By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Over the many years of WWYI and maybe a column or two on Digital Sports Desk, I’ve written a lot of different angles on Father’s Day. Some upbeat and noting fond memories, while others a bit sad.

It’s hard to write this, but when I think of Father’s Day, I think of my Dad very late in his life. He fell ill when I was very young (8th Grade), and passed away in the summer between my Freshman and Sophomore years at St. John’s. I looked at a picture just the other day, and instead of just seeing my Dad – as I did when I looked at the picture back in 1977 at my high school graduation – I looked at a relatively young man (60) appearing very old and fragile, barely able to walk past the Trinity baseball field and out another 100 yards to our football field – Jay Kutner Field. He did everything he could just to be there for me.

Of course, I think of a million happier and more meaningful thoughts. At the risk of repeating some things I might’ve written in the past, I’ll list a just a few things that pop into my mind:

• My Dad pulling out colored (red and blue) markers from his work shirt pocket – complete with the plastic protector to not allow the ink to stain his white shirt – and drawing the red and blue lines of a hockey rink to properly teach the NHL ice hockey “off-sides” rules to me while watching Jim Godon and Bill “The Big Whistle” Chadwick call the New York Rangers games on WOR-TV-9. He also illustrated the more intricate “two-line pass” rule, using a black marker and dotted lines of the passes.
• My Dad taking me to special Pan American World Airways functions when the New York Nets were sending players to ramp-up ticket sales. One function stands out as Ollie Taylor was the guest and took pictures with all of us (mine ended up in the Long Island Press) and the great Olympic swimmer, Donna deVerona, was being honored.
• My Dad taking me to see “Patton” in the movie theatre near Salisbury Park (which eventually became Eisenhower Park).
• Great “Pan Am” vacations in Montego Bay, Jamaica; St. Thomas (USVI); and Frankfurt, Germany. We always had to fly in a suit or sport jacket, hoping for an upgrade to First Class but also not to have to pack the bulky jackets. I still do it ‘til this day.
• My Dad – somehow, someway – putting up with us (my brothers and entire neighborhood) playing Wiffel Ball on our front driveway. As we aged, those Wiffel Balls would sound like M-80s hitting our garage door on a foul back. (We only broke two or three windows, and actually purchased them in half-dozens to be sure we could replace any broken windows. We bought Wiffel Balls by the CASE!
• My Dad taking me to dozens of Nets games at the Island Garden in the York Larese and Lavern Tart era.
• Harlem Globetrotters at the Commack Arena
• Long Island Ducks (minor league ice hockey) at Commack, too.

I could go on and on and on.

Anyway, for this Father’s Day, I thought I’d jot down some REALLY random but not very important in the grand scheme of life notes for my daughters to know. Some of the “trivial items in the key of life.”

• As much as I admired Gregg Allman singing “Melissa,” my favorite ABB song is “Jessica,” an instrumental written by Dickie Betts with organ pieces by Gregg Allman, of course, double drums (former ABB, the late Butch Trucks; with Jaimoe), then an incredible piano solo by Check Leavell. As you’ll note from the clip below, Betts wrote the song with the influence of jazz legend Django Reinhardt but inspiration from his two-year old daughter, Jessica,” bouncing around the house. Here it is, in all its glory, being taught by Chuck Leavell himself.

My favorite motion pictures, in real order of preference, but I always reserve the right to change my mind, add and subtract shows, and I don’t include legendary motion pictures that EVERYONE lists and loves, such as The Godfather and Godfather II, Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz or the great “action” movies in the James Bond or Mission Impossible category.

1. Casablanca
2. The Sting
3. Almost Famous
4. The Way We Were
5. STAR WARS to The Return of the Jedi (old school)
6. All the President’s Men
7. The Purple Rose of Cairo
8. Cinema Paradiso
9. The Maltese Falcon
10. The Big Chill

There are hundreds of “also rans” on my list, including a ton of great sports (Slap Shot), War Movies (Saving Private Ryan), Baseball Movies (It Happens Every Spring and the original Angeles in the Outfield) plus plenty more, like the silly set of “My Cousin Vinnie,” “STRIPES,” and “Airplane.”

KESWICK AMERICANS SPECIAL for FATHER’S DAY

By the way, here’s an extra bonus “Father’s Day Gift,” dedicated to all of those who wore the uniform of the Keswick Americans. This clip is from an ‘84 Dickie Betts concert, a few years after our heydays of 1978-79-80-81. Of course, Chuck Leavell is featured, but it is one of Betts’ best performances ever.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: A few friends and former NBA colleagues pointed out that this year’s NBA Draft will mark 40 years since we lost Len Bias. For those who don’t know the Len Bias story, please clock HERE. For everyone else, Bias’ death marks a terrible tragedy when we know exactly where we were when we heard the terrible news. There were several points of anguish that late night/ear;y morning in June 1986, a few hours after we saw Bias at the Draft in New York, then watched as he met the media in Boston a couple hours after we said good-bye and good luck. The most serious place was with Bias’ family, especially his mother, Dr. Lonise Bias. Then, there was the shock of the Boston Celtics, and then the point of the most media attention and all out shock – was the crime scene on the campus of the University of Maryland at College Park. Lastly, was with us, the people of the NBA who had staged the draft and saw a young, vibrant, can’t miss talent shake hands with Commissioner David Stern and get his Celtics’ hat, conduct his press conferences then head off to Boston for a same day event. … Dr. Lonise Bias passed away a couple years back. She had to endure the death of two sons. … I can share this brief snippet: After a very late night at the 1986 NBA Draft and the proverbial “End of the Season gathering of sorts,” even though it was really the start of the new season, I got about four hours of sleep, sucked it up and went to the office at 645 Fifth Avenue to edit film shot at the Draft the night before. Upon entering the office at about 8:35am, (15th floor), our receptionist Rhea Williams said, “Thank God, someone’s here.” I had no idea what she was talking about but glanced at the “old fashioned” switchboard and every single line was lit or blinking. … I CAN NOT think of a day worse than that day and that covers over 25 years of fielding calls for the NBA. I’m sure it was even harder, more emotional and just terrible at U of Maryland. May God Bless Len and his family.

JUNGLELAND: “They’ll meet ‘neath that CITGO sign that brings this fair city light.” No! … They’re coming after the CITGO sign.

