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While We're Young Ideas

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – Nov. 28

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Gives Thanks

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – It’s Thanksgiving Weekend and time to STOP, THINK and THANK just a few people and REMEMBER a few things. The column comes complete with minimal BS, complaining, snark or sentimental goop while trying to avoid the negatives and all-to-often critical sniping. It does begin with a memorial dedication for 2020-21.

First things first:

It’s 2021, and there’s a global pandemic screaming bloody murder, so we must first pay thanks to our health, if we are so fortunate to do so. Before we can give thanks, it’s time to pay respects to those who lost their lives to COVID or other crisis this year. Special note to the late Madison Dubiski of Houston who lost her life in the crush of the Travis Scott concert at Astroworld along with at least nine others. Madison’s father, Brian, is a good friend of the column and was just hanging at Fenway Park when the Astros dispatched the Red Sox in late October. Madison was 23 years old at the time of her passing away in the crowd at NRG Park/Stadium in Houston on November 5. Dozens and dozens of others were injured. May God Bless.

Let’s Go.

From the Cranberry-Apple-Orange sauce to left-over Turkey Breast sandwiches, Thanksgiving is a favorite of holidays for many of us. Thanks to the Seventy-seven days until pitchers & Catchers report, then Opening Day, then Patriots’ Day and the Boston Marathon, and the 11am start at Fenway. … Thanks for the E-Z Pass and Smart TVs. … Frank Zamboni and to the guy who cut out the bottom of the peach basket, the greatest rule change in basketball history. … Thanks to Bill Russell and Satch and thanks to the memory of Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, who we lost this past March 21, as we remember Press and Pistol Pete Maravich.

Thanks for The NFL Red Zone and avoiding 100 car insurance commercials as we watch the NFL. To the Witching Hour, when wins become losses and losses become wins on the Octo-Box. … Thanks for Justin and Jalen and Josh, for Lamar, Cam (before him), Aaron, Kirk and Dak. … Thanks for Jonathan Taylor and Austin Ekeler … and to Cooper, Davanti, Tyreek, Deebo, and Ja’Marr.

Thanks for the Iron Bowl and El Clásico with a sentimental kiss to The Mayor’s Trophy Game.

Thanks to Joe DiLorenzo, Duane Johnson, Stephen Riley, Tod Rosensweig, Jan Volk, Steve “Globie” Lipofsky, and Jeff Twiss, and to Brian and especially Heather – all Boston Celtics colleagues.

Thanks for the New England snow-mobiles, aka Suburu OutBack and Forester, that keep us safe in rain, sleet or snow. In Boston, the Mail Person drives a Suburu. … Thanks to Wood-Boy who brings us a Cord+ of hard wood each Fall and thanks for the fireplace that burns that wood and makes us feel cozy, warm and fortunate each cold, winter night.

Thanks to St. John’s men’s basketball for driving me crazy every season, dating back to 1968 or so, and certainly since 1978 when a full season ticket was about $43. … Thanks to Lou Carnesecca just for being Louie. Thanks to his one-time assistant coach John Kresse. Thanks to coach Mike Andersonfor giving it his all in a rock solid conference where winning a road game is like winning Game 7 every year. … Thanks to the BIG EAST and Val and Stu and John P. … Let’s hope all goes well and The Garden is packed for the tournament this coming March. … Thanks to FS-1 for televising every game, but, I’ll ask again, can you lose the John Tesh Roundball Rock music?

Thanks to Derek & Susan and to Mike Mattison and the whole TT Band. … Oh, how we miss Kofi. … Thanks to Bruce (H). and Bruce (S). for the Spirit Trail and my Spirit in the Night. … What a Ride.

Thanks to Jeff Kazee for playing his Living Room Lounge series of solo piano concerts, played every week until March 24th, a year after all hell broke loose. … Just for Jeff, root for the Cincinnati Reds. … Thank to Rich (P) and Will Lee and the Fab Faux. Missed seeing a 2021 show, first time in a along time.

Speaking of the Fab, thanks to and for Penny (Lane). She’s keeping me company, snoozin’ as this is typed. She’s just a little more than a year old and joined our family last Thanksgiving.

Thanks to Abe and Terry, not The Real TL, and all the crew at The Sports Business Daily and Journal and to Scott, Dick and Corey and the new crew at Sportico. They keep us informed, as does CBS News, Norah and Dana, Jeff, Glor and Anthony Mason, who just ROCKS when he does a piece on music – any genre.

Here’s to Nate Burleson, a regular on the sports scene as and NFL wide-out for the Minnesota Vikings but a budding superstar on the Morning News. Burleson is a natural. His sense of team with the CBS Morning anchors (Gayle King and Tony Dokoupil) is only surpassed by his sense of camaraderie with the productions staff.

HERE’s TO: John Caron, Dave Glucksman, Dana Roy, and Higor Trindade – the anchors of West End Johnnies (and Fenway, too). To Arty,Evan, Frank & Henry and everyone – Thank you. It was a tough, tough year to be in the restaurant business, but both joints made it through.

Thanks to Ken Adelson, Len Deluca, Stacia Fritchie – my cohorts and colleagues. To Dinn Mann – cohort to be. Bob Delaney, Dave Scheiber and Philip Turner, cohorts past, present and future. To NBA friends and colleagues far and wide, Brian, Matt, Spy, Chris, Rick, Russ, AG and RL + far too many more to list. To Ed Desser and John Kosner, thanks for guidance as we gear-up for 2022.

Here’s to, too: Kevin Doyle, Abby and everyone at Fenway. Gonna miss official scorer Mike Shalin so, so much – gone far too soon. Also gonna miss seeing Dan Lyons who retired from the Sox and Tom Keegan, former columnist for the Boston Herald, caught in the grind of the pandemic and back to the Midwest. See you in springtime, Fenway Fam.

Thanks to Berj and the Patriots. To Harold and the Mets. Jimmy J and Pat LaFontaine and Companions in Courage. Special thanks to Craig Miller,currently working his final international basketball tournament as the head of communications for USA Basketball. From 1992 to 2022 is a nice, little run – working every level of basketball, men’s and women’s, gold and glory, defeat and misery.

Best in the Biz Greetings to Scott Rosner and LJ Holmgren at Columbia University’s Sports Management program with special thanks to CUSP-man and PR Joe Fav who teams up with Tom Richardson on said CUSP Show(podcast). It’s always a pleasure to speak at Columbia for Joe Fav, but this year, we were forced to Zoom video, as we did a year ago. … Joe Fav took a different dive come Thanksgiving and provided us with thoughtful reminder of life in 2021.

Finally, to family – immediate and extended – and to friends all over the world – many made through sports and music – (add food, water, air and SHAKE, NOT STIR for life – Thanks for being you.

Do I hear there’s an AFC/NFC Championship gathering ahead?

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Riddle me this? Which sport’s overtime is more ridiculous and unworthy of deciding the outcome of a regular season game?

  • The NHL: After three periods and a deadlocked regular season game, the normal five-on-five (plus a goalkeeper) becomes three-on-three for a single five-minute stanza. After that, it goes to a shoot-out for three rounds, most goals wins. If tied, sudden death shoot-out determines the outcome. In the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s five-on-five for 20-minute intervals (periods) until a team scores. It’s the best, most exciting playoff in sports, especially in a Game 7.
  • MLB: Extra innings now call for a runner (last man at bat in the previous inning) to be placed on second base. Commissioner Rob Manfred stated that the “man on second” rule and 7-inning double-headers are probably a thing of the past.
  • College Football: Where do we start?
    • At the end of regulation, the referee will toss a coin to determine which team will possess the ball first in overtime. The visiting team captain will call the toss. The winner gets to choose to either play offense or defense first or chooses which side of the field to play on. The decision cannot be deferred.
    • The teams that loses the coin toss must exercise the remaining option. They will then have the chance to choose first from the four categories in the second overtime and subsequent even-numbered OT periods. The team that wins the toss will have the same options in odd-numbered OT periods.
    • In each of the first two overtime periods, teams are granted one possession beginning at the opponent’s 25-yard line, unless a penalty occurs to move them back. The offense can place the ball anywhere on or between the hash marks.
    • Each team is granted one timeout per overtime period. Timeouts do not carry over from regulation nor do they carry over between overtime periods.
    • Each team retains the ball until it fails to score, fails to make a first down or turns the ball over.
    • Beginning with the second overtime period, teams must attempt a two-point conversion after scoring a touchdown.

