While We're Young Ideas

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct 25

October 25, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

By TERRY LYONS, Executive Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – It’s the best time of year – the Sports Equinox – when the NFL is in full swing, baseball is enjoying its Fall Classic, and the NHL and NBA are just underway. Toss in the WNBA Finals and the MLS season and you have a six pack of sports offerings. Add College Football and (soon-to-be) College Basketball with exhibitions ongoing, NASCAR Cup, the Premiership from England, and next week’s Breeders’ Cup horse racing extravaganza, and you’ve got something for everyone. Now, add the PGA Tour which is puttering away in Bermuda or NASCAR rip-roaring away at Talladega, and you’ve got it all.

And, just think! In nine days, all of the political ads will be gone.

All of the action is enough to make a sports fan move to Las Vegas, just to see all the games at once in the incredible Circa Sports Book.

There’s a couple of the sports listed in our equinox that aren’t getting their proper due. The two being short-changed are Major League Baseball with the 2026 World Series and the WNBA Finals, featuring the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream.

First – Baseball:

Let’s remember. For the entire 2026 season, the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers were atop their respective league ladder and the best two teams come postseason time. Tampa went 98-64, good enough to be 4.5 games ahead of the second-ranked New York Yankees.

In the National League, the Brewers went 103-59, three full games better than the Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62). Both teams finished on an (8-2) run.

In the postseason, they proved their worth.

The Brewers’ pitching staff finished the regular season with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.18 whip. Jacob Misiorowski, the Brewers’ ace pitched to a league leading 1.73 ERA with 227 strikeouts. He’s regularly throwing 103 mph four seam fastballs. His whip registered at 0.80 and he forced his opponents to bat a filthy .157 over 174 innings pitched.

The Brewers’ rotation of Misiorowski, Kyle Henderson, Aaron Ashby and Logan Henderson form a very respectable rotation of semi-no-names (outside of the great place on the Great Lake).

Tampa sports the best overall pitching crew in baseball.

Drew Rasmussen, Ian Seymour, and Nick Martinez have carried the load after Shane McClanahan (left forearm tightness) was shut down for the season. That brought Freddy Peralta into the mix after his midseason trade.

On the offensive side, the teams are mirror images of themselves and they’ve shown they can hold on and win games. They each manufacture runs, take advantage of miscues of their opponent and can win games in the 3-2 fashion of Game 1 of the World Series.

When you put all of those basics together, you have a model match-up and one of the very best World Series that very few fans outside of Milwaukee and Tampa-St. Pete will see. And, that’s a crying shame.

At the WNBA Finals, it’s much the same.

Golden State (32-12) finished one game behind Western Conference leader in the Minnesota Linx (33-11). The Dream topped the East at (30-14). The clubs were mirror images in terms of home-road records during the season.

After the Valkyries took Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, the Dream reversed the trends and went up 2-games-to-1. On Saturday (Oct. 24), the Valkyries evened it up, 2-2.

One major issue facing the WNBA and its Finals is the fact the series is being played in mid-to-late October, head to head with the NFL, College Football, the World Series and everything else. Saturday’s game was held at 1:00pm in Atlanta in the heart of the south and its love of college football. While the Georgia Bulldogs had a bye week, the vast number of SEC and ACC teams were in action, including Georgia Tech hosting Boston College in an ACC match-up at Tech.

Out West, only Cal at SMU might’ve caused a distraction now that the PAC-10 (12) was blown to bits and Stanford beat NC State in that Friday night ACC tilt alongside Palo Alto.

Regardless of the competition, the WNBA Finals is providing fans with a high brand of basketball. But, it’s been done in relative obscurity. With the series tied 2-2, there will be added awareness and interest in the outcome.

Maybe the original WNBA game plan of a Memorial Day to Labor Day schedule might be re-examined?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Back to MLB, the battle of the small market cities (Milwaukee and Tampa, as compared to New York, Los Angeles or Chicago), makes it difficult for the Major League Baseball team owners to claim they need to change the mechanism of delivering team salaries. If the Milwaukee Bucks and Tampa Bay Rays can put together a team at bargain basement prices, why should the MLB Players’ Association worry about what the Dodgers or Yankees pay their players? … The NBA season is off to a good start and some momentum following a tremendous ‘26 NBA Playoffs and a busy and interesting offseason. Tuesday’s 76ers-Knicks and Thunder-Spurs doubleheader was the NBA’s most-watched opening night ever, averaging 6.41 million viewers on NBC/Peacock. The 76ers’ victory over the Knicks was the league’s most-watched primetime opening night game ever, averaging 7.71 million viewers and peaking at 9.1 million viewers at 9:45pm (ET).

ESPN’s NBA Opening Wednesday doubleheader averaged 2.5M viewers, up 7% from last year, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. The audience ranks as ESPN’s second most-viewed Opening Wednesday ever.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Don’t look now but the Edmonton Oilers are 8-1-1 going into Saturday’s home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Oilers are 5-0-0 on the road. … Sunday’s matchup of St. John’s hosting Texas will be the Storm’s third exhibition game of the preseason. The Johnnies downed Drexel, 81-52, on Oct. 14 at Carnesecca Arena before outlasting Rutgers, 104-99, in a four-overtime marathon this past Sunday at Madison Square Garden. … The Texas Legends selected 2026 NBA champion Jeremy Sochan (6-8, 230, Baylor) with the first overall pick in the 2026 NBA G League Draft, which was held virtually on Saturday. During the 2025-26 season, Sochan played 28 games with the San Antonio Spurs and 16 games with the New York Knicks. In 228 career NBA games across four seasons, the 23-year-old averaged 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. The Motor City Cruise drafted Isaiah Carr (6-11, 235, Drake) with the second overall pick and the Osceola Magic selected Kasean Pryor (6-10, 228, Louisville) third overall. … Can’t say which is worse. MLB deciding regular season games by placing a ghost runner at 2B or the College Football overtime rules.

CUSP PODCAST with MIKE BREEN: Celebrating 20 years for Columbia University’s sports management program and 40 years of New York’s very own (via Fordham) Mike Breen, the voice of the NBA Finals and the NBA on ABC/ESPN.

THIS JEST IN: The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints will play their regular season game Sunday (today, October 25) in Paris. It’ll (hopefully) be the first NFL regular season game in France. While the people of Paris and Marseilles worry about their cities burning amidst protests, Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers seem to be more concerned with jet lag. … The Saints headed for Paris last Sunday, deciding to get a full week of practice and adjusting to the time zone/jet lag. Pittsburgh opted to travel from the USA and land in Paris on Friday, a “cutting-it-tight” tactic employed by the LA Rams earlier this season when they opened up in Melbourne, Australia. Of course, the Rams were smoked 27-7 by the San Francisco 49ers who flew much earlier in the week.

The thought process of Rams coach Sean McVay was to stay on Pacific time, rather than attempt to make a big, week-long adjustment. That strategy backfired.

A basic concept to go by, after years and years of experience traveling to time zones all over the world, is to not make a “big deal” about it. The bigger deal the front office, coaches and advisors make of the travel, the more it gets into the players’ heads.

That works in both directions.

When the NBA first began its international regular season efforts with the NBA Japan Games 1990, the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz made the trip, with the teams splitting the two games. Both clubs did quite well in their travels to the games.

The issue was the return, when Utah complained about returning jet lag all the way to Christmas. After winning their first game after returning, the Jazz dropped four straight. Truth be told, the Jazz ran off five consecutive victories from November 21 to 30, then after a lone loss at Portland, they won another six straight from December 3 to 13. They finished 54-18.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: Britt McHenry, the disgraced former ESPN sideline reporter, is in hot water again after being caught on video dousing a fan with her drink at the Milwaukee at Washington basketball game. The video went viral and she was soon-after asked to resign her post at the Trump-Rubio led State Department where she held a role as press advisor. The Mt Holly, NJ native and Stetson/Northwestern grad, did a stint with ESPN from 2014-17 but that ended abrubtly when she was, again, caught on a security video berating a parking lot attendant after McHenry had illegally parked her car and it ended up in the clink. In 2020, she battled a serious brain lesion and had it surgically removed at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. That escape sent her to the political realm and an ill-fated PR role that is no longer. With her credentials tainted, she might be the perfect fit for White House press spokesperson doing a daily brief now that Katie Zacharia has had her 14 minutes of fame.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct 18

October 18, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

Columbia U’s Scott Rosner Interviewing Sheikha Asmaa bint Thani A M Al-Thani (Photo by T. Peter Lyons/ Digital Sports Desk)

By TERRY LYONS

NEW YORK – Sports seminars are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.

That might sound familiar to a longtime movie-goers who remember Robert Zemeckis’ “Forrest Gump” in about 1994, as dear Forrest was quoting his mother’s viewpoint on life during a crucial moment of the Academy Award winning film.

The same quote fits with the various sports marketing seminars staged by major media outlets, sports trade outlets (online and magazine form), pro sports leagues, thought-leadership think tanks or even the many colleges and universities of the world with majors or masters degrees in sports management. Those are staged by the some of the finest institutions in the land – from MIT Sloan Business School to Wharton (UPenn) to Columbia University, New York City’s IVY League entry.

In far too many cases, the seminars dance together with one or two day agendas all blending into a sports marketing blur.

Most make the attempt to cover the flavor of the month topics, such as legalized sports gambling in the USA, the NIL crush on collegiate sports, performance enhancing/monitoring wearables, advanced statistics and analysis, and the most recent – being A.I. (for artificial intelligence). They’re all interesting and worthwhile topics in an ever-changing landscape of sports business.

That is good.

Usually, the ‘grand-daddy of them all’ – the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference – blows away the competition with a two-day extravaganza that grew from a relatively small on-campus gathering to a massive and always sold-out monstrous multi-topic, multi-discipline extravaganza at one of Boston’s two large convention centers – usually the Mayor Tom Menino Center at The Seaport.

To a great extent, everyone else plays for the silver medal of sports business seminars, and that includes wonderful and informative efforts by The Sports Business Journal, its parent company (Leaders of London), and more recently Sportico. The SBJ stages the World Congress of Sports (usually in LA), Game-Changers (focusing on women in sports), Deal Makers (a one-day, rather intimate gathering of investment opportunists of sport, Sports Tech focused seminars, New Voices (U-30), the Intercollegiate Athletics Forum, Forty Under Forty, Brand Innovation and a year-ending Sports Business Awards – black tie event to celebrate the very best in sports for each calendar year.

Of course there are others – far too many to list or even try to rank as a top ten.

That said, there is now a solid No. 2 in the ranking and it is the Columbia University School of Professional Studies Sports Management Conference – a one-day event held at Lerner Hall and the Roone Arledge Auditorium on campus at 114th Street & Broadway on the Upper West Side of New York City, also known as Morningside Heights.

The 2026 rendition was held this past Thursday, October 15 from 9am to 5pm and Columbia celebrated its 20th year in the sports management eco system.

Its agenda was wide-ranging and magnificent, to say the least. Topics ranged from “Beyond the Game: Capturing the Cultural Connection” in sports to Deloitte’s Global Sports Industry Outlook to a home grown look at some of the Columbia grads who are shaping the current sports business landscape.

There was an interesting look at the NFL’s endeavor into Flag Football, told from league office to team to participant’s point-of-view. They passed the torch to the USOC & Paralympic committee CEO, Sarah Hirshland, who ran with it, then passed off to Nielsen’s global head of sports execs.

There was a one-on-one with former New York Rangers Stanley Cup champion goalkeepers, Mike Richter, who sat with Maryland and NBA star Len Elmore (now turned TV commentator and part-time sports lawyer Len Elmore.