According to multiple media accounts, the iconic CITGO sign in Boston is moving, but only slightly. The sign will be moved 30 feet higher and 120 feet to the east on the roof of 660 Beacon St, which is being redeveloped. This will “restore and preserve the original viewshed corridor” for the sign, developers say. The project will be done in two phases over six months. The first was taking the sign apart, which included removing the letters and the logo.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: A time out in any sporting event is often a horse of a different color. In some sports, the timeouts seem excessive. In the World Cup, they are infrequent, but this year there seems to be a new moniker for a timeout. Let’s look at the evolution of mandatory timeouts:

1. An “automatic” timeout
2. A “TV” timeout
3. A media timeout
4. A “hydration break”

Maybe all the leagues should change their stripes (rules) and everyone can call it a “hydration break?” Seems like it’s all for the benefit of over-heated players, on the edge of dehydration. Then, a miracle. A “hydration break” fixes everything.

SCOTLAND YARD: Boston says “Thank-You” to our guests from Scotland. The cities of Boston (and Providence, RI) were graced with two World Cup preliminary round games played at “Boston Stadium,” a.k.a. Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The Scottish fans made quite an impression. Last Sunday night, they organized and staged a parade of some 5,000 fans who marched to Fenway Park. The parade was led by bagpipers and Scottish flags, and a massive group who carried tunes with the best of ‘em. The city fell in love with the Scots and rooted their team on. When Scotland flew off to Miami for their third game, the editors of The Boston Globe took it upon themselves to do a full page formal “Thank You,” which read:

Dear Tartan Army,

You came for the World Cup, but gave us something more.

“For a week, you turned train stations into singalongs, Fenway into a football ground and an ordinary June into something we’ll be talking about for years.

“Boston has hosted championships, parades and celebrations of every kind. But we’ve never hosted guests quite like you all.

“Thank you for the laughter, the bagpipes and the memories. The World Cup will move on. So will the songs, but we’ll never forget the joy you brought to our city.”

CAN’T MAKE IT UP: Olympiakos and Panathinaikos squared-off for the Greek League basketball finals and, as per usual, there were some serious sparks. This year, however, it went above and beyond. The sports commission of Greece imposed a six-month ban (from attending games) and a fine on Panathinaikos team owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos during Game 4 of the Finals. The fine of $50,000 (Euros) was doubled when the basketball club was also fined for the same amount, with the commission stating Giannakopoulos was penalized for “repeated defamation of the sport.” … The Game 4 fine was stiffer as Giannakopoulos was previously penalized with a one-month ban and a $30,000 (euros) fine from Game 1 of the Finals with the ban obviously ignored. … It got worse. … Following Game 2, Giannakopoulos was handed another one-month ban. Game officials reported that he stepped onto the court to aggressively protest and threaten referees, explicitly demanding a technical foul be given to Olympiacos coach Georgios Bartzokas. Olympiacos won the championship series. They defeated Panathinaikos 3-2 in the best-of-five.

The post TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 21 appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

Alex Cora

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – In the Summer of 2018, night after night at Fenway Park and when the Boston Red Sox hit the road, you just couldn’t believe the number of victories the team recorded. By June 14, they were 48-22 on the way to a 108-win season.

Just last year, on June 14, the Red Sox started slowly and were 36-36, just hitting the .500 mark on the way to making the 2025 MLB Postseason when they lost to the New York Yankees 2-games-to-1 in the AL Wild Card. On July 4th, a summer ago, the Red Sox were 44-45 and sputtering.

This past April 25, with the Red Sox only 10-17 (.370) after a 17-1 thrashing of the Baltimore Orioles, manager Alex Cora and five of his coaches were sent packing.

Heading into June 13th play, the 2026 Red Sox were 28-39 (.418). and playing less than inspired baseball under interim manager Chad Tracy. That 28-39 record included an 11-21 mark at Fenway and a 17-18 record on the road. The Sox are 6-14 against the American League East.

Thus, it can be concluded, it’s not Chad Tracy’s fault and it certainly wasn’t Alex Cora’s fault that the current Sox club is bordering terrible.

The Sox situation and the stats beg us to ponder a bigger question.

Why do we look to place blame on people, to point “the fickle finger of fate” at someone, such as a baseball manager, when there’s little or no explanation for the occurrences taking place. But, nevertheless, the blame and finger associated to that blame are pointed outward – never inwardly.

A deeper dive into the expression “Fickle Finger of Fate,” show it surfaced in the 1930s on college campuses in the Unoted States, combining 1860s slang of a “fickle finger” and 1870s slang of “fickle fate.” In the 1960s, the television show “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” created an award, presented weekly to salute bureaucratic stupidity or ironic institutional blunders. Rarely did that involve the bad luck or losing of a professional sports team.

Fate is usually caused by the whims of misfortune. In the base of Alex Cora, it was a combination of bad weather, injuries to the likes of Cy Young candidate SP Garrett Crochet, shortstop Trevor Story, the franchise’s cornerstone prospect and big game hitter, Roman Anthony and a ping pong of bullpen pitchers who all bounced back and forth from injury, rehab starts and plain, old-fashioned incompetence. Not a thing Cora could do about it.

The other factors in the “deep dive” are “uncontrollable twists and just plain bad luck.” The Red Sox encountered all of the above on the way to that flimsy 10-17 start.

It wasn’t (and still isn’t) Alex Cora’s fault paltry batting averages of .209 (Duran), .201 (Durbin), .220 Mayer, .229 for the oft-injured Anthony and .238 for Yoshida – all above the Mendoza Line but under the club’s expected productivity line.

On the pitching side, the ace, Crochet, is out indefinitely with a shoulder soreness/”lat” inflammation injury that is highly likey to sideline him through the all-star break. Sonny Gray, a glimmer of hope for the club, missed 14 games with a hamstrong strain and the middle relievers have been on-and-off the MLB IL if and when they are not being treated as Piñatas by opponents.

RHP Bryan Bello was optioned to AAA Worcester after stinking up the joint while off-season acquired Ranger Suarez has been inconstsitent and youngsters Connelly Early and LHP Payton Tolle have shown promise, but it has not translated to wins.

The bullpen has a 3.72 ERA to date.

Add it all up and point the finger elsewhere. It’s not Alex Cora’s fault that the Red Sox are four games buried in the AL East cellar.