You might as well have the teams all gather in a circle and play “Spin the Bottle” to decide a winner.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Nov. 14

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – DIGGIES for Best Sports Town

BOSTON – One of the most popular sports columnists in the whole shooting match, Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe, got a hold a sports survey by a financial service firm, called Wallet Hub. The site named Boston as the No. 1 sports town in the USA.

Wallet Hub reporter Adam McCann, a 2017 graduate of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, penned the report and crunched some numbers to determine his listings. As Mr. McCann graduated with a Hopkins’ degree in Writing Seminars (one of the toughest majors, aside from Hopkins’ famed medical school and science degrees) AND International Studies, we’re here to applaud his efforts. Here’s a few other McCann columns archived on Muck Rack). Way to be Adam and Go Hop!

But, this TL Sunday sports notebook zigs when others might zag, so there will be a new version of the popular DIGGIES Awards with our very own 2021-22 @DigSportsDesk – Best Sports Towns listing.

In case you weren’t onboard for previous Digital Sports Desk DIGGIES,here’s an example of a prior listing. Click HERE for The Influencers. Or, click HERE for an archived 2018 DIGGIES on Hot Sports Properties to Watch. Sadly, with a Pandemic Purge of our prior Digital Sports Desk archives, there were dozens of other DIGGIES that are on a Cloud computing device somewhere. Exactly where, we do not know.

Getting back to the efforts of Mr. McCann for Wallet Hub and Mr. Ryan’s take on the listing for the Globe, the methodology of the report was quite in-depth and it started with the Global Sports Media Report of 2014. The seven-year-old report was then supplemented by scores of data, collected from and cited properly by Wallet Hub. Ready? … They used: The U.S. Census Bureau, Team Marketing Report, ESPN, NCAA, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sports Reference, Forbes, Sports Analytics Research from Mike Lewis, MLB Advanced Media, Minor League Baseball, Nielsen, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, The National Collegiate Athletic Association, Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, NBA, Ranker.com, NHL.com, U.S. College Hockey Online, U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, USL, Soccer Stadium Digest, FlashScore, Sportico, Google Trends, National Soccer Hall of Fame and WalletHub analysis.

Somehow or another, they left Barstool Sports and Digital Sports Desk out?

The other key factor in the report and rankings, the data crunching of 392 cities in the United States was carved into three population-based categories of:

  • Large Cities (300,000+ people)
  • Mid-sized Cities (100,000 to 299,999 people)
  • Small Cities (Fewer than 100,000 people)

Here are the findings:

Large Cities:

  1. Boston
  2. Los Angeles
  3. New York
  4. Pittsburgh
  5. Philadelphia
  6. Denver
  7. Wash DC
  8. Dallas
  9. Chicago
  10. Miami

(Note: They went 61 deep in their listing of Large Cities.

Mid-sized Cities:

  1. Buffalo
  2. Green Bay
  3. Salt Lake City
  4. Orlando
  5. Glendale
  6. Durham
  7. Ann Arbor
  8. Baton Rouge
  9. South Bend
  10. Norman

Small Cities:

  1. Clemson
  2. West Point
  3. Fayette (Michigan)
  4. East Lansing
  5. Tuscaloosa
  6. Hanover
  7. State College
  8. Buies Creek (North Carolina)
  9. Stanford
  10. Morgantown (West Virginia)

Much to its credit, the report also broke down the various cities by the major sports. Ryan was quick to point out that Boston ranked No. 5 in Baseball, No. 1 in ice hockey, No. 3 in football and No. 2 in basketball while also placing the very-much “pro” sports town as No. 15 in college basketball. … You ‘gotta love’ the Buffalo, Green Bay, Clemson and West Point mentions, too.

The college basketball rankings had Durham as No. 1 (thanks Coach K and Duke) and Lexington as No. 2 (thanks Coach Cal and UK). All things considered, Boston’s rather high ranking had to come from the fact you can see no fewer than seven Division I college programs, including:

  1. America East – UMass Lowell
  2. Atlantic 10 – UMass
  3. ACC – Boston College
  4. BIG EAST – Providence
  5. Colonial – Northeastern
  6. IVY League – Harvard
  7. Patriot League – Boston U, and Holy Cross

With all things considered, there’s no real way to determine the No. 1 Sports City. Do you consider success in a calendar year by pro sports teams and then add some college programs when it is appropriate? How many sports in the NCAA athletics do you consider?

Do you base it on a loyal fan base? Attendance? TV Ratings logged when the clubs play on national TV and/or the playoffs?

Do you base the rankings on the athletes themselves and try to pinpoint the cities which have had the most champions, MVPs, league leaders in scoring and the other key stats? Do you base it on players who might be considered the Greatest of All-Time (G.O.A.T.S) who all played in the same city?

If the last question provides the full criteria, then there’s no question that Boston would rank as the No. 1 sports city, with all due respect to Jim Brownof football’s Cleveland Browns, Babe Ruth (who played in Boston before his incredible baseball career with the New York Yankees), Wayne Gretzky (who put Edmonton on the map when he led the Oilers to four Stanley Cup championships between 1983-84 and 1987-88, and basketball’s Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

This is where the 2021-22 DIGGIES for Best Sports Towns come into the picture.

The criteria:

  • Winning
  • Loyal Fans who come out to the park and watch on TV
  • Deep knowledge by large numbers of fans “on the streets”
  • LOUD buildings from sold-out crowds supporting their team
  • History
  • Great players, coaches and organizations (G.O.A.T.S included)
  • New Trends in sports success

Here we go:

  1. CHICAGO: When you combine the friendly confines of Wrigley, the passion for the Cubs, the up & coming White Sox, the incredible Michael Jordan-led run and newfound resurgence of the Bulls and the loyalty of the Blackhawks and Bears fans, Chi-town has to be No. 1. There was no sports venue any louder than the old Chicago Stadium. There never will be.
  2. PHILADELPHIA: Although the City of Brotherly Love has not cashed-in on a major sports championship since the Philly Eagles upset the NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS in Super Bowl LII in 2017, the rabid (and sometimes felonious) fanbase that is a Philly sports fan earns the No. 2 spot. … On two different occasions, while seeking information on the great Red Sox vs NY Yankees rivalry and crazy fans, I was told by security honchos at both Yankees Stadium and Fenway Park that the Phillies fans were “by far” the rowdiest group.
  3. BOSTON: The incredible history and winning ways of the Celtics and Patriots combined with the recent successes of the NHL Bruins and Red Sox place Boston HIGH on any list of great sports towns. That success, however, has spoiled the average fan as its now an expectation for teams to reach “The Finals” in every sport.
  4. TAMPA BAY: Maybe a surprise, but the recent trend of winning by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, the consistent winning teams put on the baseball field by the Tampa Bay Rays of late and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning. Rays fans deserve a new baseball stadium as opposed to the giant Hefty Bag that is Tropicana Field.
  5. NEW YORK: There’s been a bit of a drought for champions in New York but sports fans can not overlook the 27 World Series championships by the Yankees and sporadic success of the New York Giants. While the Mets, Knicks, Jets, and Rangers have struggled of late, NY fans have hope with the Nets in Brooklyn and the Islanders in their brand new Belmont building. New York sports fans are loyal, loud and knowledgeable but very demanding. Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of College Basketball and home for the Knicks and Rangers, is reason enough to get a Top 5 listing.
  6. SAN FRANCISCO BAY: Roller Derby’s Bay Area Bombers come right to mind as one of the greatest teams of all-time, but the Golden State Warriors are the reason the SF-Oakland area is listed so high. The Bay Area can also lay claim to the 49ers (now playing in nearby Santa Clara) but perennial contenders in the NFL as the SF 49ers and their five Super Bowl victories. This year, the SF Giants surprised everyone while winning 107 games to take the highly competitive National League West. The Giants disappointed in Postseason, losing to the LA Dodgers.
  7. LOS ANGELES: The Hall of Fame players, sold-out crowds and historical success of the Dodgers and Lakers carry weight for LA, even though the current version of the Lakers are struggling. The LA Kings had their 15 minutes of fame, which is reason enough not to allow LA to crack the Top 5, but with this season’s Super Bowl scheduled for February 13th at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, both the LA Rams and LA Chargers are bound to make the NFL Playoffs come January. In college basketball, U.C.L.A. is ranked No. 1 and could do some damage come March Madness time.
  8. DALLAS: The iconic NFL franchise valued at $6.5 billion by Forbes Magazine puts Dallas on every Top 10 list for sports towns and the relative success of the Dallas Mavericks (NBA), Stars (NHL) and a brand new ballpark for the Texas Rangers (MLB) fill-out the list of pro teams. Dallas is also noted as a top Nielsen TV market for national sports, no matter the teams playing. Of course, College football is king in Texas and the AT&T Dome (the house that Jerry Jones built) plays host to all kinds of sports championships.
  9. ST. LOUIS: With the support baseball fans show year-after-year to the Cardinals, that alone places St. Louis as a Top 10 sports town in the USA. The 2019 St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup, too, but the fact there’s no NFL (good-bye Rams) and no NBA (good-bye Hawks) in town sets St. Louis back.
  10. MIAMI: Pat Riley’s winning ways for the Heat, combined with the iconic ways of the Miami Dolphins and the upstart 2021-22 Florida Panthers put the heart of South Florida as our No. 10 great sports city.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The Top 10 listing deserves a few “also rans” and certainly great sports cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh and its Terrible Towels and Steelers, Salt Lake City for its support of the Jazz, Seattle, Wash DC/Baltimore, and Atlanta – home of the 2021 World Series champion Braves are all worthy of consideration. Small towns? How about Annapolis?

