed – – either deliberately or by mistake – – that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content accordingly,” was the Department of Defense statement provided to ESPN’s Jeff Passen, a very solid reporter.

Let’s get this straight. The story of the great Jackie Robinson has “no place” in “our” military? A decorated World War II veteran and model for every baseball player everywhere, every sportsman everywhere – no matter of race, creed or color – “divides the force?”

In Los Angeles this week, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the legendary NBA star was speaking at Dodgers Stadium in celebration of the day: “Jackie Robinson’s legacy is as important now as it has ever been,” he said as he made the reason for the swipe at Robinson he believes is so abundantly clear.

“(President) Trump wants to get rid of DEI, and I think it’s just a ruse to discriminate,” Abdul-Jabbar said to a scrum of reporters, while sitting at the base of Robinson’s statue in the center field plaza of Chavez Ravine..

“You have to take that into consideration,” he added, “when we think about what’s going on today.”

The Navy doubled-down:

“The U.S. Naval Academy is fully committed to executing and implementing all directives outlined in executive orders issued by the president and is currently reviewing the Nimitz Library collection to ensure compliance,” said Commander Tim Hawkins, a Navy spokesman. “The Navy is carrying out these actions with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives.”

It might be time for the Supreme Court to reconvene, as they did in 1982, but in this day and age, we all know where that would go.

Banning a Jackie Robinson biography in the Year 2025?

Shame on all of us for allowing this to happen, once again.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, known to NBAers as PIT, has been on-going this week in beautiful Portsmouth, Virginia. The tournament is run in “old-skool” fashion with no frills, no TV, some online streaming and 100% solid basketball under NBA rules.

The PIT allows the “bubble” level players the ability to play in front of NBA team scouts in a live setting to separate the top two round players from the possible free agent invite players to the two-way signees to the “c’ya” in Europe prospects.

TIDBITS: The 2025 NBA Draft pool is coming together, and deepening. Three more Lottery-worthy players entered the NBA Draft this past Wednesday. Duke’s Kon Knueppel, Florida’s Alex Condon and Michigan’s Danny Wolf all officially declared.

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson received the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced. The award recognizes the dedication, commitment, and hard work of NBA head coaches and is presented annually to a head coach who helped guide his players to a higher level of performance on-the-court and showed outstanding service and dedication to the community off-the-court. It honors the spirit of Mr. Goldberg, the esteemed long-time Executive Director of the NBCA, who set the standard for loyalty, integrity, love of the game, passionate representation, and tireless promotion of NBA coaching. The award is unique in that it is voted upon by the winners’ peers, the head coaches of all 30 NBA teams.

In total, five coaches received votes, reflecting the depth of coaching excellence in the NBA. In addition to Atkinson, the following head coaches also received votes [listed alphabetically]: J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons; Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City Thunder; Michael Malone, Denver Nuggets; and Ime Udoka, Houston Rockets.

“Kenny Atkinson has long been respected by his peers as an innovative and humble servant to the game,” said Indiana Pacers Coach and NBCA President Rick Carlisle. “Congratulations to Kenny on a historic season along with this prestigious recognition by his peers.”

The great Lee Corso, legend of College Game Day for ESPN and a respected football man for four decades, will retire this August, just as the college season is about to start. Corso’s final broadcast will be Aug. 30, ESPN announced, saying additional programming to celebrate Corso’s great career is planned in the days leading up to that weekend. “He was really a trailblazer for the way the sport was covered. It was OK to laugh, it was OK to poke a little fun, it was OK to show your personality. What Lee did really set the trend for the generations that have followed and continue to follow in covering college football,” said College Game Day hist Rece Davis of ESPN.

The Boston Ruins, errr, Bruins started the season with the usual playoff contender hope but finished with players such as Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and Trent Frederic nowhere in sight. Dumping Marchand, the team captain and backbone of the team, was a sure indication that it’s time to strip down and rebuild. While it’s much easier to revamp a team roster in the NHL than NBA or NFL, the Bruins braintrust will have their work cut out over the Summer of ‘25.

Fire Sale on those No. 13 Phoenix Suns jerseys, eh?

