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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | On Oscar

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Brazil’s Oscar Schmidt – (1958-2026)

 

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

BOSTON – The City of Boston is such a great place, especially this weekend when the sports side of Boston rises to the highest tide. On one weekend, we get to experience:

  • Red Sox Major League Baseball, vs Detroit, leading into a series vs. the New York Yankees – all at Fenway Park
  • Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Playoff ice hockey, @ the Buffalo Sabres
  • Boston Celtics NBA Playoff basketball, vs the Philadelphia 76ers, at TD Garden
  • And, the single best day of the year in this town – Patriots’ Day – when the 130th running of the Boston Marathon is staged from Hopkinton to Copley, while the Red Sox play a day game with the first pitch at 11:10am

All that sporting juice, there’s only one other place I’d rather be this weekend and that’s to pay my respects in SAO PAULO, Brazil, the hometown of the late Oscar Schmidt, nicknamed by his compatriots as “The Holy Hand.” ( “Mão Santa”). Yes, his ability to shoot a basketball was that good.

Let NBA legend, Hall of Famer, the great Larry Bird explain:

“I always admired Oscar (Schmidt) and considered him a friend. He was, without a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever play the game,” said Bird in the statement. “It was an honor of a lifetime when Oscar asked me to present him at his well deserved induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. My sincere condolences to Oscar’s family.”

So sadly, Oscar Schmidt passed away on Friday, at the age of 68, after what his family said was a 15-year battle against brain cancer. His battle began, then, about two years before his 2013 induction to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. It was in Springfield when I last saw him, and enjoyed some brief moments recalling times gone by and so many fond memories all those years ago.

I first learned of Oscar when he lit up the scoreboard for 46 points in Brazil’s win over the United States in the 1987 Pan American Game, held at Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis. Schmidt’s performance came in the finals of the tournament as he led Brazil to a 120-115 win over an ABA-USA team that included then-college superstars and eventual No. 1 NBA Draft picks David Robinson and Danny Manning as well as then-Indiana University stars Keith Smart and Dean Garrett.

Fast forward to the 1992 Basketball Tournament of the Americas in Portland, Oregon where Brazil went (6-1) and qualified for the ‘92 Olympics in Barcelona, the first when NBA players were eligible to compete. Keep in mind, Schmidt had been drafted in 1984, a sixth round choice by the New Jersey Nets, but he chose not to sign an NBA contract as it would’ve ended his national team career with his teammates in Brazil.

Of course, Oscar was allowed to play pro ball in Europe where led the Italian top division in scoring six times while a member of Juve Caserta (1983–84, 1984–85, 1985-86, 1986–87, 1988–89, and 1989–90 seasons). A double-standard vs. the NBA players?

Yes.

Regardless of the unfair sports eligibility rules which kept him out of an NBA uniform, Schmidt played with pleasure for his country, and I always respected that fact. I can remember him celebrating with his Brazilian teammates in the back halls of the Portland Memorial Coliseum when they qualified. Like a small handful of the international players (count Yao Ming (China), Sasha Volkov and Sarunas Marciulionis (USSR) – (Ukraine) (Lithuania), Drazen Petrovic (Croatia), Jose “Piculin” Ortiz (Puerto Rico) or other NBA superstars like Steve Nash (Canada), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Tony Parker (France) or Manu Ginobili (Argentina), Oscar was always very friendly, professional and cordial with our dozens of requests. Quite frankly, I think he “batted” 1.000 with fulfilling the interview requests we thrust upon him. Only Andrew Gaze of Australia can be compared.

Schmidt was the same true pro in 2013 when I helped out at the BHofF with the Enshrinement as he joined Gary Payton, Richie Guerin, Bernard King and a handful of others in the festivities. In fact, I remember Oscar’s induction speech as being the very best of the night, delivered with a beret to cover his bald head, coming two years after his brain surgery and subsequent treatments.

MUST WATCH! ⬆️

It was at or around the Hall Enshrinement when Schmidt uttered one of the great quotes in sports history.

Asked how he could explain his “Holy Hand,” and ability to shoot and score – at will – while others could barely manage to play alongside him or attempt to guard him, Schmidt replied simply, “Some people play the piano, and some people … They move the piano.”

God Bless the great Oscar Schmidt. He will rest in peace but his defenders can now, finally, rest on earth.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As mentioned at the top of this missive, it’s a special holiday weekend, here in Boston, Massachusetts. The NBA and NHL Playoffs were mentioned, as was the Boston Marathon and the 11am Red Sox game to coincide with the Patriots’ Day celebrations and the timing of the race.

Paraphrasing the advice Doc Rivers gave to me when we moved here in 2008, you just don’t fully understand Boston until you’ve lived here,” said Doc, who stepped down from his duties as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks this week.

Exhibit 1-A of that statement is the full understanding of the Boston Marathon, a spectacle that draws more than 500,000 spectators along the race route, all cheering, screaming, sign-waving and, yes, drinking to their pleasure, mostly on front lawns and porches along the way.

Wellesley College gets a lot of props for the screaming and kissing that goes on as the runners zip past the gorgeous, suburban campus, as does Heartbreak Hill(s) – it’s really a series of three hills in Newton Centre, leading towards Boston College and the town of Chestnut Hill. The gradual, steep climb is one thing, but as the runners pass BC (Mile 21), the terrain turns to a downhill as the race enters its final 5.2 miles, and those calves and hamstrings which were working hard to climb all of a sudden are asked to switch gears.

In medical terms, in the sudden transition to the final downhill stretch, the runners all experience a significant shift in physical strain and mechanical demand. While the descent feels metabolically “easier,” it often causes more muscle damage than the uphills – due to the mechanics of eccentric loading.

As runners descend on the streets of Brighton, their quadriceps must act as “brakes” to control momentum and absorb impact. This requires the muscle to contract while it is simultaneously lengthening—a process called eccentric contraction that is more mechanically stressful than the concentric (shortening) contractions that were just used on Heartbreak Hill(s). The downhill running at this stage can result in up to 54% greater impact forces on the legs compared to running on a flat surface. Peak braking forces can increase by as much as 74%, leading to “shredded” quads and micro-tears in the muscle fibers.

First time runners have been told about this phenomenon, but, until they experience it, there’s nothing that can help.

It’s a metaphor for actually living in Boston. You can live in New York City or Tokyo and experience all of the overcrowded aspects of city life, the noise, the joys, the culture and the pressure, but – come to Boston – and you’ll experience an entirely different vibe, largely fueled by the successes or failures of the local professional sports teams. Boston is a small town – maybe call it a whole bunch of small towns all rolled into one.

The Boston Marathon unifies those eight towns and the running world into one – like no other day of the year.

The pure inspiration of the runners, gutting it for 26.2 in the most important marathon in the world, fuels the human spirit like no other event. The amateurs run the same course as the professionals and the amateurs receive the vast majority of the cheers and encouragement, especially in the afternoon.

The great Amby Burfoot, the 1968 Boston Marathon champion, calls Boston, “the Carnegie Hall” of marathons.

I might take it a step up from there.

“The Boston Marathon is to a runner as Red Rocks is to a Rock n’ Roll band.” – TL

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Georgia Tech announced that their head basketball coach Scott Cross is adding Harvard assistant coach Matt Fraschilla to his staff. Matt is the son of former head coach Fran Fraschilla, now a popular television commentator on ESPN. “I have known Coach Matt Fraschilla for quite some time now,” Cross said. “I remember watching him play at Highland Park High School (Dallas) where he led the state in assists. On his coaching journey, Matt was part of Coach Jay Wright’s staff at Villanova that won a National Championship! I have watched him recruit in person and I know that he is one of the brightest, up-and-coming coaches in the country. He will instantly make our program better.” … FANZO, a tech platform that links brands, rights holders and broadcasters with fans who aren’t watching games in arenas or stadiums, announced that it will begin partnerships in North America after test-runs and scaling in Europe and the Pacific Rim. The new tech effort will support the millions of fans following the FIFA World Cup, being staged in North America this summer. … Speaking of this summer’s FIFA World Cup, the bars in Providence are petitioning the city to allow their establishments to stay open all night long, figuring many of their patrons might be adjusting to time zone changes, or just flat-out thirsty. The Boston leg of the World Cup will be played at nearby Foxborough, MA.

OF LOCAL INTEREST: The Boston Red Sox moved the start time of their Sunday, April 19th game against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park from 1:35 p.m. to 4:35 p.m. The change was made in consultation with Major League Baseball due to a forecast for an extended period of rain from mid-day into the afternoon.

LIV GOLF: What’s up with the LIV Golf Tour? There was a lot of speculation and some non-denial denials from LIV Golf execs in the USA and in Saudi Arabia where the PIF issued a new business plan, stating they’d be cutting down on funding of non-essential business outside of the country. WWYI will do some digging to see what’s in store for LIV Golf, Newcastle futbol, and some of the other sports the PIF has invested in over the past four years.

The Saudi PIF Plan is HERE.

LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil agreed to do an interview on this weekend’s broadcast from the LIV Golf tournament in Mexico. Here it is: HERE

Early March Madness’ Madness

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – “Hello A.I. my new friend. I’ve come to chat gpt with you again. Because of visions so creepy, with premonitions gained while I was sleeping. And, the vision that was planted in Naismith’s brain, no longer remains. On my Road to Indianapolis.”

With all this talk about A.I. – I figured it was time to go to the well, and call up A.I. himself. I had a question, and I needed The Answer.

WWYI: “A.I. – what would you like me to call you? Just “A or AI, Mr. I?”

A.I. – “You can call me Allen.”

WWYI: “Oh, okay, I once knew a guy by the name of Allen, and everyone called him “A.I.” or “Bubba Chuck,” or “The Answer.”

A.I. – “I know the guy, but can you stop screwing around and let’s get on with it. What do you want to know?”

WWYI: “Alright already.”

Here we go:

WWYI: “Can you explain the thoughts and logic behind the 2026 NCAA Selection Sunday process and why St. John’s remained at the exact same No. 5 seed that they were on Wednesday morning, even after beating the living daylights out of UConn twice in the same game?”

A.I. – The general reaction to St. John’s receiving a No. 5 seed has been a mix of surprise, frustration from fans and local media, and strategic analysis from bracketologists. Despite winning their second consecutive Big East Championship with a 20-point blowout of UConn, the Red Storm did not see the significant seed jump many expected.

WWYI: “Tell me more, please.”

A.I. – There’s quite a lot to go over. Let’s break it down into different pods of thought and information.

First, the “Disrespect” Theory

Fans and local media have characterized the No. 5 seed as a “disgrace” and “criminal bias,” particularly because St. John’s: Dominated the Big East: They won both the regular-season and conference tournament titles for the second consecutive year.

Beat the Best: They (St John’s) soundly defeated No. 2-seeded UConn twice this season, including a 20-point blowout in the Big East championship.

Rankings Discrepancy: The Red Storm were ranked No. 13 in the final AP Poll, yet were seeded lower than teams like Nebraska and Gonzaga, who they outperformed in several metrics.

The Committee’s Mumbo-Jumbo: Selection committee chairman Keith Gill defended the decision by citing the team’s non-conference performances. Despite their late-season surge (winning 19 of their last 20), their early-season résumé was lacking, including:

Top-Tier Losses: St. John’s went 0-4 against elite non-conference opponents, losing to Iowa State, Alabama, Kentucky, and Auburn.

Quadrant 1 Struggles: They finished with a relatively pedestrian 5-5 record in Quad 1 games. By comparison, teams seeded No. 3 or No. 4 generally had more “depth and quality” in their marquee wins.

Selection Committee’s “Full Body of Work” Argument: The selection committee chair doubled-down, noting that while the win over UConn was “big,” the team’s non-conference schedule lacked the “depth and quality” of teams seeded higher. St. John’s finished just 5-5 in Quadrant 1 games, with losses to Iowa State, Alabama, Kentucky, and Auburn weighing down their resume.

Continuing the “We Got Screwed” Rants: Many analysts and fans felt the No. 5 seed was too low for a team that has won 19 of its last 20 games and features the unanimous Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year, Zuby Ejiofor. Some bracket projections had them as high as a No. 2 or No. 3 seed prior to the reveal.

WWYI: “If we accept all of those explanations and follow that logic, then why did No. 18 ranked Purdue Boilermakers go from the depths of the Top 25 (AP and Coaches Polls) to a #2 seed in the West? While they did win the BIG Ten tournament, they had recent losses to Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State?”

AI – That does not compute. Re-boot, re-boot, re-boot!

WWYI: “So sorry, I’ll get back to regular questioning. How did St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino react to all of this?”

The P, P&P Theory: Rick Pitino’s Perspective: Pitino’s reaction was a mix of realism and motivation. He admitted that while his staff hoped for a No. 4 seed, he personally expected a No. 5. Rick Pitino’s Pragmatism: Coach Rick Pitino expressed that traveling to San Diego for the first round was “not ideal,” but maintained a focused “deal with it” attitude. He has publicly emphasized that his team has “out of hibernation” and is playing its best basketball at the right time.