Parting Words …

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE: Former Celtics champion Kevin Garnett’s documentary, entitled with his famous exclamation of joy, post 2008 NBA Championship debuted on Showtime this past Friday. Look for a review in next week’s notebook.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – November 7

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30 Years Ago, “Magic” Johnson Announced He Had HIV+

By TERRY LYONS

The date was November 7, 1991 and this reporter, then the Director of Media Relations for the National Basketball Association, was driving a rented Toyota Camry in the outskirts of Orlando, Florida, zipping along on the Florida Bee-Line highway when his pager did the appropriate thing for that exact time and place. It buzzed.

Keep in mind, these were old school “General Hospital” style radio pagers and it was a few years before Blackberry or Motorola flip phones would power our communications department and the rest of the connected world. At that point in time, we had just discarded our IBM Selectric typewriters for some “All-in-One” system that was tied to a mainframe computer the size of a Mack truck that took up an entire office on the 15th floor of Olympic Tower, the NBA’s headquarters.

The one line message was marked URGENT and it stated to call Brian McIntyre, the eventual Basketball Hall of Fame Bunn Award winner, and my immediate boss. He had entered an “801” number which I recognized as the Salt Lake City Marriott. He was in Utah to make the formal announcement for the 1993 NBA All-Star Weekend. Then NBA Commissioner, the late David Stern had called McIntyre at 5:00am (Mountain time) and advised him of the need to cancel the Salt Lake press conference and be ready to meet Stern for a flight to LA.

I was in Orlando to stage a small press conference to announce the players on the All-Star ballot and begin a deep dive into the planning for the 1992 All-Star Weekend which would be held in Orlando Arena with hotel HQ at Disney World. Aside from the screaming and crying of toddlers on the flights to and fro’ McCoy AFB aka Orlando International Airport, it was going to be a great year to join the wonderful workers from the league’s special events, security and broadcasting departments to lay the foundation for the All-Star weekend activities. (The simple remedy for those flights, by the way, was an upgrade to First Class, a Bloody Mary, accompanied by a heavy dose of Led Zep and some good stereo headphones).

As I drove along after receiving the page, I came upon a toll booth and its rather small six-car parking lot which had an old school telephone booth alongside. I paid my toll on the Bee-Line, walked to the phone booth and typed in the phone number along with my AT&T 16-digit calling card number which I had memorized forwards and backwards from overuse.

On the other end of the line, McIntyre was all business and, with the great relationship we had (then and now), I could easily sense there was something very wrong. In other words, there was a strong disturbance in the force that was (and still is) a foundation in the inner workings of the NBA Family.

From October 17-19 or so – a few weeks before that momentous notification – we had staged the 1991 McDonald’s Open in Paris, France. It was a tournament of international club champions from the EuroLeague, Spain’s ACB, France’s champion Limoges and the NBA’s rep – (but not reigning champion) – the Los Angeles Lakers. The preseason tournament was staged at Bercy Arena and the basketball fans of France and what seemed to be the entire European continent had come out in droves to cheer Earvin “Mag-eek” Johnson and the Lakers.

After the Lakers squeaked by Spain’s Joventut Badalona (116-114) in Paris, everyone returned to the USA for the remaining week or two of preseason games before the regular season tipped-off on November 1, 1991. In that timespan, the Lakers had extended Johnson’s contract and with that redux came a physical and insurance policy to guarantee the deal.

In 100% confidentiality, the results of that physical were made known to Los Angeles Lakers athletic trainer Gary Vitti who was told by the Lakers’ team doctors to ask – well, maybe tell – “Magic” Johnson to return from Salt Lake City, Utah to Los Angeles for a meeting in their offices. Vitti instinctively knew there was a major issue and that very soon everyone – Johnson, Vitti, every LA Lakers player and, really, everyone in the world’s life would be changing.

As McIntyre told me the terrible news – in confidence, of course, as we were probably among only five or six people in the world who knew what was coming – he hung-up the phone quickly as he was preparing to meet Stern. I was left on the side of a highway, holding the hand-set of the public phone in total shock. Earvin “Magic” Johnson had tested HIV+ and was going to announce his retirement from the NBA within the next 24 hours.

For the short term, everything went on as originally planned. we staged a press conference at Orlando Arena where Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck crashed and ambushed the event, proving early what we were up against in the Disney school. I was thinking to myself, “we should invoice Disney for $1,500,000 and welcome them to the NBA sponsor family.” Little did I know they’d eventually own both ABC and ESPN and be the league’s No. 1 source of revenue.

Instead of staying in Orlando for a game and two days of planning meetings, I gave some lame excuse that I had to “get back to the office,” and flew home to NYC, knowing the news might break at anytime. It held, until Johnson walked up to the podium the next day with his Lakers’ teammates in attendance and Commissioner Stern sitting right next to him, right where a league Commissioner should be sitting in support of a player.

Remember, at that time, even though the HIV/AIDS crisis had ripped through the 1980s, the virus was mostly misunderstood and the United States government hadn’t lifted a finger. Although famous actors, rock stars, fashion designers, a NASCAR driver and famous musicians such as Liberace had died from the AIDS virus, it remained far from the mainstream and was thought of as mostly an epidemic amongst the homosexual community and intravenous drug users.

On November 7, 1991, that would all change. The news of Magic Johnson confirming he had the HIV+ virus was front page of every newspaper in the world, lead-story on every newscast and sportscast, shocking a world that envisioned the Lakers star and NBA Most Valuable Player dying a terrible death.

Seventeen days later, Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of the rock band Queen, would pass away in London at the age of 45. Only one day before, Mercury announced he had tested HIV+ and had AIDS.

We quickly realized, while many others chose to keep their illness confidential – which was certainly their right – Magic Johnson was approaching this monumental announcement in a different way.

Right from the get-go, Johnson was going to work his magic, “I plan on going on, living for a long time, bugging you guys, like I’ve [sic] always have. So, you’ll see me around. I plan on being with the Lakers and the league — Hopefully, David [Stern] will have me for awhile — and going on with my life,” he said that November day.

“And I guess now I get to enjoy some of the other sides of living…that because of the season, the long practices and so on. I just want to say that I’m going to miss playing. And I will now become a spokesman for the HIV virus because I want people — young people to realize that they can practice safe sex. And you know sometimes you’re a little naive about it and you think it could never happen to you. You only thought it could happen to, you know, other people and so on and all. And it has happened, but I’m going to deal with it and my life will go on. And I will be here, enjoying the Laker games, and all the other NBA games around the country. So, life is going to go on for me, and I’m going to be a happy man,” he continued.

“But the Commissioner, David Stern, has been great in supporting me. And I will go on and hopefully work with the league and help in any way that I can. I want to thank also (Lakers General Manager) Jerry West for all he’s done. Dr. Kerlin. Dr. Mellman — he will tell you who my other doctors (Dr. Ho) are that have helped me through this — as well as, like I said, my father, in a sense, (LA Lakers team owner) Dr. Jerry Buss, for just drafting me and me being here.

“Now, of course, I will miss the battles and the wars, and I will miss you guys [the reporters]. But life goes on,” he concluded.