MARATHON MAN: Seventy-eight year old Amby Burfoot, the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon when he was a student at Wesleyan (same school as Bill Belichick), will run in Monday’s 129th running of the Boston Marathon. Of course on Monday, the 250th celebration of Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Marathon will begin in the morning and the Boston Red Sox toss the first pitch against the Chicago White Sox at 11:10am.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | March 30

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While We’re Young (Ideas) | On NCAA Madness to Come

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – There are two (somewhat) hidden gems in the annual NCAA championship calendar. One is underway, and the other is Memorial Day Weekend – this year at nearly Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Sometimes, they are overlooked with all of the hullabaloo of March Madness, the GranDaddy of them all. The two best?

  1. The NCAA Frozen Four
  2. The NCAA Lacrosse Championship

Here’s the bracket for the on-going men’s ice hockey tournament, noting local favorite Boston College was a 3-1 winner over nearby Bentley on Friday afternoon in a very hard-fought game. BC improved to 27-7-2 overall. UConn, Penn State and Denver advanced as well, all three knocking out New England-area schools. Denver will play Boston College on Sunday night at 7:00pm with the winner advancing to the Frozen Four. Boston University played Saturday afternoon and defeated Cornell, 3-2, in overtime, to advance to the national semifinals in St. Louis … You can see all the results by visiting HERE.

When all is settled to four hockey teams, the Frozen Four will convene in St. Louis, Missouri – the hockey capital of the Mississippi River – although the river that runs through it never freezes.

The Frozen Four usually pits schools from New England (and occasional New York State) against schools from the west (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Michigan, Denver). This year, Penn State is representing the top notch Big Ten schools.

Going into the tournament, the four schools ranked in the Top Four were the same to be assigned No. 1 seeds. They were:

  1. Boston College
  2. Michigan State (was ranked as No. 1, while BC was No. 2)
  3. Maine
  4. Western Michigan

No. 3 Maine was ousted by Penn State, 5-1, on Friday while No. 2 Michigan State was eliminated by Cornell, the lone Ivy League representative.

While the men’s Final Four basketball tournament is April 5 & 7, the Frozen Four is scheduled for April 10 & 12.

LAX: Come Memorial Day Weekend, May 24 & 26, with ancillary (Women’s semis/finals and Division II and III men’s championships all weekend, one of the great American events will be staged in nearby Foxborough, Mass., at the home of the New England Patriots (NFL) and Revolution (MLS). Tickets range between $33 and $100 and are available on Ticketmaster. The top schools currently ranked include:

  1. Cornell
  2. Maryland
  3. Ohio State
  4. Princeton

That’s two Ivy League schools and two Big Ten schools at the top but plenty of others knocking at the door, and there’s two months of action and tournament games to come.

One important thing of note, the women’s basketball Finals Four, women’s Frozen Four and the women’s lacrosse championship are tremendous events with outstanding student-athletes, competing at a very high level. I do not want to take one thing away by listing the men’s tournaments without mentioning the women, especially in lacrosse as we’ll see them play in Foxborough this May.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As long as the topic is tournament time, let’s look at the newest college tournament on the block. The College Basketball Crown is a new 16-team, single-elimination postseason men’s basketball tourney, featuring teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East conferences, along with additional at-large participants. It’s scheduled from March 31 to April 6, 2025, and will be played at two Las Vegas venues – the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena. All games will be broadcast on FOX and FS1.

Look for the likes of Boise State, Georgetown, Oregon State and Villanova competing for NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) money. According to reports, the champion team will receive a $300,000 in NIL money, the runner-up will earn $100,000, and the semifinalists will each take home $50,000 in NIL.

Utah vs. Butler will tip off the event on Monday, March 31, at 3 p.m. EDT.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | March 9

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While We’re Young (Ideas) | On Site at the MIT Sloan Sports Conference

TGL’s Mike McCarley (2nd left) at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (Photo by T. Peter Lyons/Digital Sports Desk)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The sports world descended upon the Hynes Convention Center in downtown Boston this weekend to probe, ponder and pontificate on nearly every aspect of the major sports – and some others. The annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (#SSAC25), also known as #AnalyticsInMotion, played to a sold out crowd for two full days of seminars, presentations and start-up fund-raising.

