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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | April 2nd

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – There are two days on our calendar that bring hope and optimism wrapped-up in a ball. First is New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day which comes with a ball that falls so gradually in Times Square as hundreds of thousands, maybe millions count down the final ten seconds of the year. Resolutions are made, but rarely kept as the New Year rolls in. Couples kiss and wish each other “Happy New Year” with hopes for a great year ahead. It’s a wonderful day.

Then, there’s Opening Day in Major League Baseball. Nothing brings hope like the first crack of the bat, the sound of the umpire or some promo winner screaming, “Play Ball,” or the sights and smells of the ballpark, the beautiful green grass of Fenway Park and 29 other ballparks across the USA and Toronto, Canada – all the envy of any homeowner and weekend gardener.

We experienced Opening Day at Fenway this week, complete with pregame ceremonies with F-16 jet fighter fly-over, a giant-sized American flags, a roster full of brand new Red Sox players along with a pitching crew that needs to make some resolutions of their own.

While Opening Day for the Red Sox resulted in the Big “L” there was excitement in the chilly New England air as the game went right down to the last at bat. The second game of the season brought on sheer joy of loyal fandom for the Sox faithful who hung-on to witness a game-winning home run by OF Adam Duvall, lined right into the first row of the Green Monster seats. It came after oft-injured SP Chris Sale spotted the Baltimore Orioles a 7-1 lead after three innings, so the hope of MLB’s Opening Day can go only so far in New England. Sox fans will have to judge their team on one and only one criteria this season: They won’t give up.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The topic of gender equality and the lack thereof surfaced during last year’s NCAA Final Four basketball tournaments for Men and Women. It is a topic that new NCAA President and former Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker must address in much deeper and efficiency than his predecessors. This week sports commentator Bomani Jones nailed it with his op-ed video that best explains the situation. It’s provided here for your viewing and 2023 education via HBO’s YouTube: CLICK HERE.

This season, Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes have made as big a statement as possible in the women’s Final Four. They’ll take on LSU at 3:30pm (ET) on ABC Sports and ESPN+ with Iowa favored by 3.5 points. Tune in for a treat.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE 2023 MLB SEASON: It’s only two games into the 2023 Baseball season and my sample size is personally witnessing two games between the visiting Baltimore Orioles against the Boston Red Sox at our downtown bandbox known as Fenway Park.

Opening Day saw the Orioles defeat Boston, 10-9, and Game 2 – Saturday, April 1 – saw Boston come back from that disastrous Sale start (allowed seven runs in three innings, including three Home Runs) but the Sox won the game in grand fashion as described above, an entertaining 9-8 victory.

The 18-18 runs produced/allowed ratio is a quick snapshot, but it might be revealing for what might come in the early month(s) of the season.

It seems the new MLB “Pitch Clock” might have a side effect – call it a severe reaction if you’d like. The lack of time for a pitcher – with runners on base – to:

  • Receive the ball
  • Step to the pitching mound/rubber
  • Make eye contact with the catcher
  • Adjust his grip on the baseball
  • Check the runner on base
  • Re-establish his pitching stance and prepare to throw a pitch (giving or getting a sign)
  • Get into his wind-up before a clock violation

All of the mechanics for each pitch give the pitcher little time to truly focus on the business at hand: Eye and aim for the desired location of his upcoming pitch. The time restraints force the pitcher – at times – to simply hurl the ball much more quickly than he would’ve done a year ago.

This should result in much higher scoring games.

That said, athletes are very quick to adjust and Major League pitchers will gradually adjust to the new rules, maybe in another two weeks – maybe two months – of regular season, so there’s no cause for alarm or panic for those who call themselves traditionalists or like to bet the “under.”

Here’s a quick and personal look at what the MLB Standings might look like, come October 1, 2023:

AL EAST

Toronto Blue Jays
New York Yankees
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Rays
Boston Red Sox

AL CENTRAL

Cleveland Guardians
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals
Detroit Tigers

AL WEST

Houston Astros
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers
LA Angels
Oakland A’s

NL EAST

Atlanta Braves
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Miami Markins
Washington Nationals

NL CENTRAL

St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates

NL WEST

Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies

World Series: The Houston Astros to defend their title with a 4-games-to-2 series win over the San Diego Padres.

STRAT-O-MATIC: When the folks at the Strat-O-Matic game company on Long Island crunched their numbers and played out their own games, they came up with some 2023 Baseball Predictions they promoted as their own.

Strat’s simulation tabbed the Cleveland Indians with an MLB-best 111 wins to earn the AL No. 1 seed, with the NY Yankees at No. 2 and Houston (with 101 wins each).

In the NL, the San Diego Padres’ 100 wins led the circuit, with the Atlanta Braves (96) and St. Louis (94) as the other NL division winners.

The Strat-O-Matic Postseason ended with the New York Yankees topping the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-games-to-2 to win the MLB title.

Other predictions included:

  • NY Yankees Aaron Judge to earn AL MVP honors with 52 home runs, 132 RBI and .313 batting average.
  • The American League Cy Young Award winner was predicted to be Shane Bieber of Cleveland (20-6, 2.80 ERA, 228K).
  • St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado was promised to excel with a .293 average, 46 home runs and 116 RBI to earn the National League MVP honor.
  • Strat Says Yu Darvish of San Diego might claim the NL Cy Young Award with his predicted total of a 17-4 record, 2.55 ERA and 221 strikeouts

Strat-O-Matic has an interesting back story as the company and its games were invented by then-11-year-old Hal Richman in his bedroom in Great Neck, N.Y. in 1948 as a result of his frustration with the statistical randomness of other baseball board games. He discovered that the statistical predictability of dice would give his game the realism he craved. Over the next decade, he perfected the game at summer camp and then as a student at Bucknell University. After producing All-Star sets in 1961 and ‘62, he parlayed a $5,000 loan from his father (and made a deal that if it didn’t work out he would work for his father’s insurance company) into the original 1962 Strat-O-Matic Baseball season game. Needless to say, Hal never had to take a job with his father.

The Company publishes baseball, football, basketball and hockey games to play both on and off-line and they’re capable of going low to the mobile screen. “Strat-O” games are known throughout the sports community for their statistical realism and accuracy.

YouTube player

 

SHINING MOMENTS FOR 37+ YEARS: Why does the (basketball only) retirement of a guy the vast majority of the general public doesn’t know and hasn’t met strike such an emotional chord? Simply stated, it’s the time well spent. The time CBS Sportscaster Jim Nantz has dedicated to the game of college basketball. The time we – the viewers – have enjoyed spending with him. The time that flies by and adds up to make us all count the years and face our own mortality. The time shared. The time we’re amazed by the efforts of Nantz and the players he covers. Nantz is the face of a thousand people working behind the scenes and directly alongside and behind him who create every broadcast.

It’s not easy doing live remote sports television. It’s impossible to explain why. It’s difficult to explain because the networks producing the major sports in North America make it look so damn easy. It’s not. It’s hard and the games – the EVENTS – are unpredictable and move quickly.

Some look at the most visible signs of the broadcast. The announce table – with the Final Four, it’s been Nantz anchoring for the rsolid former Dukie turned USA Basketball guru Grant Hill and the irreplaceable and greatest of ‘em all, Bill Raftery, the former Seton Hall coach turned broadcaster who remains one of the few, great characters of the sporting world. As Raft ages, we age with him, but he does so and somehow remains “cooler” than anyone in the building. The secret is that Nantz knows exactly how to cue Raft up and exactly when to stay the hell out of the way.

Nantz knows when to praise the game winning shot, often with a single word. He knows when to stay silent and let the work of those thousand people – all behind the lenses of 60 cameras (16 used to be the norm). The great people at Sports Video Group (MUST READ) can give you the “inside stuff” on what goes on behind the scenes. But, the human element is the key to a good broadcast morphing into greatness. Actor-director and so many of us default to calling it – STORY TELLING – but I contend that it is much, much more.

It’s research. It’s knowledge and perspective. It’s relationships and knowing who to speak with and when to drop in a tidbit of information from that source right into the broadcast at the perfect time, a tidbit to be heard by 20+ million people. In that case, the factoid better be accurate. Nantz perfects it by way of building such solid relationships – culled over those 37+ years so his sources are impeccable. Nantz delivers.

For those of us who’ve had the pleasure of working with Jim Nantz over many, many years, he’s been the consummate professional. When Nantz would oversee a Basketball Hall of Fame press conference, it would flow like the Danube River – strong and steady. Just hearing his voice made it a big time event or announcement.

The good news? We’ll still have Nantz visiting our living/TV rooms come this week at The Masters golf tournament- A TRADITION UNLIKE ANY OTHER, his patented catch phrase first uttered in 1986 when Nantz was 26 years old and shooting promos and vignettes for CBS’ legendary golf producer Frank Chirkinian.

What’s a TL Sunday Sports Notebook without a story from an insider’s view to close it out for the week?

Knowing Jim Nantz as a local sports television guy who covered the Utah Jazz for KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, this observer was quite surprised when bumping into Nantz and then-CBS Sports Executive Producer Ted Shaker as they entered a 52nd Street restaurant back in 1985.

Together with colleague Brian McIntyre, our eyes were wide open but we kept our mouths shut at the sign that Nantz was being courted to join CBS and then – over time – be groomed to be the replacement for the face of CBS Sports in the ‘80s, Brent Musburger.

It wasn’t an immediate changeover, as Musburger remained as the lead anchor for CBS Sports until the 1990 Final Four. Nantz told the story in a 2015 conference call for sports television reporters:

Nantz said at the time, “Musburger was CBS Sports.”

“He called the NBA Finals, he hosted the Masters, he was hosting the NFL Today and did play-by-play on both college football and basketball,” Nantz said. “It was shocking. For people who weren’t around at that time, it was just unimaginable. It was front-page news in every newspaper in America.”

“The semifinal games were on March 31 that year and we had our broadcast and then there was an obligation for CBS Sports that Brent, Billy [Packer] and I had to attend after the doubleheader,” Nantz said. “It was at the Petroleum Club in Denver and we talked about what we had just seen and what we expected on Monday night. We went to that and then the three of us went out to dinner.

“We walked back to the hotel and Brent’s assistant met him at the door and said he needed to talk to him right away. We all said good night and we said we’d see each other on Sunday.

“At about 8 o’clock Sunday morning, I got a call from Ted Shaker, our executive producer, and he told me what had come down overnight. Brent had walked in and was told that CBS wasn’t going to renew his contract. My first thought was that this was April 1st, and this was some really dumb April Fool’s joke. And that’s what a lot of people thought.”

Nantz said at the time that CBS wanted him to do a short, live commentary after that Monday night championship game – a 103-73 UNLV win over Duke.

“They wanted me to deliver a commentary to express appreciation to Brent for his remarkable career at CBS,” Nantz said. “And at the time, it was a very difficult thing for me. I looked up to Brent and still do and had such deep respect for him and I had to sum up his career in about a minute-and-a-half commentary and then go back to Brent, standing on the court, for his last word.

“It was very difficult to do and there was a very empty feeling leaving the arena that night for all of us.”

That one moment was the transition for Jim Nantz to do the Final Four until tomorrow – Monday, April 3, 2023. There will be a shining moment for the NCAA Men’s Final Four, but this year, it will come as tears well in our eyes.

TL

 

 

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | March 26th

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By TERRY LYONS

NEW YORK – This week had so much potential, so much promise, so much Spring in the air and Daylight in the evenings. It was the first week of Daylight Savings time, the first week of Spring and the week of the Sweet 16 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. But instead of promise and possibilities, the week ended with a thud, a couple kicks in the teeth and gut, a few grimaces and the Hurricanes and Aztecs bumping off a pair of No. 1 NCAA Men’s College basketball teams and – most seriously – the loss our our Captain.

Former NY Knicks great Willis Reed died Tuesday at age 80, after complications from congestive heart illness of which he’d been treated at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.

Reed, the talent, brawn and inspiration behind the late 1960s New York Knickerbockers, along with guard Walt Frazier and a complementary group of unselfish but all-star level role players led the Knicks to NBA titles in 1969-70 and 1972-73. Reed matched-up against many of the best centers to ever play the game, and at an undersized 6-foot-9, often out-muscled, out-rebounded, out-scored and out-played his rivals.

At the time of his greatest of days and nights, Reed might face an opponent’s center such as:

  • Boston’s Bill Russell
  • LA Lakers’ Wilt Chamberlain
  • Baltimore’s Wes Unseld
  • Golden State/San Francisco’s Nate Thurmond
  • Cincinnati’s Jerry Lucas
  • Detroit and Atlanta’s Walt Bellamy
  • San Diego’s Elvin Hayes
  • Milwaukee’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
  • In later years, Boston’s Dave Cowens and Detroit’s Bob Lanier

The list marched on in a golden age of NBA powerful centers and equally talented and strong power forwards, like Bill Bridges, Paul Silas, Truck Robinson, GeorgeMcGinnis, Spencer Haywood, Sidney Wicks, and Gus Johnson, among many others. Reed would be needed to help out Dave DeBusschere on defense. There was never a night off to rest. Load management would simply be a commercial flight to the next city – first flight outbound – and a schedule that posed the next opponent, one tougher than the next, often on back-to-backs, three games in four nights.

Reed, a second round pick of the Knicks in the 1964 NBA Draft (the 8th overall selection after two territorial picks were made to start the draft off), fought those battles at a young age of 22. In scuffles that were a regular occurrence in the NBA in those days, he was known to clear out teams, benches and chase opponents back to their locker rooms.