One thing was apparent for everyone in the small Forum Club press lounge that afternoon. No one … and I mean NO ONE … thought Magic Johnsonwould be alive, well and thriving as an incredible businessman, part owner of the LA Dodgers, regular in the NBA legends family and an entrepreneur and philanthropist in the Year 2021, 30 YEARS later – which is today.

POST SCRIPT: In 2007 when I first left the NBA to begin a new and different life in New England, I wrote some thoughts on the occasion of Magic Johnson’s 48th birthday (he is now age 62).

“You just can’t help but think back to that November, 1991 day when Magic walked up to the podium at the Forum in LA to announce to the world that he had the HIV virus,” I wrote.

“There were only two or three people in the room that day that knew what it meant; Earvin’s newly hired specialist, Dr. Ho and a few of his colleagues. Magic had the financial wherewithal to hire the very best in the medical field. At that time, Dr. Ho had been researching the HIV/AIDS virus for nearly a decade and hadn’t witnessed anyone with the virus battle the “PR” fight against the virus the way Magic could and would.

Magic brought the virus to the front pages and the sports pages. He successfully preached that the virus could affect the everyday man and woman. Magic changed his diet, his exercise regimen and said he would retire from the NBA.

That season, the NBA All-Star ballots were counted and Earvin was the leading the way. Of course, we all know that Magic was the MVP of the ’92 game and would go on to win a gold medal at the ’92 Barcelona Olympics Games, then eventually return for limited play in the NBA.”

IN 1996: Similar to some of the thoughts noted here today, I googled a few key words and this quote I spoke to LA Times sports writer Steve Springer came up from a retrospective done on November 3, 1996 – marking five years rather than the 30 we are celebrating today.

“What we in the NBA, the media and people all over the world have learned in the last five years is monumental,” said Terry Lyons, an NBA vice president. “And Magic Johnson is the reason, hands down. He put the news about the virus on the front page all over the world. He probably saved a lot of lives, when you stop and think about it. Until then, the medical community had been 10 years ahead of the rest of us in terms of knowledge. . . . Magic brought the two sides together.”

LISTEN to THE FOLLOW-UP PODCAST where “PR MAGIC” was discussed with Noah Coslov.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – October 31

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The Top 25 for NCAA College Basketball 2021-22

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – It’s Halloween, the eve of All-Saints Day a.k.a All Hallows’ Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows. Others think of it differently, with all due respect to the Roman Catholic Holy day of obligation, says this disciple of the great Hall-of-Fame St. John’s head coach, Louie Carnessecca.

For college basketball fans, it’s officially MIDNIGHT M🏀DNESS!

Lately, college basketball is a lot like Halloween as prominent coaches and their recruiting assistants and runners repping bigtime schools go house-to-house “trick-or-treating” for players – once committed to another school – but now in the transfer portals.

In 2018, the NCAA put in place a new rule that college student athletes can transfer one time without having to sit-out a season. The system is in place and popular for college soccer players and for men’s and women’s basketball, in particular. There are favorable transfer portal rules for graduate transfers and for the players left behind by a coach who was either fired or moved on to a better position or more money. Also, because of the pandemic, the NCAA has allowed student-athletes an extra year of eligibility and that has been reason for some players to look to transfer.

Depending on the coach and the program (sans the IVY League which doesn’t fool around with such nonsense), the recruitment of a transfer can fill a hole in a program, replace an injured player, replace a player who might’ve dropped-out or other circumstances that require relocation. Note: Here is an interesting compilation of the transfer portals researched and provided by Athletic Director U.

Although the rules provide for an immediate return for programs that seem “one player away,” many college coaches don’t actively shop the transfer portal., including the likes of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, a Hall-of-Famer.

According to AD U, Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman has nearly perfected a system to project how a low-major player will perform at a high major, an “Up-Transfer” to a tough competition conference, such as the SEC. He did the same when he was successfully coaching Nevada in the Mountain West.

What is quite interesting is a good look at the annual preseason college basketball rankings. A tough task, yes, but the Associated Press, the College Basketball Coaches and the bible of college basketball, the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook all do their very own Top 25 predictions.

On first look, all three are very similar in their rankings. Additionally, the listings include the “usual suspects,” those college basketball juggernauts that we all find in the 68-team NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament every March.

To save time and space, our parent publication, Digital Sports Desk, crunched some numbers and created a “Consensus Top 25,” utilizing the three polls cited above while adding insights and observations from college basketball media days, player updates and trends.

Here is the 2021-22 Consensus Preseason College Basketball Top 25:

  1. Gonzaga
  2. UCLA
  3. Kansas
  4. Villanova
  5. Texas
  6. Michigan
  7. Purdue
  8. Baylor
  9. Kentucky
  10. Duke
  11. Illinois
  12. Memphis
  13. Oregon
  14. Alabama
  15. Arkansas
  16. Houston
  17. Tennessee
  18. Ohio State
  19. Florida State
  20. North Carolina
  21. Maryland
  22. Auburn
  23. St. Bonaventure
  24. UConnecticut
  25. Virginia

Keep an Eye On: Mississippi State, Indiana, USC, Texas Tech, and Virginia Tech.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The bible of college basketball noted above, Chris Dortch’s Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, is a must-purchase for every hoops fans. Media members contribute and benefit from the enormous amount of work and research provided by the editorial staff headed by editor/publisher Chris Dortch. This columnist can’t remember the last time a college basketball season began without the yearbook in the home office. One reporter refers to the day Blue Ribbon arrives as “the best day of the year.” with respects to Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, The Breeders’ Cup, BIG EAST Thursday & Friday, March Madness Thursday, and Final Four Saturday, no one disagrees.

This year Dortch wrote, “For the second consecutive year, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the production of this book challenging. But, in 41 years of publishing, we’ve faced down many potential roadblocks. Some we’ve faced head-on and overcome, others we’ve had to devise a work-around.” … Dortch also wrote about Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski who announced this would be his last year coaching college basketball and Blue Ribbon dedicated its cover to Coach K. … You can get your very own (we recommend the spiral bound and digital download combo) Blue Ribbon by visiting their online site HERE. You can also read about the college basketball news all season long by subscribing to Blue Ribbon on this Substack platform.

COLLEGE COACHES AND OTHER ITEMS FOR NEXT WEEK: This week, in a salute to the great career of Duke’s Coach Krzyzewski, we’ll provide a list of the Top 10 coaches in college basketball. Next week, we’ll delve into the BIG EAST conference.

While We’re Young (Ideas) Top 10 College Basketball Coaches 2021-22: There’s no other place to start than with Coach K, who not only guided Duke University to great heights but also helped restore the pride and winning ways of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team.

  1. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke)
  2. Mark Few (Gonzaga)
  3. Jay Wright (Villanova)
  4. Tom Izzo (Michigan State)
  5. Bob McKillop (Davidson)
  6. Eric Musselman (Arkansas)
  7. Chris Beard (Texas Tech)
  8. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
  9. Ed Cooley (Providence)
  10. Tony Bennett (Virginia)

SIGN-UP: For your very own and complete “While We’re Young (Ideas) column,” sent to your inbox each weekend, please sign-up HERE.

Also: Our PGA Tour Brunch will return in the new year of 2022 with the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Sign-Up HERE.

Happy Halloween.🎃

At #NBA75, They Made NBA Come Alive

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The last two columns were dedicated to one reporter’s viewpoint on the NBA’s 75 Greatest Players. Many a basketball pundit will be coming forth with their own lists before the league unveils the official “75” this week (October 19-21). It’ll be great.

Meanwhile, our friends at the Sports Business Journal did a “Fan-Tastic” job at listing their view on “The NBA at 75: 75 People Who Grew the NBA’s Business.” It was a great idea and, while they went a bit heavy on sports agents, they nailed a bunch of true gems in listing colleagues (Val Ackerman, Ski Austin, Kathy Behrens, Wayne Embry, and, yes, agent and the NBA Players Association’s first executive director Larry Fleisher).

I was very happy to see Michael Goldberg, (my NBA boss) Brian McIntyre, NBA colleagues Amy Brooks, Russ Granik, Paula Hanson – with a tip of the hat to the NBA’s first-ever head of (Team Business Operations aka Team Services, Team-Bo) Bob King, too – Bill Koenig, Sal LaRocca, Joel Litvin, Jeff Mishkin, Rod Thorn, and Rick Welts). Of course, the list included “must-haves” and rightfully so with former Commissioners Maurice Podoloff, Walter Kennedy, Larry O’Brien and – the big guy – David Stern.