TIP of the HAT: A tip of the hat goes to the incredible Boston Red Sox PR staff as they tossed a perfect, fitting 77th birthday party to longtime WBZ-Radio reporter Jonny Miller. Many Sox fans remember the wonderful tradition of having Miller begin each postgame press conference with the “honor” of asking the first question, much like the late Helen Thomas (1920-2013) of UPI who had that same honor in the White House briefing room when there was a semblance of decorum. On Saturday, to celebrate Miller’s 77th, there were tributes, a rare standing “O” of applause (tossing the no cheering in the press box rule to the side), and some Major League cake and cupcakes in Fenway Park glory (CITGO (in vanilla and chocolate; Wally; Baseballs and a few other icing pictorials). Nicely done and God Speed to the great Jonny Miller, who WWYI met in 1981.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Radio reports in Boston spoke of an (obviously) Scottish couple, a.k.a. “Man in Kilt,” strolling through Mattapan in downtown Boston. To say that was a safe walk in the park might be an error. Mattapan started as community for Native Americans known as the Mattahunt Tribe. Early in 20th century, immigrants traveling in New England found Mattapan to be a “good place to sit.” Irish, Jewish, and Haitian immigrants called the neighborhood home. That is largely the case for Haitian immigrants ‘til this day, and, in fact, Boston has a huge Haitian population, and Massachusetts ranks third in the USA for Haitian immigrants.

1. Florida – 544,043 (2.4% of the state population)
2. New York – 176,287 (0.8%)
3. Massachusetts – 77,054 (1.1%)

It just so happens, at 9:00pm on Saturday, June 13, Haiti will face Scotland in an important World Cup preliminary match. The Group C in which they compete also includes Brazil and Morocco, not a Group of Death but you might say, a respirator will be attached to the team losing the opening match in the stadium formerly known as Gillette in Massachusetts (far away from Boston, not so far away from Providence).

On Friday night, there were more “Men in Kilts” at Fenway Park than there were Fenway Franks. The Red Sox scored 10 runs and held the Rangers of Texas to a single run. It was only the third time this season the hometown team managed double digits in the run column. Maybe there was some luck or inspiration in ‘dem ‘der kilts? On Saturday morning, hundreds – maybe thousands – of Scots boarded trains at Moynihan Station near Penn Station and Madison Square Garden to travel on the northbound tracks to the sticks of Foxborough – a long trip. The last time Scotland qualified to play in the World Cup was 1998. That’s a Knick-a-load-eon amount of time passed, as the Knickerbockers made it to the NBA Finals in 1999 and – yes – again this year.

TIDBITS & NOTES: Position Sports, in partnership with the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, announced that St. John’s and Arizona will tip-off in the Hall of Fame Series New York City on Saturday, December 5, 2026, at Madison Square Garden. The December 5 matchup will also mark the first of two Hall of Fame Series meetings between the programs, with St. John’s and Arizona scheduled to meet at the Hall of Fame Series Phoenix in 2027. Obviously, JoJo will have to leave his home in Tucson to attend the 2027 game. … Did you know? Paul and the late Linda McCartney owned a historic Tucson ranch, located in the foothills of the Rincon Mountains.

ONE on ONE: Teams of 1×1 hoopsters representing Atlanta, Baltimore, Miami, and Washington, DC advanced through the second round of three championship events at Tracy McGrady’s Ones Basketball League (OBL). The playoff took place at Ridge High School in Orlando.

TALK the TALK: There’s been a fair share written in this column about minor league baseball, from Cape Cod to the Pioneer League to the American Association of Professional Baseball. The focus is usually about the teams and players, but sometimes the “behind the scenes” of sports finds a gem in the minors and AAPB alumni on the field aren’t the only ones finding success after their careers in the league. Denning Gerig, the AAPB Broadcaster of the Year in 2021 with the Cleburne Railroaders, has been named director of broadcasting for Wichita State University Athletics.

FENWAYS: Just like they do at Fenway Park, here in Boston, the Chicago Dogs of the same AAPB celebrated the music of Neil Diamond with pre-game performances and sing-a-longs, tagged “Cracklin’ Rosemont.” … In Boston, the Red Sox now feature Diamond’s work in a pregame salute to the 250th anniversary of the USA with a music video montage, entitled, “America.” … And, yes, the CITGO sign has been torn apart in an effort to move it 120 feet and raise it 30 feet higher as it remains in Kenmore Square. “CITGO may think of this as their Sign, but in Boston, we think of it as ours,” Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan, who represents Kenmore Square, said in a press release about the sign’s move. … Nowadays, the WHOOP sign is the most visable of billboards and it’s been rigged up to glow in white light or go “Red, White and Blue” for the 250th.

The post TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 14 appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

CHESTNUT HILL – There’s been a lot of talk about the secondary ticket market for New York Knicks home games at Madison Square Garden. Those ticket prices are peaking for Games 3 and 4 of The NBA Finals with Game 3 being played Monday night.

Should the Knicks win Monday night and go up 3-0 in their best-of-seven series against the upstart San Antonio Spurs, the prices for Game 4 will sky-rocket. Should the Knicks lose Game 3, the ticket prices for a potential clinching Game 6 at Madison Square Garden will set new high marks for the toughest and most expensive ticket in New York sports history.

On the eve of Game 3, the highest price ticket listed for sale on Ticketmaster, the official online ticket sale and secondary market partner of the NBA, was selling a pair of Courtside seats for $180,187.20 in Row A (not Row AA). Some of the seats in the same area are going for the bargain basement price of $82,000+ and some others, with a few of the back of TV commentator Richard Jefferson’s (6-foot-7) head.

The proverbial “Get In Price” for Game 3 is running between $8,800 per seat (400 level) to $9,100 for some soul looking to dump 200-level seats.

That’s all fine and good.

In this day and age with legal secondary ticket sales online, the ticket is worth whatever price someone is stupid enough to pay for it. Like the NBA’s official ticket sales commercial spot says, “the game is never sold out.”

This columnist harkens back to buying tickets for the 1974 and 1976 ABA Championship Series. The New York Nets sold tickets in strips for all games, but more commonly, on a night-by-night basis. When the Nets won in the semi-finals, young ticket buyers would sprint from their seats to the Nassau Coliseum ticket office window where a line would form to purchase tickets for the next two home games.

The best value at The Coliseum was a Row A (front row seat) in any of Sections 306, 320, 326 and 340. They were all mirror images. The ideal seats were on the aisle, closest to the court. No obstructions. Great seats.

The price tag?

Not $180,187.20 or even $82,000 but a hefty $3.25.

A lower bowl seat in the 200s was something like $6.00 and a seat (in the 100s was an obscene $12.00.

We never missed a game, and the games would eventually sell out.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: All this ticket mayhem in New York made me think of the “toughest” tickets to get in New York sports history. The list I’ve compiled is a modern day listing, and doesn’t include real old time boxing, or Murderer’s Row Yankees World Series games from the 1920s.

As always, the column is quite open to additions, suggestions, criticisms, whatever. Just keep it clean as this is a family publication with plenty of children, students and the like.