Pitino noted he has reached Final Fours before after starting on the West Coast and added, that if they survive the first round, they would likely face Kansas, whose fans would travel “heavy” and would likely “pack the house,” leaving St. John’s with only a “few hundred people” in support.

Nightmare vs. Dream Scenarios: St. John’s must beware as “Danger Lurks,” as The No. 5 vs. No. 12 matchup is a notorious “upset” slot. Facing a tough Northern Iowa team in the first round is seen as a potential trap.

The Opportunity: Some analysts believe St. John’s is actually the “best” No. 5 seed and a nightmare matchup for potential high-seed opponents like Duke or Kansas later in the bracket because of their physical, defensive style.

Strategic Analysis as The Giant Slayer: Interestingly, some analysts—including those from Duke-affiliated forums – view St. John’s as a “nightmare” No. 5 seed.

The Matchup: Because they play a physical, defensive style similar to UConn, they are seen as a team that could potentially upset any higher seed in the Sweet 16.

Don’t you think Pitino will jump on these points to motivate his team?

WWYI: “Wait, who is asking the questions, here.”

The Danger Zone: Conversely, expert “bracketologists” warned of the “upset alert” against Northern Iowa, a senior-led team that shoots well from the perimeter and rarely turns the ball over—the exact profile that often takes down aggressive, pressing teams.

WWYI: “I have an idea. Maybe they should focus one game at a time, instead of looking at the entire region? Keep the focus on:

Northern Iowa No. 12 San Diego, CA Friday, March 20 @ 7:10 PM EDT

A.I. – “It’s amazing how quickly you humans can learn. Can you get me a gig in The White House? Maybe the Department of War? Or, as Speaker of the House? Or, maybe just the Atlanta Hawks’ promotions office?”

Editor’s Note: Apologies to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel at the top of this missive.

 

TL’s Sports Notebook | SSAC ’26 Edition

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Daryl Morey, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Sue Bird and Jessica Gelman (SSAC26)

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk and PGA Tour Brunch

BOSTON – On Friday, March 5th, WWYI dropped a “special edition” of this missive to preview the 2026 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (#SSAC26) staged this weekend at the Seapport Convention Center. It was a very successful affair, one where NBA Commissioner Adam Silver spoke in a “1-on-1” with UConn, WNBA and USA Basketball great Sue Bird and then Silver was presented with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by conference co-founders Jessica Gelman (Kraft Group) and Daryl Morey (Philadelphia 76ers), both MIT alum.

There was no ‘show-stopper’ panel or special guest moment at this year’s symposium. There were a dozen or more very interesting panel discussions. There were also tons of interesting start-ups pitching their concepts at convention tables spread out a country mile on the main concourse – at a convention center sharing space with a New England Regional Volleyball Association event that drew some 750 volleyball teams to compete in the Boston/Nike JVC National Qualifying tournament. It was an incredible site, and it looked to be very high-calibre traditional volleyball.

It was also a college volleyball coach’s dream for recruiting, as noted by Cora Thompson, the head coach of the women’s volleyball program at Tufts University. Ms. Thompson entered the year with a .737 career winning percentage which ranks her as No. 18 on the NCAA’s winningest active coaches list for Division III. It’s the 27th-best winning mark among Division III coaches all-time. Last season Tufts went 24-6 but lost in the NCAA Regional Final (to East Texas Baptist University).

Tufts recruits volleyball players without the benefit of shelling-out scholarships but, instead, the opportunity to attend one of the best universities in the land. The eight-time New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Coach of the Year and three-time American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year was kind enough to educate this columnist on a shuttle bus ride from the Convention Center’s “South Parking Lot” to the building’s entrance.

By “South Lot” and the length of the ride and/or walk back, the lot was located someplace in Rhode Island. (I kid, I kid, and I digress).

Back to #SSAC26.

While the Silver & Bird discussion stands out, a panel held Saturday and moderated by Duke, USA Basketball and NBA great Shane Battier also stood out. Battier grilled Seattle Storm head coach Sonia Raman, active but injured NBA, 6’ 11”, 265 lbs. power forward Steven Adams (of the Houston Rockets by way of New Zealand), LA Clippers basketball advisor Monte McNair, and a very impressive Ariana Andonian, the GM of Philadelphia 76ers G-League team (Delaware Blue Coats) and the VP of Player Personnel for the Sixers (NBA level).

It was pointed out during the panel discussion that the two women were both children of immigrants and – add Steven Adams and you have a pretty amazing trifecta of basketball talent and knowledge.

Some of the discussion, which Adams contributed to while wearing a walking boot, revolved around the question of “just how much” can you throw at a player in terms of analytics. While Battier admitted to accepting binders full of information and studying it throughout his career, Adams was a little more reluctant but said he ‘“would always listen.”

What the NBA analytics did show was underlined by McNair, the general manager and president of basketball operations of the Sacramento Kings in 2020 and NBA Executive of the Year in 2023, who said “crashing the glass” was discovered as the key element to success. He also noted, there was always a give and take between hitting the offensive boards vs. transition defense.

Of course, McNair was sitting next to one of the great offensive rebounders in the NBA over the past dozen years.

(L to R): Monte McNair, Ariana Andonian, Steven Adams, Coach Sonia Raman, and moderator Shane Battier

The group framed where analytics falls in the basketball operations hierarchy today, which is the fact crunching data is amongst the most important functions for a team. The players want the information, but once a game starts, they need to see what is developing and either take a proactive approach to force the tempo or have a reactive counter to what the offense is doing. “Execution” was the key factor for Adams and he noted that no analytic print-out could determine how he would react to what a talented player was tossing his way.

That said, the game planning, the counters to the opponents’ tendencies and attempting to stop the opponents’ most effective offensive efforts was something the team needed to stay with, even if it wsn’t working over a short period of time at the start of a game.

Again, no ‘show-stopping’ legends on stage, but good, solid discussions with the wide-ranging panels, all coming at the discussion from different fields of employment at the highest level of the sport.

Special Note: A sincere thank you to Daryl Morey, Jessica Gelman and all of the Conference leaders, organizers, volunteers and a terrific staff at the Seaport Convention Center. It’s an incredibly well-run conference, probably the best sports conference in the world.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The PGA of America was stationed at the vaunted Hall of Game at the MIT Sloan Conference. The sport of golf has been crunching all kinds of numbers to help pro players and weekend hackers improve their scores. Also, the concepts of improvement using AI and wearables is vastly improving the game, joining ever-improving technology for clubs, shoes and golf balls.

One of the PGA of America’s short-term goals is to attach teaching pros to the emerging onslaught of indoor simulation shops, from the high end of Top Golf to the more social, event and fun-based Five Iron Golf.

HURLING with HURLEY: UConn men’s basketball coach Danny Hurley is $25,000 poorer today than he was yesterday. In Saturday’s season finale, a 68-62 loss to Marquette which cost his team a share of the Big East regular season title, Hurley approached game official John Gaffney and got his chest next to the official’s right shoulder while voicing his displeasure. Hurley said he never bumped into Gaffney, though every replay angle suggested otherwise. … Hurley denied it, saying, “You could screenshot whatever you want to screenshot. I don’t feel like I made any contact with John. I don’t believe I did.” … Well, every TV camera in the building showed a definite bump into the official (who threw a double technical at Hurley in reaction to the bump). The BIG EAST spoke quickly, snuffing-out any speculation of suspending Hurley for UConn’s first BIG EAST tournament game scheduled for this Thursday evening.

The BIG EAST statement reads, “UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley has been fined $25,000 by the BIG EAST for unsportsmanlike conduct in the closing seconds of the March 7 game at Marquette. With one second left in the game, Hurley received two technical fouls for aggressively confronting a game official, was subsequently ejected from the game, and then failed to leave the court in a timely manner. Initial speculation on the game broadcast indicated possible contact between Hurley and the official; however, a review by the conference office of the officials’ game report and available game footage could not confirm physical contact. “We hold our coaches to high standards of sportsmanlike conduct during game competition, and inappropriate interactions with our officials will not be tolerated,” said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: This is now the third (and probably last) week to mention the Mika Zibanejad effect and the fact that in two minutes (3:26pm to 3:28pm on Saturday, during a New York Rangers’ power play against the New Jersey Devils, the name Zabanejad was mentioned 10 times over the short span of time. Ten times! … The guy is amazing.

USA, USA, USA: Adam Amin, the Fox Sports play-by-play man for the World Baseball Classic, made the unforgivable mistake of comparing the current roster for the 2026 USA Baseball team to that of the 1992 USA Basketball “Dream Team.” … Puh-leeze!

The ONLY team that can ever be compared to the Magic, Bird and Jordan Dream Team – the one and only Dream Team – is the 1976 Canada Cup ice hockey team which had 17 Hall of Famers on the roster.

Take a look:

Team Canada Goaltenders:

Rogie Vachon (Los Angeles Kings)

Gerry Cheevers (Boston Bruins)

Glenn Resch (New York Islanders)

Defensemen:

Bobby Orr (Boston Bruins/Chicago Black Hawks)

Denis Potvin (New York Islanders)

Larry Robinson (Montreal Canadiens)

Serge Savard (Montreal Canadiens)

Guy Lapointe (Montreal Canadiens)

Carol Vadnais (New York Rangers)

Jim Watson (Philadelphia Flyers)

Paul Shmyr (Cleveland Crusaders – WHA)

Forwards:

Phil Esposito (New York Rangers)

Bobby Clarke (Philadelphia Flyers)

Darryl Sittler (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens)

Marcel Dionne (Los Angeles Kings)

Bobby Hull (Winnipeg Jets – WHA)

Gilbert Perreault (Buffalo Sabres)

Reggie Leach (Philadelphia Flyers)

Bill Barber (Philadelphia Flyers)

Steve Shutt (Montreal Canadiens)

Richard Martin (Buffalo Sabres)

Lanny McDonald (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Danny Gare (Buffalo Sabres)

Dan Maloney (Detroit Red Wings)

Peter Mahovlich (Montreal Canadiens)

Coaching Staff:

Head Coach: Scotty Bowman

Assistant Coaches: Don Cherry, Bobby Kromm, Al MacNeil

For the record, the 2026 World Baseball Classic USA Baseball team roster is:

Pitchers (RHP/LHP): Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, Logan Webb, Mason Miller, Clayton Kershaw, Clay Holmes, David Bednar, Michael Wacha, Griffin Jax, Garrett Whitlock, Matthew Boyd, Nolan McLean.

Catchers: Cal Raleigh, Will Smith.

Infielders: Bryce Harper (1B), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS), Alex Bregman (3B), Brice Turang (2B), Gunnar Henderson, Paul Goldschmidt, Ernie Clement.

Outfielders: Aaron Judge, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Byron Buxton, Roman Anthony.

Designated Hitter: Kyle Schwarber.

That’s a great baseball team, but to equal the ‘92 Dream Team, USA Baseball would need to suit up Jackie Robinson, DiMaggio, Mays, Mantle, Aaron and Snyder for starters.

MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conf ’26

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

BOSTON – For a forward-looking group of MIT mathematicians, scientists, data-divers, sports analysts and masters of business candidates, there’s quite a bit of reminiscing done each year when the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC) tips-off each March, here at The Seaport in Boston. Looking backwards to find opportunities going forward is not a bad thing, so let’s look at the typical pontifications of veteran SSAC attendees:

  1. There’s the “I was there when it started group.” That’s a reference to a very small handful (136 people) of MBA candidates who were on hand for the inaugural 2006 SSAC, launched by Jessica Gelman and Daryl Morey, and staged in classrooms and common space on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
  2. There’s a group, called “the visionaries” by Gelman. Together with ESPN’s buy-in and the inevitable desire for growth, a group of sports industry icons, media, luminaries and even the President of the United States of America got the place jumping over the massive growth periods for the conference – call it 2009-present.
  3. ESPN’s commitment coincided with massive participation by the sports network’s talent, including executives like John Walsh, John Kosner, and Marie Donoghue, along with columnists and writers such as Bill Simmons, Jackie MacMullan, Marc Stein, John Hollinger, and Henry Abbott. The influx of ESPNers improved the conference make up, including everything from moderating panels to in-depth interviews conducted on stage.
  4. It was Simmons who tagged the conference Dork-a-Palooza and the moniker was seconded by Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and former owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks who relished in the vibes of analytics. The Dork has out-paced the lifers, so maybe Dork-a-Palooza is an expression to forever be retired from this column.
  5. Add Bill James (Society for American Baseball Research, aka SABR), Michael Lewis (Moneyball), Nate Silver(writer/analyst at Baseball Prospectus and later the founder of political online site FiveThirtyEight), and Jonathan Kraft (President of the New England Patriots, an early investor in Boston-based Draft Kings fantasy sports/gambling site), and you were looking at the “the growth stage.”
  6. By the time 2014 rolled around, we were treated to an amazing “meeting of the minds” when author Malcolm Gladwell sat down to interview NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The SSAC had hit the big time, unless you think a panel with President Barack Obama might top the Gladwell-Silver “above the title” flick.
  7. Yes, while Obama was visiting his oldest daughter, Malia, at Harvard University, he stopped by for an “off the record” chat with conference co-founders Gelman and Morey. (How could you expect them to delegate that interview to Bill Simmons)? – That might been the zenith for the once quiet, quaint sports analytics conference.