Stern’s transition to pass the business torch and mission along to current Commissioner Adam Silver and Deputy Commish Mark Tatum was also duly recognized in the SBJs terrific listing.

That said and recognizing they only had 75 slots and maybe tossed 10 turnovers, they did miss a few people from a list that could’ve been 750 instead of only 75. Here are a few to consider:

Amongst the players named, I would nominate players who truly changed the game. They are:

  1. George Mikan
  2. Wilt Chamberlain
  3. Bill Russell
  4. Elgin Baylor
  5. Bob Cousy and Oscar Robertson
  6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
  7. Julius Erving
  8. Larry/Earvin … aka Bird/Magic
  9. Michael Jordan
  10. Charles Barkley
  11. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant
  12. LeBron James
  13. Steph Curry

On the NBA business and outside the four lines basketball front, I think the SBJ missed out on:

  1. Si Gourdine
  2. Joe Axelson (the NBA’s first VO, Basketball Operations)
  3. Matt Winick (Axelson’s first deputy and incredible NBA resource)
  4. Paul Gilbert (the creator of NBA … It’s Fan-Tastic!)
  5. Leah Wilcox (possibly the NBA’s most valuable resource with its players)
  6. Satch Sanders (first Director of Player Programs)
  7. Ed Desser (NBA Director of Broadcasting and television guru)
  8. Bill Marshall (the creator and father of NBA consumer products)
  9. Boris Stankovic (the late FIBA exec who worked hand-in-hand with NBA)
  10. The Basketball w/o Borders crew of: Kim Bohuny, Bret MacTavish, Helen Wong (my former assistant/director), FIBA’s Zoran Radovic, former NBA scout/Nike rep Rich Sheubrooks and the UN’s (now President of Ripon College) Zach Messetti.

Surely, there are hundreds of others that could be listed, including many colleagues who ventured to the likes of Hong Kong, other points in Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America to spread the NBA gospel and business efforts.

Lastly, on the TV front, there were a number of omissions and I’ll list just a few:

  1. Sandy Grossman (CBS Sports Director)
  2. Ted Shaker (Exec Producer of CBS Sports as NBA came of age on broadcast TV)
  3. Mike Burks (Lead producer of the NBA on CBS)
  4. Dick Stockton and Tommy Heinsohn – (CBS Sports NBA announce team)
  5. Tommy Roy (Lead producer of the NBA on NBC)
  6. Ernie Johnson Jr. (NBA on TNT anchor, and possibly the No. 1 person overlooked by the SBJ NBA 75 Business list). Ernie, Kenny and Charles impacted the NBA on TNT more than any other and a legion of TBS, TNT “people in the truck” did as much for the NBA as any person listed here.

There are plenty more, but let’s call it a wrap and tip-off the NBA 75 this week.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: It’s the year of a once in a 100 years global pandemic, right? In 2021, somehow the firm of Goldman Sachs has its best year in its history after only nine months, according to Front Office Sports reviews of Goldman’s latest earnings reports. … Goldman generated $13.61 billion in Q-3 and $46.7 billion in its last three quarters … FOS wrote: “Goldman is also helping the NFL find investment partners for its major media assets, including the NFL Network, RedZone, and NFL.com. … “After hiring Goldman, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly told league staff in a memo that the league plans to leverage live games, events like the NFL Draft, and opportunities around sports betting. In April, Goldman Sachs estimated that the sports betting market could reach $39 billion by 2033.”

Go figure.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – October 10

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TL Sunday Sports Notes – NBA @ 75

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Last weekend, I teased my personal NBA @ 75 list of the Greatest Players in NBA history. If you need a refresher, click HERE. In that column, I promised to reveal my Top 10 players and the Final 15 to go with the 60 players named in groups of 10 last weekend.

Here are my Top 10 (listed in ALPHABETICAL ORDER):

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Elgin Baylor

Larry Bird

Kobe Bryant

Wilt Chamberlain

LeBron James

Earvin “Magic” Johnson

Michael Jordan

Oscar Robertson

Bill Russell

For my NBA @ 75, I don’t feel compelled to list the group in order (1-75). To make the NBA @ 75 is an honor in itself and it shouldn’t be tainted by being No. 74 or 75. In fact, in this column, I plan to list a bunch of players I considered for the final five spots. Please note this columnist is NOT on the NBA’s voting committee for the honors.

For continuity sake, I’ll now pick-up with the 60 players listed in groups of 10 last week:

NBA at 75: Next 10 or No. 11-20:

Rick Barry

Tim Duncan

Julius Erving

Karl Malone

Moses Malone

Dirk Nowitzki

Hakeem Olajuwon

Shaquille O’Neal

Bob Pettit

Jerry West

Next Ten: (21-30)

Charles Barkley

Steph Curry

Kevin Durant

John Havlicek

Allen Iverson

George Mikan

Scottie Pippen

David Robinson

John Stockton

Isiah Thomas

Next Ten: (31-40)

Bob Cousy

Walt Frazier

George Gervin

Dan Issel

Sam Jones

Bob McAdoo

Kevin McHale

Willis Reed

Dwayne Wade

Bill Walton

Next Ten (aka No. 41-50):

Ray Allen

Nate Archibald

Dave Bing

Dave Cowens

Artis Gilmore

Hal Greer

Elvin Hayes

Earl Monroe

Lenny Wilkens

James Worthy

Next Ten: (51-60)

Paul Arizon

Billy Cunningham

Clyde Drexler

Alex English

Patrick Ewing

Reggie Miller

Jason Kidd

Wes Unseld

Russell Westbrook

Dominique Wilkins

Now, the most difficult part! Here are my Final 15:

Vince Carter

Kevin Garnett

Connie Hawkins

Tommy Heinsohn

Bernard King

Pete Maravich

Steve Nash

Robert Parish

Nate Thurmond

Jamaal Wilkes

The Final 5:

Giannis Antetokounmpo

James Harden

Kawhi Leonard

Paul Pierce

David Thompson

Those highly considered but fell short on my list:

Carmelo Anthony

Zelmo Beaty

Walt Bellamy

Adrian Dantley

Dave DeBusschere

Luka Doncic

Joe Dumars

Joe Fulks

Pau Gasol

Tom Gola

Gail Goodrich

Spencer Haywood

Grant Hill

Dennis Johnson

Gus Johnson

Bobby Jones

Nikola Jokic

Damien Lillard

Bob Lanier

Jerry Lucas

George McGinnis

Tracy McGrady

Chris Mullin

Calvin Murphy

Tony Parker

Chris Paul

Gary Payton

Dennis Rodman

Arvydas Sabonis

Dolph Schayes

Bill Sharman

Klay Thompson

Andrew Toney

Yao Ming

CONSIDER: Many voters contemplated their votes with both the NBA at 50 and the league’s 25th Anniversary team in mind. Can you drop members voted for the NBA at 50 team? For the 25th Anniversary team, a panel framed nominees, and then a team (by position) was selected.

Here was the 25th Anniversary Team: (December 1971)

Name, Career Years

Forwards

Paul Arizin*, 1950-1962

Joe Fulks*, 1946-1954

Harry Gallatin*, 1948-1958

Tom Gola*, 1955-1966

Vern Mikkelsen*, 1949-1959

Bob Pettit*, 1954-1965

Jim Pollard*, 1947-1955

Tom Heinsohn*, 1956-1965

Dolph Schayes*, 1948-1964

George Yardley*, 1953-1960

Centers

Neil Johnston*, 1951-1959

Ed Macauley*, 1949-1959

George Mikan*, 1946-1954, 1955-1956

Bill Russell*, 1956-1969

Maurice Stokes*, 1955-1958

Guards

Richie Guerin*, 1956-1970

Bob Cousy*, 1950-1963, 1969-1970

Bob Davies*, 1946-1955

Bob Feerick, 1945-1950

Sam Jones*, 1957-1969

Slater Martin*, 1949-1960

Dick McGuire*, 1949-1960

Bill Sharman*, 1950-1961

Bobby Wanzer*, 1947-1957

Max Zaslofsky, 1946-1956

NBA 25th Anniversary Team

List of honored players, sorted by position

F Bob Pettit

F Dolph Schayes

F Paul Arizin

F Joe Fulks

C Bill Russell

C George Mikan

G Bob Cousy

G Bill Sharman

G Bob Davies

G Sam Jones

Coach: Red Auerbach

Bill Russell was the only unanimous selection to the team. Furthermore, all nominees of the 25th Anniversary Team besides Feerick and Zaslofky were inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame. You might note, Wilt Chamberlain was left off the 25th Anniversary all-time team as only two centers (Russell and Mikan) were selected.