For the most part, the list is geared to the magnitude of the event not the ticket scalping price. Here’s one man’s look at tough tickets in New York, and that means at a New York City venue, not in Buffalo.

1. The Beatles Play Shea Stadium – (August 15, 1965) – The Beatles changed rock music forever when they played in front of a raging, screaming 55,600 fans at Shea Stadium, former home of the New York Mets. “At Shea Stadium, I saw the top of the mountain,” said The Beatles’ lead guitarist and joint vocalist, John Lennon of the show.
2. New York Rangers – (June 14, 1994) – The Rangers broke the spell and won the NHL Stanley Cup, ending a 54-year drought (1942).
3. New York Mets – (Oct 16, 1969) – After losing Game 1 at Baltimore, the Mets took four straight to clinch MLB’s 1969 World Series, the franchise’s first ever title.
4. New York Knicks – (May 8, 1970) – Forever to be known as the “Willis Reed game,” the Knicks took the 1970 NBA title with a Game 7 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The injured Reed limped out from the locker to join his team in warm-ups, then proceeded to hit the first two jump shots of the game. Knicks all-star guard Walt Frazier had 38 points and 19 assists.
5. Ali vs. Frazier – (March 8, 1971) – Billed as “The Fight of the Century,” Muhammad Ali and Smokin’ Joe Frazier battled for the heavyweight championship of the world at Madison Square Garden. The fight is considered the biggest boxing match in history, and arguably the single most anticipated and publicized sporting event of all time. It was the first time ever that two undefeated boxers who held the world heavyweight title fought each other. Frazier won in a 15-round unanimous decision.
6. New York Giants vs. Baltimore Colts – (December 28, 1958) – The 1958 NFL Championship, widely known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” was a thrilling overtime victory for the Baltimore Colts over the New York Giants, 23-17, at Yankee Stadium. It was the first NFL playoff game to go into sudden-death overtime, nationally televised, and is credited with skyrocketing the NFL’s popularity, featuring legendary performances by quarterback Johnny Unitas and the late Raymond Berry, who passed away May 15, 2026.
7. The 1973 Belmont Stakes – (June 9, 1973) – It was the 105th running of the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, Running in a field of only five horses, Secretariat won by 31 lengths going away, the largest margin of victory in Belmont history. A crowd of 69,138 spectators came out to see the Triple Crown finale and most never cashed their $2.00 betting stubs. Secretariat’s winning time of 2 minutes and 24 seconds still stands as the American record for a mile and a half on dirt.
8. Michael Jackson’s 30th Anniversary Celebration Concerts – (Friday, September 7, 2001, and Monday, September 10, 2001) marked Michael Jackson’s shows at Madison Square Garden – arguably the toughest concert tickets in world history. Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, and Destiny’s Child all performed along with Michael and five of his brothers, marking the last time they performed together on one stage. The shame of it all was the fact the attacks on the USA on September 11, 2001 came only hours after the Jackson concert on the Monday night concluded.
9. Derek Jeter’s final baseball game at Yankee Stadium – September 25, 2014 – In the bottom of the 9th of a game against the Baltimore Orioles, the game was tied 5–5, and the Yankees had Antoan Richardson on second base. On the first pitch he faced, Derek Jeter lined a single to right field that scored Richardson and the Yankees won, 6–5, on a walk-off single in Jeter’s final game in front of 48,613 fans who had somehow secured tickets.
10. Barbra Streisand’s Concert at The Garden – (June 23, 1994) – Less than two weeks after the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup and the New York Knicks lost a hard-fought seven game series to the Houston Rockets, the biggest show in modern day history graced the Garden’s stage.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: For those who tune-in to The Memorial on CBS on Sunday (today), you’ll see the greatest golfer of all-time, Jack Nicklaus, greeting the current players as they finish on the 18th hole, and then congratulating the tournament winner. For most golfers, it is the greatest honor of their careers. Jack will be wearing his tradition Sunday yellow or gold golf shirt, a signature of his Golden Bear look, along with his golden locks and burly build that won 18 Majors and 73 PGA Tour events during his illustrious career.

The Yellow Sunday has another meaning and the players all join in, as the tournament benefits children’s hospitals fighting cancer. Back at the 1986 Masters, Nicklaus chose his famous yellow shirt in memory of a young boy who had died from cancer a short time before the tournament. Nicklaus said, “The boy’s name was Craig Smith, and before he passed away, he told me he loved watching me play on Sundays and how he liked it when I wore a yellow shirt because it always seemed to bring me luck.” … “I remember Barbara (Nicklaus, Jack’s wife) telling me to wear yellow that Sunday morning, that it would bring me good luck because of Craig,”

Players, caddies and fans will all be wearing yellow or gold at Muirfield Village.

GIDDY-UP: Kentucky Derby champ Golden Tempo won the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, capturing the third leg of the Triple Crown five weeks after winning the ‘Derby and making more history for trainer Cherie DeVaux.

Jockey Jose Ortiz was aboard, as Golden Tempo went from last to first down the stretch at Saratoga Race Course, the track pinch-hitting for Belmont Park which is in the final year of renovations.

DeVaux, after becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, is the second in four years to do so at the Belmont. DeVaux is the first woman to win multiple Triple Crown races.

The post TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | June 7 appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

HOUSTON – Welcome to the entertainment and revenue producing portion of Digital Sports Desk and PGA Tour Brunch. It’s a pleasure to toss out a whole new discussion on some of sports greatest happenings.

It’s been in fashion – of late – to discuss the “best” sports by virtue of their Playoffs. Yes … it gets written in the papers and discussed on the sports radio talk shows every single year, even though it’s impossible to determine a definitive answer.

In the local paper, a columnist listed her best to worst as:

• NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
• The NCAA Tournament … a.k.a. “March Madness”
• The NFL Playoffs (including the Super Bowl)
• MLB Postseason
• The NBA Playoffs (including the NBA Finals)
• World Cup (soccer) and MLS

That’s one writer’s opinion and its a worthy list.

But just after the column ran, on Monday, May 18, the San Antonio Spurs victory over Oklahoma City in 2-OTs of the NBA Western Conference finals game became Exhibit 1-A that the list written up in the Globe was flawed – the NBA Playoffs far exceed the NCAA’s.

Another key factor in list making, a lot of sports were overlooked, including College Football and its National Championship coming from the CFP Playoffs. That’s been a welcome addition to the postseason smorgasbord

While the annual PGA TOUR FedEx Cup Playoffs aren’t great, the even equivalent to the Playoffs are golf’s Majors – never mind the Ryder Cup. Those golf outings can be pretty exciting. Same thing with tennis, as a five set tie-break to win the U.S. Open in front of a raucous crowd in Flushing Meadow can be amongst the greatest things in sport.