Along the way, the frequent complaint was whether the team owners, general managers and coaches would ever respect the analytics side of the equation enough to incorporate the number crunching into the strategy. That question was answered emphatically, especially in baseball and basketball as along came the relief pitchers and along came Golden State’s Steph Curry and the three-point field goal barrage that literally changed Dr. Naismith’s game.

If you were paying attention, the likes of Shane Battier, Sue Bird, Elton Brand, JJ Reddick, Steve Kerr, or Steve Nash, were there to tell you about the changing games, as were coaches like Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown, Dave Joerger, David Fizdale and a host of team GMs and basketball operations gurus to map out the strategies. Reddick even focused on the jobs of former players who were plumbers or firemen.

Panel discussions delved into everything from improvements in the NBA refereeing systems to a total overhaul of the NBA’s schedule-making – an undertaking when all the great ideas were plugged into the state-of-the-art computers to find out it would only take 20+ years for the program to run and spit-out the perfect schedule for the games to be played, starting some seven months later.

Whether you look at it as good news or bad news, 2,500 participants from 31 countries, 630 different organizations, and representatives from over 80 teams and leagues will come together for the 20th edition of the MIT SSAC ‘26 which starts tomorrow morning at 8:30am with Opening Remarks by Gelman and Morey in a packed “Bill James Room” at the Seaport.

Among the highlights this year at the 2026 SSAC:

  • ESPN and Draft Kings Reshape Sports Betting for the Fan – Discussion with Stephen A. Smith, Kevin Neghandi and Burke Magnus of ESPN along with Draft Kings CEO Jason Robins.
  • What Six Years of AI Taught Us – SeatGeek’s Derek Zhou
  • The Next Play – AI’s Impact on Emerging Sports
  • A Conversation with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, led by Sue Bird
  • Where the Game Grows: Venues, Markets and Global Strategy
  • The Re-Invention of Golf
  • The Next Generation of Content |Unlocking Immersive and Interactive Sports Content
  • Unconventional Thinkers – a think tank panel of Morey, Sue Bird, Jay Sugarman (Philadelphia Union) and Nate Silver, moderated by Boston’s own Jackie MacMullan.
  • Innovation in Sports Leagues with Jessica Berman (Commissioner of NWSL) and Valerie Camillo (Chair of WTA), with Contessa Brewer, CNBC
  • A 1-on-1 with MLS Commissioner Don Garber, speaking with Jessica Gelman
  • Men in Blazers and the EPL
  • The Future of Hockey – Engineering the Next Era of Growth, with Bill Daly (NHL Deputy Commissioner), Warren Zola, Exec Director, BC’s Chief Executive Club, Marty Walsh, Executive Director of the NHL Players Association and Meghan Chayka, Co-Founder and CEO of Stathletes
  • Hot Takes: Celebrating 20 Years of SSAC
  • And, a Pablo Torre Finds Out Podcast, Live from the SSAC

Among many, many other interesting panels, break-outs, competitive research paper reviews and presentations.

It’s all packed into two fun-filled days at the Seaport Convention Center, a small gathering of your 2,500 best friends.

Personal Note: I’ve enjoyed the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference from its second year on. Coincidentally, the first year, I was asked to speak at Boston University’s sports management symposium which was held at the same time with the nightcap being my first “Hot Stove, Cool Music” concert at The Paradise.

(Where’s Eli “Paperboy” Reed when you need him)?

Two quick take-aways:

  1. Over the years, I’ve met so many smart and interesting people both within and out of the sports industry. The wide-ranging knowledge brought to sports is simply amazing, often ground-breaking and sometimes, just not enough to crack the big time.
  2. The Conference has grown so much that it’s become difficult to meet-up with colleagues, all being pulled in different directions for different panel discussions and topics. At first, I stayed in the “basketball lane,” but in recent years, it’s been more of a deep dive into everything else. … Think of it: Sports Gambling in the USA was just the “concept of a plan” when we first sat down at MIT Sloan. Now?

There will be more to come – depending on what merits coverage – with columns on Digital Sports Desk or maybe this week’s edition of TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook (available on Substack).

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | March 1

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

BOSTON – March is upon us. Madness awaits, as we’re about two weeks away from one of those great sports days of the year – “Selection Sunday.”

The regular season champions will be crowned, then the various Conference Tournaments will be staged, providing us with non-stop college basketball coverage from March 4 to 15. The Sun Belt tips-off on March 3, and the Horizon League jump-starts the full schedule on March 4, followed right away by the Atlantic Sun, the Big South, the Summit, the MAAC, the Northeast and Ohio Valley Conferences. Soon to follow are the America East, the CAA, Missouri Valley, the Southern Conference (SoCon) and then we’re off to the races with the Big Boy conferences, including the ACC (Charlotte, NC), and the BIG EAST from March 11-14 at Madison Square Garden (Digital Sports Desk to be on-site once again).

By the time the Atlantic 10, Big Ten, the IVY, and the SEC conclude on March 15, we’ll be ready for the brackets.

Let’s take a quick look at the Top 16 seeds as it stands on the day we put February in the rear-view window.

  1. Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Iowa State
  2. Houston, Florida, UConn, Purdue
  3. Gonzaga, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan State
  4. Virginia, Kansas, St. John’s, Texas Tech

In the remaining group, certainly North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, BYU, Louisville and the likes of undefeated Miami (Ohio), all deserve mention and attention.

Duke’s impressive 77-51 victory over Virginia on Saturday clinched at least a tie for the Blue Devils as Atlantic Coast Conference champions. Barring an upset in the ACC tourney, Duke is very likely to ride the No. 1 overall seed into the NCAA men’s Basketball Tournament which tips off with the First Four on March 17-18. The full tournament tips on March 19-20. The Final Four is scheduled for April 4-6 in Indianapolis.

While there are no secrets in college basketball, especially on March 1st, the teams that are peaking seem to be Duke, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee – all SEC schools with the exception of mighty Duke.

While St. John’s ran off 13 in a row, their one-side loss to UConn this past Wednesday put some doubt into the Red Storm’s path in March. Only a St. John’s run-of-the-table through the BIG EAST final on March 14 will keep the Storm in that Top 16 listed above. A single loss will drop them to the dreaded No. 5 vs No. 12 slot come bracketology time. Even if a No. 5 is successful in the opener, that No. 4 seed (the likes of Alabama) would await.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The NBA on NBC (and Peacock Network) will be going retro this Tuesday. It should be fun. Here’s what NBC had to say in its corporate news release: “Legendary sports broadcasters Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Mike “Czar of the Telestrator” Fratello, Jim Gray, Hannah Storm, Isiah Thomas and P.J. Carlesimo return to NBC Sports in a special edition “throwback” Coast 2 Coast Tuesday broadcast on Tuesday, March 3 (from) Philadelphia, when Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs visit Tyrese Maxey and the Philadelphia 76ers. The game, which will be called by Costas, Collins and Fratello alongside courtside reporter Gray, tips off at 8:00pm ET on NBC and Peacock. NBA Showtime precedes the game broadcast at 7:00pm ET on Peacock and will feature Storm as studio host and Thomas and Carlesimo as studio analysts.

“Costas, Collins, Fratello, Gray, Storm, Thomas and Carlesimo all served as NBA on NBC Sports commentators and analysts during the 1990s and early 2000s. Costas, Gray and Fratello, who was dubbed “Czar of the Telestrator” by Marv Albert, are Emmy Award winning sports broadcasters.”

All fine and good except – where’s Marv and Peter Vecsey (and maybe even Pat Riley,and a memorial tribute to the late Bob Ferry)?

Understandably, Albert might not be up to a full broadcast, but his voice-over to start the year was tremendous, so maybe they can work him in with a voice-over tease to the game?

When Marv’s introduction aired at the start of this season as the league welcomed back NBC Sports back to the family, I teared-up. No shame. Albert called the glory years for the New York Knickerbockers on MSG Network long before it was MSG Network (it frequently aired on WOR-TV 9 in New York. His contributions to NBA broadcasting are impossible to measure.

But, then again, so was Vecsey’s.

Peter Vecsey brought hard news and serious courtside and studio analysis to the NBA broadcasts. While the league might not’ve been ready for such scrutiny in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, by the time the NBA on NBC debuted and Vecsey led “The Insiders,” the league actually needed some tough love, while the fans dove into the news, trades, transactions and inner workings of the teams, league and player issues.

At that point in time, there was no one to rival Vecsey in terms of breaking news and notes.

When asked if he was contacted by NBC brass to join the fray this Tuesday, Vecsey replied, “Nope.”

SOUL SEARCHING: I was happy to watch the new docu-series on the American Basketball Association (ABA). A quick estimate is that the first 100 professional basketball games I witnessed in person were all ABA games at a combination of the Island Garden in Hempstead and the (then) brand news, spanking Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.

Tickets went for $3.00 and the basketball was great.

The “Doc”-series dove deep into the usual themes of Spencer Haywood, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Ozzie and Daniel Silna – the owners of the Spirits of St. Louis, and EllieBrown, wife of John Y. Brown who owned the Kentucky Colonels.

The talent in the ABA was tremendous, especially if you focus on league all-stars like Erving, David Thompson, Artis Gilmore and Dan Issel, among many, many others. However, the documentary continually painted the NBA as a talentless league of 1950s jump-shooters.

Sure, Dr. J had style, but the documentary overlooked the fact that Walt “Clyde” Frazier was setting the standards of 1970s cool. The doc would show an amazing clip of Dr. J soaring to the hoop but then make a comparison to black and white footage of the NBA. Not once did they show Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, JoJo White, Jerry West or Elgin Baylor.

Yes, the ABA had the Floridians and a dance team, but let’s not forget “Dancin’ Harry”of Baltimore fame (then NYC when Monroe was traded to the Knicks).

Thus, “Soul Power” made many a factual mistake (at the worst) or the production was completely disingenuous (at best). I thought there was no reason for the slight of the NBA. Just tell the ABA story straight and it would’ve been great.

With the fact, Erving and Common were the executive producers, they should’ve known that and controlled it in production. Instead, it came across as a B-minus production, maybe two-stars. Watch it, but do NOT expect to learn a thing.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: I don’t like to get “political” in this column very often, but in making an exception today, I’ll ask one simple question: “Have you EVER seen one guy screw up two gold medal winning ice hockey teams?” … It’s incredible. … CoryAlexander did an incredibly nice job as expert analyst alongside Dave O’Brien (soon to return to Fenway Park). Alexander is a regular ESPN/ACC Network analyst who previously played for Virginia and served as an analyst for the Virginia radio network. Meanwhile, Molly McGrath did her usual A-level courtside reporting job.

FOLLOWING UP: To follow-up on an item from last week’s salute to the wonderful Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and the men’s ice hockey tournament, it must be known that a flip of the channels – from college basketball to the NHL on ABC Saturday afternoon – the Pittsburgh Penguins visited Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers and the first nine names I heard from the play-by-play man, Sean McDonough, was? … You guessed it … Zibanejad … Zibanejad … Zibanejad. Yes, Mika Zibanejad was all over the ice for the Rangers, including a non-stop 3×3 overtime period before the NHL rules called for a “spin the bottle” contest (shoot-out) to determine a winner.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: According to multiple media reports on Thursday, the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks announced plans to honor Magic City — which they called “the city’s iconic cultural institution.” However, together with the Gold Club, Magic City is best known as “one of Atlanta’s ’s most famous strip clubs.” The promotion will come during a March 16 home game against the Orlando Magic at State Farm Arena. The pro basketball club believes no dancers will take part in the festivities.

While the team tried to spin the promotion to be all about Magic City’s chicken wings, the truth of the matter is that an NBA team just cannot turn aside 50% of its audience by putting its female fans in an awkward position.

The shoot-yourself-in-the-foot promo reminded this columnist of the early days of the NLL Boston Blazers lacrosse team when three “scantily clad” women gave “Scorch,” the Blazers’ mascot a lap dance on the field of play during halftime. The promotion went downhill from there, and the Blazers were in crisis communications mode faster than you could say Mayor Menino.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP II: A sequel? The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers game Friday night was delayed for nearly 18 minutes in the third quarter by a blaring “horn” after a power surge caused the overhead scoreboard to malfunction. During a timeout with the Pistons leading 65-64 in their exciting 122-119 overtime victory, the horn sounded to signal the teams to return to the floor. However, it kept blasting away despite frantic work from clock operators, technicians, and arena workers at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The teams returned to their respective benches for a few minutes and were eventually told to go back on the floor to warm up. After 13 minutes, the staff shut down the entire overhead scoreboard and the horn stopped, as loud “Bronx” cheers erupted from the stands. From that point onward, the Pistons’ home scoring crew used a manual airhorn when needed. The NBA game officials brought Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson to midcourt for a brief discussion, before announcing the game would resume without the main scoreboard. However, moments after the game got back underway, the scoreboard came back on and all was well.