The final presentation was a panel discussion that, quite frankly, blew us all away as they delved into the crazy and wonderful world of sports memorabilia (as a business). Even SBJ veteran Terry Lefton, the moderator was taken back by some of the valuations of everything from traditional memorabilia such as Trading Cards to authentic and autographed merchandise and game-worn uniforms to the far reaching world of first edition Harry Potter books. It was interesting, to say the least, especially when (Fanatics) Michael Rubin clone, Josh Luber, now the CEO of ghostwrite, reached into his bag of tricks and started tossing memorabilia into the sparse crowd that was smart enough to stick around for the final presentation of the long day.

In true sense of burying the lead, there were two other key sessions.

Columbia U professor and moderator Michael Neuman led a 45-minute panel discussion entitled, The Experience Effect: Turning Moments Into Meaning. Panelists included, Bettina Garibaldi, the recent Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for FIFA World Cup 2026 and their NY/NJ Host Committee, Ed Horne, an industry veteran (a la NFL, NHL), now the Chief Operating Officer of “On Location,” Jackie Riggleman, the impressive senior project manager for Canopy Team – an agency where she recently oversaw the strategy for Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB) efforts at PNC Park in Pitt, along with their Spring Training and Dominican-based facilities. In her spare time, before her time with the Pirates, Riggleman was an instrumental part of the team that opened Monongalia County Ballpark, home of the West Virginia University Mountaineers and West Virginia Black Bears. Batting clean-up was Danny Zausner, the COO of the United States Tennis Association and its National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadow, Queens, NY.

Neuman held the lofty title as the leader of “most interesting discussion” for all of 20 minutes, and then Columbia University’s head of the sports management program Scott Rosner took the stage to introduce a keynote speaker, Sheikha Asmaa bint Thani A M Al-Thani, ID’d as the Director of Marketing and International Cooperation Sector for the Qatar Olympic Committee.

Everyone stopped in their tracks. It was “you can hear a pin drop” territory as Rosner gradually drew-out the fact Ms. Al Thani is a Qatari mountaineer who is the first Qatari woman to summit Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Manaslu, K2 as well as the first Qatari female to climb Ama Dablam. She is also the first Qatari person to ski to the North Pole. On her ascent of Manaslu, she became the first Arab person to summit an eight-thousander (8,000 metres (26,247 ft) in elevation) without oxygen. She climbed Lhotse for the second time in May 2024, without using supplemental oxygen, becoming the first Arab to climb two 8000ers without supplemental oxygen.

All of the Earth’s eight-thousanders are located in the Himalayan and Karakoram mountain ranges in Asia, and their summits lie in the altitude range known as the death zone, where atmospheric oxygen pressure is insufficient to sustain human life for extended periods of time.

Give me a break, right?

It’s not gonna end there.

In 2013, Al Thani found a bucket list she had written several years before, which included the resolution of climbing a mountain. She began training shortly afterwards and in 2014 she was part of a group of climbers who were the first Qatari women to summit Kilimanjaro. In 2018 she became the first Qatari person to ski to the North Pole and she raised her country’s flag there on April 21. She was part of an all-female Euro-Arabian Polar expedition, which was led by Felicity Aston who was the first woman to travel unaided across the Antarctic mainland. As a result she was recognised as “Woman of the Year” by Grazia magazine which is published in Qatar. In 2019, Al Thani became the first Qatari woman to summit Aconcagua.

On November 8, 2021 she became the Qatari first woman to reach the summit of Ama Dablam. Earlier that year, she summited Mount Elbrus in Russia, and Dhaulagiri and the eighth highest mountain, Manaslu in Nepal. As a result of her climb on Manaslu she became the first Arab to reach the summit of one of the highest mountains (an eight-thousander) without the use of oxygen. She became the first Qatari woman to summit Ama Dablam in Nepal, and then climbed Mount Vinson in January 2022.

On May 9, 2022, she became first Arab to climb Kangchenjunga.

Al Thani reached the summit of Everest on May 27, 2022. On that journey, she and her team carried a football created by adidas for the FIFA World Cup Qatar to the summit of Everest.

Named ‘Al Rihla’ which means ‘the journey’, the ball was the World Cup’s first Arabic match’s official ball. She went on to reach the summit of Lhotse on May 28, 2022 and K2 in July 2022. Al Thani climbed Denali, her sixth of the seven summits on 17 June 17, 2022.

Add it up, and it’s 11 of the highest 14 summits in the world.

And, oh, by the way, she is also a member of the ruling family of Qatar, and in meeting her after the panel, she is about as down-to-earth a person as anyone you’ve ever met. Down-to-earth seems a bit of a common phrase for people, because – please remember – for every eight-thousander climbed, she had to get down, as well. She had to come back down to earth.

On one trip, her team leader actually thanked her for her monumental decision to stop and turn back after a couple days or horrendous weather. The team leader would’ve pushed on if it was his client’s wish.

On another, she actually called it quits … as in, she had come to the realization she was so sick and tired that she would need to simply sit down, and by doing so, she would – most likely – end her own life.

She described one harrowing experience.

“After seven days in base camp, we pushed on,” she began. “I had a team with me, a very strong team. We had a rotation, as the weather was not favorable. The weather was providing two days, but my body was not ‘doing well.’ I was very sick, but I still wanted to push to get to that summit.

“As I was going up, our push was taking longer than expected. The rope team decided and turned around, so my team had to help fix the ropes. As we climbed, I was getting sicker and sicker, and the weather was beginning to turn.

“I told my guide, he should turn around, but he said, ‘We need to go,’ and you need to push. We continued to climb, but the sickness was causing (vomit) and stomach pain. About 100 metres from the summit, I sat down. My guide told me, if I sit down, I would begin to lose body function. I told my guide, he needed to go.”

I said, “No, I don’t think I’m going to go and, if you stay here with me, you’re going to die.

“For a moment there, it seemed easier to stay than to continue down that mountain. It was about 19 hours, non-stop. No food. In my head, I figured it was 14 hours down. I didn’t think I had it in me. I will just go here and it will be easier.

“My guide looked at me, and I said to him, ‘I’m tired,’ and he simply said, ‘I’m tired, too.’ At that moment, I realized he’s tired, I’m tired, so we must do this together. I got back up and we continued to go back down the mountain.

“After that time, I did not climb for a year. I asked myself, ‘Why should I push myself beyond my capabilities. Why should I push myself to the extent that I was ready to stay on that mountain?

“Once I realized that, I returned to the point and I was ready to climb again. And, that I needed to do it in the right way. I realized that I was not climbing to get to the summit. I was climbing to get to know who I am.

“I knew I had to get myself in the right physical condition and the right mental condition, but I will not push myself beyond that point.”

Amazing.

Come August 27 to September 12, 2027, Sheikha Asmaa bint Thani A M Al-Thani will be welcoming the USA Basketball senior national team and the other 31 men’s national teams who qualify for the 2027 FIBA World Cup basketball tournament in Qatar. It will be the first FIBA Basketball World Cup to be held in the Arab/Middle East world, and the third straight to be held in Asia as Qatar is under FIBA’s Asian region.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Boston Celtics announced the signing of an extension for their 2024 NBA Champion and 2024-25 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the deal was widely reported as being a two-year extension for $44.2 million. His current, four-year deal was for $30m.

“Payton’s a very good player who has put in the time and added to his game each season that he’s been in Boston,” said President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens. “He’s just a flat-out winner, whose toughness, commitment to team, and work ethic are all elite. We’re thrilled that he’s chosen to extend with the C’s.”

Pritchard, the Celtics’ second-longest-tenured player, is entering his seventh NBA season after averaging career highs of 17.0 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 32.4 minutes per game across 79 appearances (50 starts) during the 2025-26 campaign. The 28-year-old tallied 27 20-point games last season, including six games with 30+ points, while shooting 46.4 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from 3-point range, and 89.0 percent from the free-throw line. Pritchard has appeared in 426 career games (67 starts) across six seasons with the Celtics.

In breaking news, Pope Leo has left the hospital (in Rome) and will be back in action to root on his Villanova Wildcats of the BIG EAST.

SPALKING HEADS: In sports-biz news, Spalk, a cloud-based commentary and technology platform scaling multilingual commentary for teams, leagues and broadcast partners, announced its largest North American sports expansion, adding more non-English global partnerships with the NFL and the NBA as the fall progresses. The NBA expansion will include the first-ever remote broadcasts in seven languages for NBA on Prime, while the NFL expansion now includes live commentary in five additional languages never offered before.

“We have come a long way from launching the business in a New Zealand dorm room in 2015, and there is no better proof of concept than what we are now doing with a growing number of North American leagues, particularly the NFL and the NBA,” said Ben Reynolds oo-founder and CEO at Spalk. “The best way to reach consumers and make them fans on a global level is to give them the excitement of the live event in their own language, and we have refined the technology so that delivery, consistency and professionalism of talent is at a premium. By employing the largest group of multilingual talent literally everywhere in the world, we can assure that the leagues, our growing list of broadcast partners and most importantly the fans, are literally being heard and enjoying real-time multilingual broadcasts every day, with more to come.”

This season, Spalk will provide NBA broadcasts in Greek, Portuguese, Turkish, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian and Korean using their qualifying list of talent. For NBA on Prime, coverage will cover Friday doubleheaders with 28 different commentators on one night across the two games. Twice this season there will be triple header broadcasts. That will require 42 commentators in one day across three games.

TID-BITS & NUGGETS: Attention all NBA prop people: The NBA will be restricting player props via sportsbook partners such as Draft Kings and Fan Duel. The league-mandated restrictions will include bets on players who will score the first basket of a game and parlays built around statistical unders for players expected to see limited playing time. The player prop prohibitions, which take effect this season, were outlined in a letter to sportsbook operators and a memo to all NBA teams. The restrictions will also apply to the WNBA next season. … The prop that’s more fun in gaming is the “last basket” (FG or 3-point FG – no FTs). … Same goes for “last touchdown,” with credit to receivers not QBs and no field goals or extra point action at all.

NEXT SUNDAY: The famed Spanish soccer matchup El Clásico, featuring Real Madrid vs. F.C. Barcelona will be on next Sunday, October 25th. To their credit, the MLS schedule-maker has home team LA Galaxy vs. LAFC on the very same date (25 October) at 9:00pm (ET/6:00pm (local) at BMO Stadium.. That matchup? El Trafico.

THE NBA POWER RANKINGS: Heading into the NBA regular season openers (this Tuesday, October 20) with (3pm Boston at Detroit), (7pm Philadelphia at New York complete with Ring Ceremony and banner raising pregame at Madison Square Garden), and (9:30pm OKC at San Antonio), there’s a consensus study of media predictions for the best teams in the league. VSiN compiled a bunch for its preseason NBA guide. Here are the results:

NBA Team, Power Ranking #

OKLAHOMA CITY 104.0

SAN ANTONIO 103.5

NEW YORK 103.0

PHILADELPHIA 101.5

BOSTON 101.0

DENVER 101.0

DETROIT 101.0

MINNESOTA 101.0

CLEVELAND 100.5

LA LAKERS 100.5

KEEP AN 👀 ON: The Atlanta Hawks, the return of the Indiana Pacers and the new and improved Utah Jazz.

ON THE COLLEGE FRONT: Longtime readers know, WWYI has gone to the length of picking a full NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket in the preseason. That has become increasingly harder with the fact the vast amount of Top 25 college basketball teams turnover their rosters via the transfer portal, adding veteran international players and – now – rarely landing a great high school prospect. Most coaches prefer the veteran 22-year old over an 18-year old first year, right out of the State high school tournaments and AAU summer ball.

Rather than a full bracket, how about a basic college basketball preseason …

Top 10

Florida
Duke
UConn
Illinois
Texas
Michigan St.
Arizona
Miami
Louisville
Virginia

Worth watching: Kansas, Houston, St. John’s, Michigan, UCLA, Kentucky, Alabama, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Iowa St.