What about horse racing? The Breeders’ Cup is like having seven World Series games on one afternoon. But, maybe, the better comparison is the Kentucky Derby – known as the greatest two minutes in sports. Go ahead and Google “Affirmed” and “Alydar”and tell everyone who will listen that those races aren’t on a list of the greatest and most exciting moments in sports.

Now – full disclosure – I do think that a Game 7 “sudden death” overtime of the NHL Stanley Cup Final is the most exciting thing sports has to offer. So a high five to our local columnist, Tara Sullivan of the Boston Globe.

SPEAKING OF SUDDEN DEATH: The term “Sudden Death” is quite a descriptive phrase to say what has to be said to decide a playoff game or, in some cases, a series or championship. It’s brutal. The pressure is off-the-charts. But, upon further review, here’s a dozen of other very descriptive terms from the world of sports that each carry some weight.

1. The Suicide Squeeze
2. The Blitz
3. Crackback Block
4. Student Body right
5. The Two Minute Warning
6. The Baltimore chop
7. Defensive indifference
8. The NHL’s “Original Six”
9. The alley-oop
10. One of the great, descriptive monikers to pay proper respect to one of – if not the – greatest rivalies in sports is “El Classico.” Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona stop the entire nation of Spain when they face each other (at least) twice a year.
11. As “classic” as “El Classico” sounds in this category of greatness, the MLS might have one moniker just as wonderful. When the LA Galaxy face LAFC in a rivalry for all of Los Angeles to see, the matchup is referred to as “El Traffico.” – Beat that!

Darkness on the Edge of Causeway

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The house is dark. The Garden’s ghostlight is on, but Bruce Springsteen is coming. The Celtics were up three-games-to-one against a Philadelphia 76ers team that hadn’t beaten the Boston in a NBA Playoff series since Billy Cunningham coached a 1982 Sixers’ team, and the Cs blew it. The hometown team– once invincible in Game 7s – has left the TD Garden dark. The Sixers moved on to meet the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals and were mowed down by a superior team. The Knicks will face Cleveland for the right to play in the NBA Finals.

The Celtics “Owe Us One.”

But, it gets worse.

The TD Garden was witness to a suspect Boston Bruins team losing to the once-lowly Buffalo Sabres a night before the Celtics were sent to see St. Peter. The Sabres hadn’t won a Stanley Cup playoff series in 19 years, while the Sixers hadn’t beaten the Celtics in the playoffs since 1982, a mere 44 years. The Sabres lost to Montreal who are now playing Carolina for right to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

It’s understandable how the Bs lost, but how could the Celtics collapse in such epic fashion?

Let us count the ways:

o Live by chucking 3s; Die by chucking 3s: In their four losses to Philadelphia, the Boston Celtics shot 49-for-191, or 25.7%.

• Game 5 (April 28): Shot 28.2% (11-of-39) from three in a 113-97 home loss.
• Game 6 (April 30): Shot 29.3% (12-of-41) from three in a 106-93 loss in Philadelphia.
• Game 7 (May 2): Shot 26.5% (13-of-49) from three in a 109-100 series-clinching loss at home.

o Nick Nurse, the head coach of the Sixers and a champ when he coached at every level, including an NBA Finals title with the Toronto Raptors, can flat-out coach. Yes, he was graced with a resurgence from one-time NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid, but Nurse guided the Sixers masterfully. Expected NBA Coach of the Year, Joe Mazulla of the Celtics, was out-coached.

o Face facts: A starting five of: Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Ron Harper Jr., Luka Garza, and Baylor Scheierman could not cut it in a decisive NBA Playoff game. That group will never be compared to Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. The team of Celtics so many NBA pundits expected for 2025-26 finally showed up. The absence of true “bigs” caught up with the team of green. Remember Al Horford? He was pretty good.

Two Boston pro teams were whooped on their home turf. They’re gone by May 2 and only Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band can bring life to the backstreets of the West End (May 24th), because on Saturday night, it seemed you could hear the whole damn city crying. Springsteen might say, “Blame it on the lies that killed us, blame it on the truth that ran us down.”

The truth was the fact the Celtics could not endure a full season without their best player, Jayson Tatum.

While Tatum orchestrated a miraculous (and quick) return from the devastating right Achilles’ injury he suffered in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, and performed quite well from his March 6 return to active duty right on through to an incredible Game 3 shooting performance against the Sixers in Philadelphia, a sore left knee and discomfort that forced him to leave Game 6, also ruled him out just hours before Game 7.

Nine years into his NBA career, the 28-year-old Tatum is feeling the effects of 729 NBA regular season and playoff games.

Boston’s wonderkid GM, Brad Stevens, cannot be blamed for inactivity.

Stevens was faced with a choice of trading one of his “Big Two” of Tatum or Jaylen Brown, and possibly dismantling the 2024 NBA championship team somewhere short of a total rebuild. Instead, being faced with an aging Celtics team and a double secret probation by far exceeding the NBA’s agreed upon maximum team salary zones – the Cs – via Stevens’ surgical strike on salaries – dipped under both the First and Second Aprons of the NBA’s salary cap structure by reducing the team payroll for the 2025-26 season to a mere $187,885,254.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors are all over $200 million and face limitations in their wheeling and dealing. Stevens and the Celtics do not.

The cost (saving) came when the Celtics jettisoned veteran bigs Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Both players contributed mightily in the 2024 NBA Finals with Porzingis’ astonishing Game 1 performance which won the most important game of the series at Boston. If you remember, with Porzingis coming off the bench for just the second time in his career and playing in his first game (June 6) since he had sustained a calf injury in late April, Porzingis scored 20 points, including 18 in the first half, and added six rebounds and three blocks as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 to send a statement to the Texans.

Horford provided even more. The veteran center was an influential presence in the locker room, an intangible for NBA teams destined for good things to come, for chemistry, for facing and conquering adversity, and for winning championships. Horford was the whole package, plus, he hit three-pointer after three-pointer, drawing opposing centers away from the basket and allowing Tatum and Brown to operate inside.

Horford was traded to the Golden State Warriors in September 2025, signing a multi-year deal, and continuing into his 19th NBA season.

Boston’s other cost-saving move was to send multi-talented guard Jrue Holiday and his $32.4 million contract to the NBA outskirts of Portland, Oregon (not Maine). Holiday was another veteran, positive influence and key contributor to the 2024 championship, especially on the defensive end of the basketball court.