Reed did it all.

One of the most memorable moments in sports history, never mind New York sports history were the final three games of the Knicks’ first-ever NBA title in 1970. Reed severely injured his knee and leg in Game 5 of the NBA Championship series at Madison Square Garden, but somehow his teammates managed to go on, hold on and win without him. DeBusschere, undersized forward Dave Stallworth, and back-up center, benchwarmer and MSG fave Nate Bowman held on for life against Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor to somehow manage a 107-100 win at The Garden. That fifth game came after two consecutive overtime games.

The wounded Knicks flew to Los Angeles only to be trounced by Chamberlain and the Lakers, 135-113, as Wilt scored seemingly at will, and finished with 45 points and 27 rebounds.

The Game 7 stories are of legendary status. We’ll let ABC Sports commentator JackTwyman take it from here with his iconic, “I think we see Willis coming out,” said Twyman to play-by-play man Chris Schenkel.

The lift provided by Reed’s willingness to have his knee and thigh shot-up with painkillers lifted his teammates to new levels of confidence while raising the then-brand new iconic roof of The Garden to new heights.

Reed hit his first two field goal attempts with his patented left-handed jump shot. In doing so, Knicks guard Walt Frazier took it from there, scoring 36 points with 19 assists to take a very one-sided 113-99 victory for New York’s first NBA title,

Reed led the Knicks to the NBA title in 1973, the last championship the NYK franchise has earned. He went on to coaching and executive positions in NY, New Jersey and asst. coaching positions at various places in the Association. He earned his stripes as a volunteer assistant for St. John’s and Lou Carnesseca in the ‘80s.

All the while, Reed exuded his classy ways and his love for the game while getting nothing but RESPECT in return everywhere he went. In New York, he will forever remain sports royalty up there with the Babe Ruths, Lou Gehrigs, Joe DiMaggios, Tom Seavers, Jerry Koosmans, Joe Namaths, Julius Ervings and a list of dozens of others, including his 1969-70 to 1973 teammates – especially Walt “Clyde” Frazier.

Of those, it is Willis Reed who deserves to have a statue bronzed and placed in the front entrance of Madison Square Garden. His likeness will stand there for eternity.

FUSSING AND FIGHTIN’ MY FRIENDS: Before the devastating news of Willis Reed’s death, the big story on the streets and sports pages of New York was the hiring of Rick Pitino by the St. John’s University Red Storm. After leaving a trail of bread crumbs and recruiting violations from sea to shining sea and beyond to Greece and the EuroLeague, Pitino was thrown a North American life rafter when he was hired at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY.

“Life is very short, and there’s no time

For fussing and fighting, my friend

I have always thought that it’s a crime

So, I will ask you once again

Try to see it my way

Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong.”

(Lennon/McCartney – The Beatles)

As he’s done consistently in his past, Pitino won at Iona and he was scooped-up by the desperate Johnnies who have dismissed more coaches than Liz Taylor tossed away husbands.

Many reacted to Pitino’s hiring with joy and the anticipation of a packed Madison Square Garden and St. John’s returning to Top 10 status in the college polls. Others thought of recruiting violations with strippers entertaining players on campus poles.

It took the words of 98-year old wiseman and former St. John’s head coach, Louie Carnesecca to put the hiring of Pitino into proper perspective and to frame his sordid past in the right place:

“His coaching ability is beyond reproach. No matter where he’s coached in college, he’s had great success,” said Carnesecca to Ian O’Connor of the New York Post. “He works like a son of a gun, and all the credentials are there. I think we have a wonderful head coach.”

Regarding his past?

“It’s very simple,” Carnesecca said. “That’s why we have confessions.”

When you boil it all down, “All we are saying, is give Pitino a chance.”

BE THERE: The great Foundation to be Named Later, run by Paul Epstein for his brother, Theo, is once again planning “Hot Stove, Cool Music.” Instead of its mid-winter date, the charity will gather musicians, former players and fans on April 15th at City Winery Boston. Remember, not that long ago, as a young and talented GM, Theo Epstein brought titles to both the Red Sox and then the Chicago Cubs. Suffice to say, they work miracles.

LAX LIFE: With its teams battling for berths and positioning in the NLL Playoffs during the remaining weeks of the regular season, “The March to May” is on in the National Lacrosse League. Every matchup down the stretch will influence the eight-team NLL Playoffs that begin May 5-7. In a quirky set-up, the 2023 NLL Playoffs format features the top four teams from the East Conference and top three from the West Conference, plus a “wild card” entry with the best record between the fourth-place team in the West standings and the fifth-place finisher in the East. This “wild card” will play in the West Conference side of the bracket as the No. 4 seed. The first round of the NLL Playoffs will be single elimination, while the East and West Conference Finals and NLL Finals will each be a best-of-three series. See you on Memorial Day, along with the annual gem of the college sports calendar, the NCAA LAX Final Four to be staged May 27 & 29 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. … Boston-area lacrosse fans can circle their calendars for 2024 and 2025 when Gillette Stadium in Foxboro hosts the NCAA men’s lacrosse Final Four.

MLB OPENING DAY: From the BIG EAST to the NCAAs to Opening Day in MajorLeague Baseball (this Thursday, March 30), it’s a great time of year in the sports world. in pro golf, the PGA Tour will progress from this week’s World Golf Championship Match play to the first Major of the season when The Masters tees-it-up at Augusta National April 6-9. While they’re all great sporting events, there’s nothing like the sounds of Baseball. PLAY BALL! … The crack of the bat … and the 7th Inning Stretch.

As Spring Training comes to a close, MLB rosters will be whittled down and teams will head north from Florida or Arizona to open the season in home towns throughout the league. The Boston Red Sox open this Thursday with a home game against the Baltimore Orioles (March 30 – 2pm). MLB places an off day on Friday, just in case of a rain-out washing away the Opener. … This Thursday, the forecast is calling for sunny/clear skies with temperatures a seasonal 44-degrees. … Sam Adams Brewery has already broken out “Sam Summer Ale” and its 26.2 is not far behind as the annual Patriots’ Day and the 127th running of the Boston Marathon captures the vibes of the City on Monday, April 17. The Red Sox play their traditional 11:10am start that same day against the LA Angels.

BUZZWORDS OF THE WEEK: Sports Illustrated had its “Sign of the Apocalpse,”originated by the great Jack McCallum. Instead, “While We’re Young (Ideas)” is going to pass along “Buzzwords of the Week” … This week’s winner? ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips who on Saturday said that he “will meet with his league’s men’s basketball coaches and athletic directors as soon as the season ends to discuss ways to be more ‘proactive and aggressive’ in changing the narrative surrounding the conference.” This year’s NCAA Tournament saw the ACC receive only five bids which to Phillips and those inside the league was a “big disappointment.” Phillips said the ACC has to “portray ourselves in a different way” to the NCAA Selection Committee. … WWYI will counter with a reply of equal “Buzzword” value with a reminder to Phillips that ACC basketball is a “Zero Sum Game” and there’s a defined number of wins and losses every season. Padding ACC men’s basketball schedules isn’t the answer. Winning out of conference games is the answer. That comes with good players on every ACC team.

TIDBITS: The NHL is experiencing its share of negative publicity as the league rolled out “Pride Nights.” The league experienced considerable pushback from a number of players who chose to opt-out of the promotion to reach and better recognize the LGBTQ+ community in each NHL city/market.

Here’s Bryan Burke’s take on the situation via Canada’s SportsNet:

 

“It’s about saying this community is valuable and important and we want to honor them.” Brian Burke joined Ron MacLean to discuss Pride Nights across the NHL and supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
Embed from Getty Images

MORE TIDBITS: Former New England Patriots wide receiver Nelson Agholor is signing a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, multiple outlets reported. The $3.25 million deal for the 29-year-old free agent is worth up to $6.25 million with incentives. Agholor caught 31 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games (seven starts) with the Patriots last season. Agholor began his career with Philadelphia (2015-19) and played with the Las Vegas Raiders (2020). … National Football League team owners expect to “take no formal actions” regarding a sale of the Washington Commanders nor will they address Commanders’ team owner Dan Snyder‘s status during the NFL’s annual meeting which began today. … The family of former North Carolina and serviceable NBA big man Eric Montross said he has begun treatments for cancer. Montross’s family issued a statement through the school on Saturday noting the 51-year-old’s recent diagnosis, though it didn’t specify the nature of the cancer.

CANX SUX: On the topic of cancer, prayers are out to a Boston Celtics colleague. The well known, well loved Veep of PR was diagnosed in July 2021 with glioblastoma brain cancer. After she responded positively within a clinical trial and new treatment, a recent scan showed “a lot more tumor growth.” … The entire Boston sports world continues to show tremendous support. Prayers and financial support.

DEACON BLUES: This brings us to the close of the March 26th While We’re Young (Ideas) column of March 26th. The sun shining, the NCAAs on TV and ready to crown the final pair of Regional Champions to qualify for the men’s Finals Four to be played in Houston, April 1 and 3. (Let’s keep the HOUSTON, we have a roaring cliche to a minimum, please). It’s not a happy ending.

Our neighbor’s wonderful dog, Deacon, passed away Monday after a brief illness and terrible cancer diagnosis. The cancer was aggressive and inoperable. We were so sad to hear the report as Deacon was our puppy’s first friend and playmate. Deacon was the best dog on our block and everyone just loved him.

Here’s a beautifully edited video and it goes out to Deacon in Dog Heaven:

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly Sunday Sports Notebook & Column, written by Terry Lyons. Each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city newsstand on Saturday night around 10pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a sports-filled compilation of interesting notes, quotes and quips. TL’s Sunday Sports Notes is brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | February 5th

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Welcome to the Dog Days of Winter. It’s the first Sunday without NFL football since the weekend of September 11, 2022. That disregards the event formerly known as the Pro Bowl, now being staged in forms other than football.

What do the Dog Days of Winter bring to our sports-loving fandom?

A good look at the NBA of late brings altercations as in fights with guys coming off the bench to “give it a go.” There’s a laundry list of other assorted violations that will keep the NBA Dean of Discipline, the great Joe Dumars, up to his eyeballs with accounting paper and incident reports. Dumars, the most professional, wonderful, honest, down-to-earth player that’s ever played in the NBA, now knows what it was like when his predecessors (Rod Thorn, Stu Jackson) had to deal with the 1987-88-89-90 “Bad Boys” aka the elbow throwing, cheap-shotin’ Bill Laimbeer of the Detroit Pistons.

Suffice to say, Dumars has his hands filled, as did the Veeps of Violence of years past. It’s simply that time of year.

Since February 1st, Dumars has seen his officiating staff dole out 19 technical fouls. They’ve resulted in six ejections, a $25,000 fine for Donovan Mitchell and a one game suspension without pay for Dillon Brooks, estimated to cost the player a cool $78,621 for their efforts this past Thursday.

On Friday night, one of the crazier altercations of out time on earth began with Mo Bamba coming off the Orlando Magic bench to confront Minnesota’s Austin Rivers, who threw several punches as Orlando’s Jalen Suggs joined the melee to tangle with Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince both joining the fracas.

Facing the facts? There will be more.

Players, coaches, referees, and even the hot dog vendors have “had it” at this point in the year. They’re “banged up.” They’re playing hurt and the pressure is being turned up as the playoffs grow closer and closer. From a slow simmer on the back burner of January to a full boil come April, there’s no more room for understanding. The Dog Days call for dukes. No questions asked.

Even the G-League experienced the doldrums of the Dog Days of Winter in balmy Sioux Falls when Skyforce guard Mychal Mulder was suspended one game without pay for making contact with a game official and escalating an on-court altercation while Birmingham Squadron forwards James Kelly, Sr. and Kelan Martin were suspended one game without pay for leaving the bench area and escalating that altercation. The incident resulted in the ejections of Kelly, Sr. and Mulder.

The Dog Days know no bounds! But, it can get very dangerous. “Rudy T” dangerous because the players are BIG and STRONG and QUICK and they can pack a punch. There’s very few face masks, no padding and maybe a couple dozen mouth guards being worn by otherwise fully exposed players. Sheer momentum can bring two players together at warp speed.

It’s time for the league to get the word out – the officials are going to enforce the rules on the books. They need to T-up any and all verbal jabs and the players will adjust. The Holy Grail in the NBA is “Playing Time” and the players know where to draw the line when they know the league, from those in the office to officials at the games are going to come down on the B.S. and a suspension and $78k fine gets the word out.

AT PRESS TIME: The NBA league office came down with the hammer. Here’s the news release on fines and suspensions for the Orlando v Minnesota bout:

Orlando Magic center Mo Bamba has been suspended four games without pay and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Austin Rivers has been suspended three games without pay for their roles in an on-court altercation, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.

In addition, Magic guard Jalen Suggs has been suspended one game without pay for escalating the altercation by aggressively grabbing Rivers around the neck and pulling him to the floor.

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels has been fined $20,000 for his role in the altercation which included running into the scrum and pushing Bamba in the back.

The incident, for which all four players received technical fouls and were ejected, occurred with 1:32 remaining in the third quarter of the Magic’s 127-120 win over the Timberwolves on Feb. 3 at Target Center.

Bamba and Rivers engaged in an altercation in front of the Magic bench, with both players throwing punches. Suggs and McDaniels then entered the altercation as non-peacemakers, which resulted in a continued escalation of the situation.