To further complicate the process, the NBA celebrated and selected a 35th Anniversary team in 1980-81 and only four players from the 25th Anniversary Team were selected into NBA 35th Anniversary Team (Pettit, Cousy, Russell, and Mikan). However, along with them, four other players of this team (Arizin, Jones, Schayes, Sharman) were selected into NBA 50 Greatest Players of All-Time in 1996. Here is the NBA @ 50 list.

FEEL FREE TO COMPLAIN, ARGUE … BUT: If you are going to complain about any player left off the list, you are required to name the player or players that must be removed.

There’s a slight chance I missed a player and will be mortified if it’s a player we all know merits Top 75 selection. If so, I apologize in advance and will own up to the mistake. I just ask, please also indicate the player to be removed.

LAST BIT: Last week, I noted that my beloved NBA seems to have a knack for ruining a great story in the making by having a terrible, and usually off-court issue, make headlines. The NBA players who are choosing to forego anti-COVID-19 vaccination(s) dominated the news just as training camp began. Instead of stories about the players, the contending teams and exciting changes, a story about COVID stole every headline. Since then, Andrew Wiggins of Golden State decided to get the vax. Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets did not and he plans to miss all the Nets home games and many others played in municipalities which require proof of vaccination for entry. Somehow, the Nets were able to clear Irving for practices in their state-of-the-art Brooklyn practice facility, as it is a private building. His decision remained the dominant story in the NBA preseason season of 2021 until this week when we learned of 18 former NBA players being indicted for an illegal health care scheme. The players were allegedly filing fraudulent health and dental claims to their retirement benefit plan to the tune of $3.9 million in false claims.

The saddest part of this indictment is the fact the players are allegedly stealing from their own – the NBA – and it truly upsets the very essence of what the NBA and its players try to instill in its member players.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – October 3

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The NBA began its 75th Anniversary celebration in typical NBA style, and that was to come out of the summertime hiatus and walk immediately into training camp with self-inflicted controversy. It happens more often than not. Instead of fans delving into the playoffs and NBA title contenders, the most promising rookies, blockbuster roster moves or coaching changes, the headlines go elsewhere. This season, instead of reminiscing about the league’s 75 best players of all-time, we’re talking the vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Although some 90-95% of the NBA’s rank and file players, plus all of the coaches, assistant coaches and athletic training staff are all vaccinated against the coronavirus with hope of fighting off COVID-19 and its Delta variant, the remaining five percent grabbed every NBA headline as the league conducted Media Days in every franchise city.

From Andrew Wiggins in Golden State to Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn to Bradley Beal in Washington DC, the unvaccinated few became the story. So be it.

The NBA forewarned the fact certain state and local government jurisdictions will have their own say on the matter and players will not be able to enter the very arena where the games are to be played, one being the Barclays Center in Brooklyn which would cut Irving’s season in half, right off the bat.

The league made matters known about foregoing paychecks for those games, the NBA Players Association, in transition at both the President (Chris Paul to CJ McCollom) and Executive Director (Michelle Roberts to Tamika Tremaglio) levels, are encouraging vaccinations and pointing out their Union membership is vaccinated at a much higher rate than the American public rates. Joining the NBA players, the NFL, MLB and NHL unions are also encouraging vaccinations while the NBA league is requiring all personnel who interact with the players at practices and games be fully vaccinated by this past Friday, October 1.

Players who choose not to be vaccinated will undergo extensive testing procedures throughout the season and teams will go to the length of securing separate transportation and dressing facilities, as best they can arrange.

What is an amazing juxtaposition on the issue? The fact the NFL was lauded as its season kicked-off and to some 93.5% vaccination rate for the players, yet the few NBA players are being criticized despite the slightly higher (up to 95%) rate of vaccinated union members. Go figure?

The voice of reason this week was the point of view of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the retired NBA legend, Hall of Famer and very high on the short list of the NBA’s all-time greatest players.

“The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team,” Abdul-Jabbar told Rolling Stone (magazine/online). “There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research. What I find especially disingenuous about the vaccine deniers is their arrogance at disbelieving immunology and other medical experts. Yet, if their child was sick or they themselves needed emergency medical treatment, how quickly would they do exactly what those same experts told them to do?

In its lengthy article (highly recommended by WWYI) Abdul-Jabbar said that players who remain silent about the (COVID-19) vaccine are no longer legitimate role models.

“They are failing to live up to the responsibilities that come with celebrity. Athletes are under no obligation to be spokespersons for the government, but this is a matter of public health,” Abdul-Jabbar detailed to Rolling Stone in an e-mail. The former LA Lakers’ team captain, Milwaukee Bucks superstar and UCLA all-time great remains especially disappointed in athletes of color: “By not encouraging their people to get the vaccine, they’re contributing to these deaths. I’m also concerned about how this perpetuates the stereotype of dumb jocks who are unable to look at verified scientific evidence and reach a rational conclusion.”

TO GET YOUR OWN FULL DOSE OF WHILE WE’RE YOUNG (Ideas): Click HERE.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: As stated, short of the vaccination controversy, this column would’ve begun with my personal list of the 75 Greatest Players in NBA History. As the league prepares to unveil its official list, I’ll list mine but will do so in groups of 10, holding back my Top 10 and my choices for No. 60-75.

NBA AT 75: You can plan to read about my Top 10 NBA Players of the first 75 years in next Sunday’s column. This week, I’ll start with my “Next Ten,” listed in alphabetical order, you’ll notice) and move along until I hit No. 60.

NBA at 75: Next 10 or No. 11-20:

Rick Barry

Tim Duncan

Julius Erving

Karl Malone

Moses Malone

Dirk Nowitzki

Hakeem Olajuwon

Shaquille O’Neal

Bob Pettit

Jerry West

And, the Next Ten: (21-30)

Charles Barkley

Steph Curry

Kevin Durant

John Havlicek

Allen Iverson

George Mikan

Scottie Pippen

David Robinson

John Stockton

Isiah Thomas

And, the Next Ten: (31-40)

Bob Cousy

Walt Frazier

George Gervin

Dan Issel

Sam Jones

Bob McAdoo

Kevin McHale

Willis Reed

Dwayne Wade

Bill Walton

Next Ten (which is my No. 41-50):

Ray Allen

Nate Archibald

Dave Bing

Dave Cowens

Artis Gilmore

Hal Greer

Elvin Hayes

Earl Monroe

Lenny Wilkens

James Worthy

The Next Ten: (51-60)

Paul Arizon

Billy Cunningham

Clyde Drexler

Alex English

Patrick Ewing

Reggie Miller

Jason Kidd

Wes Unseld

Russell Westbrook

Dominique Wilkins

WHO’S GOT NEXT? That leaves the naming of a relatively easy Top 10 list of NBA players and then the more difficult (No. 61-75) to be named in this missive next week. Joining the final list, I’ll also name a small group of players who will remain “On the Bubble.” Although they remain worthy of consideration and would make almost anyone’s Top 100, the challenging aspect of this celebration is drawing a line at No. 75.

I chose to list in groups of ten for a strong method of easy organization and an attempt at some level of talent grouping, but, in reality, I ask: Can anyone say whether Nate “Tiny” Archibald is better or worse that Elvin Hayes? Or whether David Robinson was better than Dan Issel, Bob McAdoo or Wes Unseld?

It’s impossible to factor in the changes in the game over the years, the comparison of point guards to centers or power forwards or whether the players made their teammates better or those who might’ve been void of talented teammates? Would Utah’s John Stockton be a lock at an all-time great if he didn’t have Karl Malone finishing at his side?

At the “NBA@50” celebration with the late, great Wilt Chamberlain at his side, Bill Russell casually explained to the assembled media that there are simply a lot of “ties” for best, asking no one, “Can you say Oscar Robertson was better than Jerry West or Elgin Baylor?” No. They’re all in a tie for first.”

In the past, the NBA celebrated its history with an NBA 25th, 35th and 50th anniversary teams.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Sept. 26

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes

BOSTON – Is there a chance this simple sports column can jinx the United States’ Ryder Cup team to go out this Sunday morning and lose to Europe despite owning an 11-5 lead after two days of foursomes and four-ball?