Yours truly, representing a combination of Digital Sports Desk, Pivottv Media and Boston VC Sports, was in attendance for the full conference and enjoyed panels on “Sports in 2045,” featuring New England Patriots team president Jonathan Kraft and former head of ESPN and current President and Chief Operating Officer of Endeavor (NYSE: EDR) and TKO Group Holdings Mark Shapiro, along with “Building Sports Empires with an Entrepreneurial Edge, featuring Michele Kang (Washington Spirits – NWSL) and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital Partners.

Cardinale was particularly interesting because of his wide-ranging and incredibly successful career, not only in the sports world, but at Goldman Sachs prior to his founding of RedBird.

RedBird’s most recent investments include European football’s AC Milan; Everpass Media (the NFL); Skydance Media (Larry and David Ellison); Artists Equity (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon); All3Media (largest content creator in the UK); Fenway Sports Group (Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, Pittsburgh Penguins, New England Sports Network); the Yankees Entertainment & Sports (“YES”) Network (New York Yankees and Amazon); The Springhill Company (LeBron James and Maverick Carter); the United Football League (UFL) (Disney/ESPN, Fox and Dwayne Johnson); the Indian Premier League’s Rajasthan Royals; and Formula One’s Alpine Racing team.

Carter appeared on another panel with Draft Kings head Jason Robins on Saturday and spoke of “Re-writing the Playbook” and the fact the RedBird-Springhill venture, headed up by Carter and James with their distinguished brands, including UNINTERRUPTED, The Shop, and The Robot Company, recently merged with Fulwell 73 Productions (London) to form a new global entertainment company, Fulwell Entertainment.

The conference – light in the sport of baseball because of the fact nearly all front office and analytics teams are quite busy at Spring Training camps – delved into “The New Age NFL Office,” the “Next Generation of Sports Venues” and the “Globalization of Sports,” a panel that featured NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum.

Tatum spoke of the NBA’s plans to return to China and play a pair of games in Macau this October, the first since the controversial 2019 dust-up caused by (then Houston Rockets GM< now Philadelphia 76ers GM) Daryl Morey’s tweet to “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.” Tatum fully explained that after the NBA put out a statement defending Morey’s rights to express his opinion, that China’s CCTV removed NBA programming from its airwaves but later returned things to normal operating, all the while the league’s primary broadcast outlet – “Tencent” continued to air games and highlights. The Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns were tapped to play October 10 and 12 at the Venetian Arena, which is controlled by the Adelson family — by way of the Las Vegas Sands conglomerate — now the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

Tatum also reiterated the NBA is doubling down on efforts to expand growth in the game on the continent of Africa and in India, where a cool billion people are available to say, “I Love This Game.”

Early on Friday, Mike McCarley of the new (indoor) TGL pro golf league was amongst the panelists on Emerging Sports and he was presented with the MIT Sloan “Alpha” award for excellence as a start-up sport, recognized for the incredible use of data, technology, social media and broadcast excellence.

While the panelists previously mentioned filled the “Bill James Room” and the “Sue Bird Room” – the two largest ballrooms in the convention center, there were dozens of break-out rooms for smaller presentations, research paper workshops and even some player participation displays of golf swings being “closest to the pin” or batting cages and a hitters’ “exit velocity.” There was even a new name for one of the break-out rooms, dubbed the “Shane Battier Room.”

MIT Sloan panel: “Have the Nerds Ruined Basketball?’

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Ready for your first look at the BIG EAST brackets?

BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament, Presented by JEEP

First Round, March 12 (Peacock)

No. 9 Butler vs. No. 8 Providence 4:00

No. 10 DePaul vs. No. 7 Georgetown 6:30

No. 11 Seton Hall vs. No. 6 Villanova 9:00

Quarterfinal, March 13 (Peacock/FS1)

Butler/Providence vs. No. 1 St. John’s 12:00

No. 5 Marquette vs. No. 4 Xavier 2:30

DePaul/Georgetown vs. No. 2 Creighton 7:00

Seton Hall/Villanova vs. No. 3 UConn 9:30

Semifinal, March 14 (FOX)

Quarterfinal Winners 6:30

Quarterfinal Winners 9:00

Championship, March 15 (FOX)

Semifinal Winners 6:30

TIDBITS: Much was said and written about Nikola Jokic’s 31 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 22 assists stat line as the Denver Nuggets outlasted the Phoenix Suns, 149-141, in overtime Friday night. Jokic became the first NBA player with a triple-double of at least 30 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists and he tied his team record with his 29th triple-double of the season, stretching his career total to 149. That’s pretty good. … Old school NBA stat geeks had to wonder what some of Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain’s best stat lines were when the “Stilt” played back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. … Here’s one, picked at random, from Wilt’s 1967-68 season – the year he had his highest assist totals of 8.6 per game. On March 4, 1968, Wilt played all 48 minutes, scored 58 points, grabbed 35 rebounds and had four assists. … Of course, on March 2, 1962, Chamberlain scored 100 points, added 25 rebounds but had only two assists. … On February 28, 1962, Chamberlain played all 48 minutes, scored 61 points, added 28 rebounds and six assists. … Obviously, none of those were triple-doubles, but there’s one key statistical anomaly. There’s a distinct possibility Chamberlain might’ve had a triple-double if the NBA charted blocked shots and/or steals at the time. With that in mind, statisticians recreated a March 18, 1968 stat line which clocked Chamberlain’s single game output at 53 points, 32 rebounds, 24 blocks, 14 assists and 11 steals with the blocks and steals “unofficial.” … The great Nate Thurmond once had 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 rebounds, and 12 blocks when he led the Chicago Bulls to a victory against the Atlanta Hawks while San Antonio’s David Robinson clocked 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocked shots in a February 2, 1994 Spurs win over Detroit. … There have been other quadruple doubles since that great game but one game, in particular, stands out as one of the all-time greatest performances. In a Game 7 of the 1962 NBA Finals, Boston center Bill Russell scored 30 points and added 40 rebounds with four assists in the Celtics’ 110-107 series clincher over the LA Lakers. Elgin Baylor of the Lakers had 41 points and 22 rebounds in the losing effort.

The Red Sox front office went to work and agreed to terms with 23 players on one-year contracts for the 2025 season. Signing one-season deals were: Wilyer Abreu, Brennan Bernardino, Triston Casas, Cooper Criswell, Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts, Jhostynxon Garcia, Romy Gonzalez, Vaughn Grissom, Luis Guerrero, David Hamilton, Zack Kelly, Chris Murphy, Carlos Narváez, Zach Penrod, Luis Perales, Quinn Priester, Blake Sabol, Justin Slaten, Nick Sogard, Greg Weissert, Josh Winckowski, and Connor Wong.

THIS JEST IN: On Saturday, forward Zuby Ejiofor hit a buzzer-beater to send the St. John’s men’s basketball team (27-4, 18-2 BIG EAST) back home from Marquette (Milwaukee) with a men’s basketball program record 27th regular season victory. Ejiofor, a junior forward for the Johnnies, buried a luck-out toss at the buzzer to upend Marquette (22-9, 13-7 BIG EAST), 86-84, in overtime. On the final day of the regular season, St John’s managed a tough road win behind clutch performances from RJ Luis Jr. and Kadary Richmond. Luis led St. John’s with 28 points, shooting 10-for-19 from floor with a trio of 3-pointers, to go with 11 rebounds marking his ninth double-double of the season. Meanwhile, Richmond recorded the first St. John’s triple-double in since Metta Sandiford-Artest (formerly Ron Artest), reached the milestone on Jan. 9, 1999. Richmond’s clutch performance included 10 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals. … Ejiofor, who also sank a game winner at the buzzer in the team’s first BIG EAST road game of this season, at Providence on Dec. 20, finished with 17 points and 12 boards.