Following the incident, Bamba attempted to continue to engage with Rivers in a hostile manner in the corridor outside the locker rooms where he also aggressively shoved a security representative. Both Bamba and Rivers continued the escalation on social media following the game.

GET THE REMOTE: As you begin your Dog Day Sunday Morning & Afternoon, your viewing choices can range from a 9:00am (ET) Leeds United v. Nottingham Forest Premier League soccer game on USA Network to a 12 Noon (ET) DePaul at Seton Hall tilt on FS1.

If you prefer to stick with USA Net, the Fordham Rams and Richmond Spiders will be awaiting tip-off in an A-10 tussle. Or, you can watch Six Nations Rugby or Bowling or Figure Skating or Rodeo or Horse Racing or Women’s Pro Hockey or wait-out some NASCAR race at the LA Coliseum at 8pm (ET) – it’ll be Sunset Grills in Southern California.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Only eight days until Pitchers & Catchers report to Spring Training for Major League Baseball teams. That’s a sure sign, Spring is on the way and this cold blast (-10 here) will blow back to Canada and beautiful Spring days are not too far away. Spring Training leads to March Madness and WWYI favorite event of the year with the BIG EAST tournament scheduled for March 8-11th, the 41st year the tournament will be staged at The Garden. … The PLAYERS Championship is aligned with the BIG EAST and will be staged at TPC Sawgrass from March 7-12th. The signature 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass gets the vast majority of the attention, but the entire course is gorgeous and one of the most famous in the world. (More on that later in the column). … After a sometimes chilly March 30th Opening Day for Baseball their are a few other sure signs of Spring in the Northeast United States. The Masters will take place at beautiful August National from April 6-9 and it will be followed by the single best day of the year in Boston. Patriots’ Day, Monday April 17th, and the running of the Boston Marathon is only 71 days away. The great day is enhanced by the 11:00am LA Angels at Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Sheer perfection for a day when the entire city of Boston and the Commonwealth as a whole revolves around sports and celebrates the marathoners as they weave their way through eight local towns and cities: Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston. … Of recent years, the Boston Marathon was set back severely when the 2013 race was marred by a bombing incident. Two crazed radicals manufactured two homemade bombs and set them off within minutes of each other and some 200 yards from the finish line in Copley. Three spectators will killed immediately while some 260+ people were injured, 17 losing limbs. A few days later, while trying to escape a citywide manhunt with residents sheltered in place, the two brothers killed an MIT police officer and fled to the suburbs. The crime fighters of multiple agencies located the two bothers and one was killed in a shoot-out and subsequent fatal rundown as his younger brother fled the scene. Later, the younger brother was located, hiding in the backyard of a Watertown home, shot and critically injured in a winterized boat. His trial resulted in multiple charges meriting the death penalty. He is currently incarcerated in the Supermax ADX detention center in Florence, Colorado. A March, 2022 court ruling reinstated the death penalty verdict handed down but was being scrutinized by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Here’s a look at some select dates you can circle on your calendar (Partial List of Great Sports Events from Feb to June 1):

  • February 4 – March 18 – Six Nations Rugby
  • February 12 – Super Bowl (Phoenix, AZ)
  • February 19 – NBA All-Star Game (Salt Lake City, UT)
  • March 7-12 – The PLAYERS (TPC Sawgrass)
  • March 8-11 – BIG EAST Tournament (New York City)
  • March 12 – NCAA Selection Sunday (Indianapolis, IN)
  • March 8-21 – World Baseball Classic (Miami and other cities)
  • March 14-15 – NCAA Men’s Basketball First Four (Dayton, OH)
  • March 16-17 – NCAA Men’s Basketball First Round (Multiple cities)
  • March 18-19 – NCAA Men’s Basketball Second Round (Multiple)
  • March 23-24 – NCAA Sweet 16
  • March 25-16 – Elite 8
  • March 30 – Opening Day in MLB (Multiple cities, all 30 teams)
  • March 31-April 2 – NCAA Women’s Final Four (Dallas)
  • April 1 – Final Four (Houston, TX)
  • April 3 – NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game (Houston, TX)
  • April 6-9 – The Masters (Augusta, GA)
  • April 11-14 – NBA Play-In Tournament (Multiple Cities)
  • April 15 – NBA Playoffs Begin
  • April 17 – Patriots’ Day – Boston Marathon + Red Sox at 11am (Boston, MA)
  • April 17 – NHL Playoffs Begin
  • May 6 – Kentucky Derby – (Churchill Downs)
  • May 16 – NBA Draft Lottery –
  • May 18-21 – PGA Championship – (Oak Hill, Rochester, NY)
  • May 20 – The Preakness Stakes – (Baltimore, MD)
  • May 28 – Indy 500 – (Indianapolis, IN)
  • May 28 – French Open – (First Matches) – (Paris, France) – until 6/11

Clip and Save ⬆️

TIDBITS: Pick a job, any job. What would you rather do for gainful employment? If you are Secretary of Labor, a Cabinet position, reporting to the President of the United States of America OR become the head of the NHL Players Association? … Similarly, would you prefer to be the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association? … That is the question for former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and recently replaced Governor of Mass, Charlie Baker, who did not seek a third term after serving from 2015 to 2023. Both jobs are prestigious, yet thankless positions with much public scrutiny. The NHL Players association gig potentially pays the most while the NCAA President job has the most heavy-lifting to do, fighting off the influences of the “Power 5” NCAA football programs while juggling multiple issues, including Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) issues and the equal treatment of women within the collegiate framework. … The realities? WWYI can NOT see Baker living in Indianapolis nor Walsh living in Toronto or NYC. … Let’s see how this plays out.

MORE WORDS, PHRASES AND CLICHES TO AVOID: While We’re Young (Ideas) provided the STRONG recommendation to NOT use the word “Narrative” any longer in your written or verbal communications. While you read that piece of advice, you were also urged to stop “Unpacking” or having a “lot to unpack” from a situation. The advice came with a few other gems. … Today, a few more:

  • “Just like that”
  • Ball screen
  • “The crowd is electric”
  • “No Question”
  • True freshman
  • Bubble team
  • “The car’s running a little loose”
  • ‘Turnovers (or protecting the ball) will be the key”

Let’s play cliche BINGO at Super Bowl parties everywhere?

A PEBBLE FOR YOUR THOUGHTS: The PGA Tour made its way to the fabulous Monterrey Peninsula and 17 Mile Drive at Pebble Beach. Thursday was a gorgeous day until the winds kicked-in late in the first round. The scenic course layout prompted the question: Name the most beautiful golf courses in the USA? Here’s WWYI’s take on that open-ended question:

  1. Augusta National (Augusta, GA)
  2. Pebble Beach Golf Links (Pebble Beach, CA)
  3. Cypress Point (Monterrey, CA)
  4. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
  5. Oakmont CC (Chicago, IL)
  6. Seminole GC (Palm Beach, FLA)
  7. Winged Foot (Westchester, NY)
  8. Muirfield Village (Ohio)
  9. The Country Club (Brookline)
  10. Riviera Country Club (Pacific Palisades, CA)

Noteables: Torrey Pines (San Diego); The Plantation Course, (Kapalua, HI), Whistling Straits (Wisconsin); Bethpage Black, (Long Island, NY); Kiawah Island Golf Resort: The Ocean Course (South Carolina); Shadow Creek (Las Vegas, NV); Pinehurst No. 2 (North Carolina); Baltusrol (Lower) (Springfield, NJ).

Across the Pond?

  1. Old Course at St. Andrews
  2. Muirfield, East Lothian, Scotland
  3. Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland
  4. Turnberry, Scotland
  5. Royal St. George’s, Sandwich, England
  6. Royal Birkdale, Southport, England
  7. Carnoustie Golf Links is in Carnoustie, Angus, Scotland

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – Jan 29th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – On the NFL and Much More Important Things

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (File Photo)

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – First things first. The AFC Championship is NOT in Foxboro and the Patriots reportedly are pointing fingers at coach Bill Belichick, his assistant coaches and each other on the reasons why. The tail end of that sentence clearly answers the front end declaration. It’s time for a shake-up at Gillette and the re-hiring of Bill O’Brien will not be enough.

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

O’Brien returned to New England after a two-year stint as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama. O’Brien also had brief stints at Penn State as head coach in 2012-13 and a longer run with the head coach of the Houston Texans from 2014-20.

While the Patriots’ defense ranked No. 9 in Opponent Yards per Game and 11th in points allowed per game, it’s certainly the offensive side of the football that needs work. Looking at Special Teams, the Patriots ranked a league worst, according to ESPN’s DVOA (Defense adjusted-Value Over Average) and, the Patriots finished the 2022-23 NFL season at No. 16 in scoring and No. 26 in Yards per Game. Only Indianapolis, Chicago, Carolina, Tennessee, Houston and the LA Rams fared worse on gaining yards. In 3rd Down conversions, New England ranked No. 27 (of 32 NFL teams).

Belichick quickly addressed the issue, hiring O’Brien before the NFC/AFC Championship weekend. That will fill about 25% of the Patriots’ overall hole. The other 75% is on the players – the players on offense.

An interview with Captain Obvious floats the rumors the New York Jets will attempt to acquire longtime Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers just as they did in acquiring Green Bay’s Brett Favre in 2008. The Favre experiment lasted one season. Rodgers? Maybe two, but the trade would put New England at the bottom of the AFC East ladder predictions come September. (In 2022, New England (8-9) barely bested the J-E-T-S (7-10).

For New England, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, a 1,000+ yard rusher in 2022 will have high expectations as a 25-year old come 2023. RB Damien Harris spells Stevenson nicely, so the concentration for Belichick and O’Brien will be elsewhere.

Quarterback Mac Jones with his 84.9 QB rating over 14 games started in ‘22 will be in a make-it-or-break-it season. Bailey Zappe, who will turn 24 in April, is the No. 2 who will never be compared with Josh Allen of Buffalo or Patrick Mahomes of the KC Chiefs.

The NE receiving corps were abysmal. Jacobi Meyers (804 yards on 67 receptions); DeVante Parker (539 yards on 31 receptions); Kendrick Bourne (434 on 35) and tight end Henry Hunter (509 yards on 41 receptions) didn’t get the job done. Meyers had six TDs and the next three combined for six. The Patriots’ braintrust will need to beef up the WRs and TEs either through the free agency market or draft.

It won’t be until the WRs improve that any blame can be placed upon the shoulders of Mac Jones. Unless a minor miracle is performed at Patriot Place, Jones will be the started QB for 2023.

In the NFL Draft (April 27-29), the Patriots will seek help for the offensive line and for a deep-threat wide receiver. Of course Belichick never remains shy if there’s a top-notch corner available when the Patriots pick at No. 14.

That Patriots forecast leads us to Sunday’s NFC (SF 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles) and AFC (Cincinnati Bengals at KC Chiefs) Championship, arguably the best day of the year on the NFL schedule, unless you enjoy endless, two-week long pregame hype and endless $7-million dollar TV ads.

For those who enjoy a trip to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl or the first Thursday/Friday of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, next time, try the NFC/AFC doubleheader which comes along with lesser crowding, better games and some decent regular season hoops (College and NBA) games on Saturday.

From this armchair, the kiss of death for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals is that every talking head, every handicapper, former players, known sports gamblers – everybody – is picking a Philadelphia vs Cincinnati Super Bowl.

The lines as of Jan 28th – roughly 24 hours before kick-off:

  • Eagles (-2.5) over 49ers
  • Chiefs (-1.5) over Bengals

The pontificating pigskin public first saw the Eagles at (-1.5) while the Chiefs were getting (+1) on the opening.

The O/U for the Niners v Eagles opened at (45.5) and stands at (46.0).

The O/U for the Bengals at Chiefs opened at (46.5) and is up to (48).

Call me crazy, I like the Niners getting 2.5 and would not be afraid of the (+130) ML while I really like the KC Chiefs. Rumor has it a lot of “sharp” money came in on KC early.

KC will do or die by their secondary coverage of WRs Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. I think KC can keep Chase under wraps, maybe a TD. Higgins can be the deciding factor as Cincy QB Joe Burrows will hit the open man. RB Joe Mixon on short screens could be a factor more so than via his straight run game.

The emergence of RB Isiah Pacheco for the Chiefs and the sure-fire, can’t stop it QB Patrick Mahomes to TE Travis Kelce will be enough to guide the Chiefs at Arrowhead. That said, a re-injury to Mahomes’ high ankle sprain would be disastrous for KC.

For SF, it’s all about Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers’ solid defense to match Philly. Any wavering by the Eagles in the first half will bring the pressure of the “Linc” down upon a playoff inexperienced roster. The Niners will need (at least) six points from their defense.

It’s kick-off time at 3:00pm (ET) (FOX) at Philly and roughly 6:30pm, call it 7:00pm if the game runs long, at Kansas City on CBS.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The NBA announced that they’ll pick sides for the annual NBA All-Star Game right before the game begins. Besides watching the Consumer Products guys flip-out providing proper jerseys and numbers and the Courtside stat inputter have a canary typing in the players/teams into the computers, it should make for a lot of fun.

The bad news, it should result in more “three point shots” being chucked-up as the coaches won’t even have a single practice to put in a few offensive sets to run. The talent of the NBA players will rise when the coaches put in some offense being run by nearly every team, but may God bless the point guards if they can organize any kind of half-court game.