Pat LaFontaine raises $millions for his Companions in Courage fund

PEACE OUT: The Nobel Prizes are among the world’s most prestigious honors. There are honors for Laureates in the categories of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, economics and peace. Why isn’t there a prize for sports? … It would not be a typical community relations or most valuable player type award, as the respective leagues take care of that with all kinds of different honors. … The very first Nobel Prize for Sports might go to:

Dikembe Mutombo (posthumously)
Roberto Clemente (posthumously)
Serena Williams
Neymar
David Beckham
Jordan Spieth
Pat LaFontaine

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct. 4th

October 4, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

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

BOSTON – On September 28, the United States Senate issued the following statement:

On September 28th, with a large bipartisan vote of 77-22, the Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act (S.4668), authored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz(R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). This bill is a major step toward ending the chaos and uncertainty plaguing college sports and providing student athletes, fans, schools, and coaches desperately needed relief. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.

Embed from Getty Images

Cruz was quoted in the statement saying, “Today is a monumental day for college athletics. The United States Senate voted to protect the hundreds of thousands of student athletes currently competing in college sports, the millions who will follow in their footsteps, and every college sports fan who wants to preserve this great American tradition for generations to come. After years of discussions and months of intense deliberations, we achieved what many said was impossible and succeeded in getting the Protect College Sports Act through the Senate with a huge bipartisan vote. I am proud of our success, and I trust the House of Representatives will remain focused on bringing stability to college sports by delivering the Protect College Sports Act to President Trump’s desk without delay.”

The Bill faces two major hurdles:

The House of Representatives is not in session. The broken branch of lawmakers took an eight-week recess (September 16-November 9). While pundits claimed the break was to allow Congress to return to home districts to campaign for the upcoming mid-term elections, the truth was that Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, took the drastic measure to avoid a prominent call introduced by Republican Representative Thomas Massie to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Additionally, there is little to no guarantee that the House will vote on the Bill as it currently exists, and if they do, it might not pass.
While Cruz lauds the Bill for its supposed protection of collegiate athletes, there are quite a few athletes, and their legal representatives, who believe the Bill is not in the best interest of the athletes as it limits Name, Image and Likeness earnings and limits the number of years a student can remain eligible. Previously and consistently, Courts across the land have ruled for extra college eligibility years for various reasons.

According to legal expert Darren Heitner, after issuing the news release, Cruz spent the next two days insisting the momentum (of the Senate passing the Bill) would carry across the Capitol. He told (anyone who would listen) that he has held “extensive conversations” with Speaker Mike Johnson, that he still expects the House to return before the election, and that “the House can pass this in one day.” Jake Sherman’s reporting says otherwise. House Republican leadership says there is no chance members come back for the bill, that leadership doubts it could even get enough members back, that the bill is not a priority five weeks before an election, and that leadership is not confident it could get through the Rules Committee. The House is not scheduled to return until early November (Nov. 9).

Cruz certainly knows the truth of the matter, so you wonder what his motive can be in outright lying? Or, is he simply dreaming?

Marc Edelman, a tenured law professor at Baruch, a sports ethics director, Fulbright Scholar and Sports, Gaming & Antitrust Attorney, urged reporters to stop accepting what the Bill’s advocates say it does and, instead, examine the incentives each advocate actually has. “It doesn’t take a lot of intellect to understand that this Bill was never primarily about athletes, Olympic sports, or women’s sports, but about a handful of powerful constituencies each walking away with something it wanted, while the athletes who generate the revenue were subordinated,” noted Edelman.

On the surface, there’s a fundamental flaw which the Senate seemed to ignore.

The athletes will have various limitations put forth, including income and length of service.
The college administrators, coaches, school Presidents, and staff have no such limitations on their salary nor their own length of service.

Instead? There seems to be an incentive to return college athletics to the ‘way it used to be’ before all of these new rules and lawsuits changed the landscape beloved by so many fans who love the bands, the cheerleaders while looking the other way as the NCAA pocketed billions while the players in each and every sport compete with a college scholarship held over their heads as compensation.

Edelman also notes, “The NCAA’s Charlie Baker shows his incentive with the least speculation. The NCAA has been asking Congress for antitrust protection since the Supreme Court made clear in 2021 that it enjoys none. This Bill delivers it, shielding the NCAA, the conferences, the schools, and the College Sports Commission from federal suits over the enforcement of compensation, transfer, and eligibility rules. Critics have pointed out that the Bill’s protections for women’s sports sunset after nine years while the antitrust exemption never expires. When one party’s benefit is permanent, and the other’s is temporary, the drafters have told you which provision is the point.”

Proponents of the Bill note, “(The Bill has the) support of 32 collegiate athletic conferences and more than 380 colleges and universities across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Additional endorsements for the bill include: the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the players associations for the NFL and the NBA, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), FBS Athletics Directors Association, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), Team USA Athletes’ Commission (Team USA AC), and National Governing Body Council (NGBC).

Others point out a key fact which handcuffs labor, as the athletes themselves currently do not have the mechanism to unionize nationally. If there were to be a union representing the athletes (and possible sub-divisions of the union by sport and/or by college conference), the parties could enter into Collective Bargaining, and eventually reach an agreement which would serve the athletes with much better care and secure protections for an equal amount of time as the antitrust agreements for the NCAA and schools calls for in years.

No matter if the House takes a line item scissors to the Bill or even if Johnson decides to table the Bill until next year, there will be no changes in the college Football and Basketball operations of 2026-27. Chances are, we’ll be singing the same old college fight song for 2027-28, 2028-29 and 2029-30.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: “CBS Sports and Tony Romo have mutually agreed to part ways,” CBS Sports wrote in a statement. “We thank Tony for his contributions over the past nine years and wish him the best moving forward.”

Romo was tossed out the door at CBS Sports on Friday about 10 weeks after the broadcaster’s arrest for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Romo, a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback who had been the network’s lead NFL analyst since 2017, pleaded no contest to the civil charge in a Wisconsin court on Sept. 1.

“JJ Watt will continue to partner with Jim Nantz and Tracy Wolfson on our lead NFL announce team for the rest of the season. All other teams remain the same, including Ian Eagle, Ross Tucker and Evan Washburn.”

“I’m proud of what I accomplished at CBS Sports over the last nine years,” Romo said in a statement. “I approached my role as a game analyst the way I’ve approached everything in my life — with a desire to win and be the best that I can be. I’m going to use this time to take a break, something I’ve never done before, and focus on my health and my family before moving on to my next opportunity. I am grateful for my time with CBS Sports and for the continued support of my family and friends, as well as the NFL community and fans.”

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Zeke Battier, out of Providence Day (NC) for the Class of ‘27, has committed to play college basketball at Harvard. Eye-brows were up here in Massachusetts as you’d think young Zeke would follow in his father’s footsteps to Duke. Instead, Shane Battier will be a sideline, backseat, parents’ view co-coach to Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker when Zeke debuts at The Ray Lavietes Basketball Pavilion in trhe Fall of ‘27.

Recruiting site Phenom Hoops of North Carolina has this to say: “A strong get for Harvard, as Battier brings an intriguing game but also is one that still has clear potential. Standing at 6-foot-7, Battier brings a fluid overall game, something he has shown for quite some time now. He is comfortable in operating from multiple levels, scoring inside and out in transition, runs the floor, can space the floor well with his perimeter game, but also can attack the rim off the bounce. Again though, he is one that we can clearly see has room for growth at the next level, which will make him an interesting prospect to follow.

“Battier is an exceptional three-point shooter who converts a very high percentage of his looks from beyond the arc. He’s also a smart passer who understands how to make the extra pass or effectively read the floor when attacking closeouts. However, he displayed a visible increase in toughness, creation skills, and ability off the bounce. Battier’s perimeter shooting is still his most valuable weapon, but his newfound confidence as a penetrator and finisher was undeniably intriguing. Having an elite shooter who can reliably attack closeouts and make intelligent decisions is an advantage for legitimately any team. Furthermore, Battier defended multiple positions and utilized his length to be disruptive in the passing lanes.”

SURPRISE! UConn and St. John’s are rated #1 and #2, respectively, by the BIG EAST Conference Coaches in a poll of their own men’s college basketball teams. The Hoyas and the Bulldogs – not so much.

WE’RE LIVE: Despite the burgeoning Sports Management offerings at the undergrad and grad levels of higher learning, there are very few “hands on” text books with first person narratives to hand down the real world experience to students. Joe Favorito’s “Sports Publicity” is already in its Fourth Edition and is a handbook for many a class, covering the Communications and Media side on the major. Now, “We’re Live” can cover the Broadcasting side as NBA broadcasting guru Ed Desser combined with his longtime friend and colleague in ESPN digital and Kosner Sports Media man John Kosner for the ultimate “go to” book for young people seeking to learn more about the very big business of sports media.

Ed Desser (left) and John Kosner at their book launch in Times Square, NYC

“We’re Live” launched this week with a special ‘invite only’ gathering of the very best in NYC sports media legends toasting good fortune to Desser and Kosner.

“Launch day for our book, “We’re Live!” was quite an experience,” Desser told me the day after the event. “Inside the big business of sports media, was magical. On Thursday, we took pictures at our Times Square billboard, watched book sales skyrocket on amazon.com, and had an amazing get together with a “Who’s Who of sports media” to celebrate the book launch.

“Particular thanks to Adam Silver, Marv Albert, and Eric Stern, former NBA Commissioner David Stern‘s son. Also a big shout out to Linda Tosi, David’s former assistant who graced us with her presence.

“There is a void in the marketplace on the subject of sports media business, and we hope to fill it with our book. Further information is available at Werelivebook.com or order a paperback or a Kindle version ($1.99) at amazon.com where it’s listed as #1 in Media and Communications Industry books.

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly (every weekend) collection of Sports Notes and News written by Terry Lyons. The posting of each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city news stand on Saturday night around 10:00pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a compilation of interesting sports notes, quotes and quips in a column that always sold a few newspapers. Wire Service reports are featured within the column.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – Brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Sept 27

September 29, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

By TERRY LYONS

FENWAY – Earlier this season, the Boston Red Sox were 9-19 at Fenway Park, and then the Olde Town Team fell to the depths of an end of June record of 17-27 at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark. At that point in time, playing the Red Sox was truly beloved by every visiting team.

Now, as the season ended and the Red Sox and Chicago Cubs traveled to Tampa-St. Pete to play their 162nd game of the season, the Sox left behind a 41-39 record at Fenway – a miraculous midseason turnaround. Boston won 18 of their final 30 series, including 10 of their final 16 home series, dating back to June 12.

On Friday, against the Chicago Cubs, Boston recorded its AL-leading 18th pitching shutout of the season and second of their last four games. They also shutdown Cleveland on Sept. 23rd. The Sox lead the AL but trail Philadelphia (19) for the MLB lead in shutouts. For Boston, it’s the second most shutouts in the Live-Ball Era (since 1920) behind 1972 when they registered 20.

Amongst the most miraculous of turn-arounds has been the season of Brayan Bello who was demoted to the minors earlier in the season but has bounced back in his 13 games (including three starts) since the All-Star break. Bello is 4-1 with a 2.12 ERA in 51 innings with 43 strikeouts.

On the offensive side, no Sox player has been more inconsistent than Jarren Duran. Dialing it back to 2023, Duran batted .295 (BA)/.346 OBP; In 2024, .285 (BA)/.342 OBP with career highs in At Bats – 671; Doubles 48 and Triples 14. He had a 20/20 season with Home Runs and Stolen Bases.

This year, Duran is batting .208 (BA)/.267 (OBP). While Duran registered another 20/20 season, his WAR (Wins Above Replacement) went from a luxurious 9.0 in ‘24 to a measly 0.6 this season. Duran’s season-long Runs Batting went from (31) in ‘24 to (-19) this season.

Looking ahead to a Wild Card series against the New York Yankees, this season Duran batted .211 in 38 At Bats. At least .211 > .208.

The streaks, stats and game scores over the course of 161 games, underlines the fact the Red Sox are about as inconsistent as a team can be. One month – invincible. Another – anemic. And, it’s not just Duran. It’s everyone.