St. John’s captured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming BIG EAST tournament to be held at Madison Square Garden this coming Wednesday through Saturday. Digital Sports Desk will be on-site at The Garden for the tournament.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: There’s a whole new meaning to the the word SNOWboard. According to the AP, there’s a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder who is wanted for allegedly running a multinational drug trafficking network and orchestrating multiple murders related to his drug ring. The FBI added Ryan Wedding, 43, to its 10 Most Wanted list, while announcing the U.S. State Department’s $10 million offer. … “Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada,” said Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man.” … Seems that the drugs were flowing from South America to Mexico to Southern California and then to Canada, calling into question the USA’s claims that drugs were flowing north to south. … Authorities alledge that Wedding’s group killed two members of a family in Canada in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment in what officials there said was a case of mistaken identity, then two other people, associated with the ring.

TL’s Sports Notebook | March 2

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox share Fort Myers as their MLB Spring Training hometown. The Twins call Lee Health Sports Complex home and play their games at Hammond Stadium. There are five additional playing fields and the year-round Twins Player Development Academy. It is also home to two Twins minor league affiliates, the Low-A Fort Myers Mighty Mussels and the rookie-level Florida Complex League Twins.

Of course, the Red Sox have JetBlue Park at Fenway South, sometimes referred to as “Little Fenway,” situated at 11500 Fenway South Drive in Fort Myers. Because of the close proximity, the townspeople created a way for the two clubs to battle for one of the most obscure trophies in all of sports.

The Twins once played against the Texas Rangers for the Senators’ Cup, but with the Twins move to Lee County in 1991 and the Red Sox soon following in 1993 to share tiny Fort Meyers, there had to be a new deal. Knowing the history, the local fans called for a special springtime competition between the two Fort Myers ball clubs. The local newspaper, the News-Press, held a naming contest for the competition(s) and the award itself.

The Senators’ Cup became the Crosstown Cup but that only lasted a while until it was re-named, the Mayor’s Cup. The team’s battled for the Mayor’s Cup for decades but then someone realized that JetBlue Park was technically outside the Lee County line, so there was yet another name change.

Saturday (March 1) began the competition for The 2025 Chairman’s Cup between the Red Sox and Twins, with Boston taking the first of the six Grapefruit League matchups, 8-4. The “Battle for the Cup” will continue on March 12 and 23 at Little Fenway. They’ll meet at Hammond Stadium on March 8, 16 and 20. The clubs split the 2024 Chairman’s Cup, but, most importantly, the Twins lead in the all-time series, 15-14-3 in Cup wins and Minny holds a 93-84-2 edge in games.

This is the 33rd season the Sox have called Fort Myers their Spring Training home (1993-2025), their most years spent at any Spring Training city. The Red Sox are in their 14th season at the Fenway South Spring Training and Player Development Complex, which opened in 2012.

Now, how about that for a notebook full of interesting but useless information?

That said, long before MLB interleague play between the American League clubs and National League clubs, in the decade of ‘60s when this columnist was growing up a few miles east of then, brand new Shea Stadium, there was an annual, one day break in the schedule in order to schedule the Mayor’s Trophy game between the New York Mets and New York Yankees. Mayor John Lindsay – NYC’s, call it, “Fun City” was Mayor between January 1966 to December 1973 – the glory years of the Mayor’s Trophy game which alternated between Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium every other year.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he doesn’t know if the recently completed and quite popular 4 Nations Face-Off tournament is here to stay, and he called it a “quick appetizer” as the league turns its focus to other international ice hockey events. Bettman, appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show,” noting the success of the tournament “has been so quick and overwhelming, we’ve got a lot of things to consider and sort out, including what our own All-Star Game looks like going forward.” … On international plans for the future, Bettman said, “What we’re going to do is Olympics (Milan/Cortino ‘26), two years later the World Cup, two years later Olympics (French Alps ‘2030), two years later World Cup. And the World Cup will have at least eight countries participating, and that’s something we’re in the process of finalizing. The World status may have something to do with exactly how we pull that all together.” Bettman said the NHL is aiming for a full World Cup “like you see in soccer,” with host sites in North America as well as Europe. The odd country out, as Bettman noted with the vague “world status,” is the Russian Federation.