No Ryder Cup team has ever coughed-up this sizable lead and lost on the final day of the competition. Of the 12 singles matches played on Sundays in Ryder Cup tradition, the most points ever secured was 8.5 by the USA at the memorable 1999 event at The Country Club, here in Brookline.

Back then, Sting had just released “Brand New Day” and Enrique Iglesiastopped the charts with “Bailamos.” … Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam tennis title while Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The West Wing made their television debuts.

Like the Summer Olympic Games, the 2020 Ryder Cup was delayed a full year with a no-brainer decision by the PGA of America. This week, Whistling Straits has been a jewel for the sport with a gorgeous setting near Lake Michigan in Kohler, Wisconsin – not far from Sheboygan.

Here’s the singles line-up which will begin at 12:04pm (EDT):

Singles Matches: (USA 🇺🇸 vs. Europe 🇪🇺)

Xander Schauffele vs. Rory McIlroy

Patrick Cantlay vs. Shane Lowry

Scottie Scheffler vs. Jon Rahm

Bryson DeChambeau vs. Sergio Garcia

Collin Morikawa vs. Viktor Hovland

Dustin Johnson vs. Paul Casey

Brooks Koepka vs. Bernd Wiesberger

Tony Finau vs. Ian Poulter

Justin Thomas vs. Tyrrell Hatton

Harris English vs. Lee Westwood

Jordan Spieth vs. Tommy Fleetwood

Daniel Berger vs. Matt Fitzpatrick

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: On a picture-perfect Autumn afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, big-time College Football was put on display yesterday when Missouri visited Boston College. The Southeastern Conference versus the Atlantic Coast Conference in a game of huge importance to both teams with the Missouri Tigers 0-1 in SEC play and the Boston College Eagles starting their day 3-0, overall, but yet to play an ACC opponent.

Here’s a brief look at the day – as a fan not a reporter – attending the game on the bucolic campus of Boston College.

11am – No plans for a “major” tailgate but meeting time was 11:30 at the Merkert Building parking lot. Traffic in Newton and Chestnut Hill was plentiful and cars were parked about as far away from BC’s Alumni Stadium as one could remember.

11:30am – Easy meet up with my hosts who furnished a delicious “New England Style” Chicken Salad sandwich, complete with cranberries. Cold water was the beverage of choice, although the beers and Bloody Marys were flowing like Holy Water all across the campus.

12 Noon – With the game to be televised as the opener on ESPN2, kick-off was prompt and we were in our seats in ample time, a slight overcast blocking strong sun rays that would peek-out all afternoon.

Right from the opening drive, everyone in the building knew we were in for a high-scoring affair. In 10 plays, Missouri marched down the field against a formidable BC defense and scored first 7-0.

In only four plays, Boston College tied the game when RB Pat Garwo III marched 67 yards for the score, 7-7. About two minutes later, Missouri’s Tyler Badie plunged for a four-yard TD, 14-7 Missouri after the first quarter.

12:30pm – The student section, located in the end zone and behind the BC bench in Alumni Stadium filled-in nicely, as the tail-gate beverages were guzzled down and the Bud Lights began to flow inside.

Boston College quickly tied the game, 14-14, as Jaden Williams caught a seven-yard pass from the Eagles’ QB Dennis Grosel who was doing an admirable job filling in for the injured starter Phil Jurkovec, who was standing on the sidelines with a small cast covering his right (throwing hand) wrist.

The teams traded field goals with Missouri converting a 28-yard kick and Boston College scoring on a 49-yard boot by Connor Lytton who is kicking in place of the injured five-year PK Aaron Boumerhi, who injured his hip.

Halftime – 17-17 and a new ballgame, as the Boston College marching band did a rendition of “Rocky.”

1:30pm. – The start of the third quarter coincided with Boston College taking control of the game, scoring 10 points to take a 27-17 lead in impressive fashion. Lytton came through with a big boot, again, hitting a 31-yard kick after a 16-play drive which ended with only :40 seconds on the quarter clock.

Missouri struck back, however, scoring 14 unanswered points to start the fourth quarter on nine-play and 11-play drives which made the score 31-27, Tigers.

With 6:18 remaining, Boston College was in control of their own destiny as they began to “matriculate” down the field. Fifteen plays later, Travis Levyscored from the five yard line and Lytton pounded the all-important extra point through the uprights to put Boston College up 34-31 with only 0:25 remaining in the fourth.

Missouri wasted no time and quarterback Connor Bazelak coordinated a final drive, undaunted. Five plays later, with time expiring, PK Harrison Mevis hit a 56 yard field goal to put the game into overtime. Bazelak would end the day 30-for-41 with 303 yards.

On the first possession of overtime, Boston College scored in five plays as WR Zay Flowers, nursing an injured hamstring, scored on a 10-yard pass from Grosel.

3:34pm – Boston College’s Brandon Sebastian made a game-ending interception when Missouri’s Bazelak tried to score on his first pass attempt in overtime. Seconds later, the BC student section rushed the field to celebrate the victory over a respected SEC opponent.

Boston College will now await possible inclusion in the College Football Top 25 rankings, and in doing so, they must take notice that North Carolina State, their next home opponent, upset Clemson and the Wolfpack enjoyed a storming of the field of their own yesterday in Raleigh, NC.

RUSHING THE FIELD: Boston College caught a fair amount of shade on social media as their students flooded the Alumni Stadium field after the game-winning interception by Brandon Sebastian. … Field rush and storming the court in basketball can be dangerous affairs and the NCAA legislates again the practice. … It’s one thing when a school upsets a Top 10 opponent at home, but, in yesterday’s case, Missouri is considered a “middle of the road” contender in the SEC. … What was not factored in in most media or social media accounts was the fact that Boston College’s 41-34 victory capped an emotional day and highly entertaining college football game, complete with the ebbs and flows of a playoff game. … For BC, it was also parents weekend and the plague of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to disappear for a few hours as the BC Alumni Stadium security staff double-checked for proof of vaccinations upon entrance. … It was the first time since March 2020 that the fans could let loose and it was the result of a win that might place the Eagles in the Top 25.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Sept. 19

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook

By TERRY LYONS

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Aside from the amazing drone tour of the Dallas Cowboys’ training town in Frisco, Texas, this year’s version of “Hard Knocks” on HBO seemed a bit stale. … The answer? The Indianapolis Colts will be the featured NFL team during a special “in-season” edition of “Hard Knocks,” starting Nov. 17. The producers promise to “deliver the signature all-access coverage in the first show of any kind to document an NFL franchise in-season and in real time,” and to “follow the Colts as they navigate the challenges of an NFL season and battle for a playoff berth.” … The challenge for the creators of “Hard Knocks” will unfold when the Colts won-loss record is known to all following NFL week 10 on November 14th. Plans call for new episodes to premiere each Wednesday through the end of the Colts’ season which concludes January 9th at Jacksonville. … Here’s hoping they don’t screw up the best theme song on the current sports landscape with David Robidoux’s opus of excellence with THIS THEME.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: In the category of “you heard it here first,” keep an eye out for San Diego Padres minor league prospect James Wood, the 62nd overall pick in the MLB Draft now playing for the Padres’ entry in the Arizona Complex League. Wood is batting .372 after a 3-for-3 Saturday (Sept. 18th) which included a home run. The left-handed hitting, righty throwing, 6-foot-7, 19-year old baseball prospect out of the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida caught some attention in July when he signed a $2.6 million signing bonus with the Padres. … Speaking of padre, James’ father is Kenny Wood, an East Hampton H.S. (‘89) and University of Richmond (1990-1993) basketball star who went on to play professional ball overseas. … James Woods’ uncle is Howard Wood, an East Hampton, Long Island basketball star who played at Tennessee and was a second round draft pick by the Utah Jazz in 1981.

IN THE COMPANY OF TED: Boston Red Sox 1B/3B Bobby Dalbec hit his 20th double of the 2021 season on Saturday. In addition, the Red Sox rookie has five triples, 23 homers, and 75 RBI this season. The only other Red Sox rookies to top 20+ 2B/5+ 3B/20+ HRs and 75+ RBI are: Ted Williams (1950), Walt Dropo (1950), Fred Lynn (1975), and Nomar Garciaparra (1997). … For Dalbec, as of September 18, 22 of his last 31 hits have gone for extra bases (8 2B, 2 3B, and 12 HR).