Outfielder and leadoff man Roman Anthony had been sidelined for the vast amount of the season but has returned to his position in left (or DH) and on top of the Red Sox batting order and he’s been hot, including a three-for-four performance Friday by way of two doubles and a triple. After that, the Sox can’t put three hot bats together on any given night.

Since September 19, the Sox have lost games by the score of 2-1, 5-1, 3-2 and 1-0. That’s four runs in four key games. That noted, they head into the final game of the regular season with a three-of-four win streak.

Regarding the New York Yankees, the Red Sox lost three of four between August 28-30, splitting a doubleheader on the 29th. Back in late June, Boston took four straight between June 25 and June 28th. Those four wins began a run to take the Sox from a dismal 26-35 on June 4th to 64-51 on August 7th. That’s a 38-16 maneuver into playoff contention. It eventually locked the Sox into the No. 5 Wild Card seed, facing the Yankees (No. 4) while the No. 3 Houston Astros face the No. 6 Chicago White Sox.

The Red Sox will play New York in a best-of-three Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday (Sept. 29-Oct 1).

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The WNBA Playoffs begin Sunday, September 27 with a 30-minute WNBA Countdown (Presented by Google Pixel) at 1:30pm ET on ABC and streaming on the ESPN App, followed by a first-round doubleheader. At 2:00pm, Napheesa Collier and the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year, host Breanna Stewart and the No. 8 New York Liberty in a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals. At 4 p.m., reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces begin their title defense against Caitlin Clark and the No. 6 Indiana Fever.

ESPN is coming off its most-watched WNBA regular season ever as the league celebrated its 30th season. This season also marked the third straight year ESPN has delivered its most-viewed WNBA regular season on record. Across 29 games, the WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.37M viewers, up 17% year-over-year and ranking as ESPN networks’ most-viewed WNBA regular season on record. ESPN presented 17 games this season, averaging 1.24M viewers, up 32% year-over-year, while 12 games on ABC averaged 1.56M viewers, up 9% year-over-year.

WNBA Playoff games will be telecast by Prime Video, USA Network, CNBC, along with ESPN and ABC.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The Travelers Championship recently announced that the 2026 tournament generated more than $5 million for 290 charities, setting record highs in both categories. Funds were distributed to representatives from participating nonprofits at the annual Travelers Championship Charity Celebration at TPC River Highlands.

Howie Singer, longtime producer and director for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network became the first television director to receive the prestigious Governors’ Award at the New York Sports Emmy Awards reception this past week. Singer began in the 1981-82 season and has worked Knicks games ever since. Along the way, he directed dozens of NBA Playoff games for Turner Broadcasting, produced and directed USA Basketball Showcase and Olympics/World Cup games, NBA Finals and NBA All-Star Games for the league’s World Feed.

Golden State’s Stephen Curry agreed to a two-year contract extension reportedly worth $116 million that would take him through the 2028-29 season. Curry was eligible to command up to $136 million, so he is giving his club a discount as he backs up his longstanding commitment to finish his career with the Warriors.

Gary Bettman will begin his 34th season as NHL Commissioner. The one time General Counsel of the NBA under then-Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik is now the longest-serving commissioner among the major North American sports leagues.

“We’re coming off a season of record revenues and record attendance, said Bettman to the Sports Business Journal. “Our ratings were through the roof in the United States, we’re over 80 national sponsors and we want to continue to first make sure the game maintains its entertaining, compelling nature because we’ve had a spectacular run on the ice.”

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Sept 11th

September 13, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

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

CHESTNUT HILL – Why do 25 years matter more than 11 years, or 23 years or 18? To most of us who were alive and kicking at the turn of the century, September 11th, 2001 was the single worst day of our lives. To most of us, there is no way the second worst day of our lives was anywhere near as bad as that horrible first day of school, blue sky September morning.

But, for those of us who called New York City home in 2001, the second worst day of our lives was September 12th, then 13th, then 14th – although starting on 9/12, there was a very different vibe developing. despite that supporting effort, it remained a horrible, a dull curve of terribleness, especially when the funerals came three times a day at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, 50 yards from my office door. It was a devastating, seemingly endless way of mourning.

The bagpipes. The widows. The families. The black hearses and limos – all lined up on Fifth Avenue from 50th to 51st Streets. Then, the 100s and 1000s of firefighters and police – many from out of state. – standing at attention in front of the church and all along the sidewalks. The same scene played out each and every day for the rest of September and into October and November and December. The last funeral was as horrible as the first. The bagpipes sounded out loudly and meaningfully, but the stoic, blank stares of shock, depression and desperation all remained intact – day after day, month after month.

Of course, the funerals were not all at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Rockefeller Center. They were held in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. They were staged at 8am, 11am, 1pm, or 3pm to allow the firefighters, police and brass to be able to attend every one of the services, or as many as physically possible. Funerals were staged on Staten Island and in Nassau and Suffolk counties, in Westchester and Rockland counties and Connecticut and in Jersey.

Three thousand funerals in churches up and down the east coast from Massachusetts to Virginia where the terrorist attacked took the lives of innocent workers at The Pentagon. There were memorials in Shanksville, Pennsylvania – population 199. It was Shanksville where United Flight 93 disintegrated into the ground as passengers who boarded the Boeing 757 at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, died in a valiant attempt to overtake the terrorists on board who were steering the airplane towards Washington D.C. rather than its scheduled destination of San Francisco International Airport in California.

Hockey great Garnet “Ace” Bailey, a former NHL player with the Bruins and then the Los Angeles Kings’ director of pro scouting, was aboard United Airlines Flight 175 with a colleague from his department.

Thus, there were funerals in the Bay area, and in LA and its Southern California suburbs for the victims who boarded American 11 and United 175 at Logan International in Boston, destined for Los Angeles but hijacked to their instantaneous deaths hitting the North and South Towers of the trade Center, respectively.

In the WTC buildings, there were workers from all over the world. All of different ages, of different occupations – some others just having breakfast at Windows on the World, a restaurant and conference center on the 106th/107th floors of the North Tower. That was a place I remember enjoying a special brunch treat upon my high school graduation in 1977. It had been open a year.

In all, people from 90 different countries perished and a rough estimate proved there were victims who practiced the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist faiths.

Individual stories of exactly where people witnessed the horrific news are as widely diverse as the victims and survivors themselves. Stories of those who took a day off and walked or drove their child to the first day of the 2001-02 school year are heartwarming but equally frightening from the ‘what ifs’ people still cope with on a daily basis. At least that’s how I felt, as I had just returned from the Goodwill Games (Brisbane, Australia) the night before and sat out on the various taxiways of JFK as thunderstorms had grounded all flights that Monday night. I believe it was only lack of fuel remaining on a Quantas Air Brisbane-Auckland-LAX-JFK flight allowed us an earlier landing as planes circled Kennedy and nearby LaGuardia airports on the night of September 10th. There was a NY Giants vs Denver Broncos Monday Night football game, televised from a then brand new Invesco Field at Mile High. Denver won, 31-20.

Jet lag from three weeks or more on the Pacific Rim had this columnist’s body clock wound backwards and awake that early morning, TVs blaring from an apartment at 91st Street, between 1st Ave and York, 5.8 miles away from Ground Hero as the crow flies. The helpless feeling of watching on TV unable to assist in any manner and being told to not go anywhere south of 14th Street in Manhattan was devastating, but there was a steady stream of southern Manhattan workers and residents walking 2-2 1/2 hours north to escape the chaos. It was quite clear there was a total lockdown ongoing downtown.

The only recourse, with a three year old and one year old in tow, was to walk to our local parish – St. Joseph’s in Yorkville – where we sat with a handful of parishioners in silence.

Afterward, we walked to the little park in front of Asphalt Green on York Avenue. Our daughters played on the swings and we sat together on park benches, lumps in our throats and still a feeling of helplessness. Jets circled Manhattan – F-15C Eagles from the 102nd Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, based at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape Cod – and it was a sight I never thought I would see in my lifetime.

Fast forward a year, and I was sitting with some good friends as we conducted a Basketball w/o Borders camp in Europe and the day was done, a bite to be had with some great red wine and greater people. Some of the friends at the table rarely hung out with Americans and it was their first chance to ask a few questions, directed to a New Yorker who had lived on Manhattan island on the day of the attacks.

We told the story of the final day of the Goodwill Games, the flight to JFK, and the jet lag. Then watching everything occur in real time on September 11th, but on TV like everyone else in the world. Then, my true reaction and honest statement of “I never thought I’d see F-15s circling Manhattan Island and defending our Eastern Seaboard.”

Said one of our dear friends, the wife of Serbia’s hard-working coach Marin Sedlacek, to put it all in perspective; “Yeah, you should see those F-15 jets when they’re dropping bombs.”

To Put that remark in Context: The US and NATO conducted a bombing campaign in the former Yugoslavia that lasted 78 days, from March 24 to June 10, 1999. The US and its NATO allies intervened during the Kosovo War to force Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević to halt ethnic cleansing against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

“War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.” – by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Each September 11 (or closest possible date), the Boston College Eagles honor the memory of a former student-athlete, Welles Crowther, by playing a game in tribute to the deceased BC lacrosse player, who graduated and turned commodities broker at Sandler O’Neill and Partners in NYC. After graduation, he worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

It took time, but the New York Times and Crowther’s mother put together the unimaginable moments of what the young man encountered in the final hour of his life on September 11, 2001.

UA 175 hit the South Tower at 9:03 that morning. Crowther called his mother from his office at 9:12, leaving the message, “Mom, this is Welles. I wanted you to know that I’m okay.” Afterward Crowther, a volunteer firefighter in training, made his way to the 78th-floor sky lobby, where he encountered a group of survivors, including a badly burned Ling Young, who worked on the 86th floor in New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance. Young had been among a group of people waiting at a bank of elevators to evacuate when the plane hit the tower.

Crowther, carrying a young woman on his back, directed them to the one working stairway. The survivors followed him 17 floors down, where he dropped off the woman he was carrying before heading back upstairs to assist others. By the time he returned to the 78th floor, he had a bandana around his nose and mouth to protect him from smoke and haze. A red bandana.

He found another group of survivors, which included AON Corp. employee Judy Wein (who worked on the 103rd floor) in pain from a broken arm, cracked ribs, and a punctured lung, all injuries coming from being tossed around after the initial impact of a Boeing 757 aircraft- flying 500 mph – hitting a standing structure. According to Wein, Crowther assisted in putting out fires and administering first aid. He then announced to that group, “Everyone who can stand, stand now. If you can help others, do so.”

As occupants of the Tower headed for the street, Crowther returned up the stairs to help others. He was last seen doing so with members of the FDNY before the South Tower collapsed at 9:59.

Amazingly, a mostly completed New York City firefighter application was discovered in his home after his death.

According to survivor accounts, Crowther saved as many as 18 people during the attacks.

Crowther’s family was unaware of his actions between his last phone call to his mother and his death, until Allison Crowther read Judy Wein’s firsthand account of being saved by a man in a red bandana in The New York Times in May 2002, eight months after the Towers fell.

Allison then met with the people Welles had saved, including Wein and Young, and they confirmed his identity through photographs.

In 2006, Crowther was posthumously named an honorary New York City firefighter by Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. That same year, Crowther’s Boston College lacrosse teammate, Tyler Jewell, wore a red bandana in honor of Crowther when he competed as a member of the United States snowboarding team in the 2006 Winter Olympics.

On September 13, 2014, Boston College played the University of Southern California and the team wore uniforms symbolizing Crowther’s red bandana, including a helmet stripe, cleats and gloves with a red bandana pattern. Somehow, someway, BC defeated then No. 9 USC Trojans, 37-31, before a sellout crowd in Chestnut Hill. It was a miracle – a Miracle!