The knee-jerk when the offenses aren’t in sync is for the ball to go up from three-point-land in the Mike D’Antoni style of “Seven Seconds of Less.” That concept calls for a shot to go up before the defense gets back. In other words, get the shot when the 24-second shot clock reads … 18-17. Last February, Steph Curry hit (16) three-pointers, shooting 16-of-27 from behind the arc. He had 50 points.

The number(s) to beat are (90) attempts by Team LeBron in 2019 when the game had a record (167) three-point field goal attempts. Sheesh.

TID-BITS: A copy of “How Basketball Can Save the World,” by David Hollander magically appeared in the mailbox of WWYI on Friday. Funny how that happens, isn’t it? Upon a quick flip today, the book looks like a job very well done. I can’t wait to find time to delve deep and read every syllable, then re-read it all again. First thought was that the book should be REQUIRED reading for every collegiate Sociology and Sports Business Management class in the world. More to come.

They call them “The Joker(s)” because American fans have trouble pronouncing Denver Nuggets’ MVP candidate Nikola Jokic or tennis great Novak Djokovic who will face “the Greek Tzatziki” in Stefanos Tsitsipas at 3:30am (ET) this morning. Set your alarm clock or your iPhone alarms.

QUARTERLY REPORT: As will be the custom – as often as a quarterly basis, the investment wing of WWYI Enterprises will reveal its most recent plays in the market. Some are successful while others are not. We tip our hat and tap our ice hockey sticks to our mentor in the investment world, Ralph Kramden. Old Ralph boy made significant investments in a few beauties. Here are just a few:

  • No Cal Pizza
  • A Parking Lot Next to the Movie Theatre (How would he know it was a Drive-In)?
  • The Handy Housewife Helper (MUST WATCH here)

Here’s our Quarterly Portfolio:

  • Sizable Investment in a new Theatrical Show: Chartreuse Man Group
  • 10,000 Shares in: The Fire-and-Brimstone Tire Company
  • 100,000 Shares in: The Lava Fence (*clinical trial failed in Hawaii)
  • Controlling interest in Oscar Madison Square Garden Network

ONE SMALL STEP FOR HOMA, ONE GIANT LEAP for the PGA TOUR: Did you see the clip of PGA Tour pro Max Homa walking toward his ball on the 13th hole at Torrey Pines? If not, watch this and I’ll pick it up “on the other side.”

Twitter avatar for @GolfonCBS

Golf on CBS ⛳ @GolfonCBS
Mic’d up Max Homa ‼️🎤 “If I can hit this thing to 5 feet then I’m too good to be only 7 under.” 😂
HOME MIC’D UP:

First, let’s credit Max Homa for his participation and willingness to do an interview DURING his round of professional golf.

Secondly, credit the top notch interview skills of newly crowned golf commentator Trevor Immelman who made his CBS lead commentator debut this week. Add, equal praise for both Ian Baker-Finch and Frank Nobilo. With all three, the line of questioning was perfect for both a 1-handicap or a newcomer to the game of golf.

With the pressure applied to the PGA Tour by the LIV golf circuit, there will be more and more interaction with the PGA Tour players during their rounds, in addition to the usual before or after. It seems the players, as a group, realize the stakes have been raised and this is the time to forge cooperation with the Tour’s network partners.

Meanwhile, LIV Golf settled for a US television deal with the CW Network and moved their final event from Miami to Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) to take place November 3-5 – a good two months after the PGA Tour crowns its FEDEx CUP champion at the TOUR Championship to be played at East Lake in Atlanta (before the NFL season kicks-off).

WE LOVE THE TEAM VALUATIONS, HERE’s to the EPL:

Again, tip of the cap to our friends at Sportico for the hard work that goes into making these valuations, here’s the list of the Top 5 English Premier League clubs:

  1. Manchester United – $5.95 billion
  2. Liverpool – $4.71 billion
  3. Manchester City – $4.43 billion
  4. Arsenal – $3.6 billion
  5. Chelsea – $3.47 billion

The “average” Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise is worth $582 million. Not too shabby.

Parting Words

I DO NOT know where to start, so I’ll wing it on a topic far too important to take lightly. Better said, I’ll just try to do my best:

It wasn’t until about 2008 or so when I really learned there are some bad people in this everyday world, all with a single common denominator of evil overtaking them and their minds and actions. It’s prevalent in every single workplace, every field, every industry, in every single corner of the earth. Why? I do not know.

It took me 48 years to understand it and much was taught to me by my friend and former NBA colleague, Bob Delaney, who faced certain evils as a New Jersey State Trooper at the ripe age of 23, as he went undercover to try to bust up a major crime syndicate on the Jersey side of the Hudson. He wrote of it in his book, COVERT, recently re-printed as demand continued for a good true-crime book. Bob stressed they were just a bunch of “regular guys” who would bump off a delivery truck on the way to attend a First Holy Communion ceremony and then meet-up with each other for a Sunday family party.

Yes, I had heard about it. Yes, I had watched it unfold but as psuedo-comedy shows or motion pictures, such as “The Sopranos” or “Goodfellas.” I’d never heard it “live” like we saw on tape from a light pole in Memphis Friday night.

We – at the NBA – had a criminal rogue referee betray all we had done in our basketball lives, a wonderful force of like-minded people were all spreading the basketball gospel. Until THUD. A ref and his high school ‘friends” betting on the games. “GUILTY,” said the Judge.

“There are bad guys everywhere,” said Delaney to me as I was shaken to the core by someone who would undermine our game and all the work that was put-in over the years.

That basketball moment was important to me at the time, but this… this disgrace in Memphis … this total undermining of the entire law enforcement society built to protect us all … is disgusting and CRIMINAL.

Yes, I believe in the “innocent until proven guilty by a jury of your peers,” but damn, it’s on tape.

So, let the justice system do its job. The big Blue Shield has been exposed once again, evil overtaking the good of all the people of Memphis. The people who need their police to protect them, not kick them to death.

It burns me (and everyone on the right side of the law) up. It undermines and disappoints us to the highest degree possible.

What’s left? What can we do other than to pray for the people of Memphis, for the deceased (Mr. Tyre Nichols) and his family. Pray for peace and justice in Memphis at this precise time in our nation’s sorely blemished history.

Pray for healing. It’s not the answer but simply a remedy for the growing illness of evil.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Jan 22

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While We’re Young (Ideas) | Time Flies for Patriots and Sox

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Glance over your shoulder and 2018 doesn’t seem all that long ago. But five years in the NFL equates to a player’s career counted in dog years and Blake Bortles, Leonard Fournette and the Jacksonville Jags laying a 28-14 whoopin’ on the Pittsburgh Steelers is a long way back.

The Steelers battled back that January and Jaguars squeaked by to face the vaunted Patriots defeated Jacksonville, 24-20 to win the AFC Championship on January 21, 2018. The National Football League “Goliaths” somehow lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 41-33, that February but would bounce back a year later to win their second Super Bowl title in three years, their sixth title in the Tom Brady–Bill Belichick era.

Since then, the Jags built, re-built, sucked and re-built again with two of the best young players in the game today. Tanking a la carte.

How fragile it can be in the NFL.

Over at the old ballpark, the Boston Red Sox won four World Series titles from 2004 to 2018, that magical year at Fenway. Steve Pearce was the World Series and Mookie Betts was the MVP of the American League just five years ago.

A lifetime ago in Major League Baseball years, free agency and all. Old Dog years.

We have just 22 days until Pitchers & Catchers report to spring training and the scouting reports for the Sox project another possible last place finish in the AL East, a division loaded with talent, from the 99-win New York Yankees seemingly on the way up to the Wild Card holders Tampa Bay and Toronto to the immensely talented Baltimore Orioles, winners of 83 games last season.

The 2023 Sox?

One can predict ahead to the strength of a baseball team by looking straight up the middle. For Boston, because of the loss of SS Xander Bogaerts to free agency to the oft-injured Trevor Story, the men-in-the-middle will be challenged. Take a quick look at the depth chart:

  • Catcher: Reese McGuire
  • 2B: Christian Arroyo
  • SS: Kiké Hernandez
  • CF: Rob Refsnyder
  • SP: Chris Sale; Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta and – maybe – James Paxton

Suspect, at best. Cellar-dwellers, at worst.

So what do those stubborn and spoiled New Englanders do for their sports fix in 2023?

The Boston Bruins of the NHL are a league leading 36-5-4 with a whopping 76 points through 45 games (not including Saturday night). The Bruins are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and an astonishing 21-1-3 at TD Garden, never a fortress of Ws.

Bruins goalkeeper Linus Ullmark of Sweden is the favorite for the league’s Vezina Trophy for best goaltending with his 1.89 goals against average and his .937 save percentage, both figures topping NHL goaltenders.

Forward David Pastrnak leads Boston in scoring with 63 points, good enough to rank T-4th in the NHL. Pastrnak has 35 goals and seems to be warming up after a bit of a slow start to the 2022-23 season. Forwards Brad Marchand and team captain Patrice Bergeron returned for injuries, Bergeron was considering retirement as his longtime goalkeep Tuukka Raskhad decided to hang-up the skates in ‘22.

Forwards David Krejci (1,000 games into his career) and left wings Taylor Hall and Jake DeBrusk have picked up the scoring to round-out a very consistent offense – both home and on the road.

Some of this might be news to out-of-towners, but for Bostonians the buzz for a busy April-May-and possibly-June surround the Garden.

Across the Hall, the same goes for the Boston Celtics, league leaders in W-Ls, winners of nine-of-ten and nine in a row after gutting out a 121-118 OT win over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Thursday and a 106-104 win over Toronto on Saturday, January 21st, in a game that stayed locked at the final score for the final 1:13.

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is in a four player race for league MVP, along with international stars Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Doncic, an amazing stat considering only 25% of the NBA player rosters consist of international players. Joel Embiid of Philly by way of Cameroon, might be a distant fifth in the race.

The Celtics, after a 2022 NBA Finals loss to Golden State last summer, are primed, deep and ready for the next step. Only injuries might stand in their way and they are coming quite often. Of late, guard Marcus Smart, last season’s Defensive Player of the Year, and Robert Williams are both sidelined as of Saturday. Smart left the Cs game against the Raptors with an injured ankle while Williams Saturday hyperextended the same left knee he had surgery upon last March. Tatum has been playing through a sore left wrist and might skip some time as he did against the Raptors.

It’s a ways until the NBA All-Star Week in Salt Lake City and the NHL All-Star Game in sunny Sunrise, Florida. Until the mid-season classics are in the book and the dog-days of March play-out, the NBA and NHL playoff seedings are very much up for grabs. Only the health of the players can determine success come springtime.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Front Office Sports delved into the wonderful world of Pickleball after Major League Pickleball (we’re not joking) unveiled its A-list team of investors for its 24-team league. KC Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in on the action as are tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Chris Evert, nevermind supermodel and adidas influencer Heidi Klum.

Other investors include Major League Baseball pitcher Justin Verlander and his wife, the model and actress Kate Upton, German soccer star Mesut Ӧzil, former National Basketball Association stars Jeremy Lin and Dirk Nowitzki, and former NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald

Major League Pickleball also unveiled its final two franchises to be added to the league, with the St. Louis Shock and Orlando Squeeze joining ahead of the 2023 tournament/season starting this month.

The addition of the two new teams completes the expansion to 24 teams that the league announced in December. The Shock’s ownership group will be headed by Richard Chaifetz and his son Ross, while Ryan DeVos will front he new ownersship group of the Squeeze.

The DeVos family, who own the NBA’s Orlando Magic and Major League Soccer’s Orlando City, invested in the newly formed Pro Volleyball Federation through an ownership group for a new franchise in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

TID-BITS: New York-based venture capital firm Courtside Ventures is now launching its third fund, focusing on early-stage companies involved in sports, digital media, fitness and gaming. Courtside announced a new raise of $100m – much from current NBA team ownership groups.

NBA POWER RATINGS: This listing should probably await the NBA All-Star break, but here’s an early look as the second half of the season fast approaches:

  1. Boston Celtics
  2. Denver Nuggets
  3. Milwaukee Bucks
  4. Memphis Grizzlies
  5. Philadelphia 76ers
  6. Brooklyn Nets (injuries a factor)
  7. Sacramento Kings (winners of six straight)
  8. New Orleans Pelicans
  9. Cleveland Cavaliers
  10. Dallas Mavericks

Perennial NBA playoff qualifiers, like the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, LA Clippers and Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz, might be in trouble.

The upcoming NBA Trading Deadline (Thursday, February 9) could put some intrigue in the air around stalled franchises, like hot-start Portland (10-4 start, now sitting at 21-24).

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL POWER: The men’s college basketball conference championships and “March Madness” are on the horizon. Teams in the BIG 10, ACC, BIG EAST, Big 12 & Pac 12, SEC, American Athletic (just Houston, really), and the West Coast Conference (figuring Gonzaga will be there in the long haul) are all battling it out within conference. Here’s a short list of the teams to watch through the end of February

  1. Purdue
  2. Houston
  3. Kansas
  4. Alabama
  5. UCLA
  6. Xavier
  7. Texas
  8. Gonzaga
  9. Tennessee
  10. Virginia
  11. Arizona
  12. Iowa State
  13. Kansas State
  14. UConn
  15. TCU
  16. Auburn

There’s still a VERY long way to go. Don’t turn your backs on Duke, North Carolina, Marquette, Miami, Clemson and Providence. It’s 49 days until Selection Sunday.