All of those moves put together allowed the Celtics to avoid the NBA’s punitive luxury taxes. The more stable payroll paved the way for new ownership as the franchise was sold by the longtime ownership group headed by Wyc Grousbeck for a then-record $6.1 billion. The new group, led by Bill Chisholm, paid an amazing amount of cash considering Grousbeck bought the team for $360 million in 2002. Brad Stevens should be a longtime fixture in the Celtics’ front office, at the top of basketball operations.

A look over to the Fens, just past the Longwood Medical Center, and the prognosis isn’t much better. The Red Sox are floundering in the AL East basement. The offense is anemic and the middle relievers count runs against, ERA and Whip as though they were all MIT graduates. The brown paper bags are making a fashion statement and Jason Veritek’s wife is pouring on the sarcastic quips aimed at Sox GM, head of baseball Craig Breslow. Veritek “is being re-assigned” within the organization after Breslow leveled the coaching staff, including manager Alex Cora. There’s no AC and no DC in the Sox bats. No static at all.

But, there’s one thing worse than a dark June at the TD Boston Garden, and that was a dark May. Only Bruce Springsteen’s rock show on May 24th will bring some “glory days” back to Boston.

The memories of 2018 and a club record of 108 wins is long gone. Those were, indeed, the glory days.

And, one thing’s sure of the glory days.

They’ll pass you by.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Get this? The Detroit PWHL team named former ice hockey goalkeepeer Manon Rheume as General Manager. Back in 1992, Rheaume became the first woman to appear in an NHL exhibition game when she started in goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The great goal scorer Phil Esposito NHL Bruins and Rangers) was the head of hockey ops. It was the first time an entire crowd at an NHL game concentrated 100% of their attention on defense! It was fabuloius (and I can attest, because your fave columnist (and his wife) were there. Rheaume joins the PWHL team after four years with the LA Kings in hockey operations and an 11-year tenure with the Little Caesars AAA hockey programs. … And, for you Pink Panther fans out there, Detroit can answer to the affirmative if asked, “Do you have a Rheaume?”

WWYI doesn’t want to leave anyone hanging after a report. Last week, the column included the fact the Vegas Golden Knights will forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft after repeated violations of the league’s media relations policies. The NHL’s statement last week left open the possibility of a Golden Knights appeal of the decision. They did appeal, and the NHL shot it down. Fast.

Twin Bill: The NBA announced that the New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs will play regular season games at the Accor Arena in Paris, France, on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2027, and at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2027, as part of the league’s multiyear slate of regular season games in Europe.

The NBA Paris Game 2027 presented by Tissot will mark the 16th game featuring an NBA team in France since 1991 and the league’s sixth regular-season game in Paris. The NBA Manchester Game 2027 will mark the 20th game featuring an NBA team in England since 1993, the league’s second game in Manchester and first regular-season game in the city.

NBA Finals Schedule: In case you’re wondering, these dates are locked.

NBA Finals – All games are scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EDT

The Finals will stat in the West as both OKC and San Antonio have better records than Cleveland and New York.

Game 1: Wednesday, June 3

Game 2: Friday, June 5

Game 3: Monday, June 8

Game 4: Wednesday, June 10

Game 5: Saturday, June 13*

Game 6: Tuesday, June 16*

Game 7: Friday, June 19*

SPEAKING OF THE 2026 NBA Finals: For the historians in the group, this year will mark the 40th year of the league switching from the “NBA World Championship” to “The NBA Finals.” – Cap “F” – and that takes us back to 1986.

At one point in 1983, the NBA went for “Showdown ‘83” as the moniker for the Playoffs and Finals, but everyone – pretty much – just called it The Finals. And, it worked. Loook for a major US publication to do a blow-out feature on this topic.

The post TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 24 appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Greetings from Boston, Massachusetts where the Red Sox are on the road and struggling mightily, the Bruins were eliminated from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the once-lowly Buffalo Sabres and the Celtics are watching Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals from their beach chairs in Cancun.

That brings us to this weekend’s PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, just a few miles north of Philadelphia. (Little known fact about Newtown Square, PA – not to be confused with Newton Centre, Massachusetts – is that it’s the place your favorite columnist made his Keswick Americans debut on the Dek, circa 1977). And, yes, I put a couple in centering for Holy Trinity mates Greg Pannell and Matt Feeney, but we lost to the Glenolden Gents of Philly in the semis.

I digress, although I’d love to be in Philadelphia.

The PGA Championship is run by the PGA of America, not to be confused with the PGA TOUR. The PGA of America is the governing body for all the club professionals working the thousands of golf courses in the USA, teaching and caring for the game. The PGA of America is also responsible for fielding the USA Ryder Cup teams and organizing the tournament when it’s staged in America. The President’s Cup comes in there, too, but we’ll leave that for another Presidency.

This year’s PGA Championship, the 108th, is being played at Aronimink Golf Club, a former PGA Tour venue for the BMW Championship.

The Thursday and Friday opening rounds were beyond challenging as a 1/2 inch of rain Wednesday night made for very soft, wet conditions in the deep rough. Morning round golfers paid the price, as did their counterparts on Friday when cold, blustery (14-20 mph winds) weather took its toll on the scorecards of even the very best – like Scottie Scheffler who bogeyed three of his first four holes (started on the Back 9) before grinding out a (+1) score of (71) after shooting (67) the previous afternoon.

As tough as the course and the rough played, it was the difficult pin placements which caused the most grief amongst the field. “You see it, you’re like, oh, wow, they’re pushing these things as far as they can,” Scheffler said of the pin locations. “Most of the pins today were, I mean, kind of absurd,” Scheffler added. “They were just so far into the areas where we thought the pins were going to be. This is the hardest set of pin locations that I’ve seen since I’ve been on Tour,” he said, “and that includes U.S. Opens, that includes Oakmont.”

Each of golf’s Majors had their signature attributes, but the PGA Championship was sort of lost in the shuffle without any single identity. Yes, the Wanamaker Trophy has its place amongst the great trophies in all of sports, but the fact the PGA moved around so much, and then was shifted from August to May in the PGA Tour schedule made it less important.

The Masters has the glory of Augusta National and its positioning in April is a sure sign of Spring. The players adore the course and the acceptance of the corny Green Jacket.

The U.S. Open (organized by the United States Golf Association or USGA) has been the most difficult and the courses utilized have become known as the hardest, or even “unfair” by some players.