TL’s Super Sunday Notes | NE v SEA

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor in Chief

BOSTON – Oh, the glory. The Winter Olympic Games colliding with the Super Bowl. NHL players are back in the ice hockey tournament and the New England Patriots are playing in their first Super Bowl since 2019, which seems like forever and a day ago if you have to turn the calendar back to the Year 2000.

Here’s a quick look at the Patriots’ Super Bowl appearances with a translation from Roman Numerals to the more modern Hindu-Arabic numbers we use these days:

Tom Brady (file photo)

New England Patriots Super Bowl Appearances:

Super Bowl 20: Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10

Super Bowl 31: Green Bay Packers 35, New England Patriots 21

Super Bowl 36: New England Patriots 20, St. Louis Rams 17

Super Bowl 38: New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29

Super Bowl 39: New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21

Super Bowl 42: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14

Super Bowl 46: New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17

Super Bowl 49: New England Patriots 28, Seattle Seahawks 24

Super Bowl 51: New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28

Super Bowl 52: Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33

Super Bowl 53: New England Patriots 13, Los Angeles Rams 3

Every Super Bowl (link)

SUPER: The theme of this week’s notebook is to enjoy some reminiscing about Super Bowls of the past. This year marks Super Bowl LX and it dates those of us who can remember Super Bowl I (Kansas City vs Green Bay in Los Angeles). Super Bowl I wasn’t even in the lexicon of sports fans before Super Bowl I, as the term was coined by Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, in 1966. He suggested the name during a meeting while trying to decide on a title for the championship between the NFL and AFL.

The story goes that Super Bowl I wasn’t sold out in the massive Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which was commissioned in 1921 and opened in 1923. The game was played January 15, 1967 (I had just turned seven years old).

The LA Coliseum is enormous (77,500), and over the years with the LA Rams and then the LA Raiders playing in the venue, it caused some issues for the NFL as it was, indeed, difficult to sell out and thus the NFL TV blackout rules might kick-in to black out the home Los Angeles (No. 2 TV market) and spoil TV ratings.

My memories were looking at what seemed to be an invincible Green Bay Packers team and thinking the Kansas City Chiefs were going to get clobbered in this first great match-up between the National Football League (NFC) and the rival American Football League (AFC). My premonitions were correct and KC got smoked by the score of 35-10. Green Bay QB Bart Starr was the Most Valuable Player as he would be in Super Bowl II at the Orange Bowl in Miami. That game featured the Oakland Raiders who fell 33-14 to the Pack, a slight improvement. I can remember the great Vince Lombardi stalking the sidelines, classically dressed in his overcoat and stoic.

We (meaning my family and most of the kids in my neighborhood) were AFL fans, as the New York Jets played at Shea Stadium, which was closer to our homes. The rival New York Giants seemed old and stogy, and they played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The love of the Mets was the attraction to the Jets and thus, the dislike of the Yankees and the (football) Giants.

Then, there was a key factor – Joe Willie Namath, a.k.a. “Broadway Joe.” Sure there was Yankees greats Joe DiMaggio (Mr Coffee) and Mickey Mantle and some others, but Joe Namath was the very first marketing machine athlete I can remember, and his charisma of coolness fit in with Walt “Clyde” Frazier of the New York Knickerbockers.

Of course, the Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, with the QB tandem of Earl Morrall and the great Johnny Unitas), 16-7, after Namath made the bold guarantee for the New Yorkers to win the game. I had other sports idols on the Jets. I had an Emerson Boozer sweatshirt, and loved defensive safety Johnny Sample and the host of great receivers, like Don Maynard and George Sauer.

That game cemented my love of the NFL and it lasted until the Jets moved from the aging Shea Stadium to the new Giants Stadium in New Jersey (1984). The trip through the Midtown Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel to East Rutherford was too much, and our dump, the beat-up, cold and windy Shea Stadium, seemed so great, although imperfect.

With these various memories in mind, I consulted with column contributor Tom Walsh, the organizer and facilitator of the greatest Super Bowl, and then, AFC/NFC Championship parties in the history of the world, as well as being the most trustworthy and loyal friend you could ever ask for.

To Mr Walsh, the following question was posed:

Q: “I know you love the KC Chiefs as you adopted them in the Len Dawson era and rooted for them against the mighty GB Packers. What are your earliest memories of the Super Bowl?”

A: (Surprised me a bit) – “So the first Super Bowl ever was played on my fifth birthday Jan 15, 1967. Truth be told, I don’t remember a thing about that particular “game.” I do, however, remember a lot of fuss going on in the household because we had moved from Kansas City the year prior and my brother Billy ( five years older) was a fan already, so it was a combination of birthday and Super Bowl celebration.

“My first clear memories of a Super Bowl came from Super Bowl IV (January 11, 1970) and at that point in time, I was fully aware of sports. The Mets were coming off of their miracle Mets run (of 1969) and I was beginning to care about and participate in sports. The Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7). It was that moment that did it for me in terms of fandom.”

He was a Chiefs fan for life.

And, that’s how the NFL does it and how the Super Bowl became the highest-rated, most watched, can’t miss worldwide sports event on the planet. World Cup be damned!

The New England Patriots vs Seattle Seahawks game will attempt to break last year’s 127.7 million viewers. That’s to serve up :30 second spots at $8 million or :60s at $16m to $20m. (estimated 2026 prices)

As the ‘70s marched on there were great (better call them super) football teams in the Miami Dolphins (coach Don Shula), the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steel Curtain. Those high level teams dominated but were highly respected by all football fans.

Another early memory for me was the fact many of the games were somewhat one-sided. It wasn’t until the 1979 Pittsburgh vs. Dallas Super Bowl, won by Pitt (35-31) that I can remember a high scoring affair.

Fast forward to the early ‘90s and we witnessed the Buffalo Bills’ four consecutive bridesmaids era and then later in the decade, the Denver Broncos era.

As the clock struck 2002, it was time for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots to ride in with a decade of dominance give or take a few disappointments, a New York Giants miracle or two (ask David Tyree) and ultimately the Patriots chasing Brady down I95 where he won another Super Bowl with former Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski as a sidekick.

Patrick Mahomes and the Walsh Family enjoyed their renaissance and took three Super Bowl titles in the 2020s, while losing title games to Brady’s newfangled Tampa Bay Bucs and the mighty Philadelphia Eagles who can still fly with the best of ‘em.

All the while, event organizers from New Orleans to Miami Gardens to Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Santa Clara have raked in the millions in economic boosts the size of Saturn Five rockets. This week, the NFL has inserted major cash flow from San Francisco to Palo Alto and from San Jose to Santa Clara. There’s nothing like it as the New England and Seattle faithful have traveled heavy and at steep prices.

Face value for a cheap seat is roughly $950 but that same ticket is going for $3,869 on the secondary market as kick-off time draws nearer and nearer. Meanwhile, lower bowl “decent/good” seats are going for $5,007 and as high as $8,000 to $14,000 per seat, depending on how close you like your seat to the 50 yard line.

High-priced tickets go for $40,530 to $44,796 per seat on the secondary market and a luxury suite will set you back $600,000 to $1.8 million. Although ticket prices can fluctuate drastically in the final two days, Super Bowl LX is currently the second-most expensive Super Bowl on record, with an average purchase price of roughly $8,016.

ALL ABOUT TONIGHT: That brings us to game time. How about some predictions and prognostications, with an attempt to avoid the cliches? (Such as protect the ball, limit turnovers, team that has the ball last, pass protection is key, focus, special team play can be the determining factor).

Please keep in mind, after the Joe Namath Jets, my NFL allegiances were usually to root for the favorite teams of friends, so they could enjoy the title. But, while living in New England, it was always fun to watch Tom Brady operate on a weekly basis, orchestrating comeback after comeback, victory after victory, but the arrogance of team owner Bob Kraft always kept me an arms-length away from the team/Gillette Stadium. That said, I have a friend who was BBs right hand man, and I certainly rooted for him to take in a Playoff share. He left the Patriots when BB did.

This year, it’s been very different. I did not expect the Patriots to win five or six games, maybe seven. I did not think QB Drake Maye could turn into a major contender for MVP (Matthew Stafford of the LA Rams edged Maye out) in teh voting, and I did not think Mike Vrabel’s effect on the team would be so amazing, so vibrant and meaningful in his first year as Patriots’ head coach.

Well, damn the torpedos, and full speed ahead.

Let’s take a look.

TL PREDICTIONS: The prediction here is that Vrabel’s defense will step up once again. Just as they held the Los Angles Chargers and Denver Broncos and Houston Texans offenses down, I expect even more from NE’s “D” on Sunday. The neutral home field will be a major advantage, compared to the crazy and hostile setting of Denver. The Patriots’ defense endured and QB Drake Maye did what he had to do to rally, run and score.

Against Seattle, I see a game-long defensive battle. The Patriots, as they’ve done thoughout the late half of the regular season and all of post season, will limit RB Kenneth Walker III to play as though he’s not age III but age LX. Walker’s sidekick, RB Zach “Don’t Call Me ‘Guy’” Charbonnet is out – a huge setback for the Seahawks. Seattle, like the Patriots’ other opponents, will struggle to gain more than 3.4 or 3.5 per offensive play, a factor that will see punt-after-punt-after-punt in the early going.

LOW SCORING: I see a possible 0-0 first quarter score, and maybe a 7-0 or 10-3 halftime.

SECOND HALF ADJUSTMENTS: It will be the second half when Vrabel’s defense can win the game. Look for at least one “points off turnover” score, coming from a forced fumble or mid-field interception. It would not surprise if there’s a “Pick 6” or a score off a muffed punt. The Patriots might produce seven or 10 points from the defensive and special team side of the ball, while holding Seattle QB Sam Darnold to “three and outs” regularly.

CAN NEW ENGLAND RUN VS. SEATTLE D? If New England can establish a decent running game, with RB Rhamondre Stevenson and his sidekick, rookie TreVeyon Henderson, it will open up the passing game for Maye and simultaneously create running opportunities for the MVP-runner-up QB. I can see Maye break a 15-20 yard run, maybe for a TD.

PUTTING THAT ALL TOGETHER: I see a relatively low-scoring game. Certainly, it will be a battle of defensive capabilities in the first half. Will one team have its defense on the field too long? Will fatigue play a factor? Will points be scored off turnovers and just how many turnovers or significant mistakes will be made by the young QBs (of either team) and the stumbling, fumbling RBs?

X-FACTOR: I see New England’s TE Hunter Henry playing a pivitol role in converting those third and long or third and five/six situations. He will be a clutch performer and I haven’t seen that written anywhere else.

IN CONCLUSION … a.k.a. THE VEGAS LINE: I think Las Vegas bookmakers have the wrong team favored. The line came out at New England (+5), then settled at New England (+4.5). … In some other books, the line came out at Seahawks (-3.5) and settled at (-4.5) and its stayed put. … Two Sundays ago, I would’ve placed the line at New England (-2.5). Today, I might call it (- 1.5). … The scoring total is at 45.5 – far too high, unless the defenses score 14 points or more apiece.

I see it more like: New England 17-6 or New England 17-10. Drake Maye runs for one TD, throws for another (Henry) and Maye gets his MVP and his first Super Bowl ring.

Most of the experts disagree and they, of course, are the guys who set the Vegas lines.

The guy I trust the most is Matt Youmans of VSiN and he has it: Patriots 23-20 over Seattle, with Drake Maye as the MVP. In scientific terms, that means he’s on the Patriots and the “Under.”

A factoid to consider: The team that is the better NFL Playoff seed (Seattle a No. 1 and New England a No. 2) is just 2-17-1 (ATS) = (10.5%) in the last 29 Super Bowl games. (Some games had teams with the same playoff seed). And, in the last 24 years, Underdogs own an (18-6) record = 75%. By the way, another slice has Underdogs (14-4) over the last 18 Super Bowls, but those stats doesn’t really matter as this is forward thinking column and past performances have ZERO to do with the outcome of Sunday’s game.

FLIP SIDE: If you’re keen on the Seattle Seahawks and don’t buy any of the logic explained above, you’re probably criticizing New England’s relatively smooth (not easy, but smooth) path to the Super Bowl. (Chargers to Texans to Broncos).

In the wild card round, New England held the Los Angeles Chargers to one second quarter field goal in a low-scoring, 16-3 contest.

While Houston looked great on paper and rode a 10-game winning streak, the fact of the matter was New England’s defense stood up to Texans QB C.J. Stroud and held him down in the Red Zone. Houston led 10-7, but a NE pick six (Marcus Jones) returned for 26 yards, and a Drake Maye to Stefon Diggs 7-yard TD strike made it 21-10 Patriots at the half.

In the AFC Championship game, New England faced a Denver Broncos team without their (more) dynamic QB Bo Nix.

Lady Luck!