This Friday, BC defeated Rutgers, 28-21. The Red Bandana game lives on. – Forever.

BOSTON COLLEGE: What is the Red Bandana Game. Watch THIS to find out.

THE POINT: A flight home from Australia draped with USA Basketball gear, t-shirts and sweatshirts was met with devastation of the USA on the very next day, as noted above. After the shock of 9/11, and the realization there were pictures of the missing victims seemingly everywhere you looked, along with empty wheelchairs at the hospitals and news of very few survivors, it was only a feeling of emptiness that prevailed.

Lost.

The shock, confusion and mourning stretched some ten more days and the timeline shifted to returning to daily routines. Late Night TV comedians had been preempted and the studios were all dark. Professional and college sports came to an immediate halt, and that meant the weekend of NFL football was scrapped on September 15-16.

On September 21, 10 days after the attacks, Major League Baseball returned to New York City as the New York Mets hosted the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium. The game served as a signal to get back. As the game progressed, Shea Stadium came to life, but the Mets trailed the Atlanta Braves, 2-1, in the bottom of the eighth. Edgardo Alfonzo drew a walk and there was one out as catcher Mike Piazza stepped up to the plate.

Piazza hit a baseball about as hard as a baseball can be hit. He took a second to watch it fly. It was a two-run home run to give the Mets a 3-2 lead that would stand up for the win. Shea Stadium’s loyal fans erupted with joy. It was okay to smile again.

Sports did that.

A month later, the New York Yankees had advanced to the World Series and were facing the Arizona Diamondbacks. At Game 3, played on October 30, 2001, President George W. Bush was asked to throw out the first pitch. There was considerable angst for the stadium security and NYPD. That angst was replaced with joy when President Bush zipped a rope-like fastball right across the plate.

Sports did that.

Ten days before the Series, the Concert for New York was staged at a sold-out Madison Square Garden, packed with the FDNY and NYPD survivors and the families of the deceased. Pictures of loved ones were held high. There were hugs and tears, and then The Who played four of their best songs.

“Who Are You”
“Baba O’Riley”
“Behind Blue Eyes”
“Won’t Get Fooled Again”

The Garden can rock, but it had never rocked like it did during that four-song set.

Music did that.

In between sets at the show, actors and comedians were asked to introduce some of the families who lost a loved one or just a group of fire fighters releasing some pent up emotion.

One of those skits was comedian (and actor) Adam Sandler doing his “Operaman” routine from Saturday Night Live.

It was hysterical and he stole the entire show.

Comedy did that.

Sports. Music. Comedy. That’s what brought us back, along with a ton of hugs and tears shared with our loved ones. It was a time to hug the kids a little bit tighter and a little bit longer before the bedtime routine.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Sept. 6

September 6, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

Alumni Stadium at Boston College (Photo by T. Peter Lyons)

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

CHESTNUT HILL – After an NCAA Week 0, which included an eyebrow-raising North Carolina (with Coach Big Bill Belechick) win over perennial power TCU and a shocking UMass victory over Big TEN doormat Rutgers, it’s time for the 2026 College Football season. The first “real” Saturday of the season came fast upon us and the results will be unfolding as this column is created (September 5).

This column will rely upon experts such as Phil Steele and his incredible preseason magazine to ESPN pundits to VSiN experts and a few early observations from the brand new armchair placed just yesterday in the Lyons’ den.

Only a handful of early afternoon and a few early evening games are in the scorebooks as of the time of writing. Some early impressions?

Boston College barely made a showing in a 34-15 dismantling by Cincinnati
The powerhouse Top 25 schools mostly saw typical one-sided scores over weak opponenents with the exception of a back-and-forth Oregon win over Boise St. (34-27).
A primetime Clemson v. LSU game was delayed because of weather.
The non-NFL Labor Day weekend bodes well for the schedule. Sunday, September 6 boasts three top notch games, including: Washington St. at Washington, Wisconsin at Notre Dame and Louisville at Ole Miss.

Looking further down the road, there’s some interesting buckets of information tucked into the Phil Steele annual. Consider a few that struck a chord and have been filed away as the season progresses:

Steele’s 2026 Toughest Schedule – Top 10

Texas
Michigan
USC
Arkansas
Oklahoma
Ohio St.
Michigan St.
Mississippi St.
Purdue
Florida

Steele’s Surprise Teams for 2026

Alabama
BYU
Oklahoma
USC
Utah
SMU
Clemson
Louisville
Iowa
Houston

Steele’s POWER Ten Teams for 2026

Notre Dame
Oregon
Georgia
Ohio St.
Texas
Indiana
Oklahoma
Mississippi
Miami (FL)
USC

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: After serving more than seven years as WNBA Commissioner, Cathy Engelbert announced her plan to step down at the end of 2026. The announcement came after severe criticism of the WNBA leadership team, mostly coming from the rank and file WNBA players.

Engelbert led the WNBA through very important times. Among her major accomplishments:

Leading the WNBA with the WNBA Players Association to formulate a monumental collective bargaining agreement that will govern the league from its inception in 2026 through 2032.
Navigating the league through a season in a bubble during COVID-19.
Leading the WNBA efforts for its current, blockbuster and record-setting television and media arrangments. The term runs from 2026-2036 aqnd will generate $2.2 billion from Disney/ABC/ESPN platforms, NBC Universal and Amazon. An additional $281m annually ($3.1 billion) will come from auxillary deals with USA Network, ION and CBS Paramount. The deals will be analyzed in 2028 for possible adjustments.
Overseeing the WNBA during unprecedented growth of teh league, including record interest to follow the career of Caitlin Clark.

The burning question surfacing in each and every story of Englebert’s retirement is the uncertain succession plan to name a new WNBA Commissioner. In columns and other media reports, speculation has run the gamut of naming recently retired players, like Swin Cash to sitting Governors (Maura Healy of Massachusetts) to former First Lady Michele Obama.

While they’re all great suggestions, it’s more likely the successor to Englebert will come from either an all-out executive search committee, an internal candidate at the WNBA or a team, or someone currently working in the sports industry. Regardless, it will take time.

The most feasible move for the NBA and WNBA is to lure recently retired Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman back to her old stomping grounds – even if it’s just for a six month interim basis.

Ackerman was the WNBA’s first executive leader, then titled President. Ackerman oversaw the lead-up to the WNBA launch – a year-long barnstorming by the USA Basketball women’s senior national team, leading into the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. It served as the perfect launchpad for the WNBA in the summer of 1997.

Ackerman’s calming presence would be welcomed by both management (WNBA Board) and players. Since the season runs from May until October (2027), the stabilization of the organization between January and June will be an important window of time.

There’s no question, Val Ackerman can get the job done and then sail off to a happy retirement sunset, maybe with a few million dollars from a thankful NBA-WNBA organization together with its players.

Just in case you aren’t familiar with her illustrious career, here’s a quick look via a recent edition of The Sports Business Journal. The SJ paid tribute to her amazing career with a full length story and a sidebar of her accomplishments. WWYI took the liberty to snip Val’s year-by-year C.V., including her education and sports industry high points:

The Val Ackerman File

Born: Nov. 7, 1959, Lakewood Township, NJ

Education: University of Virginia, B.A., political and social thought (1981), basketball, two-time Academic All-American; UCLA, law degree (1985)

Family: Husband, Charlie Rappaport; two daughters, Emily and Sally

Boards: NCAA Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee, member; Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, board of directors; Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, lifetime trustee

The Work of Art:

1981: Union Cosnoise Sportive Basket, player in France
1985-87: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, corporate and banking associate
1988: NBA, staff attorney
1989: USA Basketball, board of directors
1990: NBA, special assistant to the commissioner; later named vice president of business affairs
1992: USA Basketball organizational liaison at the 1992 Olympics; later has same role for 1994 Worlds and 1996 Olympics
1996: WNBA, president (league’s first); guided the league’s launch the following year
1999: College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-America Hall of Fame, inductee
2002: Atlantic Coast Conference 50th Anniversary Women’s Basketball Team
2005: USA Basketball, president (4-year term)
2005: Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, member
2005: Women’s Basketball Coaches Association President’s Citation
2006: U.S. representative for men’s and women’s basketball on the Central Board of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA); named to a second term in 2010
2008: John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
2008-13: NCAA, consultant
2012: National Consortium for Academics and Sports Hall of Fame (now called Institute for Sport & Social Justice)
2013: Big East commissioner (as the college conference split from what became the AAC conference of “football schools.”
2013: USA Basketball’s Edward S. Steitz Award for contributions to international basketball
2013: Big East signed 12-year deal with Fox Sports worth $500 million
2014: NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee, member
2014: Led the relocation of the Big East’s headquarters from Providence, RI to its current site in New York City
2014: Launched Big East Digital Network (BEDN)
2016: Women’s Sports Foundation’s Billie Jean King Contribution Award
2017: U.S. Soccer Federation, at-large board member
2018: Big East and Madison Square Garden signed agreement to keep The Garden as the home of the Big East men’s basketball tournament through 2028
2019: Led negotiations resulting in the University of Connecticut’s return to the Big East, effective 2020
2019: Co-chair of the NCAA Federal and State Legislation Working Group
2020: Oversaw and navigated Big East’s response to COVID-19 epidemic
2021: Naismith Memorial Basketball of Fame, inductee
2023: Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, inductee
2024: Big East entered into a successor media rights agreement through 2031 on multiple platforms – Fox Sports, NBC/Peacock and TNT Sports
2024: Conference and MSG extended venue agreement, keeping the Garden as the home of the Big East men’s tournament through 2032
2024: Sports Lawyers Association Michael Weiner Award of Excellence
2025: Conference entered six-year agreement with ESPN to provide broad coverage of additional Big East competitions on the ESPN+ platform
2025: Big East and Playfly Sports extended multimedia rights partnership through 2031
2026: Big East announced a three-year extension with Mohegan Sun Arena to serve as host of the women’s basketball tournament
2026: Announced planned retirement as Big East commissioner, effective Aug. 31

Will 2027 see Ms. Ackerman return to 645 Fifth Avenue and guide the reestablishment of the WNBA league office while searching for the next WNBA Commissioner?

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: all basketball fans recall the 2000 Olympics and 2002 Worlds and the coming out party for Yao Ming and “The Great Wall of China.” It was an amazing time to see the athletic and versatile 7-foot-6, 310 lbs center play for his national team and eventually the Houston Rockets.

The WNBA might be awaiting a similar story as the possibilities are endless.

China’s Zhang Ziyu – a 7-foot-3 center – is playing for the Chinese women’s national team at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin. She is among 70 current and former WNBA players dotting rosters. In fact, 15 of the 16 teams competing for the FIBA World Cup for women have a WNBA player on their rosters.

If you remember, Zheng Haixia was the first player from China to play in the WNBA. She was on the opening night roster of the Los Angeles Sparks.

Guinness Dublin barrel lot — Photo by Jessica Johnston on Unsplash

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: British police are trying to recover 70,000 pints of stolen Guinness stout. Two trailer truckloads of the creamy dark suds, valued at 115,000 pounds ($155,000), were stolen from a depot near Liverpool in northwest England, the Cheshire Constabulary reported Thursday. “It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you,’ but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for,” Det. Sgt. Gary McClatchy said. “We will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.” The Guinness had been destined for pubs, but was snatched Monday night by two drivers who pulled up to an industrial park in Runcorn and hauled away the trailers containing about 800 barrels of stout.

The Guinness caper comes only weeks after a theft of Pabst Blue Ribbon lager from a Southern California warehouse, valued at $70,000. The company offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the recovery.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – August 23

August 26, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

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

Editor’s Note: This is an all-out plea for the readers of the column to stick with this one. It weaves some Lyons family history, memories of the ‘60s and early ‘70s, the golden age of airplane travel, and then goes full circle to the NBA and many a wonderful travel experience all over the world.

Saturday night readers might park this one for Sunday morning and a cup of coffee to take time to read it in full. My thanks for indulging some glorious TL reminiscing.