NHL POWER RATINGS: Lastly, a quick look at the NHL’s best:

  1. Boston Bruins
  2. Carolina Hurricanes
  3. Toronto Maple Leafs
  4. New Jersey Devils
  5. Tampa Bay Lightning
  6. Dallas Stars
  7. Winnipeg Jets
  8. Seattle Kraken
  9. Vegas Golden Knights
  10. New York Rangers

Look out for those Rangers, while the Kings, Oilers, Caps, Wild, Penguins, Calgary and Avalanche are all within the realm of Stanley Cup Playoffs contenders in 2023.

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly Sunday Sports Notebook & Column, written by Terry Lyons. Each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city newsstand on Saturday night around 10pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a sports-filled compilation of interesting notes, news, quotes and quips. TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.

TL’s Sunday (Mostly) Sports Notes

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Examines “The Garden”

By TERRY LYONS

NEW YORK – Do you have a reuooooommme? (a.k.a. a room or, in German, zimmer).

I have a favorite reuoooooommme in New York City. It’s located atop Pennsylvania Station, 31st-to-33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenue. It comes with a view and memories. More memories than the human mind can hold. It’s the World’s Greatest Arena and that’s no exaggeration. From when we all can remember as a little kids, the boxing publicity and great Public Address man, the late John Condon, reminded me of the fact. Condon was right every time.

Madison Square Garden is my favorite place in the world, edging out Fenway Park in Boston and the towns of Chatham and Osterville, and my home sweet home near Boston, Massachusetts. Fenway Park is a gift, one of only two neighborhood and old-time ballparks remaining with Wrigley Field in Chicago being the other.

Fenway is my happy place, whether the Red Sox are World Series Champions or cellar-dwellers. You can count on Fenway and you can count on baseball every spring and summer. Sometimes Fenway Park switches from baseball to college football or to its Summer Concert Series. If you can see the likes of Paul McCartney on a nice summer night at Fenway, just do it.

The high ratings for the two Cape Cod towns is self explanatory for anyone who has set foot on our sandy jewels, on the coast. The only place that can compete in the Northeast is Ditch Plains in Montauk.

But that brings us back to New York and the Garden. In fact, you can step on a Long Island Rail Road train in the town of Montauk and ride all the way (117 miles) to the engineering wonder of Penn Station and The Garden. Even on the coldest day of winter, if you run from your car to the train, you don’t even need a coat, as you can take a series of escalators and steps right to the ticket windows at MSG. State the same for hundreds of other routes – whether they be Metro North, Subways from the Bronx to the far reaches of Brooklyn or Queens – fans can get to The Garden.

Which brings me to this week’s notes column and Friday night’s Billy Joel Concert. The Garden just announced that this July’s concert by the Bronx-born, Hicksville, Long Island reared Joel is scheduled to be his 92nd monthly and 138th all-time performance at Madison Square Garden. He’s been playing his monthly residence at The Garden since January 2014 – nine years ago – and says he’ll keep playing “as long as the demand continues.” The shows sell out utilizing every inch, never mind seat in the building and come complete with “Garden-sized” ticket prices ($97.00-to-$1,090.60+) and $20.00 a beer pops to the wallet which ring-up more money in one night than Joel made in many of his years climbing to a 1999 Rock Hall of Fame inductee.

He’s won everything from Grammys to TONYs to Kennedy Center honors to American Music Awards, among many others.

So why all the fuss about Billy Joel in a Sports Notes column? Joel has played Citified, Yankees and Shea Stadiums, the latter the venue for a terrific show (and DVD), “The Last Play at Shea.” He’s played Fenway, Wrigley and Camden Yards. He’s even played the Notre Dame Stadium and the Melbourne Cricket Grounds in Australia. You name the ballpark, and he’s sold-it-out and some. Throughout 2023, he’ll play a series of outdoor shows with Fleetwood Mac’s siren and songstress, Stevie Nicks, including a summertime stop at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. His only European stop this summer will be at Hyde Park in London.

Joel’s Friday night show at MSG joins a long list of personal favorite moments at a personal favorite place.

But, taking it a step further, here’s a couple listings of my personal favorite moments at MSG, a list that might fluctuate, depending on my old but vivid memories “from when I wore a younger man’s clothes.”

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TL’s List of Favorite Madison Square Garden Memories: Yes, I was there!

  • The 1971 National Invitational Tournament is a great way to start my two lists as it was the first time I stepped foot in the “new” Garden which opened in February 1968. St. John’s and 15 other highly ranked college basketball teams played first round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals, all at MSG. We attended most sessions, with my oldest brother, the late Timothy Lyons usually driving to Queens Plaza in Elmhurst and then taking the subway (now the “R” train) into the City. We saw a young Julius Erving and UMass, a strong Providence Friars with Coach (the late) Dave Gavitt and Ernie D (DiGregorio), and semi-finalists Duke and St. Bonaventure along with finalists Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina with Coach (the late) Dean Smith with LI Lutheran’s Bill Chamberlaingaining NIT MVP honors for Carolina. (March 1971)
  • A year later, St. John’s reached the semi-finals of the 1972 NIT once again but lost in a two-point heartbreaker to Niagara while Tom McMillen took MVP honors for NIT champion Maryland, 31-point winners over Niagara in the final. (March 1972)
  • The Concert for New York stands out as a tremendous night. The show-stoppers were The Who with Roger Daltry, Pete Townshend, bass John Entwistle, drummer Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son) and pinch-hitting keyboardist Jon Carin performing the greatest rock n’ roll set of the night and maybe a performance that can stand up historically to Freddie Mercury and Queen at Live Aid or Prince practicing at his Paisley Park studios on a Tuesday afternoon, not to mention his work center stage at Royal Albert Hall, playing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” in a tribute to The Beatles’ George Harrison. At the 2001 Concert for New York, only a month or so after the attack on the Twin Towers, The Who were forced to play mid-way through the show because Entwistle had previously booked a solo show at B.B. King’s in Times Square. There was no foolin’ around as The Who player four of their best songs, rocking a sold out Garden and providing thousands of Fire Fighters, Cops and other first responders a chance to sing, dance, applaud and smile for the first time since the night of September 10th that year. They played:
    • Who Are You?
    • Baba O’Riley
    • Behind Blue Eyes
    • Won’t Get Fooled Again

John “The Ox” Entwistle passed away suddenly in June 2002.

  • The 1998 NBA All-Star Game at The Garden is mostly remembered for then 19-year old Kobe Bryant (RIP) challenging game MVP Michael Jordan, but it’s on this list for a different reason. At the break, the NBA pulled off one, if not THE greatest sports halftime show of all-time when they shutdown Broadway and had the cast of every theatrical hit musical on hand and in full costume to do an incredible medley of songs. An impossible sound engineering miracle, it will never be repeated and was a “shake your head in disbelief moment” as King Wally, Mike Walczewski introduced The Broadway All-Stars. (MUST visit HERE).
  • A total luck-out delivered my all-time favorite New York Rangersmemory when longtime NYR goalkeeper, Eddie Giacomin, was waived by the team. As fate would have it, Giacomin was picked-up off waivers by the Detroit Red Wings and they were scheduled to play the Rangers at The Garden on Sunday, November 2, 1975 – two days after the waiver claim. Long before that, we had acquired four tickets – in the Greens – to the Red Wings at Rangers game. Giacomin, wearing a red No. 31 instead of his usual home white No. 1 for the Rangers, started in goal and the Rangers’ fans let it be known who they were rooting for that night. Giacomin led the Red Wings to a 6-4 win over the NYR while the MSG crowd rooted for Detroit all night long, even booing the Rangers who scored. As an Islanders fan, it just made my day.
  • St. John’s vs. Duke in a midseason double overtime thriller (January 24, 1999) became the best regular season game many of the players had ever competed in, and both coaches – Mike Krzyzewski of No. 2 Duke and the overmatched Mike Jarvis of the No. 8 Johnnies said the same. St. John’s swingman Bootsy Thornton was unstoppable, totaling 40 points but Duke, with Elton Brand (16-12 and 7) and company taking a 92-88 national televised victory back to Durham.
  • Syracuse defeated UConn (127-117) in a Six Overtime BIG EAST tournament nightcap which took 3 hours and 46 minutes to complete. The quarter-final victory vaulted Syracuse to a win vs. West Virginia on Friday night and to the Big East final when they lost to Louisville. The Orange did make the Sweet 16 of the NCAA’s before losing to Oklahoma. (March 12-13, 2009)
  • St. John’s won the 1983 BIG EAST Conference championship and Madison Square Garden became the home of the BIG EAST forever. The first year, 1980, the BIG East staged its conference tournament in Providence, much to the ease of Commissioner Dave Gavitt’s home office. Syracuse took the honors. The following two years, the season ending tourney was held at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse and the Hartford Civic Center, respectively. When Chris Mullin and the Johnnies won at The Garden, everyone in the conference knew something special was on hand. The BIG EAST tournament has been at MSG ever since and the long list of incredible games and memories is far too long for this column. It is – no doubt – my favorite event of the year.
  • More Concerts than I can even Remember: Yes, I feel both spoiled and fortunate at the same time, but concerts – like the 12-12-12 event for Sandy Hurricane relief, multiple shows featuring Eric Clapton, including a once in a lifetime CREAM show with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce, both since passed away, tons of Bruce Springsteen, U2, multiple shows by the greatest band, The Rolling Stones (RIP Charlie), The Grateful Dead (once with Bruce Hornsby on the keyboards), R.E.M., Dave Matthews, Phil Collins, and, of course, The Allman Brothers.
  • The show that stands out the most? It’s U2 with a series of shows from October 24-27, 2001, 43 days after the terrorist attacks that took down the World Trade Center, Pentagon and killed good, innocent passengers and crew of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Ohio. When Bono grabbed his guitar, draped his microphone stand so delicately with the USA Flag, we knew it was coming. The simplest gesture of scrolling the name of every person killed by the terrorists on a black screen to the tunes of ONE which led into WALK ON brought us all to tears. U2 repeated the tribute at the 2002 NFL Super Bowl. It was powerful on the global stage, but seemingly intimate at The Garden. The greatest place in the world.

TL’s List of Favorite Madison Square Garden Memories: Seen on TV:

  • New York Knicks team captain Willis Reed limped out to the court to join his teammates in warm-ups, then start Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Championship. Reed hit his first two jumpers against Wilt Chamberlainand the Los Angeles Lakers sending The Garden into a frenzy never seen before or afterwards. Reed led the Knicks to a one-sided 113-99 victory, not scoring again in the game but lifting guard Walt Frazier’s confidence enough for Frazier to score 36 points with 19 assists and seven rebounds. (May 8, 1970)

Twitter avatar for @NBAHistory

@NBAHistory
“I think we see Willis coming out!” On May 8, 1970, Willis Reed fought through injury to start Game 7 in the @nyknicks‘ NBA Finals-clinching win over the Lakers at MSG. #NBAVault
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  • After losing the first game of the 1973 NBA Championship Series to the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Knicks took four straight games, including two at The Garden. The defensive-minded Knicks with six Hall of Fame players on the roster and Red Holzman as coach, won 87-83 and 103-98 to win the title, the first for Jerry Lucas and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe. (May 6 & 8, 1973)
  • The Knicks scored the final 19 points of the game with a 19-0 run to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks, 87-86. Earl Monroe led New York with 22 points as the Knicks outscored defending champion Bucks with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 29-to-12 in the final quarter. Afterward, NYK forward Bill Bradley said it was the first and only time in his life he could see “sound” as The Garden crowd rocked and prompted the victory. (November 18, 1972)
  • Smokin’ Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali in “The Fight of the Century” at a jam packed, sold out Garden. (March 8, 1971)
  • New York Islanders forward J.P. Parise scored a goal (4-3) against the favored Rangers 11 seconds into overtime to eliminate the Rangers and advance the Isles in their best of three 1975 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff series. (April 11, 1975)
  • The many tremendous Knicks vs (then) Baltimore Bullets playoff series games, as a whole, stand out amongst my greatest memories of the NBA, and the Garden. Home court advantage mattered.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Geez? With the list above, do we even need “Notes” this weekend?

NFL POWER RANKINGS for the PLAYOFFS: Here’s my final list of the season and with it, are predictions for the 2023 Super Bowl participants:

  1. Kansas City Chiefs
  2. San Francisco 49ers
  3. Buffalo Bills
  4. Cincinnati Bengals
  5. Dallas Cowboys
  6. Philadelphia Eagles
  7. LA Chargers

That’s where we’ll draw the line.

PITCHERS & CATCHERS: We can begin the 30-day countdown. A notebook in the next 2-3 weeks will be dedicated to Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox, Free Agency thoughts and – maybe, just maybe a VERY early set of predictions.

Parting Words & Music

With the sudden passing of the great guitar legend, Jeff Beck (1944-2023), readers of this column will not be surprised that this week’s Parting Words & Music section of the weekly notes is dedicated to him. Beck died from a fatal case of bacterial meningitis, a dangerous disease which attacked the membranes of his brain and spinal cord. He was 78 years old.

Beck’s guitar influence is far reaching. He was made famous by joining the Yardbirds to replace the current greatest living guitarist and whole package, Eric Clapton and later when he teamed up with Rod Stewart in the Jeff Beck Band.

There were dozens upon dozens of essential Jeff Beck songs to choose from, each with guitar perfection. As you might expect, there’s a connection between the notebook leading this column and the song selected for this segment. “I couldn’t let the night go by without doing something by Jeff, said Joel as he played this gospel induced epic by Curtis Mayfield on Friday night, January 13, 202 at Madison Square Garden, my Roooooommme.