SLEEPLESS SEATTLE … can impose a much more dynamic offensive approach, sans No. 2 RB Zach Charbonnet. The combo of much-travelled but underrated QB Sam Darnold to Pro Bowl WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba is dangerous at all times and can take advantage of New England’s one defense weakness – a suspect secondary. The deep ball is not a friend in New England.

Can Vrabel devise his defensive schemes to take Smith-Njigba out of the game, and force Seattle to run? Can the New England secondary step-up and play their best game of the season? – Lots of question marks but the answers will play out in Santa Clara.

Kick-off is 6:30pm ET/3:30pm (Local).

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: What’s a Super Bowl Notebooks without a few of the basic lines? Here’s the basic line and a sampling of alternate wagers/props:

Super Bowl LX

  • Seattle (-4.5) over Patriots (Line opened at 5.0 points)
  • Over/Under 45.5

Most Rushing Yards

  • (Seattle’s) Kenneth Walker III – (-225)
  • (NE’s) Rhamondre Stevenson – (+240)
  • (NE’s) Drake Maye – (+700)
  • (NE’s TreVeyon Henderson – (25/1)
  • (Seattle’s) George Holani – (50/1)
  • (Seattle’s) Rashid Shaheed – (66/1)

Yards Rushing (Over/Under)

(Seattle’s) Kenneth Walker III

  • Over 74.5 yards – (118)
  • Under 74.5 yards – (-110)

(New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson

  • Over 47.5 – (118)
  • Under 47.5 – (110)

(New England’s) TreVeyon Henderson

  • Over 37.5 (118)
  • Under 37.5 (110)

(New England’s) Drake Maye

  • Over 37.5 (115)
  • Under 37.5 (115)

Passing Yards

(New England’s) Drake Maye

  • Over/Under – 221.5 (115)

(Seattle’s) Sam Darnold

  • Over/Under – 229.5 (113)

Longest Rush

  • (New England’s) Drake Maye – 13.5 (120)
burger with lettuce and fries on brown wooden table
Photo by Eiliv Aceron on Unsplash

TIDBITES (sic) & (Chicken) NUGGETS: Ahh, the annual Lyons/Martin Super Bowl Menu. It’s not a game time decision, it’s an all day affair.

Breakfast

  • Fresh Whole Oranges, peeled and sliced into silver dollar sized bites
  • The World’s Greatest pitted Grapes (both red and green), cold and crunchy
  • Assorted Cereals, with Almond Milk or 1%
  • Fresh Everything Bagels, with Garden Veggie cream cheese, served toasted
  • Assorted Berries or Chocolate Chip Pancakes, served with Vermont Maple syrup
  • Tropicana Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice Cocktail
  • Freshly Brewed Coffee or Bigelow Tea (assorted flavors), served with 1/2 & 1/2

Lunch

  • Classic, well done Omaha Steak Cheeseburgers w/ Heinz ketchup and dill pickles
  • Crispy tater-Tots
  • Diet Cokes

Pre-Game Snacks

  • Veggies Crudite – Celery, Carrot sticks, sliced Multi-Color Peppers
  • Knorr’s Vegetable Soup Mix dip, sour cream
  • Pig in Blankets
  • BUFFs’ Chicken Wings (Medium, not too hot)
  • Cheeze Sticks (Trader Joe’s)

Game Time

  • White Chicken Chili
  • Taquitos
  • Hint of Lime Chips
  • Sam Adams American Light Beer
  • Diet Coke
  • Wine Spritzers
  • Olde Tyme Prezels (Dark and Regular)
  • Dry Roasted Planter’s Peanuts
  • Chips
  • Honoring Super Bowl stars of the past, famous GRONK-a MOLE w chips
  • A new dish will be: crispy bacon B.L.Ts with MAYE-O

Half Time

  • Clare’s Famous Meatball Subs
  • Artichoke Dip with Pita
  • Street Corn
  • Celery sticks
  • Blue Cheese Dressing
  • Combinations of Kalamata, Pitted Green, and Castelvetrano Olives, mixed with artichokes, feta, and marinated vegetables (a.k.a. Giardiniera)

Post Game or Anytime

  • Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
  • Coffee
  • 2019 Silver Oak: Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Josh Cellar, 2024: Pinot Grigio

PARTING WORDS & MUSIC: Two guys walk into an English pub near London 250 years from today. They want to toast what used to be The United States of America. “Yeah, they made it 250 years, but then, forget it,” says the older man. “Let’s not talk about that tonight,” says the younger lad. “I want to play some music. The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?”

“The Beatles,” says the older gentlemen.

“The Stones,” says the young lad.

“The Who,” shouts someone from the bar.

Obviously, the argument of the best rock band is endless, and there’s never a right answer.

“What’s your favorite color,” asked the Bridgekeeper in Monty Python’s Holy Grail?

“Red, no Blue.”

Arghhhh.

But if some sports historian two hundred and fifty years from now were to ask anyone, from any corner of the earth, “What was the best halftime act in NFL Super Bowl history?” There would be a chorus.

A chorus of “Prince.”

The stories of the legendary halftime show are endless, and they’ve taken on even more magnificence in the 269 fictitious years since Prince took the stage in the middle of a serious thunder/lightening storm in South Florida for my little story, here.

But, the point being: No one will ever top the halftime act performed by Prince at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

Bruce Springsteen was great. Others were fan-tastic. Some were controversial (Where were you when the term “Wardrobe Malfunction” was coined?

Today, to put the finishing touch on this Super Bowl LX collection of notes and quotes and quips and nuggets, I give you Prince.

Note: You will need to click-through to watch the show on the NFL Youtube channel. That’s the NFL’s rule because it’s their footage. It’s a MUST WATCH.

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 utilized within the column. And, remember, PGA TOUR Brunch is On Sale.

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

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 11th

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

Could it happen?

As one who doubted the success of the New England Patriots as the 2025 NFL season began, it’s hard to believe there’s enough Kool Aid in all of Boston to go out on an ice-covered limb and predict the Patriots as Super Bowl LX champions.

That’s an especially difficult task as this year’s NFL is about as even and unpredictable as any season in the last 50 years. Just look at the fact a preseason pick of the Detroit Lions to play the Kansas City Chiefs (or the Baltimore Ravens) would’ve been a credible choice for any NFL maven.

Nope. No Chiefs. No Lions. No Ravens. You mean an NFL maven says, “Doubt the Ravens, Evermore?”

That leaves us with a really WILD pro football wild card weekend with only AFC regular season champion Denver Broncos and NFC top seed Seattle Seahawks assured to play in the divisional round of January 17-18.

Everyone else? Good luck with your predictions.

Here are mine.

NFL PLAYOFF PICKS: With two games being played as this bulldog edition hits Al Gore ‘s online creation, it’s time to make some predictions with a possible goose-egg Saturday start just as likely as two correct picks, although the LA Rams look pretty good. Admittedly, the columnist has had a gallon of clam chowder flavored Kool-Aid, New England stylewith the final, Super Bowl selection … Here are the picks and, of course, there’s a chance the NFL brackets do not set up the way these picks are chosen, but, what the hell.

WILD CARD

AFC Wild Card Winner 1 – Bills

AFC Wild Card Winner 2 – Patriots

AFC Wild Card Winner 3 – Texans

NFC Wild Card Winner 1 – Rams

NFC Wild Card Winner 2 – Bears

NFC Wild Card Winner 3 – Eagles

DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

AFC Division Winner 1 – Broncos

AFC Division Winner 2 – Patriots

NFC Division Winner 1 – Seahawks

NFC Division Winner 2 – Eagles

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

AFC Conference Winner – Patriots

NFC Conference Winner – Eagles

SUPER BOWL LX

Super Bowl Champion – Patriots

BOB WEIR / REST IN PEACE:

RIGHT AT PRESS TIME: The news of the Grateful Dead founding member, guitarist, vocalist, magician and storyteller Bob Weir’s death hit the airwaves via a heartfelt SOCIAL MEDIA post from Chloe Weir. The announcement of his death said he went peacefully. He was battling cancer but died of some underlying complications of the lungs.

These two clips are from Bob’s final shows at Golden Gate Park, performed this past summer (August 1-3, 2025), a three-night stand celebrating 60 years of music – pure magical music. My indoctrination into the Dead was way back in high school, but my Ph D. came from the late, great Bill Walton who often dove deep into the lyrics and vibes to lead the way for many of us.

Wrote Chloe on behalf of the family: “It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.

For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.

Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life. Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park. Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas.

There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again.”

“It must be getting early, clocks are running late

Paint-by-number morning sky looks so phony

Dawn is breaking everywhere, light a candle, curse the glare

Draw the curtains, I don’t care ‘cause it’s alright,

I will get by

I will get by

I will get by

I will survive.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As long as we were playing the prediction game up above, how about a few more for 2026?

  • The “U” to win the CFP championship as tough “D” and home field advantage win out at Hard Rock. Indiana will have put up a fight like no other.
  • Jannik Sinner to win Down Under at the 2026 Australian Open
  • William Byron to make it a three-peat at the 2026 Daytona 500
  • Canada to win the gold at Milan Winter Olympics men’s ice hockey
  • UConn to win 2026 BIG EAST men’s basketball tournament (and women’s, too)
  • Michigan to take the 2026 Final Four in men’s hoops
  • Scottie Scheffler to get back on track and win The Masters
  • Colorado Avs and Florida Panthers to meet for The Cup (Avs to win)
  • OKC to repeat at the NBA Finals and take their second Larry O’Brien Trophy
  • LA Dodgers to repeat at 2026 World Series, defeating the NYY
  • No Triple Crown winner in 2026
  • Cameron Boozer to go No. 1 in NBA Draft
  • Jannik Sinner to repeat at Wimbledon (singles)
  • Iga Świątek to repeat in Ladies’ singles in London
  • Scottie Scheffler to take the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup

Some more in-depth analysis and additional predictions to come before each season/playoffs begin. In the list above, you’ll notice a LOT of chalk. The WWYI office reports, “Carlos Alcaraz is on Line One.”

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Good News: Zach Harper of The Athletic pointed out that Muggsy Bogues turned 61 years of age on Friday. The 5-foot-3 guard entertained NBA audiences for a solid 14 seasons. … Bad News: Former NBAer and shot blocker extraordinaire Jawann Oldham died this past week in Atlanta at the age of 68. Oldham hailed from Seattle, Washington.

The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, the Florida-based creator and sponsor of the Fred Biletnikoff Award, honored unanimous 1st-Team All-America receiver Makai Lemon of the University of Southern California as the 2025 winner of the prestigious Biletnikoff Award.

Legendary sportscaster Al Michaels will return to call the 2026-27 NFL season for Prime Video, according to a report by Richard Deitsch of The Sports Business Journal.

Former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh seems to be the answer to every NFL team’s dreams. Harbaugh, fired by Baltimore this week, put the brakes on every NFL team that drew their ax on NFL Black Monday (maybe we should call it Red Monday, thus with the ax falling)? … The NY Post has been swooning over a possible Harbaugh hiring for the football Giants.

New York Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer is the likely Calder Trophy winner come April/May and he’s proving to be the best NYI blue-liner since the great Denis Potvin (not to put any pressure on the rook).

The LIV Tour started its season this week with a qualifier at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida while the PGA Tour opens this Thursday at the SONY Open in Honolulu, Hawaii. Pro golf is back but Brooks Koepka is not.

As expected, pro golfer Brooks Koepka applied for reinstatement to the PGA TOUR. ESPN first reported that the expected became true. Koepka, 35, decided to leave LIV Golf and announced it on December 23. He had one year left on his contract with the Saudi-backed pro circuit. Koepka will not be eligible to return to the PGA Tour until August, 2026 at the very earliest.

Koepka was one of the top PGA Tour players to jumo to LIV Golf in 2022, reportedly cashing a $125 million check as an enticement for the love.

Brick building with arched entrance and windows
Photo by T R on Unsplash

BASEBALL HALL of FAME: Neither WWYI nor Digital Sports Desk have a ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame. That’s fine, but it doesn’t stop a baseball scribe from casting a phantom ballot. Here are the picks this year, using the less is more theory with five choices for baseball infamy amongst the 27 players eligible on the BBWAA official ballot.

  • Carlos Beltran
  • Andruw Jones
  • Andy Pettitte
  • Alex Rodriguez
  • David Wright

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 4

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – There are some really tough jobs in the sports industry. They are often thankless and low paying in comparison to what someone would make in a similar position “in the real world.” So many of the jobs in sports require extra long hours, working every weekend and holiday and being away from family on important dates (graduations, weddings, birthdays) and many of the holidays.

That is the price you pay for a challenging job in sports, hearing the “roar of the crowd,” and you usually know the job description and travel requirements before you sign up.

To be successful on the job, you need a tremendous support system behind the job and that is the family – a very understanding family to say the least.

Looking at tough jobs, there’s Charlie Baker of the NCAA.

Baker is the former Governor of Massachusetts and current president of the NCAA. He served two terms in the Commonwealth and signed up with the NCAA in March, 2023. He has an impossible job – the kind that has zero chance of being 100% successful as he serves far too many constituents in the world of collegiate athletics.