LOGAN AIRPORT (Boston) – The various airline advertising slogans remain clear in my mind. Maybe the most memorable was New York Knicks announcer Marv Albert proclaiming Eastern Airlines as – “The Wings of Man.” Another great one was, “Fly the Friendly Skies of United.” or you could “Fly the American Way.” or later “We’re American Airlines Doing What We Do Best.”

A good seat behind home plate at Shea Stadium gave fans a view of the “Serval Zippers” sign and about 100 yards away was a flashing Delta Airlines sign that proclaimed “FLY DELTA ATLANTA” and “FLY DELTA CHICAGO” or a few other great American cities. Of course, you might remember a catchy slogan that reminded travelers, “Delta Is Ready When You Are.”

My father worked for Pan American World Airways, as did my older brother years later. Pan American was known as the “World’s Most Experienced Airline” and later stated “Pan Am Makes the Going Great.”

There’s no doubt, the Madison Avenue ad agencies did a great job for a highly competitive industry. At that point in time, Pan Am and Trans World Airways (TWA) were the two USA-based airlines flying worldwide routes. Pan Am did not have any domestic routes until it flew to Los Angeles in the 1980s as a way of serving the South Pacific and Pacific Rim.

I can vividly remember going down to JFK to either drop my Dad off or pick him up from an international business trip (often to/from Frankfurt, Germany, a major inventory control hub for the airline, servicing aircraft in Europe.

On those trips to the Pan Am Worldport – a brand new terminal at JFK, away from the fray of the International Arrivals Building – we had our way exploring the entire terminal and covering every inch of the circular, space age, flying saucer look of an airline terminal stacked with 747s as far as the eye could see.

Security was not as extensive as it is today, so a 12 year old boy could stroll through the entire terminal, gazing at all the destinations Pan Am served, and because of the flying privileges provided to immediate family of a Pan Am employee, we could grab our U.S. Passports and fly to every city across the globe. You name it: Mexico City, London, Paris, Cologne, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka, Calcutta, Prague, Nairobi, Moscow, Beirut, Tehran or Istanbul. (I’ve been to 14 of the 20 listed).

But, wait? Did you say Istanbul?

Yes, late Sunday night I’ll be boarding Turkish Air Flight 82 from Boston to Istanbul to assist with a week’s worth of work for the NBA Basketball School – Türkiye which will coincide (and run side-by-side) with Basketball Without Borders, an incredible joint-venture staged by the NBA and FIBA.

The details of this specific Basketball w/o Borders can be found in the league’s official press announcement – HERE. There is a major difference between this camp and many of the others conducted as far back as 2001. Rather than staging camps continent by continent, the 2026 version will bring approximately 80 players from all around the world to one location – Basketbol Gelişim Merkezi – in Istanbul. NBA and FIBA players do one-to-one training, and the 17-year old prospects are instructed with shooting drills, movement efficiency, skill development stations, 3-on-3 competitions, life-skills seminars, and 5-on-5 game competition.

The NBA Basketball School – Türkiye – which runs 365 days a year throughout the entire country, shows campers (boys/girls – ages 6+) the NBA way of training and skill development.

Next week’s column will underline some of the highlights from the camps, which begin on Wednesday, August 26.

To tie this column opener in a bow, it is very important to me to show appreciation for the privilege of traveling to countries and experiencing cultures all around the world. Those less fortunate sometimes are unable to leave their town, county or state. But, as part of a wonderful family, complete with unlimited Pan Am flight benefits, I was able to travel the world.

Then, at the NBA, the serious traveling came about – and I don’t mean the kind called by recent Hall of Fame inductee Joe Crawford. Yes, that little round basketball brought us all to places we’d never even dreamt of seeing. Friendships were built, right on the hardwood, and both the memories and the friendships seem to be everlasting.

So, indulge me for a second as I list a few of those sights and memories – stream of consciousness style. These are all things I never dreamt of seeing and visited them because of the NBA, Basketball w/o Borders, USA Basketball, and the FIBA Worlds and Olympic Games. Here’s just a few:

The site of the road into Jerusalem on a ride from Tel Aviv.
Standing in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 2004 and 2005 having experienced the very first NBA China Games and the first NBA Basketball w/o Borders – Asia with Yao Ming but thinking of what took place right there, 15 years prior in a 1989 uprising. I could visualize the never-identified protestor staring down four tanks in the middle of Chang’an Avenue. (I did a video greeting for Ed Desser’s NBA retirement party right there, and we were chased away by security).
First glimpse of the Acropolis at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. You turn one corner downtown, and it’s there.
Anytime and every time riding through the streets of London, Paris or Rome and seeing Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, or the Colosseum.
Prior to NBA travel, setting foot just barely across the border from West Germany to East Germany where barbed wire fences lined the perimeter of East Germany as far as the eye could see.
That first step into Red Square and the sight of a stunning St. Basil’s Cathedral (The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed).
Cruising Sydney Harbor with the sight of the Olympic Rings adorning Sydney Harbour Bridge, the famous Sydney Opera House right there in living color.
The all-out beauty of the City of Bruges in Belgium.
And, personal favorites before my BIG favorite: Montjuïc in Barcelona, the beaches of Maui, Montauk and Chatham, Massachusetts, Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Gold Coast along the shore in Australia, not far from Brisbane, the beauty of Prague, the tremendous dinners in Milan and Bologna, catching NHL games in Toronto and Montreal, the airport approach with the city of Vancouver glistening to your side, holding theatre tickets to a show and walking to the West End of London, the beautiful blue waters of the Caribbean, the sight of freshly picked cucumbers and tomatoes in Suhumi, Russia, or Tiblisi, Republic of Georgia, or Vilnius, Lithuania, walking the entirety of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, seeing Mount Fuji in the distance in Japan, the glaciers of Alaska upon landing on a one-stop to Asia, the views from a hotel room window staring out at Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, visting a U.S. Army base on the North Korean border, standing in Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Square and walking into St. Peter’s Basilica, the site of The Last Supper painting in Milan, standing on The Great Wall of China, a walk through Mexico City’s historic district and Zócalo Square, which leads me to my favorite, to be experienced this week …
A boat ride up the Bosphorus River in Istanbul from Europe into Asia … last experienced with Bill and Lori Walton in the Summer of 2004 on the way to the Athens Olympics. There’s nothing like seeing the Blue Mosque, then the Bosphorus Bridge, now known as 15 July Martyrs Bridge.

I’ll be thinking about Bill, Rest in Grateful Peace.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: After that lengthy stroll around the globe, there’s a nice surprise awaiting the readers of “The Column,” also known as “While We’re Young (Ideas).

Last weekend, there was quite a tribute to the NBA’s Leah Wilcox in this space, as Ms. Wilcox – we’ll call her Leah – was the very worthy recipient of the John Bunn Award – the Basketball Hall of Fame’s highest honor, just this side of enshrinment.

There are several other people who deserve mention and equal tribute in the column. I mentioned Joey Crawford, but how about Mike “The Czar of the Telestrator” Fratello, a dear friend and traveling companion to all parts of Russia and Lithuania.

There was one inductee who deserves special mention. He was inducted as a contributor, but he could’ve been honored for his pro playing career for Olimpia Milano or his European coaching achievements or – maybe most importantly – for changing the game of basketball forever when he coached in the NBA.

Yes, Mike D’Antoni, a very close friend along with his wife, Laurel, was honored in Springfield, and I was lucky enough to catch up with them at the Mohegan Sun (Connecticut) the night before at the Hall’s family “gala,” a much less formal event.

This columnist was all geared up to pay tribute to Mike, then along came an outstanding piece from NBA great (GM, Asst GM, PR man, USOC rep and all around wonderful guy) Tommy Sheppard, and with his permission I’m passing it along.

He wrote: “Some people win in the game. A rare few actually change the game. Mike D’Antoni did both.

Congratulations to the entire Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026:

Joey Crawford

Mark Few

Doc Rivers

Amar’e Stoudemire

Elena Delle Donne

Chamique Holdsclaw

Candace Parker

Mike D’Antoni

and the 1996 United States Women’s National Team.

Every one of them has a story worthy of Springfield.

This class is especially meaningful to me because of Mike D’Antoni and his family.

Mike and I first crossed paths when he came to work with the Denver Nuggets. More than 25 years later, I am fortunate to count him as a very close friend. Knowing Mike and his family for all these years has given me an even greater appreciation for everything he has accomplished — and for the person he is away from the court.

Long before “pace and space” became part of basketball’s everyday vocabulary, Mike saw the game differently.

And he had the courage to coach it differently.

His Phoenix Suns teams changed basketball.

“Seven Seconds or Less” was about pace, spacing, shooting and decision-making. Steve Nash pushed the ball, Amar’e Stoudemire attacked the rim, and Mike trusted his players to play fast, make reads, and share the ball.

The results speak for themselves: 253–136 (.650) in Phoenix, four straight seasons with at least 54 wins, two Western Conference Finals appearances, and NBA Coach of the Year in 2005. He won the award again with Houston in 2017.

Spanning 16 seasons as an NBA head coach, Mike won 672 regular-season games and another 54 in the playoffs.

But his basketball story is so much bigger than his NBA coaching record.

Mike played professionally in the NBA and ABA before becoming a legend with Olimpia Milano, winning five Italian championships and two European Cups during a remarkable 13-year playing career.

He also represented his country as an assistant coach with USA Basketball, helping Team USA bring home the gold at the 2008 Olympics, 2010 FIBA World Championship, and 2012 Olympics.

That is quite a basketball journey.

NBA. ABA. Italy. USA Basketball. Player. Coach. Innovator, and now: Hall of Famer.

And yet, for those of us who know Mike and his family, the wins and awards only tell part of the story.

Mike has always been generous with his time, his knowledge, and his friendship. He loves the game, loves talking about the game and has never stopped looking for a better way to play it.

That curiosity helped change basketball.

Look around the game today — pace, space, early offense, shooting, smaller lineups and giving players the freedom to make decisions — and Mike D’Antoni’s fingerprints are everywhere.

Congratulations to Mike, Laurel and the entire D’Antoni family. I could not be happier for all of you.

And congratulations to every member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

What a well-deserved honor.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: This column and its sister-pub, “PGA Tour Brunch” follow the game of professional golf as close as anyone not traveling every stop on the Tour. That said, if you can figure out and share what the PGA TOUR office and – for that matter – the LIV Golf conglomerate – have in mind for the 2027 season, please let us all know.

There once was a promise to return to the Greater Boston area with a tournament every other year. After the Deutsche Bank Championship became the Dell Technologies Championship became The Northern Trust and moved to Liberty National in New Jersey for a year, men’s pro golf returned to TPC Boston for its last go ‘round.

Now, thankfully, the LPGA makes a stop at TPC Boston for the FM Championship – No Static at All – from August 27-30th.

But, as the Tour re-shuffled its priorities, its Playoffs, its Signature events, and a new system to get to the ever-changing FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Greater Boston area was left off the list. New England’s lone Tour event remains at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut – a stone’s throw from Hartford.

That is a wonderful event, but Boston deserves better as the Labor Day weekend tournament of yesteryear has faded away, like a Cape Cod sunset in late September.

By the way, two tournaments in the great State of Hawaii are gone, too.

It’s a cryin’ shame – a quadruple bogey.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | August 16

August 18, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

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

UNCASVILLE (Conn) – Every now and then a day comes along and you know it’s a great day before it even starts. You awake with a terrific outlook. The sun is shining. All is well.

Then, you realize that day is today.

We flew, we drove, we booked hotels, and we were all convening (first at Mohegan Sun, then Springfield) to celebrate the wonderful life, and unequalled professional career of a colleague and dear, lifelong friend.