IN OTHER NHL OFF-ICE NEWS: The Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College and the National Hockey League Players’ Association have reached an agreement that will open the door to current and former members of the NHLPA to complete their education at Boston College through NHLPA UNLMT, providing an invaluable resource for professional hockey players looking to earn college degrees. The agreement was signed by Woods College Dean David Goodman and NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh, a BC Woods College graduate.

STOP the RACE: Do you believe in miracles? Yes. On Saturday afternoon, St. John’s clinched the Big East regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.

SPORTS BIZ BOSTON: The Boston Celtics extended their deal with TD Bank through the 2044-45 season. This sponsorship will continue the bank’s role as the retail and online banking provider for the NBA’s Boston franchise and the Maine Celtics of the G-League. “We’re elated to extend our partnership with TD Bank, and build on our shared commitment to community engagement and connection with our fans,” Boston Celtics president Rich Gotham said in a statement. “TD Bank’s continued investment in our initiatives makes a significant impact, and their ongoing support ensures we can continue providing unique experiences for fans while contributing to meaningful causes that benefit the Greater Boston area.”

Included in the terms of the extension, the bank will launch a Celtics season ticket wait list that will enhance “engagement with this dedicated Celtics fanbase.” With the Maine Celtics, TD Bank will add sponsored promotional games, such as ‘EmpowHER Night’ and ‘Fan Appreciation Game.’ They will also hold CommUNITY Crew events in Maine to support its local communities.

The naming rights to the arena for the Celtics and NHL’s Boston Bruins is controlled by the Bruins and their parent company, Delaware North.

TIDBITS: Is there better use of a nickname in sports other than CBS Sports’ Bill Raftery calling his college basketball play-by-play man, Ian Eagle, by the name, “Bird?” … Our local dog grooming store is activating a big promotion for the month ahead. They are calling it “Bark Madness,” with discounts on all kinds of baths, nail brushing and every other thing you can think of to cater to your furry friends. … If you picked Adam Svensson as your one and done fantasy PGA TOUR player this week, you had the wrong Svensson. Jesper Svensson was high on the leaderboard on Saturday and in contention for the Cognizant Classic title in the Palm Beaches.

Diana Taurasi (2nd from left) and the 2004 USA gold medal women’s team (Getty)

TAURASI: When Phoenix Mercury and UConn great Diana Taurasi decided to retire from the WNBA, she didn’t mess around. A very well-planned announcement was made via Time and the magazine’s longtime sports business reporter Sean Gregory. Taurasi explained that January 1 is her usual date to begin training for the next season and “I just didn’t have it in me,” Taurasi, 42, told TIME from her home in Phoenix. “That was pretty much when I knew it was time to walk away.” … Taurasi has accomplished all there is to accomplish in women’s basketball. She’s scored 10,646 points in the regular season, she’s won three WNBA Championships (2007, 2009, and 2014), six Euroleague titles during her 12-year career playing in Russia and Turkey during the WNBA off-season, She was the 2009 WNBA MVP, a two-time WNBA Finals MVP, a three-time Euroleague MVP, and a three-time Russian League Player of the Year. All that written in stone, Taurasi also has won six Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball, an all-time record. With all due respect to Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslies, Sheryl Swoopes, Maya Moore or Candace Parker and all the other top notch women’s basketball players, but without a doubt, Taurasi was the very best. … She knows that someday, someone will come along to challenge her status as “the GOAT of women’s basketball.” … She said to TIME, “My scoring record, or the six gold medals, someone’s going to come around that has the same hunger, the same addiction to basketball, and put those records in a different way, a different name,” said Taurasi. “That’s what sports is all about. That’s going to be fun to watch. Hopefully not soon.”

THIS JEST IN: According to D-1 ticker via Online Athens (GA), the University of Georgia will not be fined for this past Tuesday’s court-storming after its men’s basketball team upset Florida, “since they held the fans back until the court was clear,” according to SEC Director of Communications Craig Pinkerton. Bulldogs AD Josh Brooks was proud of the student body and their ‘polite court storming,” noting, “Last night proved once again why we have the best students in the country, and I want to personally thank them for waiting to rush the floor. Our students have bought in and helped create a tremendous home court advantage. They have been with us all year long and have made the difference in so many of our big home wins.”