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly Sunday Sports Notebook & Column, written by Terry Lyons. Each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city newsstand on Saturday night around 10pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a sports-filled compilation of interesting notes, news, quotes and quips. TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – brought to you by Digital Sports Desk.

A “reeeuuucooooommme” with a Dog:

Guten Tag

While We’re Young (Ideas) is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

 

TL’s New Year’s Sports Notes | Jan. 1 ’23

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – I had a dream. No, I’m not ripping-off the historic civil rights speech of August, 1963 by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. because I really had a dream this week. It was nowhere near as visionary as Dr. King’s speech and its plot was not prophetic. In fact, the dream speaks as much of times gone by but it might illustrate hopes for the future.

I rarely remember my dreams. They are always as clear as Cristal Brut Champagne upon my awakening, but then, the scene and story is gone in an instant. Some say it’s what those who suffer from dementia or amnesia experience everyday of their lives. That complex and fragile human brain of ours, it’s as frightening as it is amazing.

Tuesday, I awoken fresh from a scene of a major motion picture being played out with only once screen in the world, in my sleepy but active mind. I was at the airport and ready to board a plane, a connection home from being on Air Force One where I sat with former First Lady Michele Obama. President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama were attending to other things as we (an NBA entourage) returned from staging another international exhibition game and a series of Basketball without Borders clinics.

The location wasn’t clear but from the mood on AF1, it was quite a successful trip.

We were all in the present, but the scene invoked personal memories of days of future past, days that don’t seem possible with recent foreign relations gone so bad between the United States and China and with Russia versus the countries of the free world. Not all that long ago, we experienced great days of government diplomacy side-by-side with sports diplomacy.

Ping pong diplomacy began in the very early 1970s and continued until 1972 when thenUSA President Richard Nixon made a trip to China in an attempt to establish relations and gain leverage toward negotiating a peace settlement in Viet Nam. The NBA joined the effort in 1979 when the then-Washington Bullets – the reigning NBA champions – accepted an invitation from China’s leader Deng Xiaoping to play two summertime exhibition games in Shanghai and Beijing. The trip came just months after then-USA President Jimmy Carter made efforts to ease tension in the region. The Bullets/Wizards celebrated the effort 30 years later with a return to China spearheaded by franchise governor Abe Pollin.
NBA China Games of 2004 (Getty Images)

The NBA continued its efforts for international relations with multiple players association summer trips to conduct clinics and the NBA reciprocating with a full month-long training effort with the 1985 NBA China Friendship Tour, a combination of practices led by Red Auerbach, Pete Newell, Ed Badger and Bill Blair, along with a full schedule of scrimmages featuring the Chinese National Team against NBA clubs,  including an early glimpse of a rookie named Michael Jordan, during training camps.

Now, with Russia at war with Ukraine, it seems impossible and so long ago that the NBA was helping young basketball players representing the then-USSR National Team mature inviting six players to attend the Atlanta and Los Angeles summer leagues to team-up with franchise owner Ted Turner’s Atlanta Hawks in the summer of 1987, a few months before the NBA staged its first McDonald’s Open exhibition in Milwaukee with the same USSR National Team, Tracer of Milan (Italy) and the host Bucks.

In 1988, it was the Hawks, once again, furthering the Glasnost efforts of Russia’s with the late Mikhail Gorbachev a few years before the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and eventual independence for Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia in the Baltics, along with dozens of other break-away countries, many with basketball players who once competed for the USSR.

It seemed the NBA’s version of glasnost was paving the way for Soviet glasnost and players such as Arvydas Sabonis, Sarunas Marciulionis, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Bazarevich, Yaroslav Korolev and Andrei Kirilenko found there way to NBA rosters soon after. Volkov, the minister of sport for the Ukraine, is now enlisted in the army and fighting for his country.
When Lithuania gained independence, they fielded a Bronze Medal team at the Olympics Games in Barcelona, Spain (file photo)

By 2001, the NBA and FIBA (the International Federation for Fasketball) worked together to reunite the provinces which made up the former country of Yugoslavia – a national team that played as one in the 1988 McDonald’s Open in Madrid, Spain. During that time, a war tore apart Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Macedonia. The 2001 Basketball without Borders camp reunited the young campers with NBA players who had not competed together since the 1990 FIBA Worlds.

A year later, the same concept worked to bring together players from Greece and Turkey, at a July 4-7, 2002 camp staged in Istanbul.

By 2004, it was back to China for the historic NBA China Games with 7-4, No. 1 draft pick Yao Ming playing for the Houston Rockets. By 2006, the LA Clippers played a pair of games in Moscow, an exhibition now impossible to imagine.

When you total it up, the NBA has played 155 exhibition games against international teams and 33 regular season games outside the US and Canada. There’ll be another this season when the Bulls and Pistons head to Paris on January 19th.

The 188+ games certainly spread the basketball gospel around the world, helped fuel enough talent to make-up 25% of the NBA’s players while driving the league’s television and consumer products to a global audience of fans.

Looking back at Tuesday’s dream, one can only hope it was the return trip of a world peace conference rather than merely a basketball game or clinic. But as Dr. King said in his famous speech, “Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you, my friends, we have the difficulties of today and tomorrow.”

With just a little help of a bouncing basketball, unrealistic as it is, the wish for 2023 is for WORLD PEACE to ring throughout the Continents this New Year.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As WABC-TV great Roger Grimsby might say … some general and sports business notes to bring in the New Year of 2023.

LOOK BACK AT 2022 FROM WWYI: Here’s just a few key things we were writing about in 2022:

January 2022:

  • Jan. 2 – Happy New Year
    • Lucky “7” DIGGIES of Sports
    • Fix/Six for MLB
  • Jan. 9 – Beijing ‘22
    • NBA LaunchPad ‘22
    • Willie O’Ree Jersey Retirement
  • Jan. 16 – FIBA InterContinental Cup
    • NLL Records (Dan Dawson)
    • SONY Open – PGA Tour
  • Jan. 23 – Tribute to NYI No. 9 – Clark Gillies – RIP
  • Jan. 30th – Tom Brady Retired from NFL (only to return)

February 2022

  • Feb. 6 – 10th Year Anniversary of Linsanity
    • Jose Paneda Won National Sports Media (1st ever Hispanic)
  • Feb. 13 – Bruins G Tuukka Rask Retired
    • LA Rams vs Cincy Bengals Super Bowl Preview
  • Feb. 20 – MLB Lockout Becomes Reality – No Spring Training
    • Greatest Voices in Rock History
    • March Madness Preview
  • Feb. 27 – Russia Invaded Ukraine; Ex-ATL Hawks forward Volkov off to War

March 2022

  • March 6 – PGA TOUR Player Impact Program
    • Brittney Griner Detained in Russia
  • March 13 – BIG EAST Tourney at MSG
    • Winningest Coaches (Gregg Popovich Joins List)
  • March 20 – “Winning Time” Loses
    • Jerry West defended from Coast-to-Coast
  • March 27 – March Madness
    • Move4Heather – Efforts to Raise $ for Cs Veep Heather Walker

April 2022

  • April 3 – Baseball is Back
    • *Coach K Retires from Duke
  • April 10 – Red Sox Home Opener/Boston Marathon
    • The Masters
  • April 17 – Sox Fans Hit Panic Button (They were correct!)
    • Kareem Enters Full Time Writing Gig
  • April 24 – Grim Reaper Hits NHL: Gillies, Bossy and LaFleur – RIP
    • Rumble Ponies!

May 2022

  • May 1 – Team Bullpen Perfect Games
    • Lefty vs The PGA Tour
  • May 8 – NBA Playoffs – NO More Bubble
    • Run for the Roses
  • May 15 – Big Bob Lanier – RIP
    • Sox in Basement
  • May 22 – SBJ Sports Business Awards
    • Anniversary of Jeffrey Goldberg’s 2019 Johns Hopkins speech

June 2022

  • June 5 – Boston’s Al Horford leads Celtics; Seeks Ring
    • Pro Sports Franchises = $2-$4 billion+
  • June 12 – Steph Curry/Coach Bob McKillop
    • NHL Stanley Cup to Colorado
  • June 19 – GS Warriors earn 2022 NBA Championship
    • PGA Tour vs. LIV golf rivalry and plot thickens
  • June 26 – 50th Anniversary of Title IX
    • SCOTUS Turn USA sports upside down

July 2022

  • July 3 – NBA Salary Cap – “Damn the Pandemic, Full Speed Ahead”
    • Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
  • July 10 – Red Sox Season At the Half
    • Greg “The Shark” Norman in Shark-Infested waters with LIV
  • July 17 – MLB All-Star Game
    • The Open
  • July 24 – Baseball Hall of Fame Inductions
    • JJ Reddick Doubles Down on knucklehead viewpoint/ “Plumbers and Firemen” comment
  • July 31 – State of Boston Sports Report
    • MLB Trade Deadline

August 2022

  • August 7 – Bill Russell Passes; NBA Mourns
    • MLB Mourns passing of the great broadcaster Vin Scully
  • August 14 – Serena Williams – The GOAT At the US Open
    • 20 Year Impact of the USA Basketball Dream Team
  • August 21 – NWSL franchises Approach $100m value
    • PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs Come down to the Final
  • August 28 – Red Sox 2022 Season is In the Dumps
    • Russian athletes blocked from Competitions

September 2022

  • September 4 – LIV in Boston
    • Boston College Football Season Lost in Week 1 (Rutgers wins at The Heights)
  • September 11 – Basketball Hall of Fame Inducts Manu Ginobili, others
    • Dick Ebersol Tribute at Basketball Hall of Fame
  • September 18 – Sports for Fun Weekend
    • Suns’ team owner Robert Sarver fined $10m and suspended
  • September 25 – The ‘window” to win a title
    • Robert Sarver of Phoenix meet Ime Udoka of Boston – Bye-bye

October 2022

  • October 2 – Ranking of NFL Fan bases
    • Various Basketball Halls of Fame / FIBA
  • October 9 – BC’s Red Bandana Legacy
    • Sports and Rock’s Most Underrated
  • October 16 – NHL Season Preview
    • Brentford futbol and “Hey Jude”
  • October 23 – Memories from 1969
    • NBA Preview and Predictions (Yes, GS was in there)
  • October 30 – NBA Discipline & Players, Teams
    • Dustin Johnson Pocketed $18m

November 2022

  • November 6 – College Basketball Preview
    • Houston Astros – World Series Champions
  • November 13 – MLB Free Agent Market
    • RIP – Jane Gross/Fred Hickman
  • November 20 – Giving Thanks in Sports
    • Willett’s Point NYFC Project – Good Luck in the Muck
  • November 27 – Sports Acronyms
    • MLB Free Agency Signings Begin

December 2022

  • December 4 – College Football Playoff Set
    • World Cup Preview – Qatar Concerns
  • December 11 – WNBA’s Brittney Griner Return to USA
    • BC vs BU Ice Hockey Rivalry
  • December 18 – Massachusetts Sports Gambling – Lawmakers Keep Waiting
    • Minnesota Vikings Record NFL Comeback
  • December 25 – Merry Christmas | Shelby Strother Message\
    • NBA Franchise Valuations
    • Record cold weather for NFL weekend

*STORY of the YEAR 2022 – The Retirement of Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Dec. 18th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) – Guv’nah Baker’s Gotta Work!

Massachusetts State House in Boston (File Photo)

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. That is the short round-up coming from the Massachusetts State House this week just as Christmas Day draws near.

  1. The Good: After an admirable eight-year stint as the Governor of the Commonwealth, Charlie Baker, a former Harvard basketball player, announced during the final days of his lame-duck stretch that he’d be moving on to a very challenging job.
  2. The Bad: In 2018, a full year after the Supreme Court of the United States took-on the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act case pitting the State of New Jersey against the NCAA, with support from the major North American professional sports leagues, Governor Baker said he believed the Commonwealth should “look into” the prospects of legalizing sports gambling in Massachusetts. In January 2019, Baker announced that he planned to file legislation to permit Massachusetts residents to wager on professional sports, including online-only sports pool operators, stating “Expanding Massachusetts’ developing gaming industry to include wagering on professional sports is an opportunity for Massachusetts to invest in local aid while remaining competitive with many other states pursuing similar regulations.” … As that statement was made, the popular Fantasy Sports company, Draft Kings, set up shop in Boston and sprinkled large amounts of their shareholders’ money to sponsoring everything from thoroughbred races to luxury golf course hospitality venues at the PGA Tour event at the TPC Boston.By May 14, 2018, the SCOTUS ruled in favor of New Jersey. The high court ruling did not surprise a soul as both the NBA and NHL had completely pivoted on their prior public posture, more of less stating, “if we can’t beat ‘em, we might as well join them,” although an ill-stated “integrity fee” tax was proposed and batted down in public forum. Only a month after the SCOTUS ruling, then Governor Phil Murphy was placing 2018 World Cup wagers at Monmouth Park. Murphy, who succeeded Governor Chris Christie as both wrote legislation and fully supported New Jersey’s legally secure lawsuit against PASPA and the rights of all States to have legal gambling instead of some being left on the outside looking in.A month. It took all of a month for New Jersey to activate and that first to market approach led New Jersey to process $1.1 billion in sports gambling transactions in November 2022, up from $1.06 billion in October, 2022, according to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reports.

    Meanwhile Massachusetts remained stalled after the State House and Senate each came up with dueling legislative rulings on how and when to institute the new Laws. It took marathon sessions in July 2022 to finally get a proper law passed and ready for Governor Bakers’ signature.