Friday night, at an exquisite banquet at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino, we honored Leah Wilcox for her endless contributions to the NBA and to the sport of basketball overall. For that, Leah received the highest honor the game and the Basketball Hall of Fame can bestow to someone not enshrined as a player/coach/ref/contributor. Leah was the recipient of the John Bunn Award and we were all there to witness it.

Let’s let Leah take it from here, and I STRESS this is a MUST WATCH.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: To describe the impact of Leah Wilcox to someone who doesn’t know her is a monumental task, and to simply describe her sense of being is even harder. Don Sperling, former Executive Producer of NBA Entertainment and the person who hired Leah, described her as “the best person I’ve ever met.” If you polled the people in attendance at the Basketball Hall of Fame Gala on Friday, that would be a unanimous declaration.

The Hall and NBA show producers did a great job of framing Leah’s career with an introductory film clip, introduced by ESPN (and former NBA on NBC) personality Hannah Storm in a style like boxing’s Michael Buffer. It was THAT big.

As I watched the clips, my immediate thoughts drifted to seeing Leah’s ever-present, tremendous smile in all the video and still photos at hundreds of NBA events – NBA Cares, Rookie Orientations, NBA All-Star Games, and on the set of NBA Inside Stuff. My thoughts wandered to think of how many years (41), seasons, off-seasons, global trips and simply how much time she spent dedicated to the NBA.

At those events, Leah would be building and renewing relationships with the players and their families, but also with the NBA staff. She set quite an example. It seemed she never had a bad day. She was never cranky or sad, but always upbeat and inspiring to all she came in contact with on any given day. Energy would abound.

At the rookie orientation/training seminar, we’d stress to the new NBA players to “be themselves,” and never to stray from that. They had to be authentic, but at the same time be able to tell interesting stories about their lives and how they made it to the NBA. Looking back at those situations, “authentic” was the key word and Leah was always herself. She is the ultimate in “authentic.”

STORYTELLING: After the Mohegan Sun side of the Hall’s schedule was over, I recalled all the days, months, years, seasons, and events we staged together – from Madrid in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992 to 20+ year’s of hectic NBA All-Star Games and NBA Cares events.

But one specific moment in time came to mind: It was at an NBA Christmas party, a gathering of the NBA family where the guests of honor were really the families of the employees – former NBA Commissioner, the late David Stern, would emphasize that the party was a thank-you to the families and support group of the NBA staffers who were often working late nights, weekends, long events, long playoff series, or summertime events, such as Basketball without Borders or a USA Basketball tournament when said employee might be gone for weeks at a time.

As the party was winding down, I found myself in line waiting to gather our winter coats and hit the NYC streets for a cab ride home. Both Leah and I realized, at the same time, that there was a considerable amount of buffet-style (good) food left over. I thought it was a shame. Leah went into action.

She found the head of catering, asked a few questions, prodded a few servers, and the next thing I knew, the two of us were loading large catering trays of food into a taxi cab. There were probably 10 large trays, some good bread, and even some desserts.

Leah knew right where to go, and it seemed to me she had done this type of good deed before. The two of us – side-by-side in a taxi, holding on to the trays to keep them upright, pulled up next to a homeless shelter near Times Square on a cold winter night and explained the situation to the volunteers. They were very happy to see the scope of our donation and it was – in fact – much needed that particular night.

I was in total awe of Leah. It was the way about her, as Billy Joel might sing. She eased through the situation with grace and friendliness. The same person who was comfortable in front of the Commissioner, a classroom of players and their families was equally comfortable at a homeless shelter, being sure everyone had a plate of the food.

It was just another day, another night in the life of Leah Wilcox. Selfless. Generous with her time and wallet. Friendly. Outgoing. Funny – even entertaining. She was simply being herself, just like we were teaching the rookies. It was “Authentic Leah Wilcox,” and it was on display for 41 years in the halls of the NBA, in the studios of NBA Entertainment, and in the back corridors of sports arenas the world around.

That’s Leah – the 2026 John Bunn Award winner.

I love her so much.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: A real (personal) treat at this year’s Basketball Hall of Fame ceremonies was the fact the Class of ‘26 contained some personal friends as much as incredible icons in the world of basketball.

Doc Rivers was a member of the Atlanta Hawks when we traveled to the (former) Soviet Union in 1988. Every single person on that trip made lifelong bond, but Rivers stands out even more. First, I was fortunate enough to get to know him a little better when he played for the New York Knicks, and as fate would have it, he was very friendly with our next door neighbors and friends. Later, we worked together when Rivers did his TV commentator gig with Turner. Even later in the career timelines, we intersected at the Goodwill Games (2001) trip to Brisbane (Australia) when Doc was an assistant coach (along with Oliver Purnell and Tom Izzo as they backed up the late, great Flip Saunders).

Joey Crawford: There were a bunch of refs you were glad to see at an arena when it was game time in the Playoffs. In fact, Crawford worked more than 50 NBA Finals games with most coming in the 1985-2015 range of time. When Joey worked a game, you just knew it was going to be a well-officiated, high level, yet still intense contest. Postgame, it was always a pleasure to stop in and see him. Crawford comes from a long line of “officials” but his father, Shag, was an “official” working as one of the most respected umpires in Major League Baseball history.

Crawford also heads up a long list of great referees from the Philadelphia area. He graduated from Cardinal O’Hara High School. He began his NBA career in 1977 and announced his retirement (because of a nagging knee injury) on January 2, 2016 and tried to hold on until that March 16 when it became a fact after officiating 2,561 games (2nd most all-time to Dick Bavetta (2,635) and 374 NBA Playoff games (ranks No. 1).

And, lastly Mike D’Antoni: We all (NBA staffers) met Mike as he captained the Tracer Milan Italian and European basketball championship team at the 1987 McDonald’s Open in Milwaukee. Mike played the point for Milan from 1977 to 1990. He went into coaching, first for Milan (1990-94) and then at Benneton Treviso (1994-97) before heading back to the USA to begin a long NBA coaching career.

Mike’s No. 10 was retired by his alma mater, Marshall University. His No. 8 was retired by Milano, and he was named one of the 50 Greatest contributors in European basketball in 2008.

The bonding zone, however, was with USA Basketball where Mike was named an assistant coach to the men’s senior team for the 2006 FIBA Worlds in Tokyo and the 2012 Olympics in London.

There’s a long list of players who should send a Christmas card to Mike and his wonderful wife, Laurel, each December, as D’Antoni’s high octane offense created opportunities for players who often would “cash-in” elsewhere.

A short list of those players includes:

Joe Johnson
Amar’e Stoudemire
Shawn Marion
Steve Nash
James Harden

And, maybe the most astonishing of Mike’s star-making career was:

Jeremy Lin

Yes, Lin-sanity was orchestrated by D’Antoni after a series of injuries befell the majority of the New York Knicks’ backcourt. Lin got his chance and has Mike D’Antoni to thank for it.

In 2012, Lin opted for free agency and signed a three-year, $25 million contract with Houston. After taking a lesser salary cap exception with Charlotte, Lin later banked $38m for a three-year deal with Brooklyn.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July Ends

August 2, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

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

BOSTON – As the clock struck Midnight – Pacific Coast time – July 31st, the Boston Red Sox looked at their July record of 24-2 and realized it was the best month in franchise history. It wasn’t just the best month this year or this century, but they recorded the best month in the 125 year history of the club.

The final victory came against the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Sox showed their resilience. The Red Sox led 3-0, trailed 4-3, then broke open the very important game with a five run seventh inning which included a Ceddanne Rafaela bullet HR to left field. Boston finished the game with nine runs and 12 hits in their 9-4 victory.

The Red Sox were hoping the month of July never ended.

But, the news of the week was not all wine and roses. Despite going 4-1 in their first five games of this important West Coast road trip, newly acquired infielder Curtis Mead’s first game for the Red Sox ended abruptly and caused considerable pain when he was drilled on the left hand with a 94.9 mph fastball from Athletics’ righty Jack Perkins in the top of the fourth inning of Monday’s 4-2 Sox victory at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, the temporary home of the Swingin’ A’s.

Mead initially stayed in the game, but was replaced on defense by Anthony Seigler to open the bottom of the fifth inning. Mead was diagnosed with a left wrist contusion and X-rays came back negative on the night of the game, but Tuesday morning told a different story.

The infielder, expected to provide additional offense for Boston, had a more revealing MRI performed and it found a wrist fracture which will require significant treatment and rehabilitation time. It will not require surgery, which is a good sign.

Not to be overlooked, Mead came at a considerable price with the fact Boston traded one of its three best pitching prospects, Connelly Early, for the infielder. As was said, but now amplified, “Well, at least it wasn’t the worst trade of the Summer of ‘26 in the Boston sports world.”

Wrist injuries are a tricky bunch, as there are several bones within the wrist and each provide the amazing appendage with the ability to do different things – up & down, side-to-side, rotate, twist, snap and the ability to use strength to move the wrist at warp speed, allowing a baseball player to crack a 95 mph baseball to great lengths.

Treatment and rehabilitation can take 6-8 weeks, depending on the individual and the exact location of the bone break. Those figures sound normal and within reason. But, the aftermath of a significant break of a bone in the wrist can take three months to resolve, and in many cases, it’s never the same.

Why is your favorite columnist so interested in one Major Leaguer’s wrist injury?

It harkens back to memories of July, 1981 and a summer league Dek hockey game in Elmont, NY – not far from Belmont Park. My short-staffed Keswick Americans team allowed yours truly with some regular double-shifts and considerable playing time against a mediocre but semi-physical opponent. Yes, we were drilling them, and I had already celebrated a hat trick (three goals), but with the extra time, it made sense to go for four, and a pretty feed resulted in a bullet “one-timer,” to net the fourth on a shot the goalkeeper never saw coming. However, it came simultaneously with a sliding tackle which upended a rather off-balance shooter and it was head over heels and an awkward fall, using my left hand to try to “break the fall.”

Instead, my left wrist ended up looking like the old horse in the Three Stooges films.

It was smashed.

How bad was it? It was so bad, it took two orderlies and a doctor to prod and pull and finally set it, and then a cast (over the elbow) for four weeks. (Nothing like a cast in mid-summer).

Why do I mention this old tale? It is this: Once the cast came off and I had a full month of rehab, rolling a weight up and down with a string and lever, squeezing anything and everything, and using assorted other medieval torture devices, my pin-point, considerably quick and hard wrist shot was gone. Not a little slower.

Gone.

I tried to adjust to quick snap shots, but the wrist was never the same.

That’s enough of one writer’s medical history.

On the pro or amateur side, I’m afraid any major wrist injury, no matter what combo of the eight bones, has a major impact on the rotation, speed and strength of the wrist, and it can not be corrected.

So says Medical Daily: “Returning from a wrist fracture can be especially difficult for baseball players because the wrist plays a critical role in gripping the bat, generating bat speed, and controlling the swing through contact. Rehabilitation focuses on restoring pain-free range of motion, rebuilding grip and forearm strength, and gradually reintroducing batting activities without aggravating the healing bone.”

A number of Major League ballplayers are currently on the IL because of wrist injuries, mostly the result of being hit by a pitch. A few to note:

Nick Kurtz, A’s (rehabbing and returned to action on Thursday night)

Vinnie Pasquantino, Royals

Blaze Alexander, Orioles

Esmerlyn Valdez, Pirates

Junior Caminero, Rays (hit by pitch at MLB All-Star Game, but returned to action)

Jackson Chourio, Brewers (early in Spring Training. has returned to action)

As MLB hits the dog days of August, a high number of star players are sitting due to injury. That’s nothing new, as the MLB season is a long grind. The teams to surface to the top of the standings must endure … or else.