Simply put, Baker has too many mouths to feed. He also has four Power 4 obstacle courses to navigate (remember when it was Power 5 – a la the Pac 10-12)? Yes, the commissioners of the Power 4 football conferences, along with the newly created hierarchy of the College Football Playoffs, undermines the power of the NCAA. And, it’s getting worse by the day, by the season – across more sports than just football.

Local Boston sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy had a chance to sit down with the former Guv’nah and asked about the thankless job Baker endures: “There’s a lot about it that’s frustrating,” Baker said to Shaughnessy over lunch last week. “But I spent most of my career in healthcare and government, and those can be frustrating environments, as well. OK?“

Shaughnessy also sought insight from Peter Roby, a lifelong sports administrator as A.D. at Northeastern and Dartmouth who spent a five-year stint on the NCAA committee for men’s basketball and Roby did not disappoint: “No one talks about education or personal development at the highest levels. It’s about transfer portal, NIL revenue sharing, and the need for congressional intervention. Schools continue to complain about rising costs and the need for more revenue, yet they are paying out multimillion-dollar buyouts for fired coaches and hiring coaches at $12 million per year.

“The way things are trending, the NCAA will not exist in its current form in the next few years. It will only manage sports championships. All the legal settlements have resulted in billions of dollars being paid out over the next 10 years, and that money is coming from the NCAA and member schools. This has resulted in (fewer) programs being offered to students, coaches, and administrators by the NCAA, while rendering the NCAA powerless to pass overarching legislation or enforce current rules for fear of more litigation. All of this comes as a result of the failure of (University) presidential leadership and overreach by boards of trustees,” said Roby.

As the NCAA has morphed into a championship event organizing company – and a good one at that – the rest of the US collegiate sports industry turns its lonely eyes to yesteryear, seeking some common sense rules and general leadership. But, with the landscape and mega-dollars going the way they’re going (straight up – 📈), Baker has no chance to succeed as the head of a true national governing body for college sports.

Caught directly in the crosshairs is Division I collegiate basketball. They’re playing at the mercy of the big brother and major money-maker of football and the power has been slip-sliding away. Only the commissioners of the Power 4, the BIG EAST and West Coast Conferences stand a chance at carving out some reasonable existence in this big, bad world of footy-driven administration.

What does that leave to the (formerly) powerful National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)?

It leaves them to do what they do best – Complain but do nothing.

The complainer-in-chief is Coach John Calapiri, the head coach of Arkansas (after see-saw stints as head coach at UMass, Memphis, Kentucky and a pro try-out with the (then) New Jersey, now Brooklyn Nets franchise.

Typing a transcript of Coach Cal’s December 29 beef would not do it justice, so here it is to watch and listen ‘til your heart’s delight:

Isn’t that fabulous? Calipari turned a Fayetteville, Arkansas post-game press availability into a cry for help at the U.S. Capitol or Arkansas State House. While some called it a tirade or rant, I’d label it as pleading for help, for leadership in athletics and guidance to police the college coaches from themselves.

You really have to agree with Coach Cal or UConn Coach Danny Hurley who suggested college basketball “could really use a commissioner.” A commissioner for college basketball (one job) would need to hire a No. 2a and 2b to oversee the men’s and women’s divisions, while also needing a top-notch labor lawyer. Properly done, college basketball could then former a Labor Relations Board who could hammer-out a common sense, reasonable Collective Bargaining Agreement which would even the playing field and account for USA citizens and international students. (Note: Calipari kept singling out European players, but there’s talent coming from every corner of the globe and most have never heard of an NCAA handbook.

“It’s such an incredible sport,” said Hurley. ““We’ve got the greatest sport(ing) event that this country has on a yearly basis that catches the imagination of the whole country, casuals, non-sports fans. Everyone’s got a bracket. You’ve got this incredible product that’s marketed horribly outside of March. It’s an incredible sport. We need a commissioner.

“A (Roger) Goodell or a David Stern. Somebody that’s gonna make decisions and start making moves that are in the best interest of college basketball, not just having coaches and players do what’s in the best interest of them,” said the outspoken Hurley.

Upon further review, it must be said that the college football and “Olympic sports” side would be much tougher to resolve than the problems of basketball and it’s not realistic to name a “Commissioner” for every sport, all reporting into Baker and it’s quite evident, in football, no one is going to give up power and that includes the highly paid commissioners of the Power 4, Notre Dame (as a whole), the TV industry (with existing or future contracts in hand), school presidents and athletic directors and a growing breed of player agents. All have their piece of the pie and aren’t planning to give up a slice.

Plus: what’s good for college football or basketball won’t work for baseball or softball and rules for all of the sports above (football, baseball, basketball, and softball) might not be good for college soccer or tennis or lacrosse or swimming or volleyball and so on. And, what’s great for the Big 12 might not work in the Atlantic 10.

Gonzaga coach Mark Few went so far as to suggest Congress weigh-in on the issue, saying, “Our lack of leadership has really shown,” Few said last Sunday after his team beat Pepperdine University 96-56. “Now it’s probably time to get some help from Congress, but they’re more screwed up than the NCAA.”

As it relates to Baylor’s signing of James Nnaji, the NCAA issued a prepared statement to college basketball site “Field of 68″,” declaring: “Schools are recruiting and seeking eligibility for more individuals with more international, semi-pro and professional experience than ever before and while the NCAA members have updated many rules following the House injunction, more rules must likely be updated to reflect the choices member schools are making. At the same time, NCAA eligibility rules have been invalidated by judges across the country, wreaking havoc on the system and leading to fewer opportunities for high school students, which is why the Association is asking Congress to intervene in these challenges.”

Congress considered one small slice of the debate earlier this year, as the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsement (SCORE) Act fractured the Republican side of the aisle and garnered opposition from Democrats. Earlier this month, House leadership canceled a vote on the SCORE Act, which would have regulated compensation student-athletes receive from NIL deals.

Earlier, the College Athletics Reform Act (CARA) was introduced by Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-Mass-5th), and the bill attempted to protect athletes’ rights and create a sustainable system for college sports. It included provisions to establish federal standards for NIL rights and enhance opportunities for women’s and Olympic sports. It went nowhere.

So much for Congressional relief.

What’s the solution?

Here’s WWYI’s take for a road map to sanity:

  1. Take Hurley’s recommendation and hire a Commissioner for NCAA Basketball.
  2. That job should go to Joel Litvin, former President of Basketball for the NBA.
  3. Allow Litvin to hire any combination of labor lawyers, advisors and “basketball people” to become his Labor Relations Board (include Jim Tooley/Sean Ford of USA Basketball, Tommy Amaker, head coach at Harvard, retired Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Stu Jackson, Commissioner of the West Coast Conference. An advisor named Russ Granik would chair the meetings and head up the Labor board for both men and women.
  4. Prompt the basketball players (both men and women) to hire labor lawyers.
  5. Negotiate a fair Collective Bargaining Agreement to govern the sport(s).
  6. Prompt the NABC to form a labor division.
  7. Negotiate a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the coaches.
  8. Name Dan Gavitt as the head of NCAA men’s basketball championships, a job he’s done quite well with since 2012.
  9. Continue with Amanda Braun, director of athletics at Milwaukee, to chair the women’s committee for championships.
  10. In addition to her role as Commissioner of the BIG EAST, ask Val Ackerman to chair the Labor Relations Board for women’s basketball.

Executing the items from the Top Ten list will take some serious doing and it would be followed by months and months of very hard work and lengthy negotiations, but it will set a firm, new path to actual sanity for the sport of college basketball. It would set clear-cut rules for basketball operations, the signing of players and payment structure. It would address incoming players, both transfers and first-year (domestic and international). It would institute a maximum team salary cap for schools to operate and abide by, and that could be done conference-by-conference with different salary levels for Div. II and III. It’s not a cookie cutter approach.

Once negotiated, Litvin would oversee the entire legal, basketball and business operation of the NCAA division for basketball on an on-going basis with the staff of his choosing to govern both men’s and women’s basketball

The Patriots parted with Bill Belichick, giving Jerod Mayo a one-year audition as head coach before firing him and hiring Mike Vrabel in January 2025 (file)

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Two pro teams faced two tough decisions. The New England Patriots fired their coach, popular former player Jerod Mayo, after only one season when he finished with a 4-13 record. The firing came about a year ago. Mayo was the hand-picked successor to the great Bill Belichick and New England Patriots team owner Bob Kraft has a few years to consider his choices as the Belichick era of Patriots football limped to a close after 24 seasons, six Super Bowl titles, nine AFC championships and 17 AFC East titles, including 11 consecutive division crowns.

Last January, Kraft pulled the trigger on Mayo’s firing and the hiring of Mike Vrabel on January 12, 2025 – possibly Kraft’s best move since writing his name on contracts addressed to Belichick and retired quarterback Tom Brady, a.k.a. – The Franchise. Vrabel had played linebacker for the Patriots from 2001 to 2008 and was an integral member of three of the six Super Bowl championship teams. After retiring as a player, he served as Tennessee Titans coach from 2018 to 2023, posting a 54-45 regular-season record and 2-3 mark in the NFL Playoffs, including a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 2019.

It was a tough decision to pull the rug out from under Mayo after only one year at the helm, but hiring Vrabel was the right decision at the key time and Vrabel proved Kraft right by leading the Patriots to a surprising AFC East Division title in 2025-26, and there might be more to come.

Down in New York, there was a tough coaching decision but it was at the opposite end of the spectrum of winning. The New York Knicks had eliminated the defending champion Boston Celtics in the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals and NY advanced to the Conference Finals where they lost to the youthful Indiana Pacers, 4-2.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau completed his fifth season with the Knicks, improving each and every year since 2021-22 to a 50+ win season and New York’s best finish since losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 NBA Finals.

Knicks front office guru Leon Rose decided to make a change and dismissed Thibs and hired Mike Brown who has New York atop the NBA’s Atlantic Division whiel guiding them to an NBA Cup title in December.

Again, a very difficult decision, but the right one. A gutsy call by Rose.

Brown is playing a more open offensive style while utilizing more players in his rotation. The defense stressed by Thibodeau has not been forgotten by the same core crew to upend the Celtics last spring, but undoubtedly, the Knicks will have fresh legs and ample offense to take on all opponents come April.

Two difficult coaching decisions with two outcomes – both the best for each team.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The injury bug keeps biting the NBA. Aside from all-stars like Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton being out indefinitely, Dallas’ Anthony Davis being in & out of the lineup all season, the league took a major hit with the fact Denver’s incredible Nikola Jokić is out for some three-to-four weeks with a hyper-extended knee injury. The injury came days after Jokić posted a 56-16-15 line in a Nuggets victory over

A non-comprehensive list of players currently OUT or questionable because of injury include (Player, Team):

  • Trae Young, Atlanta
  • Jayson Tatum, Boston
  • Miles Bridges, Charlotte
  • Josh Giddey, Chicago
  • Coby White, Chicago
  • Larry Nance, Jr., Cleveland
  • Max Strus, Cleveland
  • Anthony Davis, Dallas
  • Dereck Lively, Dallas
  • Kyrie Irving, Dallas
  • Dante Exum, Dallas
  • Aaron Gordon, Denver
  • Nikola Jokić, Denver
  • Christian Braun, Denver
  • Seth Curry, Golden State
  • Fred Van Fleet, Houston
  • Obi Toppin, Indiana
  • Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana
  • Ivica Zubac, LA Clippers
  • Bradley Beal, LA Clippers
  • Rui Hachimura, LA Lakers
  • Austin Reaves, LA Lakers
  • Zach Edney, Memphis
  • Scottie Pippen Jr., Memphis
  • Ty Jerome, Memphis
  • John Konchar, Memphis
  • Tyler Herro, Miami
  • Taurean Prince, Milwaukee
  • Terrence Shannon Jr., Minnesota
  • Dejounte Murray, New Orleans
  • Mitchell Robinson, New York
  • Josh Hart, New York
  • Landry Shamet, New York
  • Jaylin Williams, OKC
  • Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC
  • Nikola Topic, OKC
  • Jalen Suggs, Orlando
  • Franz Wagner, Orlando
  • Kelly Oubre Jr., Philadelphia
  • Grayson Allen, Phoenix
  • Jalen Green, Phoenix
  • Jerami Grant, Portland
  • Scoot Henderson, Portland
  • Jrue Holiday, Portland
  • Damian Lillard, Portland
  • Zach LaVine, Scaramento
  • Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento
  • Devin Vassil, San Antonio
  • Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio
  • Jacob Poeltl, Toronto
  • Ace Bailey, Utah
  • Walter Kessler, Utah
  • Georges Niang, Utah
  • Cam Whitmore, Washington

That’s a major league list of injuries, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made note at his NBA Cup media availability that the number of injuries this season are down from a year ago.

“All I can deal with is the data itself, and the data we have so far this season is we have the lowest number of injuries in the last three years,” said Silver to a pointed question on league-wide injuries.