The Open (a.k.a. British Open) is organized by the The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and is known as the R & A. The Open has the all the great golf courses, it has the history and the prestige associated with winning The Open is second-to-none. It’s golf’s version of Wimbledon. Whether it’s the Old Course at St. Andrew’s (host 30 times) to Prestwick (24 times) or the prestige of Muirfield (16 times), or Royal St. George’s Golf Club (15), or Royal Liverpool (12 times), The Open is the most distinguished of all tournament and it has the Claret Jug Trophy, The Open has cemented its place – not only in golf – but in all of sport.

That leaves The PGA Championship as “the fourth Major,” which is quite alright. The PGA of America’s hierarchy is proud of their tournament and its 107-year past history. This weekend, the Aronimink Golf Club is shining brightly, although you’d never know it from the Thursday and Friday weather. The 2026 edition of the PGA is shaping up to be two different tournaments, the first to get through the qualifier in the winds, then the weekend of great weather, some breeze, but overall – paradise on the golf course.

This week, 98 of the top 100 players in the World Golf Rankings teed-it-up. Only Lucas Herbert (#89) and Shaun Norris (#95) are missing.

Thirty-six hole leader Maverick McNealy faltered on Moving Day and shot (+1) but his co-leader, Alex Smalley, kept up his pace (-2) and it’s Smalley who leads the PGA by two strokes over five golfers tied for second. Saturday saw the big names jump up the leaderboard, a la Rory McIlroy who shot a (-4) to fight his way into contention after an opening round (74).

Five players shot (65) and six joined McIlroy in shooting a (66).

The take-away message channels the great line from the great Houston Rockets and Team USA coach Rudy Tomjanovich and that is to “never underestimate a major or a major champion.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: WWYIs believes it’s important to keep an eye on minor league baseball. Last week, there was some “investment advice” for the Oakland Ballers of the Pioneeer League. This weekend? It’s an update on the American Association. The sound of “Play Ball!” will be heard across the Midwest this week, as the American Association of Professional Baseball (@AA_Baseball) opened the 2026 regular season. There’s quite a newsworthy item of note to start the season; The Kane County Cougars will adopt an “alternate identity, the “Swedish Meatballs,” celebrating the strong Swedish population in Geneva, Illinois for games on June 13, July 31 and August 20.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced announced the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic will return to the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield on Sunday, December 6. The games will feature UMass vs. Wake Forest and Brown vs. Central Connecticut State (CCSU). The event is made possible in partnership with Explore Western Mass, Springfield Business Improvement District, UMass, and the MassMutual Center.

This year’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies will be held August 14 (Mohegan Sun festivities) and August 15 (Springfield, Mass.).

Teams of 1×1 hoopsters representing the great basketball cities of Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C. advanced at “OBL: Battle of the Cities,” the first of three Championship events for Tracy McGrady’s Ones Basketball League.

The six teams advance to the next phase of the championship, “Standing 6,” set for June 12. From there, four will move on to “For the Throne,” the July 1 finals. All the games are being staged at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando.

YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: Here’s a new one. On Saturday, the National Hockey League issued a very stiff penalty in regard to the leaague’s media relations rules. In a statement, the NHL notes, “As a result of flagrant violations of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs media regulations following Game 6 of their second round series against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, May 14, the Vegas Golden Knights will forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 (Upper Deck) NHL Draft. In addition, Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella has been fined $100,000.”

The statement continued, “The imposition of these penalties comes after previous warnings were issued to the club regarding their compliance with the media regulations and other associated policies. Vegas has been offered the opportunity to appeal these penalties to the Commissioner’s Office. That appeal would be held in person next week in New York.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. – Napoleon Solo took honors in the Preakness on Saturday. The horse came into the race known for his impressive win in the 2025 Grade 1 Champagne Stakes. but with a questionable results in the Wood Memorial and in the Fountain of Youth Stakes when he finished 11 lengths and change off the lead. Mr Solo is trained by Chad Summers and was ridden to victory by Paco Lopez. The Preakness was run at Laurel in Maryland as Pimlico is undergoing renovations much like Belmont Park which shifts the third leg of the Triple Crown to Saratoga. Of course, thre was no intrigue for a Triple Crown winner this year as Derby winner, Golden Tempo, trained by Cherie DeVaux and ridden by José Ortiz, was not entered at Laurel Park. The 158th Belmont Stakes takes place on Saturday, June 6, 2026.

Second-seeded Notre Dame outscored Johns Hopkins 9-3 in the second half to break from a 6-6 tie and the Fighting Irish advanced to NCAA Lacrosse Championship Weekend for the third time in four years, topping the Blue Jays, 15-9, in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Hofstra. Syracuse advanced as well.

THIS JEST IN: According to the Associated Press, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol believes in a “no shirt, no problem” mantra. His club was boosted to a win over the Royals Friday night and again on Saturday by a group of college players in the right-field seats who took off and waved their shirts as they sang, chanted and drew others into the fray. Marmol loved it so much that he bought tickets for shirtless revelers this weekend.

“Last night’s atmosphere was electric. Let’s run it back this weekend,” Marmol said in a social media post. “I’ll buy tickets for fans who want to sit in the right field Loge and bring the energy.”

It all began when the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team, known as the Lumberjacks, was in nearby Alton, Illinois, for the National Club Baseball Division II World Series. The Cardinals offered tickets to the team, and 17 players attended. The college players were back Saturday, when they shouted Marmol’s name numerous times along with “M-V-P!” when Jordan Walker came to bat. Other fans in the stadium joined in on the fun.

“I heard it pretty clearly,” Marmol said. “Welcome back to Busch. It was cool to see them back. The environment was awesome. We feed off that.”

Will he keep buying tickets?

“I’ll go broke,” Marmol quipped.

The post TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 17 appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – If the City of Atlanta were to erect tent poles to hold up the town for the rest of time, or to carve out a Mount Rushmore in the Blue Ridge Mountains (93 miles from Atlanta) – two of the figures that would be set in stone – are two people who passed away this week.

Ted Turner, the visionary who changed the world by founding Cable News Network (CNN), amongst thousands of other amazing feats, including the expansion of one-time “SuperStation TBS,” and numerous acts of philanthropy throughout his life, passed away Wednesday at his home near Tallahassee, Florida. He was 87 years old and the cause of death was complications because of Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder.

Turner once owned the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks in addition to the longtime NBA broadcast partners of the TBS and TNT networks before they were sold to Time Warner, along with Turner’s sports empire of the Hawks, Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball, and the now defunct Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL (Winnipeg Jets).