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: It’s quite logical to place the legendary Tiger Woods as the sure-fire No. 1 earner on the PGA Tour, but who might you rank as No. 2?

If you guessed four-time Major winner and 26-time Tour title winner Rory McIlroy at the two spot, you’d be wrong. Try Maverick McNealy – who regularly arrives at the golf course in his own private jet – is already richer than any golfer in the world not named Woods, including the likes of McIlroy, (Jon) Rahm, DJ, or Bryson DeChambeau. That’s because McNealy is the heir to a $1 billion empire.

McNealy’s father, Scott, co-founded technology giant Sun Microsystems back in 1982. Sun was later acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2010 for an eye-watering $7.4 billion, securing generational wealth for the McNealy family for many, many years to come.

Maverick is the heir to McNealy senior’s astonishing fortune, having grown up in a 28,000 square-foot mansion in Palo Alto, California. To put his wealth into perspective, McNealy stands to inherit six-times the net worth of four-time major winner McIlroy.

Tears for Fears’ Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, 1985

1985: “No one ever left alive in nineteen hundred and eighty-five will ever do,” wrote Paul McCartney to begin his hit song for The Wings in 1973. McCartney later noted, he’d build his songs when he’d established the first line of the lyrics, citing the words to The Beatles’ classic Eleanor Rigby, “picks up the rice in the church where the wedding has been.” Said McCartney, “That was the one big line that started me off on it. With this one (1985) it was “No one ever left alive in nineteen hundred and eighty-five.” … “That’s all I had of that song for months. ”No one ever left alive in nineteen hundred and eighty… six?” … It wouldn’t have worked.” … Those thoughts lead us to the fact that 1985 was 40 years ago, and a number of 40-year anniversaries will be celebrated this year. There was one that caught this reporter’s eye this past Tuesday when one of my all-time favorite bands, Tears for Fears, celebrated the 40-year anniversary of their ground-breaking album, Songs From the Big Chair. which along with 1989’s The Seeds of Love marked the band’s worldwide appeal and became a “cultural touchstone for Gen Xers who grew up on MTV,” wrote conservative culture platform, Twitchy. … In the summer of 2023, bandmates Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith took their Tears for Fears’ Tipping Point Part II tour through North America with a stop at The Mohegan Sun two days before playing to a full house at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The June 24 show came just as the PGA Tour stop for The Travelers rode through Crowmell, Connecticut, and yes, it was a short and easy ride to anchor an amazing weekend. … It all melds together to underline a great year of music, history-making and great sports. Remember, 1985 was the year of Live Aid, the all-day rock show on two continents (London, England, Europe and Philadelphia, USA North America) which raised millions for famine relief in Ethiopia. … The year began with the establishment of the “Domain Name” system as a framework for the World Wide Web and the common man’s use of the Internet. … “We Are the World” began the USA for Africa relief efforts … Joe Montana won MVP honors in Super Bowl XIX when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins, 38-16. … Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and de facto leader of the (then) Soviet Union. … Amadeus won the Academy Award for Best Picture … Villanova defeated Georgetown, 66-64, at the Final Four in Lexington, Kentucky to cap the biggest upset in college basketball history … In one, if not the biggest blunders in marketing history, the Coca-Cola Company changed its formula and released New Coke. The public response made Coke execs re-think that one. … The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 4-games-to-2, winning the NBA title at the famed Boston Garden. It marked the first time an opponent clinched an NBA title on the famed parquet floor. (Note: In 2022, the Golden State Warriors duplicated the feat, defeating the Celtics in six games with the clincher at TD Garden). … Eighteen year old Boris Becker became the first German and the first unseeded player to win the men’s championship at Wimbledon, defeating Kevin Curren in four sets, 6–3, 6–7 (4–7), 7–6 (7–3), 6–4. … The Kansas City Royals defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-games-to-3, to become the first team to win the World Series after losing the first two games at home. … And, another reminder of just how long ago it was, the Microsoft Corporation released the first version of Windows software.

Tears for Fears’ Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, 2025