“I’ll stop there and say, regardless where the level of injuries stands versus prior years, of course the soft tissue injuries concern us. All injuries concern us, for that matter. The most frustrating issue right now, and the one that we have seemingly the least control over, is keeping star players on the floor.

“I think we have made progress. We’ve made adjustments in scheduling. We’ve made adjustments in the sharing of information among teams. We’ve made adjustments in the care of players. But there are no silver bullets here.

“I think we have to be true to the data. So when people say because of the Cup the season was denser leading up to now — it wasn’t, full stop.

“The level of density up until this point in the season is roughly what it’s been for the last decade. It’s just factually not true that, as a result of Cup scheduling, the first part of the season created a denser schedule.

“We are seeing an increase in pace of play. You could measure that in different ways. But measured by speed in which players are bringing the ball to half court — yes, that’s up. That may be causing some additional injuries. But what do you do about that? That’s something we’re looking at.

“Also part of your question, we’re very focused with our team doctors on the data we’re seeing and the evidence in terms of the wear and tear on players’ bodies when they get to the league. I think, as you said, we’re seeing young players now specialize at 10 years old and up as opposed to a generation before them that — I’m looking at James Jones — the top athletes played a different sport in every season and they developed their musculature in a different way.

“We think that’s preventative when you have a balanced system. Now it’s not even just that athletes aren’t switching from — young athletes aren’t switching from season to season, they’re literally playing year-round.

“Even modern NBA players, they finish the season, they take a day off and they’re right back in the gym. It may be that over time that with better data, this may be another area where AI can ingest enormous amounts of data and video and look at patterns, might be able to solve some of these problems.

“So the answer is it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating for our teams. It’s frustrating for our fans. But I do think we have to be true to what the evidence is as opposed to saying there’s a narrative out there that injuries are up or injuries are up because of scheduling. They’re not.

“But, we continue to slice and dice the data in every way we can, plus we look at qualitative information. People who have been around this game for a long time, what are they seeing? Are players training differently? Are there better techniques out there to keep players healthier? By the way, this is not a problem unique to the NBA. It’s tremendously frustrating in all sports to see star players in particular go down, but of course any player.

“We’re very focused on it. There’s no amount of money we’re not willing to invest in it to make those investments to see if there’s better resources out there. I would say also, Andre Iguodala and the Players Association have been tremendously cooperative, as well. We all have a common interest in keeping players on the floor.

MAKE NOTE: with Nikola Jokić of Denver and Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio injured and their February playing futures unknown, the International team at the NBA All-Star Game might take a major hit to its potential “Starting 5.” Initially looking like a lock to win the NBA’s new All-Star Classic, now, it’s a toss-up once again. The Internationals still have the advantage (think: Shai).

HOW MANY DAYS? Here’s a look-see at the number of days between January 4th and …

33 – Days Until Opening Ceremonies of the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics

37 – Days Until Pitchers & Catchers Report for MLB Spring Training

49 – Days Until the Gold Medal Game for Men’s Ice Hockey at the Olympics

61 – Days Until the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (Seaport)

70 – Days until NCAA Selection Sunday

81 – Days Until MLB Opening Day

89 – Days Until Red Sox Home Opener (vs. SD Padres)

106 – Days Until the Boston Marathon (Patriots’ Day)

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Dec 28

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The lads welcome in the New Year (file photo)

 

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – The year twenty-twenty-five was a difficult year. The news was grim. We lost too many favorite people, actors and rock stars but the sports scene was a constant source of entertainment and solace.

January 2025 brought terrible wild fires in California with the Palisades fire destroying a legendary neighborhood near Los Angeles. It worsened with the inauguration – but that’s a column for another day.

We lost the lovable, boxing great and entrepreneur/grill salesman George Foreman. Midyear, we lost rock legends in Beach Boys leader and songwriter Brian Wilson and Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne.

We lost President Jimmy Carter and every living POTUS attended his funeral to pay proper respects to a wonderful man who set the standard for life after a Presidency.

Astronaut Jim Lovell, the captain of the ill-fated yet miraculous Apollo 13, passed away at the age of 97. In September, we lost one of Hollywood’s most admired legends with the death of Robert Redford and not too much later, we lost actors Diane Keaton and a personal fave – Val Kilmer (Top Gun (1986), The Doors (1991), Tombstone (1993) and Heat (1995). We lost the great Gene Hackman and then heard of the terrible death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner.

After the death of beloved Pope Francis, 88, Pope Leo XIV, the first United States-born Pope, brightened spirits for a new generation of Roman Catholics, never mind lifting the hopes for championships in his native Chicagoland and at Villanova University, near Philadelphia, where the Pontiff attended college as “just a guy” named Robert Francis Prevost.

The war in Ukraine/Russia rages on and National Guard hit the streets in five US cities, with two guardsman shot and killed in an ambush in Washington DC in November. On a dark December New England Saturday, two students at Brown University were shot and killed while nine others were wounded by bullets and an entire region was wounded without scars – but mentally. A day later, the same gunman shot at MIT Professor and the mass shooting numbers for the United States, alone, swelled to 470 for 2025. The same weekend, crazed gunmen in Bondi Beach, (near Sydney) Australia, killed 16 and wounded at least 40 others in an attack on a gathering of people of the Jewish faith celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

There were jewel heists and constant bickering over the release of the Trump-dreaded Epstein files which were ruled to be made public by Congressional decree.

As noted the world of sports provided some incredible moments and entire seasons. The Philadelphia Eagles upended the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl and Baseball had an amazing 2025 season and postseason. The current NFL season is primed to provide an unpredictable playoffs to culminate at the Super Bowl (Santa Clara) in February 2026.

My beloved St. John’s won the BIG EAST (regular season and conference title) to enjoy their best season in 30 years. The Johnnies had The Garden rocking as they went undefeated on their home court, but lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament (to Arkansas), putting a quick end to March Madness in Jamaica Estates.

Rory McIlroy won The Masters and, in doing so, clinched a Career Grand Slam of wins at golf’s four major championships.

The Florida Gators took the NCAA men’s tournament while the UConn Huskies won their 12th NCAA women’s tourney in grand fashion with a statement victory over the tough South Carolina Gamecocks, 82-59. In the NBA, regular season and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the OKC Thunder to the 2025 NBA title.

NBA Basketball School opened its doors on Dec. 26, 2025 (file photo)

Lastly, on another personal adventure, the NBA played a pair of exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and – together with longtime basketball friends – we were able to attend one of the games while we launched the NBA Basketball School of Turkiye and managed to win the U-17 young men’s tournament in the UAE. Remember, Gold Medals are a good thing.

Twenty-twenty-five is almost over and that’s a good thing. Let’s be sure there are much better days ahead.

2026 year represented by numbered cubes on metallic surface.
Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

HERE NOW, THE NOTES – Picking up from last weekend’s January-to-June 2025 Part I of the list, here’s what was written in WWYI from July-to-December:

July 6:

  • The Kaitlin Clark Effect
  • PGA TOUR adjusts tourney purses upward

July 13:

  • Savannah Bananas Invade Fenway and it was fun
  • Fred VanFleet Named NBA Players’ Assn. President

July 20:

  • STAND UP to Cancer
  • WNBA: “Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail.”

July 27:

  • House of Reps Order = Real March Madness; Govt. should stay out
  • Gotham City

August 3:

  • FedEx Cup Playoff Preview
  • WNBA in Boston? Not So Fast

August 10:

  • Seasons Change: A Look at Fall Sports
  • JIMMY Fund Radio/Telethon

August 17:

  • HARD KNOCKS is Back
  • BU vs. BU

August 24:

  • The New ESPN App
  • Whole Lotta Streaming and $

August 31:

  • Ryder Cup Preview | Bradley Family
  • College Football Preview

September 7:

  • Basketball Hall of Fame | Jeff Twiss
  • NFL Preview

September 14:

  • U.S. Open Tennis
  • What it Takes to Watch Sports on TV

September 21:

  • What Happened to Penn State?
  • Ryder Cup Preview at Bethpage Park (Black Course)

September 28:

  • USA Ryder Cup Blues
  • College Football Report
  • WNBA Uprising vs League, Officiating

October 5 (Special Edition):

  • Dateline: Abu Dhabi
  • NBA Basketball School Tournament

October 12:

  • Thoughts from Abu Dhabi – Post Trip
  • The Story of “I Love This Game”
  • NBA and NHL Look-Aheads

October 19:

  • College Basketball 2025-26
  • St. John’s with High Ranking, Higher Expectations
  • MLB Gold Gloves

October 26:

  • Federal Gambling Investigation Involving Basketball
  • Paul Newman and The Sting tribute

November 2:

  • Load Management Issues Examined
  • BC vs. ND
  • CFP Schedule and Look-Ahead

November 9:

  • Thank You to Baseball for an Incredible Season of ‘25
  • Penn Gaming Flops
  • NBA on NBC (Peacock Network) Plays it Straight

November 16:

  • NBA in “Good Trouble” with dominant International Team Set for All-Star ‘26
  • MLS Calendar Change Upcoming

November 22 (Thanksgiving Day Preview):

  • TL Thank-You Column
  • Great TV

November 30:

  • The American Revolution Documentary
  • The Voices: Including Peter Coyote (Ken Burns’ narrator)

December 7:

  • The DIGGIES ‘25 – Great Rock Lyrics
  • Missing NYC

December 14:

  • Stuart Scott Remembered
  • FIFA World Cup Draw

December 21:

  • Fenway Sports Sold the Pittsburgh Penguins
  • Year in Review: Part I

BIG EAST HEADS-UP: The Villanova Wildcats are now 10-2, and the Seton Hall Pirates are a solid 11-2. The Butler Bulldogs are 10-3 and the UConn Huskies are 12-1 with their lone loss inflicted by Arizona back on November 20th. Only Marquette is playing sub-.500 ball. BIG East play begins in earnest on December 30th and it will be a challenge to wind up in the top four as of March 7, 2026 when the regular season concludes with a Providence at Georgetown game at 8:00pm at the Cap One Arena. Playing on BIG East Friday might determine NCAA bids (unless UConn gets upset on Thursday – as they’ll be “in” for sure. How will St. John’s fare? Your guess is as good as mine. As of Dec 24th, the Johnnies had some coal placed in their stockings and fell out of the Top 25.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: After some calculations, Major League Baseball handed out its postseason cash awards for the teams participating in Baseball’s Playoffs. The Red Sox divided their bonus into 91 shares. Here’s the breakdown for the teams nice, rather than naughty. Note: Amounts are distributions per full share, rounded to the nearest dollar, with the number of full shares in parentheses:

  • Los Angeles Dodgers: $484,748 (82)
  • Toronto Blue Jays: $354,118 (70)
  • Milwaukee Brewers: $168,853 (70)
  • Seattle Mariners: $182,376 (69)
  • New York Yankees: $47,318 (71)
  • Detroit Tigers: $46,865 (75)
  • Philadelphia Phillies: $52,043 (64)
  • Chicago Cubs: $48,741 (70)
  • Boston Red Sox: $9,346 (91)
  • Cleveland Guardians: $11,056 (71)
  • San Diego Padres: $10,711 (68)
  • Cincinnati Reds: $11,528 (69)

ANOTHER SHAMELESS PGA TOUR BRUNCH PLUG: Say Happy New Year to your favorite golf fan with A GIFT SUBSCRIPTION to PGA Tour Brunch. Posted to in-boxes six days a week (not Tuesdays) for lunch or brunch-time reading, PGA Tour Brunch provides fans of the PGA Tour (and its growing list of Fantasy, gambling and DFS players, too) with a one-stop, mobile friendly e-news to help navigate the hundreds of golf news sites available. PGA Tour Brunch is short and sweet, a couple mobile page scrolls and it provides all the basic information, like tee times, the field, odds, player notes, leaderboards, and even some breaking news. It’s designed by @terrylyons with a blessing from the popular @SoxLunch creators. Discount for 2026 is HERE.

PREMIER LEAGUE PREDICTIONS: In Major League Baseball, fans circle the standings on the 4th of July as foresight to the eventual pennant race winners and post season participants. In the English Premier League championship, Christmas Day or Boxing Day is a time to look at the ladder and to put a tuppence or more down for a bet on the EPL champ. As of December 25, 2025, here’s a look at the odds to win the title in 2026:

  1. Arsenal – (-140)
  2. Manchester City – (+140)
  3. Aston Villa – 22/1
  4. Liverpool – 28/1
  5. Chelsea – 40/1
  6. Manchester United – 80/1

However, as USA Network’s Premier League tv coverage and The Athletic pointed out Saturday morning, “In the Premier League era, leading at Christmas has not always meant getting the job done in May. Those that have topped the table on December 25 have gone on to be crowned champions in 17 of the past 33 seasons, meaning just under half of the league leaders at this stage have been pipped to the post.”

TL’s Sunday Notes | DIGGIES ’25

by

The Lyrics Edition:

While We’re Young (Ideas) Offers Up Some Great Lyrics in Rock History

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Quoting the Monty Python TV show, “now for something completely different.”