Bobby Cox, the beloved former manager of the Braves, and a Baseball Hall of Famer who led the Atlanta to five National League pennants and a World Series championship in the 1990s and was ranked No. 4 for career victories among major league managers, died on Saturday in Marietta, Georgia. He was 84. Cox had suffered a stroke in 2019 but a cause of death was not made public.

If you were to take it a few steps further, and add a third public figure it definitely would be the great Martin Luther King Jr. – born in Atlanta in January 1929 – who became one of the most important people in American history.

And, the final bigger-than-life icon would be Hank Aaron, unquestionably the most revered figure in Atlanta Braves franchise history and the No. 2 home run hitter in MLB history (755) with only Barry Bonds (762) ahead of “Hammering Hank.”

If there were a fifth, it would probably be Atlanta-born actress Julia Roberts. And, Dominque Wilkins would be a sixth.

Ted Turner at a Turner Classic Movies function (file photo).

Of those four incredible icons of Atlanta, the only one I had any interaction with was “Ted.”

Firstly, I know hundreds of people who were hired by or worked directly for Turner at his various networks or sports franchises. Not once did I ever hear a single bad word about him. Never.

Secondly, his employees loved the guy, and respected him beyond words of description. This week, many tried to put it into words, and one person, a good friend and colleague – Dr. Harvey Schiller – sat down for a “Talk about Ted” podcast with Columbia University professors of sports management Tom Richardson and Joe Favorito on their CUSP podcast.

To listen to the CUSP Podcast with Dr. Schiller, please click HERE.

Lastly, Turner dreamt-up a lot of incredible things and, as Dr. Schiller mentioned in his podcast, Ted always was intrigued by the International Olympic Committee and the parallel angle of utilizing sports as a way to bridge differences in the geopolitical world we live in. That interest became the Goodwill Games,

The Goodwill Games were staged in Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia, and in Seattle and New York in the USA, but the Goodwill Games where I interacted with the Turner crew was held in Brisbane, Australia in 2001. It was terrific.

We (meaning the NBA) brought a talented team of first and second year pros to compete. Brisbane was showing off all of its attributes – a test run way back in 2001 that eventually resulted in the Gold Coast city being awarded the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Hey, it only took 31 years!

We also had some hysterical interactions with Ted when we took his Atlanta Hawks over to the (then) Soviet Union in 1988.

One of the exchanges went like this.

Scene Setter: The Hawks team was embedded at the Olympic Training facility in Suhumi, Russia – not far from Sochi where the 2014 Winter Olympics were staged. (It’s about a 5 hour, 30 minute bus ride from Suhumi to Sochi). A day or two into our stay, a massive thunderstorm ripped through the area, knocking out all forms of power but somehow spared a phone line.

Off the grid for some 36+ hours because of the storm, Goodwill Games unit coordinator for the trip, Kim Bohuny – who eventually became an integral part of the NBA’s global basketball operations efforts – made a phone call back to her boss, David Raith, who was with Ted Turner at the time of the call.

The rather short phone call went something like this:

Raith: “What can we do to help you guys? Do you need anything?”

Bohuny: (semi screaming into the faint sounds) – “Yes, we need FOOD and some WATER!”

Heard in Background was Ted Turner: “What the hell is going on over there?”

The next thing we knew, and maybe it took 48 hours, but Hawks head coach Mike Fratello was mixing up some pasta with marinara sauce and, as Hawks radio broadcaster, Steve Holman, said, “We ate as though it was our last meal and wee were headed to the Electric Chair.”

But the real joke was that we STILL didn’t have electricity in the dorms but Coach Fratello somehow boiled water and warmed his special Italian gravy.

It was so dark at night, that we had to attach ropes down the middle of the hallways to grab a hold of to get back to the stairs and our rooms. Whoever had the flashlight had to go with each person as they retired for the evening. It was fan-tastic.

Yet, as noted, not a single solitary word was ever uttered to complain about the Hawks, Turner Sports or Ted Turner who sponsored the trip. It was all one big family.

And, the family lost its patriarch this week while the City of Atlanta lost one of its three or four most important people of all-time.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES – It’s important to start the notes section with a call-out to all the Mothers out there! A very Happy Mother’s Day to all.

I must say, it’s very strange thinking of Mother’s Day and – for the first time in my life – the day is here and my Mom is not. Genevieve Ann Lyons passed away a few weeks after Mother’s Day of 2025 when she was 100 years and 57 days of age. An amazing life, and tough at the end, but I still miss her and think of the endless pool of memories from Mother’s Days gone by – some spent with her attending the NBA Draft Lottery and partaking in a very nice brunch when we staged the Lottery at halftime of a 1:00pm EDT NBA playoff game. I can remember her sharing a table with the legendary Celtics Hall of Famer, Tom “Satch” Sanders, who was my office next door neighbor for a decade or more.

In 1988, I can remember her making the trip to Madrid, Spain to witness the Boston Celtics play in the first McDonald’s Open held in Europe. (The first event was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin). She was able to take in some sight-seeing and incredible accommodations in Madrid, although I have to admit she didn’t get to see her son, working the event, all too often.

She did get to sit with Julius “Dr. J” Erving – the two Long Islanders – chatting up Nassau County high school basketball or memories of the New York Nets.

All very fond memories.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS – Johns Hopkins upset Cornell, 9-8 in OT, on Saturday with Hopkins coming back from a 6-3 deficit in the second half. With 1:15 left in overtime, Jimmy Ayers found the back of the net to grab the win over the defending National Champions. Johns Hopkins advanced to take on the winner of Jacksonville and 2-seed Notre Dame who play on Sunday, May 10th at Noon (ESPN2). Cornell finished with an 11-5 overall record. Hopkins’ quarterfinal will be played at Hofstra University on Long Island, NY. … Why the coverage of Johns Hopkins? Let the proud father make note that his oldest daughter, Victoria, graduated from the incredible institution in 2019.

THIS JEST IN – As long as we were on Baltimore, fans lined up well before the gates opened at Camden Yards, Maryland on Friday night in anticipation of a Tupac Shakur bobblehead giveaway at the ballpark. “I grabbed three of them,” Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said before a 4-3 loss to the Athletics. Shakur was raised in New York and Baltimore before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1980s. He lived in Oakland, California, in the early 1990s, which made Friday’s matchup between the Orioles and Athletics an appropriate time to honor the rap icon, who was murdered in a drive-by in Las Vegas in September, 1996.

The post TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 10 appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

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

The post TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | On Oscar appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

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.

The post Early March Madness’ Madness appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

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.

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.

The post TL’s Sports Notebook | SSAC ’26 Edition appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.

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).

The post MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conf ’26 appeared first on Digital Sports Desk.