    In the 2018-2022 span, 33 other States passed laws allowing sports gambling. Massachusetts was still bickering over the legality of placing wagers on in-State collegiate sports (mainly football and basketball) but split the difference by allowing legalized sports gambling on Massachusetts school teams only when they compete in Bowl games, playoffs and national tournaments. That ruling came much to the delight of “Joey the Bookmaker” and “George the off-shore and online bookie” thriving at collegiate dorms and off-campus housing located at every college and university in the Commonwealth.

  1. What could be uglier? Governor Baker, this week, agreed to terms on an employment deal to head the National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA. Baker is scheduled to replace outgoing NCAA President Mark Emmert, who served from November 2010 until Baker takes over on March 1, 2023 – just as March Madness will begin.
  2. Baker’s legislative, management and consensus-building skills will be tested from day one. He will be entering a shark-infested playground where football and basketball generate billions in revenue, but the NCAA must oversee each and every sport for the good of their beloved student-athletes. That is especially so for Baker to oversee equal rulings, funding facilities and eventually equal Name, Image and Likeness deals for NCAA athletes to generate revenue utilizing their own personal assets and interests, benefitting from on and off the playing field interests in their lives and personalties.
  3. A recommendation for the Governor before he sets foot in the NCAA offices is to meet with BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman, the only person in the USA with proper, grounded and legal knowledge of what works in both pro and collegiate sports. After that? I’ll reserve another 10-12 suggestions and meet-ups for a reasonable but well-deserved consulting fee.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: NFL history was made in the past 24 hours as the Minnesota Vikings came back from a 33-point halftime deficit to defeat the Indianapolis Colts, 39-36, in overtime. The Vikings were kept scoreless until there were only 8:25 left in the third quarter of Saturday’s triple-header on the NFL Network. When Vikings PK Greg Joseph drilled a 40-yard FG in the overtime, it marked a 39-3 scoring run for the NFC North-leading Vikings.

RECORDS MADE TO BE BROKEN: Going into Saturday’s game, THESE great games were the prior greatest NFL comebacks, as chronicled by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Of course, back on January 3, 1993, Buffalo’s Frank Reich led the Buffalo Bills to a 32-point comeback win over the then-Houston Oilers. The comeback was highlighted by Reich’s four late TD passes, one to WR Don Beebe and three to WR Andre Reed. … New England football fans are fond of a 28-3 mantra taken from the Patriots’ 25-point comeback during Super Bowl LI in Houston back on February 5, 2017. Although the Patriots and Falcons were tied with 104 rushing hards, then-New England QB Tom Brady out-passed ATL’s Matt Ryan 442 yards to 240 yards as the Falcons attempted to stall and protect their 21-3 halftime lead. After letting up the first touchdown of the second half to give ATL their 28-3 lead, Brady and the Patriots went on to out-score the Falcons 19-0 in the fourth quarter to earn the win, 34-28.

GOOD NEWS WHEN THE CAPS GO UP: The Premier Hockey Federation announced a significant salary cap increase for next season, doubling the amount of compensation to players from $750,000 to $1.5 million per team in 2023-24. In the league’s ninth season, the rise in team player salary will be the third salary cap increase and represents a 900% growth since 2021 when the team salary cap was just $150,000 per team.

“This historic salary cap increase reflects the strength of our league and developing business model, and supports an enhanced player experience that over the last year when full healthcare benefits, facility upgrades, league expansion, and a record 84-game schedule, were introduced,” said Reagan Carey, PHF Commissioner.

ARMY vs. NAVY in FOXBORO: The countdown to kickoff for the 2023 Army vs. Navy Game, presented by USAA officially began the day after Army’s 20-17 defeat of Navy in overtime for the 2022 game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. In 2023, America’s Game is scheduled for the New England region for the first time in its 124-year history. There are several notable milestones for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States leading up to the game, including the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. … The lead-up and festivities will be plentiful but we’ll opt for a Boston “T-Party,” instead.

A BIG, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD BIG EAST THOUGHT: St. John’s (11-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) defeated Florida State, 93-79, in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Florida. For the Johnnies’ who are experiencing their best start, noting the victory marked just the sixth time in the last four decades the Johnnies navigated their out-of-conference play with only one loss. … With the tough BIG EAST schedule ahead, it might be Sunday, January 29th before St. John’s can expect to earn their next victory. That’s when the Georgetown Hoyas visit St. John’s for one of only four regular season appearances at Madison Square Garden. … St. John’s was picked sixth in the BIG EAST preseason poll by the conference’s coaches.

ORR: Sincere condolences to the family of the late Louis Orr, a formidable competitor against St. John’s as a Syracuse player and then as head coach and an assistant with multiple NCAA teams. Orr was 64, and his cause of death was cancer, according to reports.

PARTING WORDS & MUSIC: In the spirit of Christmas and giving, this week’s Words & Music is inspired by Jeff Kazee who held his (hopefully, forever) annual Holiday Concert/Recital this week at the Rockwood Music Center on Allen Street in New York’s East Village.

Kazee will start us off with one of the great Christmas Songs of all-time. In fact, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. The story of how it came to be is quite legendary, as Producer Lee Mendelson, a fan of jazz music, heard Vince Guaraldi’s work on the radio in San Francisco and asked him to create a song for the animated documentary to be produced for air on CBS on December 9, 1965. The song Christmas Time is Here went from being scribbled words and music on the back on an envelope to worldwide fame. Here it is in honor and memory of Charles Shultz

THE GIFTS OF THE BRUCES: Following Jeff’s lead of covering some of the greats while mixing in some of his original work, this week’s column is recognizing two songs written by superstars but gifted to other for their initial debut.

Without hesitation, I list this epic song as my all-time favorite as a Bruce Springsteen-penned for Patti Smith to make famous. What a gift it was!

This version includes a house band named U2, headed by Bono and joined by Springsteen himself.

Lastly, one of my faves – if not THE FAVE, Bruce Hornsby wrote a song that Don Henley made famous. “The End of the Innocence” is the lead single and title track from Don Henley’s third solo studio album, released in 1989. The song peaked at No. 8 and is performed often by both Henley and Hornsby in concert. They co-produced the sound track and the whole music-loving world can remember the gift. Here’s a 2019 version performed by Hornsby and YMusic in Brooklyn, New York. (I was fortunate enough to see Bruce perform this only a few nights earlier here in Boston. It just might be the greatest-ever performance of this incredible song. Keep in mind, Henley won the 1989 GRAMMY for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for his rendition. Hornsby took it up a notch in terms of musical arrangement to a degree of difficulty seldom reach by anyone on the face of the Earth.

THIS IS IT, A PERFECT LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY GIFT: Whether it be for your favorite sports fan or a die-hard fan of the PGA Tour: While We’re Young (Ideas) is a weekly Sunday Sports Notebook & Column, written by Terry Lyons. Each notebook harkens back to the days when you’d walk over to the city newsstand on Saturday night around 10pm to pick-up a copy of the Sunday papers. Inside, just waiting, was a sports-filled compilation of interesting notes, news, quotes and quips. TL’s Sunday Sports Notes are brought to you by Digital Sports Desk. Subscriptions to the weekly column and to our six-days-a-week PGA Tour Brunch are the perfect gift for your friends or family members who love pro golf. PGA Tour Brunch was published through the completion of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and will return the first week of January, 2023.

NOTE: Next week, we’ll be celebrating Christmas Eve but at 10pm that night, look for a special edition of While We’re Young (Ideas). After you get it, click the one-year subscription gift bonus offer. HERE

TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook | Dec 4

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – USC lost and TCU lost!

USC is OUT while TCU is in.

The Georgia Bulldogs smoked LSU, 50- 30, to take the SEC championship and lock the No. 1 seed in the upcoming College Football Playoffs while the Purdue Boilermakers vs. Michigan Wolverines Big Ten Championship game was underway as this missive posted its “Bulldog” edition, the Wolverines with a 14-13 lead at the half.

There will be tons of speculation and reasoning for the CFP committee to toss-around the virtues of Ohio State, Alabama, and TCU to decide the final two teams to qualify. Ohio State and Alabama are probably the best two teams of the five, but TCU’s season-long resume might qualify the Horned Frogs to No. 3 as ‘Bama, Tennessee, Clemson and Penn State seem to blend into one, as in one short. USC finished 11-2 in the Pac-12, but lost to Utah twice in the season, once on October 16th, and again in the conference championship game Friday night, thumped 47-24. That places USC as a solid No. 8 or No. 9 at best.

Taking it all in, it might be easier to assign TCU and USC to the January 2nd Rose Bowl and let Georgia and Michigan play the final on January 9 and call it a season. That would make either the Fiesta Bowl or the Peach Bowl pretty annoyed.

By Sunday morning, the decisions were made:

College Football Playoffs 2022-23:

  1. Georgia
  2. Michigan
  3. TCU
  4. Ohio St.

Outside looking in?

  1. Alabama
  2. Tennessee

On the flip-side, let’s all celebrate the fact Miami (Ohio) and the University ofAlabama-Birmingham – their friends call ‘em UAB – will kick-off Bowl season with berths in the Bahamas Bowl on December 16th – just 12 days away. On Christmas Eve, Middle Tennessee and San Diego State will travel to Honolulu for the annual Hawaii Bowl on December 24th and enjoy a “Mele Kalikimaka” on a bright, Hawaiian Christmas Day, December 25th.

HERE NOW THE NOTES: The Boston Celtics are 18-5 to date, 11-2 at the TD Boston Garden. That amazing start was good enough for the NBA to recognize head coach Joe Mazzulla as the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October and November. It marked the Celtics 16th overall NBA Coach of the Month honor since the award’s inception during the 1982-83 season. Boston leads the league in points per game (121.9), field goal percentage (49.8), three-point field goal percentage (40.8), free throw percentage (85.3), while also ranking sixth in assists (27.5). … For the first time in franchise history, the Celtics averaged at least 123.0 points and shot over 50.0 percent from the field during one calendar month (min. 10 games) for games played in November when they posted a 14-2 record.

Not to be forgotten, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for October/November. Tatum earned his second career NBA Player of the Month award and now holds the third-most monthly honors in Celtics history behind Larry Bird (7) and Paul Pierce (3). This season, Tatum has appeared in 21 games (all starts) and is averaging career-highs of 31.6 points on 48.8 percent shooting from the field and 87.3 percent from the line, along with 7.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 36.7 minutes per game.

BOSTON BREWIN’ – The Boston Bruins, the Celtics’ neighbors at TD Garden and their respective practice sites, are 20-3 for the season and 14-0 at home after Saturday night’s victory over the highly competitive Colorado Avalanche by the score of 5-1. … The Bruins and the red hot New Jersey Devils are 1 and 1A in the NHL power rankings. This column will delve into that full list in depth next weekend.

KNAPP MEMORIAL FUND: Eight NFL teams and up to 50 NFL coaches will participate in different ways to support the first-ever Coach Knapp fundraiser this December, which will benefit The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund. The fund was created this year to educate drivers on the dangers of distracted driving, reduce the number of distracted driving-related deaths, and promote distracted driving awareness reform in the United States. … Knapp’s wife, Charlotte, and his close friend and agent, Jeff Sperbeck, created the fund to honor the legacy of Greg Knapp who was killed after being hit by a distracted driver while he was bicycling in July 2021. Coach Knapp was known for climbing the stadium stairs before every single NFL game he coached over his 25 season career…. Stadium stair climbs and other fundraising activities will play a part of the tribute. … At the time of his passing, Knapp was previously named Passing Game Coordinator for the New York Jets under head coach Robert Saleh.

PGA TOUR BRUNCH: The six-days a week missive, known to you all as PGA TOURBRUNCH is right around the corner with the first issue of 2023 planned for Wednesday, January 4 with the Sentry Tournament of Champions scheduled to take place January 5-8 in Kapalua, on The Valley Isle of Maui in Hawai‘i. … After a wrap-up column on January 9th, PGA Tour Brunch returns January 11th with a preview of the first full-field event of 2023 when the PGA Tour pros tee-off for the SONY Open in Honolulu. You might’ve read it before, but PGA TOUR BRUNCH is the perfect gift for your favorite golf fan (maybe fans). It’s a gift that keeps on giving all season long, and up to the Tour Championship in late August 2023. … Why Brunch? Well, it is sent in advance of each round of golf and – with the tournaments played in different time zones throughout the season, the time can change a bit. Ideally, it pops-up in your inbox at 12 Noon (ET), at a time when you have a minute – over LUNCH or BRUNCH to relax, grab your mobile device and take-in a screen or two or three of the most important information on the tournament being played each week. Some basic stuff, yes! Tee Times, Leaderboard, what time the TV and Radio broadcasts will be for the day/week and just a few links to surf to get deeper information. … It saves time, as we’ve done the groundwork to put forth what you NEED to read to follow the Tour. For a limited time (Today through Dec 31, 2022), we’re offering a 20% discount as a Special Holiday Greetings and Gift idea. Click HERE

PGA TOUR BRUNCH is the “sister publication” to the missive you’re reading now – While We’re Young (Ideas) aka TL’s Sunday Sports Notes. Both are available for subscription via Substack and both are sent to your device by email and they’re archived on the Substack App and our home sites. Similar to PGA TOUR BRUNCH, you can gift a subscription to WHILE WE’RE YOUNG (Ideas) – before Dec. 31, 2022 by visiting HERE.