WHAT’s BREWIN? The Boston Bruins’ rookies open the 2021 Prospects Challenge with a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres’ rooks in Buff. … Stockholm, Sweden native Jesper Froden (two goals and an assist) and Samuel Asselin (one goal, two assists) led the Bruins in scoring. Asselin played 25 games with the Providence Bruins last season. The club plays a 1pm game against the New Jersey Devils’ rookie team September 19th.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: What is a sport without a Champions League? FIBA’s Champions League regular season draw has been set and Kalev/Cramo (EST), Nutribullet Treviso (ITA) and U-Banca Transilvania Cluj Napoca (ROU), and Prometey (UKR) advanced to the group stage of the regular season, starting on October 4. It is the first time Estonia will field a team. … The FIBA Champions League is not to be confused with EuroLeague Basketball, the more prominent and competitive European pro entity based in Barcelona.

ARE YOU READY for 2023? On the national team front, FIBA will begin staging its qualifying for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in a few months, with teams from each of the regions playing in six “windows of qualifiers” over 15 months. In a recent meeting, the Executive Committee for FIBA confirmed the return of the regular format of the qualifiers for each continent, but reserved the right to create “bubbles” in certain sub-regions due to the on-going global pandemic. … National teams will be busy prepping for the qualifiers, then competing in both 2023 (Worlds) and 2024 (Olympics).

IN-To-IT at INTUIT: We’re providing the 2024-25 LA Clippers’ season marketing slogan free of charge. Yes, they’ll be “In-to-It” at the Intuit Dome, the future home of the Clips which officially broke ground on Friday. The club’s owner, Steve Ballmer, who upped the ante for NBA franchise value when he dropped $2 billion for the Clippers, is now plunking down a cool $1.8 billion to fund the 18,000-seat arena which is expected to be ready for the 2024-25 NBA season.

NO REBOUND, NO RINGS: Long Island product Matt Doherty will head back to his root on October 7th to promote his new book, “Rebound: From Pain to Passion.” The former NCAA champion, NCAA (Notre Dame, UNC, SMU) head coach, Indiana Pacers’ scout and basketball ops head at the A-10 Conference, will do a full and surely inspirational Presentation and then allow time for Questions and Answers and book signings from 7-9pm at the popular Wantagh, NY Mulcahy’s concert hall.

EDITOR’S NOTE: While We’re Young (Ideas) usually posts the lead item and reserves the Notebook section for subscribers ONLY. This week, it’s the opposite.

While We’re Young (Ideas) – Sept. 12

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TL’s Sunday Sports Notebook

By TERRY LYONS

FLUSHING MEADOW – We’ve witnessed the likes of Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird burst into the professional sports scene to save the NBA from its downward spiral into obscurity in the late 1970s. Over the years, we’ve also enjoyed highly touted rookies in nearly every sport step up to make major impact in their sports, win Rookie of the Year honors and maybe earn a title. From Tiger Woods in golf to Wayne Gretzky in the NHL to LeBron James in the NBA to Venus and Serena Williams in women’s tennis, we marvel at the talent, determination and success displayed by these players at such a young age.

This weekend, at the 2021 United States Open tennis tournament, two young women opened a new chapter in women’s tennis as 18-year old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain defeated 19-year old Leylah Fernandez of Canada in the U.S. Open women’s final. It was the first time two teenagers squared-off in the final of a Grand Slam since 1999 when a 17-year old Serena Williams defeated world No. 1 in 18-year old Martina Hingis at the US Open.

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Teen-aged sensations in tennis come along Like a Hurricane in the Gulf Coast with a couple doozies each season. Flip back in the record books and you’ll see the likes of Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly who in 1953, at age 16, became the first woman to win the Grand Slam of tennis (Australian and French Opens, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open) in a single season.

Like those hurricanes – every 10-to-15 years or so, more frequently of late – along comes a Category 5, a “Katrina,” a “Sandy” or an “Ida,” or “Maria.”They are storms that devastate and dominate and blow through at 125+ mph, soon to dissipate out in the wilderness or North Atlantic Ocean.

In tennis, just like those hurricanes, they’ve been known by their first names to fans all over the world. They called them Chrissy (Evert), Martina(Navratilova and Hingis), Gabriela (Sabatini), Serena and Venus (Williams sisters), Lindsay (Davenport), Jennifer (Capriati), Tracy (Austin), Steffi(Graf) and Monica (Seles). More recently, it was Maria (Sharapova), Sloane(Stephens) and Naomi (Osaka), who all burst onto the world tennis scene, some to remain for a decade or more but some to burn out like a discarded rocket engine falling back down to earth.

As of September 11, 2021, we can add two new names in Emma (Raducanu) and Leylah (Fernandez) who made their way to the women’s finals at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center in Queens, the tremendous site of the United States Tennis Association (USTA’s) premier event. The two young women, Fernandez un-seeded in the draw, and Raducanu advancing as a qualifier, won over the tough New York crowds and thanked them profusely and genuinely for their support as they marched to the finals. Raducanu defeated her new peer and rival 6-4, 6-3 in the final to close out 10 consecutive matches – three in qualifying and seven in the Open – without losing a set.

Her only previous Grand Slam tournament appearance came in her native land, at this year’s Wimbledon, where she disqualified during the fourth round because of trouble breathing.

Aside from their financial success – Raducana pocketed $2.5 million while Fernandez cleared $1.25 million for the U.S. Open fortnight – the two players showed poise, composure during adversity, graciousness, respect for their sport and those who played before them, such as Raducanu’s appreciation for Virginia Wade – the last U.K. women’s champ at the US Open (1968). For Fernandez, her composure after the final defeat was a sight to see, and her post semi-finals on-court speech, singling out her admiration and appreciation for Canada’s most decorated baller – Steve Nash, the coach of the Brooklyn Nets to take time to watch her play – was equally impressive and endearing.

The end result is the sport of tennis – in particular the Women’s Tennis circuit (WTA) – enjoyed a jolt of newfound interest and enthusiasm for the sport these last two weeks. It is not a statement of hyperbole to say future duels between “Emma” and “Leylah” might rival matches of “Chrissy” vs “Martina” of yesteryear, or start a resurgence of interest in tennis the way Olga Korbutor Nadia Comăneci fueled a generation of women’s gymnastics wanna-be’s that gave us Shannon Miller, Mary Lou Retton and a legion of medalists in recent Olympic Games.

The previously mentioned tennis legend, Chris Evert, ranked No. 1 in US junior tennis at age 14 and who made her Grand Slam tournament debut at age 16 at the U.S. Open in Forest Hills, was near tears in her post match analysis of EMMA vs LEYLAH I. Evert surely envisioned and stated out loud that the 2021 U.S. Open finalists could enjoy a decade of on-court and off-court competition, often the secret of superstars. Evert won singles championships in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1981 but had Navratilova to push her throughout.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: We’re “Ready for Some Football” and the timing was perfect for our friends at Sportico to release their NFL Franchise Valuations. While the Dallas fell to the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL season opener this past Thursday night, the Cowboys reign supreme in NFL team value at a whopping $6.920 billion.

The Top 10 in the NFL: (billion) by Sportico

  1. Dallas Cowboys – $6.920
  2. New England Patriots – $5.350
  3. LA Rams – $4.680
  4. NY Giants – $4.630
  5. SF 49ers – $4.270
  6. Washington FT – $4.250
  7. NY Jets – $4.080
  8. Chicago Bears – $4.000
  9. Philadelphia Eagles – $3.870
  10. Houston Texans – $3.840

PICKS: While franchise valuations take in everything from the team’s actual value to business operations to venue ownership and overall revenue generation, the bottom line in the NFL – and all of sports, really – is Wins and Losses.

Here are the 2021 NFL picks for While We’re Young (Ideas):

  • AFC East – Bills of Buff
  • AFC North – Ravens
  • AFC South – Titans
  • AFC West – Chiefs
  • AFC Wild Cards: Browns, Colts, Chargers
  • AFC Champion – KC Chiefs

In the NFC:

  • NFC East – Cowboys
  • NFC North – Packers
  • NFC South – Buccaneers of Brady
  • NFC West – LA Rams
  • NFC Wild Cards: 49ers, Saints, Vikings
  • NFC Champion – Tampa Bay Bucs

In the Super Bowl:

  • KC Chiefs over Tampa Bay Bucs

If another play is possible? Tampa Bay over Buffalo