Warning Sports Fans: The start of this column is 100% music – not sports – and, it also needs a qualifier – one used frequently while making lists of favorite this or favorite that. The qualifier is that if I were asked to list my favorite lyrics in rock history for 365 consecutive days, you’d get 365 different versions, some with repeats, but many without a single repeating entry.

So, my obvious qualifier: On December 7, 2025, these are the “TL-Top 40” lyrics in my personal catalogue of musicology. That catalogue runs pretty deep, especially from my formative years of the late 1960s to early 1970s. Many of my entries reflect memorable rock ‘n roll songs burned into my memory while many a stylus burned grooves into vinyl albums, an amazing number of them from 1971.

Figuring you get the picture, here are the TL DIGGIES of Rock Lyrics – 2025 edition.

The listing is a TL Top 40 award listing for some of the great and meaningful lyrics in my personal history of listening to great Rock n Roll songs (they are listed in the random order of identifying the songs I wanted to highlight, not great to greatest nor anything else. Only the final listing of the group comes with a deep explanation of it being my all-time fave and the column cover photo might give you a hint:

(1) – “We learned more from a three-minute record, baby Than we ever learned in school.” Bruce Springsteen, “No Surrender,” 1984 (Submitted by column contributor Natly, and it matched yours truly, Tee Els, exactly – so this the listing placed at #1)

(2) – “Sunday’s on the phone to Monday, Tuesday’s on the phone to me” The Beatles, “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window,” 1969

(3) – “You got rats on the west side, bed bugs uptown, what a mess, this town’s in tatters,” Rolling Stones, “Shattered,” 1978

(4) – “You know the day destroys the night, Night divides the day, Tried to run, tried to hide, Break on through to the other side.” The Doors, “Break On Through (To the Other Side), 1967

(5)- “I’ve been waiting so long, to be where I’m going, In the sunshine of your love.” Cream, “Sunshine of your Love,” 1967 (Jack Bruce)

(6) – “I watched with glee, while your kings and queens, Fought for ten decades, For the gods they made … I shouted out, ‘Who killed the Kennedys?’ When after all It was you and me.” Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil,” 1968

(7) – “And as we wind on down the road, Our shadows taller than our soul, There walks a lady we all know, Who shines white light and wants to show, How everything still turns to gold, And if you listen very hard, The tune will come to you at last, When all are one and one is all. To be a rock and not to roll.” Led Zeppelin, “Stairway to Heaven,” 1971

(8) – “I’ve been walkin’ Central Park, singing after dark, People think I’m crazy! Stumbling on my feet, shuffling through the street, Asking people, “What’s the matter with you, boy?” Rolling Stones, “Miss You,” 1978

(9) – “Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, With stars to fill my dreams, I am a traveler of both time and space, To be where I have been.” Led Zeppelin, “Kashmir,” 1975

(10) – “Why don’t you come with me little girl, On a magic carpet ride? Well, you don’t know what we can see, Why don’t you tell your dreams to me, Fantasy will set you free, Close your eyes girl, Look inside girl, Let the sound take you away” Steppenwolf, “Magic Carpet Ride,” 1968

(11) – “This is our last dance, This is our last dance, This is ourselves. Under pressure, Under pressure. Pressure.” Queen and David Bowie, written by Freddie Mercury and Bowie, “Under Pressure,” 1981

(12) – “I had a job, I had a girl, I had something going, mister, in this world, I got laid off, down at the lumberyard, Our love went bad, times got hard, Now I work down at the car wash – Where all it ever does is rain – Don’t you feel like you’re a rider, On a downbound train?” Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, “Downbound Train,” 1984

(13)- “Excuse me, while I kiss the sky.” Jimi Hendrix, “Purple Haze,” 1967

(14) – “I know a man ain’t supposed to cry, But these tears, I can’t hold inside. Losin’ you would end my life, you see, ‘Cause you mean that much to me, You could have told me yourself, That you loved someone else, instead, I heard it through the grapevine, Not much longer would you be mine, Oh, I heard it through the grapevine, And I’m just about to lose my mind, Honey, honey, well.” Marvin Gaye, “Heard It Through the Grapevine,” 1969

(15) – “Oye como va, mi ritmo / Bueno pa’ gozar, mulata” Tito Puente, “Oye como va,” 1962 (covered by Santana, 1971)

(16) – “No one knows what it’s like, To be the bad man, To be the sad man, Behind blue eyes” The Who, “Behind Blue Eyes,” 1971 (written by Pete Townshend)

(17) “All you need is love, love, Love is all you need” The Beatles, “All You Need is Love,” 1967 (Lennon-McCartney)

(18) – “Sing us a song, you’re the piano man, Sing us a song tonight, Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody, And you’ve got us feeling alright” Billy Joel, Piano Man,” 1973

(19) – “So goodbye yellow brick road, Where the dogs of society howl” Elton John, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” 1973

(20) – “A boy is born, In hard time Mississippi, Surrounded by four walls, That ain’t so pretty” Stevie Wonder, “Living for the City,” 1973

(21) – “Hold me closer, tiny dancer. Count the headlights on the highway, Lay me down in sheets of linen, You had a busy day today” Elton John, “Tiny Dancer,” 1971

(22) – “The song is over, It’s all behind me” The Who, “Song is Over,” 1971 (lyrics by Pete Townshend)

(23) – “Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter, Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here, Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo, here comes the sun” The Beatles, “Here Comes the Sun,” 1969 (lyrics by George Harrison)

(24) – “She’s a good girl, loves her mama, Loves Jesus and America too, She’s a good girl, who’s crazy ‘bout Elvis, Loves horses and her boyfriend too” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Free Fallin,’” 1989

(25) – “To everything turn, turn, turn. There is a season turn, turn, turn, And a time to every purpose under Heaven” The Byrds, 1965 (Cover of song written by Pete Seeger, with words from the Book of Ecclesiastes)

(26) – “So far away, Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore, It would be so fine to see your face at my door, Doesn’t help to know you’re just time away” Carole King, “So Far Away,” 1971

(27) – “Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills, Spent the night in Utah in a cave up in the hills. Set out runnin’ but I take my time, A friend of the devil is a friend of mine, If I get home before daylight, Just might get some sleep tonight” Grateful Dead, 1970 (Written by Robert Hunter, Jerome Garcia, John C Dawson)

(28) – “Can you hear me calling out your name? You know that I’m falling And I don’t know what to say” Fleetwood Mac, “Everywhere,” 1987 (Lyrics by Christine McVie)

(29) – “South City midnight lady, I’m much obliged, indeed, You sure have saved this man whose soul was in need” Doobie Brothers, “South City Midnight Lady,” 1973

(30) – “Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a’happenin’ with her” Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations,” 1966 (Composed by Brian Wilson, with Mike Love)

(31) – “Father, father, We don’t need to escalate You see, war is not the answer For only love can conquer hate, You know we’ve got to find a way, To bring some lovin’ here today, oh (Oh)” Marvin Gaye, “What’s Goin’ On,” 1971

(32) “When the night has come, And the land is dark, And the moon is the only light we’ll see, No, I won’t be afraid, Oh, I won’t be afraid, Just as long as you stand, Stand by me” Ben E. King, with credit to Sam Cooke, “Stand By Me,” 1961, (Lyrics by Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller)

(33) – “Do I have to tell the story, Of a thousand rainy days since we first met, It’s a big enough umbrella, But it’s always me that ends up getting wet, Every little thing she does is magic, Everything she does just turns me on, Even though my life before was tragic, Now I know my love for her goes on” The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” 1981 (lyrics by Sting – Gordon Sumner)

(34) – “Wake up, Maggie, I think I got something to say to you, It’s late September and I really should be back at school” – Rod Stewart, “Magiie May,” 1971

(35) – “Sometimes I’m right and I can be wrong, My own beliefs are in my song, The butcher, the banker, the drummer and then, Makes no difference what group I’m in I am everyday people, yeah, yeah” Sly and the Family Stone, “Everyday People,” 1968

(36) – With or without you, With or without you, ah-ah. I can’t live with or without you” U2, With or Without You,” 1987

(37) – “These days, These days I sit on corner stones, And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend. Don’t confront me with my failures, I had not forgotten them” Gregg Allman, “These Days,” 1973 (Lyrics by Jackson Browne, originally for Nico, 1967)

(38) – “Early morning, April 4, Shot rings out in the Memphis sky, Free at last, they took your life, They could not take your pride” U2, Pride (In the Name of Love), 1984

(39) – “Well, I sat there at the table, And I acted real naive, For I knew that topless lady Had something up her sleeve.” John Prine, “Spanish Pipedream,” 1971 (Submitted by column contributor “The Invincible Claude”)

(40) – “Crossroads, seem to come and go, yeah.” Allman Brothers, “Melissa,” 1967 (Words and Music by Gregg Allman)

**** And, “The End,” possibly the greatest of the great finishing lyrics in the history of recorded music of any genre, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” by The Beatles on the amazing Side B of Abbey Road. The album side concludes with such amazing features. Following “Here Comes the Sun” and “Because,” The Beatles recorded and mixed a series of songs, mostly known as The Medley.

“You Never Give Me Your Money” opens the medley and it is brilliantly followed by “Sun King” and “Mean Mr. Mustard,” then “Polythene Pam,” an incredible John Lennon song, sung with his Scouse/Merseyside accent – all Liverpool. “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” comes next, a song about crazy fans finding their way into Paul McCartney’s house, followed by “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight,” and the previously noted, “The End.”

The album takes a silent break before “Her Majesty” finishes off the epic side of The Beatles’ very best and – thus – my A-#1 lyric.

Apologies to: Yesterday, (Paul McCartney); The Way It Is and Look Out Every Window, (Bruce Hornsby); My Girl, The Temptations, Reach Out, The Four Tops (Lyrics by H-D-H – Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland; Songs by The Mamas and The Papas; If You Leave Me Now and 24 or 6 to 4, (Chicago) (Lyrics by Peter Cetera for the former and Robert Lamm for the latter); and a zillion others.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: It’s tough to follow-up that collection of Rock Hall of Fame lyrics with some sports notes, but let’s cover some business, first.

PGA TOUR Brunch – You’ve read about the special – Cover Everything – PGA Tour missive a few times in this column. It’s a six days a week e-News sent directly to your Inbox and it’s designed to give PGA Tour fans mobile-first, mobile-friendly tournament previews, betting odds, news updates and the most important URL links to content to save time and help you navigate the world of pro golf right from your device over lunch, brunch or whenever. Compiled and written by this reporter (Terry Lyons) who enjoys weekly competition in a couple Fantasy Golf leagues, too. Sign-Up or gift PGA TOUR Brunch to your favorite golfer or PGA TOUR fan and receive a special 2026 discount by visiting HERE. (Notification: PGA Tour Brunch is not affiliated with the Tour and is a publication by Digital Sports Desk and Terry Lyons).

NETFLIX: This week, it was announced that Netflix will acquire Warner Bros., including its film and television studios, HBO Max, HBO and archives. United is the leading streaming entertainment service with Warner Bros.’ iconic stories, bringing some of the world’s popular titles and properties, like Harry Potter, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, films like Casablanca, series like Game of Thrones and the DC Universe, all together with a bundle of other programs. What the potential merger (if approved by USA and other world regulatory authorities) will not sell are the cable TV stations like CNN, TNT, TBS and others. They will be re-packed into a publicly sold company. The deal has an enterprise value (including debt) of approximately $82.7 billion, with an equity value of $72 billion, the companies said. Who knew that the one-time – mail a DVD of a movie to customers offering – would become the kingpin in an $82 billion dollar take-over? But, Netflix said it expects to see $2-to-$3 billion in cost savings annually by the third year after the WB deal closes. Raise your hand if you saw this coming.

MISSING NYC: A e-newsletter by Will Leitch, stating the things he missed about New York City after moving away 12 years ago prompted me to think of a short list of things that I miss, too.

First, Will’s list:

  1. Good Sushi
  2. Seeing first-run movies a week before the rest of the country
  3. Walking everywhere
  4. Walking everywhere
  5. Walking everywhere

A very worthy list.

Cosmo (photo by Andrea P. Martin)

Now, my list, not including the important stuff like friends, family, people and Cosmo:

  1. Christmas in New York and Rockefeller Center (NBA office was at 51st & 5th)
  2. The Tree
  3. Madison Square Garden
  4. The Beek – a.k.a. The Beacon Theatre for rock shows
  5. The West Village; Corner Bistro, Bar & Books, etc.
  6. Restaurants where you can get whatever you want, anytime you’d like to eat
  7. St. John’s games at The Garden or a trip out to campus and Carnesecca Arena
  8. St. Patrick’s Cathedral (I saw it everyday for 26+ years)
  9. Inside Park at St. Bart’s (my favorite indoor/outdoor place to meet for a beer)
  10. The 7 Train to CitiField and the Mets

And, Will is correct, it was great to not own a car, not pay for car insurance and gasoline and everything else and walk everywhere you needed to go, or grab a quick subway ride.