WORLD CUP: The hopes of the United States advancing in the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament came to an abrupt end Saturday, much to the 3-1 ear-slapping at the hands of The Netherlands. Although the FOX, USA-loving broadcast teams and studio commentators made excuses of “what an experience” and “too much youth,” stating, “we should be proud” cliches, and emphasizing on the incredibly un-professional use of the word “we,” the truth be told, the USA got their asses kicked.

Maybe some Kipling – from his Poem, “If” might fit the sitch:

“If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster.

And treat those two impostors just the same.”

See you in: (USA sites) – New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco/Bay Area, Los Angeles; Vancouver and Toronto for Canada and Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey for Mexico in the truly North American World Cup of 2026.

  • The Triumph* clip is NOT for office consumption and it dates back to a Conan show during the Rio World Cup.

WORLD CUP TID-BITS: Jennie Taft made the FOX and FOX Sports 1 studio shows work. Why, oh, why did they mover her to pitch-side reporter? … Has anyone ever seen NBA/ABA great Rick Barry at the same phone booth as former USA soccer player turned broadcaster Alexi Lalas? … Buried in the personal memory bank was a 1990 trip to London to see the likes of Tears for Fears, Elton John, Eric Clapton, a Genesisreunion with Tony Banks (piano), Mike Rutherford (guitar) and Phil Collins (drums, vocals) at Knebworth. The trip coincided with a World Cup quarterfinal win for England over Cameroon (3-2, on the 1st of July) and a (1-1) tie vs Germany which resulted in England losing 4-3 in the shoot-out on the 4th of July. England had several chances to win and a goal recalled for being off-sides to further the disappointment. The image embedded was a gentleman, sitting on the curb just outside an upscale pub near the JW Marriott Grosvenor House. He had his head in his hands for 10+ minutes, not moving a muscle otherwise. It was then, and only then, I could understand the meaning of World Cup soccer to the English, the Europeans and the world as a whole. Of course, I was thinking about MLB scores back home and the fact Pink Floyd headlined Knebworth, a notch above Paul McCartney and Wings. … Sadly, I think the excitement of the USA qualifying and advancing to the Round of 16 in this, the 2022 World Cup, will mean little to NOTHING for the MLS or television coverage for the sport of soccer in the USA. … FOX Sports commentators admitted to the lack of size, strength and depth for the USA team. Excuse the basketball reference, here, but the USA needs to develop a more “Jordan Rules” mentality and to utilize the Chuck Daly/Isiah Thomas invented strategy to bang, crack and hit anything that moved as it made its way in front of the rim (USA goal and especially the goal-keeper). I’m not talking about drawing yellow cards or penalties (allowing shots at point blank range), but I am very much aware of what the Detroit Pistons – via Bill Laimbeer, RickMahorn, Dennis Rodman and the rest of the “Bad Boys” – did to the mighty Chicago Bulls and its stars who took it to the rim. Additionally, the Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley did the same in the 1991-95 era of New York Knicks/NBA basketball. Riley convinced the Knicks that they were capable of winning and advancing in the playoffs if they played rough and tough. He convinced the likes of Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and John Starks that they could win if they played very physical basketball. Team USA needs to hit the weight room or do some recruiting.

In closing, there’s one other important detail, call it another fact. The Netherlands was a better Futbol team. They out-played the USA, fair and square. In addition to The Netherlands, there are at least xx other teams better than the USA team and they include: Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Spain and Portugal, for sure. Add to the probably better teams of Switzerland, Poland, S. Korea, Japan, and Croatia. In other words, if you ranked the Round of 16, the USA was arguably 16th, maybe 15th or 14th.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Nov 27

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook on Acronyms in Sports/TV

NEW YORK – Whether we like it or not, we’ve chosen to live in a world full of acronyms. As per usual, the sports industry leads the way. After all, the National Basketball Association is known worldwide as the NBA – except in The New York Times where it is the N.B.A.. The other major North American sports follow suit, as in the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB), all known globally.

At one point in time – ‘circa 1975-1980 – the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball attempted to market the sport as Baseball, but it never caught on with the masses because of the fact every player and fan knew of the major accomplishment of making it to the “Majors,” to the “Show.” Simultaneously, the popularity and value of minor league clubs was reason for MLB to create MiLB, the governing body and marketing arm for many of the minor leagues.

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The next level of sports organizations might challenge every fan with their numerous acronyms, especially in the world of golf and tennis. We’ll spot you a few:

  • PGA – (Professional Golfers’ Association)
  • PGA of America – Represents golf club professionals and hosts tournaments and hosts/organizes the annual PGA Championship.
  • USGA – (United States Golf Association) – The federation for golf in the United States; Reps golf courses, the rules of game, tracks golf handicaps to rate players and hosts the U.S. Open on annual basis.
  • PGA Tour – The league for men’s professional golfers
  • LIV Golf – Rival league to PGA Tour (54 vs 72 hole tournaments)
  • LPGA – The league for women’s professional golfers
  • USTA – (United States Tennis Association)
  • ATP – (Association of Tennis Professionals, also know as the men’s tennis tour)
  • WTA – (Women’s tennis tour)
  • MLS – (Major League Soccer)
  • NASL – (North American Soccer League)
  • PBR – (Pro Bull Riders)
  • NLL – (National Lacrosse League)
  • PLL – (Premier Lacrosse League)
  • WNBA – (Women’s National Basketball Association)
  • NWSL – (National Women’s Soccer League)
  • PHF – (Premier Hockey Federation) – Was launched as NWHL, as in National Women’s Hockey League
  • NCAA – (National Collegiate Athletic Association)
  • IOC – (International Olympic Committee)
  • USOC – now known as USOPC (United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee)

Within the Olympic and Paralympic Committee, we could go to the oomph degree with USATF (United States Track & Field) all the way to USAB (United States of America Basketball), formerly known as ABA/USA and other offshoots like the AAU (Amateur Athletic Association) or NWBA (National Wheelchair Basketball Association), and the NHSF (National Federation of State High School Associations).

Editor’s Note: If you dare, click on the previous NHSF link for a look at acronym hell.

On a Personal Note: Within the world of sports acronyms, this columnist would go out of his way to always write USA Basketball instead of taking the shortcut to USAB, which was born of shortening the title for subject lines within internal e-mails, quite the same as the World Championship of Basketball quickly became WCOB when the NBA league office was responsible for the staging of the 1994 Worlds in Toronto.

We’ll draw the line before mentioning Rugby, Cricket, eSports or a dozen others.

Outside of Sporting, the other industry guilty of the acronym wars is the broadcasting world. Again, let’s delve into just a few of the major network types:

First, there were three: ABC (American Broadcasting Company), CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) and NBC (National Broadcasting Company). Soon to be added were PBS (Public Broadcasting System), FOX (named after 20th Century Fox) which followed the demise of the DuMont Network. In those days, if your television went beyond 13 channels of VHF (Very High Frequency), you were lucky to receive a few UHF (Ultra High Frequency) stations.

Boston Celtics TV ad, complete with (L to R) Dennis “DJ” Johnson, Danny Ainge, then Larry Bird, Robert “The Chief” Parish and Kevin McHale

Boston’s sports fans are familiar with the UHF channels as Boston Bruins games were broadcast on Channel 38 (WHMB/WXEL/WHIS/WSBK) and the Boston Celtics games were featured programming on Channel 56, Boston’s oldest UHF station which began as WTAO-TV and continues until today as a CW affiliate which eventually secured rights to both the Bruins and the Celtics. The history of that broadcasting network was a combination of CBS and Warner Brothers, along with UPN (United Paramount Network), not to be mistaken with UPI (United Press International) which competed with AP (Associated Press) which syndicated news to the whole mess listed above.

In Europe, you can watch CANAL+ or FR-1 in France, TVE or Cadena Cope in Spain, or maybe you’d prefer “tele basura” which translates to Trash TV.

To conclude, this week I watched GMA (Good Morning America) on ABC (American Broadcasting Corporation) while I checked to see if Sunday’s NFL (National Football League) schedule has games on CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) or FOX (20th Century Fox, now owned by Rupert Murdock and his media empire, while I logged-in to the NYT (The New York Times) to double-check which game is on SNFonNBC (Sunday Night Football) and MNF (Monday Night Football) before I watched the SEC (Southeast Conference) Championship game to see who will compete in the CFP (College Football Playoffs) on NYE (New Year’s eve) as long as I pay my FIOS (Verizon’s Fiber Optic Service) bill and that will depend on whether a scored a NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deal for a client or if my investments did well on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) or NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) which surely will be chronicled by the WSJ (Wall Street Journal).

Whew!

NOW WHAT? With Michigan’s drubbing of No. 2-ranked Ohio State, there are two clear-cut leaders for the CFP Playoffs and two toss-ups. Let the arguing begin.

  1. Georgia
  2. Michigan
  3. TCU
  4. USC

The outside looking in are:

  1. Alabama
  2. Ohio St.
  3. Penn St.
  4. LSU

After that, it really doesn’t matter as Clemson lost at home to South Carolina (31-30).

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Aside from a ton of speculation on Rafa Devers and Xander Bogaerts, there’s been no official news from the Boston Red Sox aside from a Wednesday (Nov. 23) trade for infielder/outfielder Hoy Park from the Pittsburgh Pirates, in exchange for minor league left-handed pitcher Inmer Lobo. … Park, 26, played in 68 Major League games for the New York Yankees (2021) and Pirates (‘21-22).

Miguel Gurwitz, left, with TV partner Carlos Hermosillo

MUNDO CLASS: Telemundo’s Miguel Gurwitz might be the busiest man on earth this weekend and he’s halfway done. Gurwitz, who is anchoring all Telemundo’s World Cup coverage while calling some matches behind the legendary Andres Cantor, will take on a marathon of broadcasting only rivaled by the late, great Jerry Lewis on his Labor Day Telethon. Beginning Thursday, the native of Mexico and current Miami resident, the regular play-by-play voice for NBC Telemundo’s Sunday Night Football Games, was on-air for the better part of 18 hours on Thanksgiving Day.

Beginning at 11am, Gurwitz anchored all of Telemundo’s World Cup soccer coverage, and then as day turned into night, he switched from futbol to football, calling the SNF on NBC/Telemundo primetime game between the New England Patriots at Minnesota Vikings game. Gurwitz called the NFL game off broadcast monitors LIVE from Qatar to complete 18 hours of work.

Gurwitz was back at it for Friday and Saturday WC 2022 coverage, splitting studio and game commentary before he shoots for another futbol to football marathon today when he works four games from Qatar and repeats his NBC/Telemundo marathon with his play-by-play call of Green Bay at Philadelphia at 8:20pm ET.

Will Monday be a day of rest?

Nope … Gurwitz will be working four more World Cup games.

WORLD CUP of BS – Right before the matches began, tone deaf FIFA president Gianni Infantino served-up a media session that was hard to believe. Not only did he overlook Qatar’s human rights record of staggering hypocrisy and racism, he went on for 57-minutes reversing the tides of accusation towards western media claiming they were hypocrites due to their own past and current behavior. In a bizarre rant he said: “Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel [like] a migrant worker. Of course, I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not African, I am not gay, I am not disabled. But I feel like it, because I know what it means to be discriminated [against], to be bullied, as a foreigner in a foreign country.

“As a child I was bullied – because I had red hair and freckles, plus I was Italian, so imagine.”

C’Mon Man. Need a drink? Or a cold Nastro Azzurro?

Since World Cup’s opening eve, just imagine the many hooligans who’ve been experiencing the “DTs” by the 45:00 mark of each match as the ban against public drinking of beer and alcohol was determined the week leading up to competition. From what TV cameras are showing, the packed venues feature capacity crowds, emotional fans and strong competition out-weigh the B.S.. Upsets have included Japan over Germany and Saudi Arabia over Argentina. The headline Thursday was that Cristiano Ronaldo is the first men’s WC player to score in five World Cups. … The major dust-up seems to be the rising tensions and protests between Iranian women and authorities and supporters and chants of “The Islamic Republic of Iran.” … Iranian authorities have responded in the homeland with deadly force to suppress protests which erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini in September following her arrest for wearing a headscarf incorrectly.

RULES CHANGES: Understanding the long history of the sport and the fact you only need a field, two goals and a ball to play – meaning you do NOT even need lights or electricity – this will make the futbol hardline traditionalists cringe with pain, but here’s a basketball expert’s thoughts to improve World Cup soccer. Admittedly, because of the “beauty of the game” and the control factor, these will NEVER happen:

  1. Institute a 4:00 minute shot clock
  2. “Back court” violation … Once ball crosses into offensive half of the field, the team on offense can not cross ball backwards to the backfield, but instead force traps at midline.
  3. Put Official as the game clock operator and that’s official for all the world to see
  4. While not a fan of Penalty Kicks to decide outcomes, personally, I can live with Round of 16 rules-on, so no change.

FINAL HARD FOUR: It’s a “hard four,” as in 7-to-1 odds paid off. Yes, the Final Four basketball tournament – the final weekend of March Madness – will be played in Las Vegas for the first time in 2028. Like a Spring Break with velvet tables, Vegas is the ultimate destination for wagering on the NCAA tournament has long been a staple of March Madness. Massive changes in sports gambling laws opened the door for the NCAA to award the men’s national semifinals and championship game to Allegiant Stadium to conclude the 2027-28 season. In other words, the NCAA is ‘all-in.’

The NCAA also announced Ford Field in Detroit would host the Final Four in 2027, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis would get the 2029 event and AT&T Stadium in Dallas will stage the 2030 event.