LAST WEEK: In columns here and on Digital Sports Desk last week, after the Sox 15-game winning streak came to an end, the topic came down a more realistic goal of “winning series by series.” The Sunday Night Baseball game between the LA Dodgers and Red Sox (depending on the result of the Saturday, August 1 late night game), can provide Boston with its eighth consecutive series win, dating back to July 3. Only a loss of 2-of-3 to the Washington Nationals is in the way of what could’ve been a 10 consecutive series win streak as Boston swept the NY Yankees from June 25-28th.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: When the St. John’s University men’s basketball team suits up for home games at Madison Square Garden, the home gate split between MSG and the Johnnies is now – officially – out of control. According to research performed by The Athletic, St. John’s basketball is worth some $588 million if they were to be placed on the commodities market, a la an NBA franchise. The Wall Street Journal and ESPN disputed the numbers and rated North Carolina at $388m, more in line with The Athletic’s portrayal. The WSJ report also listed Duke and Indiana at the exact same numbers as The Athletic chart above. So, the question comes? Just how much is coach Rick Pitino (and his good friend and team booster Mike Repole) worth? … One area to keep an eye on, St. John’s might look to jump to a mega-bucks streaming deal with DAZN now that all the Gotham App pro teams have changed their streaming plans. DAZN will stream all non-national game broadcasts for MSG Network’s Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Devils and Sabres and YES Network’s Yankees and Nets — effectively a takeover of the entire Gotham Sports direct-to-consumer app.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: My “adopted” BC Eagles made a major announcement this week. Boston College A.D. Blake James wrote to the school community and announced the 2026 Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame Class, with eight outstanding Eagles set to be inducted on Sunday, October 18. This year’s class includes Asiya Dair (Women’s Tennis), Chris Hovan (Football), Sarah Mannelly (Women’s Lacrosse), Jillian Mastroianni (Women’s Soccer), Tyler Pruett (Sailing), Duane Woodward (Men’s Basketball), Randy Thomas (Track & Field Head Coach), and Fr. Tony Penna (Athletics Chaplain). The honorees will be recognized during the BC football game against Pittsburgh on Saturday, October 17, as part of Homecoming Weekend on the Heights. … The annual “Red Bandana” game will take place on September 11th. Each year, Boston College honors fallen son Welles Crowther who gave his life saving others on that terrible day in lower Manhattan … This season is special as September 11, 2026, marks the solemn 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States. … The ESPN piece on Welles is possibly the best and most emotionally provocative feature ever produced in sports or entertainment. Here is the LINK and come September, there will be more about BC, Welles and the Red Bandana. Be prepared to cry.

Now, to lighten it up a bit …

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: This week’s “You Can’t Make It Up” segment is simply going to play word/phrase association and allow you to go and Google the ugly details of the following sports stories:

FIFA scraps World Cup investment Sell-Off
Department of Justice drops case vs. former Olympian
SF Giants suspend pay from OF Harrison Bader after scooter crashes into firetruck
WNBA’s Sophie Cunningham unconcerned by rallies against transgender participation in women’s sports
Announcer-free stream debuts on ESPN+ PGA Tour coverage (no whispering!)
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent discovered a set of stolen Civil War-era cannonballs in a passenger’s suitcase in Alabama
Three new women’s world records were set at the Lumberjack World Championships competition held in the small Wisconsin town of Hayward. Karolina Urbanová from the Czech Republic set world records in two events.
Book from a bricked-up fireplace returned to Australian library, but it was 150 years over-due.
Prosecutors and attorneys spar over a text in the Terry Rozier (gambling) case – “Don’t tell chum ‘bout the bet,” it read.
Federal court dealt a chaos-inducing verdict vs. the NCAA’s new eligibility rule. The court ruled that all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility this past spring are eligible for a fifth season in 2026-27. … Ready? Go!
For the first time in five years, the NBA will not play any preseason games in the Middle East, with planned games in Abu Dhabi an obvious casualty of war.
Formula 1 announced that its previously postponed Grand Prix in Bahrain will now take place in Malaysia in October. The racing series is still waiting to decide on its planned races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi later this year.

MEDIA COMPANY vs. MEDIA COMPANY: The folks at Puck introduced the Morgan-Stanley MS Media Matrix scorecard, pitting the attention seeking (and getting) media companies now dominating the scene. Surprisingly, F-1 ranks up top and the TKO Group – which owns UFC (Ultimate Fight Championship) and WWE (Wrestling Show), and PBR (Pro Bull Riders) and also oversees the joint venture Zuffa Boxing which combined stage some 500 events a year. TKO Group also delves heavily in the athlete and talent representation world with IMG and the premiere event staging group, On Location. The remainder of Puck’s listing falls into line quite nicely, although the NBA and the PGA TOUR plant a significant stake in the worldwide grounds.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 26

July 26, 2026 by Digital Sports Desk

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

“Don’t Call Me Chief” – Perry White

BOSTON – Do you wonder if the “Tartan Army” checks their bagpipes at the curb or carries them on board, and if so, do they fit in the overhead compartments?

The Rise of the Tartan Army was well documented here in Boston during the recently concluded World Cup. While Spain took home the glorious cup, Boston was rewarded with something even more special; that being a connection with Scotland that just might last forever and a day.

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The sports fans of Boston – a passionate bunch – were not going to see Team USA here in the Commonwealth. Of course, they adopted a team to root for. Enter Scotland, sort of the Sandman of the Futbol types, coming out of the streets like Yankees’ reliever Mariano Rivera used to exit the bullpen, ready to annihilate and and all batters.

There’s a difference, though. Boston fans were not happy with the routine Rivera put forth for the hated Yanks, while Bostonians immediately fell in love with some 50,000 Scottish fans, with bagpipes leading the march straight to the local Sam Adams Brewery to drink all of the beer – and we do mean ALL of the beer.

The Tartan Army of Scots injected more than $1b – with a b – into the Greater Boston – Foxborough – Providence economy, but left much more in the tip jar. They departed with a vibe of the love of sports, the love of people, the love of Boston and they imparted true friendship that will last a lifetime or more.

The Scots visited Fenway Park on the off-nights of the soccer games and marched their way in with 5,000 fans following the bagpipes. For the bars and restaurants in the Fens, it was finding buckets of gold coins in the cash registers. It kept coming and coming and coming.

The Tartan Army also left something money can’t buy and the Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau has no way to measure. They left smiles and positive vibes – dotting local monuments with orange traffic cones to mark their place. The mantra, “No Boston, No Party,” became the rallying cry and it provided young men with confidence to go full Tarps Off in the right field grandstands. (The “Tarps Off” movement started with a small group of fans deciding to remove their shirts in the right-field stands and wave them around like rally towels. The swarm of shirtless spectators continued to grow until almost the entire section was filled with men with hats but no shirts. It’s a GROWING phenomenon, surely to make its way to a cold October evening at Fenway.

All of it together worked miracles – to the tune of 15 straight victories for the local baseball team, a teams mired in last place, and they had to dig-out after falling 11 games under the .500 mark. They’re risen from the dead and this week occupied a Wild Card berth in the American League ladder.

Before the streak, they ranked 27th in scoring (4.0 runs per game), 25th in home runs (0.9), 28th in RBI (3.8), 27th in walks (2.9), and 25th in total bases (12.8).

Since the streak began, they’re fourth in runs (5.9 per game), extra-base hits (3.5), and RBI (5.6). They’re also fifth in home runs (1.6 per game) and seventh in total bases (15.4).

Like the Scots, the Long Ball has been the friend of the Red Sox.

Come next April (2027), Boston Mayor Michele Wu already signed document will begin a formalized international partnership with the City of Glasgow, Scotland, to strengthen economic, cultural and institutional ties. Building on shared values and the collaboration during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the two cities will consider opportunities for cooperation in innovation, education, sustainability and tourism.Orange traffic cones will be in demand.

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HERE NOW, THE NOTES: There are a few things in sports that never get old. For instance, when the San Diego Chicken used to dance backwards with one leg up, it was hysterical. But, then he’d go walking towards the basket and bump his beak into the basket stanchion and turn it inside out. It was Slapstick City, but he’d get the laughs every time he did it. … How about the Olympics? We’ve all seen the scene of any athlete from any country in the world totally losing it on the medal stand when they hear their country’s National Anthem as the flag is raised in the classy medal ceremonies. It’s the best. … Want another tear-jerker? How about the “on the court” surprise family reunion of a member of the military with his/her loved ones after a long deployment always puts a lump the size of a golf ball in my throat. It never fails. … The Red Panda performing is an act seen a million times, but it’s always great. She never fails (although a bad fall sidelined her for a while this year). … There’s another: It NEVER gets old when you hear the story of a minor league baseball player getting the call to join the “Big Leagues,” the “Show,” the “Majors.” It’s just a great story to see a guy rewarded for all the years of hard work; All the batting practice, all the doubleheaders in the park on hot summer days. Then, the time in the minors – Rookie ball, Single A, High A, Double AA, and, usually the final stop, Triple AAA. … The phone call came to Tommy “Tommy Tanks” White this week and he happened to be at his hometown on a break. Let him tell it: “I was on the golf cart just going to get some stuff for the boat,” White said. “It was just me driving the golf cart. Fran called me from Las Vegas and said, ‘You’re going up to the big leagues.’ It was, like, a ‘drop everything’ moment. I was at home, so I got to tell my parents in person. They broke down crying. It was really cool. … This is something I’ve dreamed of and talked about since I was a little kid.”

“Tommy Tanks” – an extra base hit machine for the A’s – has a new fan in Boston.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Some might call it a “hockey assist.” Others, like Bill Bradley, United States Senator of New Jersey, Princeton man, and Basketball Hall of Famer plus two-time champion with the New York Knickerbockers, put it as “the pass that led to the pass that led to the basket.” Bradley had his share, dishing perimeter passes to teammates like Dave DeBusschere, Walt “Clyde” Frazier or two-guard Dick Barnett, never mind a cutting Willis Reed. Bradley made a living of it.

Well, Celtics team GM and head of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens might get credited with one of Bradley’s specialties. Stevens made the trade that led to deal that led to the Philadelphia 76ers signing coveted free agent Lebron James.

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James worked with the Sixers and Topps to make his “final NBA decision” of signing with Philadelphia utilizing a TOPPS trading card and social media post to break the news.

He’ll join former NBA MVP Joel Embiid (healthy or not), all-stars Tyrese Maxey and newly acquired Jaylen Brown (from the Celtics) and V.J. Edgecombe to create the best starting five in the league, assuming Embiid reports to training camp in condition and ready to go.

Truthfully, the Sixers could allow Embiid to work his way back to 100% throughout the Fall and report to play after the NBA All-Star break. As long as Embiid is ready to go and healthy for April-May-June, 2027, the 76ers are Eastern Conference title favorites, edging the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks.

Regardless, the Sixers are likely to play positionless basketball and giddy-up unless they need to pull up and go into half-court sets when Embiid makes his way to the paint. Add. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, too, as he agreed to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and plans to sign a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the 76ers.

“This (was) my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point?” James wrote on his social media post. “I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.

“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time.”

You’ve got to wonder why Stevens traded Brown to an Atlantic division rival, never mind one who knocked the Celtics out of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Certainly, the unintended circumstance was making Philly good enough to attract FA James.

Oddsmakers still have the reigning NBA champion New York Knicks as future favorite to win their divisional title. The ESPN odds read:

New York +170
Philly +200
Boston +240
Toronto +600

A MONTH OF FUN-DAYS: Since June 25, the Red Sox are 21-4, best since 2004. Sunday, they’ll have a chance to win their sixth consecutive series. That would be a first since June, 2022. The Sox won 16 of their last 18 games and goes into the final game of a ten-game home stand with a 7-2 record. Of course, that’s all a part of the team’s 15-game winning streak (July 3-22). … Boston closer Aroldis Chaapman earned his 391st save on Friday night, passing Dennis Eckersley for ninth on the MLB all-time saves list. Billy Wagner is eighth with 422 close-outs.

While We're Young Ideas

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct 25

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct 18

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Oct. 4th

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Sept 27

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Sept 11th

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Sept. 6

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – August 23

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | August 16

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July Ends

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 26

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